ECON 101: PRINCIPLES OF MICROECONOMICS AND PUBLIC …



ECON 101: PRINCIPLES OF MICROECONOMICS AND PUBLIC POLICY

FALL 2001

Period 3, MWF 10:10, ASC. 225

Period 5, MWF 12:10, ASC. 201

Mr. Harrington Office hours:

Office: 303 Ascension M,W 11:10-12:00,

Office phone: 5293 T 2:40-4:00,

Home phone: 427-4632 Th 2:40-5:00,

E-mail: HARRINGTON and by appointment

I. Course Description:

Personal fulfillment and effective citizenship require some understanding of the principles of human interaction in society. Economics is the scientific study of those aspects of social behavior concerned with choosing how best to use limited resources and technology so as to maximize individual or social welfare. Economic analysis can add much to our understanding of vital public policy issues.

The ultimate value of economic theory is its application to an endless variety of economic situations. Hence, the objectives of this course are both to help you learn the basic economic principles and models, and to give you extensive practice in applying them. The text and lectures are designed to achieve the first objective. The supplementary readings, homeworks, and class discussions are designed to achieve the second.

II. Texts: (available in the bookstore)

Robert E. Hall and Marc Lieberman, Economics: Principles and Applications, Second Edition, (Cincinnati, OH: South-Western College Publishing, 2001).

David Bornstein, The Price of a Dream: The Story of the Grameen Bank and the Idea that is Helping the Poor to Change their Lives, (New York, NY: Simon & Schuster, 1996).

Caroline Knapp, Drinking: A Love Story, (New York, NY: Dell Publishing, 1996).

III. Course Requirements:

A. Mid-term Examinations: There will be three during the course of the semester. Each will concentrate on material presented since the previous exam and will consist of short answer questions, problems, and essays, some of which will be drawn directly from discussion questions, homeworks and practice problem sets. The exams will be given during the regular class period on Sept. 21, Oct. 19 and Nov. 16.

B. Final Comprehensive Examination: This will be a three hour long examination of all the

material covered during the semester. Half of the questions will be drawn directly from previous exams, discussion questions, homeworks and practice problem sets. You may take the final exam at either of the following times: Friday, December 14, from 8:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. in ASC 225, or Tuesday, December 18, from 1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. in ASC 201.

C. Homework Assignments: There will be at least 5 homework assignments during the course of

the semester and several practice problem sets. While you are encouraged to work together on these homework assignments, you must write your own answers.

IV. Grading:

Your final course grade will be based on the following weighting scheme:

Final Examination 35%

Mid-term Examinations (3)

Lowest Grade 10%

Median Grade 20%

Highest Grade 20%

Homeworks 15%

I will not allow anyone to take this course pass/fail and will not listen to arguments for why an exception should be made in particular cases.

V. Class Attendance:

Regular class attendance is strongly encouraged and exams must be taken at their scheduled time. NOTE: Since the third exam is on the Friday before Thanksgiving vacation, you should not plan to leave campus earlier than sometime after the exam. Homeworks are due in class and will not be accepted after the due date unless you have received prior permission for an extension. A persistent pattern of arriving late to class is disruptive and may lead to a lower grade for the course.

VI. Homework Assignments:

Learning economic principles requires lots of practice applying those principles in new situations. The major role of homework assignments is to provide an opportunity to practice applications of the theory. You may work cooperatively with other class members on homework assignments but it is your responsibility to understand the material. The time spent struggling on the homework assignments is important to the development of your understanding of economics. Finally, you will receive detailed answer sheets to all the problem sets and exams. You should expect to spend an hour or two carefully reviewing these answer sheets. Because of the large volume of grading in this class, the answer sheets must substitute for more extensive comments on your individual papers. You should come to see me about any remaining questions or confusions.

Outline and Schedule

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Hall and Drinking(D) /

Week Topic Lieberman Grameen(G) Friday

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8/27 Scarcity & Choice Chps. 1&2 D: Chps 1-6

9/3 Supply & Demand (S&D) Chp. 3 D: Chps. 7-13

9/10 Working with S&D Chp. 4 D: Chps. 14-16

9/17 More Work with S&D Chp. 4 Exam (9/21)

9/24 Consumer Choice Chp. 5

10/1 More Consumer Choice Chp. 5 G: Part I

10/8 October Break

10/10 Production & Cost Chp. 6 G: Part II

10/15 Profit Maxmization Chp. 7 G: Part III Exam (10/19)

10/22 Perfect Competition Chp. 8 G: Part IV

10/29 Monopoly Chp. 9 G: Part V

11/5 Monoplistic Comp. &… Chp. 10 G: Part VI

11/12 The Labor Market Chps. 11&12 Exam (11/16)

11/19 Thanksgiving Vacation

10/26 Economic Efficiency Chp. 14

12/3 Government’s Role Chp. 15

12/10 Using All the Theory pp. 487-510

Final Exam:

Friday, December 14, from 8:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. in ASC 225,

or

Tuesday, December 18, from 1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. in ASC 201.

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