Principles of Microeconomics
Economics 211
Fall, 2005
The point of studying economics is so as not to be fooled by economists. Joan Robinson
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Instructor: |
R. Morris Coats, Ph.D., Argent Bank Professor of Business Administration |
Office: |
102B White |
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E-mail: |
Phone: |
(985)448-4237 |
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Web: |
Fax: |
(985)448-4922 |
Office Hours:
Instructor’s Class Schedule: ECON 211, 2T, 4T sections; ECON 415 EM
Prerequisites:
English 101 and eligibility to take Mathematics 101. Degree credit will only be given for one of the following: Economics 211, Economics 252 and Economics 255.
Course Description:
The theory of market exchanges and competition. Fundamental economic problems, methods of economic organization, and the price system. Topics include theory of consumer choice and demand; comparative advantage and barriers to trade; the theory of producer choice and supply; price and output determination in various competitive environments; markets for labor, capital and natural resources; income distribution; resource allocation; the role of government in regulating, financing and producing in the economy, including analysis of the social choice framework within which democratic decisions are made.
Course Goal and Objectives:
Course Goal:
The purpose of this course is to get students to better understand the economic system and dispel many of the myths about the free-enterprise system so that students can see that social problems (behavior coordination problems) can be addressed not only by collective action through government, but also by individual action through private markets, and that each institutional approach (market or government) has both advantages and disadvantages, and choices among solution institutions must be made with an understanding of how these institutions work. To achieve this basic course objective, several specific goals or learning objectives are defined for the course.
Student Learning Outcome Objectives:
Successful
students should be able to:
1.
Identify the
concepts of scarcity, economic goods, opportunity costs, comparative
advantage,
economic efficiency, law of diminishing returns, economies of scale
2. Identify and distinguish the
major factors (conditions) that affect supply and demand.
2.
Identify the
equilibrium price and quantity exchanged on a supply and demand
diagram.
4. Utilize supply and demand analysis to correctly predict the direction of changes in
price and quantity (volume) as a result in changes in market factors (conditions).
5. Apply the concept of comparative
advantage to predict the direction of international trade (export or import)
6. Identify the characteristics or
assumptions of various market structures (competitive environments) of perfect
competition, monopoly, monopolistic competition and oligopoly.
7. Apply the model of profit maximization
(marginal analysis) to predict the pricing and output behavior of firms within
various market structures.
8. Identify and compute: marginal
utility, price elasticity of demand, income elasticity of
demand, cross-elasticity of demand, price elasticity of supply, consumer
surplus, producer surplus, total product, average product, marginal product, total
costs, average variable costs, average fixed costs, average total costs, marginal
costs, marginal benefits, revenue, marginal revenue, and profits (or losses).
9. Identify factors that affect the
price elasticity of demand and how these factors affect
elasticity.
10. Distinguish long-run decisions
of firms from their short-run decisions.
11.
Utilize knowledge of a firm or market’s price elasticity of demand to predict
the effect of a price change on the revenues of the sellers (or the
expenditures of the buyers).
Additional Section Objective (in addition to Course Learning Outcome Objectives):
To participate in hands-on economics experiments and exercises either in the classroom or using the Internet to gain further understanding of general market and non-market social interaction.
Required
1. Textbook:
Gerald W. Stone (2005). CoreMicroeconomics, Learning Technology Press:
Also on the CD are a bunch of
chapter summaries in MP3 format, so that you can download them into an iPod or other MP3 player and use your commute to school
time to get a refresher of what you read. This is not a substitute for reading the book,
though! There are utilities that can change MP3 files to regular CD audio
format (so you can play them in your car CD 
player
if you don’t 
have
an iPod).
The learning pack also has a course book and a study guide. The course book tells you what you need to know from that chapter, what the frequently asked questions are from that material with the answers, and a “check yourself” quiz. The study guide has chapter goals, key terms and concepts (matching), questions and problems, and the answers. The study guide has a section called “exam prep.” This is a worksheet (two-page, front and back) that has problems and questions for you to do to study for the exam on that chapter.
Go to www.CoreEconomics.com to see more of what is available with the Stone book and learning pack.
2. The Non-Textbook: Steven E. Landsburg
(1993). The Armchair Economist: Economics and Everyday Life. The Free Press:
3. “Webbed” Notes: Course Notes for Economics 211
Suggested Reading/Links:
1. Stone’s CourseBook, StudyGuide, MP3 Chapter Summaries, and Animated Lectures
3. The Library of Economics and Liberty. This is a unique reference tool in economics with online classics in economics, such as Adam Smith’s “Wealth of Nations” and Bastiat’s “Economic Sophisms,” and they are all searchable. Another great resource at this site is David Henderson’s Concise Encyclopedia of Economics, which gives brief explanations about some often difficult concepts.
Course Requirements:
1. Attendance.
2. Access
to the Internet and ability to use a web browser.
3. Read
all assignments.
4. Participation
in the classroom economics experiment in class.
5. Lab
report on our economics experiment.
6. Examinations.
Method of Evaluation:
Your performance in this class will be evaluated in several different
ways. There will be a math test,
followed by remedial help through an Internet site, which is followed up by a
math re-test (to assure that you are “math ready” for this course). There will also be two “midterm” exams and a
comprehensive final. You will also have
to write up a “lab report” based on the information we produce in a market
experiment in class. There are also some
bonus points for the market experiment.
Exams:
No matter what, we will have a math
test, which will count for 10 percent of your grade, two exams prior to the
final that will each count for 25 percent of your grade, and a final exam that
will also count for 30 percent of your grade. If you miss any exam, your
final exam grade will replace the missed exam score. The final exam is
comprehensive, making it a harder exam, even though the questions are no harder
than the midterm exam questions.
Make-up Policy:
You are NOT allowed to make up any experiments, as these involve class participation, so there is no way to make up the exercise (remember that the points from the experiments are bonus points). Your final exam grade will replace missed exams.
Final Grade Computation:
The final course score will be computed by the following formula:
Course Score = 0.10 (better
of two math exam grades)
+ 0.25 (Exam 1+ Exam 2)
+ 0.10 (Lab Report from Market Experiment)
+ 0.30 (Final Exam + bonus points not on exams).
If your score on your comprehensive final exam is higher than your Course
Score, your Final Grade score will be your Final Exam score.
The grading scale is the usual 90/80/70/60 scale. Any instance of cheating will be reported and full action will be pursued (see the handout on cheating and plagiarism).
Attendance:
Attendance is required by University policy.
Academic Accommodations for Disabilities:
If you have a documented disability that requires assistance, you will need to register with the Office of Disability Services for coordination of your academic accommodations. The Office of Disability Services is located in Peltier Hall, Room100-A. The phone number is (985) 448-4430 (TDD 449-7002).
Class rules:
There are two simple rules for this class (also see Academic Dishonesty Policy, below):
(1) Don’t be rude, and
(2) Don’t distract from the lecture, discussion or other class activity.
Here are some things that would be considered distracting or rude and are not allowed:
- Eating in the classroom—before, during or after class.
- Packing your things away before class is over and you have been dismissed.
- Reading
newspapers, magazines, textbooks, workbooks, or novels during class.
- Using
a "Walkman" or other personal entertainment device.
- Talking, whispering, and note passing during class. Leaving early (unless you have permission or suddenly become ill).
- Working on class assignments for other classes or studying for other classes during our class period.
- Ringing
cell phones or pagers.
- Sleeping in class (this behavior is particularly distracting and quite rude).
- Taking notes in your text in class by highlighting. While flipping through pages to find a passage in the text that supports what is being said in lecture is distracting and rude, the primary reason for this rule is to encourage you to think about what is being said during class so that you will engage in active learning, and you will be in a position to engage in meaningful discussion. If you are preoccupied with searching a textbook, it will be virtually impossible for you to benefit from the lecture/discussion going on at the same time. Hint: Read the book before class and highlight material that you recall from the lecture after class. Have your economics text out only when I am directing your attention to the text or when you are asking questions about your reading that you did not understand. Do bring your book to class, however. Just do not use your text to take notes during class by highlighting.
- Any other behavior that would reasonably be considered distracting or rude.
A few guidelines for out-of-class interaction with me (any of your professors) for that matter:
- Do not come to my office a few minutes before class. But if it seems as if I have forgotten about class, by all means come and get me. I was once so busy that I forgot about class in the fall of 1985.
- Do not come to me before class with some paper that I am supposed to read and sign, including drop slips. I do not sign papers before class. Come by at the end of class for such things.
- Do not ask me "Is this going to be on the test?" On its face, this seems like a reasonable question. This question tells your professor that the only things you think are worth knowing from his class are those items on the exams. Exams do not cover the entire course, but only sample your knowledge. If you set your sights on learning the subject instead of just getting good grades, the grades will take care of themselves.
- Do not ask "Did I miss anything important yesterday?" or "Am I going to miss anything important tomorrow?" These questions tell your professor that you expect the answer to be "no." If a professor were not going to cover anything important, he would stay in his office that class period and dismiss class.
Announcements:
I will put a link here to announcements for class,
with the most recent first.
Classroom Notes (Overheads Plus)
My powerpoint files will be available on a link that will be in this section of the syllabus. I will try to have them available soon so that you may print them out before class so that you do not have to spend time copying them, but rather, listening carefully, thinking, and jotting down points you may wish to remember that are not on the slides. Some of these may have links to notes with more complete explanations. Links are underlined on the syllabus. I may make slight changes to these as we go along, and the revised files will be available soon after class.
Warning:
The theory and methods presented in this course will help you to better understand the world around you, not just business activity. This is worthy of diligent study and requires it from even the more intelligent student. You will probably need to read the assigned material more than once in order to have an adequate understanding of the concepts. You must read the assignments before coming to class on that material. Procrastination leads to cramming, which can only result in confusion and failure.
Class Photos:
I am terrible at remembering names of students (or names of my dear relatives—I will tell you about it in class). I have a compensating mechanism for dealing with that forgetfulness--a digital camera, and I will be taking your photos the first few days of class, mostly in groups of twos and threes. I will post your photo along with your first name (or the name you go by) at my Nicholls web site, but only if you give me permission to do so. I will keep the permission slips on file for the semester, but will drop your class photos from my web site soon after the end of the term. You will be able to learn the names of your classmates who have allowed me to post their pictures.
Materials for Social Studies
Education Majors
Unfinished
Draft: Content and Pedagogy Materials for Louisiana Economics Grade-Level
Expectations
Course Outline Disclaimer:
This is a syllabus, a plan, not a contract, and should not be interpreted in any way as a contract.
Tentative and Approximate Course Outline:
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Topic |
Stone (chapter) |
Landsburg (chapter) |
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Introduction:
Basic Concepts Math and Graphs: Go to these websites: |
1 |
1, 2 |
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Production, Growth and Trade |
2 |
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Markets: Demand & Supply |
3 |
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Markets: Putting Supply and Demand Together |
4 |
3 |
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Price Controls |
4 |
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Double-Auction Experiment |
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Elasticity |
5 |
10 |
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Exam
1: September 27th |
Chs. 1-5 |
1-3, 10 |
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Consumer Choice and Utility Maximization: Looking Behind the Demand Curve, Consumer Surplus |
6 |
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Producer Costs and Supply: Looking Behind the Competitive Supply Curve, Producer Surplus |
7 |
7, 8 |
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Competition |
8 |
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Monopoly |
9 |
15, 16 |
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Exam 2:
November 1st |
Chs. 6-9 |
7, 8, 15, 16 |
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Monopolistic Competition, Oligopoly and Game Theory |
10 |
17, 18, |
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Market for Labor |
11 |
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Market Failures, Government Failures and the Environment |
13 |
6, 9, 14, 24 |
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International Trade & Comparative Advantage |
15 |
5, 21 |
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Final Exam: 4T:
2T: |
1-11,13-15 |
1-3, 5-10,
14-18, 21, 24 |