ECON 1200-R04: Principles of Microeconomics
Fall 2011
Tell me and I will forget
Show me and I will remember
Involve me and I will understand
Step back and I will act
Dr. Subha Mani
Dealy Hall, Fifth Floor, Room E520
Fordham University
Email – smani@fordham.edu
Lectures – Tuesday-Friday 1-2.15pm, Dealy Hall 206
Office hours – Thursday 2-5pm, all other times by appointment only
Objective
The objective of this course is to understand how firms and households allocate their
scarce resources to satisfy unlimited wants. Firms and households are the two primary
economic agents of a society, where firms produce the goods and services consumed by
households. We examine firm and household behavior under perfect and imperfect
market structures. Finally, we analyze the different sources of market failure that invoke
government participation, the third economic agent in an economy.
The topics covered in this course can be divided into three parts:
In part I, we introduce basic concepts of – scarcity of resources, opportunity cost, sunk
cost, production possibility frontier, law of demand, law of supply, shifts and movements
of the demand curve, shifts and movements of the supply curve, market equilibrium,
equilibrium price, equilibrium quantity, excess demand, excess supply and elasticity.
In part II, we consider households and firms decision process – budget set, utility, utility
maximizing rule, total revenue, total cost, profit maximizing rule, short-run vs. long-run
output decisions in output market, derived demand, marginal revenue product, and profit
maximizing rule in input markets.
In part III, we study – imperfect market structures, monopoly pricing, oligopoly,
monopolistic competition, externalities, public goods, and social choice, economic
growth and poverty.
Textbook: Principles of Microeconomics (10th edition along with access code for using
myeconlab) by Karl E. Case & Ray C. Fair & Sharon Oster, Prentice Hall Inc. Prentice
Hall,
the
publisher
of
the
textbook
also
maintains
a
website,
http://www.prenhall.com/casefair. This website provides sample
(true/false; multiple choice; and suggested essay questions) for practice.
test
questions
We will be using www.myeconlab.com for homework assignments. All assignments will
be posted on this webpage. You will need an access code for using this online resource.
This access code will come with your textbook.
Course requirements: During this semester, you will have homework assignments, in
class assignments, two midterms, and a final exam. The midterms and the final exam will
be closed book in class examinations.
The final grade for the course will be calculated as a weighted average of the problem
sets, midterms and final exam; where the weights will be assigned as follows:
Class participation – 5%
In class assignments – 5%
Homework – 15%
First Midterm – 20%
Second Midterm – 25%
Final Exam – 30%
Important points to note
1) Make-up Exam: Examinations are to be taken at the time indicated in class. A makeup examination may be given only in the instance where you have notified me and the
Dean’s office of the reason for your absence prior to the examination.
2) Attendance: Attendance is mandatory in the course. For the first 2 unexcused
absences the student will lose 5% of the final grade. If you miss more than 4 classes, you
will be assigned an AF grade. The AF grade is used by the University for any student
who has excessive absences during the semester.
3) Homework: I will receive homeworks primarily in class. If you cannot make it to
class, you can leave your homework in my mailbox. It is your responsibility to make sure
that I received your homework, email me to make sure I got your homework. Any
homework received after due date will be marked as late and Late homeworks receive
zero points, no exceptions.
4) Disabilities: Under the Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the
Vocational and Rehabilitation Act of 1973, all students, with or without disabilities are
entitled to equal access to the programs and activities at Fordham University. If you
believe that you have a disabling condition that may interfere with your ability to
participate in the activities, coursework, or assessment of the object of this course, you
may be entitled to accommodations. Please schedule an appointment to speak with
someone at the Office of Disability Services (Rose Hill - O’ Hare Hall, Lower Level,
718-817-0655 or at Lincoln Center – Room 207, 718-817-6282). Also kindly come to
me immediately and inform me of any disabling condition.
Detailed description of how we will proceed in the course (Chapters refer to Case
and Fair text)
1) Week 1 – Discussion of syllabus and Chapter 1
2) Week 2 – Chapter 2 and 3
3) Week 3 – Chapter 3 and 4
4) Week 4 – Chapters 4 and 5
5) Week 5 – Chapter 5 and review session for first midterm
6) Week 6 – Chapter 6
First Midterm will be on 7th October (Friday)
The first midterm will include chapters 1-5 only
7) Week 7 – Chapter 7
8) Week 8 – Chapter 8
9) Week 9 – Chapter 9
10) Week 10 – Chapter 10
10) Week 11 – Chapter 11
11) Week 12 – Chapter 12 and review for second midterm
Second Midterm will be on 22nd November (Tuesday) in class
The second midterm will include chapters 6-10 only
12) Week 14 – Chapters 13, 14 and 15
13) Week 15 – selected topics from chapters 16, 17 18, and 19
14) Week 16 – Review session for final exam
The Final exam is tentatively scheduled for the 20th of December at 1.30 pm. I do not
allow students to take their final exam ahead of time. This date is non-negotiable.
(Note: The exact date and time for the final exam will be re-confirmed again in
November)