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: 303 Ascension
Office phone: 5293
Home phone: 427-4632
E-mail: HARRINGTON
I.
Office hours:
M,W 11:10-12:00,
T
2:40-4:00,
Th
2:40-5:00,
and by appointment
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.
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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
Mid-term Examinations (3)
Lowest Grade
Median Grade
Highest Grade
Homeworks
35%
10%
20%
20%
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.
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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
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
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
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
Exam (9/21)
Exam (10/19)
Exam (11/16)
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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