Rensselaer at Hartford
Lally School of Management and Technology
Course Outline
Summer Semester, 2011
MGMT -7730 – Economics and Institutions
Houman Younessi
Telephone (860) 548-7880
Email
youneh@rpi.edu
Consultation Times
Consultation times are usually the
hour prior to class for that class. To
ensure
my
availability,
other
consultation by appointment only.
Year and Semester:
A course for MSc. And MBA students.
Credit Points:
Three
Prerequisites:
MGMT -6100 or permission of the instructor,
Knowledge of calculus is useful but not mandatory
Objectives:
The objective of this course is to introduce the student to the economics principles at
work in a managerial and business leadership decision-making framework. The
course endeavors to establish economics as one of the basic underpinnings for
business. The course draws on economic analysis of such concepts as demand,
supply, cost, profit, competition, pricing strategy, and market structures.
Student Learning Outcomes:
Upon completion of this course a successful student should be able to understand:
the basic theory of the firm, the concepts of demand and elasticity of demand with
respect to a variety of its variables, the production function, cost, market
structures, economic moral hazard, and externalities.
The successful student should also be able to:
estimate and forecast demand in simplified situations, perform break-even
analysis, establish a simple strategy using basic principles of game theory, and
describe market behavior within a given market structure.
Syllabus:

Introduction and the theory of the firm

Demand and various elasticities of demand

Rational choice, estimating demand and forecasting

Production and the production function

Cost, cost factors and break-even analysis

Strategic behavior and game-theory

Markets and competition: strict monopoly - perfect competition, a spectrum

Monopolistic competition and sophisticated monopolistic behavior

Oligopoly

Risk, moral hazard and the principal-agent problem

Public goods and the role of government
Contact Hours / Teaching Method:
Lectures
3 hours/week
Students are expected to attend all scheduled classes for the courses in which they are
enrolled and to conduct themselves with consideration and regard for their fellow
students.
Assessment:
Assessment is through two take-home assignments and a final paper
Assignments:
30% each (60% total)
Final paper
40%
For administrative details and procedures concerning assessment refer to the Rensselaer
at Hartford, 2010-2011 Student Handbook.
Academic Honesty:
All students must observe the requirements relating to academic honesty as stipulated in
the Rensselaer at Hartford 2010-2011 Student handbook. Specifically, all group work
must be the work of the individual students within the group presenting the work for
credit. Where this is not the case, there should be clear and unambiguous reference made
to the origin of the work adopted or adapted. All individual work must be the work of the
individual who is presenting the work for assessment. Where, and if, assistance is
received from a person other than the convenor or the tutor for the course, it should be
clearly identified.
Assistance with course material:
1. Email the convenor on youneh@rpi.edu or call him on 860-548-7880. If need
arises,
2. See the convenor during consultation hours. For cases of emergency you may,
3. Telephone the convenor to see him outside consultation hours.
The Buckley Amendment
“The Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (Buckley Amendment) guarantees
privacy to students, particularly in the area of grades and performance”
Key Text:
Kent, P.G.; Young, P.K.Y.; Managerial Economics: Economic Tools for Today’s
Decision Maker; Sixth Edition (Fifth Edition is also acceptable); Pearson-Prentice-Hall
Assignment and Report Submission:
Note: Work commitments and business trips will be accepted as reasons for absence
from class but not as acceptable bases for requesting extensions on work which
needs to be handed in.
Late Submission
Assignments:
Assignments or assignment portions which are submitted after the due date and time will
attract a penalty of 10% of the total marks for that portion per working day late, 30% for
a weekend, up to a penalty of 50% after which the assignment will be given a zero mark.