ECO 201 – 03
Principles of Microeconomics
Fall 2014
Monday 6:00-8:50pm
Bryan 112
Instructor:
Michael Hall
Office: Bryan 467
E-mail: mjhall@uncg.edu
Office Hours: By Appointment
Course Description:
An introductory microeconomic analysis of how individuals and firms cope with the fact that
they have unlimited wants but limited resources.
Learning Objectives:
1. Demonstrate how scarcity forces trade-offs, how every choice has an opportunity cost, and
how different opportunity costs give rise to comparative advantages.
2. Apply knowledge of supply and demand, market equilibrium and elasticity to demonstrate
how price allocates scarce resources.
3. Explain how markets reach efficient outcomes, why markets sometimes fail, and how
government intervention can impact markets.
4. Describe a firm’s production process and resulting cost structure and show how output
decisions are made.
5. Distinguish between perfectly competitive and monopolistic markets and understand the
implications of each on market efficiency.
Materials:
1. Textbook: Foundations of Microeconomics by Robin Bade and Michael Parkin
(You do not have to buy the most recent edition of this book.)
2. All students are REQUIRED to register for MyEconLab through http://pearsonmylab.com/.
Homework assignment and submission occur through this on-line account. Registration
instructions are posted on Blackboard under the Syllabus link.
To register, you will need a:
• course ID (hall81385)
• student access code
Custom textbooks (containing only the chapters covered in this course) are available from the
UNCG bookstore for $155.45. These come packaged with the required student access code for
MyEconLab. If you find the textbook at a good price from another seller, you can buy a student
access code for MyEconLab for $55 through http://pearsonmylab.com/. Alternatively, you can
buy the eText and student access code for $100 through http://pearsonmylab.com/. If you're
waiting for financial aid and can't pay immediately, you can get temporary access to MyEconLab
without payment for 14 days.
Grading:
Homework
Lowest Midterm Exam
Highest Midterm Exam
Final Exam
20%
15%
30%
35%
Your course letter grade will be assigned based on the following scale:
97% and above1: A+
At least 93% but less than 97%: A
At least 90% but less than 93%: AAt least 87% but less than 90%: B+
At least 83% but less than 87%: B
At least 80% but less than 83%: BAt least 77% but less than 80%: C+
At least 73% but less than 77%: C
At least 70% but less than 73%: CAt least 67% but less than 70%: D+
At least 63% but less than 67%: D
At least 60% but less than 63%: DLess than 60%: F
Assignments:
Homework Assignments:
There will be approximately 8 homework assignments, administered through MyEconLab. All
assignments are due by 11:59 pm on the evening of the stated deadline. Late submissions will
be accepted for 48 hours after the deadline but will be penalized by 10% for each day the
assignment is late.
I will drop your lowest homework score before calculating your homework average. The
remaining assignments will receive equal weight in your homework grade.
Extra Credit:
You can earn up to 6 extra credit points (percentage points) on each of the three exams. Extra
credit points are earned by correctly answering Quiz questions, administered through
MyEconLab. For each quiz question answered correctly, you earn 0.1 points (percentage
1
A+ grades will only be assigned to students who earn a 97% or above before any potential course
average curve is applied.
points), which will be added to the relevant exam score. Each exam will have three quizzes
leading up to it, and quizzes must be completed at the latest 48 hours before the exam. (For
example, correctly answered questions on Quiz 1, Quiz 2 and, Quiz 3 will earn you extra credit
points towards Exam I. These quizzes must be completed before 6:00pm on Sunday, September
20.)
Exams:
The exam dates are listed below. Put them in your calendar immediately because there are no
makeup exams and very few acceptable excuses for missing one. Acceptable excuses include
a death in the family, a University-sponsored event or excursion, or a serious illness documented
by a doctor. Acceptable excuses must be approved before the scheduled exam date. Exams
are all closed-book, closed-note, and closed-friend/neighbor. You may bring a calculator to the
exam, but all calculators must be non-programmable. Cell phones cannot be used as calculators.
You must bring a red scantron sheet purchased from the UNCG bookstore to each exam. Please
note that the final exam will be given only on the date scheduled by the University.
Exam I
Exam II
Cumulative Final Exam
September 22nd
November 3rd
December 8th
in class
in class
7:00-10:00pm
University Policies and Guidelines:
Academic Integrity Policy:
Students are expected to know and abide by the Honor Code in all matters pertaining to this
course. Violations of this code will be pursued in accordance with the code. The link to UNCG’s
academic integrity policy is:
http://sa.uncg.edu/handbook/academic-integrity-policy/
Faculty and Student Guidelines
Please familiarize yourself with the Bryan School’s Faculty and Student Guidelines. These
guidelines establish principles and expectations for the administration, faculty, staff, and students
of the Bryan School of Business and Economics. The link for this document is
http://www.uncg.edu/bae/faculty_student_guidelines.pdf
Additional Rules:
In order to provide equitable treatment for all students, no late work is accepted or extra credit is
granted outside of the guidelines presented above. The rules outlined in this document will be
applied to equally to all individuals.
DO NOT CHEAT. I will use every feasible avenue to enforce the Academic Integrity Policy.
Cheating is unacceptable and will not be tolerated. Missing points for an incorrect answer is
much less devastating to one’s final grade than receiving no credit for an assignment/test.
Come to class prepared to learn. This means reviewing the course material ahead of time so that
you are able to focus your questions.
Do not cause distractions in class. I reserve the right to dismiss you from the class if you
infringe upon the ability of others to learn. Students are expected to respect the privilege of
other students to have a comfortable, safe, and, accepting learning environment. The following
general guidelines for classroom etiquette:
• Don’t talk to your neighbors in class. It’s distracting to everyone.
• If you bring your laptop to class, do not view distracting or inappropriate materials.
• Phones should be switched to silent mode in class. If your phone does ring, please quiet it
as quickly and discretely as possible. If you are texting, or otherwise using an electronic
device for non-educational purposes, I will ask you
• If you need to leave the class for any reason (e.g., to use the restroom), do so in a manner
as least distracting as possible.
• Do not eat or drink in class. If you need partake in sustenance, please do so elsewhere
and return to class when you are finished.
I strongly encourage you to take notes with paper and pen/pencil. I believe this is the best way to
learn the material and is also beneficial for learning how to use graphs.
When you begin to feel lost, BE PROACTIVE! I am more than happy to answer questions
during the lecture. If you do not understand a concept or the definition of a word, please inform
me so that I may provide clarity.
I want to make it known up front that I expect you to spend a minimum of 5 hours each week
reading, reviewing, and completing homework assignments outside of class. If this is not feasible
for you given your other time commitments, perhaps this is not the class for you.