Regis University Regis College Division of Business EC 330 – Principles of Microeconomics Spring Term 2008 Instructor: Phone: E-Mail: Web page: J. Daniel Daly, S.J. Office: (303) 964-5113 jddaly@regis.edu academic.regis.edu/ddaly Main Hall 341 Hours: MF TH TWH 9:00 a.m. – 10:20 a.m. 9:30 a.m. – 10:30 a.m. 1:30 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. The introductory course in microeconomics explores supply and demand for individual products. It examines the causes of different market structures, their influence on market conduct and performance, and issues of public policy toward a variety of different kinds of market behavior. The textbook used in this course is: Microeconomics. Paul Krugman and Robin Wells. (New York, NY: Worth Publishers, 2005.) Daily Assignments and Class Participation A schedule of classes and textbook reading assignments is shown below. As students read through the text, they should complete the corresponding worksheets. Students are also assigned selected articles from journals and magazines. Direct links to these articles can be found in the electronic reserves for this course, accessed through the library website. The electronic reserves password for this course is _______________________ . Student should complete article essays as indicated. In preparation for class, students should read the assigned material and complete the worksheets and article essays by the date indicated. During class students will be asked to contribute to discussions, raise questions and explain their answers to the assigned questions. Class Notes and Study Guide PowerPoint slides used in class presentations are available on the web page listed above. These slides are provided as an optional study aid; students are not required to have copies of the slides for class. When printing the slides, it works best to request “Handouts” with 2 or 3 slides per page. To save color ink, print using “Grayscale.” Study aids for the text (including sample multiple-choice questions) are available on the publisher’s web page (www.worthpublishers.com/krugmanwells). 1 Article Essays Students are to write a brief essay on the specific topic assigned for each article in the syllabus. Essays are due at the beginning of class on the dates the articles are listed in the schedule. For example, the essay for “Capturing Talent” is due Friday, February 1st. Each essay must be typed using word-processing software, one inch margins, double spacing, and 12-point font. Graphs included in the essays should be created using the graphic features of Word or other software. Essays will be collected on a random basis, independently of the worksheets. The essays should include: (1) A heading with the name of the course and your name in the upper left-hand corner. The heading should also provide the title and the source of the article. (2) An introduction that acknowledges the article upon which it is based and provides an overview of the essay. For example: In the article, “Reexamining Antitrust,” Wayne Crews explains the benefits of a number of business practices that regulators consider anti-competitive. This essay will … (3) Two to four paragraphs that addresses the specific topic assigned. Your discussion should incorporate economic concepts covered in class and may include your own analysis and opinions. Your own contribution should be distinguished from the analysis and opinions of the article (or textbook) authors. For example: … Wayne Crews argues that price fixing is unlikely to be successful because agreements among colluding firms are unstable. What Crews fails to acknowledge is that … Graphs are required for some essays and should be included whenever they are helpful in illustrating a concept. Be sure to explain the graph in your discussion. For example: … The following graph illustrates the benefit to colluding firms of price fixing. In a competitive market, an equilibrium (point A) is reached. When colluding firms set a higher price (point B) … (4) A conclusion. In preparing essays, students are encouraged to use the Writing Center. The Writing Center is a free resource for all Regis College undergraduates. At the Writing Center, a skilled undergraduate writing consultant will work individually with you on anything you are writing. Appointments are recommended. Drop by the Writing Center in Loyola 1 or call (303) 4584039. 2 Quizzes Five quizzes will be given during the semester as indicated on the schedule of assignments. Quizzes are given at the beginning of class. Quiz questions will be based on the material covered in class since the last quiz or exam. For example, the quiz on February 6th will be based on the material covered in classes between January 28th and February 4th, inclusive. Students who are unable to take a quiz at the scheduled time due to a pre-excused absence should arrange to take the quiz at another time. Absences are generally pre-excused for school-sponsored activities, serious illnesses, and personal / family emergencies provided the student contacts the instructor before the class begins. Students who miss the quiz without being excused beforehand will not be able to make-up the quiz. Exams Two midterm examinations are scheduled during class time. The final exam will be held at the time scheduled by the university. The exams will consist of multiple choice questions, problems, and short essays based on assignments, lectures, and class discussions. The final exam will be cumulative and will emphasize the last portion of the class. Students unable to take an exam at the designated time must make contact the instructor before the exam and make alternative arrangements. Accommodations for Students with Disabilities A student with a documented disability requiring accommodations for this class should meet with the director of Disability Services (303-458-4941). Following the meeting the student should make an appointment with me to discuss the accommodation request. Students are encouraged to self-disclose and request special arrangements as soon as possible because accommodations are not provided retroactively and adequate lead-time is required. Grades In the determination of grades, the following weighting will be used: First midterm examination 20% Second midterm examination 20% Final examination 20% Quizzes 10% Worksheets 10% Article essays 10% Attendance and participation 10% Worksheets and article essays will be collected independently, each on a random basis. Please note that on some days both a worksheet and an essay are due. Late assignments will not be accepted. If a student fails to submit either a worksheet or an essay due to a pre-excused absence, that assignment will be dropped in the determination of the final grade. Otherwise, missed assignments count as a zero. 3 In determining the quiz average, the lowest quiz grade will be dropped. A missed quiz, for which no prior arrangements have been made, counts as a zero. Attendance will be taken at the beginning of each class. Students who arrive to class after attendance is taken will be marked absent. Academic Integrity Students are expected to maintain high standards of academic integrity in this class. Cheating on a quiz or an exam is a serious violation of these standards. Cheating includes providing or obtaining confidential information about a quiz or an exam to/from another student in Microeconomics. Plagiarism is presenting work done by someone else as one’s own. Submitting an assignment done by someone else or copied from someone else is a serious violation of academic integrity. Plagiarism also includes copying or paraphrasing written material without proper attribution. For essays, the heading (with title and source of the article) and quotation marks (for direct quotations) provide sufficient attribution. For other assignments, students should clearly distinguish their own ideas from the ideas of someone else. Students who violate integrity standards are likely to lose credit for the quiz, exam, or assignment. Students with a serious violation (or more than one violation) will likely fail the course. 4 EC 330 – Principles of Microeconomics Spring Term 2006 Schedule of Assignments Monday 1/14/08 Introduction Wednesday 1/16/08 Introduction: The Ordinary Business of Life Chapter 1: Individual Choice READING pp. 1-11 Friday 1/18/08 Chapter 1: How Economies Work READING pp. 11-17 Wednesday 1/23/08 Chapter 2: Economic Models & Graphing READING pp. 20-22, 34-37, 41-49 Friday 1/25/08 Chapter 2: Interpreting Graphs READING pp. 49-53 Monday 1/28/08 Chapter 3: Supply and Demand Curves READING Quiz #1 pp. 56-71 Wednesday 1/30/08 Pollution and Negative Externalities Chapter 3: Changes in Supply and Demand READING pp.458-459; pp. 72-78 Friday 2/1/08 Chapter 3: Supply and Demand (continued) ARTICLE “Capturing Talent.” The Economist, August 18, 2007, p.59-61. Discuss changes in the demand for skilled labor in Asia. Discuss changes in the supply of skilled labor in Asia. What impact have these changes had on the quantity and price of skilled labor. Illustrate these changes with a graph. 5 Monday 2/4/08 Chapter 4: Government Price Controls READING pp. 83-94 Wednesday 2/6/08 Chapter 4: Quantity Controls and Excise Taxes READING Quiz #2 pp. 95-104 Friday 2/8/08 No class – Instructor out of town Monday 2/11/08 Chapter 5: Price Elasticity of Demand READING pp. 109-121 ARTICLE “The Great Manhattan Rip-Off.” Economist, June 7, 2003, p.25-26 What are the reasons for rent control? What are the problems with rent control? Relate your discussion to issues raised in Chapter 4. (You may want to illustrate your discussion with a graph.) Wednesday 2/13/08 Chapter 5: Other Elasticities READING pp. 121-130 Friday 2/15/08 Chapter 6: Consumer and Producer Surplus READING pp. 135-146 Monday 2/18/08 Chapter 6: Market Efficiency READING pp. 147-156 Wednesday 2/20/08 Review for Midterm Exam #1 Friday 2/22/08 Midterm Exam #1 6 Monday 2/25/08 Chapter 10: Maximizing Utility READING pp. 230-241 Wednesday 2/27/08 Chapter 10: Utility and Demand READING pp. 241-249 ARTICLE “All Jammed Up.” The Economist, September 5, 1998, pp.3-5. Summarize and critique Marc Levinson’s assessment of traffic jams. What are your agreements and disagreements with his assessment. Include in your discussion the concepts of utility and income elasticity. Friday 2/29/08 Chapter 7: Accounting Profit versus Economic Profit Chapter 8: Production Costs READING pp. 162- top of 164, 181-194 Monday 3/10/08 Chapter 8: Short-Run and Long-Run Costs READING pp. 194-202 Wednesday 3/12/08 Chapter 9: Perfect Competition READING Quiz #3 pp. 206-220 Friday 3/14/08 Chapter 9: The Industry Supply Curve READING pp. 221-226 Monday 3/17/08 Chapter 9: Perfect Competition (continued) ARTICLE “Modifying Moore’s Law.” Economist, May 10, 2003, pp.5-6. Describe which products and services are becoming like commodities in the computer industry. Why has this happened and how is this related to Moore’s Law? What impact has commoditization had on the computer industry? (You may want to illustrate your discussion with a graph.) Describe why some computer products and services are not like commodities. 7 Wednesday 3/19/08 Chapter 14: Monopoly READING pp. 333-347 Monday 3/24/08 Chapter 14: Monopoly and Public Policy READING pp. 347-358 Wednesday 3/26/08 Chapter 15: Oligopoly READING Quiz #4 pp. 363-373 Friday 3/28/08 Chapter 15: Oligopolies in Practice READING pp. 373-384 Monday 3/31/08 Chapter 15: Oligopoly (continued) ARTICLE “World of Dealcraft.” Economist, December 8, 2007, pp.73-74. Describe why there is a move toward consolidation in the video-games industry. Compare and contrast the video-games industry with one other industry that has seen similar consolidation. Wednesday 4/2/08 Chapter 16: Monopolistic Competition READING pp. 388-398 Friday 4/4/08 Chapter 16: Product Differentiation READING pp. 398-403 Monday 4/7/08 Chapter 18: Private Information READING pp. 446-450 Wednesday 4/9/08 Review for Midterm Exam #2 8 Friday 4/11/08 Midterm Exam #2 Monday 4/14/08 Chapter 19: The Economics of Pollution READING pp. 455-466 Wednesday 4/16/08 Chapter 19: Production, Consumption, and Externalities READING pp. 466-471 Friday 4/18/08 Chapter 20: Public Goods READING pp. 475-484 ARTICLE “Games People Play.” Economist, January 22, 2005, pp.75-76. Describe the three groups of people identified in the article: co-operators, free-riders, and reciprocators. Explain how these three type of people might interact in one particular situation with a free-rider problem. Examples of situations with free-rider problems are group projects at school; private roads in need of snow plowing in a small, mountain town; and public radio broadcasts. Monday 4/21/08 Chapter 20: Common Resources READING Quiz #5 pp. 484-489 Wednesday 4/23/08 Chapter 21: Tax Policy READING pp. 493-503 Friday 4/25/08 Review for Final Exam Monday 4/28/08 10:10 am – 12:10 pm Final Exam 9