Economics 101
Principles of Microeconomics
Winter, 2015
Joseph Guse
463-8915; gusej@wlu.edu
home.wlu.edu/˜gusej/econ101
Office Hours: W, Th 9-11; Huntley 114
Course Description
Course Description Microeconomics is the study of individual economic agents such as households
and firms. This course will tell a story about how these agents come together in markets and the
role these markets play in the economy. We will ask how demand and supply come together under
ideal circumstances to determine prices in a competitive market. We will look at how some types
of government policies might change market outcomes. Finally we will learn about some of the
shortcomings of markets. By the end of this course, you should
• have some familiarity with the standard model of household decision making and what lies
behind a market demand curve,
• understand how economist think about the profit maximizing behaviour of firms and what
lies behind a market supply curve,
• be familiar with the market conditions necessary for competitive markets to efficiently
produce and allocate output,
• understand the efficiency and distributional impliciations of government policies such as
taxes and price controls, and
• understand why markets almost always “fail” at least to some degree and when government
intervention may be able to address these failures.
Readings
• Primary. Michael Parkin, Microeconomics, 10th edition. If you have a slightly older
edition, you’ll be fine. If have a newer edition, you’ll be fine as well. Just make sure that
you choose your reading by name of the topic - not the chapter number.
• Secondary. The Economists’ Voice, Berkeley Electronic Press, http://www.bepress.com/ev/.
This a journal with non-technical essays written by top economists on policy issues. I will
assign specific essays to read througout the term from this journal as well as occasional
newspaper articles.
Grading
Grades will be based on problem sets (20%), quizzes (20%), a midterm exam (30%), a final exam
(30%).
• Problem Sets (20%). You are encouraged to form study groups and work together on the
problem sets. However each student must turn in their own write-up. Homeworks will be
graded for effort and completion - not necessarily accuracy. You will be responsible for
checking the accuracy of your analysis against the answer keys.
• Quizzes (20%). We will have an (almost) daily quiz on the assigned reading. I will drop
your two lowest (or missed) quiz scores.
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• Exams (60%). Exams will be based on the readings, lectures and homeworks. The final
exam will be administered through the Williams School during exam week.
Topics and Readings
The following is a tentative list of topics we will do our best to cover in lecture. Whether or not
the class lectures and exercises las behind the syllabus, you remain responsible for the textbook
readings as scheduled on the syllabus. Chapter numbers are base on the 10th edition of Parkin.
Additional readings from other sources may be announced and assigned as time allows.
Week Topic
I. Introduction.
W) What is Economics.
F) The Economic Problem
II. An Initial Look at Markets
M) Demand and Supply
W) Demand and Supply
F) Elasticity
Homework 1 Due
Readings
Jan 12-16
Parkin, Ch 1
Parkin, Ch 2
Jan 19-23
Parkin, Ch 3.1 - 3.3
Parkin, Ch 3.4 - 3.5
Parkin Ch 4.1
III. An Initial Look at Markets (Cont) Jan 26 - 30
M) Elasticity
Parkin, Ch 4.2 - 4.3
W) Efficiency and Equity
Parkin Ch 5.1-5.2
F) Efficiency and Equity
Parkin Ch 5.3-5.4
Homework 2 Due
IV. Government Action in Markets
M) Price Ceilings and Floors
W) Taxes
F) Quotas and Subsidies
Homework 3 Due
V. Global Markets
M) Winners and Losers
W) Tariffs and Quotas
F) Review / Catch Up.
Homework 4 Due
VI. Public Goods
M) Public Choice
W) Public Good Provision
Thurs Evening Review Session
F) MIDTERM
FEB BREAK
Feb 2 - 6
Parkin, Ch 6.1-6.2
Parkin, Ch 6.3
Parkin Ch 6.4-6.5
Feb 9 - 13
Parkin, Ch 7.1-7.2
Parkin, Ch 7.3-7.4
Feb 16-20
Parkin, Ch 16.1
Parkin, Ch 16.2 - 16.3
Time & Place TBA
Feb 23-27
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Week Topic
VII. Economics of the Environment
M) Pollution
W) Common Resources
F) Tax V. Cap-n-Trade
Homework 5 Due
Readings
Mar 2-6
Parkin, Ch 17.1
Parkin, Ch 17.2
VIII. Demand in Depth
Mar 9 - 13
“Possibilities, Prefereces and Choices”
M) Budget Sets
Parkin, Ch 9.1
W) Prefereces
Parkin, Ch 9.2
F) SSA - No Class
IX. Household Decision Making
M) Choices
W) Labor Supply
F) Borrowing and Saving
Homework 6 Due
X. Supply in Depth
M) Uncertainty and Insurance
W) Organizing Production
F) NO CLASS
XI. Perfect Competition
W) Output and Costs
Homework 7 Due
W) Firm Supply
F) Long Run
Mar 16 - 20
Parkin, Ch 9.3
Parkin Ch 18.3
Ch 18 Math Note
Mar 23 - 25
Ch 20.1 - 20.2
Parkin, Ch 10
Mar 30 - Apr 3
Parkin, Ch 11
Parkin, Ch 12.1-12.2
Parkin, Ch 12.3-12.5
XII. Limited Competition
M) Monopoly
W) Monopolistic Competition
F) Oligopoly
Homework 8 Due
XIII. Finals Week
Sun Evening Review Session
Apr 6-10
Parkin, Ch 13
Parkin Ch 14
Parkin Ch 15
TBA
Office Hours Policy
(1) You are highly encouraged to drop by during my regular office hours to discuss economics
(broadly defined). Also please do not ask permission to do so. Just drop in; that’s what
office hours are for. You may not be alone, but usually everyone has the same questions
anyway.
(2) If you have a legitimate university sanctioned activity that conflicts with all regular office
hours time slots, then I am very happy to meet with you outside of office hours. Send me
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an email that explains your scheduling conflict and propose a few times that you can meet.
We’ll work it out. Keep in mind that I may not be able to satisfy requests for appointments
on short notice. Dont wait until the last minute!
(3) When you come to office hours with a question about a problem, come prepared. I expect
you to have completed all of the relevant reading assignments. I also expect you to have
already struggled with the problem and experienced some, though not too much, confusion
or frustration. Asking me about it before youve struggled will not lead to any real learning
about economics (the ultimate objective for the course).
Plagiarism Policy
Here is a brief definition from the University Catalog.
“Plagiarism describes the use of another’s words or ideas without proper acknowledgment. The students of Washington and Lee University have considered plagiarism a violation of the Honor System; therefore, all forms of plagiarism ... are taken
very seriously. Students at Washington and Lee must be aware of the nature of plagiarism. Plagiarism takes many forms, including the wholesale copying of phrases
or texts, or the use of ideas without indicating the source. Certain facts must also
be properly acknowledged. Examples of possible plagiarism can be found in the
Executive Committee’s Plagiarism Pamphlet.”
If you are unfamiliar with what constitutes plagiarism, see http://www2.wlu.edu/x48224.xml.
Specifically for this course, please keep the following common sense rules in mind.
(1) Exempted sources. You are fully expected to incorporate ideas from the following sources
into your work on homework assignements and exams.
• Your study group partners.
• Lecture and Office Hours.
• The primary textbook for the course.
While it is certainly good practice to acknowledge these sources and list names of your
study group partners on your assignments, I would not consider your failure to do so to be
an act of plagiarism that rises to the level of an honor violation.
(2) If you get an idea from any other source, you NEED to acknowledge it. Such sources would
include but not necessarily be limited to
• Other textbooks.
• On-line sources.
• People - other than me or your study group partners (such as tutors, your parents,
fraternity/sorority members, etc)
• Answer Keys. Past or present, from this course or others. While I will typically not
post answer keys until after the homework problems are due, past answer keys may be
circulating and in some cases people turning in their homeworks late will have access
to answer keys. I strongly discourage you from referring to an answer key when writing
up your answers. (You should read them later.) However if you do refer to an answer
key, it would be a CLEAR act of plagiarism and an honor violation to use it without
acknowledgement.
Let me be clear... If you use an outside source (other than the specifically exempted items
mentioned above) WITH acknowledgement, I may deduct points from your homework assignment,
but probably would not as long as that source wasn’t some kind of answer key. This could affect
your final grade, but overall have very little long term impact on your life. If you use an outside
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source (other than the specifically exempted items metnioned above) WITHOUT acknowledgement,
I will refer the case to the EC to prosecute as an honor violation. Please don’t. Thank you.