ECON 1110: INTRODUCTORY MICROECONOMICS
FALL 2015 COURSE SYLLABUS
Professor Richard V. Burkhauser
Office: 259 MVR Hall
Email: rvb1@cornell.edu
Administrative Assistant: Tom Rushmer
Phone: 607-255-2577
Class Time: MW 9:05 – 9:55 a.m.
Classroom: Kennedy 116
Office Hours: MW after class – 11:30 a.m.
and by appointment
Email: tsr33@cornell.edu
Academic Accommodations:
Students with disabilities are entitled to equal access in all university programs and activities.
Students with disabilities should work with Student Disability Services (SDS) (
) to determine their best strategies for insuring access. The SDS website is (
).
SDS will provide you with an accommodation letter that will enable me to work out with you the logistics of appropriate academic accommodations. Once you have your letter, either make an appointment with me to talk about your requirements or just speak to me after class. Please do so as soon as possible but no later than two weeks before the first exam.
The Course:
This is a course in microeconomics. The subject matter is how the wealth of nations is created and distributed. The course first focuses on gains from trade and how those gains are maximized in perfectly competitive markets for products (goods and services) and for factors (land, labor, and capital) used in their production. During this discussion you will learn how prices are determined in the product market; how rents, wages and the return to capital are determined in the factor market; how these prices and markets are interconnected; and why the search for profits by entrepreneurs, which are ephemeral, is the engine of change in such a system.
With an understanding of how wages are determined, we will then discuss why all wages are not equal and the role discrimination against women and minorities plays in creating this inequality.
This will bring us to the role government plays in market economies. We will discuss the policy trade-off between market efficiency and a fairer distribution of income that occurs when government intervenes in competitive markets (e.g. minimum wage laws, rent control, income taxes). We will then discuss when competitive markets fail to efficiently allocate resources to their highest valued use—externalities (e.g. pollution, literacy of children)—and the role of government policy in such cases. Finally, we will discuss the role of government when market power leads to market outcomes that are not efficient—Monopoly, Monopsony, and Oligopoly—and profits that are not ephemeral.
Course Web Site:
All lectures, announcements, readings, experiments and grades will be posted on the course web site.
The course web site is hosted on Aplia’s system ( http://www.aplia.com/ ). The access key for the course is
, which you will need to enter the first time you access the course website. Be sure to regularly check the web site for announcements and class material.

All assignments will be posted on Blackboard ( http://www.blackboard.cornell.edu/ ). You will complete and submit all assignments via the Blackboard website. Your assignments will be automatically graded, and then uploaded to the Aplia Grade book within 48 hours. Each assignment should be completed prior to the date for the assignment in the online course calendar.
Course Materials:
Textbook
The required textbook for this course is the eBook version of Gregory Mankiw’s Principles of
Microeconomics , 7th edition published by Thomson/Southwestern. It is available as part of the required Aplia package that will allow you to access the Aplia system. If you would like to purchase the physical version of this textbook you are free to do so either as a standalone purchase or as part of a bundled purchase that also includes access to the Aplia package. All of these purchases can be made at the Cornell Bookstore or Kraftee’s or you can purchase them on-line directly from Aplia,
( http://www.aplia.com/ ). Access to Blackboard is free to all Cornell students. Older editions of
Mankiw are much less expensive and are close substitutes for the 7 th
edition. But you must purchase the access card to the Aplia system whether or not you purchase a physical version of the Mankiw textbook. iClicker
You also are required to have an iClicker Response Card for this course. New and used iClickers are available via the Bookstore or Kraftee’s or can be purchased on-line. Class presentations are designed to allow your real time class participation via clickers. This participation will include among other things, using your iClicker to submit a for-credit answer to a daily question from a current or recent problem set at the beginning of class as well as not-for-credit answers to questions that will allow me in real time to monitor understanding of the subject matter presented in class.

Course Objectives:
This course serves multiple purposes: (1) to improve students’ understanding of markets and how they work; (2) to show students how to apply the principles of economics to everyday problems; (3) to prepare students for upper level courses in business, economics and policy analysis; and (4) to familiarize students with standard economic methodology and the type and intensity of analysis that competent economic evaluation requires. The course is required of all economics majors, although the majority of students in this class are non-economics majors. Non-economics majors are at no disadvantage since at the start of the class everyone should have a common background in economics.
Grading Schedule:
There will be two preliminary exams, ten problem sets and two graded experiments, a daily in-class for-credit quiz via clicker response and a final examination:
Preliminary Exam 1 (Thursday, October 8, 7:30 – 9:30 p.m.) 25.0%
Preliminary Exam 2 (Thursday, November 5, 7:30 – 9:30 p.m.) 25.0%
Final Exam (Monday, December 14, 9 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.
25.0%
Problem Sets and Experiment
Daily In-Class Quiz via Clicker response
Total
20.0%
5.0%
100.0%
Problem Sets:
There are 10 problem sets in the course, which will be available on the Blackboard web site. A weighted average of the problem sets and the experiments will be calculated to determine the overall problem set grade. Each student is required to work independently on the problem set questions. The problem sets will be available on the Blackboard web site.
The problem sets provide an interactive learning experience. When you take a given problem set, a set of questions will be generated randomly from a large bank of relevant questions. Once you complete your problem set and submit your answers, they will be graded by the computer, and you will see your score as well as your answer and the correct answer. If you are unsatisfied with your score, you can generate a new version of the problem set and try again. You are allowed unlimited attempts to answer these problem sets. Your highest score will be used to calculate your grade.
Problem sets will automatically become available on Blackboard for your use over the periods listed in the table below. You will not be able to work on a problem set once its available time period has expired. If you attempt a problem set but do not submit it before the deadline, that problem set response will be marked incomplete, and you will receive zero credit for it. I urge you to make a hard-copy of your final score for your records. In the absence of such a hard copy, the database record will determine your grade.

On the Aplia website there are ungraded problem sets if you would like to do additional practice problems. The first, Introduction to Using Aplia Assignments, demonstrates the types of questions you will see in problem sets and how to use the Aplia system to submit answers to each type of question. The second, Math and Graphing Assessment with Tutorial, provides instruction on math and graphing skills that will be used throughout the course. There are then sets of questions for each chapter. Unlike graded problem sets which are only available until the specified deadline, these will be available online for the duration of the course for you to work on at any point if needed.
_______________________________________________________________________________
Problem
Sets Due Date
1 September 08
2 September 15
3 September 22
4 September 29
5 October 06
6 October 20
7 October 27
8 November 3
9 November 17
10 November 24
Chapters
20, 2
3, 4
5, 6
7, 8
10
13
14
18
19, 15
17
Available Online
From
Sept. 02 (9:00 AM)
To _
Sept. 9 (3:00 AM)
Sept. 09 (9:00 AM)
Sept. 16 (9:00 AM)
Sept. 23 (9:00 AM)
Sept. 30 (9:00 AM)
Oct. 09 (9:00 AM)
Oct. 21 (9:00 AM)
Oct. 28 (9:00 AM)
Nov. 06 (9:00 AM)
Nov. 18 (9:00 AM)
Sept. 16 (3:00 AM)
Sept. 23 (3:00 AM)
Sept. 30 (3:00 AM)
Oct. 07 (3:00 AM)
Oct. 21 (3:00 AM)
Oct. 28 (3:00 AM)
Nov. 04 (3:00 AM)
Nov. 18 (3:00 AM)
Nov. 25 (3:00 AM)
Economics Experiments:
There will be two online economics experiments. As part of the experiment assignment, you will complete a pre- and post-experiment assignment and participate in the experiment during one of the three offered sessions. The due dates for the pre- and post-experiment assignments and the experiment times are reported in the table below. Your overall grade for the experiments will include grades for the pre- and post-experiment assignments as well as a participation grade for taking part in one of the three sessions which will be held on September 15 th
and September 29 th
. If you have a conflict with all three experiment times, you should notify your TA as soon as possible, but no later than September 13 th
for the first experiment and September 28 th
for the second experiment, to discuss alternate arrangements.

_______________________________________________________________________________
Experiment (1)
Pre-experiment
Experiment Session 1
Experiment Session 2
Experiment Session 3
Post-experiment
Due Date
Available Online
From To_ ____ __
September 14
September 15
September 15
September 15
Sept. 8 (9:00 AM)
September 15 (7:30 PM to 8:45 PM)
September 15 (10:00 PM to 11:15 PM)
September 16 Sept. 10 (9:00 AM)
Sept. 15 (3:00 AM)
September 15 (3:00 PM to 4:15 PM)
Sept. 17 (3:00 AM)_
_______________________________________________________________________________
Available Online
Experiment (2)
Pre-experiment
Experiment Session 1
Experiment Session 2
Experiment Session 3
Post-experiment
Due Date
September 28
September 29
September 29
From
Sept. 22 (9:00 AM)
To_ ____ ____
Sept. 29 (3:00 AM)
September 29 (3:00 PM to 4:15 PM)
September 29 (7:30 PM to 8:45 PM)
September 29 September 29 (10:00 PM to 11:15 PM)
September 30 Sept. 24 (9:00 AM) Oct. 01 (3:00 AM)_
In-Class Quiz via Clicker Response:
Each class will begin with a review question from the test bank of questions used in your problem sets or from past clicker questions. You will have the first 90 seconds of class to answer this question using your clicker. However for those who require more time, the question will be available for you to review during the five minutes before class begins. Those not responding to this question will receive a zero for this assignment. No make-up quiz will be given. However, I will drop the lowest five quiz grades and substitute in their place your mean quiz grade. This should account for absences due to illness, family emergency, and involvement in university-sponsored events.
None of your other clicker responses will be used for grading purposes. Rather they are intended to give me, in real time, a sense of how well the class is mastering the concepts presented and to give you a sense of how well you are doing relative to the rest of the class. If you do not correctly respond to in-class questions you should discuss the question and the concept it is testing with your section leader or come to me immediately after class or during my office hours.
In the event you come to class without a clicker, a limited supply of clickers will be available for your use in that class. They can be obtained on a “first come, first serve” basis from a Teaching
Assistant (TA) in trade for your Cornell student ID, driver’s license or other form of identification.
At the end of the class, a reverse trade must occur. The maximum times a student can borrow a clicker over the semester is five.
Examinations:
Preliminary Exams 1 and 2 will consist of both multiple-choice questions and essay questions. Your essay answers should be concise and complete, focusing immediately on the essence of the question.
The Final Examination will cover new material but it will also be cumulative. It will be entirely multiple-choice.

Rules Concerning Preliminary Exams:
If you have an exam conflict and cannot avoid it, you can take Preliminary Exams 1 and 2 at 5:15 –
7:15 p.m. on the night of the announced preliminary exam, if you have obtained permission from my
COTA, Yuval Erez (ye32@cornell.edu), and do so as soon as possible, but no later than two weeks prior to the exam date.
Rules Concerning Makeup Exams:
If you miss an exam, you might qualify for a makeup. Make-up exams are conducted during the end of Finals Week in December. Reasons you might qualify for a makeup include:

Illness: You need official written medical documentation that you could not perform on the day of the exam.
 Family emergency: An official memo from the Dean’s office of your college will automatically inform all professors on your schedule.

Involvement in university-sponsored off-campus events: Examples include athletics, club activities, and so on: you will need to inform my COTA, Yuval Erez, of the impending conflict as soon as possible before the exam, and you will need to provide a note from your coach or the faculty advisor of your group. This is not an acceptable excuse if reported after the exam has been given.

Religious Obligation: All recognized days of religious observation of a faith to which you are devoted are acceptable excuses. You will need to inform my COTA, Yuval Erez, of the impending conflict as soon as possible before the exam. This is not an acceptable excuse if reported after the exam has been given.

Job interviews, family events, vacation and/or travel plans are not acceptable reasons to miss an exam.

Do not purchase a ticket for an airplane flight home that leaves before your final exam in this class. Doing so is not an acceptable excuse for missing the final exam.

An unexcused absence will result in a grade of F for the exam in question.

Reading Assignments:
You are responsible for reading the book chapters based on the schedule in this syllabus. The textbook provides a basic coverage of the material for the course. It is the basis for all the problem sets. But it covers only the minimum of what you are expected to know. My lectures will presume you have read the book and will focus on extending the material in the book. Class attendance is expected.
Class lectures will emphasize using your economic reasoning to answer economics problems. Hence some material in the reading assignments will not be covered explicitly in class. This should not be interpreted as an indicator of its importance. Rather, scarce classroom time must be allocated judiciously, and, as you will learn in the class, should be devoted to those ideas for which classroom interpretation has the greatest incremental impact on your understanding. Thus, much of the institutional (factual) material that you can learn as easily from the book as from me is not covered in class, but remains an important part of the course.
Course Organization:
The course meets Mondays and Wednesdays at 9:05 a.m. in Kennedy Auditorium. I will begin on time. Your daily quiz via clicker response will be available to answer five minutes before class begins. You will have 90 seconds to answer it once class begins. If you are late for class you will not be able to answer the question and there are no make-ups.
My TAs will attend all classes. They will also hold sections and office hours. These times are posted on the class website. In addition, my COTA, Yuval Erez, has been designated in charge of administrative matters.
This is a three-credit course, yet there are only two hours of lecture. The third hour of credit comes from the weekly sections. Sections will be conducted by experienced graduate students and I will attend them at times. Sections review course material, present additional preliminary examination type questions, and help review for up-coming prelims. All your graded preliminary exams will be reviewed and handed back to you by your TA in section. Your attendance at your section is expected. Your TA also holds regular office hours. You are urged to take full advantage of your TA to both develop a better understanding of the course material and receive help with the problem sets or examination questions.
Office Hours:
My regular office hours are MW from after class to 11:30 a.m. In addition, I will remain after class to speak briefly with anyone who has a question. I am also happy to make time to see you, by appointment, outside of my office hours. To do so, see me after class or email me.
Teaching assistants’ office hours will be posted on the Blackboard web site.

Attendance:
Attendance is required for all examinations. Attendance is expected both at the lectures and at your section. I will not take attendance but if you miss a class you will fail to receive credit for the daily quiz via clicker response. Students are responsible for being aware of any and all announcements of dates, requirements, etc., that are made during these times.
Cornell Code of Academic Integrity:
The University Faculty Senate has developed a Code of Academic Integrity that governs all student academic undertakings. Absolute integrity is expected of every Cornell student. A Cornell student’s submission of work for academic credit indicates that the work is the student’s own.
This includes problems sets, experiments, and clicker questions as well as exams.
All outside assistance shall be acknowledged. For the specifics of this code of conduct, see: http://cuinfo.cornell.edu/Academic/AIC.html
Finally, note that

CLASS ASSIGNMENT SCHEDULE
Lecture
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
Date
August 26
August 31
September 02
September 07
September 09
September 14
September 16
September 21
September 23
September 28
September 30
October 05
October 07
October 08 (7:30 p.m. – 9:30 p.m.)
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
October 12
October 14
October 19
October 21
October 26
October 28
November 02
November 04
November 05 (7:30 p.m. – 9:30 p.m.)
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.
26.
December 05 – 08
November 9
November 11
November 16
November 18
November 23
November 25
November 30
December 02
December 14 (9 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.)
Chapter Assignments and Other Readings
01
20
02
Labor Day (No Class)
03
04
05
06
07
08
10
Court Cases
Review
Preliminary Exam 1
Fall Break (No Class)
13
13
14
14
18
18
Review
Preliminary Exam 2
19
15
15
17
17
Thanksgiving Break (No Class)
17
Review (Last Day of Class)
Study Period
Final Exam
Teaching Assistants in Econ 1110-1 (office hours to be announced)
Section Name Email
COTA Yuval Erez ye32@cornell.edu
210, 211 Sujan Lamichhane sl2563@cornell.edu
Hunter Blair 212, 213
214, 215
216, 217
218, 219
Donghwee Kwon
Amani Moin
Yu She hfb28@cornell.edu dk669@cornell.edu
aum4@cornell.edu ys693@cornell.edu