Prof. Oana Tocoian
Bauer Center 111
Telephone: (909) 918 6262
Email: otocoian@cmc.edu
Course Lecture Room, Time
Econ 101, section 4 BC 34, MW 1:15-2:30pm
Econ 101, section 5 BC 34, MW 2:45-4:00pm
Office Hours and Tutor Sessions
Final Exam
Thursday, May 14 th
2pm, Davidson Hall
Professor office hours will be in Bauer 111 on Mondays at 4-6pm, or by appointment.
The tutor for the class is Alexandra Arnett – she will hold sessions most Tuesday nights at 8pm in Bauer Center 24 ( not the same room as lecture). In addition, tutor sessions will be held on Tuesday night before exams (place TBD).
Textbook
Besanko, David and Ronal R. Braeutigam, Microeconomics, 4 th
Edition (other editions also work). Two copies are available on reserve at Honnold/Mudd.
Course Website
All course materials will be posted on Sakai ( http://sakai.claremont.edu
), mainly in the
Resources section. I will typically bring printed lecture notes to class – these will be partially incomplete, for you to fill in.
Course Description
This course will provide students with a deeper understanding of the fundamental concepts of microeconomic analysis. We will study topics such as consumer and producer theory, markets with different structures (e.g. perfectly competitive markets, monopoly, oligopoly), and market failures (e.g. externalities and public goods, asymmetric information). Throughout the course, we will emphasize analytical tools and real world applications to complement the intuitive understanding of the subject.
Prerequisites
Econ 50 and some calculus.
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Learning Objectives
At the completion of this course, students will be able to:

Solve the consumer's utility maximization problem to derive demand.

Solve the firm's cost minimization problem to derive input demands and compute the cost function.

Use the cost function to solve the perfectly competitive firm's profit maximization problem and derive supply.

Evaluate the impacts of changes in exogenous variables on the optimal behavior of consumers and firms and the resulting impacts on utility and profits.

Assess and quantify the impacts of public policies on competitive markets.

Evaluate the implications of departures from perfect competition, such as markets with externalities, public goods, monopolies, or imperfect competition.

Use the fundamental tools of microeconomic analysis to understand some of the most important microeconomic issues of our time.
Grading Criteria
9 Problem Sets + Class Participation
2 Midterms
Final Exam
Problem sets
25%
40%
35%
(2 x 20%)
9 (nine) problem sets will be assigned throughout the semester, and will typically be due at the beginning of Wednesday’s lecture. Late assignments will receive half-credit if they are uploaded on Sakai within 48 hours of the deadline, and no credit after that – this is so that I can post answers in a timely manner.
Since the goal of the problem sets is not to test you, but rather to help you absorb the material and prepare for exams, they will be graded generously: you will get the maximum of 3 points for making a good effort at solving all the problems, even if there are a couple of minor mistakes. If you skip some problems, make significant mistakes, or fail to show your work, you will receive 1 or 2 points. Very poor answers will get a 0.
You may work together on assignments and form study groups; however, you must each write down your own answers and be prepared to present them in class if called upon.
Participation
The participation part of the grade will account for 3 to 5% of your final score. It will be determined based on your active presence in class. Stay engaged, ask questions if anything is unclear, suggest answers to open questions I pose, read the textbook and any additional articles I assign.
Exams
There will be two midterms and a final exam, all consisting of problem solving and short answer questions. The final exam will be cumulative. There will be no makeup exams: if
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you have to miss a midterm for a reason I deem valid, I will add the weight of that midterm to the final.
Finally, I reserve the right to recalculate test scores (i.e. curve them) if I deem it appropriate—this can only help you.
Course Schedule
Below is the tentative list of topics we will cover this semester, with the corresponding chapters from Besanko and Braeutigam, 4 th
edition. It is hard to predict exactly how much time we will spend on each topic, so the schedule is subject to change. However, midterm dates are fixed , so please let me know as soon as possible if you have a conflict.
Lec Date Topic
1 Wed, Jan 21 st
Introduction (Ch1), Math Review
2 Mon, Jan 26 th
Demand, Supply and Market equilibrium (Ch 2.1)
3 Wed, Jan 28 th
Elasticities (Ch 2.2-2.4)
Fri, Jan 30 th
Problem Set 1 due
Week #
Week 1
Week 2
CONSUMER THEORY
4 Mon, Feb 2 nd
Consumer preferences (Ch 3), part 1
5 Wed, Feb 4 th Consumer preferences (Ch 3), cont’d
6 Mon, Feb 9 th
Optimal choice (Ch 4)
7 Wed, Feb 11 th
Problem Set 2 due
Optimal choice (Ch 4), cont’d,
Composite goods (Ch 4.3)
8 Mon, Feb 16 th
Consumer demand (Ch 5) 5.1-5.2
9 Wed, Feb 18 th
Problem Set 3 due
Consumer demand (Ch 5), cont’d
10 Mon, Feb 23 rd
Labor-leisure, social transfers (Ch 5.5)
Week 3
Week 4
Week 5
Week 6
PRODUCER THEORY AND PERFECT COMPETITION
11 Wed, Feb 25 th
Problem Set 4 due, post PS 4A
Production functions (Ch 6)
12 Mon, Mar 2 nd
Costs (Ch 7), post Midterm review
13 Wed, Mar 4 th
Midterm 1
14 Mon, Mar 9 th Costs (Ch 7), cont’d
15 Wed, Mar 11 th
Cost functions (Ch 8)
Thu, Mar 12 th
Last day to drop
[Spring Break]
16 Mon, Mar 23 rd
Perfect competition (Ch 9), part 1
Week 6
Week 7
Week 8
Week 9
Week 10
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17 Wed, Mar 25 th
Perfect competition (Ch 9), part 2
PS 5 due
DEPARTURES FROM PERFECT COMPETITION
18 Mon, Mar 30 th
Public policies – excise taxes and subsidies, production quotas (Ch 10.1, 10.3)
19 Wed. Apr 1 st
Public policies – trade interventions (Ch 10.5)
PS 6 due
20 Mon, Apr 6 th
Monopoly (Ch 11)
21 Wed, Apr 8 th
Monopoly price discrimination (Ch 12)
PS 7 due, PS 7A out
22 Mon, Apr 13 th
Bertrand and Cournot oligopolies (Ch13.1.-13.2), post Midterm review
23 Wed, Apr 15 th
Midterm 2
25 Mon, Apr 20 th Oligopolies, cont’d
26 Wed, Apr 22 nd
Introduction to game theory (Ch 14.1)
27 Mon, Apr 27 th
Lotteries, risk preferences and insurance (Ch
15.1-15.3)
28 Wed, Apr 29 th
Externalities + Public goods (ch17)
PS 8 due
29 Mon, May 4 th
TBD
Wed, May 6 th
Review for Final
PS 9 due, PS 9A out
Regulatory compliance
Week 11
Week 12
Week 13
Week 14
Week 15
Week 16
If you have any problems with the terms of this syllabus due to a disability, please let me know within the first two weeks of class.
Please be aware that any incidence of academic dishonesty, such as plagiarism and cheating, will be taken very seriously. All cases will be reported to the Academic
Standards Committee immediately.
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