Econ 2301: Principles of Microeconomics (4 credit units)
California State University, East Bay | Spring 2014
Online class (Content on Blackboard: bb.csueastbay.edu)
Professor: Brian Adams (email: brian.adams<at>csueastbay.edu, office phone 510-885-3986)
Office hours: In VBT 337, Monday 3:00pm-5:00pm, Thursday 6:00pm-7:00pm
Online using Blackboard Connect, by appointment
Course Description
Basic micro-economic concepts; introductory analysis of the determination of prices and output in different
market situations; public policy.
Prerequisites
Students must have sophomore standing and either credit for intermediate algebra or satisfactory score on
the Entry-Level Math (ELM) Test.
Textbook
The required textbook is Baumol, William J. and Alan S. Blinder. Microeconomics: Principles & Policy. 11th
edition. (ISBN: 978-0-324-58622-0)
Coursework and Course Organization
New material will be posted every week to the Course Materials folder on the class site in Blackboard
according to the schedule attached. Most weeks these materials will include a reading assignment from the
textbook, several video lectures, and a review quiz. The quiz can be retaken twice before its closing date. A
discussion board will be provided for students to work together on quiz problems.
Exams will be open note and open book. Exams can be taken at any time during an allotted period (3 May
to 13 May for the midterm, 7 June to 13 June for the final), but once accessed the exam must be completed
within 3 hours. The final exam will be cumulative, but with extra emphasis on the material covered after
the midterm. Further instruction will be given at the start of the week of each exam.
Grades
The coursework components will be weighted as follows:
Quizzes 7% each
Midterm exam 17%
Final exam 27%
Extra credit work will not be offered. Letter grades will be assigned by the following scale:
93.00%-100% A
77.00%-79.99% C+
90.00%-92.99% A73.00%-76.99% C
70.00%-72.99% C87.00%-89.99% B+
67.00%-69.99% D+
83.00%-86.99% B
60.00%-66.99% D
80.00%-82.99% B0% -59.99% F
Econ 2301 Syllabus | 2
Other policies
Academic honesty and cheating – In exams, communication with other students or any other form of cheating
will not be tolerated. Students may work together and discuss the weekly quizzes, but the exams must be
taken alone by the enrolled student. By enrolling in this class the student agrees to uphold the standards of
academic integrity described in the catalog at http://www.csueastbay.edu/ecat/current/i120grading.html#section12.
Disability accommodation – If you have a documented disability and wish to discuss academic
accommodations, please contact me as soon as possible. Students with disabilities needing accommodation
should speak with the Accessibility Services.
Emergencies - Information on what to do in an emergency situation (earthquake, electrical outage, fire,
extreme heat, severe storm, hazardous materials, terrorist attack) may be found at:
http://www.aba.csueastbay.edu/EHS/emergency_mgnt.htm. Please be familiar with these procedures.
Information on this page is updated as required. Please review the information on a regular basis.
Reposting – Please do not repost the course materials. Do not upload the video lectures or any other
materials to any outside service or website.
Course Learning Objectives
Upon successful completion of the course a student will be able to:
• Understand how households (demand) and businesses (supply) interact in various market structures to determine price and
quantity of a good produced.
• Understand the links between household behavior and the economic models of demand.
• Represent demand, in graphical form, including the downward slope of the demand curve and what shifts the demand curve.
• Understand the links between production costs and the economic models of supply.
• Represent supply, in graphical form, including the upward slope of the supply curve and what shifts the supply curve.
• Understand the efficiency and equity implications of market interference, including government policy.
• Understand how different degrees of competition in a market affect pricing and output.
• Apply economic reasoning to individual and firm behavior.
• Understand the meaning of marginal revenue and marginal cost and their relevance for firm profitability.
• Understand the major characteristics of different market structures and the implications for the behavior of the firm.
Learning Objectives for Social Science Area of the General Education requirement
1. Demonstrate, orally and in writing, recognition of the application of disciplinary concepts derived from at least three social or
behavioral sciences in the study of human behavior, individually and in society.
2. Demonstrate, orally and in writing, recognition of the inquiry methods used by at least one of the social or behavioral science
disciplines.
3. Demonstrate, orally and in writing, the ability to describe how human diversity and the diversity of human societies influence
our understanding of human behavior, individually and in societies, both local and global
4. Demonstrate, orally and in writing, some knowledge of the political, social, and/or economic institutions of a country other
than the United States.
5. Demonstrate, orally and in writing, the ability to describe major positions and contrasting arguments made on one or more
significant contemporary issue area confronting US society as applied to human behavior.
Econ 2301: Principles of Microeconomics
California State University, East Bay | Winter 2014 | Online course
Professor: Brian Adams
Course Schedule
Week Materials posted online Textbook chapters
Chapter 1: What Is Economics?
1
Monday, 31 March
Chapter 3: Fundamental Economic Problem: Scarcity and Choice
Chapter 4: Supply and Demand: An Initial Look
2
Saturday, 5 April
3
Saturday, 12 April
4
Saturday, 19 April
5
Saturday, 26 April
6
Saturday, 3 May
7
Saturday, 10 May
8
Saturday, 17 May
9
Saturday, 24 May
10
Saturday, 31 May
11
Saturday, 7 June
Chapter 5: Consumer Choice
Chapter 6: Demand and Elasticity
Chapter 7: Production, Inputs, and Costs
Chapter 8: Output, Price, and Profit
Chapter 10: The Firm and the Industry under Perfect Competition
Review
Chapter 11: Monopoly
Chapter 12: Between Competition and Monopoly
Chapter 14: The Case for Free Markets
Chapter 15: The Shortcomings of Free Markets
Chapter 13: Limiting Market Power
Chapter 17: Externalities, the Environment, and Natural
Resources
Chapter 20: Labor and Entrepreneurship
Chapter 21: Poverty, Inequality, and Discrimination
Review
Assignments
Discussion board
introduction
Due date (at noon)
Quiz A
Tuesday, 15 April
Quiz B
Tuesday, 22 April
Quiz C
Tuesday, 29 April
Quiz D
Tuesday, 6 May
Midterm exam
Tuesday, 13 May
Quiz E
Tuesday, 20 May
Quiz F
Tuesday, 27 May
Quiz G
Tuesday, 3 June
Quiz H
Tuesday, 10 June
Final exam
Friday, 13 June
Wednesday, 2 April