LEWIS AND CLARK STATE COLLEGE ECON 202‐01: Principles/ Theory of Microeconomics Spring 2016 Activity Center West, Room 136 Monday and Wednesday 12:00PM ‐ 01:15PM Instructor: Billy Lemus, M.A. Office: TJH 107 Office Hours: Monday through Thursday 10:30AM – 11:30AM and Monday 1:30PM – 3:30PM, other times by appointment E‐mail: blemus@lcsc.edu Phone: 208‐792‐2793 General Education Competency Area: Social and Behavioral Ways of Knowing Course Materials: Hubbard, G.P. & A.P. O’Brien (2015). Economics, 5th edition, Pearson. Course Description and Learning Outcomes: This course will cover the basic theories and applications of Microeconomics. After taking this course, students should be able to analyze real‐world economic activity using the microeconomic framework. Among other things, the students will: 




Explain the concepts of scarcity of resources and opportunity costs. Examine consumer behavior and utility functions. Identify the goal of the firm and its production decisions in both the short and long run. Interpret demand and supply curves and describe the market price system. Compare the perfectly competitive market with its alternatives. Tips for succeeding in this class: 








Read the chapters before coming to class and be prepared to discuss them. Attend class. Lectures will reinforce what you’ve read in the chapters and will help you understand the material better. Ask questions in class. Chances are, someone else has the same question you do. Ask for help. I am here to help. I will respond to emails quickly and am available during office hours, so do not hesitate to reach out to me. I am here to help you succeed in the course. Take notes. Note taking is another great tool for reinforcing what you’ve read and heard in lecture. Read the newspaper, read online articles, and keep up with what is going on with the national and global economy. Study! The quizzes are used to help you gage your level of comprehension, if you have a hard time with a quiz it is a good indication you should study that topic more. Retake the quizzes if you do not do well. Not only will you have a chance to get the highest amount of points possible, you will also be reinforcing the chapter content you do know. Search for resources outside the classroom. Google! Grading: Quizzes: There will be 15 quizzes, one for each chapter, worth 7 points each. These will be available via Blackboard as soon as we start the chapter. You will be able to take the quiz up to three (3) times, and the highest score will be added to your total points. Quizzes cannot be made up (due dates are below). Quizzes account for about 20% of your total grade. Assignments: There will be 15 assignments, one for each chapter, worth 10 points each. I will drop your two lowest scores. This means that there will be no make‐up assignments, and no late HW will be accepted. Homework will be turned in via Blackboard. If time allows, we can go over some of the more challenging problems in class. Homework assignments will account for about 25% of your total grade. We will discuss the details of this assignment in class. Research Paper: A final research paper, worth 110 points, will be due May 2. You may choose any topic covered in class. The paper should be 8‐10 pages double spaced with at least four references. This assignment accounts for 20% of your total grade. Extra credit can be earned for presenting your findings. We will discuss the details of this assignment in class. Exams: You will have a midterm exam (March 7) and a final exam (May 11 @12:00PM). Both will be multiple choice and will be worth a total of 100 points each. Exams cannot be made‐up. If you have a legitimate reason for not being able to take the exam on the dates they are scheduled, I may be able work with you, but you MUST let me know beforehand. The exams will account for 35% of your grade. Extra credit: Aside from the extra credit offered for presenting your paper, no other extra credit will be accepted for this course. Grading Scale: Grade A A‐ B+ B B‐ C+ C C‐ D+ D F % 93‐100 90‐92 87‐89 83‐86 80‐82 77‐79 73‐76 70‐72 67‐69 60‐66 0‐59 Tentative Course Schedule: Week 1 Jan 18 Jan 20 Course Intro – Syllabus Chapter 1 Ch. 1 quiz due before next class Week 2 Jan 25
Chapter 2 Trade‐offs, Comparative Advantage and the Market System Ch.2 quiz due before next class Jan 27
Chapter 3 Where Prices Come From: The Interaction of Demand and Supply Week 3 Feb 1 Chapter 3 (cont) Ch.3 quiz due before next class Feb 3 Chapter 4 Economic Efficiency, Government Price Settings, and Taxes Week 4 Feb 8
Chapter 4 (cont) Ch.4 quiz due before next class Feb 10
Chapter 5 Externalities, Environmental Policy, and Public Goods Ch.5 quiz due before next class Week 5 Feb 15 President’s day Feb 17 Chapter 6 Elasticity: The Responsiveness of Demand and Supply Week 6 Feb 22 Chapter 6 (cont) Ch.6 quiz due before next class Feb 24 Chapter 8 Firms, the Stock Market and Corporate Governance Ch.8 quiz due before next class Week 7 Feb 29
Chapter 10 Consumer Choice and Behavioral Economics Mar 2
Midterm Review Week 8 Mar 7 MIDTERM Week 9 Mar 14 Chapter 11 Technology, Production, and Costs Mar 9 Chapter 10 (cont) Ch.10 quiz due before next class Mar 16 Chapter 11 (cont) Ch.11 quiz due before next class Week 10 Mar 21 Chapter 12 Firms in Perfectly Competitive Markets Week 11 Mar 28 Week 12 Mar 23 Chapter 12 (cont) Ch.12 quiz due before next class Mar 30 SPRING BREAK April 6
April 4
Chapter 13 (cont) Chapter 13 Ch.13 quiz due before next class Monopolistic Competition: The competitive Model in a More Realistic Setting Week 13 April 11 April 13 Chapter 15 Chapter 15 (cont) Monopoly and Antitrust Policy Ch.15 quiz due before next class Week 13 April 18 Chapter 16 Pricing Strategy April 25 Chapter 17 The Markets for Labor and Other Factors of Production April 20 Chapter 16 (cont) Ch.16 quiz due before next class April 27 Chapter 17 (cont) Ch.17 quiz due before next class Week 16 May 2 Chapter 18 Public Choice, Taxes, and the Distribution of Income Research Paper Due May 4 Review Ch.18 quiz due by 11:59 Sunday Week 17 May 9 No Class (Finals Week) May 11 FINAL 12:00PM Week 15 Component
Hours
A.
Accounting (ACT)
B.
Marketing (MKT)
0
C.
Finance (FIN)
1
D.
Management
1.
Management Principles (MGT)
0
2.
Organizational Behavior (OB)
0
3.
Human Resource Management (HRM)
0
4.
Operations Management (OM)
0
Total Management
E.
1.
Legal Environment of Business (LAW)
2.
Economics (ECN)
3.
Business Ethics (ETH)
1
40
0
41
Decision-Support Tools
1.
Information Systems (IS)
2.
Quantitative Methods/Statistics (QM)
Total Decision-Support Tools
G.
Global Dimensions of Business (GLOB)
H.
Integrative Experience (INT)
Total Contact Hours
0
Economic/Social/Legal Environment
Total Economic/Social/Legal Environment
F.
0.5
1
1
1.5
0
45