ECONOMICS 212
MICROECONOMIC PRINCIPLES
SPRING 2015
Instructor: Brian B. Young
Email:
Alternative email:
Office hours:
Twitter/Facebook:
Calendar:
Telephone: [602] 325.3274
brian.young@gccaz.edu
econometrics@email.com
Web: http://web.gccaz.edu/~bri2097936
By appointment in GCC O5 office building.
Please “follow” @GCCAZ_ECN212 and/or “like”
http://www.facebook.com/Ecn212AtGlendaleCcAz for important course
information and updates
There is a link to the Google Calendar for this class in the file depository.
Course description: This is a course about how the decisions of individual economic agents, e.g., consumers and
producers, affect price and output levels in specific markets for goods and services. The course covers topics
including how demand curves and supply curves are derived, how businesses decide what and how much to
produce, what type and what quantity of resources to use, and how industrial organization affects those
decisions. Microeconomic analysis includes the theory of consumer choice, price determination, resource
allocation and income distribution, non-competitive market structures such as monopoly and oligopoly; and the
effects of government regulation.
Required text: Principles of Microeconomics; Rittenberg, L. and Tregarthen, T.; Flat World Knowledge, 2011-0809. R & T is published under the Creative Commons license and is available free of charge at http://www.webbooks.com/eLibrary/NC/B0/B63/TOC.html. It is necessary, but not sufficient, to read the text to achieve success in
this course. Look on amazon.com, barnesandnoble.com, and cheapesttextbooks.com to find printed copies of the
text.
Attendance: Attendance is mandatory. Roll will be taken at the beginning of class. Students who miss roll will
be counted as absent. If a student stops attending and needs to drop the class, it is the responsibility of the
student to withdraw prior to the posted deadline. Failure to do so can result in a failing grade in the class.
Course outline:
[ Section I – Product Markets: Price, Quantity, and Efficiency ]
1) Introduction (Ch. 1)
a) Syllabus
b) Definitions and Graphing (Ch. 21)
2) The Global Economy and the Economic Problem (Ch. 1 and Ch. 2)
a) PPF
b) Comparative advantage, specialization, and gains from trade
3) Demand and Supply (Ch. 3)

a) Market Equilibrium
b) Price Rigidities (lecture)
4) Consumer Behavior

a) Elasticities of D & S (Ch. 5)
b) Consumer Choice and Demand (Ch. 7)
c) E & F of Markets (Ch. 6)
*** Exam #1 ***
[ Section 2 – Industrial Organization and Factor Markets ]
5) Business Behavior (Ch. 8)
6) Industrial Organization

a) Perfect Competition (Ch. 9)
b) Monopoly (Ch. 10)
c) Monopolistic Competition (Ch. 11)
d) Oligopoly (Ch. 11, cont.)
7) Antitrust Policy and Legislation (Ch. 16)
8) Factor Markets (Chs. 12 - 14)
*** Exam #2 ***
[ Section 3 – Market Failures and International Trade ]
9) Market Distortions
a) Price Distortions (lecture)
b) Taxes (lecture)
10) International Trade (Ch. 17)
11) International Finance (lecture and handouts)
12) Public Goods and Externalities (Ch. 15) **
13) Agricultural Policy (lecture) **
14) Expectations, Uncertainty, and Information (lecture) **
15) Environmental Economics (Ch. 18) **
16) Inequality and Poverty (Ch. 19) **
17) Socialist Economies in Transition (Ch. 20) **
*** Exam #3 ***
** = time permitting
 = most important sections
Course content may vary from this description to meet the needs of this particular class.
Grading: Grading will be based upon points earned on three exams. There will be two exams during the
semester and one final exam. Each exam, including the final, is worth 100 points. The final exam is not
comprehensive. Grades will be assigned as follows: A = 270 or more points; B = 240 to 269 points; C = 200 to 239
points; D = 150 to 199 points; Failing = < 150 points. In addition, a quiz will be given near the end of each class
period. Attendance and class participation will be considered in borderline cases.
Disclaimer: All provisions in this syllabus are subject to revision by the instructor. Such revisions, if any, will be
announced in class and on Twitter/Facebook. Exams will be announced at two class periods prior to the exam
date. It is the student’s responsibility to make note of all such announcements concerning syllabus revisions and
assignments, and, in case of absence or tardiness, to contact the instructor to determine if any such
announcements, revisions, or assignments were made while the student was absent from the class. GCC and the
instructor will make reasonable accommodations for persons with documented disabilities. Students should
notify the Disabled Student Resources Office and the instructor of any special needs. Disciplinary standards in
this course will be maintained as per the GCC Student Handbook. Phones must be turned off during the lecture
period.