Elsah, Illinois
Economics 203
Spring, 2016
This class meets: Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, 8:00 – 8:50 am and 10:00 – 10:50 am in SG 205
Catalogue Description : An introduction to economics with special emphasis on microeconomic concepts. These focus on decision-making by individuals and organizations such as firms, government departments, and supra-national organizations. Students develop economic perspectives on a wide variety of topics--examples include the minimum wage, environmental legislation, Social Welfare policy, and entrepreneurship. First course in the Business Administration and Economics majors' sequence.
Prerequisites: None
Amount of Credit: 3 Semester hours; this course does not fulfill a GESS requirement
Instructor : Tom Davidson
Office: Room 252 of the School of Government
Office hours: M - TH 10:00 am – 11:00 am and 12:00 noon – 2:00 pm
(appointment preferred)
Office telephone: extension 5234; Home telephone: (314) 420-0276
E-Mail: tom.davidson@principia.edu
Required Text: N. Gregory Mankiw, Principles of Economics , 6th Edition, South-Western, 2011
(Recommended for students who plan to take both Econ 203 and Econ 204)
ISBN-10: 0538453052 | ISBN-13: 978-0538453059
Cost: New on Amazon from $61.84
Or
N. Gregory Mankiw, Principles of Microeconomics , 6th Edition, South-Western, 2011
(Recommended for students who do not plan to take Econ 204)
ISBN-10: 0538453044 | ISBN-13: 978-0538453042
Cost: New on Amazon from $55.00
Students will need a copy of the textbook in time to do an assignment for the second class session .
Goals: Microeconomics relates to individual decision-making, and is about people doing the best with what they've got. So you will learn about the sorts of things people do when they make decisions-decisions about what to do this afternoon, about getting married, for whom to vote, what price to charge for your artwork, how many acres to plant to soybeans, and we will consider answers to questions such as: why do stores have coupon promotions, and why do farmers sometimes waste water in dry country.
If you're in government, or in journalism, and you wish to deal wisely with pollution, Microeconomics is a good place to start, because it focuses on the human beings who actually do the polluting. In short,
Microeconomic principles are useful in our attempts to better understand why people do the things they do, and helps lead us to wiser public policy.
Economics major learning outcomes: An economics major who walks across the stage at graduation will be able to:
1.
Illustrate and explain principle economic theories
2.
Correctly apply principle economic theories in a broad range of circumstances
3.
Appraise alternative perspectives on key economic issues
4.
Create effective written and oral communications

Course learning outcomes: Econ 203 is designed to help students attain outcomes 1 & 2 above by learning the following economic concepts and how to apply them in economic situations:

Markets (supply, demand, and equilibrium)


Elasticity
Benefits of Trade
 A firm’s costs (including the concept of opportunity cost)
 A firm’s profitability and how it is impacted by its market structure (competitive, monopoly, oligopoly, etc.)

Basic concepts of international trade

Externalities
Attendance Policy
Class attendance is not required, but strongly encouraged. You will be responsible for all material covered in class as well as in the textbook.
Academic Honesty and collaboration: Plagiarism is theft, and will result in an F for the assignment.
Repeated transgressions of this rule will result in an F for the Course. Collaboration between students in preparation for written assignments is encouraged, but the execution of the assignments must be the work of the individual concerned.
Policy on laptops/cell phones/smart phones
You should leave cell phones and smart phones in your book bag or purse, their use is not permitted in class.
Laptops are permitted for taking notes in class or for using an on-line text book. They may not be used for surfing the net, playing games, doing email, etc. If the instructor feels you are not using your laptop constructively, you will be required to close it and will lose the privilege of using it in class for the remainder of the term.
Make-ups for exams:

Exams missed due to official school activities (such as athletic games or meets, field trips, etc.) may be made up if the student has arranged with the instructor at least 24 hours in advance of the missed class.
 Exams missed due to illness may be made up if the student’s RC has reported him/her on the Cox in-list for that day. It is the student’s responsibility to notify the instructor that he/she is on the inlist.

There are no opportunities for make-up assignments to offset poor performance on an exam or assignment.

.
The instructor reserves the right to make changes to this published syllabus if it is in the best interest of the educational development of the class.
Grading
Class participation*
Quizzes
Exam #1
Exam #2
Exam #3
Article Reviews
Final
10%
10%
20%
15%
20%
10%
15%
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Daily Level of Participation
-Late for class
- Absent,
*Class Participation Grade
Pts. Class Participation Grade for Term Pts. Req.
-Present, prepared, informed answers
-Present, prepared, acceptable answers
1.0
.8
-Present and attentive, do not participate .65
-Present, but unprepared or not attentive .2
-.2
.0
A
B
C
D
F
26.9
24.2
20.8
17.4
14.7 or less
Course Expectations
I am a firm believer in mutual expectations. As your professor, you can expect the following from me:

You will be treated with respect
 Class will start promptly and I will be prepared for each day’s lesson



A deep respect for honest hard work
A fair evaluation based on your ability to
Investment in your growth and demonstrate faith in your potential
knowledge of course content
, demonstrated by my upholding of standards consistent with the field of economics

Availability outside of class for course related issues or mentoring
My expectations for students:

A similar level of preparedness from you

That you to arrive on time and are respectful of the needs of everyone in our class

That you complete the homework assignments so necessary for success on exams o You will be held accountable for learning through your performance on exams. The incentive for you to do homework and prepare adequately for exams rests with you. o You must direct your own learning process and take responsibility for your success. In addition, you should know that evaluations (e.g., tests) are based on new knowledge acquired through course content (as opposed to personal beliefs/experiences or common knowledge).

That you monitor your own learning (i.e. raise questions about confusing topics in class or promptly with me outside of class)
Overall, I believe the content you learn in this class will contribute to your development as students, professionals, and citizens, which is why I take my responsibility seriously and expect you to do the same.
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