ECO 261- COURSE SYLLABUS
DR. REZA HAMZAEE
(Professor of Economics)
Missouri Western State University -- Department of Economics
Office: Popplewell Hall 208C - Office Phone: 271-4262 -- E-mail:
hamzaee@missouriwestern.edu
Spring 2009
Teaching & Office Hours
Schedule
COURSE
MONDAY
TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY
ECO 261
10:00-10:50
Sec. 01
ECO 261
6:30 – 9:20
Sec. 04
Office Hours*
11:00-12:00 11:00-12:00 11:00-12:00
ROOM/BLDG
. (place)
10:00-10:50 PH 205
10:00-10:50
PH 205
11:00-12:00
11:00-12:00 PH 208-C
*Or by
appointment
*If the above office hours may not match with your free time, make an appointment in advance.
TESTS AND FINAL EXAM DATES
COURSE
TEST (I)
TEST (II)
TEST (III)
TEST (IV) Final Exam
ECO 261 Sec 01 Wednesday, Feb. Monday, March Wednesday
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23
April 22
10:00-10:50
MWF
Monday, May 4, 8:30-10:20 a.m.
ECO 261 Sec 04 Monday,
February 9
6:30-9:20 M
Monday, May 4, 6:30 – 8:00pm
Monday, March Monday, April
23
27
Some Important Dates:
*Holidays:
Monday, January 19, 2009 (Martin Luther King Birthday)
Monday, February 16, 2009 (President’s Day)
Monday, March 6 thru Friday, March 13, 2009 (Spring Break)
*************************************************************************************************************
*Last Day of Classes: Monday, April 27, 2009
All tests including final exams will be given in the regular classrooms. All tests for
ECO 261 will be of multiple-choice type. Final exams for all classes will be
comprehensive covering the whole materials taught during the semester.
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1. Course: ECO 261
Principles of Microeconomics
2. The Required Textbook and Supplements:
Economics, Williams Boyes & Michael Melvin (henceforth: BM), 6th edition, 2005,
and the Study Guide.
3. Recommended (Not required) References:
i. Economics, Roger A. Arnold, 4th edition, 2005.
ii. The Economy Today, Bradley R. Schiller, 2005.
iii. The Wall Street Journal (Newspaper)
iv. U.S.A. Today, (Newspaper)
v. Business Week, (Magazine)
vi. U.S. News and the World Report (Magazine)
4. Computer Software: Do not buy! Computer simulation programs for ECO
216 is available at Business & Economics Computer Lab, PH 306, phone: 2714273, for your learning. I am expecting you to use them for your more success in
this class.
5. Additional Reading Materials:
 The class notes
 Reading Assignments (lists of questions provided by the instructor on
each covered chapter & designated materials) to lead you to study more
efficiently
 Occasional assignments on (external) hot issues.
6. Grading Policy:
Your grades will be determined competitively (i.e. will be curved) based on 3
tests, the final exam, and your class participation in the following manner:
 Test (I):
41 points
 Test (II):
41 points
 Test (III):
41 points
 Comprehensive Final Exam:
61 points
 Never-Absent Credit (bonus)
3 points
 Never-Late Credit (bonus)*
2 points


Correct answers to instructor's credit-designated lecture questions:
10 points (Max)
Class Participation:
10 points
Total possible for the course:
209 points
*Please note that if you are absent once, you’ll automatically lose the 5 points for being absent
and late simultaneously.
The final exam will be made on three parts of the course materials in the
following credit order:
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


15 credit points allocated to part one (covered for the first test)
15 credit points allocated to part two (materials assigned after test one
and up to the 2nd test)
31 credit points reserved for part three, i.e. the entire materials taught after
the 2nd test through the last day of classes.
7. Motivational Policy:
If you make 36 (90% of 40 - no curving on this) or higher on each single one of
the three tests and miss no classes at all, you will not have to take the final exam
and your grade for the course will be an "A" given that the date of the third test is
few days before the final exam, and that I won't cover new material for the final
exam. We review everything at the last designated class time. MY NEW
POLICY: The only other way, you can be exempt from the final exam with a
course grade of "A" is if you have three "A" grades on the curve, but you earn
full credit on everything else. That means that you would have to be never late,
never absent, and earn a maximum total of 10 points on correctly answering my
credit-designated questions during my lectures (1 point for each correct answer).
8. Class Attendance:
(I): Consulting with my statistical results as to the correlation between students'
grades and their participation, I am totally convinced that although class
participation is not a sufficient condition to do well in a class after all, it is certainly
a necessary condition. In one of my statistical surveys, I found that 90% of the
students who had not participated regularly in their corresponding classes, could
not earn any grades close to "C" or above it.
Since I really want to see all of you excel in this class, I have allocated 10 credit
points for your regular class participation. If you do not participate regularly, you
are not going to take any of the 10 points. Each student has a chance to miss up
to 4 classes (but not more) in a TTH class, and up to 5 (not more) in a MWF
class without being deprived of 10 points.
(II): Students have frequently told me sadly that "one will miss a lot on each
single test if one misses even one class." They are right; don't miss any class at
all unless you absolutely have to. 100% of my students who have just showed up
for the designated tests in a class and missed my lectures have always failed the
corresponding courses. Drop the course if you do not have the needed time to
attend the regular class sessions.
(III): What is considered as a class attendance is simply an effective attendance
with no napping and no disturbance of any other students' attention. Reading
materials, doing homework, or talking to peers are not allowed during the
professor's lecture. Students are required to arrive in class on time, and once
you decide to attend a class, you are kindly requested not to leave the class prior
to the end of the period. Students who attend a class only for a portion of the
period will lose the credit for that specific class time. Students are strongly
encouraged to alter alternative appointments, such as those with their dentists,
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lawyers, physicians, etc., to other times in which this class does not meet.
Remember you have an appointment with Dr. Hamzaee during the class time.
(IV): Guests Policy:
I will be happy to admit your guests in my classes for up to 3 times based on my
prior authorization. Guests are required to follow the regular class rules to avoid
any disturbance to other fellow students. Students are not allowed to bring any
babies to the class. A student's child whose behavior is under full control of the
student may be admitted based on my prior authorization well in advance of (not
at my arrival time in) that class.
9. An Example of Grading:
i. Suppose Mr. X earned the following scores:
Test (I): 32 from a max. of 41
Test (II): 24 from a max. of 41
Test (III): 27 from a max. of 41
Final Exam: 35 from a max. of 61
Correct answers during lecture: 2 of a max. of 10
Never-Absent Credit: 0 from 3
Never-Late Credit: 0 from 2
Participation: 10 from a max. of 10
Total: 130 from a max. of 209
ii. Suppose the competitive grade distribution turns out to be such that the "C"
range is 130 to 150. Then Mr. X's score would fit in the "C" range. What would
happen if he did not participate regularly? He would simply get 121 points
(instead of 131), which would not be a "C" anymore.
10. Test Make-up Policy:
Only under the following conditions (altogether) one can expect to take a makeup test:
 The student should have a very strong reason to deserve taking a makeup test, and
 The student should prove the credibility of the cause of missing the test
through official (and clear) proofs, and
 The student should have talked to the instructor before deciding to miss
any test, or else, it should be proved that it was impossible at the time to
let the instructor know about the potential reason.
** Calling the department and leaving a message for the instructor is not a
sufficient act for deserving a make-up test.
11. Seating:
Please choose a seat that you like and continue to sit there for the rest of the
semester. I will make a seating chart and take roll on a daily basis in order to
count class cuts and to learn as many of your names as possible. If someone is
sitting in "your" seat, please inform them of my seating chart or see me.
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12. Academic Honesty Policy and Due Process:
Academic honesty is required in all academic endeavors. Violations of academic
honesty include any instance of plagiarism, cheating, seeking credit for another’s
work, falsifying documents or academic records, or any other fraudulent activity.
Violations of academic honesty may result in a failing grade on the assignment,
failure in the course, or expulsion from the University. When a student’s grade
has been affected, violations of academic honesty will be reported to the Provost
or designated representative on the Academic Honesty Violation Report forms.
Please see the 2006-07 Student Handbook and Calendar on page 21 for specific
activities identified as violations of this policy and the student due process
procedure. This handbook is also available online at
http://www.missouriwestern.edu/handbood/index/pdf. According to the general
regulation, anyone caught cheating on a test will be given an automatic zero for
that test.
13. Course Objectives:
1. Learn economic concepts and terminology.
2. Enhance the comprehension of foundations of supply and demand.
3. Understand the optimization theory for a typical consumer, a typical firm, and a
typical society.
4. Understand the market, market forces, and various kinds of market structures.
5. Learn the choice theories
6. Learn the economics of factors of production.
7. Analyze different applied economic problems of the real world.
8. Making this economic course as interesting and enjoyable as it is in order to
maximize students' satisfaction in their economic choice of economics!
14. Students & Disability:
Any student in this course who has a disability that prevents the fullest
expression of abilities should contact me personally as soon as possible so that
we can discuss class requirements and accommodations. Also to best learn
about our available accommodations, and any necessary documentation and
paperwork, one is recommended to contact Ms. Lois Fox, Special Needs
Coordinator, at SSC 108, phone: 271-4330, E-Mail: fox@mwsc.edu.
15. Final Grades:
Due to the Privacy Act, grades will not be posted in the Dept. of Economics. The
Department Secretary and the other office staffs are not allowed to disclose
grades.
16. Cell Phones/Music Players:
No cell phones, pagers, musical instruments are supposed to be with students,
unless they are turned off and not used at all during the entire class period. Any
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violation will be subject to institutional policy provisions on the issue of class
disturbance.
Course Outline
I. Introduction and a Review of Supply-Demand :
**A. The Scope and Methodology - BM, ch. 1, 2 (Review)
B. Math Review: Working with Graphs, ch.1, pp. 16-23.
C. Market Foundation - BM, ch. 3 (Review)
II. Consumer Theory:
A. The Economics of Consumer Behavior - BM, ch. 21
B. Demand and Consumer Choice - BM, ch. 21
C. Elasticity: Demand Responsiveness - BM, ch. 20, and the instructor's lecture.
E. Determinants of Demand Elasticity - BM, ch. 20
F. Other Types of Elasticity - BM, ch. 20
G. Indifference Curves Analysis, ch. 21-Appendix
H. Outside Reading (will be assigned)
III. Firm Theory:
A. Price Elasticity of Supply - BM, ch. 20
B. The Firm Theory: Production and Costs- BM, ch. 22
C. The Costs of Production and Supply - BM, ch. 22
D. The Profit Maximization Theory - BM, ch. 23
D. The Economics of Pure Competition - BM, ch. 24
E. Theory of Monopoly - BM, ch. 25
F. The Economics Monopolistic Competition - BM, ch. 26
G. The Economics of Oligopoly - BM, ch. 26
H. Outside Reading (will be assigned)
I. The Economics of Factor Markets - BM, ch. 29
J. Labor Market: Earnings, Productivity, and Jobs - BM, ch. 30
K. Outside Reading (will be assigned)
L. Discrimination in Labor Employment - BM, ch. 30
IV. Reading in Microeconomics:
A. Outside Reading (will be assigned)
B. The Economics of Income Distribution and Poverty - BM, ch. 34
C. Environmental Policy & Natural Resources - BM, ch. 32.
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