ECON 603a – Advanced Micro Theory
Ariaster B. Chimeli
Fall 2010
Ohio University
Department of Economics
ECON 603a: Advanced Micro Theory
COURSE SYLLABUS
Professor: Ariaster B. Chimeli
319 Bentley Hall Annex
chimeli@ohio.edu
Tel.: 593-9849
Classroom: 011 Bentley Hall
Office Hours:
M 11:10—12:00 pm
W 11:10—12:00 pm
Or by appointment
Class Meetings:
M,W 9:10am—11:00am
1. Course Objectives and Scope
Microeconomics studies the economic behavior of individual agents, such as consumers, households, firms
and the government. Microeconomics is the cornerstone of economic analysis and economic reasoning,
with applications in virtually every field of mainstream economics, so it is important that we look at this
topic carefully. In this course we will use math and graphical analysis to cover the building blocks of
microeconomic theory. It is therefore important that we understand the math, but it is even more important
that we understand the economics behind the math. This course focuses on consumer and production theory
as well as the analysis of competitive markets. These are important concepts and benchmarks that are used
in several empirical applications and that form a starting point for the analysis of other interesting
economic problems.
2. Text
Microeconomic Theory. Basic Principles and Extensions (10 th edition,) by Walter Nicholson and
Christopher Snyder.
3. Course Outline
Below is a tentative course outline. These are some important core concepts in microeconomics, but
instead of rushing through the material, I prefer to make sure you understand these core concepts well
before we can move on. Because of that, the outline below might be a bit ambitious, but I’ll do my best to
cover as many topics as possible.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Choice and demand (Chapters 3, 4, 5 and 6).
Uncertainty and information (Chapters 7).
Production and supply (Chapters 9, 10 and 11).
Competitive Markets (Chapter 12).
Monopoly (Chapters 12) (time permitting).
ECON 603a – Advanced Micro Theory
Ariaster B. Chimeli
Fall 2010
4. Grading
The course grade will be based on 3 equally weighted exams (30% each) and frequent homeworks (10%).
The approximate dates of the exams are listed below:
Exam 1: chapters 3, 4 and 5 – week 5.
Exam 2: chapters 6 and 7 – week 8.
Exam 3: chapters 9, 10, 11, and 12 – final exam (Wednesday, November 17 at 8:00 am).
Homeworks are very important to your success in this course.
5. Academic Integrity
Cheating is a serious problem and is not tolerated at Ohio University or in this class. Penalties for cheating
range from an F on the test to expulsion from the university.
6. Intended Learning Outcomes
Microeconomics is perhaps the cornerstone of economic thinking and the goal of this course is to
familiarize you with economic thinking and basic analysis of markets. I expect the students to learn and
understand this type of thinking, which goes beyond topics that are often perceived as standard economic
topics and overlap with several issues in the social and behavioral sciences, ranging from individual
decision making to macro policy making.
Disclaimer: Claiming that this goal is understood at the end of the course is not sufficient for successful
completion of the course. Successful completion of the course will be based on “hard evidence” of
understanding stemming from performance on the exams and homeworks.