Introduction to Microeconomic Analysis
ECON 1B-05 – Spring 2014
Section 5 meets TTh 9:00 – 10:15 am in Mendocino Hall 1005
Professor Information:
Professor: Antonio Bojanic
Office: Tahoe 3013
Office Hours: Tues, Thurs: 4:30 - 5:30 pm, or by appointment
Email: antonio.bojanic@csus.edu
Phone: (916)278-5588
Required Materials:
Textbook: Introduction to Microeconomics (custom), by Robert Frank and Ben Bernanke, McGraw Hill. This book is a customized
text for CSU Sacramento at a reduced price. Packaged free with the textbook is an access code for McGraw Hill’s Connect, which
will be used for practice problems. Since codes cannot be shared, every student must have his or her own access code to utilize
Connect. Hornet bookstore is the only location that carries the discounted customized text packaged with the required access
code.
Course Overview:
Goals of Course:
General Goal: To introduce students to the fundamental principles of microeconomic analysis and to help them contextualize these
concepts to real-life applications.
Course Objectives:
Content Objectives:
Students will demonstrate (through exams and other classroom activities) knowledge and understanding of:
The concept of scarcity and the trade-offs that arise from it
The concept of opportunity cost and its implications to trade
The concept of markets and how they work
Different market structures, including perfect competition and pure monopoly
Skill Objectives:
Students will demonstrate (through exams and other classroom activities) the ability to:
Analyze real-life situations from an economics perspective
Understand why economic actors (individuals, firms, countries) behave the way they do
Apply economic principles to personal decisions
Tips for Success
Very important to have good class notes – required textbook should be a complement to class notes, not a substitute for them. Exams
come from my notes so it is essential to have clear and concise class notes
Read the textbook material before class time
Don’t miss classes
Don’t be afraid to ask questions
Grading and Exam Procedures:
Midterm 1
Midterm 2
Final exam
30%
30%
40%
Exams: There will be three exams for this class, two midterms and one final. The midterms cover the most recent material from the
text and from class lectures. The final exam will be given during finals week and is cumulative. Each midterm is worth 30% of
your final grade; the final exam is worth 40% of your final grade. The exam format is multiple choice and true and false
questions. All exam questions come from class lectures/discussions.
Exam Dates:



Midterm 1:
Midterm 2:
Final exam:
Thursday, March 6
Thursday, April 17
Tuesday, May 20 at 10:15 am – 12:15 pm
Grade Scale:
I round up to the half point, then use the following scale:
A = 100 – 92.5
A- = 92 – 90
B+ = 89.5 – 88.5
B = 88 – 82.5
B- = 82 – 80
C = 78 – 72.5
D = 67.5 – 60
F = 59.5 – 0
C- = 72 – 70
D+ = 69.5 – 68
C+ = 79.5 – 78.5
Responsibilities and Classroom Etiquette:
Professor responsibility: I am responsible for facilitating the learning process for students who are committed to learning. I am
responsible for determining the extent to which students have met the stated objectives in this course. I am expected to be fair,
courteous and respectful, to be responsive to student needs, and not to discriminate based on race, gender, ethnicity, or sexual or
religious preference. Grades are assigned based on my professional judgment of the quality of your work and are not subject to
negotiation.
Student responsibility: You are responsible for your learning outcomes and your performance on all assignments. You are
responsible for contacting the professor or a tutor if you are struggling with the material. You are expected to attend all class periods,
be active learners who contribute to the classroom discussion/activities, and be courteous and respectful of the other students and the
professor. This includes arriving on time, turning off cell phones/pagers/alarms, refraining from talking (or whispering) to your
neighbor if the professor or another student is addressing the class, refraining from packing up your bags prior to the end of class,
refraining from coming and going in the middle of class, etc. Cheating is taken very seriously and will not be tolerated. Please refer
to the University’s Academic Dishonesty Policy in your Catalog to inform yourself of the consequences of such action.
General Outline of Course
The following is a brief list of topics to be covered and corresponding textbook chapters and/or supplemental readings.
Date
Material Covered
Textbook Readings
Weeks 1, 2
Introduction and fundamentals; trade
Chapters 1, 2
Weeks 3, 4, 5
Market Supply and Demand; equilibrium
Chapter 3, 5
Weeks 6, 7
Elasticity (different types)
Chapter 4
Week 8
Production costs and diminishing returns
Chapter 6
Weeks 9, 10
Perfect competition
Chapter 6
Weeks 11, 12
Monopoly
Chapter 8
Weeks 13, 14
Imperfect Competition models
Chapters 8
Weeks 15, 16
Selected topics
Chapters 9, 11
I reserve the right to alter the above schedule if necessary.