Introduction to Microeconomic Analysis
ECON 1B – Fall 2013
Section 10 meets TTh 12:00 – 1:15 pm in SLN 2002
Professor Information:
Professor: Antonio Bojanic
Office: Tahoe 3013
Office Hours: Tues, Thurs: 3:30 - 4:30 pm, or by appointment
Email: antonio.bojanic@csus.edu
Phone: (916)278-5588
Required Materials:
Textbook: Economics, 3rd edition, by Paul Krugman and Robin Wells, Worth Publishers.
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
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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
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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, true and false, and
short essay questions. All exam questions come from class lectures/discussions.
Exam Dates:
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Midterm 1:
Midterm 2:
Final exam:
Thursday, October 10
Thursday, November 14
Tuesday, December 17 at 12:45 – 2:45 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
C = 78 – 72.5
C- = 72 – 70
D+ = 69.5 – 68
B = 88 – 82.5
B- = 82 – 80
D = 67.5 – 60
F = 59.5 – 0
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
Market Supply and Demand; equilibrium
Chapter 3
Week 5
Markets in Action: supply and demand
Chapters 4, 5
Weeks 6, 7
Elasticity (different types)
Chapter 6
Week 8
Production costs and diminishing returns
Chapter 11
Weeks 9, 10
Perfect competition
Chapter 12
Weeks 11, 12
Monopoly
Chapter 13
Weeks 13, 14
Imperfect Competition models
Chapters 14, 15
Weeks 15, 16
Selected topics
Chapters 8, 20
I reserve the right to alter the above schedule if necessary.