Course Syllabus Fall 2009
Available
on-line at: courses.wcupa.edu/tandrews/
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Economics 112 Principles of microeconomics Office hours: (the following hours are open on a first come first serve basis. No appointment is necessary. Contact me to make an appointment to meet at a time not listed) TR 8:30-9:30, M 10-1 or by appointment |
Dr. Tom Andrews |
Text (Required) Case, Fair,
Oster Principles of Microeconomics 9th Edition
Other materials:
Calculator, Folder,
Optional
Material: Myeconlab (sample tests, tutorials, e-text.)
Learning Objectives: This course
is designed to provide an introduction to basic economic principles.
Microeconomics is the study of constrained choice: the allocation of scarce
resources between alternative uses. The major theme of the course is the
role and policy implications of market structure in the production and
distribution of goods and services. In addition, students will learn how
cost curves and demand conditions (including elasticity) influence firm
behavior and the firm's decision rule for maximizing profit. Students
will also learn the costs and benefits of international trade and how trade
barriers affect consumers and firms.
Students will also understand the policy implications that occur when the
underlying assumptions of competitive markets are violated. The major
violations of competitive markets are few sellers, and unclear or unenforceable
private property rights. Upon completion of the course students
should be able to provide coherent written economic analysis of
microeconomic problems found in the newspaper. The department of economics
and finance promotes the general education goals of West Chester University.
Through its general education courses (eco 111,112, and 101) the
department seeks to: teach quantitative and mathematical methods, develop
critical and analytical thinking.
Course
Requirements:
Exams: Students are required
to take three examinations (including the cumulative final), 20 percent each
(60 percent total) No make-up exams will be given. In the event
that an exam is missed, credit for that exam will be allocated to the
final. Missing the final will result in a zero. (cell phones are
not allowed during exams)
Written Assignments: These assignments are designed to improve written communication skills as well as exercise the tools of economic analysis. There will be three assignments for a total of 20 percent of your final grade (20 percent total).
Homework assignments must be typed and free of grammatical and typographical errors. Each homework must be turned in with a folder containing all previous assignments. Under no circumstances will homework be accepted late. On occasion you may see an WC grade on your assignment. In this case, you must visit the writing center before submitting your next assignment
The homework assignments give you an opportunity to apply the economic concepts covered in class. Usually you will be required to read a newspaper article and make a connection between the information in the article and the ideas covered in class.
The assignments have two objectives:
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While the economic concepts will vary with each assignment, effective communication does not. Because this is a business class, the focus is on business communication. Effective business communication is:
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Don’t waste effort on fancy prose or editorial comments. Stick to the facts. Waste no words! Keep your sentence structure simple. Avoid semicolons and complex punctuation unless you are sure of how to use it. If you aren’t sure of the correct punctuation, rewrite the sentence in a simpler form. (This helps minimize mistakes and keeps things clear at the same time) Concentrate on the main theme. Run a spell check and proof read your work. If you think you have big writing problems, go to the writing center in Main Hall 213.
Write a one-paragraph (not more) summary of the ideas in the article. (Concentrate on the main theme.) In order to avoid plagiarizing, it is best to read the article thoroughly (twice) then put it aside while you write your summary.
Then create an appropriate graph (economic model) on a separate page.
Then write a one paragraph economic analysis. Your analysis should explain the graph and include evidence from the article.
Quantitative assignments: There are a number of assignments posted on the web page that involve answering questions based on Excel spreadsheet simulations. To complete these assignments, print the questions and reference material out first (pdf files), then use this information to answer the questions in "take a test" mode. All tests are individualized, so solutions cannot be shared between students. In order to receive credit all answers must be correct for each quiz. (including graph submission) (total for all quizzes 20 percent) All assignments must be submitted on or before 12/1/2009 at 2pm.
Complete assignments from one of the following groups
Option1 PPC, Elasticity, PCMax, LRmkt (5%each)
Option2: Equilibrium, TAMC, PCMax, LRmkt (5% each)
Option3 Equilibrium, Elasticity, TAMC, Monopoly (5% each)
Daily quizzes/in class exercises: students should read upcoming chapters before class. Daily quizzes will be given based on the terms listed in the course outline and or topics from previous lectures one point will be awarded for correct definitions. Occasionally points will be rewarded for in-class exercises devoted to solving economic problems. Under no circumstances will students be allowed to make up missed quizzes or in-class exercises. These points will be added to your test scores. There will be no other "curve."
Attendance: Attendance is
strongly suggested. In addition, since quizzes will be given at the beginning
of class, students should make every effort to be punctual. Students are responsible
for all material covered during class. If a class is missed, the material
should be obtained from another student. Students with poor attendance rarely
succeed. Students will be
asked to work in teams on a number of projects in class, so attendance is
important to everyone.
Quizzes also serve as your attendance record. If you come to class late (missing the quiz), you are responsible for submitting a quiz sheet immediately after class to indicate your attendance.
· Also if you are late habitually, late arrivals will be counted as absences (you will get a warning before this happens)
· For every hour of class missed below three hours, as students final grade will increase by one percentage point. (plus 2 for no classes missed, plus 1 for two classes missed, plus 0 for three classes missed
· For every class missed beginning with the fourth a student's final grade will fall by two percentage points. (For each absence after three absences you are penalized two points off your final grade.
Miscellaneous: Office hours are open to all students, for discussion of any topic. No appointment is necessary. If you're not clear on something, or not sure if you're not sure - COME SEE ME!
Class Cancellation Policy: If the university is not officially closed, assume your class will meet unless there is a notice on departmental stationary, signed by the chairperson, posted on the classroom door. If there is any doubt, check with the department secretary on the third floor.
Accommodations: We at West Chester University wish to make accommodations for persons with disabilities. Please make your needs known by contacting me and/or the Office of Services for Students with Disabilities at ext. 3217. Sufficient notice is needed in order to make the accommodations possible. The University desires to comply with the ADA of 1990.
Academic Dishonesty: The business faculty is committed to vigorously enforcing the University’s academic dishonesty policy. At a minimum, students will receive a 0 in an assignment; at the maximum, students may be dismissed from the University. Academic dishonesty and plagiarism are defined in the Undergraduate Catalog. With respect to term papers, projects, and other written work, students must use quotation marks and reference when using another author’s exact words. Students must also reference when paraphrasing an idea or the words of an author. If more than one student submits substantially similar written homework that homework will be graded as if it were submitted by a single student, and all students submitting that homework will receive an equal share of the grade.
Nondiscrimination/Affirmative Action Policy: West Chester University is committed to providing leadership in extending equal opportunities to all individuals. Accordingly, the University will continue to make every effort to provide these rights to all persons regardless of race, religion, sex, national origin, ancestry, age, marital status, sexual orientation, disability, or veteran status. This policy applies to all members of the University community, including students, staff, and administrators. It also applies to all applicants for admission or employment and all participants in University-sponsored activities. Any individual having suggestions, problems, complaints or grievances with regard to equal opportunity or affirmative action is encouraged to contact the Director of Social Equity.
The Writing Center (Main Hall 203) provides free tutoring and editorial advice:
Office
hours and other info
Grammar Rules Link
Course Outline: (exam schedule is subject to change)
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Learning objectives |
Chpt: |
Terms/Concepts |
Assignments *.pdf files are written questions. Print these out and read them before attempting the spreadsheet. If you don't have adobe acrobat click here to download it Experiencing
further technical difficulties with the excel exercises? Click here |
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Introduction: Scarcity, Production possibilities |
1& 2 |
economics, Production Possibilities curve (frontier), |
ppc98.pdf (questions) print this first!!!!! ppc98.xls (spreadsheet) |
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Demand and Supply |
4 |
Demand curve, Law of Demand, Equilibrium Price, Change in
quantity demanded v. Change in demand, market supply, excess demand and
supply |
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Consumer and producer surplus and efficient
markets |
4 |
consumer surplus, producer surplus,
deadweight loss |
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Markets, gains from trade and comparative advantage |
2 |
Terms of trade, comparative advantage |
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Elasticity of demand |
5 |
price elasticity of demand. |
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exam 1 |
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Production and Cost |
7 8 to page 166 9 pp. 184-189 |
Economic and accounting profit, Normal rate of return, Short-run, Long-run, Fixed cost, variable cost, marginal cost, Economies of Scale, Diseconomies of Scale, |
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Competition: short run and long-run |
8 pp. 166- end 9 pp. 189- end 12 pp.241-253 |
marginal revenue, short run supply curve. Break even point, perfectly competitive industry, |
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monopoly
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13 |
Monopoly, Barriers to entry, natural monopoly |
All xls spreadsheets due on or before 2 pm 12/1/2009 |
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monopolistic competition |
15 |
monopolistic competition |
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Second Exam Chapters 7, 8, 9, 13, 15 |
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Oligopoly |
14 |
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Public Goods and Externalities |
16 |
public goods, private good, externalities, free rider problem |
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Final Exam (cumulative)
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EXCEL FAQ
No Goal Seek? Goal seek sometimes disappears if you have more than one spreadsheet open at once. Goal seek is your friend. If you find yourself trying a bunch of numbers looking for one that works, there is a good chance the problem can be solved in SECONDS using goal seek!
The following link is to a goal seek tutorial for anyone using the excel 2007
http://www.homeandlearn.co.uk/excel2007/excel2007s7p4.html
Can’t get to take a test mode to put in your name and id? Change your security settings for macro to medium. (tools, macro, security, medium) You have to do this BEFORE you open the spreadsheet. If the spreadsheet is open, close it then change the settings, then open it again.
Some of the questions are picky about minus signs. For example if the question is asking for a change in Q and you calculate that Q falls by 100. Try plugging in –100
spending is price multiplied by quantity
For more information and help see the developer’s website at https://www.msu.edu/course/ec/201/brown/pim/
Specific Hints for excel exercises:
Production Possibilities:
#13.. To figure the marginal opportunity cost , increase Q by one (10 to 11)
Elasticity
#2 , #6 make sure you multiply by 100 use the same formula we used in class for percentage change i.e.
#3 #7 ; 3 is #2 / #1. Make sure you are using the midpoint formula for the percentage change.
Market equilibrium
#'s 16-20 Use goal seek. put in the tax, then set excess demand to 0 by changing price. Also a subsidy is a negative tax. A tax of –2 is a $2 subsidy. Watch your minus signs. Any downward change is
For cost, perfect competition. ( don’t forget to submit the graph for the Pcmax sheet.)
For minimum AC find output where AC=MC, you can do this using goal seek in the total cost worksheet, but in the Profit max sheet, you have to fiddle with output to get AC = MC
Course Title eco 112 Instructor Tom Andrews Fall 2009
I, _____________________________, have read the syllabus and fully understand the academic dishonesty policy as described herein and by the University. As defined in the 2007 Undergraduate Catalog of West Chester University, academic dishonesty includes the following: plagiarism, fabrication, cheating, academic misconduct, facilitating academic dishonesty, and breach of standards of professional ethics.
The University defines plagiarism as follows: “Plagiarism is the inclusion of someone else’s words, ideas, or data as one’s own work. When a student submits work for credit that includes the words, ideas, or data of others, the source of that information must be acknowledged through complete, accurate, and specific references and, if verbatim statements are included, through quotation marks as well… Plagiarism covers unpublished as well as published sources.” (West Chester University Undergraduate Catalog, 2007)
I understand that the penalty for engaging in academic dishonesty and/or plagiarism may be expulsion from the business program and/or University. I further understand that it is my responsibility to make sure I understand how to correctly document the words and ideas of others. Ignorance is not a legitimate defense for plagiarism.
It is our belief that honesty is the foundation of moral and ethical behavior. Individuals who lead an honest life enhance the lives of themselves, their families, and their neighbors. By maintaining one’s integrity, one gains the respect of others which is its own reward.
__________________________________
Print your name
__________________________________
Sign
your name
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