Econ 201 - Spring 2004 - Syllabus             

INTRODUCTION TO ECONOMIC ANALYSIS: MICROECONOMICS

Professor Stephen Haynes
E-mail: shaynes@uoregon.edu
Office: 418 PLC
Phone: 541-346-4665
Office Hours: Tuesday and Friday, 2:00-3:30, ABA

Distance education:
http://distanceeducation.uoregon.edu
http://de@ssil.uoregon.edu
Blackboard: http://blackboard.uoregon.edu, and courseinfo@blackboard.uoregon.edu

General Information. Online classes are offered for students who are unable to attend regular classes (because of job commitments, distance from Eugene, etc.) or who prefer the flexibility that an online class adds to their schedule. The material covered in online economics classes is similar to that in regular economics classes, and the exams are similar in format and difficulty. Online classes require more discipline by students than regular classes given the necessity of mastering the material primarily from the textbook and related sources (both offline and online). Thus, students should keep up with the readings in an online class in a timely fashion and not simply "cram" the last minute for exams. This is especially important since we will be proceeding at about the same pace as regular principles classes.
Unlike with regular classes, exams for online classes can be taken up to two weeks before the exam deadline, and a reservation is required to take the exam. It is encouraged that students coordinate their online exams with exams for other classes in order to minimize conflicts and create "space" for exam preparation for each course.

Exams for On-Campus Students. Students on campus will take all exams in the Social Science Instructional Laboratory (SSIL) located in 445 McKenzie Hall. On-campus tests are given by appointment only. Before scheduling an exam, you must complete "On-Line Test Taking Introduction" located at the distance ed webpage -- http://distanceeducation.uoregon.edu/ -- after clicking on the light-blue button entitled "Take the On-Line Test Taker Introduction." After completion of this introduction, you will be given a Test-Taker Personal Identification number and password, which will enable you to log on to the Test-Taker Home Page from the distance ed webpage. From the Test-Taker Home Page, you can make appointments to take tests, cancel appointments, see your test scores, change your test-taker password, email me, and more. If you have further questions about testing, contact de@ssil.uoregon.edu.
Important: you must complete the On-Line Test Taker Introduction by the end of the first week of class.

Exams for Off-Campus Students. If you are taking the course off campus, proceed to the distance ed webpage -- http://distanceeducation.uoregon.edu/ -- and click on the Off-Campus tab at the top of the page. Examine the information on the subsequent pages. Note that prior to taking a test, you must obtain a proctor and have the proctor approved by SSIL. To check for approval, fill out the "remote site request form" on the web page, and forward it to SSIL. SSIL will then notify you if your proposed proctor is acceptable. You must obtain approval of the proctor by the end of the first week of the term. If you have further questions on testing, contact de@ssil.uoregon.edu.

Important: you must obtain approval of the proctor by the end of the first week of class.

Blackboard. This course will use Blackboard for a variety of purposes. Thus, you need to make sure that you can log on to Blackboard at http://blackboard.uoregon.edu, following the instructions on the homepage of Blackboard. Your username will be your computing center email account address (gladstone account for students and darkwing account for GTFs), with the corresponding password for that account. For example, if you have a gladstone account, your username will be username@gladstone.uoregon.edu. If you have problems logging in, make sure you can log on to your gladstone (or darkwing) account, since you might have an old password. You can also check your "official" email address in Duck Web. If you still have problems, contact the computing center for assistance in 151 McKenzie.
Once you log on to Blackboard, click on this course and then click on Course Documents. Course Documents will contain the course syllabus, chapter outlines, Power Point lectures, and practice questions and answers with explanations. Weekly updates about assignments will also be posted on Blackboard and emailed to the class. In addition, your grades will be available on Blackboard. The Blackboard addresses are http://blackboard.uoregon.edu and courseinfo@blackboard.uoregon.edu.

WEEKLY EMAILS. Emails will be sent weekly to students to provide information on scheduling of exams, material to study for exams, and exam results. It is essential that you receive and read the class emails carefully.
Important: if you do not receive the emails, contact the instructor ASAP, as you are probably not using your computing center email account address!

ECONOMICS 201

Course Information. Microeconomics concerns how demand (based on decisions of consumers) and supply (from decisions of firms) interact in a price system to lead to the efficient allocation of goods and factors of production. Since resources are scarce, consumers and firms face tradeoffs. Microeconomics explores how prices and markets signal relative scarcity, leading to a coordination of individual transactions and efficient allocation of these scarce resources. This process answers three key questions facing all economies -- what goods to produce, how these goods will be produced, and who can purchase these goods. Also, microeconomics examines market complications, e.g., imperfect competition and monopolies, and market failures, e.g., externalities that lead to pollution, and explores options that are available to the government to address these complications.
While many of the applications in the course may be susceptible to a lively political debate in other settings, the focus will be on the application of the logic of economics, which often simply amounts to common sense, to illuminate how prices and market structure influence decisions and outcomes. Diligent students who wish to continue the study of economics should expect to receive the essential theoretical preparation for more advanced material found in courses for the major. Those who do not wish to continue the study of economics should nevertheless expect to gain an understanding of how an economic way of thinking may be constructively applied in practical and illuminating ways.

Grading and Exams Deadlines. Three exams are required. The deadline for completing the "On-Line Test Taker Introduction" and the deadlines and weights for taking the exams are listed next.

"On-Line Test-Taking Introduction" Deadline is Saturday, April 3
Exam 1 Deadline is Saturday, Oct 23, Weight is 27.5%
Exam 2 Deadline is Saturday, Nov 20, Weight is 27.5%
Final Deadline is Friday, Dec 10, Weight is 45%

Three Important Notes on Exam Deadlines. First, there will be no exceptions to these deadlines, and there are no makeup exams and no extra credit. You must take an exam by the deadline to receive credit for the exam. Second, exams may be taken prior to the exam deadline, and a reservation is required to take an exam. But do not wait until the last minute to schedule your exams; the class is likely to be full, and testing slots will fill up fast. Third, SSIL's webpage allows you to make appointments for exams two weeks in advance regardless of the deadlines given above. For example, if you log on April 17 to make an appointment for exam 1, SSIL will permit you to schedule the exam on, say, May 1. But note that May 1 is beyond the deadline for exam 1 (by one week), and that exam will not count! Do not interpret the dates given by the SSIL webpage as extensions of the exam deadlines -- they are not!

Grading Procedures and Exam Coverage. I will grade on a curve, as is normally appropriate for a large class, adjusted by class performance. I will not formally compute a curve after Exams 1 and 2, but will provide sufficient feedback so that students will know how well they are doing relative to the class.
Regarding exam coverage (and as shown below), Exam 1 will cover chapters one through six; Exam 2 will cover chapters seven through twelve; and the final exam will cover chapters fourteen and sixteen and also some key topics from earlier chapters (a bit more than half of the final will come from chapters one through twelve).

Text, Other Learning Sources, and Practice Questions. In addition to the text, there are a number of excellent learning sources and sets of practice questions. This material is especially important to study for online courses. Some of the material is included in the Course Documents section of Blackboard, as noted next.

1. Text (required): Microeconomics, Principles and Tools, by Arthur O'Sullivan and Steven M. Sheffrin, Prentice Hall, Third Edition, 2003.
2. Other Sources to Help Master the Text Material.
a. Chapter-by-chapter summary and outline of material, posted on Blackboard. This is from the Instructor's Manual. The outlines are excellent -- very detailed and thorough.
b. Power Point development of each chapter's material, also posted on Blackboard. Excellent mode of presenting the material, especially the graphical points. Note that the Power Point slides may be slow to download via a modem. Power Point is also available on the text's website at www.prenhall.com/osullivan.
c. "Active Graph" presentation of each chapter's main points, available on the CD included with the text. Innovative manner of presenting material, with several video clips and chapter quizzes.
d. Study Guide material. Includes informative chapter summaries, checklists, key terms, and study tips.
3. Practice Multiple Choice Questions.
a. Questions with hints, answers, and explanations, posted on Blackboard. The questions are from text's website at www.prenhall.com/osullivan. Excellent questions to review; explanations of answers are very useful.
d. Additional chapter quizzes with answers on CD in the text.
4. Weekly Emails with Study Checklists (contact the instructor if you do not receive emails).
a. Emails will both be sent to students and posted on Blackboard.
b. Will include essential information about scheduling exams, exam deadlines, study hints for exams, and results of exams.
5. Discussion Board.
Within each chapter folder (in Course Documents), there is a Discussion Board link and a key topic for that week. We will use the Discussion Board to conduct a weekly discussion forum on this topic as a method for exploring and mastering the general topic. Although not graded, student participation is highly encouraged.

Reading List from Textbook and Schedule of Exam Deadlines. For each chapter, all pages are assigned except the appendices. Note that, if you schedule an exam prior to the deadline date, you will have to accelerate your study of the material relative to the pace outlined next. For this reason, I have frontloaded the majority of readings to the first half of each of the three parts of the course.

PART ONE: BASICS OF MICROECONOMICS
WEEK ONE (Sept. 27-Oct.1) INTRODUCTION
    Chapter One: What is Economics?
    Chapter Two: Key Principles.
WEEK TWO (Oct. 4-8) MARKETS, SUPPLY, AND DEMAND
    Chapter Three: Markets and the Government
    Chapter Four: Supply, Demand, and Market Equilibrium
WEEK THREE (Oct. 11-15) ELASTICITY
    Chapter Five: Elasticity as a Measure of Responsiveness
WEEK FOUR (Oct. 18-22) MARKET EFFICIENCY
    Chapter Six: Market Efficiency and Government Intervention
DEADLINE FOR EXAM ONE: SAT. OCT 23

PART TWO: AGENT BEHAVIOR AND MARKET STRUCTURE
WEEK FIVE (Oct. 25-29) CONSUMER AND FIRM BEHAVIOR
    Chapter Seven: Consumer Demand
    Chapter Eight: Firm Supply and Production
WEEK SIX (Nov. 1-5) PERFECT COMPETITION AND MONOPOLY
    Chapter Nine: Market Structure -- Perfect Competition
    Chapter Ten: Market Structure -- Monopoly
WEEK SEVEN (Nov. 8-12) MONOPOLISTIC COMPETITION
    Chapter Eleven: Market Structure -- Monopolistic Competition
WEEK EIGHT (Nov. 15-19) OLIGOPOLY
    Chapter Twelve: Market Structure -- Oligopoly
DEADLINE FOR EXAM TWO: SAT. NOV 20

PART THREE: ANTITRUST & EXTERNALITIES
WEEK NINE (Nov. 22-24) ANTITRUST POLICY Chapter Fourteen:
Antitrust Policy and Deregulation
WEEK TEN (Nov. 29-Dec. 3) PUBLIC CHOICE
    Chapter Sixteen: Public Goods and Taxes
DEADLINE FOR FINAL (CUMULATIVE): FRI. DEC 10