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Economics 2001 |
Intro. Microeconomics Website: http://www.vermontel.net/~hancockp/ |
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Fall 2010 MR 1-2:15 |
Green
Mountain College |
Office: Dunton 227/ Phone 8256 Office Hours: TR 10-12; F 11-1 |
Microeconomics treats the business
firm and the individual as the unit of analysis. The subject’s major theme is
price determination, whether of labor, capital, land or a final product or
service. Price determination is also embedded in the forms of analysis of
ancillary topics such as income distribution, environmental issues, and
international trade to name a few. Consequently, one of the concerns that will
thread through the lectures and readings will be a critical examination of the
forms of analysis that modern microeconomic theory employs. These come under
the names of demand and supply techniques, marginalist techniques and market
structure assumptions – all of which support the price determination model
central to neoclassical microeconomic theory. Hence, scrutiny of the tools
economists use will be a major aspect of this course.
Course Learning Objectives
Microeconomics is often the first
course in economics for most undergraduates. The course therefore initially
emphasizes the basic skill sets necessary to grasp the analyses that follow.
For example, to understand the theory behind price determination you need to know
how to read a graph and so forth. The following set of learning goals is
therefore a somewhat sequential building of language skills used in the
peculiar world of economics. By the end of the course students should have a
better understanding of the following.
·
Develop an
understanding of the use of simple graphs, formulae, equations and indexes to
portray economic conditions and events.
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Apply these tools to
increase your knowledge of the properties of the four main market structures of
perfect competition, monopolistic competition, monopoly and oligopoly.
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Become familiar with
the more advanced analytical tools of marginal utility, marginal cost and
marginal product and develop a sense of both the insight these tools provide
into consumer and producer theory and the embedded assumptions upon which they
are based.
·
Establish a
thoughtful use of economic theory to explain how the world works and move beyond
the opposing and equally simplistic views that the profit motive rules society
or that the poor are getting what they deserve.
·
Finally, begin to
connect theory to practice by developing the skills required to read the daily
economic events with intelligence that will assist you in your role as a
consumer, worker, employer and voter.
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Required
Text |
Microeconomics in Context, Goodwin, Nelson, Ackerman
& Weisskopf 2009. M.E. Sharpe 2nd Ed.
Supplementary Readings:
1. Economics, E.K. Hunt and H.J. Sherman
(H&S)
2. Principles of Economics: Micro, W.
Peterson
3. Understanding Microeconomics, R.
Heilbroner
4. Articles by Hunt and Meek (photocopies on library
reserve)
5. Anti-Samuelson, Marc Linder, Vols 1&2
6. Labor and Monopoly Capital, H. Braverman
7. The Deindustrialization of America,
Bluestone and Harrison
8. Free to Lose, John
Roehmer
It is not required to purchase the supplementary
readings. However, they are all available on reserve in the library. These
readings are designed to both clear up any confusion in the required text and
as extensions of the material presented in the lectures. I particularly
recommend the appendixes of Hunt and Sherman’s textbook on the elasticity of
demand, marginal utility and demand, price determination in an oligopoly and
the gains from international trade – they are brief but thorough.
Course
Requirements
Grading: 10% will be based on participation,
30% on homework assignments, 15% on each of the first two tests and 30% on the
cumulative final exam.
Homework: Assignments
will be handed out in class. They will be chosen from the problems and
questions at the end of each chapter. Assignments must be handed in on the day
they are due. Homework grades will be lowered a full letter grade if
handed in after the class during which they are due and another letter grade
for each 24 hour period thereafter.
Class participation is also required. Please
purchase a package of 3x5 index cards to bring with you to class—they will be a
vehicle for class attendance and participation. At the end of every class, you
need to turn one in with your name, the date, a comment and/or a question.
Optional
Group Presentations: Students can substitute a group presentation for one
of the homework assignments. See the link to the list of presentations and
their descriptions on the course web page.
Exam
Policy: There are no make-up exams in this class with the exception
of documented medical emergencies. Do not make plans to leave campus early for
spring break or before final exams.
Class
Etiquette: A class is not the equivalent of a television program.
It is a professional performance staged for the benefit of active participants,
and as such, it demands a certain amount of formality from all concerned. This
means that you should arrive on time, and not distract the professor or your
classmates by coming in after the class has already begun. If you need to use a
restroom, eat, or get a can of soda or cup of coffee, do so either before or
after class, but do not leave the classroom to do so (exceptions to this
general rule, of course, apply in case of illness). Do not read the newspaper
or a textbook for another class while you attend mine. Sleeping in class is either
a sign of illness or extreme fatigue, in which case you should be in bed; or a
gesture of complete indifference, in which case you should not be enrolled in
the course.
If you have a specific learning,
physical, or psychiatric disability and require accommodations, please let me
know early in the semester so that your learning needs may be appropriately
met. You will need to provide documentation of your disability to the
Calhoun Learning Center. The Calhoun Learning Center is the office
responsible for coordinating accommodations for students with
disabilities. The Calhoun Learning Center is located on the 3rd
floor of Griswold Library. If you have questions, please contact
Christina Fabrey, Coordinator of Accommodations, at x8234.
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Lecture
and Readings |
Text Chapters
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Markets and Basic
Concepts |
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Mon., Aug. 30 |
Introduction:
First Contact/Math Diagnostic |
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Thur. Sept. 2 |
Market
Institutions/Supply and Demand Student
Demo. #1: Graph and Math Review |
Ch. 3 -
4 |
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Mon., Sept. 6 |
Supply
and Demand Continued Exercise:
Double Oral Auction |
Ch. 4 |
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Price Elasticity of Demand and the Consumer |
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Thur.,
Sept. 9 |
Elasticity
of Demand Student
Demo. #2: Business Interview: Elasticity of Demand |
Ch.
5 |
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Mon., Sept. 13 |
Elasticity
of Demand |
Ch.
5 |
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Thur.,
Sept. 16 |
Economic
Actors and Consumer Theory Student
Demo. #3: Marginal Rate of Substitution Experiment (see sect. A-3, p. 256 in
the text) Homework #1 due at beginning of class |
Section
4 of Ch. 2; Sections 1 & 3 of Ch. 10 |
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Production Costs and the Producer |
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Mon.,
Sept. 20 |
Production
Costs Student
Presentation #4: Business Interview: costs of Production |
Ch.
7 |
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Thur.,
Sept. 23 |
Production
Costs Student
Demonstration #5: Assembly Line production |
Ch.
7 |
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Mon.,
Sept. 27 |
The
Production Decision Film
clip: The Corporation |
Sects.
1, 2 & 3.1 of Ch. 8 |
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Thur.,
Sept. 30 |
Review
for Exam One Homework #2 due at beginning of class |
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Mon, Oct.
4
Exam One
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The
Theory of Market Structures |
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Thur.,
Oct. 7 |
The
Competitive Firm Student
presentation #6: Business Interview: Competition |
Ch.
11 |
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Fall Break:
Oct. 9 - 13 |
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Thur.,
Oct. 14 |
The
Imperfectly Competitive Firm (monopoly) Video
clip: Other People's Money |
Ch.
12, Sects. 1-2 |
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Mon.,
Oct. 18 |
The
Imperfectly Competitive Firm (monopolistic competition, oligopoly) Student
presentation #7: Microsoft vs. the U.S. Department of Justice |
Ch.
12, Sects. 3-4 |
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Thur.,
Oct. 21 |
The
Imperfectly Competitive Firm (monopolistic competition, oligopoly) Student Demo. #8: The Taste Test Homework #3 due at beginning of class. |
Ch.
12, Sects. 3-4 |
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The Public Purpose Sphere and
Distributive Justice |
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Mon.,
Oct. 25 |
The Role
of Governments and Non-Profits Video
Clip: The Cola Conquest |
Ch. 17 |
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Thur.,
Oct 28 |
Distribution:
Who Gets What & How? |
Ch. 9 |
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Mon.,
Nov. 1 |
Distribution:
Who Gets What & How? Student
Demo #9: Distribution of Income Skit |
Ch. 10,
Sect. 5 |
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Thur.,
Nov. 4 |
Labor Markets:
Wage Discrimination Video
Clip(s) The Big One, The Struggle Continues Homework #4 due at
beginning of class |
Ch. 13,
Sect. 4 |
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Mon. Nov.
8 |
Review for Exam Two |
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Thur. Nov.
11 Exam Two
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Heterodox
Economics: Alternative Perspectives |
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Mon.,
Nov. 15 |
Economic
Activity in Context |
Ch. 1 |
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Thur.,
Nov. 18 |
Market
Systems and Normative Claims |
Ch. 19 |
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Mon.
Nov. 22 |
Other
Economic Systems Other
Economic Systems Video Clip: The Take Homework #5 due at beginning of class. |
Ch. 18 |
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Thanksgiving Recess Nov. 24-29 |
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Globalization and Ecological Issues |
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Mon. Nov. 29 |
The Business Sphere: For-Profit Firms Video
Clip: Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room Student
Presentation #10: The Nike Boycott: Good or Bad? |
Ch. 16, Section 5 |
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Thur.
Dec. 2 |
Taking
Care of the Planet: Natural Capital Taking Care
of the Planet: What is Value? |
Ch. 6,
Sects. 1, 3 & 8 Ch. 14,
sects. 1,2 |
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Gender and Social Justice Issues |
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Mon.
Dec. 6 |
Human
Dependency Needs Economics
of Discrimination Homework #6 due at beginning of
class |
Ch. 9,
sect. 3 Ch. 13,
Sect. 4.5 |
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Dec.9 |
Course
Evaluation and Review for the final |
No
Reading |
FINAL EXAM: Wed. Dec. 15th 10:30 A.M.