ECON 3332: Intermediate Microeconomics Spring 2015 Course Syllabus Tuesdays and Thursdays 10:00-11:30am, Heyne Building Room 28 (H28) Instructor: Office: Office hours: E-mail: Professor Aimee Chin McElhinney Room 221B Thursdays 11:30am-12:30pm. Other meeting times must be arranged in advance. [email protected] T.A.: Office: Office hours: E-mail: David Bostashvili McElhinney Room 246 Meetings must be arranged in advance. [email protected] Description In this course, we will explore the foundations of microeconomic theory, focusing on the behavior of individuals and firms, and the interaction of these agents in the market. We will also examine the effects of government policies, market power and externalities on market efficiency. Learning Outcomes • Students will attain, through lectures, readings and problem sets, knowledge of the building blocks of economic analysis. • Students will develop, through lectures, readings and problem sets, some tools to analyze, critically assess, and develop creative solutions to public policy problems. • Problem sets and exams will enable students to apply basic principles of critical thinking, problem solving and technical proficiency in economics. Textbook and Other Course Materials • We have an Aplia course website that contains our textbook (Intermediate Microeconomics and Its Application by Walter Nicholson and Christopher Snyder, 12th Edition), problem sets, practice exercises and solutions. All students are required to register for this Aplia course (see page attached to this syllabus for information on how to register for it). After you register, you will be able to access our course from http://aplia.com/ or https://login.cengage.com/cb/login.htm. Prerequisites All students must have completed ECON 2304 or an equivalent introductory course in microeconomics; if you do not meet this prerequisite, then you must receive prior explicit permission from me to take this course. Additionally, you must have a good command of high school algebra and graphical analysis; if you do not meet this prerequisite and you choose to take this course, then it is your responsibility to work on your math skills in order to be able to follow the materials taught in this course. Professor Chin Spring 2015 ECON 3332 Requirements and Grading 1) Problem Sets 2) Exam 1 3) Exam 2 4) Final Exam 12 problem sets, each worth 2% with the lowest two scores dropped Thursday, February 26 Thursday, April 9 Thursday, May 14, 11:00am-1:30pm 20% 20% 20% 40% 100% Problem Sets: Problem sets will be assigned and submitted through the Aplia website. Assignments labeled “Graded Problem Set” are what you must submit to receive credit for problem sets. Assignments labeled “Practice Exercises” and “Tutorial” are for your own personal use and do not count directly toward your grade (though they help indirectly through improving your performance on the graded problem sets and exams). You may work on problem sets any time prior to the deadline, either in a single session or multiple sessions—just remember to save your answer as you do each question so that when you return to that problem set later, your answers from previous sessions will appear. Your answers must be submitted before the deadline for you to receive credit. Solutions to graded problem sets are available immediately after the deadline (solutions to practice exercises are always available). Students are strongly encouraged to examine the solutions after the deadline to review any areas of confusion or questions they got wrong. Note I cannot give deadline extensions for the problem sets; however I do drop the lowest two problem set grades, which should give you some flexibility in handling unexpected events. Exams: Exams will draw heavily from lectures and problem sets, and not rely solely on the textbook. All exams are closed book, but you are permitted to use a calculator (only basic calculators, no computers, cell phones or programmable calculators). If you have any known conflicts with the above exam dates, you should tell me in advance and we can make arrangements. Generally you get a score of zero when you miss an exam, but in specific situations a make-up exam may be possible. Class Participation: Though attendance is not required, note: (1) in past semesters, students who attended lecture regularly got significantly higher grades; (2) when you miss a lecture, you cannot get the handout for that missed lecture from me; (3) office hours are not for re-delivering lectures you missed. General Policies 1) Lectures will begin at 10:00am and end at 11:20am. 2) Adhere to the university’s academic honesty policy (it is described in the Student Handbook as well as http://www.uh.edu/provost/student-success/policy-updates/honesty-faqsstu/index.php). 3) If you have special learning needs, please contact me. I can make accommodations only if given advance notice. Professor Chin Spring 2015 ECON 3332 Course Outline/Schedule Week 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Date 1/20 1/22 1/27 1/29 2/3 2/5 2/10 2/12 Activity Lecture 1 Lecture 2 Lecture 3 Lecture 4 Lecture 5 Lecture 6 Lecture 7 Lecture 8 Topics Introduction Consumer Theory: Preferences I Consumer Theory: Budget Constraint Consumer Theory: Choice I Consumer Theory: Choice II Consumer Theory: Individual Demand Consumer Theory: Market Demand Consumer Theory: Extensions I Corresponding Textbook Chapters 1 2 2 2 2 3 3 Labor and Leisure Choice (Chapter 13 Appendix), Intertemporal Choice (14-2) Choices Involving Risk (parts of Chapter 4) 6 7 2/17 Lecture 9 Consumer Theory: Extensions II 2/19 2/24 2/26 3/3 3/5 3/10 3/12 3/17 3/19 3/24 3/26 3/31 4/2 4/7 4/9 4/14 4/16 4/21 4/23 4/28 4/30 5/14 Lecture 10 Producer Theory: Technology Lecture 11 Producer Theory: Costs EXAM 1 Lecture 12 Producer Theory: Cost Minimization 7 Lecture 13 Producer Theory: Profit Maximization I 8 Lecture 14 Producer Theory: Profit Maximization II 8 Lecture 15 Producer Theory: Market Supply 9 No lecture-Spring Break No lecture-Spring Break Lecture 16 Competitive Market Equilibrium: Properties 9, parts of Chapter 10 Lecture 17 Comp. Mkt. Eqbm: Policy Interventions I 9, Application 13.2 Lecture 18 Comp. Mkt. Eqbm: Policy Interventions II 9 Lecture 19 Imperfect Competition I 11 Lecture 20 Imperfect Competition II 11 EXAM 2 Lecture 21 Imperfect Competition III 12 Lecture 22 Externalities and Public Goods I 16 Lecture 23 Externalities and Public Goods II 16 Lecture 24 Externalities and Public Goods III 16 Lecture 25 Behavioral Economics 17 Lecture 26 Review FINAL EXAM on Thursday May 14 in same room as lecture from 11:00am-1:30pm How to access your Aplia course UH Sp 2015 Prof. Chin ECON 3332 Intermediate Micro Instructor: Aimee Chin Start Date: 01/20/2015 What is Aplia? In just 10 years, more than one billion answers have been submitted through Aplia, the premier online assignment solution. Millions of students use Aplia to better prepare for class and for their exams. Join them today! Registration 1. Connect to http://login.cengagebrain.com/course/9LVT-YQDK-YTBR 2. 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