Introductory Economics Eco 102-A Spring 2007

Transcription

1 Introductory Economics Eco 102-A Spring 2007 Professor: Li Qi Office: G-29A Buttrick Hall Phone: Web site: Blackboard Office Hours: Tuesdays and Thursdays 10:00 am to 11:00 am Or by appointment Course objective: Econ 102 is an introductory level course which covers both microeconomics and macroeconomics. The course focuses on explaining the economic choices made by individuals, households and firms as well as providing an introduction to the behavior of market-based economies such as the United States. Topics to be covered will include: consumer choice, markets, production and costs, market structure, externalities, public goods, the concepts and measurements of inflation, unemployment, and national output, savings and investment, money and banking, and the use of models of the macro economy to understand what causes movements in the national economy and the role of governments in controlling these movements. Course Prerequisites: Econ 101. Lectures: Tuesdays and Thursdays 8 am 9: 15 am at Buttrick 217 Textbooks: Economics, Paul Krugman and Robin Wells, Worth Publishers, 1 st Ed. 2006, ISBN: The class sessions will assume that you have read the related materials in advance of class. Other Materials: In order to graph models and perform calculations, having a calculator (not necessarily graphing calculators), graph paper, a straight edge (ruler), and several colors of pens or pencils will be helpful. Please bring these tools to exams as well. Homework assignments: The homework problems are designed to help you learn the material. Some of the problems assigned to your homework will be covered in the lectures and the solutions to the homework will be discussed in the next lecture or posted on the course website. You are strongly encouraged to complete all assignments as they will help you master the class material. Homework policy:

2 To get full credit for your homework, you must hand it in on time, that is, at the end of the class on the due date. Homework handed in after the end of class on the due date is considered late homework. If you are late, you can still hand it in within 3 days, but you will only get half of the credit. After three days you will get no credit. Once you get your homework back, you have two weeks to request grade revision. Keep your homework on a safe place, since you may need it later in case of any grade clarification. Students requesting revision of a homework grade must submit their claim in writing, not later than two weeks after the grades have been distributed. Please include a brief argument/reasoning for grade change. For example, if you feel that your answers are correct but you did not get the credit, list reasons or evidence to support your argument. Quizzes: 5 quizzes will be given during the semester. The quizzes will be worth 15 percent of the course grade (best 4 out of 5). All quizzes will be in lecture. There will be no makeup quizzes and this policy is non-negotiable! Exams and Exam Policy: There will be four exams. Only the best 3 out of 4 exams will be counted towards the final grade of the course. Check dates below in the course outline. Since you are already given an exam that you can drop for the final course grade, no make-up exams will be made. Only in very exceptional cases, students may be excused from missing an exam. Enough written evidence of the calamity must be provided. I will give make-up exams only when the conditions just specified are met. Students requesting revision of an exam grade must submit their claim in writing, no later than two weeks after the exam grades have been distributed. Please include a brief argument/reasoning for grade change. For example, if you feel that your answers are correct but you did not get the credit, list reasons or evidence to support your argument. Attendance and Class Participation: Attendance and class participation are important. Attendance will be checked randomly and frequently throughout the semester. You are allowed to drop two no-show records at the end of the semester, but you will lose the attendance and participation credit for this class by 10 per cent for each additional no-show record. Since you are given the chance to drop two no-show records, no additional excuses will be granted for missing classes. Only in very exceptional cases (such as severe illness or family emergencies), students may be allowed to drop additional no-show records. Enough written evidence of the calamity must be provided. Late attendance will count only if you arrive within 20 minutes of the class start time.

3 Essay Assignment: You are to write an essay on a news topic of your choice. The objective of this assignment is to enhance your understanding of class materials and your analytical skills, while also learning about economics from real world issues and events. Choosing a topic: You need to choose a news topic related to materials taught or discussed in class. You can find sources for possible news topics from popular media such as newspapers (Wall Street Journal, the Economist), newsmagazines (Time). Composition of the essay: In your essay, please summarize the news topics briefly and analyze this topic with the knowledge and tools you learned from our class. Essay Grading Criteria: The grading criteria for the essay is posted on the course website. You should list all bibliographic references at the end of your essay, including web site addresses. Remember to include the source of your news topic. In addition, remember to use proper quotation techniques. I posted a separate file for the flyer from the Writing Center on quotation techniques. Length of the essay should be 2-4 pages (minimum 2 and maximum 4 pages). You must follow the following format: 8 x11 paper, double-spaced, margins of 1 inch on each side, maximum font of 12 pt., and minimum font of 11 pt. The deadline for the essay is Apr. 19, I strongly encourage you to discuss with me about the topics and the plan of your writing before you turn in the final version. Grading: The final grade will be a weighted average as follows: Three best exams 45% (15% each) Homework assignments 15% Four best quizzes 15% Short-paper 15% Attendance and participation 10% The course letter grades are determined as follows: A A A B B B C C C D D D < 60 F

4 Week # Reading List and Course Outline (tentative) 1 Jan 18 Course Introduction; Choices and thinking like an economist Readings: Problem Sets: Topic Krugman & Wells Posted Due Ch. 1, Ch. 7 pp (all but PV) 2 Jan 23 Models, Graphing, Comparative Advantage (Classroom experiment) Jan 25 Supply and Demand (Classroom experiment) Ch.2 & Ch. 2 Appendix Ch. 3 HW1 HW2 3 Jan 30 Markets Ch. 4 HW1 Feb 1 Elasticity Ch. 5 HW3 HW2 4 Feb 6 Consumer and Producer Surplus Quiz I Feb 8 Review for Exam 1 Ch. 6 HW3 5 Feb 13 Exam 1 Chapters 1-7 Feb 15 Production and Costs Ch. 8 HW4 6 Feb 20 Perfect Competition Ch. 9 Feb 22 The Rational Consumer Ch. 10, 11, PV from Ch. 7 HW5 HW4 7 Feb 27 Monopoly (Classroom Experiment) Mar 1 Oligopoly & Monopolistic Comp (Classroom Experiment) Ch. 14 HW6 HW5 Ch. 15& 16 8 Mar 6 Externalities & Public Goods Ch. 19 & 20 HW7 HW6

5 (Classroom Experiment) Mar 8 Review for Exam 2 HW7 9 Mar 13 Spring Break 9 Mar 15 Spring Break 10 Mar 20 Exam 2 Ch. 8-16, Mar 22 Macro Basics Ch HW8 11 Mar 27 Growth Ch. 25 HW8 Mar 29 Savings & Investment and Excel HW Ch. 26 HW9 12 Apr 3 AD&AS Ch. 27 Apr 5 Income and Expenditure, Fiscal Policy Ch HW10 HW9 13 Apr 10 Money & the Fed Ch. 30 & 31 HW10 Apr 12 Review for Exam 3 14 Apr 17 Exam 3 Ch Apr 19 The Phillips Curve Ch. 32 HW11 15 Apr 24 Inflation Ch. 33 HW11 Apr 26 Open Economy Macro Ch 35, Ch May 1 Review

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