PRINCIPLES OF
MICROECONOMICS
FALL 2005
TUESDAY/THURSDAY
DR. WILLIAM SHINGLETON EMAIL: WSIRIUS30@JUNO.COM
PHONE: 464 9708 (HOME) WEBSITE:http://oocities.com/wsirius30
OBJECTIVES OF ECONOMICS 251: The most important
goal of this course is to help you learn to approach questions in a logical
manner. Economists are notorious for the
maddening attention they devote to the precision of their language, and for the
absolute and uncompromising standards they apply to a logical argument. These are among the ultimate objectives of a
university education.
Within the discipline of economics, the objectives of this course are
(1) to help you to understand the functioning of a mixed enterprise economy in
an interdependent world, (2) to familiarize you with some of the currently
discussed policy alternatives, and (3) to give you some feel for the complexity
of policy implementation in the real world.
You should expect to become more aware of the starring role of profit in
a capitalist economy, the problems of income distribution, and the economic
perspective on issues of social justice.
CHEATING POLICY:
The MINIMUM penalty is a grade
of F in the COURSE. There
shall be no second chances and no exceptions to this rule. If anything comes in under your name, it must
be your own work in your own words. Any
violation may result in dismissal from the university.
ATTENDANCE: No
student who has missed more than three classes has ever earned an A. Draw your own conclusions.
NATURE OF THE COURSE:
This course will be a combination of discussion and lecture. While I assume no prior economic knowledge,
algebra and graphs are both used extensively, and a knowledge
of history and government will prove useful.
The course is oriented toward current events and, at times, the news
will determine the topics for classroom discussion.
MAKE‑UP WORK:
All make‑up work MUST be submitted before the next scheduled class. The length, difficulty, and format of any
make‑up examination will be at my discretion.
WHAT I EXPECT OF YOU:
You have three roles to play in the next few weeks; first, read the text
assignments; second, come to class; and third, ask questions as soon as you
think you sense a point of confusion.
Finally, a number of students are (negatively) surprised when they get
their first exam grades. Unless you have
actually worked with the material, you have not prepared yourself for the
application, which is the most important dimension of your study. If you only try to memorize the material you
may fail the course.
GRADING PROCEDURE: There will be three examinations (each will
be 20 percent of your grade), a final (20 percent of your grade), and a number
of unannounced quizzes (your average quiz grade will be 20 percent of your
grade). If you take all of the quizzes
in class you can drop your lowest score. Your course grade will be as
determined by comparing your total score with the table shown below.
MINIMUM POINTS FOR GRADES/MAXIMUM 500
A 450 B 400 C 350 D 300
Borderline grades may also be influenced by individual classroom
participation and improvement. If the
final grade distribution is unsatisfactory I may alter the minimum number
points necessary to achieve a specific grade, although the alteration of the
minimum score for one grade will not necessarily be the same as the alteration
for the other grades. If substantial
adjustments are necessary I may increase the number of points you can earn on
the final. A satisfactory grade distribution is one which reflects the general
quality of classroom discussion. A
lively, interesting, challenging class deserves a better grade distribution
than one in which I have to do all the talking, although I am, lively,
interesting, and challenging myself(???!!).
COURSE CONTENT:
Our text is Bradley Schiller's THE ECONOMY TODAY, 9th Edition (
COURSE CONTENT: SOFTWARE Some supplementary materials will be
available on the website at www.oocities.org/wsirius30. While old exam questions should be a starting
point in your exam preparations, they should not be used to the exclusion of
other materials, such as your class notes or reading assignments.
ECONOMICS 251 REQUIRED READING ASSIGNMENTS
WEEK/DATE(S) TOPICS CHAPTER(S)
AUG23-25/INTRODUCTION AND ORGANIZATION CH 1-2
AUG30-SEP1/MARKETS AND THE PRIVATE SECTOR CH. 3
SEP6-8/ROLE OF GOVERNMENT AND TAXES CH 4
SEP13-15/DEMAND, ELASTICITY CH 20+APPNDX
SEP20/COST CH 21
SEP22/FIRST
EXAMINATION CH 1-2-3-4,20+APPNDX
SEP27-29/THE
COMPETITIVE FIRM CH 22
OCT 4-6/COMPETITIVE
MARKETS CH 23
OCT11/MID-SEMESTER BREAK/NO CLASS
OCT18/PRICE
SETTING FIRMS:MONOPOLY CH
24
OCT20/SECOND EXAMINATION CH
21-22-23
OCT25-27/OTHER
PRICE SETTING FIRMS CH 25-26
NOV1-3/REGULATION CH
27-28
NOV8-10/LABOR MARKETS CH 30-31
NOV15/FARM POLICY CH
29
NOV17/THIRD EXAMINATION CH 24-25-26-27-28-30-31
NOV22/CAPITAL MARKETS CH
32
NOV24/THANKSGIVING BREAK/NO CLASSES
N29-DEC1/TAXES
AND TRANSFERS CH 33-34
DEC6-8/INTERNATIONAL TRADE AND FINANCE CH 35-36
DEC15/FINAL
EXAMINATION(