Instructor: Office Hours: Online: Los Angeles Harbor College Economics-1 (Principles of Microeconomics) Spring-2018 Section 16041, Internet Michael Fradkin E-Mail: FradkiM@lahc.edu; typical response time is within 24 hours. Voicemail: (310) 233-4157 (please repeat your name and the callback number twice, clearly and slowly when leaving me a message). In person: Virtual office hours through Canvas messaging capability or alternative online methods. Location - NEA-181 Tuesdays and Thursdays 11:00am 1:00pm 02:30pm 3:00pm Important Dates (as it relates to this class): Last day to add class by permission: February 19, 2018 Last day to drop w/out incurring fees or a grade of W : February 19, 2018 Spring Break: April 1-6, 2018 Last day to drop with a grade of "W": May 6, 2018 Please refer to Admissions and Records Office for other important dates. Please be advised that even though it is the students responsibility to drop the class, students may be withdrawn from the class by instructor if they do not sign in to Canvas website during the first week of school. Textbook and other materials: Required: Economics by McConnell, Brue, Flynn, 20 th edition. McGraw-Hill, ISBN: 0078021758 or 21 st edition, ISBN: 1259723224 or 19 th edition is acceptable or LAHC custom bundle (includes complete softcover 20 th edition textbook, the study guide and access to e-book with additional learning tools); Required: Access to Sapling Learning online homework system (NOT included in LAHC custom bundle and needs to be purchased separately regardless of the textbook version). Course Description: This course is an introduction to the principles of economic analysis and economic policy. Emphasis is placed on the micro, or price and market approach, with special emphasis on the allocation of resources and the distribution of income through the price system. Note: ECON 001 is not a prerequisite for ECON 002. Students who plan on taking both are advised to take ECON 002 first. Prerequisites: Mathematics 115 (Elementary Algebra) or Mathematics 123a (Elementary and Intermediate Algebra I) and Mathematics 123b (Elementary and Intermediate Algebra II). Advisories: Economics 2 and Mathematics 125 (Intermediate Algebra) or Mathematics 123c (Elementary and Intermediate Algebra III) Student Learning Outcomes: 1. Analyze verbal, graphical (PPC, Circular Flow, etc.) and tabular information to evaluate the shown situations in terms of economic statements related to the ideas of opportunity cost, comparative advantage, future economic growth, etc.
Canvas: 2. Use supply and demand graphical model to identify impacts of changes in market conditions and governmental policies on the market price, output, resource allocation, efficiency loss, and consumer/producer surpluses. 3. Recognize and interpret price, cross and income elasticities of demand and price elasticity of supply; apply the concept of price elasticity of demand to the total revenue test. 4. Use marginal cost - marginal benefit approach as well as depiction of the production cost curves to identify profit maximizing levels of output and prices charged by companies operating under such market structures as competitive industry, monopoly, oligopoly, and monopolistic competition. Canvas website is set up for this course. Canvas platform will be used as a delivery venue for class material and a route for communication. Tests/quizzes will be distributed on Canvas as well. If you are not familiar with Canvas please visit the help page at http://www.lahc.edu/harboronline.html Please use Canvas messaging capability as well as its discussion tool to communicate to classmates and the instructor. See a note about Canvas s gradebook accuracy under the grading scale on the next page. Participation: Continuous participation is CRUCIAL to student success. Two instances of not signing in to Canvas website or Sapling homework site during any seven consecutive days constitutes the basis for excluding from the class or may adversely affect the class grade. The instructor may but doesn't have to drop students for no participation; it is always the students responsibility to drop the class. Communication: All electronic student-instructor communication for this class will be done through Canvas website (preferable) or via college-issued email accounts each student was assigned. In order not to miss any important announcement it is highly recommended that you link your school email to your personal email. This will effectively have all the messages sent to your college account forwarded to your personal mailbox. Additionally, please make sure the email listed under your account in Canvas is the current email address you check on a continuous basis. Homework: Quizzes: Tests: Homework will be completed online on Sapling Learning platform; please see Canvas class site for the detailed procedure on the homework completion. Access to Sapling Learning costs $40 (if purchased directly from Sapling) regardless of the version of the textbook you choose. Complimentary access is provided to all students for the first two weeks of class; it is the students responsibility to purchase the access code thereafter. In most cases (with the exception of the exam weeks) there will be one homework assignment per week. Please observe posted deadlines; no late homework will be accepted. Please do not wait until the last minute; start assignments as soon as those become open. There will be no time extension for any reason, including technical difficulties, unless confirmed by Sapling Learning staff as being originated on their side. Questions similar to homework will be on the tests; by doing your homework you get a double benefit: grade credit and preparation for the tests. One lowest homework score will be dropped from the final grade calculation and the highest score will be used instead. There will be one graded syllabus/class information quiz in this class; the quiz is designed to test your knowledge of the class rules, procedures and expectations. The quiz will be distributed on Canvas (see weekly calendar for the deadline). There will be two midterm exams in this class. Exams are time-limited and distributed on Canvas. The weeks of the tests are listed in the weekly course plan below. Tests are typically available for taking over a three-day period during the second halves of the exam weeks; exact dates will be announced. There will be NO make-up tests for any reason other than verified medical necessity or other documented matter of high importance covering the entire test period. Permission must be granted prior to taking a make-up exam. If you miss a test, it is given a score of zero.
Final Exam: Final exam will be given during the second half of the finals week in a similar fashion as the midterm exams; exact dates are to be announced. Grading Policy: Syllabus quiz: 10 points 1 % of the final grade Homework: 540 points 54% of the final grade (45 points per HW) Low Midterm Exam: 100 points 10% of the final grade High Midterm Exam: 150 points 15% of the final grade Final Exam: 200 points 20% of the final grade -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total: 1000 points Grading Scale: A B C D F Class Policies: 900-1000 points 800-899 points 700-799 points 600-699 points < 600 points * Note on Canvas s gradebook accuracy: since not all the assignments are completed on Canvas and because the midterm exams carry weights based on your individual performance, Canvas s gradebook won t accurately reflect your overall in-class standing. In order to evaluate your up-to-date grade you will need to consider points collected for the assignments taken off Canvas (homework completed on Sapling) and apply weights to your exams (to do this please multiply the score of your better exam by three and the score of the other one by two). If you ever have any difficulty with estimating your on-going class standing please ask me for help. 1. The college makes every effort to create a free and encouraging learning environment for students but we need your cooperation in achieving our mutual educational goals. Please read LACCD's Standards of Student Conduct published in the College's catalog. Those rules outline students' expected behavior and are strictly enforced. 2. No plagiarism or any other form of academic dishonesty will be tolerated in this class. If students are caught cheating on any assignment, including homework, their grades will be severely affected and other unpleasant repercussions will follow. Any cheating offense will, at a minimum, bring the score of the assignment down to zero; no make-up work will be allowed. For the homework, the assignment won t be a subject for the lowest score drop policy; instead, the lowest score of another assignment will be deducted, which will significantly reduce the points available for the homework. Additionally, the event will be reported to the Department Chair and VP of Student Services for a disciplinary action. Class suspension or expulsion from the college will not make anyone s life any easier. 3. It is expected that students will demonstrate respectful behavior and will not interfere with class activities in any way. When making comments on Canvas discussion board please be mindful of your classmates who may not share exactly the same point of view: we are here to exchange opinions, not to confront each other. Students with disabilities: Please communicate to the instructor if you will require any special accommodations during class and/or tests. A note from SPS department will be necessary to provide the appropriate assistance. Get your appointment with SPS staff early; don t wait until after the first exam. Weekly Calendar: Chapter numbers and pages shown refer to the 20 th edition of the textbook; if you have a different edition, please use listed topics and/or cross-reference guide published in Canvas s class site to find the appropriate areas to study.
Dates shown identify the beginning of the week for which the study plan is outlined. UNIT I Week 1 February 5, 2018 Ch1 p5-11 and Appendix HW1 The Economic perspective: scarcity and opportunity cost. Theories, principles, and models; ceteris paribus. Economic branches, positive and normative statements. Individual s economizing problem. Graphs: building and reading, quick math review. Week 2 February 12, 2018 Ch1 p11-20, Ch38 p839-848, 851-857 HW2 Syllabus quiz is due on Canvas (check the deadline) Society s Economizing Problem; economic resources: land, labor, capital and entrepreneurship. Production Possibility Curve; unemployment, economic growth and the future. The economic basis for trade: absolute advantage vs. comparative advantage. Gains from trade. Trade barriers and export subsidies. Week 3 February 19, 2018 Ch2 HW3 Economic systems: market and command; characteristics of the market system. Fundamental questions: what to produce, how to produce, who gets products The invisible hand. Circular flow model. Week 4 February 26, 2018 Ch3 and Appendix HW4 Markets. Demand: Law of Demand, changes in demand vs. quantity demanded. Supply: Law of Supply, changes in supply vs. quantity supplied. Market equilibrium; changes in demand, supply, and equilibrium. Applications: government set prices; price floors and price ceilings. Extended analysis: changes in supply and demand; preset prices. Week 5 March 5, 2018 Ch4 HW5 Market failures in competitive markets; efficiently functioning markets. Consumer and producer surpluses. Effect of sales tax. Efficiency (deadweight) losses. Public goods vs. private goods. Externalities. Diamond-Water Paradox. Week 6 March 12, 2018 Midterm Unit I (during the second half of the week) UNIT II Week 7 March 19, 2018 Ch6 HW6 Price elasticity of demand, elastic demand, inelastic demand, elasticity and total revenue (the total revenue test), determinants and applications of price elasticity of demand. Price elasticity of supply; cross and income elasticity of demand. Week 8 March 26, 2018 Ch7 and Appendix HW7 Concept of utility, concept of marginal analysis, total utility and marginal utility, law of diminishing marginal utility. Theory of consumer behavior: choice and budget constraint. Utility maximization and demand curve. Income and substitution effects. Diamond-Water paradox revisited. Indifference curve analysis (appendix). Week 9 April 2, 2018 Spring Break (No Class)
Week 10 April 9, 2018 Ch9 HW8 Economic costs. Economic profit vs. accounting profit. Short-run production relationships. Law of diminishing returns, marginal vs. total vs. average product. Short-run production costs: fixed vs. variable vs. total costs. Per-unit (average) costs, marginal costs. Cost curves. Short-run vs. long-run cost curves. Economies and diseconomies of scale. Week 11 April 16, 2018 Midterm Unit II (during the second half of the week) UNIT III Week 12 April 23, 2018 Ch10, Ch11 p240-242 HW9 Market models. Pure (perfect) competition and its characteristics. Demand as seen by a purely competitive seller. Profit maximization in the short-run: total and marginal analysis. Marginal cost and short-run supply. Pure competition in the long-run. The long-run adjustment process in pure competition. Week 13 April 30, 2018 Ch12 HW10 Pure monopoly, characteristics and barriers to entry. Monopoly demand. Output and price determination, economic effects of monopoly. Price discrimination. Regulated monopoly. Week 14 May 7, 2018 Ch13 HW11 Monopolistic competition: characteristics, price and output, efficiency and product variety. Oligopoly: characteristics and behavior. Game theory and prisoners dilemma. Three oligopoly models. Advertising and efficiency. Week 15 May 14, 2018 Ch14 p313-320, Ch15 HW12 Continuation / finishing of the previous week material Significance of resource pricing; marginal productivity theory of resource demand. Determinants of resource demand. Wage determination. Labor demand, derived demand for labor, market demand curve, labor market equilibrium. Purely competitive labor market; monopsony model. Labor outsourcing, labor unions, economic effects of labor unions. Minimum wage controversy. Week 16 May 21, 2018 Continuation /finishing of the previous week material Week 17 May 28, 2018 Final Exam (during the second half of the week) Standards of Student Conduct A student enrolling in one of the Los Angeles Community Colleges may rightfully expect that the faculty and administrators will maintain an environment in which there is freedom to learn. This requires that there be appropriate conditions and opportunities in the classroom and on the campus. As members of the College Community, students should be encouraged to develop the capacity for critical judgment; to engage in sustained and independent search for truth; and to exercise their rights to free inquiry and free speech in a responsible, non-violent manner. Students shall respect and obey civil and criminal law, and shall be subject to legal penalties for violation of laws of the city, county, state, and nation. Student conduct in all of the Los Angeles Community Colleges must conform to District and College rules and regulations. Violations of such rules and regulations, for which students are subject to disciplinary action, include, but are not limited to the following:
Board Rule 9803.10. Willful disobedience to directions of College officials acting in the performance of their duties. Board Rule 9803.11. Violation of College rules and regulations including those concerning student organizations, the use of College facilities, or the time, place, and manner of public expression or distribution of materials. Board Rule 9803.12. Dishonesty, such as cheating, or knowingly furnishing false information to the Colleges. Board Rule 9803.13. Unauthorized entry to or use of the College facilities. Board Rule 9803.14. Forgery, alteration, or misuse of College documents, records or identification. Board Rule 9803.15. Obstruction or disruption of classes, administration, disciplinary procedures or authorized College activities. Board Rule 9803.16. Theft of or damage to property belonging to the College, a member of the College Community or a campus visitor. Board Rule 9803.17. The malicious or willful disturbance of the peace or quiet of any of the Los Angeles Community Colleges by loud or unusual noise or any threat, challenge to fight, fight, or violation of any rules of conduct as set forth in this Article. Any person whose conduct violates this section shall be considered to have interfered with the peaceful conduct of the activities of the college where such acts are committed. Board Rule 9803.18. Assault or battery, abuse, or any threat of force or violence directed toward any member of the College Community or campus visitor engaged in authorized activities. Los Angeles Harbor College Academic Senate Plagiarism Policy The following is a general campus policy and more specific examples may be devised by discipline. This policy is based on the following resources: Harris, R. (2001). The Plagiarism Handbook: Strategies for Preventing, Detecting, and Dealing with Plagiarism. Los Angeles, CA: Pyrczak Publishing. The Standards of Student Conduct in the Los Angeles Harbor College Catalog includes Board Rule 9803.12 which states, "dishonesty, such as cheating, or knowingly furnishing false information to the Colleges" shall be subject to disciplinary action. Definition: Plagiarism is a student's failure to distinguish his or her own words and ideas from those of a source the student has consulted. Ideas derived from another, whether presented as exact words, a paraphrase, a summary or quoted phrase, must always be appropriately referenced to the source, whether the source is printed, electronic, or spoken. Whenever exact words are used, quotation marks or an indented block indicator of a quotation must be used, together with the proper citation in a style required by the professor. Usually, three or more words in a row copied from a source without a citation constitutes plagiarism. Examples: Ex. 1. Common knowledge -- John Kennedy was assassinated in 1963 does not require a source, for example. (If a source is used, cite it.) Ex. 2. If you have a question about whether it is plagiarism, be sure to include the quotation marks and citation information. Penalty: The penalty process is decided by the instructor and departmental policies with the following suggested progressive discipline guidelines: warning, rewrite assignment, zero points on assignment, or Administrative discipline. Appeals: Appeals should be directed to the Division Chair for further action as required by due process. Los Angeles Harbor College Mission: Los Angeles Harbor College promotes access and student success through associate and transfer degrees, certificates, economic and workforce development, and basic skills instruction. Our educational programs and support services meet the needs of diverse communities as measured by campus institutional learning outcomes.