ECONOMICS 101: PRINCIPLES OF MICROECONOMICS FALL SEMESTER 2013 Professor Treber Office Hours Office: Ascension 305 Mon 2:00-3:00 pm Phone: 5435 Tue 9:00-10:00 am Email: treberj@kenyon.edu Wed 2:00-3:00 pm Thu 9:00-10:00 am COURSE DESCRIPTION Economics is often described as the study of how society allocates scarce resources. This course is designed to introduce you to the concept of scarcity and how it encompasses the world you live in. You will learn how individuals, firms, and governments confront this problem. On a broader level, this course is intended to help you develop critical thinking skills that can be generally applied across all fields of study. The structure of this course is designed to introduce you to various economic theories and illustrate the application of these theories to naturally occurring events. To this end the course will consist of lectures, class discussions, readings, homework assignments, and exams. As is generally true for all of life s endeavors, how much you get out of this course will depend to a considerable extent on the effort you apply. REQUIRE TEXT & MATERIALS Account with Aplia.com to complete homework and practice problem sets. A digital copy of Tyler Cowen and Alex Tabarrok s textbook Modern Principles: Microeconomics, 2 nd Edition is included with the Aplia account. ATTENDANCE & PARTICIPATION This class is designed to provide an interactive learning experience that encourages students to be active participants in class. Students are expected to BE ON TIME to class, be prepared to respond to questions posed during class, and contribute to class discussions and activities. Failure to meet these expectations and/or exhibiting disruptive behavior will lead to a lower grade for the course. LECTURE QUESTIONS Please ask questions during the lecture period for purposes of clarification and/or if the question is of general interest to your fellow students. Questions make me aware of what topics require further explanation. If you are not comfortable asking questions in class, I strongly encourage you to see me during office hours to help further your understanding of the material. 1
ACADEMIC HONEST & INTEGRITY Students are expected to learn and practice the proper ways of documenting and acknowledging those whose ideas and words they have drawn upon (see Academic Honesty and Questions of Plagiarism in the Course Catalog). Ignorance and carelessness are not excuses for academic dishonesty. If you are uncertain about the expectations for academic honesty in this class, please ask for clarification. GRADING The following weights will be applied in calculating your final grade: Homework (average of top ten scores) 25% Exam 1 25% Exam 2 25% Exam 3 25% Optional final exam (replaces lowest exam score) HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENTS There will be approximately twelve homework assignment throughout the semester. The homework assignments provide opportunities to apply the material covered in class. While working in groups can be beneficial in getting through difficult material, it is imperative that each student have a clear understanding of the problems in the homework assignments. The homework assignments must be completed online at Aplia s website. Late assignments will not be accepted. EXAMS Each exam will focus primarily on the material covered since the previous exam with the exception of the final exam which will be comprehensive. All exams will be in-class and closed book. Any device capable of storing text, including graphing calculators, cannot be used during exams. Exams will NOT be given early and there will be NO makeup exams. If you miss an exam for ANY reason, that exam will be replaced with the final exam. STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES: Students with disabilities who will be taking this course and may need academic accommodations are encouraged to make an appointment to see me as soon as possible. Also, students are required to register for support services with Erin Salva in the Office of Disability Services in the Olin Library, Center for Innovative Pedagogy. Please contact Erin Salva at extension 5453 or via email at salvae@kenyon.edu. 2
TENTATIVE CLASS SCHEDULE (i.e. subject to change) The reading assignments listed below refer to the Cowen and Tabarrok textbook. Supplemental readings such as newspaper or journal articles may also be assigned throughout the semester. Topic Reading and Problem Sets Week 1 30-Aug Fri Introduction Week 2 2-Sep Mon Graphing Review Chapter 1 4-Sep Wed PPF Chapter 2 Aplia Homework 1: Diptheria, Olive Oil and the Polio Vaccine 4-Sep Wed 6-Sep Fri PPF Week 3 9-Sep Mon Demand Chapter 3 (pp. 27-34) 11-Sep Wed Supply Chapter 3 (pp. 34-41) Aplia Homework 2: Catching Giant Bluefin Tuna and Ski Academies 11-Sep Wed 13-Sep Fri Market Equilibrium Chapter 4 Week 4 16-Sep Mon Markets in Action Articles on scurvy, meth, and oranges 18-Sep Wed Markets in Action Articles on public transportation, used economics textbooks, and bio-plastics Aplia Homework 3: Meth, Oxycontin, Teething Whitening, Rental Housing, & Carriages 18-Sep Wed 20-Sep Fri Elasticity Chapter 5 (pp. 65-75) Week 5 23-Sep Mon Elasticity Chapter 5 (pp. 75-84) Aplia Homework 4: Quinoa, Jet Fuel & Florida Motel Rooms 24-Sep Tue 25-Sep Wed Welfare Analysis 27-Sep Fri EXAM #1 3
Week 6 30-Sep Mon Price Controls Chapter 8 2-Oct Wed Price Controls & Taxes Chapter 6 Aplia Homework 5: Cameron Indoor Stadium 2-Oct Wed 4-Oct Fri Taxes & Subsidies Week 7 7-Oct Mon Subsidies & International Trade Chapter 9 9-Oct Wed International Trade 9-Oct Wed Aplia Homework 6: Ohio State Football Tickets & Nigerian Toothpaste 11-Oct Fri No Class - October Break No Class - October Break Week 8 14-Oct Mon Externalities Chapter 10 16-Oct Wed Externalities 16-Oct Wed Aplia Homework 7: Meth (again) & Clotheslines 18-Oct Fri Public Goods & Common Resources Chapter 18 Week 9 21-Oct Mon Public Goods & Common Resources 23-Oct Wed Consumer Choice Chapter 23 Aplia Homework 8: Lacrosse Helmets, Missile Crisis, & Other Stuff 23-Oct Wed 25-Oct Fri Consumer Choice Week 10 28-Oct Mon Consumer Choice 29-Oct Tue Aplia Homework 9: Health Insurance & Spending versus Saving 30-Oct Wed Costs of Production 1-Nov Fri EXAM #2 4
Week 11 4-Nov Mon Costs of Production 6-Nov Wed Costs of Production 8-Nov Fri Perfect Competition Chapter 11 Week 12 11-Nov Mon Perfect Competition 13-Nov Wed Perfect Competition Chapter 12 Aplia Homework 10: Mother of Pearl Shells & Strawberries 13-Nov Wed 15-Nov Fri Monopoly Chapter 13 Week 13 18-Nov Mon Monopoly 20-Nov Wed Monopoly Chapter 14 Aplia Homework 11: Light Bulbs & San Diego Abortions 20-Nov Wed 22-Nov Fri Oligopoly Chatper 15 (pp. 279-288) Week 14 25-Nov Mon 25-Nov Mon 27-Nov Wed No Class - Thanksgiving Break No Class - Thanksgiving Break No Class - Thanksgiving Break Week 15 2-Dec Mon Oligopoly 4-Dec Wed Monopolistic Competition Chatper 15 (pp. 288-294) Aplia Homework 12: Rails versus Water 4-Dec Wed 6-Dec Fri Monopolistic Competition Week 16 9-Dec Mon Monopolistic Competition 11-Dec Wed EXAM #3 13-Dec Fri Wrap up Week 17 17-Dec Tue EXAM #4 (6:30 9:30 pm) for the 9:10 Section 5
How to access your Aplia course Econ 101 Instructor: Jaret Treber / David Harrington / Kathy Krynski Start Date: 08/26/2013 Course Key: 5YKT-DB3H-BSAY Registration Aplia is part of CengageBrain, which allows you to sign in to a single site to access your Cengage materials and courses. 1. Connect to http://login.cengagebrain.com/ 2. If you already have an account, sign in. From your Dashboard, enter your course key (5YKT-DB3H-BSAY) in the box provided, and click the Register button. If you don't have an account, click the Create a New Account button, and enter your course key when prompted: 5YKT-DB3H-BSAY. Continue to follow the on-screen instructions. During the registration process, you should be prompted to sign up for a particular section. YOU SHOULD CHOOSE JT04, which is my initials and the section number for this course. Payment Online: After registering, you can buy access to Aplia from myhome.cengagebrain.com. If you choose to pay later, you can use Aplia without paying until 11:59 PM on 09/15/2013. After paying, you will have the option to purchase a physical book at a discounted price. For more information on registering for Aplia, please visit http://www.cengagebrain.com/aplia/ 6