Applied Microeconomic Analysis (ECO 3104, Spring 2005) Professor: Tim Sass Office: 269 BEL Phone: 644-7087 E-mail: tsass@fsu.edu Webpage: http://garnet.acns.fsu.edu/~tsass Overview: Prerequisites: This course develops intermediate microeconomic theory and teaches students how economics is used in business and public policy decisionmaking. Emphasis is placed on acquisition, analysis and interpretation of economic data. By the end of the course students should be familiar with intermediate microeconomic theory and basic statistical tools used in economic analysis. The official prerequisites for this course are ECO 2023 (microeconomics principles) and STA 3014 (introductory statistics). Some basic familiarity with personal computers and the internet is assumed. Previous experience with a spreadsheet program like Excel is also very helpful. Required Texts: Steineman, Apgar and Brown, Microeconomics for Public Decisions, Thompson/Southwestern, 2005. Hirschey, Managerial Economics (Custom text containing selected chapters from original text), Thompson/Southwestern, 2004. Lectures Notes: Copies of lecture outlines are available on the class web site. Office Hours: E-mail: Web Site: Tuesday and Thursday 1:30-3:00 and by appointment. These hours are reserved for students, so do not hesitate drop in without an appointment and spend as much of this time as you need getting help. If you would like to meet with me at other times of the day, please let me know ahead of time. Feel free to send e-mail to me at tsass@fsu.edu. I am very conscientious about checking e-mail; you will generally get a prompt reply. The course web page and related course materials can be accessed using the Blackboard system. Every student enrolled in the course will automatically have access to Blackboard. However, you must have a garnet or mailer email account with ACNS. To access the Blackboard system, go to http://campus.fsu.edu/ and follow the login proceedures. The features of Blackboard and the course web site are described in more detail later in the syllabus.
Grading: Late Penalty: Make-Ups: Honor Code: A.D.A.: There will be one midterm (25%), a comprehensive final (30%) and five homework projects (9% each -- total 45%). Exams will be a combination of short answer and essay questions. Exam dates and due dates for the homework projects are given on the course calendar. Your course grade will be based entirely on your performance on the exams and homework projects. Grades are based on your performance relative to the top score earned in the class, not on the total possible points. There is no extra credit available to compensate for poor scores on the graded material. A penalty of ten percent of the total possible points will be assessed for every weekday or part of a weekday that a homework assignment is late. The maximum penalty is 50 percent of the total possible points. However, no late homework will be accepted after the last day of classes. If you anticipate a conflict with the midterm, let me know in advance. You can contact me via email anytime or during business hours by phone (if no one answers initially, stay on the line and a secretary will eventually pick up and take a message). In most cases, it is possible to arrange an alternate time for an individual student to take the midterm. If you miss the midterm, let me know as soon as possible. If you have a valid reason for missing the exam (e.g. illness) and let me know within 24 hours of the time the exam is given in most cases it is possible to take the exam at a later time. If you miss a midterm and do not contact me within 24 hours, you may be allowed to count your final exam extra. The "double counting" of the final exam will only be allowed under extraordinary circumstances, however. Academic dishonesty as it relates to homeworks and tests in this course will not be allowed in any form. The Academic Honor system of the Florida State University is based on the premise that each student has the responsibility to: (1) uphold the highest standards of academic integrity in the student's own work (2) refuse to tolerate violations of academic integrity (3) foster a high sense of integrity and social responsibility. Put simply, cheating will not be tolerated. If an instance of academic dishonesty takes place, all students involved will receive a zero for that assignment or exam or one full letter grade reduction in their semester grade, whichever is greater. Students with disabilities needing academic accommodations should: (i) register with and provide documentation to the Student Disability Resource Center (SDRC); (ii) bring a letter to the instructor from SDRC indicating that you need academic accommodations. This should be done within the first week of class.
Attendance: Attendance is not graded directly. However, since some material is not in the textbook there tends to be a strong correlation between attendance and performance on the exams. The Powerpoint lecture notes are provided as a convenience to students. They are not intended as a substitute for attending class. It is recommended that you bring hardcopies of the lecture notes to class and take additional notes in the margins during class.
Course Web Page The course web page can be accessed through the Blackboard system at http://campus.fsu.edu/ You will need to have a garnet or mailer email account from ACNS to access the system. Announcements Schedule changes or other special announcements will be posted here. Note that you are responsible for all material that is presented in class, including any announcements. I will try to keep the web site announcements current. However, if a schedule change or other announcement is made in class but not posted on the web site that does not relieve you from the responsibility for being aware of the information. Staff Information Information about the instructor and the grader is available here. Contact information is listed here as well as on the syllabus. Course Documents There are three sets of documents here, the course syllabus and course calendar, study problems for the midterm and final, and each of the five homework projects. Lectures The powerpoint lecture presentations are available here in Powerpoint format. In order to view these lectures you will either need to have PowerPoint installed on your computer or you will need to download and install the free Powerpoint viewer (a link is provided). To view the slides correctly, the viewer needs to be in full-screen mode. Otherwise, the graphs will not appear properly. To advance slides or points use a mouse click. The Powerpoint presentations are not a substitute for attending class. They are intended as outlines only. Students should be prepared to supplement the outlines with notes taken in class. Communication You can send e-mail, view/post to the class discussion board and look up classmates on the class roster here. The discussion forums available on the disscussion board will be particularly useful when working on the homework assignments. I will monitor the discussion and provide help along the way.
Student Tools There are three tools available here: Digital Drop Box, Manual and Address Book. The digital drop box allows you to turn in homework assignments from home rather than bringing them to class. Instructions for using the digital drop box to submit homework are given in the Homework section. The Manual is a guide to using Blackboard. Using Blackboard is pretty straightforward, but if you run into problems you can get help here. The Address Book allows you to set up a file of contacts, for example other students in the class. A class roster with names and emails is available in the Communication section of Blackboard. Check Grade All of your homework and exam scores as well as your current course grade are posted here. To access your scores you will need to fill out a form in which you select a six-digit (no letters) "secret code" and grant permission for the posting of your scores. The forms will be handed out in class when the first homework assignment is due. As long as you do not reveal your secret code to others, only you will be able to access your scores. Resources Links to other relevant materials on the web will be posted here.