ECN 3113 Section 900: Intermediate Microeconomic Theory

ECN 3113 Section 900: Intermediate Microeconomic Theory University of Oklahoma Fall, 2017 Prerequisite: Principles of Economics Professor: Class Meets: Mon & Wed 4:30 pm - 5:45 pm Office: 422 Cate Center Drive Class Room: Gaylord Hall 0112 Telephone: 405 325 2643 Office Hours: Mon & Wed 11:30-12:30 pm. Email: pallab.ghosh@ou.edu This syllabus is a contract between you and me. By taking this course you agree to abide by the policies and rules listed within. Learning Outcomes: The purpose of this course is to give students a thorough understanding of the principles of economics that apply to the decisions of individuals both consumers and producers within the larger economic system. It places primary emphasis on the nature and functions of product markets, and includes the study of factor markets and the role of government in promoting greater efficiency and equity in the economy. We will examine some methodological questions in economics, and cover such concepts as scarce resources, unlimited wants, and tradeoffs in decision-making. Our time together is designed with the following learning goals. (1) To gain an understanding of the theoretical tools of modern microeconomics to solve a variety of analytical problems. (2) To gain an understanding of the empirical findings of modern microeconomics. (3) To become aware of how the theoretical tools of microeconomics can be used to better understand personal and societal economic outcomes. (4) To become aware of how empirical evidence on microeconomics feeds into personal and societal economic decisions. 1

Course Materials: The text book for this course is Microeconomics: Theory & Applications with Calculus, 4th Edition, by Jeffrey M. Perloff. This textbook is available at the OU Bookstore. Previous editions are available through various outlets these are fine to use as well. All my lecture notes are based on this text book. Therefore, I combined all the lecture notes which is available in the King Kopy & Printing at 119 W Boyd St 112, Norman. If you don t want to buy the book, I will strongly encourage you to buy (or have) hard copy of the lecture notes from the King Kopy if you wish to do well in this course. Course Calendar: ECN 3113 is organized into the four broad topic areas I. Consumer Choice theory and Market Equilibrium: Ch2-Ch4 II. Firms s decision making and Competitive Market Equilibrium: Ch6-Ch8 III. General Equilibrium and Monopolistic Market: Ch9-Ch11 IV. Imperfect Market and Firms strategic Interactions: Ch12-Ch14 The course coverage will be split into four sections; each section will be four weeks long. There will be a problem set handed out on every second and third Wednesday of the four week section and those HW will be due on the following Wednesday. I will hand over some practice problems at end of the each chapter. There will also be a quiz on the fourth Monday of the every four week section. Each quiz will consist of 2 essay problems and 10 multiple choice questions. You will have maximum 30 minutes to answer those questions. There will also be an exam on the final Wednesday of the first three four week sessions. Final exam will be in the final week. I will hand over a practice exam on the third Wednesday of the four week section. You are expected to solve it by yourself. I have allocated extra office hours on the final Monday explicitly for your exam preparation. Please stop by my office hours on final Monday if you have any difficulties including the practice exam questions. Because the course moves swiftly, you are strongly encouraged to read ahead. Please see Table 3 for detailed class schedule. 2

Table 1: Distribution of Final Grade Index Weights Quiz (In Class) 10% Think Like an Economist (Take Home Exam) 20% Midterm Exams (In Class) 45% Final Exam (In Class) 25% Course Grades: Your course grade will be based on, three midterm exams, four quiz, four take home exam, a final exam, as well as a possibility for bonus points based on attendance. The weights of all these items are listed in Table 1. Exams will contain both multiple choice and short essay questions. Problem sets will contain longer more thought provoking questions surrounding microeconomic outcomes. Your take home exams are designed to show how well you understand the conceptual and empirical findings of microeconomics and whether you can use modern microeconomics to clarify the positive and normative consequences of real life outcomes. Grading Scale: Both in class and take home exams and as well as quiz will be scored numerically. The following grading scale will be used to determine your letter grade for ECN 3113 A : 90-100 B : 80-89.99 C : 70-79.99 D : 60-69.99 F : 0-59.99 I believe in horizontal equity: all students who receive the same numerical grade will receive the same letter grade (i.e. a 90 will not be an B for one student and an A for another). I also believe in vertical equity: higher numerical grades will (obviously) correspond to higher letter grades. After grading is complete, identical adjustments may be made to everyones grade if the median score is lower than expected. Problem Sets: There are 8 problem sets and the solution keys are already posted in Canvas. You are expected to use them as tool to prepare for in-class quiz and as well as midterm exams. These assignments will not be collected for grading. However, in-class quiz/exam questions will often follow these questions closely at times even using them. Therefore, I will string advice you to go through these problem sets by your own and then use the solution keys to check your answers. 3

Quiz: There will be a quiz at the beginning of the class on the final Monday in every four week section. You are requested to come early in the class particular that day. You will have 30 minutes to answer 2 essay problems and 10 multiple choice questions. The specific details are shown in Table 2. Table 2: Quiz Details Essay Problems Multiple Choice Quiz 1 PS1 and PS2 Practice Problems Ch 1-4 Quiz 2 PS3 and PS4 Practice Problems Ch 6-8 Quiz 3 PS5 and PS6 Practice Problems Ch 9-11 Quiz 4 PS7 and PS8 Practice Problems Ch 12-14 Note that If you come late in the class, you will not get any extra time. I will take everyone s answer key at the same time. You are not allowed to leave the class room even if you finish early. Hence, I would encourage you to use the 30 minutes rather than handing out your answer key before time. Think Like an Economist: There will be 4 take home exam each worth of 5 points. These exams are based on real life scenarios. In each take exam, I will provide you two real life economic problems as a society we are facing right now. I want your opinions on these issues. For example, in earth we have limited oil which is our main source of energy. Economists predicted that we will out of oil by end of the 21st century if we keep using the oil in the current rate. Therefore, we already invested money for our alternative sources of energy such as solar power, biofuel, hydro-electric and nuclear fusion energy. I want to have your opinion which sources of energy you think we should invest more as a main alternative viable source of energy. It s not only stating the opinion, you need to also provide the economic logic and reasons. The best thing about this exam is that there is no right or wrong answer. All I want to see from you is how you cortically think and address a real life economic issue. Because you need to think critically, I want you to make a group of three and discuss the answer by yourselves. You don t need to submit individual answers instead submit a single answer copy for the group. You can always change the the group. It s up to you. I won t accept the answer copy of a single individual who does not want to be any group. You should answer each question within 200-400 words and submit the hard copy of a word document (double spaced, standard margins and 12 4

point font) in the class on the final Monday of each four week session. Please use a cover page and write down the names of all members of your group and clearly cite any references on a separate page. Any commonly used style for citations is acceptable. No hand written answer copy will be accepted. The questions will be posted on the first Monday of each four week session so that you will get exactly three weeks to prepare your answer. Midterm and Final Exams: There will be three midterm exams. Each will count for 15% of your final grade. The dates of the exams are September 13th, October 11th and November 8th. The midterm exams are not cumulative. Each exam will be based on the topics covered in that particular four weeks section. The final exam will be held on December 11th, from 10:30am -12:30pm. The final exam is cumulative and worth 25% of your overall grade. However, the majority of the exam (and all the analytical questions) will test the material covered in the last section of the course material. Class Participation and Attendance: There are 4 bonus points in each midterm and class attendance. Therefore, I will take attendance regularly by using iclicker. The attendance rules are described as follows: If you miss two classes in every four week section, you won t be penalized. However, if you miss three classes in any four week section, I will take 2 points off from your midterm/final exam score. If you miss four classes, your midterm score will be penalized by 10 points. Furthermore, if you miss five or more classes, your midterm score will be penalized by 20 points which is equivalent to a two letter grade. The above table shows the summary of the attendance policy: If you want to miss a class for a valid reason, please let me know before the class. I won t count that as a absence based on my judgement of your reason for missing the class. If you have official University activities, severe Medical needs, or emergencies provide me with documentation. If you skip class regularly and each time fail to provide any legitimate documents for skipping classes, I reserve the right to give you incomplete as the final grade for this course. If you want to miss a class for a valid reason, please let me know before the class. I won t count that as a absence based on my judgement of your reason for missing the class. If you have official University activities, severe Medical needs, or emergencies provide me with documentation. If you skip class regularly and each time fail to provide any legitimate documents for skipping classes, I reserve the right to give you incomplete as the final grade for this course. 5

Table 3: Attendance Policy No of Class Missed in 4 Weeks Additional Points in Each Midterm 0 +4 1 +2 2 0 3-2 4-10 5 or more -20 Class Test and Participation: There will be 4 bonus points based on class test. In each class by using iclicker I will ask you multiple questions based on the study materials I will cover on that day. If you attempt the question you will get 0.5 and for correctness you will get another 0.5 so for each question you will get maximum 1 point. End of the each 4 weeks session, I will calculate how much you score out of 4 based on the rules I mention in Table 4. Table 4: Class Test Invidual Question 1 (Participation = 0.5 and Correctness = 0.5) Your Score Out of 4 = (Total Points Earned/Total Number of Questions) 4 You can also earn 4 bonus points based on your class participation. This class participation is based on the overall impression you will make through out the 4 weeks window. Specifically, I will get the impression based on how many times you asked a question in the class, participated in a discussion, solve a problem in the class, stop by my office hours and your overall sincerity about this class. Since this will be completely based on my judgement, you can not argue how many points you should get or compare with your friends. If you do, I will give you zero without any further discussion. Important Exam Details: I do not give makeup examinations, but if you have a reasonable excuse in my judgment for missing a midterm exam, then the final exam will count for 40% of your course grade. Similarly if you do not take the final exam for any reason you must provide me with a written explanation for you absence. If, in my judgment, your final exam absence is justified then your course grade 6

will be adjusted by replacing your three midterm exams weight as 70%. Excuses should be discussed before the exam dates and any unexcused absences from an exam will result in a zero on that exam. Student with Disabilities: Students who may need academic accommodations due to a disability should discuss their needs with me at the beginning of the semester. To obtain authorized accommodations, you should be registered with the Office of Disability Services and have an updated accommodation letter for me. Accommodations and related support services such as exam administration are not provided retroactively and must be requested in advance. For more information about services and policy, please visit the university website. Academic Integrity: The University of Oklahoma Academic Integrity Policy holds students accountable for the integrity of the work they submit. The policy also governs the integrity of work submitted in exams and homework assignments as well as the veracity of signatures on attendance sheets and other verifications of participation in class activities. You must do all of your exams independently. If it is determined that you have violated this standard of academic honesty you can receive an F in the course. For more information please visit the University of Oklahoma website. Grading Philosophy: If you believe that any of your assignments or exams has not been correctly graded, then you may resubmit the graded assignment or exam with a short note explaining why you think it was incorrectly graded. I will then re-grade the entire assignment or exam, with your comments in mind. If, after receiving the response, you would like to discuss the issue further, you are more than welcomed to do so in person. NOTE: The grade you get after a review is final, and may be higher or lower than the original grade. Classroom Setting: Please be on time for class. PLEASE always feel free to ask any questions- discussion is critical to fostering the best learning environments. I will post the lectures notes and practice problems before the class. I expect you to take the print out of those study materials in the class and take class notes. The materials are best mastered when you prepare before class by reviewing the course materials we are covering that day. Students can use a calculator on exams but no graphing calculators or phones/tablets. I do not allow texting in the class and also I don t encourage using cell phones during my lecture. If I find you are texting during my lecture, I will collect your cell phone and put 7

it in the table. You will collect your cell phone at the end of the class. You can use a laptop but if you start typing in the laptop and create noise I will ask you to leave the classroom because it will disturb other students. A brief note on a Department Policy: The Economics department reserves the right to drop students from courses for non-attendance during the first week. Students who wish to drop a class they are still registered for after the first week of class still have the responsibility to drop the course. 8

Recommendation Letters: I am always excited to help students achieve their goals. While the core of this is helping you enhance your mastery of economics, another part can be composing recommendation letters for law school, other graduate/phd programs, internships, awards/scholarships, and job applications. However, one rule I follow is that students complete my course and earn an A before asking me to write letters of recommendation. Under exceptional circumstances (i.e., very close an A or a within-term case where a student is currently performing at a solid level), I may make exceptions. This requirement protects everyone I have limited time and students only benefit from strong letters. Teaching Assistant: Name: Trupti Chaure Office: 335 Cate Center Drive (Cate 1) Office Hours: Friday 10:00 am to 12:00 pm email: trupti.chaure@ou.edu 9

Table 5: Class Schedule Part Week Date Monday Date Wednesday Part 1 W1 Aug 21 Syllabus and Introduction (Ch1) Aug 23 Supply and Demand (Ch2) W2 Aug 28 Ch2 & Consumer Choice (Ch3) Aug 30 Consumer Choice (Ch3) W3 Sep 04 No Class (Labor Day) Sep 06 Ch 3 & Demand (Ch4) W4 Sep 11 Quiz 1 & Review of Midterm 1 Sep 13 Midterm I (Take Home Exam 1 Due) (Chapter 2 - Chapter 4) (Extra Office Hours for Midterm I) Part 2 W5 Sep 18 Production (Ch6) Sep 20 Production (Ch6) W6 Sep 25 Ch6 & Costs (Ch7) Sep 27 Costs (Ch7) W7 Oct 02 Ch7 & Perfect Competition (Ch8) Oct 04 Perfect Competition (Ch8) W8 Oct 9 Quiz 2 & Review of Midterm 2 Oct 11 Midterm II (Take Home Exam 2 Due) (Chapter 6 - Chapter 8) (Extra Office Hours for Midterm II) Part 3 W9 Oct 16 App. of PC (Ch9) Oct 18 General Eq and Welfare (Ch10) W10 Oct 23 General Eq and Welfare (Ch10) Oct 25 Monopoly (Ch11) W11 Oct 30 Monopoly (Ch11) Nov 01 Monopoly (Ch11) W12 Nov 06 Quiz 3 & Review of Midterm3 Nov 08 Midterm III (Take Home Exam 3 Due) (Chapter 9 - Chapter 11) (Extra Office Hours for Midterm III) Part 4 W13 Nov 13 Pricing and Advertising (Ch12) Nov 15 Pricing and Advertising (Ch12) W14 Nov 20 Game Theory (Ch13) Nov 22 No Class (Thanksgiving Break) W15 Nov 27 Game Theory (Ch13) Nov 29 Oligopoly (Ch14) W16 Dec 04 Oligopoly (Ch14) Dec 06 Quiz 4 & Review of Final Exam (Extra Office Hours for Final Exam) (Take Home Exam 3 Due) Final Week Dec 11 Final Exam (10:30 am -12:30 pm) Dec 15 Final Grades Will be Uploaded (Cumulative, but emphasis on Ch12-Ch14) 10