EC-201-005: Introduction to Microeconomics Fall Semester 2011 Tu,Th 1:00pm-2:20pm 108 Ernst Bessey Hall Instructor: Stacy Miller

mill1782@msu.edu: I usually respond within 24 hours Berkey Hall 5I (basement) Office hours: Wednesday 9:30am-11:30am, or by appointment MSU EC-201 course description: Economic institutions, reasoning and analysis. Consumption, production, determination of price and quantity in different markets. Income distribution, market structure and normative analysis. Course credits: 3 hours About the course: This course is an introduction to microeconomic principles and is intended to develop a basic understanding of economic institutions, reasoning, and analysis. We will start with a general introduction to Economics and cost-benefit analysis. Then I will introduce the Supply & Demand model using the concepts discussed in the introduction. What will we use this model and cost-benefit analysis for? To study the effect of taxes on social welfare why we might need government intervention to prevent pollution why does breakfast cereal cost so much why might we need patents and copyright laws why a flight attendant make more money than a waitress why might those with college degrees make more money and more! Prerequisites: For those of you who havent been in a math class in a while, please review the appendix to chapter 2 (sixth edition: p. 40-48). If you struggle with any of the material, please visit me at office hours or make an appointment to go over the material with me. Required text: N. Gregory Mankiw, Principles of Microeconomics, South-western Press, sixth edition, 2011. Previous editions are also acceptable. Definitions used in class are taken directly from the textbook to ensure consistency between my lectures and the textbook. A reserved copy (fifth edition) will be available for two hour check-out at the main library as of September 5th. My expectation is that you will read the textbook at the same pace as we cover the material in class. In other words, read the chapters each week that we cover in class that same week. EC-201 Help Room: The Help Room will take place Sunday through Thursday, from 3 p.m. to 9 p.m. each day, on the second floor of the West Wing of the Main Library. In order to get the most assistance from the Help Room TAs, bring any class material that might be useful.

Add/drop dates: The last day of open add is 9/7/11 by 8pm. The last day to drop with a refund is 9/26/11 by 8pm. The last day to drop with no grade reported is 10/19/11 by 8pm. Course website: angel.msu.edu. During this session, I will send emails to the entire class through angel, so it would be a good idea to adjust your settings on angel so that any email goes directly to your main email account. Handouts: To assist you in note-taking, I will have handouts posted on the course website for each chapter. These handouts will be available at least 24 hours before the corresponding lecture. Please note that these handouts are not fill in the blanks. Youre expected to take notes on anything said in lecture that might be useful to you, whether or not it is specified in the handout. Grading: Your grade will be based on homework assignments, two mid-term exams and a final exam. Homework: there are twelve homework assignments this semester. One will be due every Thursday except Sept. 1st, Nov. 24th and Dec. 8th. Each assignment is worth 1% of your final grade. They are graded largely based on effort. At the end of the semester, your lowest two homework scores will be dropped. Altogether, the homework will be worth 10% of your final grade. o To turn in the homework, give me a hardcopy of your homework (handwritten or typed) before or after class on Thursdays (not during class!). o The homework assignments will be posted on the course website. Mid-term and final exams: there will be two mid-terms and one final exam which make up 90% of your grade. Below I have listed three possible weighting schemes for the exams. I will automatically choose the weighting scheme for each student that gives him or her the highest possible grade. Weighting Scheme I 10% 30% 30% 30% Weighting Scheme II 10% 25% 30% 35% Weighting Scheme III 10% 30% 25% 35%

Homework Mid-Term I (Tues. 10/4) Mid-Term II (Tues. 11/8) Final (Tues. 12/13)

Questions on exam grading: If you have a disagreement or question on how an exam of yours was graded, type or write (legibly please) a statement explaining your reasoning and then give this statement along with the exam to me before class, after class or during office hours. Though I do not expect to make many grade changes, I will carefully consider your respectfully given opinion. Make-ups: There will be no make-up exams or homework assignments. An excused absence is defined by the following: Illness of the student or serious illness of a member of the students immediate family University sponsored trips Major religious holidays.

In each case, written verification will be required and permission to miss an exam must be secured before the scheduled exam time (minimum of a week) unless the cause of the absence is unforeseen. Disability Accommodation Requests: Michigan State University is committed to providing equal opportunity for participation in all programs, services and activities. Requests for accommodations by persons with disabilities may be made by contacting the Resource Center for Persons with Disabilities at 517-884-RCPD or on the web at rcpd.msu.edu. Once your eligibility for an accommodation has been determined, you will be issued a verified individual services accommodation (VISA) form. Please present this form to me at the start of the term and/or two weeks prior to the accommodation date (test, project, etc). Requests received after this date will be honored whenever possible. How to study: I wish learning was an easy enough process that you could just come to class and instantly retain all the material you need to know with the required depth. But thats not how it works. Coming to class is just the first step. You need to also do the readings, perhaps take notes on the readings, do the homework assignments, maybe redo the homework assignments, possibly make flashcards, actually use the flashcards, form a study group or even lead a study group (if you dont know anyone in the class, you can email out over Angel to see who else wants to work in a study group). Most importantly, everyone has a different learning style, and you need to figure out what works best for you. During these next fourteen weeks, I hope to be a valuable resource for you as you prepare for exams. Drop by during my office hours or email me with questions whether youre struggling or just wanting to better understand the material. Quick Instructor Bio: Im originally from a suburb outside of Seattle, WA. I have a BA in economics and applied math from Whitman College, a small liberal-arts college in Walla Walla, WA. I have a masters in economics from MSU and am about a year away from getting a PhD in economics. Tentative Course Outline: Topic Week 1 (Sept. 1st) Week 2 Models and Assumptions Interdependence and the Gains from Trade Supply and Demand Week 3 Elasticity Supply, Demand, & Government Policies Week 4 Consumer, Producers, and the Efficiency of Markets The Costs of Taxation Week 5 International Trade Ch. 9 Ch. 7, 8 Ch. 5, 6 Ch. 2, 3, 4 What Economics is about

Text Ch. 1

Review Week 6 First Mid-term (10/4) Externalities Week 7 Public Goods and Common Resources Tax System Week 8 The Costs of Production Perfect Competition Week 9 Monopoly Monopolistic Structure Week 10 Oligopoly Review Week 11 Second Mid-term (11/8) Factors of Production Week 12 Earnings and Discrimination Income Inequality and Poverty Week 13 Consumer Choice Thanksgiving Week 14 Consumer Choice continued Frontiers Week 15 Frontiers continued Review Finals Week Final Exam: Tuesday Dec. 13, 12:45pm-2:45pm Ch. 22 Ch. 21, 22 Ch. 21 Ch. 18 Ch. 19, 20 Ch. 17 Ch. 15, 16 Ch. 13, 14 Ch. 10 Ch. 11, 12