TRENT UNIVERSITY

DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMICS

ECON 1010H

INTRODUCTORY MICROECONOMICS

2017 FA Peterborough

Instructor: Dr. M. Arvin

Room 351, Gzowski College
Telephone: 705-748-1011 Ext. 7299
marvin@trentu.ca
(Office hours: please see page 5)

Dept. Administrator: Ms. Leigh Doughty

Room 346, Gzowski College
Telephone: 705-748-1011 Ext. 7531
leighdoughty@trentu.ca

Course Format: Three weekly lectures: Wednesday 11:00 11:50 am (location tba); Friday 3:00
4:50 pm (location tba).

Please check http://www.trentu.ca/timetable/ to confirm times and locations.

Please note: This course does not use Blackboard 9 other than posting copies of the course outline.

I. Description of the Course

This is an introductory course in microeconomics. Its objective is to provide you with a basic
understanding of what microeconomics is all about, and to provide you with basic tools to solve
simple microeconomic problems. Although reference will be made to the "real world, the emphasis
of this course is to familiarize you with the methodology and terminology used in microeconomics as
well as to get him/her to understand the fundamental concepts in microeconomics. Note that this
course is not going to teach you to be an entrepreneur or to teach you how to predict the stock
market. The best way to learn how to do those things is to try them. This course teaches you how to
do economics. Simple algebra and graphs will be used to illustrate concepts.

II. Textbook

The required textbook for this course is:

Parkin, M., and Bade, R., Microeconomics: Canada in the Global Environment, Ninth Edition,
2016, Pearson.

You may also utilize any other first-year textbook for additional readings. These include various
editions of:

Baumol, W.J., A.S. Blinder, and W.M. Scarth, Microeconomics.

Curtis, D., I. Irvine, and D. Begg, Microeconomics.

Krugman, P., R. Wells, I. Au, and J. Parkinson, Microeconomics

Regan, C.T.S. and R.G. Lipsey, Microeconomics.

III. Evaluation and Policies

Evaluation for this course will be as follows:

Eleven (11) Assignments (each one is worth 5.5%) 60.5%

Final Examination 39.5%

Assignments and the final exam questions are applied in nature. Assignments are completed online.
You are required to complete all the assignments. Additional information on assignments is given in
Section VIII.

Students requesting special consideration or waiver of regulations for medical reasons must provide
documentation supporting their claim. In the case of prolonged medical conditions, a letter from a
health care practitioner or the Trent Health Services indicating that the patients condition prevented
him/her from completing an assignment will be required. Simple verbal declarations of illness will
not be accepted.

Students requesting special consideration or waiver of regulations for compassionate emergency

reasons (for example, death or emergency of close relatives) must provide documentation supporting
their claim. Simple verbal declarations of the situation will not be accepted.

The mark will be in accordance with the University numerical and letter grading scale as set out in
the Trent University Calendar.

Academic Integrity: Academic dishonesty, which includes plagiarism and cheating, is an extremely
serious academic offence and carries penalties varying from a zero grade on an assignment to
expulsion from the University. Definitions, penalties, and procedures for dealing with plagiarism
and cheating are set out in Trent Universitys Academic Integrity Policy. You have a responsibility to
educate yourself unfamiliarity with the policy is not an excuse. You are strongly encouraged to
visit Trents Academic Integrity website to learn more: www.trentu.ca/academicintegrity.

Access to Instruction: It is Trent Universitys intent to create an inclusive learning environment. If

a student has a disability and documentation from a regulated health care practitioner and feels that
he/she may need accommodations to succeed in a course, the student should contact the Student
Accessibility Services (SAS) Office at the respective campus as soon as possible. Peterborough:
trentu.ca/sas . Durham: trentu.ca/durham/accessibility . Complete text can be found under
Access to Instruction in the Academic Calendar.

Please see the Trent University Academic Calendar for University Diary dates, Academic
Information and Regulations, and University and departmental degree requirements.

Course Withdrawal Date: The final date to withdraw from this course without academic penalty is
Tuesday, November 7, 2017. By this drop date 27.5% of your course grade will be made available
to you.

IV. MyEconLab Registration

We will utilize MyEconLab (MEL) for our online assignments. MEL is an online interactive tool
enabling students to test and practice their knowledge gained from lectures and the text.

In order to register, please follow the steps below:

1. Go to www.pearsonmylabandmastering.com.

2. Under Register, select Student.

3. Confirm you have the information needed, then select OK! Register now.

4. Enter your instructors course ID: arvin69958 and Continue.

5. Enter your existing Pearson account username and password to Sign In. PLEASE TAKE
CARE TO ENTER YOUR FIRST NAME AND SURNAME CORRECTLY THE WAY IT IS
REGISTERED WITH THE UNIVERSITY. You have an account if you have used a Pearson
product, for example: MyMathLab, MyEconLab, MyPsychLab, or Mastering, such as
MasteringBiology. If you dont have an account, select Create and complete the required fields.

6. Select an access option:

Use the access code that came with your required textbook

Buy access using a credit card or PayPal account if you chose not to purchase
the required textbook
 You may choose to get 14 days temporary access so you can start your assignments
right away in case you have not made up your mind whether you are taking this
course for sure, or in case you have not bought the textbook from the bookstore yet.
(The link is near the bottom of the screen.)

7. From the confirmation page, select Go To My Courses.

8. On the My Courses page, select the course tile Introductory Microeconomics - Econ 1010H
- Fall 2017 to start your work.

To sign in later:

1. Go to www.pearsonmylabandmastering.com.

2. Select Sign In.

3. Enter your Pearson account username and password, and Sign In.

4. Select the course tile Introductory Microeconomics - Econ 1010H - Fall 2017to start your
work.

To upgrade temporary access to full access:

1. Go to www.pearsonmylabandmastering.com.

2. Select Sign In.

3. Enter your Pearson account username and password, and Sign In.

4. Select Upgrade access from the course tile.

Introductory Microeconomics - Econ 1010H - Fall 2017

5. Enter an access code or purchase access with a credit card or PayPal account.

For a registration overview, go to www.pearsonmylabandmastering.com/students/get-registered.

Scroll down to Need a little help? and select a video.

During sign up or throughout the term, if you have any technical problems or
grading issues with MEL, please contact Pearson through
https://support.pearson.com/getsupport , explaining the issue. The support team are
there to resolve any problems or issues. The course instructor cannot fix any
technical issues you may be experiencing with MEL.

Your additional contact person is:

Melody Vincent, Pearson Learning Solutions Manager
Email: melody.vincent@pearsoned.com
V. Office Hours

My office hours for this term are as follows:

Wednesday 9:00 a.m. 10:00 a.m.

Friday 9:00 a.m. 10:00 a.m.

If something is unclear during a lecture, do not hesitate to ask questions. Also feel free to come and
see me if you have any further questions or problems. You never need an appointment to see me
during an office hour. If you wish to see me outside office hours, please make an appointment.

VI. Tutorials

There are no tutorials for this course. However, the Department is hoping to arrange (subject to
budgetary approval) for upper year students to be available to assist you with course material. Since
this arrangement has to be approved and confirmed by the Department and the University, additional
information and confirmation of this support will be given during class. Please note that at this point
there is no guarantee that such a support will be provided.

VII. Reading List

The following chapters from Parkin and Bade are required readings for this course. Readings may be
added or deleted as the term progresses. The material and concepts discussed in the class are
especially important. Therefore, it is crucial that you attend all the lectures. Students will be held
responsible for the topics and concepts specifically discussed in lectures, not for all the material
listed below.

Topics Chapters Week Covered*

1. Introduction 1, 2 1

2. Demand, Supply, and Equilibrium 3 2

3. Elasticities 4 3

4. More on Supply and Demand and 6 4-5

Further Applications of Elasticities

5. Consumer Theory 8, 9 5-6

6. Production Theory 10, 11 7-8

7. Perfect Competition 12 9-10

8. Market Failure and Role of Government 16, 17 10

9. Monopoly; Allocative Efficiency and Inefficiency 5-6, 13 10-11

10. Monopolistic Competition and Oligopoly 14, 15 11

11. International Trade and Trade Policy 7, 2 12

*As you are aware, there are 12 teaching weeks in a term. The week number when a topic is
covered is given in this column. For example, Topic 2 is covered during the second week of
classes.

VIII. Due dates for required MyEconLab Assignments

Assignment # Date Given Due Date Covers Topic

1 September 8 September 17 1

2 September 17 September 24 2

3 September 24 October 1 3

4 October 1 October 15 4

5 October 15 October 22 5

6 October 22 November 9 6

7 November 9 November 16 7

8 November 16 November 19 8

9 November 19 November 26 9

10 November 26 November 30 10

11 November 30 December 6 11
The due dates are noted above. Please note that once the due date/time has passed, your grade will be
recorded. You will not be able to submit any late work and, to be fair to all students, I have a
policy of not granting extensions unless you have a documented illness or a
documented emergency.

On the date available, the online assignment is available at 8am. And you have until 11 pm on the due
date to submit your answers. For online assignments, you are allowed to access a variety of online tools
to answer questions.

The number of attempts allowed on each question is limited to ONE.

You will receive your mark electronically from MEL for each question as you work through the
assignment. The correct answer will also be displayed by MEL. Your assignment grade will be
available from MEL once you have attempted all the questions or once the due date has passed
(whichever comes first).

Please note that although each assignment may have different total marks, each one is worth 5.5%.
Some assignments are longer than others.

Please note that you will also find an Assignment zero under MyEconLab. This assignments mark
will NOT count towards your average. Assignment zero contains questions only to get you used to
the software. Although you are encouraged to complete Assignment zero, its completion is not
required. Assignment zero is open from the first day of classes for one month.

To repeat: During sign up or throughout the term, if you have any technical problems or grading
issues with MEL, please contact Pearson through https://support.pearson.com/getsupport ,
explaining the issue. The support team are there to resolve any problems or issues. The course
instructor cannot fix any technical issues you may be experiencing with MEL.

Your additional contact person is:

Melody Vincent, Pearson Learning Solutions Manager
Email: melody.vincent@pearsoned.com

IX. Final Exam

The date for the final exam is set by the Registrar's Office and published in the University
Examination Timetable. The exam will be 2 hours long. You are responsible for the entire
syllabus (i.e., all eleven topics) for your exam. No formula sheet will be supplied during the exam;
and you are not allowed to bring your own.

No notes or books are allowed during the exam.

The exam will involve answering questions that are applied in nature Please use pencil to complete
your exam.

You must plan to be available to write the exam. No permission will be given to a student to write
the exam after or in advance of the regularly scheduled date and time except because of a
documented illness or a documented emergency.

Please also note that paper and electronic dictionaries, blackberries, mobile telephones, and other aids
and devices are not allowed anywhere near you during the exam even if you are not using them. Basic
calculators are allowed.

Please also note that valid Trent student cards are required as ID during
the exam.

X. Learning Outcomes

1. Understand the notions of scarcity, choice and tradeoffs for consumers, producers, and the
economy.

2. Understand the laws of supply and demand and how they impact on outcomes.

3. Appreciate why outcomes get altered when factor influencing supply and demand change.

4. Identify factors that may impede markets from achieving state of rest.

5. Understand consumer behaviour in light of constraints.

6. Identify various factors that allow production to take place.

7. Understand various types of costs in both short-run and long-run.

8. Characterize different types of market structure and appreciate which is preferable for a
healthy economy interested in maximizing social welfare.

9. Understand why there may be market failure. Appreciate how regulation and government
intervention may be required to bring desired outcomes in an economy.

10. Identify the pros and cons of free trade across both individuals and nations; understand
international trade restrictions.
XI. Other Matters of Importance

Please note that audio recording or filming of the lectures (through any means,
including cell phones, smart pens, and other handheld devices) is NOT
ALLOWED. You are required to understand this policy; unfamiliarity is not an
excuse. Should you require special accommodation, please contact the Student
Accessibility Services (SAS) Office which can evaluate the nature of your disability
and/or health condition. SAS may then send me a request if accommodation is
required.

Out of consideration to your classmates and I, please turn off your cell phones during
class. Their ringing is disruptive and has a negative impact on your classmates and
the learning environment.