ECON102 Syllabus Fall 2017

PENN STATE UNIVERSITY ‒ DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMICS

ECON 102: INTRODUCTORY MICROECONOMIC ANALYSIS AND POLICY
Instructor: Dr. Dave Brown
Office: Kern 402
Office Hours: Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, 3:30 – 4:30 PM
Email: drb39@psu.edu
Graduate Teaching Assistants: TBA (information will be posted on Canvas)

PURPOSE OF COURSE
This course is designed to develop the basic concepts and techniques of Microeconomic theory and its
applications. Considerable emphasis is placed on the basic principles of economics, methods of economic
analysis, price determination, consumer behavior, theory of the firm, and market structures. ECON 102 is an
introduction to microeconomic analysis and policy. Students will analyze issues clearly and critically.

COURSE TEXTS
The textbook for this course is Economics Today: The Micro View, by Roger Miller, 19th edition. I opted to use
the looseleaf “student value” edition this semester in order to save students some money.
(ISBN: 978-0-13-447980-4). There are a few copies on reserve at the library.

The second text is the course packet of class notes. This packet contains the daily class notes, supplement
materials, and practice problems. It is strongly recommended that you bring your note packet to class every day.
Since this course packet is custom made for this course, it is not sold online. You must get it at one of the
University bookstores. The campus bookstore may be selling the textbook and notes packet as a bundle.

I will also post articles online during the semester to be viewed or printed as part of a homework.
Finally, I may also recommend additional materials during the semester for practice and studying help.

COURSE WEBSITE
Canvas Learning Management System at http://psu.instructure.com.
The course name is ECON102 – Dave Brown –FA17

GRADING
There are 400 points for the semester, and I will grade on the standard A – F scale. The graded assignments are
listed in the table. Do not email me at the end of the semester asking me to raise your grade or give an extra credit
assignment. Also, do not email me at the end of the semester asking what grade you have received for the course.
I do not send grades out over email, and requests will be ignored. Final grades will not be curved, and are non-
negotiable. If you are concerned about your grade at any point during the semester, please stop in during office
hours or send me an email. Be sure to check your gradebook on Canvas throughout the semester to make sure
everything is correct. If there is an error, it can take some time to fix, and the busy end of the semester is not a
good time to point out a possible error in grading.

Graded Points,
Percentage Grade How Many
Assignment Percentage of Grade
93 – 100 A Various activities
Participation 20 points 5%
90 – 92.99 A– *(see note on next page)
88 – 89.99 B+ 8 total homeworks with 84 points 21%
Homework
83 – 87.99 B lowest 2 scores dropped 6 at 14 points each
80 – 82.99 B– 2 midterms with no scores 164 points 41%
Midterms
78 – 79.99 C+ dropped 2 at 82 points each
70 – 77.99 C 1 final exam with no scores
Final Exam 132 points 33%
60 – 69.99 D dropped
Below 60 F Sum 400 points 100.00%
 ECON102 Syllabus Fall 2017
ATTENDANCE AND PARTICIPATION
Participation is worth a small portion of your grade. This may involve class attendance, or small out-of-class
assignments done online. These events cannot be made up if missed.
*Note: I understand that not everyone has perfect attendance, often for good reasons. There are 20 points for
participation in your final grade, but I will offer more than 20 points throughout the semester. Therefore, even if
you miss a few points (for any reason), you can still get 100% for your participation grade.
For example, suppose I offer 30 attendance points for the semester. Even if you only get 23/30 points, your final
grade will be 20/20, which is 100%. If you only get 14/30 of those points, your final grade will be 14/20.

ABSENCES
Generally, you do not need to inform me of absences. I only need to be informed of your absence if you will be
missing classes for an extended period of time or if you are absent the day of an exam. If you miss a class, the
best thing to do is to get to class early the next day and get the notes from a classmate.
Please recognize that I DO NOT GIVE OUT MY NOTES UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES.

HOMEWORK
Some homework will be submitted online through the Canvas course system, and other assignments will be
posted on Canvas, and must be printed and handed in during class. For online assignments, I recommend
submitting homework at least a few hours before the submission deadline in case of technical difficulties.
Missed homework cannot be redone or extended since I already drop the lowest homework grade and the
homework keys will be posted immediately after the homework is due.

EXAMS
Put simply, DO NOT MISS EXAMS! Exam dates are listed below. Please check them now to ensure
that there is no conflict with your schedule! In certain cases, you may receive a University-approved excused
absence (see the next page). If so, it is your responsibility to provide timely notification and documentation to the
instructor prior to missing the exam. Bring documentation to my office. If you miss a midterm, the weight of the
missed exam will be transferred to the final exam. However, if you wish to take a make-up of the exam then it
must be scheduled and completed prior to the date of your absence, unless you are medically unable to do so.

Exam 1: Wednesday, September 27th (during class, in regular classroom)

Exam 2: Wednesday, November 1st (during class, in regular classroom)
Final Exam: Date, Time, and Location TBD by the University (December 11th – December 15th)

EMAIL
Send email to my PSU account, drb39@psu.edu. I receive a large amount of email. In order to ensure that I
respond promptly, you must put “Econ 102” (without quotes) in the subject, along with other information.
You are encouraged to email me about any arrangements or special needs you might have, or if you need to make
an appointment outside of office hours. You do not need to email me if you want to visit during regularly
scheduled office hours. Just stop by the office.

Email does not work well for explaining lengthy concepts or graphs. If you do not understand a particular
concept, it is probably better to see me in person. During exam time, email response time may be longer, and
depending on the nature of your question or concern, it may be best to visit me during office hours.

Finally, before emailing a question, see if your question can first be answered by looking at the syllabus, the
Canvas website, recent email announcements, or by asking a classmate. For example “Is there a homework due”
or “When is the exam” are good examples of this.

SPECIAL NOTE ABOUT THIS SEMESTER

This semester, I teach back-to-back classes in different buildings. I do not want to seem rude, but my schedule
means I will likely not have time to talk much after class, as I must go to another building and set up for my next
class. I will also be busy before class, setting up documents and videos before class begins. Thus, if you have
questions to discuss or paperwork to give me, it is best to visit office hours.
 ECON102 Syllabus Fall 2017
VALID REASONS FOR MISSING AN EXAM
Found at http://econ.la.psu.edu/undergraduate/valid-excuses
Illness or injury, family emergencies, certain University-approved curricular and extra-curricular activities, and
religious holidays can be legitimate reasons to be excused from a scheduled examination.
In the case of your own illness or injury, confirmation from a physician, physician's assistant, a nurse-practitioner,
or a nurse is required. Further, barring extraordinary circumstances, the confirmation must be available to the
instructor prior to the missed exam.

With regard to family emergencies, you must provide verifiable documentation of the emergency. Unless the
emergency is critical you should notify the instructor in advance of your absence from the scheduled course event.
In cases of critical emergencies, you must notify the instructor within one week of your absence. For University-
approved curricular and extra-curricular activities, verifiable documentation is also required. The letter must be
presented to the instructor at least one week prior to the first absence. In the case of religious holidays, notify the
instructor by the third week of the course of any potential conflicts.

TECHNOLOGY
Students are expected to have access to a computer and printer, the internet, and word processing software to view
and type homework. Students are expected to know how to operate these items. You will need to use the Canvas
Course Management System in order to access your homework and gradebook. It is also my primary way of
passing information to the class. Check Canvas at least twice a week so you don’t miss any announcements.

USEFUL WEB LINKS

Class webpage http://psu.instructure.com
PSU Academic Calendar http://www.registrar.psu.edu/academic_calendar/fall17.cfm
Valid Excuses for missed exams
http://econ.la.psu.edu/undergraduate/valid-excuses
(near the bottom of the page)
Lionpath (Internet Explorer browser
https://public.lionpath.psu.edu
may not work)

STATEMENT OF ACADEMIC INTEGRITY

Penn State defines academic integrity as the pursuit of scholarly activity in an open, honest and responsible
manner. All students should act with personal integrity, respect other students’ dignity, rights and property, and
help maintain an environment in which all can succeed through their efforts (Faculty Senate Policy 49-20).

Dishonesty of any kind will not be tolerated in this course. Dishonesty includes, but is not limited to, cheating,
plagiarizing, fabricating information or citations, facilitating acts of academic dishonesty by others, having
unauthorized possession of examinations, submitting work of another person or work previously used without
informing the instructor, or tampering with the academic work of other students. Students who are found to be
dishonest will receive academic sanctions and will be reported to the University’s Judicial Affairs office for
possible further disciplinary sanction.

STATEMENT OF NONDISCRIMINATION
The Pennsylvania State University is committed to the policy that all persons shall have equal access to programs,
facilities, admission, and employment without regard to personal characteristics not related to ability,
performance, or qualifications as determined by University policy or by state of federal authorities. The
Pennsylvania State University does not discriminate against any person because of age, ancestry, color, disability
or handicap, national origin, race, religious creed, sex, sexual orientation, or veteran status.

DISABILITY ACCESS STATEMENT

Penn State encourages qualified people with disabilities to participate in its programs and activities and is
committed to the policy that all people shall have equal access to programs, facilities, and admissions without
regard to personal characteristics not related to ability, performance, or qualifications as determined by University
policy or by state or federal authorities. If you anticipate needing any type of accommodation in this course or
have questions about physical access, please tell the instructor as soon as possible.
 ECON102 Syllabus Fall 2017
TENTATIVE COURSE OUTLINE
The course outline is listed below. I plan to follow it as closely as possible, but it is subject to change.
Additional topics and current events relating to textbook material will be discussed throughout the course.
This will partially be done through the reading and discussing of the articles included in the notes packet.
Any extra time at the end of the semester will be used to discuss additional topics.

Chapter 1: The Nature of Economics

Chapter 2: Scarcity and the World of Trade-Offs
Chapter 3: Demand and Supply
Chapter 4: Extensions of Demand and Supply Analysis
Chapter 5: Public Spending and Public Choice

Exam 1 Wednesday, September 27th

Chapter 19: Demand and Supply Elasticity

Chapter 20: Consumer Choice
Chapter 21: Rents and Profits
Chapter 22: The Firm: Cost and Output Determination
Chapter 30: Health Care

Exam 2 Wednesday, November 1st

Chapter X: Consumer and Producer Surplus (in notes packet, not as detailed in textbook)
Chapter 23: Perfect Competition
Chapter 24: Monopoly
Chapter 25: Monopolistic Competition
Chapter 26: Oligopoly and Strategic Behavior

Final Exam (Time and place determined by the University).

Final Exams are December 11th – December 15th

The final exam is comprehensive, but will be mostly weighted toward the final five chapters of the course. The
tentative plan is to have ~85% of this final exam based on the last 5 chapters of the course, with the remainder of
the exam being a cumulative assessment. To help you out, I will post very specific guides and practice questions
regarding the cumulative component of the exam, as I do not expect students to re-study the entire course in
preparation for the final. However, do realize that understanding the end-of-semester chapters depends on
understanding previous material, so all questions may have some implicit cumulative material in them.

The period for filing a final exam conflict is September 25h – October 15th. If you do not file for a conflict exam
during this time, you are required to take the final at the time and place designated by the university.

FINAL NOTE
I’m generally friendly and enjoy when students visit office hours! If you’re around, stop by! Please see me if you
have concerns or comments about the course. This will benefit me as an instructor and you as a student. If you
would like to provide feedback about this course you may also contact the Associate Director of Undergraduate
Studies in Economics or leave a comment in the box that the Department maintains in 303 Kern.