Spring Edition Updated: January 13, 2011 1 Econ 2302 – Microeconomics _________________ ____________________ “Economics is above all a science of measurement. It comprises an extraordinarily powerful and flexible set of tools that can reliably assess a thicket of information to determine the effect of any one factor, or even the whole effect." – Steven Levitt Instructor: Joshua C. Pickrell Office: Levelland Campus, Science Building, S117 D Office Hours: By Appointment Only Phone: (806) 894 – 9611, Ext. 2957 Email: [email protected] Use the above email address for initial communication and in EMERGENCY. Please use the email option provided by Blackboard. All email responses will be made within a 48 hour time frame. Learning Outcomes: Students who have completed this course will be expected to: Write a formal definition of economics and describe the economizing problem for society. Distinguish between microeconomics and macroeconomics. Define opportunity cost and utilize a production possibilities curve to explain the concept. Highlight the main features of a market economy and a command economy. Describe how the market system answers each of these five fundamental questions. Differentiate between demand and quantity demanded; and supply and quantity supplied. State the Law of Demand and the Law of Supply, and explain why price and quantity demanded are inversely related, and why price and quantity supplied are directly related. Explain the meaning of elastic, inelastic, and unitary price elasticity of demand. Use the utility-maximizing rule to determine a consumer‘s spending (and demand curve) when given income, utility, and price data. Define marginal utility and state the law of diminishing marginal utility. Explain and graph the relationship between marginal utility and total utility. Compute and graph AFC, AVC, ATC, and marginal cost when given total cost data. Explain the law of diminishing returns. Distinguish between explicit and implicit costs, and between normal and economic profits. Explain why allocative efficiency and productive efficiency are achieved where P = minimum AC = MC. Use both total-revenue—total-cost and marginal-revenue—marginal-cost approaches to determine short run price and output that maximizes profits (or minimizes losses) for a competitive firm. Describe the demand curve facing a pure monopoly and how it differs from that facing a firm in a purely competitive market. Discuss the economic effects of pure monopoly on price, quantity of product produced, allocation of resources, distribution of income, and technological progress. List three conditions necessary for price discrimination. Identify three possible models of oligopolistic price-output behavior.2 Course Syllabus ________________________________________ Required Material: Textbook: Custom text only available through the SPC Bookstore! Calculator: any calculator will do. Word Processor: Microsoft Word. Wall Street Journal Subscription Academic Misconduct: South Plains College is committed to academic integrity in all its practices. The faculty value intellectual integrity and a high standard of academic conduct. Activities that violate academic integrity undermine the quality and diminish the value of educational achievement. Cheating on assignments and exams or other academic works is a violation of college policy. Any behavior that is construed, as cheating or academic dishonesty will not be tolerated in this course. This includes, but is not limited to, plagiarism, cheating on exams, acquisition of tests or other academic materials, as well as aiding and abetting others in committing the violation. If I catch anyone cheating, I will push for the most severe punishment. Attendance Policy: Even though this is an online class, students are still responsible for accessing the course a minimum of two days per week. The Blackboard software used to manage this online course tracks student logins, and it tracks when and where the student has been in the course. Accessing this course on a regular basis is extremely important in order to meet the course objectives. Ideally, students should check the course calendar, announcements, email, and fellow student discussions on a daily basis. This class is not a self-paced course – there will be deadlines. You will feel more at ease with the material if you stay in touch with what is going on throughout the term. Math: This course is largely devoted to analytical reasoning based on fundamental principles. There is a need for some basic college algebra and graphing skills. Please note that math is not a prerequisite for this course and most of the material will be graphical. However, when we dig deeper into the microeconomic theory, we will need more mathematics. Unfortunately, there is not a tutor for this course. Student Conduct: Each student is expected to conduct themselves as outlined per the SPC catalog. Please note that this is an online environment and others will see your responses to questions. Please do not post any pictures or data that others may find offensive.3 How do I succeed? First, READ, READ, READ! Read everything including the appendix to every assigned chapter and work through the end of chapter questions. Be an active reader – active readers write in their textbooks and take notes as they read! Second, do the work outlined by the instructor. If you have any questions you can email me. Next, start early and finish early. Constantly, stay up to date with the calendar located on the homepage of this course. You should plan on spending 6 – 10 hours on each chapter. There will be chapters that might require more or less time. Diversity: In this class, I, the teacher, will establish and support an environment that values and nurtures individual and group differences and encourages engagement and interaction. Understanding and respecting multiple experiences and perspectives will serve to challenge and stimulate all of us to learn about others, about the larger world and about ourselves. By promoting diversity and intellectual exchange, we will not only mirror society as it is, but also model society as it should and can be. Disabilities: Students with disabilities, including but not limited to physical, psychiatric, or learning disabilities, who wish to request accommodations in this class should