I suffer from 3TUenochlophobiaU3T and 3TUlaliophobiaU3T, so try not to scare me.Brant vs. Brant: Divorce Celebrity StyleBy LAURA M. HOLSONMicroeconomics: 2010 (Edward Morey) August 25, 2014 So, what is microeconomics? The intent of the course is to introduce microeconomics. Let’s make a first attempt at defining it. Microeconomics is a set of theories (models) that try to explain the behaviors/decisions of individual economic agents; that is, the goal is modeling, explaining, and predicting the behavior of individual decision makers (economic agents) Economic agents: you, other people, firms, the government, families, your dog and my dog And, how the inter-related behaviors of all those economic agents collectively determine what is produced, how those products are produced, and who consumes what. Macroeconomics, in contrast, attempts to model behavior on a very aggregate level: the total amount produced (in $), how many people are working (not working), the consumer price index, etc.) Many of the goals of microeconomics are similar to the goals of psychology and sociology: explaining why people do what they do, how they interact, and the outcomes of those interactions.My name is Edward. I am an environmental economist, a statistician, someone who models behavior. I also have a strong interest in ethics. (In explanation: Much of my research is on the environment; In addition, I teach statistics to Ph.D. students—a good way for me to learn statistics. For the five years or so I have become interested in how one determines good from bad (moral philosophy) as it relates to economics. I also study “happiness.”) I suffer from enochlophobia and laliophobia, so try not to scare me. There are two web pages for the course: My web page for the course http://www.colorado.edu/economics/morey/2010/2010home.html and the Aplia web page for the course at http://www.aplia.com/ You need to sign up for Aplia, where you will take your quizzes (all online) and where the book lives. There are at 5 T.A.’s for the course: 2 graduate T.A.s and 3 undergraduate T.A.s. There are no recitations the first week of class; recitations will start next week. If you need their help this week with Aplia or anything else, email one of them (their emails are should be on the course web page in a day or two), but first ask a neighbor. The T.A.’s will introduce themselves on Thursday.Before we proceed and you start studying, keep in mind the warning of Dr. Frankenstein (the guy who created the “monster” in Mary Shelley’s famous book) “Study had before secluded me from the intercourse of my fellow-creatures, and rendered me unsocial.” So, don’t study too much; study exactly the right amount. You want to study the efficient amount from your perspective.1_An introduction to explaining behavior: preferences, constraints, choices, and how economists think Microeconomics is a lot about explaining, modeling and predicting behavior. How many of you were in a committed relationship on June 1st How many of you are still in that same committed relationship? Why or why not” see the Onion article: “Thousands Of High-School Sweethearts Prepare For Post-Graduation Breakup” A number of my friends have recently changed spouses – some very quickly. Another friend, only “dates” married women (he has commitment issues). Are these choices, or not? Remaining in the same relationship, can be a choice, a choice that continues for as long as the relationship continues. (That said, being in a relationship might not be a choice: maybe your significant other will shoot you if you try and leave—making your relationship a constraint rather than a choice, at least for you. The distinction between “choices” and “constraints” is important, and critical to explaining behavior)So, how does one decide whether to stick with the old wife and 6 kids, or switch to a new wife who only has 3 kids (for a total of 9 kids)? At my age, there are always kids, a constraint. Or, whether to keep the old boy-friend back in Grand Junction, or take your chances at CU, or try to do both? (It is amazing what you can do with texting (sexting) and Skype: Skype and texting greatly decreases the cost of maintaining the distant relationship, but they also increase the probability that your significant others will find out about each other) Note that most people “choose” to be in only one sexual relationship at a time, but of course there are exceptions and the length of time one in involved with the same person can vary from minutes to decades. Note that being “exclusive” can be a constraint, rather than a choice. For example, one might be exclusive because of cultural or religious constraints (maybe, for you, it is a sin to have multiple partners). One might also be exclusive because no one else will have you (your opportunity set has only one person in it, your significant other). Some statistics: Of males between 20 and 24, 14.2% had no sexual contact, with other people, in the last 12 months, 55.2% had one sexual partner (mostly with a member of the opposite sex), and 33.3% had two or more partners. The rest were un-ascertained. The number for females between 20 and 24 are 12.5%, 59.3% and 21.6%. So, more females have had sex, but with fewer partners. Are these percentages consistent with the male percentages?Some of the costs and benefits of dumping the old one Dumping can be emotionally risky, unless you “monkey bar” (don’t let go of the old one until you have one hand on the new one) The old one is reliable, but a bit boring? He, she, loves you, or at least likes you. He is kind of cute, but could lose a few pounds He is starting to look and act old. And, there might be someone better out there just waiting for you to appear. Ms. T. SwiftJohn Mayer Amanda Seyfried Andrew GarfieldMr. S. CombsAnd, dumping George might turn him into a crazed stalker, someone who texts pleas hundreds of times a day, or worse. (Why is George more likely than Georgina to get violent?)How would an economist describe how the dump decision is made? Your first reaction might be to say that economists do not enter into social relationships, so economists are clueless as to how these decisions are made, so anything they say should be ignored. Fair enough; except you are in a class taught by an economist. Hint: Economists assume—believe?—that people are rational—even when