Southwestern Michigan College s5

SOUTHWESTERN MICHIGAN COLLEGE Communications/Humanities/Social Science Dowagiac, Michigan COURSE SYLLABUS Fall Session, 2004

COURSE TITLE: Microeconomics COURSE NO.: 202 SECTION NO.: 2104

CREDITS/CONTACTS: Credit Hours:3 Lecture hours/weekly:3

INSTRUCTOR: Kurt Erickson Office Hours: MWF 10:00-11:00 Dowagiac Campus TR 4:00-5:00 Dowagiac Campus Phone Number: 782-1221, 782-5113 ext. 1221 Dowagiac Campus Email: [email protected]

PREREQUISITE: Math 100 strongly recommended.

COURSE DESCRIPTION: Microeconomics deals with the behavior of individual economic units--such as the consumer, the busines firm, or an economic sector. We discuss the basic makret structures and how supply and demand interact to determine the prices of goods and services, labor , land and capital. Also discussed are profit maximization and the various economic models of competition, monopoly, monopolistic competition and oligopoly.

TEXTBOOK REQUIRED: MICROECONOMICS, Seventh Edition, Michael Parkin, Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, 2004. : STUDY GUIDE The CD that accompanies the textbook, which also contains a software program for the student. ADDITIONAL RESOURCES: This course is on SMC's Campus Pipeline.

COURSE OUTCOMES: 1.Identify the five big questions that economists seek to answer. 2.Identify eight ideas that identify the economic way of thinking. 3.Describe how economists go about their work. 4.Make and interpret a time-series graph, a scatter diagram, and a cross-section graph. 5.Identify linear and nonlinear relationships and between relationships that have a maximum and a minimum. 6.Identify and calculate the slope of a line. 7.Graph relationships among more than two variables. 8.Identify the fundamental economic problem. 9.Identify the production possibility frontier. 10.Identify and calculate opportunity cost. 11.Identify the conditions in which resources are used efficiently. 12.Identify how economic growth expands production possibilities. 13.Identify how specialization and trade expand production possibilities. 14.Identify a money price and a relative price. 15.Identify the main influences on demand. 16.Identify the main influences on supply. 17.Identify how prices and quantities bought and sold are determined by demand and supply. 18.Identify why some prices fall, some rise, and some fluctuate. 19.Use demand and supply to make predictions about price changes. 20.Identify and calculate the price elasticity of demand. 21.Identify the total revenue test and an expenditure test used to estimate the price elasticity of demand. 22.Identify the factors that influence the price elasticity of demand. 23.Identify and calculate the cross elasticity of demand. 24.Identify and calculate the income elasticity of demand. 25.Identify and calculate the elasticity of supply. 26.Identify efficiency.

1 27.Identify value and price and Identify consumer surplus. 28.Identify cost and price and Identify producer surplus. 29.Identify the conditions in which competitive markets move resources to their highest-valued uses. 30.Identify the obstacles to efficiency in our economy. 31.Identify the main ideas about fairness and evaluate claims that competitive markets result in unfair outcomes. 32.Identify how housing markets work and how price ceilings create housing shortages and inefficiency. 33.Identify how labor markets work and how minimum wage laws create unemployment and inefficiency. 34.Identify the effects of the sales tax. 35.Identify how markets for illegal goods work. 36.Identify why farm prices and revenues fluctuate. 37.Identify how speculation limits price fluctuations. 38.Identify the household's budget constraint. 39.Identify total utility and marginal utility. 40.Identify the marginal utility theory of consumer choice. 41.Identify marginal utility theory used to predict the effects of changing prices and incomes. 42.Identify the connection between individual demand and market demand. 43.Identify the paradox of value. 44.Calculate and graph a household's budget line. 45.Idenfify how the budget line changes when prices or income changes. 46.Identify a map of preferences by using indifference curves. 47.Identify the choices that households make. 48.Identify the effects of price and income changes on consumption choices. 49.Identify the effects of wage changes on work-leisure choices. 50.Identify the short run and the long run. 51.Identify the relationship between a firm's output and labor employed in the short run. 52.Identify the relationship between a firm's output and costs in the short run and derive the firm's short-run cost curve. 53.Identify the relationship between a firm's output and costs in the long run. 54.Identify a firm's long-run average cost curve. 55.Identify perfect competition. 56.Identify the key decisions that a firm in a perfect competition has to make. 57.Identify why firms sometimes shut down temporarily and lay off workers. 58.Identify output, price, and profit in perfect competition. 59.Identify the effects of a change in demand and of a technological advance. 60.Identify why perfect competition is efficient. 61.Identify how monopoly arises and Identify single-price monopoly and price-discriminating monopoly. 62.Identify how a single-price monopoly determines its output and price. 63.Compare the performance and efficiency of single-price monopoly and competition. 64.Identify rent seeking and Identify why it arises. 65.Identify how price discrimination increases profit. 66.Identify how monopoly regulation influences output, price, economic profit, and efficiency. 67.Identify what a monopolistically competitive industry is. 68.Identify how price and output are determined in a monopolistically competitive industry. 69.Identify product development and marketing decisions in a monopolistically competitive industry. 70.Identify why the price might be sticky in an oligopoly industry. 71.Identify how price and output are determined when an industry has one dominant firm and several small firms. 72.Identify the nature of game theory. 73.Identify game theory used to make predictions about price wars and competition among a small number of firms. 74.Identify what a firm is and describe the economic problems that all firms face. 75.Identify technological efficiency and economic efficiency. 76.Identify and identify the principal-agent problem and describe how different types of business organizations cope with this problem. 77.Describe and Identify different types of markets in which firms operate. 78.Identify why markets coordinate some economic activities and firms coordinate others. 79.Identify economic profit and how it differs from accounting profit. 80.Identify how economists and accountants calculate a firm's cost and profit in different ways.

2 81.Identify why normal profit is an opportunity cost. 82.Identify the constraints that limit the maximum profit a firm can make. 83.Identify the two measures of concentration as determinants of market structure and their weaknesses. 84.Identify the four market types found in the U.S. economy and the distinguishing characteristics of each.

METHOD OF INSTRUCTION: Classroom interactive tutorials, cooperative learning groups on the study guide problems, internet visits to author's web-page and tutorials, in class analysis of economic concepts.

EVALUATION METHOD: There will be seven objective-type examinations (multiple choice, true/false, etc.) during the semester and one comprehensive final examination. These exams are provided by the publisher of the textbook and study guide.

GRADING SCALE: Each of the seven objective quizzes and the Comprehensive final examination are worth 100 points, for a total of 800 points for the semester. The final grade for the course will be determined by the following scale: 688 points or more A, 687- 664 A-, 663-640 B+ 639-608 B, 607-584 B- 583-560 C+ 559-528 C 527-504 C- 503-480 D+ 479-448 D 447-424 D fewer than 424 F. The maximum number of points a student may earn prior to the final exam is 600. Failure to take the final exam will result in a letter grade of F.

ATTENDANCE POLICY: Students are expected to attend all scheduled class sessions. If, because of circumstances beyond your control you cannot attend a class session, you should take necessary steps to obtain class information from a classmate able to attend. To encourage class attendance, you will be awarded 1 point for each class attended. Attendance in class is your responsibility, and it is highly recommended for successful performance.

TESTING POLICY: If you miss a regularly scheduled examination you may make-up the exam at SMC's Dowagiac or Niles Testing Center.

OTHER COURSE EXPECTATIONS: The course outline at the end of this syllabus will be followed as closely as possible. However, it is subject to change. It is your responsibility to attend class and be aware of any change that it may be necessary to make. Check Campus Pipeline regularly for any announcements or changes. This course has no extra credit.

NOTICE: Information in this syllabus, was to the best knowledge of the instructor, considered correct and complete when distributed for use at the beginning of the semester. The instructor, however, reserves the right, acting within the policies and procedures of Southwestern Michigan College, to make changes in course content or instructional techniques.

HONESTY POLICY: Cheating or plagiarizing will absolutely not be tolerated at Southwestern Michigan College. Any student found cheating or plagiarizing material in any manner may be assigned a failing semester/session grade in this course. A second such incident while at SMC could result in suspension or expulsion from the institution. A student found in violation of this section of the syllabus will not be allowed to drop this course. Additional detail regarding cheating and/or plagiarism may be found elsewhere in this syllabus.

3 COURSE ASSIGNMENTS SECTION 2104 SEP 1: CH 1: WHAT IS ECONOMICS? Appendix : MAKING AND USING GRAPHS CH 2: THE ECONOMIC PROBLEM SEP 8: TEST 1

SEP 8, 15: CH 3: DEMAND AND SUPPLY CH 4: ELASTICITY CH 5: EFFICIENCY AND EQUITY SEP 22: TEST 2

SEP 29-OCT 6: CH 6: MARKETS IN ACTION CH 7: UTILITY AND DEMAND CH 8: POSSIBILITIES, PREFERENCES, AND CHOICES OCT 13: TEST 3

OCT 13-20: CH 9: ORGANIZING PRODUCTION CH 10: OUTPUT AND COSTS OCT 27: TEST 4

OCT 27-Nov 3: CH 11: COMPETITION NOV 10: TEST 5

NOV 10-17: MONOPOLY NOV 24: TEST 6

NOV 25-Dec 1: CH 13: MONOPOLISTIC COMPETITION AND OLIGOPOLY DEC 8: TEST 7

DEC 8: REVIEW FOR COMPREHENSIVE FINAL EXAM DEC15: FINAL EXAMINATION AS SCHEDULED