Principles of Economics: Price Theory

HARRY LIME:

"Look down there. Would you really feel any pity if one of the dots stopped moving forever? If I offered you twenty thousand pounds for every dot that stopped, would you really, old man, tell me to keep my money or would you calculate how many dots you could afford to spare?"

Orson Wells (to Joseph Cotton atop the Ferris wheel) in The Third Man(1949)

COURSE OUTLINE Economics 2030 Principles of Economics: Price Theory Fall 2003

INSTRUCTOR: Professor Steve Millsaps 3098 Raley Hall Telephone: 262-6080 E-mail: [email protected]

OFFICE HOURS: 2:00 -3:30 MW, 2:00-3:30 TT or by appointment.

PREREQUISITES: Curiosity

REQUIRED TEXTS: Mankiw, N. Gregory, Principles of Economics (3nd ed.). Harcourt College Publishers (2003).

WEB SITE: http://www.harcourtcollege.com/mankiw

COURSE OBJECTIVE: The student will learn to analyze economic issues and problems in a systematic and reasoned approach. Further, the student will practice oral and written communication of economic ideas and analyses.

GRADING: Your final grade will be computed as follows:

Examination I...... 50 points Examination II ...... 50 points Examination III...... 50 points Projects...... 50 points Final Examination...... 100 points TOTAL...... 300 points

A  270 D+  190-199 A-  260-269 D  180-189 B+  250-259 D-  170-179 B  240-249 F < 170 B-  230-239 C+  220-229 C  210-219 C-  200-209

The "Projects@ grading category will include a variety of out-of-class projects and will total 50 points. The final examination is comprehensive and will be given at the time shown for this class hour in the Schedule of Classes. RULES & REGULATIONS:

1. There will be no make-up exams. If you miss an exam for any reason, your next exam will count double.

2. All university drop/add and late drop rules apply.

3. The grade of Incomplete (I) is reserved only for the most extreme personal and family crisis. Documentation approved by the Dean is required.

4. Cheating will be rewarded with an automatic F for the entire course. Further action may be taken.

5. Class attendance is optional. The student is responsible for all material and assignments made during class.

COURSE OUTLINE

PART I: Introduction to Economic Science

Mankiw: Chapters 1-3

PART II: How Markets Work

PART III: Markets and Welfare

PART IV: Economics of the Public Sector

PART V: The Behavior of the Firm

PART VI: Labor Markets

Mankiw: Chapters18-20

NORA CHARLES: "Say are all these things really true?" NICK CHARLES: "I dunno." NORA: "Then why are you saying them?" NICK: "Because it=s the only thing that makes sense!"

Myrna Loy and William Powell in The Thin Man (1939)