Florida International University                                      Thomas Snyder

Department of Economics                                                         Fall 2008

 

ECO 2023 SECTION U09

PRINCIPLES OF MICROECONOMICS

 

Lecture:                        Saturday 9:30AM-12:15PM

Lecture Room:              CP 197

 

Instructor:                     Thomas J. Snyder        

Phone:                          305-348-2317

E-mail:                          tsnyd001@fiu.edu

Website:                       http://www.fiu.edu/~tsnyd001

Office:                          CP197/ DM308A

Office Hours:                Saturday 12:15PM-3:15PM

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Course Objective:

The goal of this course is to understand how resources are allocated in a functioning market economy.  We will learn the basic concepts and theories of microeconomics, including trade, demand and supply, elasticity, consumer behavior, firm behavior, and market structure.

 

Grading Policy:

There will be 3 exams, each worth 30% of your grade.  The remaining 10% of your grade will be from quizzes.  Class attendance is essential, for the quizzes will be given in class. 6 quizzes will be given, and the lowest quiz grade will be dropped.  NO MAKEUP QUIZZES WILL BE GIVEN.  If you miss a quiz, then expect that quiz to be the one that is dropped.

 

Text:

The required text for the course is Microeconomics by R. Glenn Hubbard and Anthony P. O’Brien/Prentice Hall Publishers/ 1st edition or 2nd Edition /2006/ISBN 0130348260.  The Companion Website for the text is www.prenhall.com/hubbard.

 

Lectures correspond to the chapters of the textbook in sequential order.  It is extremely helpful that students read the assigned chapters before the lecture.  It is unlikely that we will have the time to cover every chapter in full detail.  However, you are responsible for reading the entire chapter and becoming familiar with the material, for there may be a question or two on the standardized final exam that we only briefly covered, but is discussed in more detail in the text. 

 

Course Policies:

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Exam policies:  No books, notes, problem sets, cell phones, BlackBerries, laptop computers, nor any other materials may be consulted during exams.  You may not wear baseball caps, any other head gear, or iPods to the exam.  You must also bring your Student ID to the exam.

 

Cheating will not be tolerated.  Any student caught cheating on an exam or engaging in unethical behavior will receive a grade of F for the course.

 

No makeup exams will be given.  Excuses for absences from exams are limited to verifiable illness and emergencies.  If the absence from a midterm exam is excused, the other exams will be appropriately re-weighted.  THE FINAL EXAM MUST BE TAKEN. An unexcused absence from any exam will result in a score of zero.  A business-related absence does not qualify as an excused absence, but may qualify for an early make-up.  NO QUIZZES CAN BE MADE UP, EVER.  One quiz will be dropped, so if you miss one for an emergency, it may not have much affect, if any, on your grade.

 

Tentative Course Schedule (Subject to Change)

Date

Principles of Microeconomics:  Chapters 1-3, 6, 8-14, 16

8/30/2008

Ch. 1: Economics: Foundations and Models /

Ch. 2: Trade-offs, Comparative Adv. & Market System

9/6/2008

Ch. 2 and Ch. 3: Demand and Supply

9/13/2008

Ch. 3: Demand and Supply /

Ch. 6: Elasticity: The Responsiveness of Demand and Supply.

Quiz 1  (ch. 2&3)

9/20/2008

Ch. 6 /  Review for Exam 1  Quiz 2 (ch. 6)

9/27/2008

Exam 1: Ch. 1, 2, 3, 6.  / 

Lecture Ch. 8 Comparative Advantage and Gains from International Trade

10/4/2008

  Ch. 8 Comparative Advantage and Gains from International Trade

10/11/2008

Ch. 9: Consumer Choice and Behavior Economics.  Quiz 3 (ch. 8)

10/17/2008

NOTE:  LAST DAY TO DROP THE CLASS!!

10/18/2008

Ch. 10: Technology, Production, and Costs.   Quiz 4 (ch. 9)

10/25/2008

Ch. 11: Firms in Perfectly Competitive Markets / Review for Exam 2

11/1/2008

Ch. 12: Monopolistic Competition / Ch. 13: Oligopoly.

11/8/2008

Exam 2: Ch. 8, 9, 10, 11. / Lecture: Ch. 12: Monopolistic Competition

11/15/2008

Ch. 13: Oligopoly.  Quiz 5 (ch. 12)

11/22/2008

Ch. 14: Monopoly and Anti-Trust Policy.  Quiz 6 (ch. 13)

11/29/2008

No Class

12/6/2008

Ch. 16: The Markets for Labor and Other Factors of Production /

 Review for Final Exam

12/13/2008

Cumulative Exam. 7:30am - 9:30am