William Rainey Harper College
ECO 211
Microeconomics: An Introduction to Economic Efficiency

Syllabus

FALL 2010

~/~ Home ~/~ Syllabus ~/~ Lecture Outlines ~/~ Schedule ~/~ Assignments ~/~ Papers ~/~ Textbook Website ~/~ Blackboard ~/~

General Information

TEXTS
  • Microeconomics by McConnell, Brue, and Flynn (18th edition).
    ISBN 978-0-07-336595-4

 

  • Study Guide to Accompany Microeconomics by McConnell, Brue, Flynn, and Walstad.
    ISBN 978-0-07-336887-0

 

This course will cover the area of economics commonly defined as microeconomics which is concerned with the individual parts of the economy such as individual businesses or industries, individual consumers, and individual products. Our goal is to study whether the economy uses our limited resources to obtain the maximum satisfaction possible for society. We will concentrate on three issues or goals: ALLOCATIVE EFFICIENCY, PRODUCTIVE EFFICIENCY, and EQUITY (efficiency, efficiency, and equity).

BLACKBOARD

All students in ECO 211-009 will use the Blackboard site for ECO 211-006.

All students must log-in to our Blackboard website, study the syllabus, and take the required 5-point, online, "Syllabus Quiz" before Thursday, 9/2. The syllabus quiz may be taken as many times as necesssary and only the highest score will be counted..

  • Go to http://harper.blackboard.com
  • Follow the instructions to "log-in",
    • If you need help see the following on the Blackboard opening page:
      • "Getting Started with Blackboard"
      • "Student Blackboard Technical Support"
  • You should see "ECO 211 006 - MICROECONOMICS (Fall 2010)" or "ECO 211 009 - MICROECONOMICS (Fall 2010)" listed under the "My Blackboard" tab. If you do not please e-mail the instructor: mhealy@harpercollege.edu 

 E-MAIL

Option to Forward Mail from your Harper Email Account

If you are not planning on using your Harper email account, please view the instructions on how to forward mail from that account to one you check frequently. Visit http://harper.blackboard.com and check out "How do I forward my Harper email?" in the "Student Information" area.

When e-mailing your instructor always put "ECO 211" and a message in the subject line of all e-mails sent to the instructor. Please use proper spelling and grammar.

GRADING

The final grade for the class will be awarded according to the following point system. Changes may be made to this grading policy. All changes will be announced in class and posted on the class Blackboard page.

ACTIVITY

INFORMATION

POINTS

1 syllabus quiz

5 points, must be taken online at: http://harper.blackboard.com/

5 points

12 Required Activities

The Required Activities are online (Blackboard) chapter review quizzes of about 20 questions - usually multiple choice. They are worth two points per quiz/chapter. They can be retaken as many times as you wish and only the highest score will be included in the gradebook.

24 points

5 in-class quizzes

10 multiple choice questions, 1 point each each, best 4 of 5 counted

40 points

3 unit exams

40 multiple choice questions each *

120 points

Final Exam

80 multiple choice questions, COMPREHENSIVE

80 points

Papers

4 at 10 points each

40 points

TOTAL: 309 POINTS
* Each of the three unit exams will also have an extra credit essay question worth about 3 points

Letter grades will be awarded as follows:
90%=A, 80%=B, 70%=C, 60%=D, below 60%=F

MAKE-UP POLICY

Exams:
Students will be allowed to take an exam at a time other than the scheduled class period only IF:
1. the instructor is notified BEFORE the scheduled exam time AND
2. the student has a very good reason to miss the exam at the scheduled time.

Quizzes:

Since only four of the five quizzes will be included in the final point total, there should be little need to take a quiz at a time other than the scheduled class time.

Papers

Papers can be rewritten for full credit but they must be turned in by the due date to earn the chance to be rewritten. Papers turned in late cannot be rewritten. Please note that papers are either graded as an "A" or an "F", so the chance to rewrite the paper is important. A final due date for all papers and rewrites will be announced in class. For more information see papers

BRIEF COURSE OUTLINE

IMPORTANT: For exact reading assignments see: Assignments

Unit 1: An Introduction To Economics, Efficiency, and the Market System

  • Ch. 1 -- Limits, Alternatives, and Choices and the 5 Es
  • Ch. 2 -- The Market System: The Market and the 5 Es
  • Ch. 3 -- Individual Markets: Demand and Supply and the 5 Es
  • Ch. 4 and 16 -- Government and Market Failure and the 5 Es
  • Ch. 5 -- The United States in the Global Economy and the 5 Es

Unit 2: Consumer Decisions and the Costs of Production

  • Ch. 6 -- Extensions of Demand and Supply Analysis (Elasticity of Supply and Demand: Deciding How Much)
  • Ch. 7 -- Consumer Behavior and Utility Maximization: Consumer Decisions
  • Ch. 8 -- The Costs of Production: Producer Decisions / Costs

Unit 3: Product Markets: Decision Making and Efficiency

  • Ch. 9 -- Pure Competition
  • Ch. 10 and 18 -- Pure Monopoly and Regulation
  • Ch. 11 -- Monopolistic Competition and Oligopoly

Unit 4: Resource Markets: Decision Making, Efficiency, and Equity

  • Ch. 13 -- The Demand for Resources
  • Ch. 14 -- Wage Determination
  • Ch. 20 -- Income Inequality, Poverty, and discrimination

NOTE: This outline may be changed! Regular class attendance is needed since changes will be announced in class.

ATTENDANCE POLICY

Class attendance is strongly recommended, but not required. Former students have indicated that the material covered in class is very helpful at the time of the examinations.

LIBRARY RESERVE

A textbook and a study guide have been placed on reserve in the library in case you leave yours at Grandma's house. They can be checked out from the circulation desk for two days at a time.

HOW TO PASS ECONOMICS

This is a difficult course! There is an old rule of thumb concerning studying for college courses: on average students should study TWO hours for every ONE hour of class. This is an average, which means some courses require more study time and some less. You may find that economics requires MORE.

The following suggestions should help you learn economics:

  1. Passive reading of the textbook is not very helpful. Read with a pen in your hand and a notebook on which to list, repeat, copy, calculate, etc. ALSO, pay close attention to the TABLES and GRAPHS. THEY ARE IMPORTANT.

  2. Attend class. Your instructor will review the material from the textbook, add additional material, and answer questions. Come to class with your questions. While in class TAKE NOTES and lots of them! We will go fast. If you want something repeated, ASK.

  3. Do problems. The assignment web page lists the problems from the textbook and Study Guide that you are responsible for in each unit. DO THEM ALL. If you can't do these problems you will do poorly on the quizzes and exams.

    When doing the multiple choice questions in the Study Guide, it is suggested that you do NOT circle the answers in the book. Rather, write the letter of the answer that you selected on a separate sheet of paper. There are two reasons for doing this: (1) it is easier to grade them since all answers are listed together at the end of the Study Guide chapters, and (2) by not writing in the study guide you can go over the questions again and again without having the correct (or incorrect) answers already marked.

  4. See the instructor for assistance. This should be done EARLY in the semester. The Tutoring Center also offers help.

  5. Keep up. It is easy to get behind. To get a good grade you will have to devote a significant amount of out of class time to studying economics. If you get behind there simply will not be enough time.

  6. Try to APPLY the concepts learned in class to the "real world" including issues in the news and aspects of your personal life.

 

SCHEDULE OF IMPORTANT DATES
-- Fall 2010 --

The following dates are TARGETS only. THEY CAN BE CHANGED!. Any changes will be announced in class at least one week before the scheduled date of the quiz, exam, or paper and posted here.

DATE

ACTIVITY

|

|

Before Thur., 9/2

Syllabus Quiz. Take the 5-point Syllabus Quiz at: http://harper.blackboard.com/

Thur, 9/2

Paper 1 - Be sure to read and study:
http://www.harpercollege.edu/mhealy/eco211/lectures/microch1-18.htm

Thur., 9/9

Quiz 1 - Ch.1 Only

You must have your article for paper 2

Thur. 9/23

Paper 2 - Study chapter 3 !

Thur., 9/30

Quiz 2 - Chapter 3 Only

Thur. 10/7

Exam 1 - Chapters 1, 2, 3, 4 and 16

Thur. 10/14

Paper 3 - Study chapters 4 and 16 (negative externalities)

Thur. 10/21

Paper 4 - Study chapter 6 !

Thur. 10/28

Quiz 3 - Chapter 6 Only

Thur. 11/11

No classes at Harper - closed for Veterans day

Tue. 11/16

Exam 2 - Chapters 6, 7, 8

Sun. 11/21

LAST DAY TO WITHDRAW FROM THE CLASS

Tue. 11/23

Quiz 4 - Chapter 9

Thur., 12/2

Quiz 5 - Chapter 10

Thur. 12/9

Exam 3 - Chapters 9, 10, 11 and 18

9:25 class:

  • Tue. 12/14
  • 9:55–11:40 a.m.

1:40 class:

  • Tue. 12/14
  • 1:45-3:30 p.m.

FINAL EXAM
[SCHEDULE]

80 points comprehensive

Accessibility Statement / Access and Disability Services

Your success in this class is important to me. If you have a disability (learning, physical, psychological or other) and may require some accommodation or modification in procedures, class activity, instruction, requirements, etc. please contact me early in the semester so we can refer you to ADS who will discuss and arrange for reasonable accommodations. The Access and Disability Services department is in the Building D, D119, 847.925.6266 or TTY (847) 397-7600

Equal Opportunity Statement

William Rainey Harper College provides equal opportunity in education and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, age, marital status, sexual orientation, or disability.

Student E-mail Notifications

All notifications related to student registration or other business activities are sent to students via a G-mail account that is assigned to students upon registration. Students access the G-mail account via an icon in the student portal (where you registered for classes). Please check this e-mail frequently. To forward e-mails from this account to a personal e-mail account please follow the instructions for forwarding Harper e-mail available at http://harper.blackboard.com/  

Academic Honesty Policy

Harper College is strongly committed to the promotion of high ethical standards. Such standards can best be accomplished in an environment where honesty and integrity are practiced. For this reason the College strongly condemns academic dishonesty. Academic dishonesty includes cheating, plagiarism or other improper appropriation of another’s work as one’s own and falsifying records to advance one’s academic standing.

Cheating includes but is not limited to copying answers, stealing and/or disseminating tests or answer keys, using someone else’s data in preparation of reports or assignments, and assisting others in such practices.

Plagiarism involves the presentation of another person’s words, ideas, or work as one’s own. It includes but is not limited to copying any material (written or non-written) without proper acknowledgement of its source, and paraphrasing another’s work or ideas without proper acknowledgement.

Falsifying records includes but is not limited to falsifying or improperly altering college records and documents, or knowingly supplying false or misleading information to others (e.g., the College, other educational institutions, or prospective employers).

Any form of academic dishonesty as defined by the faculty member or department is a serious offense requiring disciplinary measures. Discipline for academic dishonesty involving a specific course shall be first determined by the instructor of the course and may include failure of the specific assignment, project or test, or failure of the course. The student may appeal the instructor’s decision in accordance with the College’s Student Academic Complaint Procedures. In cases of academic dishonesty the faculty assigned grade supersedes a student-initiated withdrawal. In cases where disciplinary measures beyond course failure may be deemed appropriate by the instructor, or dishonesty that is not related to a specific course, the student may be disciplined in accordance with the Student Conduct Policy with the appropriate vice president involved in the decision.