Advisement Info

PREREQUISITES: None.

REQUIRED TEXT: Case and Fair, Principles of Microeconomics, 5th ed, Prentice Hall, 1999.

Computer tutorial packages and other readings will be assigned as the course continues.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED TEXT: Study Guide to Accompany Principles of Microeconomics.

EXAMS AND POLICY:

There will be four hourly exams and several homework assignments. No make-up exams or incompletes will be allowed in this class unless a student has supported evidence of an urgent reason. The points for exams are distributed as follows:

4 exams (100 points)	400
Homework assignments, cases, readings	50
Economic report based on biweekly WSJ prepared data (portfolio assessment	50
Total points	500

GROUP WORK: Group work will be randomly organized the first day of class. Get to know your group by exchanging biographical sketches.

HINT: Common sense ideas for more understanding of the theoretical analyses to be developed in this course can be gained by reading some of the economics-- business-oriented magazines and watching relevant TV programs. Examples are:

1. The Wall Street Journal
2. The Economist
3. Fortune
4. Challenge
5. U.S. News and World Report
6. Business Week
7. "Wall Street Week": Public TV, Friday Evening
8. "Adam Smith World": Public TV, Sunday Afternoon
9. "The Nightly Business Report": Public TV
10. "CNN Business Report" and "Money Line": 6:30 PM and 11:00 PM everyday

TENTATIVE EXAM SCHEDULE

Exam #1 February 17
Exam #2 March 16
Exam #3 April 13
Final Exam: Finals Schedule
Report due May 4

TENTATIVE COURSE OUTLINE

PART I - INTRODUCTION TO ECONOMICS

Ch. 1 The Scope and Method of Economics
2 The Economic Problem: Scarcity and Choice
3 The Structure of the U.S. Economy: The Private, Public, and International Sectors
4 Demand, supply, and Market Equilibrium
5 The Price System, Supply and Demand, and Elasticity

PART II - MICROECONOMICS
Ch. 6 Household Behavior and Consumer Choice
7 The Production Process: The Behavior of Profit-Maximizing Firms
8 Short-Run Costs and Output Decisions
9 Costs and Output Decisions in the Long Run
10 Input Demand: The Labor and Land Market
11 Input Demand: The Capital Market and the Investment Decision
12 General Equilibrium and the Efficiency of Perfect Competition

PART III - MARKET IMPERFECTIONS AND THE ROLE OF GOVERNMENT
Ch. 13 Monopoly
14 Monopolistic Competition and Oligopoly
15 Antitrust Policy and Regulation
16 Externalities, Public Goods, Imperfect
Information, and Social Choice
17 Income Distribution and Poverty

PART IV - CURRENT MICROECONOMIC ISSUES
Ch. 18 Public Finance: The Economics of Taxation
19 The Economics of Labor Markets and Labor Unions
20 Current Topics in Applied Microeconomics: Health Care, Immigration, and Urban Problems

REQUIRED ECONOMIC DATA TO COLLECT (WEEKLY) FOR QUARTERLY REPORT

1. Money Supply (WSJ Federal Reserve data pages C16-C20). Pages vary from one issue to another. Use weekly averages of seasonally adjusted (SA) data.)

a. M1
b. M2
c. M3

2. Interest Rates (Late or close data)
a. Prime Interest Rate (Money rates WSJ pp. C16 - C20)
b. Discount Interest Rate (Money rates)
c. Federal Funds Rate (Money rate)
d. Short-term Interest Rate (e.g. Treasury bills) (WSJ p. C1)

3. Stock Prices: Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) (WSJ p. C1: Use close data.)

4. Economic Growth: Follow changes in economic indicators (See list of leading indicators below)
Wall Street Journal p. A2
*Friday issue of Barrons
Bureau of Economic Analysis homepage
U.S. Financial Data - Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis homepage
Departments of Treasury and Commerce homepages

Average Weekly Hours of Production Workers in Manufacturing
Average Weekly Initial Claims for Unemployment Insurance
New Orders for Consumer Goods and Materials (in 1987 dollars)
Vendor Performance Index: Percent of Companies Reporting Slower Deliveries
Contract and Orders, Plant and Equipment (in 1987 dollars)
Building Permits Index, New Private Housing Units
Change in Unfilled Orders, Durable Goods (in 1987 dollars)
Percent Change in Sensitive Materials Prices
Stock Price Index (Standard and Poors 500)
Money Supply, M2 (in 1987 dollars)
Index of Consumer Expectations (from the University of Michigan)

5. Exchange Rates (WSJ p. C1)
a. Deutsche Mark (DM)
b. Japanese Yen (Y)
c. British Pound (£)
d. Canadian Dollar (C$)

Possible Sources:
Internet
Wall Street Journal (WSJ)
New York Times
Financial Times
Economist

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Last modified: January 06, 2003

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