ECON 5311-003 THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT ARLINGTON SPRING 2011

Economic Analysis

Instructor: Prof. Leonid Krasnozhon

Class meetings: COBA 149, Wednesday 7 – 9:50 pm.

Office: COBA 321.

Office phone (with voice mail): 817-272-3202.

Office Hours: 11:00 am – 12:00 pm, Thursday, and by appointment.

Email: (preferred form of communication).

Instructor's Background: BA (economics, Kharkiv State U), MA (economics, Clark U), PhD (economics, George Mason U). Faculty appointments prior to UTA: George Mason U. Current professional affiliation: Fellow, Institute for Humane Studies (IHS), Arlington, VA and Property and Environment Research Center (PERC), Bozeman, Montana.

Course Goal and Content: A purpose of this class is to give students a solid background in economics and engage students in the economic policy discussions. The course will emphasize the role of market institutions in the coordination of human interactions at the micro and macro levels. The lectures and readings are designed to familiarize you with the fundamentals of economics. The principles of economics will be applied to the current issues such as outsourcing, free trade, climate change, and financial crisis. Class meetings will provide a mixture of lectures and discussions. Reading assignments are to be read before class meetings.

Student Learning Outcomes: Successful completion of the class means that you will understand the essentials of economic theory and you will be able to communicate economic ideas. Also, you will understand current economic events at a sophisticated level.

Method of Evaluation: Your final grade for the course will be determined by your performance on two exams: a mid-term and a final. Each exam counts 50% of the class grade. Each exam will focus on the material covered for that exam. The final exam is not comprehensive and it focuses only on the material presented after the mid-term. Thus, your final grade will be formed in the following way:

Mid-term exam (50% of final grade) March 9, 7:00 – 9:50 pm

Final exam (50% of final grade) May 11, 8:15 – 10:45 pm

All exams will be multiple-choice. Exams are administered on scantron form No. 882-E, which can be purchased at the UTA bookstore. For each exam, all you need and are permitted are (1) a scantron sheet, (2) one or two #2 pencils, (3) calculator, and (4) dictionary if English is not your native language.

I will also assign a limited number of class presentations that you can volunteer for. The class presentations will give you an extra credit that I can apply to your final grade. For example, if your final grade is on a margin between A- and A, I can apply the extra credit towards a higher grade.

Grading Policy: I grade the class on a curve so that you are in competition with each other. I follow a standard grading scale: A ≥ 90; B ≥ 80; C ≥ 70 and so forth. A grading scale, however, can change due to different grade distribution at each exam.

REQUIRED TEXTBOOK:

Principles of Economics, 5th ed by Gregory Mankiw

Please, follow the following instructions to purchase a required textbook:

Course: ECON 5311-003_Professor Krasnozhon_Spring 2011
Instructor: Leo Krasnozhon
Start Date: 01/18/2011
Course Key: DN2T-Q2WM-UEUF

Registration

Aplia is part of CengageBrain, which allows you to sign in to a single site to access your Cengage materials and courses.

1. Connect to http://login.cengagebrain.com/

2. If you already have an account, sign in. From your Dashboard, enter your course key (DN2T-Q2WM-UEUF) in the box provided, and click the Register button.
If you don't have an account, click the Create a New Account button, and enter your course key when prompted: DN2T-Q2WM-UEUF. Continue to follow the on-screen instructions.

Payment

Online: Purchase access to your course (including the digital textbook) from the CengageBrain website for US$90.00.

After paying, you will have the option to purchase a physical book from the Aplia website at a discounted price. If you choose to pay later, you can use Aplia without paying until 11:59 PM on 02/07/2011. You do not have to buy the physical textbook.

Class Method and Policy: Class meetings will provide a mixture of lectures and discussions. I encourage your comments and questions based on your experience and assigned readings. Regular attendance is crucial for successful completion of this course because attendance will be taken. I deduct points from your final grade if you miss classes in the following way: one point for the first class missed, two for the second class missed, and so forth. Please, respect your classmates by following these simple rules: no eating in class, no reading a newspaper, no surfing the net, no text messaging, no cell phones, and no chatting. If you are late or you leave early, please, do so quietly. If you violate these rules, I reserve the right to boot you out.

I also understand that many of you work and life can have its unintended consequences. Please, send me email or call me if something comes up unexpectedly, so we can work things out rather than you just drop out. Do not let personal problems ruin your degree plans if possible. I understand that some of you will have to miss class due to your job; please let me know when that is the case.

Grade Grievances: You have one calendar year from the date the grade is assigned to initiate any grievance. The academic channels are department chair, academic dean, and the Provost.

Drop Policy: It is the student’s responsibility to complete the course or withdraw from the course in accordance with University Regulations. Students are encouraged to verify their grade status before dropping a course after the first withdrawal date. A student who drops a course after the first withdrawal date may receive an “F” in the course if the student is failing at the time the course is dropped.

Academic Integrity: It is the philosophy of The University of Texas at Arlington that academic dishonesty is a completely unacceptable mode of conduct and will not be tolerated in any form. All persons involved in academic dishonesty will be disciplined in accordance with University regulations and procedures. Discipline may include suspension or expulsion from the University. “Scholastic dishonesty includes but is not limited to cheating, plagiarism, collusion, the submission for credit of any work or materials that are attributable in whole or in part to another person, taking an examination for another person, any act designed to give unfair advantage to a student or the attempt to commit such acts.” (Regents’ Rules and Regulations, Part One, Chapter VI, Section 3, Subsection 3.2, Subdivision 3.22)

Americans with Disabilities Act: UTA is committed to both the spirit and letter of federal equal opportunity legislation; The Rehabilitation Act of 1973. Under Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), I provide "reasonable accommodations" to students with disabilities, so as not to discriminate. Student responsibility primarily rests with informing faculty of their need for accommodation and in providing authorized documentation through designated administrative channels. Information regarding specific diagnostic criteria and policies for obtaining academic accommodations can be found at www.uta.edu/disability. Also, you may visit the Office for Students with Disabilities in room 102 of University Hall or call them at (817) 272-3364.

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