FIU Syllabus
Micro Economics
Spring 2018
Eco 2023 Prof. Dr. Ken Peters
3 credit hours Office Location: DM 319C Hours: Wednesday 1:00– 4:00 pm
* Information about FIU courses is provided for purposes of illustration only. Course offerings, descriptions, syllabi, and content are subject to change at any time without notice.
Course Description
The course will provide a general introduction for students desirous to either choose Economics as their major or for those who wish to grasp general principles of Micro Economics as a segment of this discipline. Elementary principles will be presented to understand how individual behavior and the behavior of individual producers of goods or services and their distribution function. This course will also present individual concepts for manufacturing and distribution asset growth. The course will address general understanding maximizing of capital production and distribution.
Course Goals
· Students will get an overview of consumer choice theory
· Students will be acquainted to major principles of the firm: production and costs
· Students will become acquainted with firms in perfectly competitive markets
· Students will become acquainted with monopoly and anti-trust
· Students will be introduced to monopolistic competition & product differentiation
· Students will learn about Oligopolies and strategic behavior
· Students will learn about input markets and micro economic policy issues
· Students will learn about markets for labor, capital and land
· Students will be introduced to Theory of Price
· Overriding discussions on economic shifts from manufacturing capital goods to the high technology shifts through innovation related to global economics.
Required Texts
The book I will be using is “Exploring Economics”, by Robert L. Sexton 7e (students are free to, rent or buy a digital edition online or even buy a used older edition). This book is inclusive of Marco and Micro courses but we will be focused on chapters 1 thru 17 for Microeconomics. Various short reading selections will be distributed in class or will be on reserve in the library or available online as necessary.
* FIU reserves the right to add, discontinue, or modify its programs and policies at any time. Modifications subsequent to the original publication of this [information or document] may not be reflected here. For the most up-to-date information, please visit FIU.edu.
* Compliance with Federal Law: For information on the authors, titles, retail prices, ISBN numbers, and other details regarding the text books, please visit the college website at http://bookstore.berkeleycollege.edu
Grading Policy: Student grades for the course will be calculated by means of several evaluation procedures.
1. There will be four 10 question quizzes. Each quiz will be worth 5 points each for a total of 20 possible points of your grade.
2. Attendance 3 points
3. Participation 7 points
4. A midterm exam worth 20 points of your grade
5. A final exam worth 20 points of your grade
6. An Oral Presentationworth 30 points of your grade
a. Time of duration 5 to 7 minutes (time dependent on number of students)
b. Purpose to apply one of our learned economic principles studied in this economics class
i. Presentation must contain a specific principle covered in class or in the text book
ii. It may be in power point or it may be drawn on the grease board graphically
c. The topic of the Oral Presentation may use a subject personally applied from daily life such as shopping in a supermarket or decisions on purchasing electronic equipment or allocating your time or to a current event Domestic or Global topic in the news or even sporting events, whatever interests you! Everything in life revolves around Economics as it is the Study of Human Behaviour.
d. You must demonstrate a Micro economic principle such as S & D determinants, Equilibrium, Elasticity, Perfect, Monopolist or Oligopolistic competition models, Consumer Price Theory, Consumer or Producer Surpluses, Production Costs for Firms, Market Inefficiencies and Welfare, Market failures, etc. (any one of the principles studied in your class).
e. Group presentations are not permitted.
f. All presentations are to be done individually. Grading is determined by the following criteria:
i. Application of an economic concept learned in class – 30%
ii. Accuracy of economic principle in presentation – 30%
iii. Preparation – 20%
iv. Creativity, uniqueness and novelty – 20%
7. The maximum of ten (10) points can be obtained through attendance & class participation. To avoid confusion, “Perfect attendance” is worth 3 points. The remaining seven (7) points is for “Participation” means asking questions and participating in class discussions (the definition of CLASS PARTICIPATION means answering questions, offering ideas or examples to discussions, etc.)!
8. The sum total of student points is 100 points including exams, presentation, Attendance & participation (there are no extra credit assignments)!
9. Quizzes and midterm (MT) can only be made up per an excused absence and the final exam cannot be made up. Any make up quizzes without a documented excuse will carry a loss of 2.5 out of 5 points.
10. Final exams cannot be made up unless advance notice is provided or if there is a documented emergency.
Grading Scale
Grade / Points Per Credit HourA / 4.00
A- / 3.67
B+ / 3.33
B / 3.00
B- / 2.67
C+ / 2.33
C / 2.00
D / 1.00
F / 0.00
Course Outline by Week (anticipated schedule)
Week 1 Economic Methods & Economic Way of thinking
Week 2 Production Possibilities Curve
Week 3 Q #1 / Supply & Demand analysis
Week 4 Equilibrium
Week 5 Determinants of Elasticity
Week 6 Q #2 / Market Inefficiencies and Welfare
Week 7 Market Failure / Public sector/Public Choice
Week 8 Midterm Exam/
Week 9 Consumer Choice Theory
Week 10 Firms: Production costs
Week 11 Q #3 / Firms: Perfectly Competitive Markets
Week 12 Firms: Monopolistic & Oligopolisitc Markets
Week 13 Markets for Land, Labour & Capital
Week 14 Q #4 / Income & Poverty, Environment and Healthcare
Week 15 Oral Presentations
Week 16 Final Exam
Economics & business vocabulary
As these courses are part of the Global First Year Program, one of our goals are to incorporate vocabulary related to economics and business for all of our students where English is not their primary language. We will Maintain an ongoing list of vocabulary related to Economics, finance, business and general English as it relates to our class discussions. Students are encouraged at any time during the lecture to raise your hand and inquire for any definition. Our vocabulary list will be provided weekly to your ENC instructors.
Deadlines for assignments
All missed exams or assignments carry a 50% grade reduction if there is no documented excuse.
Credit Hour Assignment Policy
Course work performed outside of the classroom (such as reading, studying, writing papers, doing projects or receiving tutoring) is critical to academic success. While the time requirements for individual students may vary somewhat, a general rule of thumb is that students should spend about two hours outside the classroom for every hour required in it.
Academic Integrity
FIU is committed to supporting its mission to provide an educational experience designed to develop professional competencies including developing habits of personal and professional integrity. The College expects all members of its community - - students, faculty, and staff - - to act honestly in all situations. Actions of Academic Dishonesty will not be tolerated. "Academic Dishonesty is any form of cheating and plagiarism which results in students giving or receiving unauthorized assistance in an academic assignment or receiving credit for work which is not their own."[1] All students are expected to agree to a pledge of honesty concerning their academic work, and faculty are expected to maintain the standards of that code.
Participation and Tardiness
Attendance: An attendance sheet will circulate every class and if you are late for any reason, it is your responsibility to sign it before you depart. Students are given a grace period of fifteen (15) minutes to arrive in class. Admittance to the class room is not permitted if you are more than 15 minutes late unless you have a documented excuse. Once the door is shut there is no admittance. If later than 15 minutes, it is the student’s responsibility to forecast and predict issues related to distance from buildings or highway transportation rather than citing there was traffic. Attendance is considered very important because it is your primary opportunity to clarify and enhance your understanding of the material both read and heard. Class discussions and presentations are your opportunities to learn through dialogue and the means of explaining your position on a particular issue to the rest of us. Two absences for whatever reasons are permitted without penalty but after that your grade is subject to a reduction except in the case of documented excused absences. I would appreciate e-mail explanations for all absences but if you expect to have an excused absence on any given occasion, you must send me your explanation via e-mail. If a class is cancelled for whatever reasons, an announcement will be posted on Blackboard as far in advance as possible.
Classroom conduct: College is, among other things, a preparation for a future job and professional occupations, so professional norms such as punctual behavior at the start of class and respect for each other in regard to inappropriate talking, eating, cell phones, text messaging and any other conceivable disruptive behavior are assumed. If you must leave early for any reason, please let me know before class begins.
Information Literacy
Information Literacy is a valuable set of skills that empowers students to become agile information seekers who adapt to changing modes of information delivery and are selective, critical, ethical users of information in all formats. These skills are embedded within course work throughout academic programs.
Compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act
Any student who seeks a reasonable accommodation of a disability with respect to an academic matter should obtain an FIU Request for Accommodation of Disability form, as soon as the need becomes apparent, from the appropriate department on campus.
Note: FIU reserves the right to add, discontinue, or modify its programs and policies at any time. Modifications subsequent to the original publication of this syllabus may not be reflected here. For the most up-to-date information, please visit FIU.edu. Information about FIU courses are provided for purposes of illustration only. Course offerings, descriptions, syllabi, and content are subject to change at any time without notice.
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