Microeconomics Dr.Viju Kulkarni
Email:
Fall 2008 ( CRN: 54462)
Class starts on Aug. 25 and ends on Dec. 17.
Course Material:
- Text: Microeconomics by Roger Arnold with aplia Bundle ( 8th edition - Thomson Publishers, (ISBN: 0-324-55270-X: Microeconomics 8e + Aplia, physical bundle)
- Relevant articles from Websites, newspaper and Magazines
This text is available in hard copy as well as Ebook format.along with the aplia bundle. Check out the registration form listed under the Course Tools to find out more about the text book options. Make sure you know which one fits better your specific learning style before you purchase.
Course Description:
For many of you, this is your first course in Economics. The main goal of this course is to convey to the beginning student with no previous knowledge of economics, an understanding of the basic theoretical principles used to explain economic reality. Economic reality presents itself in the form of problems related to production, distribution, and consumption in the world of scarce resources. Economic theory attempts to provide a unified and coherent explanation of these problems. Learning economics is essentially a matter of learning how to look at the economic issues from another point of view. Economics as a matter of fact is nothing but an organized common sense.
The study of economics is conveniently divided into two disciplines – Macroeconomics and Microeconomics. Macroeconomics is concerned with the study of economic aggregates while Microeconomics deals with the economic behavior of individual units in the economy.
Course Objectives:
The main objective of this course is to introduce you to the way economists try to understand the working of microeconomic system . timing couldn’t be better to study this exciting aspect of thee conomy as unprecendented changes have and are taking place on a daily basis. At the macro level, we have seen the serious problems in the stock market, housing market, job market, cost of living and cost of doing business forcing the policy makers to declare recession or stagflation to describe the situation. While all these issues are basically macro in nature, they all tend to impact the microeconomic study as these macro changes affect the participants in the microecoomic system. Microeconomic study focuses on the behavior of consumers and producers in the market place. With the soaring prices of gas and food, consumrs are forced to change their daily life style while the same soaing
This list could be expanded, but it suffices to give you an idea of the variety and depth of issues we will discuss in this course. In the class we study not only economic theories but also apply them to many specific cases to understand the current economic issues that presidential candidates on both sides are raising. For example, issues like why enough jobs have not been created even when economy is said to have recovered? How is this related to the concept of “Outsourcing”? Why is Federal Reserve interested in raising interest rates when unemployment is still an issue? How did the budget surplus turn into deficit? Why dollar value is declining overseas and what does this mean to the future of dollar in the international market? Why are we so hesitant to stop trading with China inspire of the repeated problems with the tainted toy issues? All these and many other related issues can be explained and understood better by using economic theories.
Testing and Grading
There will be 4 quizzes, final exam, weekly home work assignments and 10 discussion topic postings (read the specific instructions on this below) in this very relaxed but active 16 week session. One quiz with the lowest score will be dropped but taking the final exam is mandatory. The weight of each activity is as follows:
Quizzes ------30%
Final Exam ----- 30%
Discussion board --- 20%
Homework assignments ---20%
Special note on Aplia Website:
During this course to complete the homework assignments you will be required to access the Aplia website. Aplia is an online homework system designed to improving learning by increasing student effort and engagement. You are able to understand the material better, practice on questions and verify your learning by answering both practice and graded questions. You will get the feedback on all the tests you take and scores are reported to me. Homework assignments count 20% towards your final grade.
To access the website, you need to register for an account with Aplia at http://www.aplia.com. by using the Aplia registration form link on the home page under “getting Started” link.. Please access the form and register on the website so that you can start your homework.
All the questions in the quizzes/tests are multiple choice nature. Dates and reading material related to quizzes and final exam are listed in the schedule of Activities listed under “Syllabus and schedule “ link on my home page. Helping Hand link to help you understand the material better, focus on certain selected concepts and prepare for the quizzes/exam. The schedule we have set up for Quizzes/discussion board/final exam stay valid unless I inform you otherwise. I will announce the changes, if any in Announcements and sometimes by email but you need to pay attention to what goes on and check the class lounge and email frequently. Talk to me freely if you have any questions, concerns and problems.
Grade Distribution:
88% – above A
78- 87% B
68 – 77% C
58- 67% D
Below 58% F
Final grade is based on a straight scale in accordance with district’s policy. But the borderline cases are decided to your advantage based on your interest, commitment and quality of your writing in the discussion board postings. If you do not participate in the weekly discussions actively, I will lower your grade by one level. Good luck. This is a fun and rewarding class with lot of information that are used in your future decision making.
Posting on discussion – Participation in threaded discussions
Students must participate all the 6 discussion topics. I generally follow the schedule listed in my “Syllabus and Schedule” link. If there is any change due to some unexpected situations, I will let you know. You are expected to do one original posting with your thoughts and comments (10 points) on the posted topic and one reaction to others’ posting ( 5 points). You cannot do both postings on the same day. They must be done on different days during the two week period you are allowed. I also discourage you from doing the posting at the last minute on the last day as I believe that last minute posting is an indication of poor planning and poor performance. Ignoring this will result in lower grade. Anything posted after the due date and time will not get any credit . You will be graded on your participation and the quality (or thoughtfulness) of your contribution to the postings. Quality can come in the form of making insightful comments, asking probing questions, using your critical thinking skills, listing references you used among other things. Your posting must be at least one page length and reaction to other can be around half a page. Do not wait until the last minute post your comments.