Microeconomics Dr.Viju Kulkarni s1
Microeconomics Dr.Viju Kulkarni
Email:
Summer 2008
CRN: 58014
Course Material:
1.Text: Microeconomics by McConnell- Brue ( 17th edition, McGraw- Hill), ISBN: 007327090
2. Resource set link on home page
3. Relevant articles from Websites, newspaper and Magazines
There are plenty of used copies available from many sources. Check it out by starting the process early. Ebook version is also available for those who can manage using online resources without needing a text. Make sure you make the choice depending on your preference and study habits.
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 – Microeconomics and Macroeconomics. Microeconomics deals with the economic behavior of individual units in the economy while Macroeconomics is concerned with the study of economic aggregates.
Course Objectives:
The main objective of this course is to introduce you to the way economists try to understand the working of microeconomic system. That is, what are market demands, who are consumers and what motivates their behavior in the market? In the same way, an attempt will be made to study the business behavior in terms of profit maximization and cost minimization. We will also study the impact of business growth and profits on the income inequality. This is extremely critical as the U.S. Economy is undergoing some unprecedented changes in terms of confusing state of business behavior, volatile behavior of the stock market, serious lack of consumer confidence and the new waves of corporate fraud. But experts claim that these problems are temporary and short term in nature as the U.S. economy is structurally very strong and generally follows the theories outlined in microeconomic learning. Attempt is also made to understand many global issues such as trade and payments, free trade issues and protectionist policies. Here we will focus on trade problems with China, unstable value of dollar in the international market and other related trade and payments issues.
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 and business issues that are very critical to understand the changing business world.
Testing and Grading
There will be 2 quizzes ( Warm up and Final) 2 tests ( Mid term and Final) and 4 discussion topic postings( read the specific instructions on this below) in this fast paced 8 weeks course. Each test will count 240 points towards the grade and each quiz will count 80 points and you are graded for the maximum of 760 (480 points from tests, 160 points from the quizzes and 120 points from discussion posting) points. Please read the specifics on discussion postings below.
Each test will be 60 multiple choice questions from the selected list of chapters covered each week. Each quiz will contain 40 MC questions the selected chapters as listed below. I have provided you below with the chapters to read, questions to focus on for quiz and test. You can also check out my Resources guide ( Dr.K’s resource link on my home page) to help you understand the material better and prepare for test. To get most from the course in this short period of learning, first read the sections from my resources and then read the text.
Test dates, material covered in each test and the relevant study questions list along with the answers are all listed in y schedule link on my home page.
Posting on discussion – Participation in threaded discussions
Students must participate in all threaded discussions. I will post the question in the discussion Board on the first Monday of each week and you must post your thoughts on the topic by Sunday night ( 10 pm) of each concluding week. I will post a total of 8 topics in the session – one topic per week. 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 week. 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 half a page length. Do not wait until the last minute post your comments.
Please Note: To make it convenient and easy for you, I have set 10 pm on Sunday of each week as the deadline for all submissions.
Please remember, this is a 4 week course moving at a jet speed covering the entire semester material. This class is fun and very rewarding but you must keep up with the reading, postings and preparing for the test each week to reap the maximum benefit.
Quiz and Test dates, material and study questions to focus, along with the specific dates for other activities are listed in the schedule document in “Schedule” link on the home page.
The schedule we have set up for tests stays valid unless I inform you otherwise. I will announce the changes, if any in the class lounge and 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:
89% – above A
79- 88% B
69 – 78% C
59- 68% D
Below 59% 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.
Extra Credit Project: There is also an extra credit opportunity for you to earn additional 25 points. Read more about the project and specifics under “Student Resources” link on the home page.