College of DuPage

Fall, 2013 Syllabus

Economics 2202- Principles of Economics Sections 083, 100

Instructor: Lewis R. Jones Office: IC 2808F; Hours M-F 7:00-8:00 a.m.; M, W 10:00-11:00; T, Th 9:15-11:00. Telephone: 942-2039 e-Mail: jonesle@cod.edu Text Book: MICROECONOMICS by Hubbard & OBrien 4th edition. Chapters 3-8 and 10 through 18. Includes MyEconLab Summary: Economics is the study of how individuals and society choose to produce and allocate scarce goods and resources given almost unlimited needs and desires. Microeconomics is the study of how individual consumers and firms act to allocate resources efficiently. We will see how they make these decisions individually and how these decisions affect markets and industries. Upon completion of this course you should be able to: Analyze demand and supply in the context of elasticities and elasticitys implications for the behaviour of markets. Understand market structure, its causes, and implications for market pricing and flexibility. Understand and analyze the various returns to factors of production such as wages, interest, profits and rent. Analyze and describe the issues involved with income inequality and the problems and opportunities of economic development. Understand and analyze issues in international trade including the balance of payments and currency exchange rates.

Grading There will be an in-class midterm and final exam. The first will count 15% of your total grade while the comprehensive final exam will count 25%. In addition there will be 2 quizzes that will each count 10%. There will be periodic homework assignments that will collectively count 10% of the grade. Late homework will not be accepted. During the semester students will be expected to arrive prepared for class and to participate knowledgeably. There will be several opportunities for students to participate in classroom discussions. In the aggregate these discussions will count 10% of a students grade. Finally, students will join in groups of 4 or 5 and analyze a company and its industry during the semester. Each group will submit a statistical summary of various aspects of their company. In addition each group will present material about the industry structure that the company finds itself in and the history and prospects of their company

as an investment. The group presentation and statistical summary will count 10%. The presentations will occur during the week of November 4th. In addition, each student in a group will submit an individual paper concerning their company of 3 to 5 pages. This will also count 10%. This paper will be due by November 22nd. While students will be expected to be ready to participate in classroom discussion at any time, there are certain dates and subjects that students will be responsible for during the semester. These dates are centered around the release of monthly or quarterly data by various government agencies. The release dates, data being released and source are given below. Release Date Sept 6th Sept 17tht Oct. 17th Oct 30th Nov 1st Data Series Empl/unemp CPI Ind Prod GDP Empl/Unempl Government Agency BLS BLS Fed BEA BLS

Information about these releases will be available on the web sites of the U.S. Government Agencies named above. Finally, students will be expected to keep up with recent developments affecting the economy. One can do this by watching the evening news. reading daily newspapers and weekly news magazines. The COD Library subscribes to several relevant newspapers and magazines. In order to earn extra credit, students may submit one-page papers summarizing recent developments involving microeconomic topics. As many as two such papers may be submitted. Each paper could earn as much as 1 extra point on a students aggregate grade. These papers must be submitted by November 22nd. It is College policy that students will not be allowed to drop a course after November 19th. See professor for details.

Your weighted average grade will be computed as follows: A 89% to 100% B 78% to 88% C 67% to 77% D 56% to 66% F Less than 56%

From the Active Course File

Upon successful completion of this course, the student should be able to do the following: 1. Analyze supply and demand in the context of elasticities and explain the implications of these on consumer surplus, public policy, and the behavior of markets 2. Analyze and evaluate the behavior and limitations of a competitive market place 3. Analyze and describe the various forms of market structure and their implications for pricing, economic performance and possible governmental action 4. Describe and differentiate among the various returns to factors of production 5. Analyze and describe the issues involved with income inequality and the problems and opportunities of economic development 6. Describe and analyze the utility theory of consumer choice and behavior 7. Identify and analyze the affects of externalities on economic welfare and evaluate the various ameliorative measures which might be taken 8. Describe and analyze the effect of international trade on country output, consumption, and welfare

Topical Outline
This course will include but not be restricted to the following topics: 1. Review of supply and demand 2. Elasticity of demand and supply 3. Income and cross-price elasticities 4. Consumer surplus and discussion of taxation 5. The firm and its economic problem 6. Production in the short run and the long run 7. Costs of production 8. Competitive marketplace and the firm 9. Output and price in perfect competition 10. Other forms of market organization 11. Price discrimination 12. Supply and demand of the factors of production 13. Issues in the market for labor, capital, and land 14. Utility, marginal utility, and indifference curve analysis 15. Public goods and externalities 16. International trade and finance