School of Economics

Academic Year 2015-16

Term 1
COURSE CODE & COURSE TITLE
Instructor Name
: Hyojung Lee
Email
: hyojunglee@smu.edu.sg
Tel
: 6808 7942
Office
: SOE 5081
Recitation Hours
: Fri 10-11am, Tue 10-11am, Tue 7-8pm
TAs: Amos (amoschiam.2014@economics.smu.edu.sg), YingLing (yslee.2014@economics.smu.edu.sg); SuiGuan
(suiguan.yeo.2014@economics.smu.edu.sg)
COURSE DESCRIPTION AND GOALS
One of the important learning goals for the undergraduate program in economics is to develop
analytical reasoning skills based on sound economic theory, and Intermediate Microeconomics is a key course
associated with that goal. Note that achieving that goal requires both an understanding of the concepts used in
basic economic theory and an ability to use analytical reasoning to apply those concepts to economic problems.
The course will develop and use marginal analysis to examine and interpret individual optimization by
economic agents (e.g., a firm choosing its production plan to maximize profit) as well as economically
efficient outcomes. Equilibrium analysis will be developed and used in both price-taking (competitive) and
non-price-taking (e.g., monopoly or oligopoly) contexts.
Because the text is very readable, little class time will be used to address the material presented there
directly. Instead, a substantial part of class time will be spent using the concepts presented in the text to work
through examples and applications. That makes it especially important for students to keep up with the assigned
reading. I will rely on students having read and worked through the material before it is discussed in class.
Students should bring up any questions they have during class discussion of the topic, and reread and again
work through the material after it is discussed in class. When students read the material, they should try to think
through each model or problem for understanding, not memorization.
To do well in the course, students must understand the material. The only way to learn and understand
the material is to think about and work through it. The homework problems will contain many examples of the
type and level that will be useful in preparation for course exams. When you read through a sample problem,
you should attempt to solve it yourself before reading the solution. If you are having trouble solving a problem,
you should read only enough of the solution to help you get started on the problem point. Then return to your
attempt to solve the problem.

RECOMMENDED TEXT AND READINGS

Besanko and Braeutigam Microeconomics 5th ed. Wiley (It is required to have a text book for this class)

ASSESSMENT METHODS
Class Participation
Mid-term Test
Final Examination
Total

: 12%
: 40%
: 48%
: 100%

Midterm is 90 minute long, and Final is 2 hour long and cumulative. The type of questions in midterm and final
examinations will be similar to Homework problems.
Participation:
1. Quiz [8%]: There will be 20 minute quizzes starting the third week. Each quiz will be given at the
beginning of the class. The quiz consists of two parts: first part is based on the previous week lecture;
second part is based on the reading assignment for the todays lecture. Total number of quizzes will be

2.

3.

8 or 9. You are required to come to every class, so taking every quiz is mandatory (I wont drop any
lowest quiz scores). Importantly, if you get caught cheating, your score will become 0.
Recitation and Participation [2%]: 6 recitations for homework plus several review sessions for exams
will be given throughout the semester. In each session, you should be prepared to present how to solve
a problem in homework or sample exams. The TA will record the number of your participation.
Homework [2%]: Homework will be due right before the class starts. There will be 6 homework
assignments. I encourage you to form a group of 3 4 students and discuss about the problem sets.
However, you should write the solution by yourself. Copied solutions will get no points. Each
homeworks total score is 2 points. You get full score if you do homework reasonably well and if you
have made an honest effort to complete the problems correctly. However, you get only 1 point if you
dont sufficiently show how you solved the problems. Homework with only simple answers [without
proper explanations] will get 0.

Note that there will be no make-up exams and quizzes, and no acceptance of late assignments.

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY
All acts of academic dishonesty (including, but not limited to, plagiarism, cheating, fabrication, facilitation of
acts of academic dishonesty by others, unauthorized possession of exam questions, or tampering with the
academic work of other students) are serious offences.
All work (whether oral or written) submitted for purposes of assessment must be the students own work.
Penalties for violation of the policy range from zero marks for the component assessment to expulsion,
depending on the nature of the offense.
When in doubt, students should consult the instructors of the course. Details on the SMU Code of Academic
Integrity may be accessed at http://www.smuscd.org/resources.html.

CLASS SESSIONS AND EXPECTATIONS

Class sessions are of 3-hour duration per week. Each session involves a lecture, active group discussion of
relevant issues, quantitative problem-solving, a short quiz, and review of homework assignments. Do not expect
me to spoon-feeding you the existing knowledge. In the spirit of the SMU approach, I will rather assist you in
exploring new findings. So I will ask many questions in the class and you are expected to think seriously about
the answers.
You are expected to look at the lecture notes before coming to class and to print them if you need a reference.
The use of the laptop is generally not allowed

WEEKLY LESSON PLAN

Week
1

17-Aug-15, Mon

Topic

Readings

No Class (I need to attend a conference)

Introduction, Demand and Supply

Chapters 1, 2

Consumer Preferences, Consumer Choice

Chapters 3, 4

Consumer Choice, The Theory of Demand

(HW1 due)

Chapters 4, 5

The Theory of Demand

Chapter 5

Inputs and Cost Minimization, Cost Curves

(HW2 due)

Chapters 6, 7, 8

Perfect Competition and Applications

Chapter 9

Market Interventions

Chapter 10

Make-Up Class
4

(For Section G1: 12pm

Sept 12, Saturday)
(For Section G2: 7pm
Sept 10, Thursday)

Recess Week

Midterm Exam
(HW3 due)

10

Monopoly

Chapter 11

11

Monopoly and Price Discrimination

(HW4 due)

Chapter 12

12

Game Theory, Duopoly, Oligopoly

Chapters 13,14

13

General Equilibrium, Externalities

(HW 5 due)

Chapters 16, 17

14

Revision Week
Final Examination

15

(HW6 due)