CAS EC101 Syllabus PDF

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This is the course syllabus for the Spring 2019 semester. ...

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BOSTON UNIVERSITY Department of Economics (Spring 2019) CAS EC101BB Introductory Microeconomic Analysis Office: Rm. 418 Dept. of Econ., 270 Bay State Road Office Hours: M & F 12:15-2:15, or by appointment

Professor Todd Idson Email: [email protected] Phone: 617-353-2742

Course Description: Economics is the study of how society deals with the problem of allocating scarce resources across competing uses. Every economic system must answer a few central questions, e.g. what goods to produce, how much of each good to produce, in what way should they be produced, and who gets the goods. Should we solve these problems through some form of centralized planning or might the welfare of the population be better served by allowing consumers and producers to interact in markets as a way to determine the allocation of resources and distribution of income, and if the latter what role does government have to play? In this course you will learn the basic microeconomics principles that economists use to address these questions. We will focus on how individual decision makers in the economy, i.e. consumers, households, firms, and government, make choices and the consequences of these decisions for social welfare. Throughout the course the microeconomic principles presented will be applied to a wide range of real-world policy questions. Before continuing with this course you must be duly warned that my goal is to train you to think like an economist. While the clarity of your thought processes will be greatly enhanced, you do run the risk of greatly annoying your friends and family, and quite possibly faculty from other disciplines (I speak from extensive personal experience). Course Web Site: All course documents and announcements will be posted on the course site, on learn.bu.edu. Text: Principles of Microeconomics, Gregory Mankiw, Thomson South-Western, 8th edition. Office Hours and Appointments: If you have a course or work conflict with the scheduled time for my office hours please do not hesitate to contact me and we’ll try to find another time to meet (email is the best way to make this request so that I can check my schedule). Discussion Sections: These weekly sessions are an integral part of the course. They are run by a teaching fellow, an advanced graduate students in the economics Ph.D. program at BU. During these meeting you TF will go over the assigned problem sets and possibly also go through select exam questions. Contact information for the TFs will be posted in the document “TF Information” under Course Documents. If you need to change your discussion section, please contact Mr. Daryl Graves ([email protected]) in the economics department and he will attempt to assist you. Please note that we need to balance the size of the sections, so that changes will only be made if there is a course conflict or a documented work conflict, and if space is available. Principles Center: We have established a “Principles Center” located in the basement of the economics department (where most of the TFs have their offices) in room B17, 264 Bay State

Road. The idea behind the center is to provide a place where EC101/2 students can go to pretty much anytime during the day M-F to get help with introductory economics. The staffing schedule is posted under Course Documents and outside of the Center. The Principles Center will be staffed with no more than 2 TFs using the room at any time. The room has a large whiteboard, a large central table, a couch and a number of very uncomfortable looking chairs (to help you stay awake). I advise you that it is best to see the TF running your discussion section, or in the alternative another TF for our lecture. Please note that if you do stop in to see a TF who does not teach your discussion section, the TF may ask you to wait until s/he first sees students from their sections. Finally, while EC101 students may ask EC102 TFs questions (and visa versa), I advise against this as they may not be as close to the material. Problem Sets: The problem sets are posted on the course site in the Problem Sets document in the Assignments folder. While you are not required to hand in the problem sets, understanding the problems will substantially assist you in learning the course materials and performing well on the exams. I strongly suggest that you form small study groups to work on the problems. Problems will we be covered in discussion sections and full solutions will also be posted on the course website the week after they are submitted. Articles: All articles listed on the syllabus (plus any additional interesting articles published during the semester) are posted on the course website, under Course Documents. Exams: All exams will be based on multiple choice questions, with questions drawn from the text, lectures, and problem sets (including the assigned articles). In other words, all material associated with the course may appear on exams, including lecture material that is not in the text, so students should maintain a good set of class notes. Makeup exams: There will be no makeup exams for the two midterms. If you miss a midterm due to a documented medical emergency, then the points for that midterm will be added to your final exam. Also, please note that under no circumstances will the final exam or midterms be administered on a different date than scheduled because of travel plans or family events (if, though, there is a family medical crisis, you should contact me about this immediately so that arrangements may be made). Any changes to an announced exam date, time, or place will be announced in class and posted on the course website (it is the responsibility of the student to be aware of these changes). If a student misses the final due to a documented illness I must be contacted on the day of the exam and every effort must be made to take the makeup final exam as soon as possible (furthermore, no other exams may be taken before the makeup exam for this course is taken, unless you first secure my approval to do so). If a student returns home without first contacting me, no makeup will be given and s/he will receive a zero on the final exam. Grades: Course grades will be based on two midterm exams (25 points each), which are not cumulative, and a cumulative final exam (50 points) which may include any material covered in the course during the entire semester and does not necessarily focus predominantly on the material from the last third of the course. If a students scores higher on the final exam than on a midterm, that midterm grade will only count for 10 points and the final exam will count for the additional points. Your final grade will be based on a curve reflecting the Final Course Score, with the median score receiving a grade of B. I will not, therefore, assign letter grades to your

midterm exam scores, but since the score distribution and the associated median score will be posted for each midterm exam you can have a reasonably good idea how well you are doing in the course. For example, the course score for four different hypothetical students would be: Midterm1 Student #1: Student #2: Student #3 Student #4

Midterm #2

70 70 70 90

85 85 85 70

Final Exam 90 60 80 85

Final Course Score .1(70) + .1(85) + .8(90) .25(80) + .25(85) + .5(60) .1(70) + .25(85) + .65(80) .25(90) + .1(70) + .65(85)

Attendance: Students are expected to attend lectures and discussion sections. If you miss class you are responsible for getting lecture notes from your classmates. The structure of knowledge in economics is strongly hierarchic in that each successive lecture tends to build on prior material in a rather systematic fashion. As such it is very easy to fall behind if you miss a class and do not study the missed material before the subsequent lecture. Class Preparation and Participation: The best way to learn the material (in addition to solving problems) is to read the assigned chapters before the lecture, to ask questions during the lecture, and then to look over the chapter again and your notes after the lecture.

Important Administrative Dates:

January 23 – first lecture Monday February 18 – classes suspended Tuesday February 19 – substitute Monday schedule March 9-17 – Spring Recess Monday April 15 – Classes Suspended Wednesday April 17 – substitute Monday schedule Wednesday May 1 – last lecture Thursday May 2 - last day of classes

Computer in Lectures: I do not allow students to use computers during lectures unless you have a documented learning disability that requires the use of computers (if so, please contact me before the start of the term and provide me with appropriate documentation). There is a growing body of evidence suggesting that the use of computers in the classroom has, on balance, a negative effect on student learning. These reasons include, 1) a tendency for students to check email and to connect to sites that are unrelated to the class, distracting both themselves and other students around them (an example of a negative externality, which we will cover in chapter 10), and 2) studies indicating that writing out notes on paper (or a tablet) improves learning, including the ability to better copy down graphs and mathematics. Student Athletes: If you must miss an exam due to participation in a BU athletic event, I will need a letter from the athletic department at least two weeks before the exam, and will add these points to your final exam. Students with Documented Disabilities: If you have a disability that necessitates extra time for exams, or any other accommodations, you will need to give me a note from the BU office of

Disabilities Services at least two weeks before the first midterm so that I can make arrangements. Educational Resource Center (ERC): The Boston University ERC provides peer tutoring services. It is located at 1 University Road (the Sargent Gym Building), Suite 150. The phone number is 3-7077, and the URL for their site is http://www.bu.edu/erc. Policy on Cheating: Cheating on exams or quizzes will result at a minimum in a zero grade for the exam or quiz (and this grade will count in the final course grade calculation regardless of the grade on the final) and will be reported to the Dean’s office. In this regard it is important to remind everyone that students are responsible to know and understand the provisions of the CAS Academic Conduct Code.

Course Outline (and approximate schedule) (1) Text: An Introduction to Economics - chapters 1 & 2 (skip chapter 2 section on the circularflow diagram), 1/23 & 1/25 (Please note that students who need to review graphing and slopes of functions should carefully read the appendix to chapter 2 in the text.) (2) Text: Interdependence and Gains from Trade - chapter 3, 1/28 & 1/30 (3) Text: The Market Forces of Supply and Demand – chapter 4, 2/1 - 2/6 Article: “Your Career Matters: A Dearth of Economics Doctorates Leads to Royal Recruiting Battles” (4) Text: Elasticity and Its Application - chapter 5, 2/8 - 2/13 Article: “American Consumers Get Milked…Again” (5) Text: Supply, Demand and Government Policies - chapter 6, 2/15 - 2/20 Articles: “Collapsing Cairo” (6) Text: The Efficiency of Markets - chapter 7, 2/22 & 2/25 Articles: Scalping (7) Text: The Cost of Taxation - chapter 8, 2/27 & 3/1

***** MIDTERM EXAM #1: (chapters 1-6) Monday 3/4 *****

(8) Text: Application of S/D Analysis to International Trade – chapter 9, 3/6 & 3/8 (9) Text: Externalities - chapter 10, 3/18 - 3/22 Articles: “A Stealth Campaign by the Gun Lobby Helps Shooting Ranges Win Protections” “Netherlands Meter Plan Links Gas Pedals to Wallets” (10) Text: Public Goods and Common Resources – chapter 11, 3/25 - 3/27 Articles: Kidney Exchanges (11) Text: Costs of Production - chapter 13, 3/29 - 4/3 (12) Text: Firms in Competitive Markets - chapter 14, 4/5 & 4/10 & 4/12

***** MIDTERM EXAM #2: (chapters 7-11), Monday 4/8 ***** (13) Text: Monopoly - chapter 15, 4/17 - 4/22 (14) Text: Oligopoly - chapter 17, 4/24 & 4/26 (15) Text: Monopolistic Competition - chapter 16, 4/29 (16) Text: Markets for Factors of Production – chapter 18, 5/1

**** FINAL EXAM: Tuesday, May7th 3:00-5:00****...