Hello, dear friend, you can consult us at any time if you have any questions, add WeChat: daixieit

ECON 2201: Principals of Microeconomics, Fall 2020

Course Description

This course introduces microeconomics, the study of the way individuals and firms make and act on economic decisions. We will study the factors that shape the decisions around producing, buying and selling as well as how these economic decisions taken by individuals and firms affect others. The course will be divided into five broad sections:

1. Introduction to the economic context: This section will expand on the ter    m ‘economy.’ and ‘markets’ and gives a broad overview of the kinds of questions economists address: What is the scope of economics? What are the different spheres of economy? What are the function of markets?

2. Models of market and their context: This section will take a look at the two sides of the markets: producers with things to sell (the supply side) and consumers who need or want to buy (the demand side). And also brings together the two to ask how producers and consumers interact with one another to negotiate prices.

3. Economic roles of an individual: All of us play multiple economics roles in the economy. Most likely you as a student already play many of these roles as consumers, as workers, as volunteers among others. In this section we will expand on some these economic roles and use microeconomic tools to expand on factors that shape and determine these roles and their economic outcomes.

4. Firms’ behavior in market context: This section will focus on competition, economic concentration, and market power, and also how these issues also affect workers and consumers and build on the overview of markets introduced in section 2. Some of the questions that we will expand on will be: Is the economy really dominated by small businesses in perfect competition with each other? Or a few firms that dominate the market for certain kinds of products? What kinds of economic actors really hold power in the market?

5. Economics and the environment: As environmental issues increasingly pose global challenges; this section introduces the kinds of topics and solutions that microeconomics offers. Especially about the economics of pollution, the potential policy actions for addressing climate change, or the injustice of passing environmental crises onto future generations.

Student Learning Objectives/Outcomes

After completing this course students will be able to:

1. Differentiate between the three spheres of economic activity and describe the meaning, working and classification of “markets.”

2. Interpret and discuss supply and demand curve and factors that shift the curves.

3. Define, calculate and discuss the price and income elasticities of demand and supply, and the income and substitution effects of a price change.

4. Describe and critique neoclassical view of rationality and economic behavior and discuss economic behavior ‘in context.’

5. Graph a budget line, and explain the rule for utility maximization.

6. Discuss social and environmental contexts of modern consumer society.

7. Describe and critique concepts of labor supply and labor demand.

8. Discuss wage discrimination based on race and gender.

9. Define economic inequality and derive its indicators and comment on inequality trends in the United States.

10. Discuss and graph negative externalities in the supply-and-demand model.

11. Summarizes environmental policies in theory and practice.

12. Classify goods into four categories based on the properties of rivalness and excludability

13. Describe the causes and consequences of global climate change.

14. Describe and discuss models of perfect competition

15. Describe and discuss models of monopoly, monopolistic competition, and oligopoly.

Required Texts/Readings

Textbook: Microeconomics in Context 4th Edition (MIC henceforth), by Neva Goodwin, Jonathan Harris, Julie Nelson, Brian Roach, and Mariano Torras. Routledge. ISBN 978-1138314566

Microeconomics in Context 4th ed 1

The book is available in both paperback as well as e-book format. And can be ordered online or from the bookstore. You can also order a used copy from amazon.

All other readings will be available as PDF files on Blackboard or as web links.

Course Format

This is an asynchronous online course. Each week, you must read the textbook chapter and any other reading assigned to you, watch video on the course material, work through PowerPoints, and complete problem sets. There are no synchronous lectures that you are required to attend. There are 3 days in which you must be available at some point during those days to take an exam (2 midterms and a final – see the course schedule below), but aside from these requirements, you can complete the course content anytime during the week that it is assigned.

Assignments and Grading

Reading (20%)

This is intensive online course requiring around 8-10 hours of work every week. Hence your performance in the course depends critically on reading the chapters and other assigned material, going through the PowerPoint slides and watching the lecture videos. Since the course is completely asynchronous you can do the reading any time during the week it is assigned to you but we will follow a weekly schedule. Even though each chapter covers a new topic understanding the concepts requires that you do the reading in the chronological order as suggested in the class reading schedule. To help you with reading the material we will use two tools detailed below:

a) Playposit Lectures (10%):  You will watch prerecorded lecture videos through Playposit. Playposit contain cues that will occasionally stop the video and ask you a question about what is currently being presented. Answering the question (correctly or incorrectly) will earn you a point. There are usually 3-5 questions during each video that you will be required to answer, and there are usually 2-3 videos you will be required watch per week, each ranging from 10-15 minutes in length. The purpose of these lectures and integrated question is help you read and understand the text more closely. The most successful learning occurs when you are aware of your own learning process and use that awareness to identify your best study strategies. Therefore, these questions are like a self-quiz. In answering these questions, you will also assess your understanding of the material and degree of confidence in your answers, and make a plan for how you will follow up to check your answers and improve your understanding. These questions also form a bridge to your problem sets. At the end of the semester, I will add up the points you’ve received on the Playposit videos, determine your average performance on them, and then weight them at 10% of your final grade.

b) Discussion Forum (10%): We will use the discussion on Blackboard as a medium to communicate both with me as well as with your colleagues. Your learning of the course material critically depends on your skill to closely read the material but also on the discussions that happens in the classroom with other classmates. An online environment especially makes the process very isolating. In trying to address this we will use discussion forums on Blackboard as our virtual learning community space. I will generate random groups and assign you to one of the groups on the discussion forum for each week. You will first read the material closely on your own, taking notes about the parts that you understood and the parts which were difficult for you and then will discussion these on the discussion forum with your group using voice thread. I will also post set of questions related to the reading material for the week to help you generate discussion. As the reading material is challenging and requires multiple readings and discussing it in a group always makes the process easier. Your grades for this section depend on your active and engaged participation in the discussion forums. Same as above, at the end of the semester, I will add up the points you’ve received on the participation in group activity, to determine your average performance on them, and then weight them at 10% of your final grade.

Problem sets (50%)

There will be 10 problem sets in total covering all the chapters and required reading material. Each problem set is weighted at 5% of your grade for a total weight of 50%. These will be will available on Blackboard under the folder ‘Problem Sets’ in the content area. You can complete the problem sets any time during the week. I highly encourage you to use the discussion forum groups to work on your problem sets, but each student must prepare and submit their own answers after group work. You will have unlimited attempts for problem sets, i.e.; you can revise your answers before the final submission. The problem sets will be mostly multiple choice with some analytical essay questions.

Exams (30% of the final grade).

There are three scheduled exams. Each exam is weighted as 10% of your final grade, for a total weight of 30%. The exams will be a combination of multiple choice and analytical essay questions. They will not be cumulative. The detailed instruction will be sent closer to the exam dates.

How Grades are Calculated

The Final Grade will offer a snapshot of the progress you have made toward the course learning goals by the end of the semester. It will be calculated as follows:

Graded course task	Percentage of final grade (out of 100)
Watching and attempting Playposit ungraded quizzes	10
Participating in Discussion Forum Groups	10
Problem Sets	50
Exam 1	10
Exam 2	10
Exam 3	10

Final grades will be translated to letter grades as follows: A=93%-100%; A-=90%-92%; B+=86%-89%; B=82%-85%; B-=79%-81%; C+=77%-78%; C=74%-76%; C- =70%-73%; D+=67%-69%; D=64%-66%; Fewer than 64% =F.

Prerequisites

Laptop and Internet: You must have access to a personal computer and reliable access to the Internet. In the event of a documented technical breakdown, students will be allowed to submit assignments at a later date without penalty.

Blackboard: All lecture materials, such as exams and problem sets as well announcements will be posted on the Blackboard. You need to enroll in Blackboard for this course. All materials, including this syllabus, are available on the Blackboard web site. Check it regularly for announcements and any other course materials. More general student support for Blackboard is available at: https://www.csusb.edu/academic-technology-innovation/instructional/blackboard

CSUSB Email: I will only use the institutional CSUSB email for communication and expect you to do the same. Check your email regularly and email me using your CSUSB email only.  Feel free to email me at any time, but allow at least 24 hours for a response. Any email that you send to me in regard to this class is a professional communication so you should strive for professional etiquettes, proper punctuation, capitalization, and spelling.

University Policies

Plagiarism and Cheating

Students are expected to be familiar with the University’s Policy on cheating and Plagiarism. The Faculty Senate’s policy for academic dishonesty will be followed and can be found here: https://www.csusb.edu/sites/default/files/upload/file/%28FSD96-12.R2%29Academic_Dishonesty_0.pdf. If you are unclear whether something you wrote, or an analysis you conducted, constitutes plagiarism, you are encouraged to contact me before submitting it. Cheating on exams or plagiarism (presenting the work of another as your own, or the use of another person’s ideas without giving proper credit) will result in a failing grade and sanctions by the University. For this class, all assignments are to be completed by the individual student unless otherwise specified.

Dropping and Adding Course

You are responsible for understanding the policies and procedures about add/drops, academic renewal, etc. found at (CSUSB Bulletin, pages 46-48).

Support for Students with Disabilities

If you are in need of an accommodation for a disability in order to participate in this class, please contact Services to Students with Disabilities at (909) 537-5238. Individuals with disabilities should prepare for an emergency ahead of time by contacting a classmate and the instructor.

Inclusion, Diversity and Equity

The instructor’s course aligns with CSUSB’s values of inclusion, diversity, and equity. Learn more here. https://www.csusb.edu/diversity-inclusion/resources/students

Emergency Preparedness

“Emergencies can occur at any time with little or no warning.   All CSUSB students, faculty, and staff are expected to be familiar with basic emergency protocols and what to do in the event of a disaster on campus, whether small or large.” Source: https://www.csusb.edu/emergency-management/preparedness/preparedness-reference-guide. This information is provided by the Office of Emergency Management and Business Continuity.

Communication and Netiquette

Conduct in This Online Classroom:

Students are expected to conduct themselves in the course (e.g., on discussion boards, email postings) in compliance with the university’s standards of conduct. Students will be expected to treat all others with the same respect as they would want afforded themselves.  Disrespectful behavior to others (such as harassing behavior, personal insults, inappropriate language) or disruptive behaviors in the course is unacceptable. Please practice netiquette.

Guidelines for a Productive and Effective Online Classroom

Keep the following guidelines in mind as you voice your opinion and personal thoughts:

· Identify yourself by your real name and write and speak in the first person (this is your opinion).

· Use humor, joking, or sarcasm with caution. We often rely on non-verbal cues such as facial expressions to communicate joking or sarcasm, but these cues are not always clear in an online environment.

· What you write is public—respect your audience and be mindful of proper netiquette. Netiquette, also known as 'net etiquette,' includes using language free of profanity, proper tone and mechanics (including full sentences), as well as courtesy and respect for others' opinions.

· Pay close attention to what your classmates write in their online comments. Ask clarifying questions, when appropriate. These questions are meant to probe and shed new light, not to minimize or devalue comments.

· Value the diversity of the class. Recognize and value the experiences, abilities, and knowledge each person brings to class.

· Be Professional, Clear and Respectful. You can disagree with ideas, but do not make personal attacks. Do not demean or embarrass others.  Do not make sexist, racist, homophobic, or victim-blaming comments at all.

· Read and Formulate Communications Carefully. use proper grammar, spelling, and formatting. This will allow you to thoughtfully consider all points, reduces confusion and prepares you for a valid response. Re-read all communications before posting them avoid emotional and or "all capital letter" statements and keep communications meaningful and to the point.

· Be Tolerant and Cooperative. Be open to be challenged or confronted on your ideas or prejudices.

· Remember This Course is Online. Your instructor and fellow students may have very different schedules than you do. You may not always receive an immediate response. Make sure you plan for this and don’t put things off until the last moment.

· Emails and Discussion Forum topics should have subject lines that reflect the content of your message. “My Week 1 Reflections” is better than “submission” and “Week 3 Reading is Missing” is better than “Help!”