Principles of Microeconomics Economics 12A TR 8:30-9:45 101 Fleming Professor Woolf

Principles of Microeconomics
Economics 12A
TR 8:30-9:45 101 Fleming
Professor Woolf
339 Old Mill 656-0190 [email protected]
Office Hours: TR 2:00 – 3:30
Supplemental Instructor: Suzannah Balluffi-Fry [email protected]
SI times to be announced
(Note: This is a hyperlinked syllabus. If you are reading this on paper, go to the class Blackboard
site to find links to the readings.)
Required Materials:
Edwin Dolan, Introduction to Microeconomics (4th ed.), BVT Press
The book is available at the bookstore or from the publisher at http://www.bvtstudents.com/details.php?5
There are a number of options available to you—e-book or printed copy. I recommend you purchase the
full package including the study guide, as some exam questions will come directly from those sources.
The Course:
How is it that when you go to a bagel store, there are always enough bagels for you? Why is the price of
gasoline so high? Why don’t any of you have Sony Walkmans like students did 20 years ago? Why can’t
anyone dump a load of garbage on the front lawn of your house, but people can dump carbon into the
atmosphere? Why is your standard of living better than your parents when they were your age? Or is it?
Why do businesses produce what they do? Is it good for the economy for firms go out of business and lay
off workers? Why does California always have a problem getting enough water?
Economics, unfortunately, has been known as the “dismal science.” Far from being dismal or depressing
economics provides us with powerful tools for understanding the world around us and answering
questions like these. If you are interested in these kinds of questions, then you are interested in
economics.
Economics 12 is the second semester of the two-semester principles of economics sequence. The course
is an introduction to microeconomics, the study of production, pricing, and the working of individual
markets in an economy. It focuses on two basic actors in any market: firms (producers) and consumers,
and how and why government intervenes in markets and what the consequences of those interventions
are. The course begins with a general discussion of how markets work, then proceeds to a detailed
analysis of the two sides of the market. We will then put demand and supply back together and analyze
the workings of different types of markets.
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This course syllabus is online at the class Blackboard site with all the non-text readings hyperlinked
through it. It may be updated periodically with newspaper articles, blog posts, and other readings that are
relevant to the materials we are covering.
Ancillary Material:
1. To apply the economic concepts you are learning, I recommend that you subscribe to (and read) The
Wall Street Journal (www.wsj.com). It is well worth the $30 semester subscription price for the paper
copy, which also gives you access to the online version. If you are serious about economics, you should
read the WSJ for good discussion of current micro, as well as macro, issues.
2. If you are serious about learning and truly understanding economics, read some economics blogs. I
guarantee you that if you read a couple of these blogs each day, you will get a great exposure to how
economists think about the world. Some of my favorites are:
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Greg Mankiw’s Blog Harvard economist who maintains a website for his principles of
economics students and the rest of the world.
Freakonomics Economist Steven Levitt and journalist Stephen Dubner. Readable and
interesting.
Ed Dolan’s Econ Blog Written by the author of your textbook.
Real Time Economics The Wall Street Journal’s economics blog.
Economix The New York Times’ economics blog
Vermonttiger A blog I contribute to that looks at Vermont policy issues from an economic
perspective.
Exams and Grading:
Midterm 1
30%
Midterm 2
30%
Final Exam 40%
If you cannot make an exam date or time, I will need a written letter explaining why you cannot make it at
least seven days before the exam. If you do miss one of the midterms, your final exam grade will count
for sum of the percentage of the final plus the midterm that you missed, which mean it will count for 70%
of your final grade.
Your final grade is based on your knowledge of the material, not based on how hard you work or how
much you study. My grading standard is as follows:
A Understands the material in a comprehensive manner; understands subtle distinctions and clearly
comprehends the concepts and applications we have discussed.
B Has a good grasp of the material covered; generally understands most of the concepts discussed
and covered in class and readings.
C Shows an average comprehension of the material but cannot explain basic concepts well or apply
concepts to slightly different cases.
D Understands some of the material, but does not have a grasp of basic concepts or issues we have
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discussed.
F Does not show an understanding of the basic material in the course.
Course Schedule:
The following is a timetable for the course. I expect you to do the readings before the class period and
additional readings may be assigned during the semester. You are required to read the text and
required readings. Recommended readings are for those of you who are curious and want a deeper
understanding of the material. While questions on the recommended readings will not be on the
exams, reading them will give you more insight and will probably help you.
We will try to stick to this schedule, but it is subject to change. Please note the dates of the exams. All
exams will be in the classroom unless I tell you otherwise.
Dates
Topic
Text
Chapter
Ch 1
Jan 17, 19
Introduction
to Economic
Concepts
Jan 24, 26
Supply and
Demand
Ch 2
Jan 31, Feb 2
Elasticity
Ch 3
Feb 7
Markets and Ch 4
Governments
Required Readings
Recommended Readings
Leonard Reed, I Pencil
Sassa Issenberg, The Sushi
Economy
Steven Levitt, Why Do Crack
Dealers Still Live With Their
Moms? (podcast)
Adam Smith, The Wealth of
Nations Ch 1-3.
Alan Krueger, Seven Lessons
Shortages, Pricing and
About Super Bowl Ticket Prices Competition (EconTalk
Sally Satel, A Market for
podcast 1 hour)
Kidneys, Livers, and Lungs,
(WSJ)
Would a Minimum Wage of $5 a
Day Make Life Better in Haiti?
(Planet Money)
Virginia Postrel, A Tale of Two
Town Houses
James Hamilton, Iranian Oil
Embargo (1/15/12)
A Big Bridge in the Wrong Place
(Planet Money Podcast)
Glen Whitman, Slavery, Snakes,
and Switching: The Role of
Incentives in Creating
Unintended Consequences
Russell Roberts, If You’re
3
Paying, I’ll Have Top Sirloin.
Alan Krueger, At FEMA,
Disasters and Politics Go Hand
in Hand
Feb 9,14
Consumer
Choice
EXAM 1
Economics
and the
Environment
Ch 5
Feb 23
Trade and
Comparative
Advantage
Ch 7
Feb 28, Mar
1
Economics
of Firms
Ch 8
March 1
Firm Output
and Pricing
Spring Break
Monopoly
Pricing
Ch 9
March 20, 22
March 27
March 29
Oligopoly
EXAM 2
Regulation
Ch 11
April 3, 5
Input
Markets
Information
and
Uncertainty
Labor
Market
Issues
Ch 13
Feb 16
Feb 21
March 6, 8
March 13, 15
April 10,12
April 17, 19
Ch 6
Ch 10
Ch 12
Ch 14
Robert Frank, A Way to Cut
Fuel Consumption That
Everyone Likes, Except the
Politicians
Tim Harford, Frequent Flier
Food
John Tierney, Recycling is
Garbage
Bastiat A Petition
Paul Krugman, In Praise of
Cheap Labor
Hal Varian, An Ipod has Global
Value
Why Does a Taxi Medallion
Cost $1 Million? (Planet Money
Podcast)
Shipping is Underwater (Planet
Money Podcast)
Potato Chips and Salty
Snacks (EconTalk
podcast—1 hour)
Constance Hays Variable Price
Coke Machine Being Tested
Hal Varian, The Dynamics of
Pricing Tickets for Broadway
Shows (NY Times)
Prohibition (EconTalk podcast 1
hour)
The Virtues of Failure
(EconTalk podcast 1
hour)
Ch 15
4
April 24, 26,
May 1
May 10
10:30am
Income
Distribution
and Poverty
Final Exam
Ch 16
Anna Bernasek A Poverty Line
That’s Out of Date and Out of
Favor
Low Wage Workers
(EconTalk podcast 1
hour)
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