Office: Dewing 306 c

phone: X-7023

cstull@kzoo.edu

http://cc.kzoo.edu/~cstull/class.html

COURSE DESCRIPTION

Economics 105 is an introduction to the concerns and methods of economics, with an emphasis on microeconomic issues. Microeconomics is the study of individual economic behavior. Topics include supply and demand, balancing costs and benefits, consumer behavior, theory of the firm, market structure, market failure, and international trade. The course will introduce principles of economic analysis as a means to study microeconomic behavior and determine the appropriate course of government policy. 

READINGS 1) Principles of Microeconomics, 2nd edition, N. Gregory Mankiw, 2000, Harcourt Press

2) A daily newspaper of the student's choice 

EXAMS, ASSIGNMENTS, AND OTHER WORK

There will be three exams, as follows:
Exam I (in class)
Exam II (in class)
Exam III during the scheduled final exam period

The material covered by each exam will be described in class. The final exam will be comprehensive. Assignments will be an important part of this class. The assignments are intended to be thought provoking. Many assignments will be completed during class, but some will require thought outside of class. Some assignments draw on your newspaper readings, others will involve classroom discussion. Quizzes and problem sets, if assigned, will be part of the "assignment" grade. 

GRADING SYSTEM

The overall course grade is based on total points earned on the exams and the other work. The points will be distributed as follows:
Exam I .............150
Exam II ............150
Exam III (final)..150
Assignments...... 100
Total-------------- 550 

COURSE OUTLINE

PRINCIPLES OF MICROECONOMICS

I. Basic Economic Principles
A. Introduction to Economics (Chapters 1, 2, 3)
B. The Price System (Ch. 4, 6, 7 )
C. The Role of Government (Ch. 10, 11, 12, 8)
D. Elasticity (Ch. 5)

II. Firm Decisions and Market Structure
A. The Costs of Production (Ch. 13)
B. Profit maximization
C. Market structure
D. Competition (Ch. 14)
E. Monopoly (Ch. 15)
F. Oligopoly (Ch. 16)
G. Monopolistic Competition (Ch. 17)

III. Topics in Microeconomics (as time permits)
A. Consumer Choice (Ch. 21)
B. Labor Markets (Ch. 18, 19)
C. International Trade (Ch. 9)
D. Poverty and Income Distribution (Ch. 20)