Economics 2020 Principles of Microeconomics Dr. Patricia A. Duffy

1. Spring SEMESTER 2006 Economics 2020 Principles of Microeconomics Dr. Patricia A. Duffy

2. Text Economics 2nd or 3rd edition Frank and Bernanke You can buy it used online.

3. General Course Objectives • Understand basic economic behavior of producers and consumers. • Sharpen critical thinking skills. • Lean simple methods of analyzing how that behavior affects market prices and the allocation of goods and services in our economy.

4. Specific Skills • Master Economic Vocabulary. • Understand incentives. • Learn Marginal Analysis.

5. Economics in Action • Whether it’s worth the effort to use a discount coupon. • Whether it makes more sense to drive or take the bus. • Why manufacturers offer new-car purchase incentives. • Why some teachers helped students cheat on achievement tests. • And what’s the deal with gas prices???

6. ECONOMICS . . . . . . is not boring! exciting It’s an discipline that explores the way motivations shape individual behavior and how that behavior collectively influences markets.

7. POLICIES AND PROCEDURES READ YOUR SYLLABUS! For any policy issue not covered in the syllabus, please see the Tiger Cub, the AU Bulletin, or the Faculty Handbook.

8. Sign and Return The last page of your SYLLABUS!

9. Grading 4 Hour Exams 54% Final Exam 25% 4 Unit Homeworks 8% Paper 8% Aplia assignments 5% Final will be weighted 35% and worst exam 3.5% if it improves student’s grade.

10. Grading Scale 90.0-100 A 80.0-89.9 B 70.0-79.9 C 60.0-69.9 D Below 60 F I don't round up grades. 89.9 is a B.

11. Exams • Four hour exams. • Multiple choice and short answer. • Final is similar in format, but comprehensive and therefore longer. • Proposed exam schedule is in the syllabus.

12. Purpose of Exams Most of the questions on the exam are designed to test student understanding of the concepts and their applications. Some memorization of vocabulary words is required, but students cannot memorize their way to a good grade on the exams. Students must understand the material and be able to apply it. (Like a math class.) Exam difficulty is set to national norms.

13. Grading Errors A detailed set of instructions is provided in the syllabus on how to handle possible grading errors. I maintain photocopies of all exams to ensure honesty.

14. Other Grading Policies • Do not ask for special consideration in your grade. • All work counts. • No special extra credit work is accepted. • No grades are dropped. • All students are evaluated the same way. • Grades are not rounded up.

15. Excuses and Extensions • See the “Tiger Cub” for university-excused absences. • Scheduled excused absences should be brought to my attention at least one week before the exam or assignment due date. • In case of sudden illness or family emergency, see me, call me, or email me ASAP.

16. Excuses and Extensions • Proper documentation is required. • I will check all documentation with its source. • Falsifying an excuse is a serious matter, and any suspected case will be referred to the appropriate university committees and administrators.

17. Flat Tires I've changed lots of flat tires. It takes 15 minutes to a half hour. A flat tire is not an excuse for missing an exam or failing to hand in an assignment.

18. MAKE-UP EXAMS: For excused sudden absences, a make-up exam time will be announced ahead of each unit exam. Normally, it will be scheduled eat 6:45 am a week after the regular exam day. It is the student’s responsibility to contact me about the make-up before the scheduled time.

19. MAKE-UP EXAMS: Students who do not contact me before the scheduled make-up must provide an excuse for all time elapsed since the exam. Students who miss a scheduled make-up will need another excuse for missing the make-up.

20. Bonus Points • In some classes, you will have a chance to earn bonus points. • Questions will involve definitions or concepts from the reading and/or short problems similar to ones worked in class. • There will be about 10 of these during the semester, each graded from 1 (you showed up) to 4 (perfect or nearly so). • At the end of the semester, I will add all these points, and scale them over the range 0 to 15. • These scaled points (0 to 15) are then added to your next to lowest exam grade.

21. Attendance Policy • Attendance is frequently taken in class. • Attendance is not factored directly into your grade, but will inevitably show up in your performance. (Why should I take off points when you'll do it for me???) • Make-up work or special help is not provided for unexcused absences.

22. Seating Chart • Everyone will have an assigned seat. • If you have a special seating desire, please provide me with a written request (email okay). • The chart will be ready by about the 4th class meeting.

23. Tardiness The fifteen minutes between classes should be sufficient for students to arrive on time. Tardy students disrupt the concentration of their fellow students, throw the lecture off pace, and otherwise cause the quality of the class to deteriorate.

24. Check yourself If you cannot get to this class on time, please re-arrange your schedule. Your fellow students should not be made to suffer.

25. Unit Homeworks • Four paper homework assignments. • Late homework is not accepted, without a university-approved excuse. • It is the student’s responsibility to ensure that he or she receives the graded homework, in cases where the student misses class or is late to class on the day of its return.

26. Aplia Assignments • Weekly web assignments. • Requires registration on webpage. • Software will not accept late assignments for any reason, with or without an excuse. Do them early to avoid problems.

27. Office Hours • See front page of syllabus. • Office hours will be expanded as tests approach. • To see me at other times, make an appointment, either after class, by phone, or by email. • If you have a short question, you can send it via email.

28. IMPORTANT: Course Web Page http://pduffy.pageout.net Visuals for class, in PowerPoint, can be downloaded from the site and printed ahead of lectures. Students must register to have access to all the features.

29. Course Web Page Sample multiple choice questions are available on the web page. Students who understand these questions will likely do well on the exams. Students must register to access these sample questions

30. More Policies and Procedures • Taping the lecture is allowed with my prior permission, for given circumstances. • No big hats, no eating, no drinking, no talking to other students, and no reading newspapers.

31. Students with Disabilities Students with disabilities should see me as early as possible in the semester to arrange accommodations. (I will need an accommodation memo from the Program for Auburn Students with Disabilities.) Students needing special arrangements for exam must contact me before each exam.

32. My Teaching Philosophy I regard my class as a production process with inputs from students, the institution, and myself. The most important educational inputs come from the students. I believe every student has the abilityto do well in this course, and I will work with you so that you can master this material.

33. Personality Types and Learning Are you an N (intuitive) or an S (sensing)?

34. Personality Types and Learning Intuitive types enjoy theory and abstract reasoning. They like to move from the general to the particular. Sensing types like things to be practical and immediate. They like to move from the particular to the general.

35. Knowing your type . . . and realizing that there are other people with a different inclination can increase your patience with lectures, assignments, or text sections that appear to be going ‘the wrong way about it.’

36. Exam Schedule and Course Outline See the Syllabus Exam dates are subject to change in the event of unforeseen circumstances. Topic outline is tentative and subject to change.

37. Paper Assignment • 2-3 typed pages of text. • Find a recent newspaper or magazine article(s) on a topic with microeconomic implications. Article must be approved by me. • Provide an analysis of the situation. • Graphs must be included with the paper. • See the syllabus for more details.

39. READ THE SYLLABUS READ THE SYLLABUS READ THE SYLLABUS