ECON 2106-010 (CRN 81825)

PRINCIPLES OF MICROECONOMICS

Semester: Fall 2007

Time/Place: 11:00am-12:15pm TR, Urban Life Building 220

Instructor: Dr. Shelby Frost

Office: Andrew Young School of Policy Studies (AYSPS), room 530 (The AYSPS building is located at the intersection of Marietta and Peachtree Streets; my office is on the 5^th floor – take a right off the elevators.)

Office Hours: 2:30-3:30pm TR; and/or by appointment

Office Phone: 404-413-0155 (email is my preferred method of communication – see note #1 below)

Email Address: sfrost@gsu.edu (or use the email feature in uLearn)

Website: http://www2.gsu.edu/~ecosdf/

Graduate Teaching Assistant: Resul Cesur

Office: AYSPS 649A

Office Hours: 9:45-10:45am TR, and/or by appointment

Office Phone: none

Email Address: prcrcx@langate.gsu.edu (or use the email feature in uLearn)

Prerequisite: Math 1111 or equivalent (basic college algebra – please see note # 9 below)

Text/Materials: Economics, (or Microeconomics) first edition, by Paul Krugman and Robin Wells is required. The textbook website is http://bcs.worthpublishers.com/krugmanwells_econ/default.asp. Student Study Guide is optional. A scientific calculator is recommended. Access to a computer and the internet is required – there are many computer labs available on campus – for information about locations and hours see http://www.gsu.edu/~wwwets/labsclassrooms/computerlabs/locations/index.html . Access to Aplia is required (more details below). The GSU bookstore has a package that includes a card for free Aplia access when you purchase a new textbook; you may purchase access to an e-book and Aplia instead (if you do not want a hardcopy of the textbook).

We will be using uLearn (formerly known as WebCT vista) for this course, which can be found at http://ulearn.gsu.edu. It is a password-protected environment where you can monitor your grades, easily communicate with me and your classmates, and find many useful materials throughout the semester. Please check the uLearn site at least once between each class meeting for announcements, etc. To logon to the system, you need your uLearn ID and your initial password – see the uLearn login page for information about how to login to the system and where to go for help if you have never used WebCT before (otherwise, there should be a link to this course on your existing uLearn page). If you have trouble getting into the uLearn site with your own user ID and password, use temp.sfrost as the user ID and student as the password (this is my “fake student” account – please do NOT change the password for this account), and please send me an email to let me know that you cannot access the uLearn site so I can try to help you access it. There will be various items available through the internet throughout the semester. You should become familiar with a web browser (such as Netscape or Internet Explorer) and you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader for some items; the reader is available free of charge at http://www.adobe.com/prodindex/acrobat/readstep.html. There is a link to the Adobe site on the links organizer page of the uLearn site. If you have not already done so, I highly recommend that you install it on your machine; it should already be installed on any machine you use in a computer lab on campus.

Learning Objectives for ECON 2106:

The student should be able to define the concept of Scarcity.
The student should be able to define Opportunity Costs, demonstrate how they affect economic decisions, and identify these costs in a given economic decision.
The student should be able to explain and apply the concepts of Marginal Benefits and Marginal Costs to determine optimal economic decisions for both consumers and firms.
The student should be able to describe the Benefit-Cost Principle (e.g., take an action as long as the marginal benefits are greater than the marginal costs), and should be able to apply the principle in a given economic decision.
The student should be able to accurately explain the way in which economists use the following adjectives and the relationships among them: marginal, average, total, fixed, variable, and sunk. The student should also be able to determine in a given economic decision which costs and benefits are relevant (e.g., marginal) and which are not (e.g., sunk).
The student should be able to recognize and interpret a Demand Curve and a Supply Curve, and should be able to identify the underlying determinants of each.
The student should be able to describe the concepts of Excess Demand, Excess Supply and Equilibrium Quantities and Prices, and should be able to predict changes in each as a result of changes in the underlying determinants of market demand and supply or government intervention.
The student should be able to differentiate between a Change in Demand (Supply) and a Change in the Quantity Demanded (Supplied).
The student should be able to define the general concept of Elasticity for different variables in the demand or supply function (e.g. own, cross, income, etc.), and should be able to describe the effect of a given elasticity on economic outcomes (e.g., revenues, tax burden, policy choices, etc.).
The student should be able to identify the differences between a perfectly competitive market and an imperfectly competitive market and the implications of each for economic outcomes.

Grading/Make-up Policy: This semester, I will assign grades based upon how much money you earn in this class (please see note #2 below). The more money you earn, the higher the grade you can afford. Note that all classes in the AYSPS are using the new +/- grading system (see http://aysps.gsu.edu/news/release/plusminus_grading.htm for more details). More information about GSU grades can be found at http://www.gsu.edu/es/grades.html. The following scale will be used to assign grades:

Course Grade	Money Earned
A	$930,000 or more
A-	$900,000 to $929,999
B+	$870,000 to $899,999
B	$830,000 to $869,999
B-	$800,000 to $829,999
C+	$770,000 to $799,999
C	$730,000 to $769,999
C-	$700,000 to $729,999
D	$600,000 to $699,999
F	$599,999 or less

How to earn money: The most money can be earned from exams and weekly online homework assignments; there will be three one-hour unit exams (with 40 multiple-choice questions each) and a comprehensive two-hour final exam (with 75 multiple-choice questions), each worth a maximum $200,000. There will also be regular homework assignments, using an online homework program called Aplia (see http://www.aplia.com/ for more information about the product), which together will add up to $200,000. Note that there is a total of $1,000,000 available from exam grades and homework assignments alone, so it is possible for you to afford any grade that you “need” or want, if you perform well enough on the exams and weekly homework assignments. However, as an economist, I believe that people respond to incentives, so there will be other opportunities to earn extra income, related to activities that I believe are associated with your better comprehension of the material. There is a spreadsheet in uLearn that will allow you to easily calculate your grade so that you will always know where you stand in the class and what you need to do to earn enough income for the grade that you want. The following table can be used to get an idea of most of the money that may be earned this semester.

Your Earnings:	Possible	Date
exam 1	$ 200,000	9/18/07
exam 2	$ 200,000	10/16/07
exam 3	$ 200,000	11/13/07
final exam	$ 200,000	12/13/07
improvement bonus*	$ -
total Aplia earnings	$ 200,000
total exam and Aplia earnings	$1,000,000

total extra credit earnings**	$ 27,000
total earnings	$1,027,000

*If your final exam earnings are better than your lowest unit exam earnings, then you earn the difference between your final exam earnings and your lowest unit exam earnings (called an improvement bonus). This is mathematically equivalent to having your final exam earnings replace your lowest unit exam earnings (when the final exam earnings are the higher of the two).

**The total extra credit earnings will most likely increase some from the $27,000 listed in this table, but I will reveal to you on the first day of class how you may be able to earn an extra $27,000 in total from various activities throughout the semester. There may be other opportunities that arise throughout the semester too, so $27,000 is the minimum amount of extra income that can be earned.

More about exams: All exams will consist of multiple-choice questions, and I will provide you with a scantron to submit your answers. When you finish your exam, you will turn in the scantron only and keep the questions sheet for yourself. Later, I will post the answers to the exam in uLearn so you can grade your own exam (assuming you mark your answers on your questions sheet before you leave the exam). In a few days, the official scores from the testing center will be posted in uLearn so that you can verify that your grade is correct. If you suspect that there is an error in your exam grade, please send me an email ASAP so that we can determine the problem and get it corrected right away. Each unit exam will consist of 40 multiple-choice questions; the final exam will consist of 75 questions. Each exam is worth a maximum of $200,000, which will be calculated as follows: (% of correct answers on exam)*($200,000). The spreadsheet in uLearn will help you calculate your earnings on any given exam based on the number of questions you got correct. There will be absolutely NO MAKE-UP EXAMS! If you miss an exam, then you will earn $0 for that exam. While it is difficult to recover from missing an exam, it is possible to replace a missed unit exam (or any other terrible exam earnings) by taking the final exam and earning an improvement bonus. Note that you do not earn an improvement bonus if you do not take the final exam. All exam dates (including the final exam) are posted on the calendar in uLearn, as well as in the table above. My advice to you is to clear your calendar for those four days this semester and plan to be in class to take all exams – and allow yourself plenty of time to prepare for them so that you can earn the maximum income possible from them.

More about Aplia: We will be using an online homework program this semester called Aplia. See Student Registration Instructions for Aplia for instructions about how to login to the system. Use of Aplia this semester is free of charge to you (if you purchase a new textbook from the GSU bookstore). There are assignments due each week – see the Aplia website for the deadlines. The maximum possible Aplia earnings are $200,000, which will be calculated as follows: (average % score on Aplia homework)*($200,000). Each Aplia assignment will be converted to a % score (out of 100%) and the lowest 3 scores will be dropped when your average % score is calculated. There is a pre-test and post-test on basic math skills in Aplia (due early in the semester)… only the highest of these two scores will be counted. You can expect a total of approximately 32 graded Aplia homework assignments and 36 practice Aplia assignments (which do not count towards your grade, but will help you complete the graded assignments). All assignments will help you learn the material and prepare you for the exams. In general, the Aplia assignments associated with each chapter will be due after we cover the appropriate chapter in class (as opposed to uLearn online extra credit quizzes which have deadlines before we cover the appropriate chapter in class – more information about the uLearn online extra credit quizzes is found in the uLearn website and will be announced on the first day of class). Be sure to make note of the Aplia assignment deadlines (found at the Aplia website), because once the deadline passes, you cannot do the assignment and will earn a zero grade on it.

Attendance Policy: Attendance will be taken daily (by use of the CPS clickers – see below for more information about clickers). Attendance does not factor directly into your grade, but attending class is important and that is why I take roll everyday. If you miss class, you are responsible for finding out what you missed. Note that some opportunities to earn extra income will require your presence in class – missed opportunities for extra income CANNOT be made up! Consult the uLearn calendar to see what we are scheduled to cover each day. It represents a tentative course outline, but we will try to stick to it as closely as possible (please see note #7 below). Please make note of the exam dates. Also, make note of both uLearn online extra credit quiz deadlines and Aplia online homework deadlines – once those deadlines pass, they cannot be made up! Also note that there are NO make-up exams, so you should not miss exam dates!

CPS “clicker” technology: We will be using some new technology this semester (paid for with your student technology fees), called Classroom Performance System (which I call “clickers”) from e-instruction (see http://www.einstruction.com for more information on the product). You will receive a CPS unit (a “clicker”) to use for my class this semester and you will be required to turn it in at the end of the semester (or sooner, if you drop or withdraw from the course) so I can use them again with students in future classes. If you fail to turn in your clicker, you will be assigned a grade of F in the course, a hold will be placed on your records, and you will be required to pay for the unit. The clickers will be distributed very soon after drop/add ends, along with instructions about how to register the units online (more information about registering the units will also be provided on the uLearn site) – please do NOT miss class this day! Everyday afterwards, you should bring your clicker to class and expect to make use of it almost daily (you may want to carry an extra pair of AA batteries for the unit in case your batteries die during class). On most days, I will embed questions in my lecture and you will have an opportunity to “click in” your answer… just showing up with your clicker, being logged in properly, and answering the question will earn you $50… if your answer is correct, you’ll earn another $100 (for a total of $150). I expect to ask an average of 2 or more questions per class day (that we do not have exams, etc)… some days, there may be more or less – you never know – it’s meant to motivate you to come to class everyday and to pay close attention. I think this will prove a valuable part of the classroom experience for us.

Notes:

When sending me an email to sfrost@gsu.edu, be sure to send it from your official GSU student email address because my email program frequently blocks emails from external email accounts (such as yahoo, gmail, etc.). I will send emails to you either via uLearn or using your official GSU email account (so you need to check those regularly – see http://www.gsu.edu/ist/21804.html for the GSU policy on communications via GSU email accounts).
I am not really paying you money; this is just for illustrative purposes. When I say “money”, I mean hypothetical classroom dollars, which are used to assign your grade in the course.
If you require special accommodations for exams (e.g., "time and a half"), you MUST provide documentation from GSU Disability Services and make arrangements with me PRIOR to the exam dates.
Incompletes will only be given to students who are PASSING the course, and even then, only in very special circumstances. In the case where an incomplete is awarded, it MUST be removed by the end of the NEXT term that the student is enrolled (and within TWO terms regardless of whether or not the student is enrolled) or it will automatically turn into an F. See http://www.gsu.edu/es/20471.html for more information on GSU’s policy on removal of Incompletes.
Students who withdraw after the midpoint of each term will not be eligible for a "W" except in cases of hardship. A student who withdraws after the midpoint of the term is assigned a grade of "WF," except in those cases in which (1) hardship status is determined by the Office of the Dean of Students because of emergency employment, or health reasons, and (2) the student is doing passing work, as determined by the student's instructor(s). Effective Fall 2006, students are limited to a total of six withdrawals during their academic career… see http://www.gsu.edu/es/20399.html for more information on the new University policy.
All students are responsible for knowing and adhering to GSU’s Policy on Academic Honesty as published in On Campus: The Undergraduate Co-Curricular Affairs Handbook.
This course syllabus provides a general plan for the course; deviations may be necessary. Important University dates can be found at http://www.gsu.edu/es/calendars_and_schedules.html.
Please see this math worksheet to see if you possess the math skills required to succeed in this course. If you have not had college algebra, it has been a long time since you took it (and you don’t remember anything you learned), or you performed poorly in it, you might want to take a refresher math course before attempting this economics course. If you have trouble with the math worksheet, please see me about whether or not you should attempt this course at this time. There is also a pre-test and post-test on basic math skills in Aplia (your best score on these two will be what counts), in addition to a practice set (not for a grade) that will help you review the basic math concepts needed for this course.
This syllabus is for this particular section of ECON 2106 only. See the GSU Economics Department generic syllabus for ECON 2106 at http://www.gsu.edu/~wwwsps/academics/courses/econ2106_syllabus.htm.
Students are expected to behave properly in class – so as not to interfere with the learning environment of others in the classroom. This includes showing up for class on time, not leaving early (or at least being quiet if either of those do happen), not talking to neighbors in class, not using cell phones during class, etc. All cell phones and other noise-making devices must be turned off during exams! You may NOT use your cell phone, PDA, or laptop as a calculator on exams – only standard calculators (without communication access) are allowed on exams. Students not adhering to these rules/guidelines may be asked to leave the class and may be subject to an administrative withdrawal (depending on the severity of the infraction). See http://www2.gsu.edu/%7Ewwwdos/codeofconduct_adminpol_a.html for more information on GSU’s policy on disruptive student behavior in the classroom.