Middlesex Community College

Syllabus

Course: ECN 102 (3 Credits)

Course Title: Principles of Microeconomics

Department: Social Sciences

Semester: Fall 2007

CRN: 3116

Lecture Hours: Students may log on to the WebCT course website anytime.

Location: Online. Students are expected to log on to the course website each week.

Instructor: Professor A. Payne

Office Hours: by appointment

Office Location: campus

Phone: (860) 533-0488, *email strongly preferred*

E-mail: Students should use the email feature of the WebCT course website. If the site is down, students should use apayne@mcc.commnet.edu. In order to have access to this information when the site is down, students should print a copy of this course syllabus during the first week of the term.

Text: Principles of Economics, 4th edition

Author: N. Gregory Mankiw

Publisher: Thomson South-Western

CATALOG COURSE DESCRIPTION: An elementary study of the principles related to relative scarcity and resource allocation. The course provides a basic study of a market economy and various kinds of market structures. Some time is devoted to cost and to labor economics. Should be taken before ECN 101. Prerequisites: MAT 95 required; English 101 and Math 137 recommended.

SCOPE OF THE COURSE: Upon completion of the course, students will have a basic understanding of the economic system, especially with respect to individuals, households, and businesses. Objectives include discussion related to (1) the definition of markets and how markets work, (2) supply, demand, and elasticity, (3) firm behavior and industry organization (competitive markets, monopolies, oligopolies), and (4) *diversity issues involving discrimination in earnings, income inequality, and poverty. *This course is a diversity “D” course.

ADA ACCOMMODATIONS STATEMENT: Students with physical or learning disabilities who may require accommodations are encouraged to contact the Counseling Office. After disclosing the nature of the disability, students are urged to discuss their needs with individual instructors. This should be done at the beginning of each semester. Instructors, in conjunction with appropriate college officials, will provide assistance and/ or accommodations only to those students who have completed this process.

ACADEMIC ETHICS STATEMENT: “At Middlesex Community-Technical College we expect the highest standards of academic honesty. Academic dishonesty is prohibited in accordance with the Board of Trustees’ Proscribed Conduct Policy in Section 5.2.1 of the Board of Trustees’ Policy Manual. This policy prohibits cheating on examinations, unauthorized collaboration on assignments, unauthorized access to examinations or course materials, plagiarism, and other proscribed activities. Plagiarism is defined as the use of another’s idea(s) or phrase(s) and representing that/ those idea(s) as your own, either intentionally or unintentionally.” (Board of Trustee’s Policy 5.2.1)

EVALUATION AND GRADING:

Quizzes – 25%

Discussion – 35%

Field Assignment – 15%

Final Paper – 25%

Quizzes – Each week, students should read the assigned chapter then take a 15-question multiple-choice quiz, which can be accessed by clicking on “Assessments” at the top of the course home page. Quizzes may be taken up to 5 times, and only the highest score will be recorded. During each attempt, questions will differ. Each week, quizzes are due by Saturday at 10pm. No late work will be accepted. Students are strongly encouraged to complete work early.

Discussion – At the beginning of the course text, there is a section entitled “Contents in Brief” followed by a more complete section entitled “Table of Contents”. In the Table of Contents there are highlighted articles that appear in red, including “In the News”, “Case Study”, and “FYI”. Students should select one of these articles from the chapter reviewed that week, and post a response to the following two questions in the Discussion area:

What is discussed in the highlighted section? (Make sure to begin with the title and page number of the article)
How does the information relate to my life or the life of someone I know? Use words such as “me”, “my”, and “I”. For example, “I was once faced with a similar situation” or “My brother was once faced with a similar situation”. Remember to discuss the economics of your (or perhaps your brother’s) personal experience.

Please note: The response to each question should be at least one paragraph in length. Standard paragraphs are 3 to 5 sentences. This initial post is due each week by Wednesday at 10pm.

Students must also reply to the initial posts of at least two students. Make sure to distribute replies evenly amongst the group. While there is no minimum length requirement for replies, students should remember to discuss the economic analysis presented by the student. Replies that include only statements such as “good job” or “great work” will receive zero credit. Discussion replies are due each week by Saturday at 10pm. No late work will be accepted. Students are strongly encouraged to post replies early.

Field Assignment – The Field Assignment is the term project, and allows students to become more familiar with current issues within the field of economics. Students will select an article from a scholarly book, journal, or magazine and research the economy of an individual, household, or business. Students will respond to the Field Assignment Questions, then present the assignment to the class by posting the responses in the Week 13 Discussion area by Monday, November 19th at 10pm. No late work will be accepted. Students should not wait until Monday to begin the assignment. For details, open the Field Assignment folder on the course home page.

Students must also comment on the work of at least two students. Each reply should be at least one paragraph in length, and should discuss the economic analysis. Make sure to distribute replies evenly amongst the group. Replies are due by Wednesday, November 21st at 10pm. No late work will be accepted. Week 13 is the week of Thanksgiving Break, and no additional work is due (no quizzes or chapter exercises). Enjoy your break!

Final Paper – Students will develop an analysis of the economic impact of and to an organization in the United States. The analysis will require that students utilize concepts from various chapters throughout the text. Each student will be required to submit a final paper proposal. Details regarding the proposal will be sent via course mail toward the end of the academic term. Further details regarding the final paper will appear on the course home page toward the end of the academic term. The final paper is due by Saturday, December 22nd at 12 noon. No additional work is due during Week 17. No late work will be accepted. Students are strongly encouraged to complete work early.

GENERAL OBJECTIVES OF THE COURSE

(Statement identifying educational goals of the course)

The student will become acquainted with:

1. the definition of markets and how markets work

2. concepts of supply, demand, and elasticity,

3. firm behavior and industry organization (competitive markets, monopolies, oligopolies)

4. diversity issues including income inequality, poverty, and discrimination with respect to age, gender, ethnicity, and socio-economic status (referenced throughout the course; more specifically presented in chapters 19 and 20)

SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES BY 5 INSTRUCTIONAL COMPONENTS

(Statement identifying what the student will be able to do at the completion of the component)

The student will be able to do the following:

Introduction to Economics

To define economics and its goals.

To understand how economists look at consumer, producer, and government behavior and their interactions.

To understand how economists conduct research and utilize economic terminology.

To read, interpret, analyze, and create graphs, charts, and tables.

To apply the theory of comparative advantage to everyday life and national policy.

To understand opportunity costs and trade-offs that people face.

Market Interactions

To understand the nature of competitive markets and the role of prices.

To examine what determines the demand or supply of a good in a competitive market.

To understand how supply and demand together set the price of a good and the quantity sold.

To understand the determinants of demand and supply elasticity.

To apply the concept of elasticity in different markets.

To analyze the impact of elasticity to target different cultural, ethnic, economic, gender, and age groups.

To examine the impact of government intervention on competitive markets.

To understand the differing impact of minimum wage laws with respect to age, gender, socio-economic and ethnic status.

Consumer and Producer Efficiency; Causes of Inefficiency

To examine the link between buyers' willingness to pay for a good and the demand curve.

To examine the link between sellers' costs of producing a good and the supply curve.

To define and measure consumer and producer surplus.

To discuss the distribution of market surplus among different groups.

To identify productively-efficient points in the goods market.

To understand the nature of externalities, public goods, and common resources.

To analyze the effects of government policy aimed at solving the problem of externalities.

To recognize government policy aimed at helping specific market and demographic segments, including the very young, elderly and socio-economically disadvantaged.

Producer Behavior and the Organization of Industry

To analyze the link between a firm's production process and its total costs.

To understand the relationship between short-run and long-run costs.

To identify the characteristics of industrial markets.

To differentiate between different market structures.

To identify profit-maximizing quantities of output given industrial structure, production costs, and output prices.

To evaluate various public policies aimed at solving the problems of imperfect competition.

To understand the existence and causes of price discrimination.

Factors of Production

To analyze resource demand of competitive, profit-maximizing firms.

To understand the relationship between factor prices and the marginal product of the factor.

To analyze the effect of a change in the supply of a single factor of production on the earnings of all other factors.

To explain market and social forces that lead to differences in earnings.

To analyze wages disparities among different demographic groups based on gender, age, and ethnic origin.

To analyze the effectiveness of minimum wage laws for groups based on age, gender, culture and ethnic origin.

*Professor Payne reserves the right to make changes to the course syllabus at any time.