Course Information Introduction to Economics I (ECON 1001)

Transcription

1 Course Information Introduction to Economics I (ECON 1001) Course Code ECON 1001 Course Title Course Discipline Introduction to Economics I Economics Units of Credit Three (3) Pre-requisites None Semester of Offering Semester III, 2012/13 Course Lecturer Mrs. Malini M. Maharaj (Malini.Maharaj@sta.uwi.edu) Course Description ECON Introduction to Economics I, is one of the core courses offered by the Department of Economics. It is a foundation course for the understanding of economics and the Department is committed to supporting students in their quest to understand and indeed to excel. The course components include the foundation theories of basic microeconomics including an introduction into the study of economics and analyses of economic agents behaviours, particularly that of the individual and the firm. The course begins with a description of the subject area, and continues to introduce the basic concepts and theories that are used as the foundation of microeconomic theory and analysis. This includes discussions and applications of the theory of the consumer; theory of producer; market operations; and market structures. Please feel free to consult with your respective lecturers and tutors during the semester as any course problems/issues arise. Students are also strongly encouraged to visit the lecturers during stipulated office hours to discuss various issues and concerns. Alternatively, the secretariat in the Economics Department Office (Room 203) will be pleased to arrange a special appointment if necessary.. ECON 1001, Semester III 2012/13-1 -

2 Goals This course aims to prepare: 1. Students with some tools and methods of economic analysis that will serve as the basis for a more advanced course of study in microeconomic theory. 2. The non-specialists economics student with a good introduction to the fundamental principles of microeconomics. 3. Both specialist and non-specialist economics students to use the concepts to which they are introduced to facilitate analysis of the functioning of the micro-economy, inclusive of those in the Caribbean. Learning Outcomes Upon completion of this course students will be able to demonstrate an exposure to (or awareness of) the basic elements of microeconomics including the concepts of demand and supply and the functioning of markets, including the assumptions that underlie such concepts. Specifically, at the end of the course students must be able to: Define and distinguish basic concepts and economic terminologies; Describe, explain and apply graphically, mathematically and in words, the underlying microeconomic theories applicable to hypothetical and real case studies; and Analyse and solve problems using the concepts and diagrams introduced. Course Delivery Course Outline Lecture Please download a copy of the course outline by logging onto the my elearning site at : Students will have three (3) contact hours for lectures weekly. Tutorials Students will have two (2) contact hours for tutorials weekly. Tutorials will normally begin one week after lectures. Please check the notices posted at the Department of Economics or at Room 200 for further information. Tutorial sheets are designed to help students internalize and apply concepts taught during the lectures. It is expected that students will complement material covered in the lecture sessions with use of the texts and recommended references. Students will be provided with tutorial questions which they are required to prepare before the weekly tutorial session. Every effort should be made to complete each tutorial sheet and please ensure that you prepare the tutorial questions to maximize your benefits from the tutorials! Please visit the my e-learning site at: ECON 1001, Semester III 2012/13-2 -

3 to select and register for tutorial sessions for ECON You will also download the tutorial sheets for the course from this site. Students are also advised to attempt the Self Test questions for each chapter available at: questions/ N.B. Students are reminded that completion of the tutorial sheets will put you in good stead to be successful in the final exam. Policies to Note Students are asked to pay attention to the following University Policy: 1. UWI Examination Regulation No. 19 Any candidate who has been absent from the University for a prolonged period during the teaching of a particular course for any reason other than illness or whose attendance at prescribed lectures, classes,... tutorials,... has been unsatisfactory or who has failed to submit essays or other exercises set by his/her teachers, may be debarred by the relevant Academic Board, on the recommendation of the relevant Faculty Board, from taking any University examinations. The procedures to be used shall be prescribed in Faculty Regulations. In this connection, the Faculty of Social Sciences requires students to attend and participate in at least 75% of tutorials. ECON 1001, Semester III 2012/13-3 -

4 Schedule of assessments Assessment Item Weighting Opening date of assignment Closing date for Assignment Practice Quiz * 0% 27th May th June 2013 Online Assignment I 10% 13 th June th June 2013 (Quiz)* Practice Quiz II 0% 15th June st July 2013 Online Assignment II* 20% 4 th July th July 2013 Final Exam 70% To be announced *Assignment will be open at 12.05am (five minute past midnight) on the opening date of the assignment and will close at 11.55pm on the closing date of the assignment. Students must be completely registered (including financial clearance) in order to have access to the online assignments. If you have not completed your registration please seek to do so before the online assignments open. Main Textbook ECONOMICS by Lipsey & Chrystal. Eleventh (11th) Edition. Oxford University Press. Course Units and Description Unit Number Unit 1 Unit 2 Unit 3 Unit Name & Content Introduction to course and course overview. Introduction and basic concepts Introduction: The Economic Problem, Good Economics and Economic Systems Scarcity, Choice and Opportunity Cost; Lewis dictum; Brief introduction to Caribbean economic issues. Types of Economic Systems Traditional, Command, Market and Mixed. Reference: Chapters 1 & 2 Preferences and Utility Total and Marginal Utility pillars for rational decisions; the Law of Diminishing Marginal Utility; Consumer Equilibrium based on the Utility Theory Approach; from Marginal Utility to the Demand Curve Reference: Chapter 5 Indifference Curve Analysis Indifference Curves: What are they? Properties of an Indifference Curve; Slope of the Indifference Curve (Marginal Rate of Teaching Week Week 1 Weeks 1 and 2 Week 3 ECON 1001, Semester III 2012/13-4 -

5 Unit 4 Unit 5 Unit 6 Unit 7 Substitution); Principle of Diminishing Marginal Rate of Substitution; The Budget Line: What is it? Slope of the Budget Line; Factors Resulting in a Pivot and Shift of the Budget Line; Consumer Equilibrium; Derivation of the Demand Curve; Income and Substitution Effects of a Price Change Reference: Chapter 5 Consumer Demand Quantity Demanded; Determinants of Quantity Demanded; Demand and Prices; The Demand Schedule and the Demand Curve. Movements along the Demand Curve vs Shifts of the Demand Curve. Market demand. Reference : Chapter 3 Supply and Equilibrium Price Determination Quantity Supplied; Determinants of Quantity Supplied; Supply and Price; The Supply Schedule and the Supply Curve. Movements along the Supply Curve vs. Shifts of the Supply Curve, market supply ; Determination of Price by Demand and Supply; Laws of Demand and Supply; Restraining the Market Mechanism: Price Ceilings and Price Floors Reference : Chapter 3 When Market Conditions Change Elasticity Analysis Elasticity: The Measure of Responsiveness; Price Elasticity of Demand - the Measurement of Price Elasticity, Determinants of Price Elasticity; Price Elasticity of Demand and the Shapes of the Demand Curves. Other Demand Elasticities: Income Elasticity of Demand; Cross Elasticity of Demand; Elasticity of Supply; Determinants of Supply Elasticity. Reference: Chapter 4 Making Key Business Decisions The Framework Time Horizons for Decision Making - The Short Run and The Long Run; The Production Function - Input Choices, The Choice and Optimal Input Combinations; Isoquants and Isocosts; Substitutability, Output and Cost; Total, Average and Marginal Products; Marginal and Average Product Curves; The "Law" of Diminishing Returns; Optimal Quantity of an Input and Diminishing Returns; Cost curves; Fixed costs and Variable Costs; Economies of Scale; Long-Run versus Short-Run Costs. Production; costs and profits; profit-maximizing output. References: Chapter 6 Week 4 Week 4 Week 5 Weeks 6 ECON 1001, Semester III 2012/13-5 -

6 Unit 8 Competitive Markets Market Structure and Behaviour; The Significance of Market Structure; Perfect Competition Defined; Demand and Revenue for a Firm in Perfect Competition; Short Run Equilibrium Rules for All Profit Maximizing Firms; Short-Run Profitability of the Perfectly Competitive Firm; Short-Run Losses; Shutdown and Break-even Analysis; Short-Run Supply Curve of the Competitive Firm and the Competitive Industry Long-Run Equilibrium: The Effect of Entry and Exit; Conditions for Long-Run Equilibrium; The Long-Run Industry Supply Curve; Zero Economic Profit; Perfect Competition and Efficiency Reference: Chapters 7 Monopoly Monopoly Defined; Causes of Monopoly: Barriers to Entry and Cost Advantages; Cost and Revenue in the Short-Run; Short and Long-Run Monopoly Equilibrium and the Determination of Profit Maximising Output; Natural Monopoly; Comparison of Monopoly and Perfect Competition; Can Monopolies be Good? Price Discrimination under Monopoly Reference: Chapters 8 & 9 Course overview session Revision/clarification Session Week 7 Week 7 Department of Economics May 2013 ECON 1001, Semester III 2012/13-6 -