Information. Course Readings:

Transcription

1 Academic Inquiries: Qingdao University Phone: Qingdao University 2019 SUMMER ECON 301 Intermediate Microeconomics Information Class Hours: Monday through Thursday,2 hours (2*60minutes) each day Discussion: Friday, 1 hour (60 minutes) Review Section: Saturday, 1 hour (60 minutes) Office Hours: 2 hours (120 minutes), according to professors' teaching plan Field Trip: According to professors' teaching plan Credit: 3 Total Contact Hours: 60 (50 minutes each) Instructor: TBA Course Objective: This course studies the economic behavior of households and firms in depth, and how they interact with one another. Some of the topics that we will touch upon are supply, demand, the determination of wages, rents and prices, market structures, general equilibrium analysis, information asymmetry, public goods and behavioral economics. The material will be presented and discussed using both graphs and math. The course also acts as the foundation for more advanced courses in Applied Microeconomics, such as Labor Economics, Industrial Organization, International Trade, Game Theory, Public Economics and Natural Resource Economics. Course Readings: Text Book: Microeconomics, by Robert S. Pindyck & Daniel L. Rubinfeld, Pearson Prentice Hall Publishers, 9 th Edition. Class Notes: We will occasionally deviate from the book, both in terms of content and sequence. Hence it is very important to attend and take notes in class. Attendance Policy: The T.A. will take attendance during every lecture. It is in your interest not to miss classes. If you are absent, then you are responsible for all the materials you missed and for getting the notes from a classmate. Unless it is an excused absence, you will also lose points on any test, quiz or in-class exercise administered that day. Assessment: Exams : There will a mid-term and a final exam. Each exam will be worth 25% of the course grade. Exams are closed book, and no notes or formula sheet are allowed. The final will not be comprehensive. You have to take both tests; there will be no make -up exams. In the event of a documented medical emergency or an accident, contact me as soon as you can to discuss an alternative grading arrangement. In-class Exercises & Participation: Occasional practice problems to be worked through in class and

2 general participation will count towards 10% of the course grade. Quizzes: There will be two quizzes worth 10% each, adding up to a total of 20% of the course grade. Homework: Homework is due at the beginning of the class. Two problem sets will be assigned, and will account for 20% of the course grade. Grading Scale: The grading scale is as follows: A B C D+ Below 60 F A B C D B C D- Teaching Assistant: The Teaching Assistant will go over the materials from that week and answer any additional questions you might have on Fridays. Calculator: You will need a calculator for the class. Laptops and cell phones (or other communication devices) are not allowed on quizzes and exams. Academic Misconduct: Cheating is defined as using or attempting to use unauthorized materials, information or study aids in an academic exercise. Examples of cheating include referring to notes, books or other unauthorized materials during a test or quiz, getting answers from another person, or having another student take your quiz or exam for you. Any student caught cheating will receive an immediate F in the course and risk suspension from the university. Helping or attempting to help another to commit an act of academic dishonesty is also a punishable offense with similar consequences. Do not help another student cheat. If you are caught helping another student, you will receive an immediate F in the course and risk suspension from the university. Disability Services: Students with disabilities are entitled to equal access in all university programs and activities. Students with disabilities that have been certified by the Office for Disabilities Services will be appropriately accommodated, and should inform the instructor as soon as possible of their needs. Course Schedule: Week 1 June 3 A Primer on Mathematical Tools June 4 Introduction (Chapters 1 & 2) June 5 Preferences, Utility Functions & Budget Constraints (Chapter 3) June 6 Preferences, Utility Functions & Budget Constraints (Chapter 3) (Contd.) June 7 Discussion & Review Week 2 June 10 Income and Substitution Effects, Demand Functions (Chapter 4) June 11 Indirect Utility Functions, Expenditure Functions, Elasticity (Chapter 4) June 12 Uncertainty & Consumer Behavior (Chapter 5) Quiz 1 (remember your calculator)

3 June 13 Theory of Production (Chapter 6) June 14 Discussion & Review Week 3 June 17 Theory of Production (Chapter 6) (Contd.) June 18 Cost & Profit Maximization (Chapters 7 & 8) Homework 1 Due June 19 Mid-term (remember your calculator) June 20 Perfect Competition (Chapter 9) June 21 Discussion & Review Week 4 June 24 Monopoly & Monopsony (Chapters 10 & 11) June 25 Monopolistic Competition & Oligopoly (Chapters 12 & 13) June 26 Auctions, Factor Markets (Chapters 13, 14 & 15) June 27 Introduction to General Equilibrium Analysis (Chapter 16) Quiz 2 (remember your calculator) June 28 Discussion & Review Week 5 July 1 Introduction to General Equilibrium Analysis (Chapter 16) (Contd.) July 2 Markets with Asymmetric Information (Chapter 17) July 3 Externalities & Public Goods (Chapter 18) Homework 2 Due July 4 Behavioral Economics (Chapter 19) July 5 Final (remember your calculator) Note: This syllabus is meant to be a tentative outline of the course materials to be covered. The actual dates may differ slightly due to the pace of the class. Detailed Coverage of Topics: 1. Preliminaries 1.1 Positive versus Normative Analysis 1.2 Scarcity & Trade-offs 1.3 Markets 1.4 Real versus Nominal Variables 2. The Basics of Supply and Demand 2.1 The Demand Curve 2.2 The Supply Curve 2.3 Equilibrium 2.4 Elasticities of Demand & Supply, Point versus Arc Elasticity, Short Run versus Long Run Elasticity 2.5 Government Intervention in the Market, Price Floors & Ceilings 3. Consumer Behavior 3.1 Indifference Curves 3.2 Marginal Rate of Substitution 3.3 Budget Constraints 3.4 Revealed Preference 4. Individual and Market Demand

4 4.1 Individual Demand Curves 4.2 Substitutes versus Complements 4.3 Normal versus Inferior Goods 4.4 Engel Curves 4.5 Income & Substitution Effects 4.6 Consumer Surplus 4.7 Network Externalities, Bandwagon Effect, Snob Effect 5. Uncertainty and Consumer Behavior 5.1 Risk 5.2 Preferences towards Risk 5.3 Reducing Risk 6. Production 6.1 Short Run versus Long Run 6.2 The Production Function 6.3 Returns to Scale 6.4 Homogeneity 7. The Cost of Production 7.1 Economic Cost versus Accounting Cost 7.2 Opportunity Cost 7.3 Sunk cost 7.4 Fixed versus Variable Cost 7.5 Average versus Marginal Cost 7.6 Short Run versus Long Run Cost, Relationship between Short Run & Long Run Cost 7.7 The Isocost Line 7.8 Economies & Diseconomies of Scale 7.9 Economies & Diseconomies of Scope, Product Transformation Curves 8. Profit Maximization and Competitive Supply 8.1 Perfect Competition 8.2 Marginal Revenue, Marginal Cost, Profit Maximization 8.3 Short Run Supply Curve 8.4 Long Run Supply Curve 8.5 Producer Surplus 8.6 Economic Rent 9. The Analysis of Competitive Markets 9.1 Taxes & Subsidies 9.2 Tariffs & Import Quotas 9.3 Price Supports 9.4 Production Quotas 10. Market Power: Monopoly and Monopsony

5 10.1 Single-Plant Monopoly 10.2 Multi-Plant Monopoly 10.3 Social Costs of Monopoly 10.4 Rent-Seeking 10.5 Price Regulation 10.6 Natural Monopoly 10.7 Monopsony 10.8 Antitrust Laws 11. Pricing with Market Power 11.1 First Degree Price Discrimination 11.2 Second Degree Price Discrimination 11.3 Third Degree Price Discrimination 11.4 Intertemporal Price Discrimination 11.5 Peak-Load Pricing 11.6 The Two-Part Tariff 12. Monopolistic Competition and Oligopoly 12.1 Monopolistic Competition 12.2 Oligopoly 12.3 The Cournot Model 12.4 The Stackelberg Model 12.5 The Bertrand Model 12.6 Prisoners Dilemma 13. Game Theory and Competitive Strategy 13.1 Non-Cooperative versus Cooperative Games 13.2 Dominant Strategies 13.2 Nash Equilibrium, Maximin Strategies, Mixed Strategies 13.3 Repeated Games 13.4 Sequential Games 13.5 Entry Deterrence 13.6 Auctions 14. Markets for Factor Inputs 14.1 Factor Markets under Perfect Competition 14.2 Factor Markets under Monopsony 14.3 Factor Markets under Monopoly 15. Investment, Time, and Capital Markets 15.1 Stocks versus Flows 15.2 Present Discounted Value 15.3 Net Present Value 15.4 How are Interest Rates Determined? 16. General Equilibrium and Economic Efficiency

6 16.1 General Equilibrium Analysis 16.2 The Edgeworth Box Diagram 16.3 The Contract Curve 16.4 The Utility Possibilities Frontier 16.5 The Production Possibilities Frontier 16.6 Gains from Free Trade 17. Markets with Asymmetric Information 17.1 Asymmetric Information 17.2 Moral Hazard 17.3 The Principal-Agent Problem 18. Externalities and Public Goods 18.1 Positive & Negative Externalities 18.2 Ways of Correcting Market Failure 18.3 Property Rights 18.4 Public Goods & Common Resources 19. Behavioral Economics 19.1 Reference Points 19.2 Fairness 19.3 Prospect Theory 19.4 Behavioral Finance 19.5 Criticisms of Behavioral Economics