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-requisite None Semester of Offering Semester 3, 2010/11 Course Coordinator Course Lecturers Course Tutors Dr. Marlene Attzs (marlene.attzs@sta.uwi.edu) Mrs. Glenda Hewitt and Mr. Diedron Lewis Ms. Marissa Chester, Ms. Rachel Cave and Mr. Oswin Rose 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.. 1 P a g e

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 microeconomy, 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 Lectures Tutorials Please download a copy of the course outline by logging onto the my elearning site at : During Semester 3 (Summer) students will have three (3) contact hours for lectures weekly: Tuesdays: 9-12pm, Daaga Lecture Room Tuesdays: 5-8pm, FSS 100 East and West In Semester 3, students will have two (2) contact hours for tutorials weekly. Please check the notices posted at the Department of Economics for information on when tutorials will begin or at Room 200 for further information. Tutorial sheets are designed to help students internalise 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 2 P a g e

3 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 maximise your benefits from the tutorials! Please visit the my e-learning site at: to select and register for tutorial and lecture sessions for ECON You may also download the tutorial sheets for the course from this site. N.B. Students are reminded that completion of the tutorial sheets will put you in good stead to be successful in the final exam. Important 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. 3 P a g e

4 Schedule of assessments Assessment Item Weighting Opening date of assignment Closing date for Assignment Practice Quiz * 0% Thursday 19 th May, 2011 Thursday 2 nd June, Online Assignment I (Quiz)* 10% Thursday June 9 th, 2011 Friday June 10 th 2011 Online Assignment II* 20% Thursday June 30 th, 2011 Friday July 1 st, 2011 Final Exam 70% To be announced *Assignment will be open at 12.05am (five minutes 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. 4 P a g e

5 Detailed Course Outline SESSION 1 May 17 th 2011 STARTING WHERE WE ARE 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. Chapter 1 WANTS AND DESIRES 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; Deriving the Demand Curve from Marginal Utility. Chapter 5 SESSION 2 May 24 th 2011 FROM DESIRES TO CHOICES Indifference Curve Analysis Indifference Curves; What are they? Properties of Indifference curves; Slope of the Indifference curve (Marginal Rate of substitution); The Budget Line: What it is? 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 Effect of a price change. Chapter 5 SESSION 3 May 31 st 2011 Problem Solving- Market Style Demand, Supply and Price Determination 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. 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. 5 P a g e

6 Price Determination; Laws of Demand and Supply Restraining the Market Mechanism: Price Ceilings and Price Floors Chapter 3 SESSION FOUR June 7 th 2011 WHEN MARKET CONDITIONS CHANGE Elasticity analysis Elasticity; The measure of responsiveness; Price Elasticity of Demand- the measurement of Price Elasticity of Demand, Determinants of Price Elasticity of Demand; Price Elasticity of Demand and the shape of the demand curves; The effect on Revenue when there is a change in price. Other Demand Elasticities: Income Elasticity of Demand; Cross Elasticity of Demand; Elasticity of Supply; Determinants of Supply Elasticity. SESSION FIVE June 14 th 2011 MAKING KEY DECISIONS The Framework Time Horizon 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 Marginal Returns; Optimal quantity of an input and Diminishing Returns; Cost Curves Total, Average and Marginal Costs; Fixed Costs and Variable Costs; Long Run vs Short Run Costs; Economies of Scale and Returns to Scale. Output, Price and Profit: The Importance of Marginal Analysis Price and Quantity; Total Profit; marginal Revenue and Marginal Cost; Profit Maximization. SESSIONS SIX AND SEVEN June 21 st 2011 BEING MANY, BEING SMALL, BEING GOOD 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; Types of Profits in the Short Run; Losses; Shutdown and Break-even Analysis; The Short Run Supply Curve of the Competitive Firm. 6 P a g e

7 Long Run Equilibrium: The Effect of Entry and Exit; Zero Economic Profit; Perfect Competition and Economic Efficiency. SESSIONS SEVEN AND EIGHT June 28 th 2011 WHEN BIG MAY NOT BE BEAUTIFUL Monopoly Monopoly Defined; Causes of monopoly; Barriers to Entry; Cost and Revenue in the Short Run; Short and long Run Equilibrium and the Determination of the profit Maximizing Output; Natural Monopoly; Comparison of Monopoly and Perfect Competition; Price Discrimination under Monopoly. SESSION NINE July 5 th 2011 Revision Session and Examination Briefing Dr. Marlene Attzs Department of Economics UWI St. Augustine 7 P a g e