Approved by Faculty Senate.
University Studies Course Approval
Department or Program: Economics
Course Number: 201
Semester Hours: 3
Frequency of Offering: Every Semester
Course Title: Principles of
Microeconomics
Catalog Description: The private enterprise system, demand and supply and
market interaction;
business costs and prices; forms of competition;
resource markets; the mixed economy.
This is an existing course previously approved by A2C2: Yes
This is a new course proposal: No
Department Contact Person: Gabriel Manrique Email:
manrique@winona.edu
University Studies Approval is requested in: The Arts and Sciences Core -
Social Science
Attachment: The attached sample syllabus explains what is typically covered
in this course. It also
points out in which parts of the course the seven
outcomes for social science courses (a-g) are addressed.
The syllabus is
included in this application for purposes of illustration. Each faculty member
is still responsible
for his/her own course syllabus.
As required in points 1 and 2 of the approval process, the following address
the seven outcomes listed for
Social Science courses and documents course
content and learning activities relevant to the course outcomes:
a. understand humans as individuals and parts of larger social
systems
Microeconomics focuses on the behavior of individuals as part of a larger
system we call the economy.
Sudents are first exposed to one of the
important constants in human existence: the scarcity of resources.
Because
there are limited resources for unlimited wants, students learn about the
interactions of individuals
within societies as each society tries to answer
the three questions that societies must grapple with: what to
produce; how
to produce; and who will get what is produced. It is part of the learning
activity of students to
draw up examples from daily life about dealing with
scarcity. It is perhaps summarized best in the economics
adage: There is no
such thing as a free lunch.
b. understand the historical context of the social sciences
The study of microeconomics begins with the works of classical economists
such as Adam Smith and David
Ricardo. Their writings and insights form the
basis of modern economics. Included in the study of economics
are the
contributions through the centuries of Alfred Marshall, Karl Marx, Thomas
Malthus, and Joseph
Schumpeter. This provides the historical context for
microeconomics. Students are thus able to see the evolution
of economic ideas
from laissez faire through socialism, from mercantilism through trade based on
comparative
advantage, and the extent to which economic analysis has come to
rely on supply and demand, marginal utility,
innovation, etc.
c. identify problems and frame research questions relating to humans
and their experience
Because the study of microeconomics begins with scarcity and the ways by
which society and individuals
must deal with this, the research questions of
microeconomics usually deal with allocation - the allocation
of scarce
resources and the allocation of the goods and services produced with these
scarce resources.
This then allows the student to understand important
aspects of the human experience. For example, why
are some items we buy
expensive while others are not? What is the opportunity cost of spending my
time
on one activity? What roles do markets play in my interaction with
others? What are the consequences
of government intervention in the market
place? How can I explain the business decisions of entrepreneurs
and
corporations?
d. become familiar with the process of theory-building and
theoretical frameworks used
by the social sciences
Students are first made to understand that economic models begin as
simplifications of reality in order for us to
be able to focus on important
economic relationships. Hence, students must first understand the importance
of
the ceteris paribus assumption (everything else being equal) in economic
model building. Students then progress
to focusing on the important
relationship between specific variables or factors - for example the
relationship
between price and quantity based on supply and demand factors,
and the relationship between costs and profits.
Sudents also study other
important assumptions that must be built into any model used for analysis. In
economics
made to understand.
e. understand the research methods used in the social sciences
Like most social sciences, economics must rely upon census, surveys, and
observation for its data. The student
must therefore study price and
production data. The student also studies the behavior of individuals and firms
under various market conditions. Observations about the effects of
government intervention in the market place
so form part of the data of
microeconomics. Much of the data is then analyzed using the economic method
of
'marginal analysis' which emphasizes to students that economic decisions
are seldom 'all or nothing' decisions
but are decisions made at the margin.
It is from such analysis of economic data, using marginal analysis,
that
microeconomics is able to explain and predict human behavior as well as
analyze the impact of policies. Students
are made aware, early in the
course, that the extensive use of graphical analysis is part of the method of
economics.
f. describe and detail discipline-specific knowledge and its
applications
Microeconomics exposes students to specific economic knowledge about the
behavior of firms - the setting of
output, the determination of prices, the
opportunity costs of choices. It also exposes students to specific
knowledge
about the behavior of individuals - their decisions on what to buy
and at what price, decisions on how to allocate
time and resources, and how
individuals respond to incentives and disincentives. The course covers
extensively the
applications of this knowledge for business, for household
decision-making, for job searches, etc. Other than the
tools of supply and
demand analysis, students learn about production possibility frontiers,
comparative advantage,
market structures such as monopolies and perfect
competition, economies of scale, and the law of diminishing returns.
g. understand differences among and commonalities across humans and
their experiences, as tied to such variables
as gender,
race, socioeconomic status, etc.
Microeconomics gives the student excellent opportunities to understand how
different groups can be affected
differently by markets and by government
policies. While all human beings and groups of human beings must deal
with
the basic problem of scarcity and must all answer the basic economic questions:
what to product, how to produce;
and who gets what is produced - different
groups also have different experiences with scarcity. For example, the
setting
of minimum wage laws (a government intervention in the marketplace)
have different effects on different ethnic groups
and age groups. The
economic consequences of discrimination in the labor market are also among the
topics in this course. Students also have the opportunity to understand the
competing wants of needs of different economic classes particularly
when the
course covers topics such as public goods, private goods, and externalities. The
price discrimination that occurs
in the health care industry is an example
of how students use economics to understand inter-generational conflicts.
(Sample Syllabus)
PRINCIPLES OF MICROECONOMICS
Economics
201
1.Instructor
2. Office hours
3. Textbook
McConnell & Brue
MICROECONOMICS
McGraw Hill Company
14th. Edition, 1999
4. Course description
This course will have three parts. In the first one, we will consider the
nature, method, and scope of economics; the second one will deal with supply and
demand analysis both from the market and from the individual consumer point of
view, and the last one will cover the economics of the business firm. The
objective is to provide students with the basic concepts and tools necessary to
understand the operation of the market system in general and of the American
economy in particular.
5. Course expectations
Attendance. Students are expected to attend all lectures. Although I will
call the roll only during the first week of the semester or so, as soon as the
add/drop period is over, I will assign specific seats to each of you, so
attendance can be checked quickly. Attendance will not influence your grade
directly but may do it indirectly. If you miss lectures, you may miss in-class
assignments, homework assignments and explanations you may need. Besides, when
it comes to final grades, attendance will be one criterion used in borderline
cases.
Class participation. I encourage and reward class participation. You are
welcome to ask questions, bring up current events, and discuss the material
under analysis. On occasion you will be asked to work with one or several of
your classmates. Involvement in teamwork will provide you with an experience you
will find valuable professional career. Your participation or lack thereof will
also influence your final grade in border-line cases.
Exams. There will be three partial exams whose dates will be announced at
least one week in advance. The CUMULATIVE final exam will be given at the date
indicated in your class schedule. Questions will be of the multiple-choice type.
Assignments. There will be two types: in-class and homework assignments. They
will be scored and incorporated in your final grade. Please be aware of the fact
that I do not take late assignments. Unless you have a clearly justifiable
reason, assignments should be handed in during the lecture or left in my office
by 9:00 A.M., next day. Your absence either when I give the assignment or on the
day when it is due is not considered a justifiable reason. Makeups. There will
be no makeups of any kind, except in unusual circumstances. Students requesting
makeups will be asked to clearly justify their absence and will take all-essay
questions exams.
Feedback. You can expect prompt feedback in all cases. I will score your
exams and assignments right away and will generally return them the following
session.
Individual contact. I am very interested in meeting you personally and I want
to hear of the concerns you might have regarding this class. Please feel free to
stop by my office. Call me or talk to me at the end of the lecture if you need
to make an appointment. You can also fax or e-mail messages.
Academic dishonesty. A zero grade will be assigned to that part of the course
in which dishonesty is discovered.
6. Grading guidelines
Weights:
Exam I, 20%
Exam II, 20%
Exam III, 20%
Assignments, 20%
Final exam, 20%
Scale:
85% and higher, A
75% -84%, B
65% -74%, C
55% -64%, D
54% and lower, F
7. Course outline
University Studies Program: Social Science Course
This course will satisfy three semester hours of the six-semester hour
requirement for social science in the University
Studies Program. As such, it
seeks to provide students taking this course the opportunity to achieve the
following
outcomes:
a. understand humans as individuals and parts of larger social systems
b.
understand the historical context of the social sciences
c. identify problems
and frame research questions relating to humans and their experience
e.
understand the research methods used in the social sciences
f. describe and
detail discipline-specific knowledge and its applications
g. understand
differences among and commonalities across humans and their experience, as tied
to
such variables as gender, race, socioeconomic
status, etc.
The outline below identifies where these University Studies Program outcomes
are addressed by placing the letter
references above in parenthesis.
I.
Introduction
(1) The nature and method of economics - Chapters 1 & 2 (b, c, d, e)
(2) Scarcity, trade, and economic systems - Chapters 2 & 4 (a, c, d, e)
II.
Supply and demand analysis
(1) Concepts and mechanics - Chapter 3 (b, c, d, e)
(2) Market equilibrium -Chapters 3 & 4 (b, c, d, e)
(3) Economic institutions - Chapter 5 (a, b, f, g)
(4) Elasticity - Chapter 7 (c, d, f )
(5) Demand and consumer choice - Chapter 8 (a, c, d, e, f, g)
III.
Economics of the business firm
(1) Costs and production - Chapters 9 & 10 (c, d, f)
(2) Perfect competition - Chapter 11 (a, b, c, d, f)
(3) Monopoly - Chapter 12 (b, c, d, f)
(4) Monopolistic competition - Chapter 13 (c, d, f)
(5) Oligopoly - Chapter 13 (c, d, f)
(6) Resource markets and income distribution - Chapters 20-22 (a, b, c,
f)