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ECON 3332: Intermediate Microeconomics
Spring 2015 Course Syllabus
Tuesdays and Thursdays 10:00-11:30am, Heyne Building Room 28 (H28)
Instructor:
Office:
Office hours:
E-mail:
Professor Aimee Chin
McElhinney Room 221B
Thursdays 11:30am-12:30pm. Other meeting times must be arranged in advance.
achin@uh.edu
T.A.:
Office:
Office hours:
E-mail:
David Bostashvili
McElhinney Room 246
Meetings must be arranged in advance.
dnbostashvili@uh.edu
Description
In this course, we will explore the foundations of microeconomic theory, focusing on the
behavior of individuals and firms, and the interaction of these agents in the market. We will also
examine the effects of government policies, market power and externalities on market efficiency.
Learning Outcomes
• Students will attain, through lectures, readings and problem sets, knowledge of the
building blocks of economic analysis.
• Students will develop, through lectures, readings and problem sets, some tools to analyze,
critically assess, and develop creative solutions to public policy problems.
• Problem sets and exams will enable students to apply basic principles of critical thinking,
problem solving and technical proficiency in economics.
Textbook and Other Course Materials
• We have an Aplia course website that contains our textbook (Intermediate
Microeconomics and Its Application by Walter Nicholson and Christopher Snyder, 12th
Edition), problem sets, practice exercises and solutions. All students are required to
register for this Aplia course (see page attached to this syllabus for information on how to
register for it). After you register, you will be able to access our course from
http://aplia.com/ or https://login.cengage.com/cb/login.htm.
Prerequisites
All students must have completed ECON 2304 or an equivalent introductory course in
microeconomics; if you do not meet this prerequisite, then you must receive prior explicit
permission from me to take this course. Additionally, you must have a good command of high
school algebra and graphical analysis; if you do not meet this prerequisite and you choose to take
this course, then it is your responsibility to work on your math skills in order to be able to follow
the materials taught in this course.
Professor Chin
Spring 2015 ECON 3332
Requirements and Grading
1) Problem Sets
2) Exam 1
3) Exam 2
4) Final Exam
12 problem sets, each worth 2% with the lowest two scores dropped
Thursday, February 26
Thursday, April 9
Thursday, May 14, 11:00am-1:30pm
20%
20%
20%
40%
100%
Problem Sets: Problem sets will be assigned and submitted through the Aplia website.
Assignments labeled “Graded Problem Set” are what you must submit to receive credit for
problem sets. Assignments labeled “Practice Exercises” and “Tutorial” are for your own personal
use and do not count directly toward your grade (though they help indirectly through improving
your performance on the graded problem sets and exams). You may work on problem sets any
time prior to the deadline, either in a single session or multiple sessions—just remember to save
your answer as you do each question so that when you return to that problem set later, your
answers from previous sessions will appear. Your answers must be submitted before the deadline
for you to receive credit. Solutions to graded problem sets are available immediately after the
deadline (solutions to practice exercises are always available). Students are strongly encouraged
to examine the solutions after the deadline to review any areas of confusion or questions they got
wrong. Note I cannot give deadline extensions for the problem sets; however I do drop the
lowest two problem set grades, which should give you some flexibility in handling unexpected
events.
Exams: Exams will draw heavily from lectures and problem sets, and not rely solely on the
textbook. All exams are closed book, but you are permitted to use a calculator (only basic
calculators, no computers, cell phones or programmable calculators). If you have any known
conflicts with the above exam dates, you should tell me in advance and we can make
arrangements. Generally you get a score of zero when you miss an exam, but in specific
situations a make-up exam may be possible.
Class Participation: Though attendance is not required, note: (1) in past semesters, students who
attended lecture regularly got significantly higher grades; (2) when you miss a lecture, you
cannot get the handout for that missed lecture from me; (3) office hours are not for re-delivering
lectures you missed.
General Policies
1) Lectures will begin at 10:00am and end at 11:20am.
2) Adhere to the university’s academic honesty policy (it is described in the Student Handbook
as well as http://www.uh.edu/provost/student-success/policy-updates/honesty-faqsstu/index.php).
3) If you have special learning needs, please contact me. I can make accommodations only if
given advance notice.
Professor Chin
Spring 2015 ECON 3332
Course Outline/Schedule
Week
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
Date
1/20
1/22
1/27
1/29
2/3
2/5
2/10
2/12
Activity
Lecture 1
Lecture 2
Lecture 3
Lecture 4
Lecture 5
Lecture 6
Lecture 7
Lecture 8
Topics
Introduction
Consumer Theory: Preferences I
Consumer Theory: Budget Constraint
Consumer Theory: Choice I
Consumer Theory: Choice II
Consumer Theory: Individual Demand
Consumer Theory: Market Demand
Consumer Theory: Extensions I
Corresponding Textbook Chapters
1
2
2
2
2
3
3
Labor and Leisure Choice (Chapter 13
Appendix), Intertemporal Choice (14-2)
Choices Involving Risk (parts of Chapter
4)
6
7
2/17
Lecture 9
Consumer Theory: Extensions II
2/19
2/24
2/26
3/3
3/5
3/10
3/12
3/17
3/19
3/24
3/26
3/31
4/2
4/7
4/9
4/14
4/16
4/21
4/23
4/28
4/30
5/14
Lecture 10
Producer Theory: Technology
Lecture 11
Producer Theory: Costs
EXAM 1
Lecture 12
Producer Theory: Cost Minimization
7
Lecture 13
Producer Theory: Profit Maximization I
8
Lecture 14
Producer Theory: Profit Maximization II
8
Lecture 15
Producer Theory: Market Supply
9
No lecture-Spring Break
No lecture-Spring Break
Lecture 16
Competitive Market Equilibrium: Properties 9, parts of Chapter 10
Lecture 17
Comp. Mkt. Eqbm: Policy Interventions I
9, Application 13.2
Lecture 18
Comp. Mkt. Eqbm: Policy Interventions II
9
Lecture 19
Imperfect Competition I
11
Lecture 20
Imperfect Competition II
11
EXAM 2
Lecture 21
Imperfect Competition III
12
Lecture 22
Externalities and Public Goods I
16
Lecture 23
Externalities and Public Goods II
16
Lecture 24
Externalities and Public Goods III
16
Lecture 25
Behavioral Economics
17
Lecture 26
Review
FINAL EXAM on Thursday May 14 in same room as lecture from 11:00am-1:30pm
How to access your Aplia course
UH Sp 2015 Prof. Chin ECON 3332 Intermediate Micro
Instructor: Aimee Chin
Start Date: 01/20/2015
What is Aplia?
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assignment solution. Millions of students use Aplia to better prepare for class and for their exams. Join
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Registration
1. Connect to http://login.cengagebrain.com/course/9LVT-YQDK-YTBR
2. Follow the prompts to register for your Aplia course.
Payment
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Free Trial: You can access Aplia until 11:59 PM on 02/09/2015 during your free trial. After the free trial
ends you will be required to pay for access.
Please note: At the end of the free trial period, your course access will be suspended until your payment
has been made. All your scores and course activity will be saved and will be available to you after you
pay for access.
If you already registered an access code or bought Aplia online, the course key to register for this course
is: 9LVT-YQDK-YTBR
TECHNICAL SUPPORT
If you are having trouble registering or accessing our Aplia course, visit Aplia’s Student Resources site:
http://services.cengage.com/dcs/aplia/start/prepare/. The Aplia Student Quick Start Guide
(http://assets.cengage.com/pdf/gui_aplia-stu-brief-user-guide.pdf) is especially useful for new users.
If you are still having difficulties, then visit our course’s dedicated Technical Support URL:
http://support.cengage.com/magellan/ClassLandingPage.aspx?OptyId=1-1XXRO03. This is a unique technical support
URL that has been created specifically for our course. It contains answers to common questions/problems students have
about using Aplia, and if your issue is not addressed by the FAQs then you can create a Tech Support ticket. Help will be
faster using our dedicated Technical Support URL instead of Aplia’s standard Technical Support site.