Course: ECO 5313-001Managerial Economics
Term: Summer 2016
Class Time: 8:00 p.m. –10:20 p.m., Tuesday/Thursday
Class Room: COB 150
Professor: Dr. Tara Brown
Office Location: College of Business, Office320
Office Hours: Please email me to set up an appointment
when Emailing me, please put which class you are in!
Email:
Course Description
Managerial economics applies economic theory and methods to business and administrative decision-making in order to achieve goals and objectives of organizations in the most efficient way. Thus, this course will provide an understanding of how to link economic theory with quantitative methods to develop tools and approaches for managerial decision-making.
Required Textbook
Principles of Economics by M. Gregory Mankiw, Sixth Edition
Intermediate Microeconomics 8th edition by Hal Varian;
There may be additional readings assigned from books on hold at the library or provided to you on blackboard
A note about the text book: Class lectures may have additional material than the text book. The text book should be used for critical background reading to complement class lectures and activities.
Chapter Reading Assignments:
Topic(s) / Chapters / Sections(hard copy of the book section titles are in italics)Introduction / Chapters 1 and 2 / (Chapter 1: How people make decisions (Principles 1-4); How people interact (Principle 5-7)
(Chapter 2: The scientific method, the role of assumptions, economic models and Microeconomics and Macroeconomics; for extra reading about economics: The economist as a Policy adviser and why economists disagree)
Thinking on the Margin and Profits / Chapter 13 / (The Production Function and From the Production Function to the Total-Cost Curve)
(Total Revenue, Total Cost, and Profit, Costs as Opportunity Costs, The Costs of Capital as an Opportunity Cost, Economic Profit vs Accounting Profit, Fixed and Variable Costs, Average and Marginal Cost, Cost Curves and Their Shapes, Typical Cost Curves, The Relationship between Short-Run and Long-Run Average Total Cost, Economies and Diseconomies of Scale and the chapter conclusion)
Competitive Markets / Chapter 14 and 4
And Varian Chapter 22 and 23 / Chapter 4: What is Competition?
Chapter 14: The Meaning of Competition, the Revenue of a Competitive Firm, A Simple Example of Profit Maximization, The Marginal –Cost Curve and the Firm’s Supply Decision, The Firm’s Short-Run Decision to Shut Down, Split Milk and Other Sunk Costs, The Firm’s Long-Run Decision to Exit or Enter a Market, Measuring Profit in our Graph for the Competitive Firm, Why do Competitive Firms Stay in Business If They Make Zero Economic Profit? and the chapter conclusion.
Varian, Hal; Intermediate Microeconomics, 8th edition. 22.2-22.3; 23.5
Monopolies / Chapter 15
And Varian Chapter 24 / the whole chapter, sections on different public policies toward monopolists are optional
Varian, Hal; Intermediate Microeconomics, 8th edition. 24.1; 24.4-24.5
Price Discrimination / Varian Chapter 25 / Varian, Hal; Intermediate Microeconomics, 8th edition. 25.1 – 25.5.
Test 1
Game Theory / Chapter 17 and Varian Chapter 28 and 29 / (Chapter 17: The Prisoners’ Dilemma, Other Examples of the Prisoners’ Dilemma, Why People Sometimes Cooperate)
Varian, Hal; Intermediate Microeconomics, 8th edition, 28.1-28.4; 28.7-28.8; 29.2; 29.6 (for examples on simultaneous games); (if you are interested in other types of games, read 29.3)
Oligopolies / Chapter 17
And Varian Chapter 27 / A Duopoly Example, Competition, Monopolies and Cartels, the Equilibrium for an Oligopoly, How the Size of an Oligopoly Affects the Market Outcome, Oligopolies as Prisoners’ Dilemma, The Prisoners’ Dilemma and the Welfare of Society, and the chapter conclusion.
For more on Policies toward Oligopolies: Restraint of Trade and the Antitrust Laws and Controversies over Antitrust Policy
Varian, Hal; Intermediate Microeconomics, 8th edition. 27.5 – 27.6. – Cournot Model
Varian, Hal; Intermediate Microeconomics, 8th edition. 27.9 – Bertrand Model
Hotelling Line / Article / Article on Blackboard
Risk/Insurance / Chapter 12 of Varian / Varian, Hal; Intermediate Microeconomics, 8th edition. 12.2 – end of chapter.
Test 2
Blackboard:
Please note there is a blackboard page set up for this class. Blackboard is available at You can log into the site using your UTA id and password (the id and password you use to log into your email). I will post announcements on this site and power point presentations for each of the topics above. These power point presentations will have graphs and other crucial material missing. Their purpose is to allow you to focus on the lecture without worrying about getting every detail written down. I will also post the practice questions assignment for you along with the answer key for those questions. After each pop quiz, I will post an answer key.
Grading Policy
The grading for this course will consist of three components: two exams and a presentation.
Exam 1:(Thursday, June 23, 2016)30%
Exam 2:(Thursday, July 14, 2016)30%
Presentation:40%
Examinations
There will be 2 in-class exams. The majority of the exams will cover material discussed in class. Since this may diverge from the textbook, it behooves you to attend class regularly. The exams are not cumulative so the second exam will cover material from the first exam on.
Make-up Exams: Make-up exams are available if you miss an exam for a valid reason. I reserve the right to determine validity and require proof for the absence. Please see me to schedule a make-up exam as soon as possible. Unless there is an emergency, I require you schedule a make-up exam with me 2 weeks prior to the exam date.
Extra Practice Questions
Economics can be a challenging subject, and one of the best ways to understand it is to work through a lot of problems. Hence, I have posted for you a set of practice questions for before the midterm and another set for before the final exam. I also have posted the answer key to these problems. These are extra problems to aid you in your studies. I will be happy to answer questions on them in class and during the review time.
Attendance
At The University of Texas at Arlington, taking attendance is not required. Rather, each faculty member is free to develop his or her own methods of evaluating students’ academic performance, which includes establishing course-specific policies on attendance. As the instructor of this section, to encourage regular attendance, there will be 10 pop quizzes throughout the semester and being in class to take them can help your final exam grade. These pop quizzes are open book and note and will not be graded. The purpose of them is two fold. First, it gives me feedback on the class’s understanding of the concepts covered. Second, it gives you an idea of what I think is important in class and a preview of some of the concepts that will be covered in exams.
I will keep track of how many pop quizzes you were in class to take. If you take all 10 pop quizzes, 5 points will be added to your lowest exam grade. If you take 8 or 9 pop quizzes, 3 points will be added to your lowest exam grade. Anything less, you will receive 0 additional points on your lowest exam grade. Pop quizzes may be administered at any point in the class time. There will be ways to earn additional pop quiz credits which will be explained throughout the class. There is a possibility to earn more than 10 pop quizzes. In this case, 1/2 ofa point for every pop quiz over 10 will be added to your lowest examgrade. So, if you earn 0-7 pop quizzes, you receive 0 extra points on your lowest exam grade. If you earn 8-9 pop quizzes, you receive 3 extra points on your lowest exam grade. If you earn 10 pop quizzes, you receive 5 extra points on your lowest exam grade. Every pop quiz credit over 10 will add .5 points to your lowest exam grade. Pop quizzes can not be made up under any circumstance. Note: to get credit for a pop quiz, you must be in class at the start of the pop quiz. Since pop quizzes can and will be given at the beginning of the class time, it would greatly benefit you to be on time to class.
In this class, “pop quizzes” will also be spaced out during presentations. For each presentation day, you will be asked to fill out a form about the presentations and what you learned. These evaluations from your non-group peers plus evaluations from your group members will be included in each presentation grade.
Presentation
The second part of the course will be class presentations. The class will be divided into groups, each group with a different topic to present on (one of the topics we have already discussed). Presentations should last about 30 minutes. This seems like a LONG time but will go faster than you think. Also, presentations do not have to go 30 minutes. I’m much more likely to give a higher grade to a group with a 20 minute strong presentation than to a group with a 30 minute weak presentation or a presentation which droned on to fill the 30 minute time slot. There are days assigned to work on the presentation in class but I expect you and your group members will have to meet out of class as well. The presentation will consist of two main parts: 1. presentation of a scholarly article (I will give you suggestions) about the topic and 2. Presentation of a business decision or something that occurred related to the topic. More information about the presentations will be given to you as we get closer to them.
Projected Class Schedule: (this of course could change at any time)
Date / Scheduled EndeavorTuesday, June 7 / Introduction, Thinking on the Margin
Thursday, June 9 / Competitive Markets
Tuesday, June 14 / Monopolies and start Price Discrimination
Thursday, June 16 / Continue Price Discrimination and Review
Tuesday, June 21 / EXAM 1
Thursday, June 23 / Game Theory
Tuesday, June 28 / Oligopolies
Thursday, June30 / Hotelling’s Line
Tuesday, July 5 / Risk and Insurance
Thursday, July 7 / Finish up Material and Review
Tuesday, July 12 / EXAM 2 (Group assignments given out and rubric posted)
Thursday, July 14 / Exam returned and group presentations discussed in class
Tuesday, July 19 / Work in class on Presentations
Thursday, July 21 / Presentation Groups 1, 2, 3
Tuesday, July 26 / Presentation Groups 4, 5, 6
Thursday, July 28 / Presentation Groups 7, 8, 9
Grade Grievances: Any grade grievance other than a mis-adding of points or a similar “human error” type of mistake on any assignment or test may be taken up with me by setting up an appointment via email. I will not change any grades for any other reason before then. In addition, the only grade which I will change after the day of the final exam is final exam itself.
Drop Policy:Students may drop or swap (adding and dropping a class concurrently) classes through self-service in MyMav from the beginning of the registration period through the late registration period. After the late registration period, students must see their academic advisor to drop a class or withdraw. Undeclared students must see an advisor in the University Advising Center. Drops can continue through a point two-thirds of the way through the term or session. It is the student's responsibility to officially withdraw if they do not plan to attend after registering. Students will not be automatically dropped for non-attendance. Repayment of certain types of financial aid administered through the University may be required as the result of dropping classes or withdrawing. For more information, contact the Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships (
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Final Review Week:A period of five class days prior to the first day of final examinations in the long sessions shall be designated as Final Review Week. The purpose of this week is to allow students sufficient time to prepare for final examinations. During this week, there shall be no scheduled activities such as required field trips or performances; and no instructor shall assign any themes, research problems or exercises of similar scope that have a completion date during or following this week unless specified in the class syllabus. During Final Review Week, an instructor shall not give any examinations constituting 10% or more of the final grade, except makeup tests and laboratory examinations. In addition, no instructor shall give any portion of the final examination during Final Review Week. During this week, classes are held as scheduled. In addition, instructors are not required to limit content to topics that have been previously covered; they may introduce new concepts as appropriate.
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Course SyllabusPage 1