Syllabus - Econ 100A

Syllabus - Econ 100A

TR 3:30 - 4:45, BRDA 1610

Gary Charness ()

Course Web page: http/

Economics 100A introduces the methods of microeconomics and applies these methods to the study of consumers, firms, and markets. As you work through this course, you will develop your skills at problem solving and you will learn to reason about economic questions in a careful, systematic way. The emphasis in this course is on reasoning and understanding, not memorization. The skills and methods you learn will find repeated application in further economics courses and in understanding your economic environment when you enter the workplace.

Prerequisites

Normally, Economics 1 and 2 are required. Exceptions will be made for persons with particularly strong backgrounds. Mathematics 34A-B and PSTAT 5E are also required. The course makes extensive use of algebra, graphs, and simple calculus.

Text

Intermediate Microeconomics, 6th Edition, by Hal Varian, and Workouts in Intermediate Economics, 6th edition, by Bergstrom and Varian (the 5th Edition of each is probably ok)

Topics

Ch.2 Budgets, Ch. 3 Preferences, Ch. 4 Utility, Ch. 5 Choice, Ch. 6 Demand, Ch. 7 Revealed Preference, Ch. 8 (skip 8.5, 8.8, and 8.9), Ch. 9 Buying and Selling, Ch. 10 Intertemporal Choice, Ch. 11 Asset Markets, Ch. 12 Uncertainty, Ch. 14 Consumer's Surplus, and (time permitting) Ch. 15 Market Demand

Section Meetings

You are scheduled to attend one section meeting per week. Section meetings will be devoted primarily to answering students' questions and solving problems in Workouts in Microeconomic Theory.

Problems in Workouts

You are encouraged to try all of the problems in the workbook. To help you get on the right track, there are usually one or more worked-out problems in the introduction to each chapter. You will find the answers to the even-numbered problems in the back of the book. The odd-numbered problems you should try to figure out for yourself. You can then bring your questions to the section meeting each week. The single best way to learn the subject is to work lots and lots of problems.

These problems are designed to help you use the ideas presented in the text creatively. We are not trying to teach you a bunch of facts to memorize, but are instead trying to teach how to approach problems and to solve them. Some of the problems are designed to be challenging, while others are pretty routine. Do not be disappointed if you cannot do all of the problems correctly when you first set out to do them. You will find that it takes practice to develop a knack for solving problems. But if you work at it, you will be surprised how good at it you become.

In the back of Workouts, there is a section consisting of a short multiple-choice quiz based on each chapter. After you have read the chapter in the textbook and worked the problems in the workbook, you should take this quiz. You can grade it yourself. Answers can be found in the back of the Workout book. Some people find the quizzes more useful than the problems in the Workouts.

Midterms and Final examination

There will be three in-class midterms, on Thursday, April 14, Tuesday, May 3, and Thursday, May 24.

Many of the in-class midterm questions will be almost the same as quiz questions in the back of Workouts with the same logic, but with different numbers. If you have studied the material and can do the quizzes for the corresponding chapters, you should have no trouble getting these quiz questions right.

The final exam will cover material from the entire quarter, with slightly greater emphasis on material covered after the last midterm. You are expected to attend the final exam at the scheduled time.

Grades

Your grade will be a weighted average of your two best midterm scores (in relation to the median on the midterms) and your final exam score, with a weight of 50% on the total quiz score and 50% on the final exam score. One reason that we drop the lowest midterm score is to make it possible to miss a midterm without the problems involved in re-scheduling for individuals in a large class. Note that it will be very difficult to make up a missed midterm exam, since we will go over at least some of the problems during the class after each midterm. Thus, if you miss a midterm exam, expect to only take 2 midterms. Exceptions may be made for serious illness (with a doctor's note) or emergencies, but not for scheduling conflicts over which you have some control.

Workload

Most economics students find this the most difficult course taught in undergraduate economics. The workload is substantial. Besides the reading assignments in your text, there are workbook problems for each chapter and there are regular quizzes on workbook material. The course starts out at a brisk pace and builds on what you learn. Don't even think about sloughing off at the beginning and then catching up for the exams. While this is possible in many university courses, it is almost impossible for most students to get by with this strategy in 100A.