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East Texas Baptist University
Microeconomics – ECON 2302-1
Fall Semester 2016
Course Microeconomics
Course Number ECON 2302
Instructor Dr. Tyler Watts
Office & Phone FHSB112 903-923-2153
Class Times MWF 12:00 – 12:50 PM
Class Location FHSB 103
Office Hours MWF 1:00 – 3:00 PM; TR 9:30 – 11:30 AM
Course Description
Microeconomics investigates the intricate, often underappreciated processes by which the market economy functions. The course emphasizes the roles played by prices, profit-seeking, and economic institutions such as the legal system and cultural norms. Taking the Biblical view of sinful human nature, the course addresses market incentive structures that channel rational self-interested behavior towards the promotion of the general welfare of society in both material and spiritual dimensions. The course also outlines economic arguments for limited, constitutional government and emphasizes the importance of personal freedom and individual responsibility for the promotion of economic prosperity.
Required Textbook
Let’s be real: textbooks are a ripoff and, besides, who really reads them? Everything you need to know for this class will be provided in class (lectures & handouts) or available freely online (short reading assignments, videos, etc.). However, don’t think you don’t have to read in order to succeed! There will be several short, supplemental reading assignments and you will be quizzed on them! (Crimson)
Student Learning Outcomes
Upon completion of this course students will know, be able to do, or be able to demonstrate the following:
Unit / Learning Objectives / Corresponding Assessment(s)I. The Human Condition in a Cursed World / 1. Describe the “law-gospel distinction” and apply economics to its appropriate category therein
2. Identify economic core principles of scarcity, rationality, and self-interest and relate them to scriptural categories of original sin/ sin nature and imago Dei
3. Define vocation and identify examples of commercial and extra-commercial vocations / HW 1
Quiz 1, 2
Midterm 1
II. Specialization, Production, and Exchange / 4. Define comparative advantage, absolute advantage, and free trade
5. Solve a 2 country/ 2 good matrix to demonstrate mutual consumer gains from specialization + trade
6. Explain the economic rationale for countries to adopt unilateral free trade policies / HW 2
Quiz 3, 4
Midterm 1
III. The Price System / 7. Describe the generalized production process and Identify the income statement equation
8. Define: law of demand, surplus, shortage, equilibrium; illustrate market equilibrium using a demand-and-supply diagram; list the determinants of demand and supply; interpret changes in equilibrium price and quantity as a consequence of supply and/or demand shifts; identify processes by which free markets reach equilibrium and eliminate or prevent surpluses or shortages / HW 3, 4
Quiz 5, 6, 7
Midterm 2
IV. Competitive Market Process / 9. Define entrepreneur and explain the entrepreneur’s role in the economy
10. identify feedback mechanisms of the market process and explain how the market process promotes economic growth and prosperity / HW 5
Quiz 8
Final Exam
(Crimson)
V. Institutions and Government / 11. Define institutions and explain their foundational role in the market process
12. Summarize “Two Kingdoms Theology” and apply it towards articulating the core functions of church and state
13. Define the attributes of rivalness and excludability and apply these categories toward distinguishing public from private goods
14. Describe the “OPM” problem and explain how government spending deviates from private spending
15. Define rent seeking and interest groups and explain how the “concentrated benefits/ dispersed costs” phenomenon tends to entrench activities that deviate from Biblical and economic norms for the function of government / HW 5
Quiz 9
Final Exam
Student Responsibilities
• Be here. Have you ever heard the saying, “90 percent of life is showing up?” It starts here, baby: you are expected to be here on time, prepared to participate, and acting like you care (fake smiles go a long way on that last point). Frequent absences will hurt your grade (duh!) and result in me getting all up in your business… so my advice is to be here unless you’ve got a really good reason to miss. If you miss more than 25% of class meetings (that’s 11 meetings), Darth Vader from the planet Vulcan will melt your brain… oh yeah, and you’ll AUTOMATICALLY FAIL.
• Do your work. Studies have statistically shown that successful students do ALL of the assignments: readings, quizzes, homework, and tests. Completing homework assignments on time is especially important: a zero on a HW you gave up on will hurt your grade a lot more than a 50% on a HW you struggled with! (And if you are struggling COME SEE ME—my JOB is helping YOU!)
• Be informed. Check your ETBU email and Blackboard regularly. Email is my main method of communicating important information, announcements, and updates.
Attendance
Class Roll: Class roll is required to be taken. It is the student’s responsibility to make sure he or she is registered.
University Mandatory Attendance Policy: “East Texas Baptist University is committed to the policy that regular and punctual attendance is essential to successful scholastic achievement. Attendance at all meetings of the course for which a student is registered is expected. To be eligible to earn credit in a course, the student must attend at least 75 percent of all class meetings.” For this course a student will fail if he/she will miss 7 or more classes. Attendance record begins with the first meeting of a class; students registering late incur absences from the first class meeting of the semester. Students are responsible for all material covered in class meetings and are expected to meet all course requirements.
Students who accumulate university-approved absences (athletic teams, musical organizations, other authorized groups) will be allowed to make up work missed as a result of that activity provided that:
A. The activity was properly scheduled;
B. The absence was authorized in advance; and
C. Arrangements were made with their instructors prior to the absence.
D. Such absences are, nonetheless, counted as classes missed.
The opportunity to make up work missed as a result of absences other than those identified above may be granted only when the instructor involved grants that privilege. Such absences should be documented by the student to the fullest extent possible.
Due to the nature of the content of some courses and some programs of study, more stringent attendance requirements may be required. Students should carefully follow all requirements contained in the course syllabi. (Crimson)
Appeals: When a student has exceeded the absence limit for a class due to circumstances beyond his or her control, the student may appeal in writing. The appeal must follow the process detailed in the “Grade Appeals Process” in this catalog. No appeal will be heard after six weeks from the date the student is officially notified that the absence limit has been exceeded. If a resident student is not attending classes he/she may be required to move out of the residence hall.” (Academic Catalog, 2014-2015, pp. 23-24)
Excused absences: An excused absence is still an absence where instructional time was missed, and will count towards total absences.
Tardiness: Please respect others wanting to get an education by being on time for class. Gross or excessive tardiness will not be tolerated. If this becomes a problem, you will not be allowed to enter the classroom once the lecture has started. If you are to leave before the lecture is over, please clear it with me first, to cut down on added distractions for the class.
Scholastic Honesty & Academic Integrity:
“Students enrolled at East Texas Baptist University are expected to conduct themselves in accordance with the highest standards of academic honesty and integrity avoiding all forms of cheating, illicit possession of examinations or examination materials, unwarranted access to instructor’s solutions’ manuals, plagiarism, forgery, collusion and submissions of the same assignment to multiple courses. Penalties that may be applied by the faculty member to individual cases of academic dishonesty by a student Include one or more of the following:
· Failure of the class in question
· Failure of particular assignments
· Requirement to redo the work in question
· Requirement to submit additional work
All incidents related to violations of academic integrity are required to be reported to the Vice President for Academic Affairs and multiple violations of academic integrity will result in further disciplinary measures which could lead to dismissal from the University.“ (Academic Catalog 2014 – 2015, p.21)
Americans with Disabilities Act:
A student with a disability may request appropriate accommodations for this course by contacting the Office of Academic Success and Graduate Services, Marshall Hall, Room 301, and providing the required documentation.(Crimson)
If accommodations are approved by the Disability Accommodations Committee, the Office of Academic Success and Graduate Services will notify you and your professor of the approved accommodations.You must then discuss these accommodations with your professor.
Grades
Course grade is based on: attendance and class participation; in-class quizzes over assigned readings and lectures; homework problem sets done on paper and turned in in class; 3 exams.
Assessment / Points / PercentageAttendance/ Participation / 100 / 10%
Quizzes (10 @ 10 points each) / 100 / 10%
Homework (5 @ 40 points each) / 200 / 20%
Exams (3 @ 200 points each) / 600 / 60%
Total / 1000 / 100%
Grading Policies
1. Late Assignments: Any late (i.e. you didn't reschedule with me ahead of time) exams or homework will be automatically docked one letter grade per class day late. Online quizzes over assigned readings may be taken on your own time, up to the pre-announced deadline-NO EXCEPTIONS. Exams may not be rescheduled, except for: official ETBU-related scheduling conflicts or documented personal emergencies. Please contact me if you anticipate a problem with any of these requirements.
2. Homework: Homework assignments are due IN CLASS and will not be accepted by email. Unstapled multi-page homework submissions may be docked 1% per page. Homework submitted with no name may be docked 5% upon identification of the rightful submitter. Grammatical and spelling errors may result in up to a 5% grade penalty.
3. Extra Credit: Several extra credit assignments and opportunities will be provided. I encourage you to take advantage of them, especially if you find yourself struggling on the quizzes and exams. Experience has shown that high course grades are strongly correlated with active class participation and completion of extra credit assignments.
4. Copying: Copying someone else’s work on ANY assignment is not allowed, and will result in an automatic zero for that assignment. “Someone else’s work” includes, but is not limited to: another student’s assignment, the textbook, the instructor’s manual, lecture note handouts, lecture videos, lectures (both mine and others’), any article, book, or website. Your assignments must be YOUR work, written in YOUR words, to assure me that you genuinely understand and can independently relate the concepts being learned in the class.
Additional Classroom Policies
1. Attendance/participation: attendance will be taken at every class meeting. Tardiness and absences will detract from your participation score. Perfect attendance (zero absences, excused or not) will earn you a minimum of 90% for participation; additional credit may be earned through in-class and online discussion, completion of all HW assignments, and office hours or tutoring visits. All course materials will be posted on Blackboard for those who miss a class session.
Attendance/ participation grade starts and 90 points. You lose 3 points for every non-excused absence, but you may gain points at my discretion for in-class participation and automatically through the business dress policy described below.
Business Dress: our job at the ETBU School of Business is to prepare you for success in the business world. A large part of this involves teaching basic business knowledge and skills, but another aspect of it is training you to look, act, and speak like a professional. To provide you an incentive to begin the practice of professional dress, I’m implementing a new dress policy into the participation grade. “Automatic” participation points may be earned for each class day as follows:
1 point / 2 pointsMen / · Dress shirt and tie
· Slacks & belt
· Dress shoes & socks / · Suit/ dress coat & slacks
· Shirt and tie
· Dress shoes, belt / (note: for men, wearing any hat in class invalidates any and all dress code points for that day)
Women / · Slacks/skirt & blouse
· Dress shoes / · Pantsuit or Skirted Suit
· Dress shoes / (note: for women, dress hats are allowed, but wearing caps or visors invalidates any and all dress code points for that day)
Example of Attendance/ Participation Grade: Let’s say you have 4 unexcused absences, 5 points for in-class participation (tracked on your dossier card), and 10 points for business dress:
Base / Absences / In-class Participation / Business Dress / Final Points90 / - 12 / + 5 / + 10 / 93
2. Talking: please respect me and other students by refraining from personal conversations or sharing comments during class. Severe class disruptions will result in a random re-shuffling of assigned seating, so be sure to disruptively chat with your friends ONLY if you want to ensure that you do NOT sit by them for the remainder of class!
3. Technology: respect me and other students by keeping your use of laptops or other electronic devices quiet. Non-academic uses (e.g. Facebook, video games, etc.) will detract from your participation score. Disruptive use of phones, laptops, or other devices will detract from your participation score and may also trigger a social sanction at my behest.
(Crimson)
Course Schedule
Monday / Tuesday / Wednesday / Thursday / FridayAug. 22
Class intro
Dossiers
Syllabus / Aug. 23 / Aug. 24
Unit I
A1: Trading Game / Aug. 25 / Aug. 26
Unit I
L1: Law, Gospel, & the Economy
R1: Genesis 1-4
Quiz 1
Aug. 29
Unit I
L2: Core Principles of Economics
R2: Ecclesiastes / Aug. 30 / Aug. 31
Unit II
L3: Vocation & The Market Process / Sep. 1 / Sep. 2
Unit II
A2: Puzzle Challenge
R3: “Opportunity Cost”
Quiz 2 HW 1 due
Sep. 5
LABOR DAY / Sep. 6 / Sep. 7