ECONOMICS 101

WASHINGTON & LEE UNIVERSITY
Williams School of Commerce, Economics, and Politics

ECONOMICS 101: Principles of Microeconomics

Professor Jim Casey
Rm. 205B, Ext. 8102, Email: Caseyj
Office Hours: MTWTh 10-11:30, and by appointment

Heading into the homestretch: Adjusted Schedule

Week 9 - chs. 11 and 12

Week 10 - Chs. 13 and 15 and issue #5

Week 11 - Chs. 16 and 17

Week 12 - chs. 19 and 20 and issue #6

Course Objectives: The overall objective of this course is to enhance our ability to think critically and communicate these thoughts effectively, in both written and oral formats. Accordingly, emphasis will be placed on developing these skills within the context of learning about microeconomics.

The course provides an introduction to economic analysis, and is, partially, intended to show you how an economist thinks about society. The basic principles of microeconomics deal with how individual people make decisions about what to consume, produce, buy and sell and how they interact with other consumers, producers, buyers and sellers in the marketplace. Throughout the semester we will introduce concepts of microeconomic analysis and apply them to real life situations. By the end of the semester we will have learned to “think like economists.” (Actually, not as scary as it sounds!!)

Text: Baumol, William J. and Alan S. Blinder. Economics: Principles and Policy. 9^th Edition. New York: The Dryden Press, 1999. Text Website

Class Format: Each week we will have two and 1/2 hours of lecture-discussion and a 1/2 hour small group/seminar. The small group/seminar will be based on outside readings and selected components from Baumol and Blinder.

Grading:

A. Class participation / weekly question 10%/10%

B. Midterm Exam 20%

C. Final Exam 30%

D. Issues Papers 30%

A. You will be expected to come to class prepared to discuss the day’s topics (read the chapters!) and to actively participate in class discussions. Additionally, we will have a weekly question. The question will be posed every Thursday and the answer will be due every Tuesday. Notice, this part of the course is worth a whopping 20% of your final grade. So please participate and please take the question seriously!!

B. The midterm exam will be given on October 17th and is worth 20% of your final grade.

C. The final exam will be cumulative and account for 30% of your final grade.

D. Throughout the semester you will write 3 short papers (2-3 pp.), each worth 10% of your final grade. These papers will be based on selected readings from outside sources to be designated at a future time. We will be reading and discussing 6 contemporary economic issues and you will be required to choose any 3 for your papers. Checklist for Issues Papers

First Topic to be discussed on Thursday, September 19 - Should Marijuana be decriminalized?
Topic number two - Thursday, October 3 - Should anti-pollution standards be strengthened?
Topic number three - Thursday, October 24 - Did deregulation cause the CA energy crisis?
Topic number four - Thursday, October 31 - Is Microsoft a monopoly?

Topic Number Five - Thursday, November 14 - Should there be a market for human organs?

Topic Number Six - Thursday, December 5 - What accounts for the recent increases in income inequality?

Topic Outline and Required Reading List:

I What is Economics and why study it? (Week 1)

B&B Chapters 1, 2 and 3

II. The Essentials of Microeconomics (Weeks 2 and 3)

Supply and Demand

B&B Chapters 4, 5, 6, and 7

III. The Market System (Weeks 4, 5 and 6)

B&B Chapters 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13 and 14

--------------------------------MIDTERM--------------------------------------

IV. Distribution of Income (Weeks 7 and 8)

B&B Chapters 15, 16 and 17

Factors of Production

V. The Global Economy (Weeks 9, 10, 11 and 12)
Government, The Environment and Trade

B&B Chapters 18, 19, 20, and 33

Disclaimer: Everything on this syllabus is subject to change.