Economics 212: Microeconomic Theory

 

Mount Holyoke College

 

Professor: Melanie Guldi

Email: mguldi

Office: 117 Skinner

Phone: ext. 2145

 

Course information and Course Materials will be posted on Ella.

 

Professor Guldi’s Office Hours:

Class Meeting Times:

M 4:00pm -5:00pm;

W 9:45am – 10:45am & by appt.

M,W: 11:00am-12:15pm CLAP 127

F:  11:00am-11:50am CLAP 127

Class Tutor: Bidita Tithi

Tutoring Times:

Ms. Tithi’s email: bjtithi

Thursday from 6:00pm – 8:00pm Skinner 212

 

Prerequisites:

 

Economics 103, 104 and Mathematics 101.  If you do not meet these prerequisites, please come see me as soon as possible to discuss your situation.  In my experience, students who do not have adequate preparatory classes do not do well in this course.

 

Course objective: 

 

This is a core course for the Economics major. The goal of this course is to provide students with the tools necessary to perform rigorous Microeconomic evaluation seen in more advanced Economics courses.

 

Text: 

 

Intermediate Microeconomics: A Modern Approach, seventh edition by Hal R. Varian. ISBN: 0393927024. There is also a companion study guide: Workouts in Intermediate Microeconomics by Theodore C. Bergstrom and Hal R. Varian.  Although I have not listed the study guide as “required” course materials, you may find it a useful source of extra problems to work through.  A copy of the 6th edition to both of these books is on reserve in the library.

 

Exams:

 

Exams will be given in class on February 26 and April 16.  There will be a self-scheduled final.  If you miss an exam, you will be given a zero on the exam unless you have an excused absence for reasons such as religious holiday or a documented medical emergency.  If you require special accommodation to take the exams, please meet with me so that we can make arrangements.

 

Problem Sets: 

 

Problem sets (homework) will be posted on Ella throughout the course.  The purpose of the problem sets is to give students the opportunity to work through examples to enhance their learning experience.  Students are encouraged to work together on problems.  Although the problem sets will not be graded, quizzes based on the problem sets will be given during Friday fourth hour classes. 

 

Quizzes: 

 

Quizzes will be given during fourth hour classes throughout the semester. (The quiz dates will be announced in class.)  Quiz questions will be similar in style to the problems on the problem sets.  The purpose of the quizzes is to give students exposure to exam-style questions.  Of six quizzes given throughout the semester, only the top five scores will be included in the final grade.  The ‘extra’ quiz allows one quiz to be missed without penalty.  Hence, there are no excused absences for the quizzes.  If you miss a quiz, there is no opportunity to retake it.

 

Ella: 

 

Ella is a password protected area where you can access all course materials using your MHC user id and password.  If you are not a Mount Holyoke College student, you will need to obtain a guest ID to access the course materials.  Instructions on this procedure can be found at the following link: http://www.mtholyoke.edu/lits/8697.shtml

If you have difficulty doing this, please see me after class or during office hours.

 

Other notes:

 

Unless otherwise specified during lecture, students are responsible for learning all course materials.  This includes readings listed on the syllabus even if we do not explicitly cover them in class.  Any articles discussed during class are considered part of the course materials.

 

Grading:

 

            Quizzes (see below for dates):               15%

            Class Participation                                            5%

Midterm I (February 26):                                  25%

            Midterm II (April 16):                                       25%

            Comprehensive Final (Self-Scheduled): 30%

 

TENTATIVE Schedule of Readings:  Actual time taken to cover the material may vary from what is listed below.  Material (articles) will be added and some readings listed may be subtracted as the course progresses.  It is the student’s responsibility to check for changes.

[L = Lecture; F = Friday fourth hour]

 

I.          Basic Consumer Demand Theory

            Chapters 1-6, 7 (skip 7.4-7.7), 8, 9 (skip appendix)

 

Jan. 29-L

Syllabus, Math Review & Chapter 2 {Chapter 1 (to be read on your own)}

 

 

Jan. 31-L

Chapter 3

 

 

Feb. 2-F

Go over Q’s from PS #1; Quiz #1 (Math Review; Chapters 2 & 3)

 

 

Feb. 5-L

Chapter 4

 

 

Feb. 7-L

Chapter 5

 

 

Feb. 9-F

Go over questions from PS #2; Quiz #2 (Chapters 4 & 5)

 

 

Feb. 12-L

Chapter 6

 

 

Feb. 14-L

Chapter 7 (skip 7.4-7.7)

 

 

Feb. 16-F

NO 4th HOUR

 

 

Feb. 19-L

Chapter 8

 

 

Feb. 21-L

Review for 1st exam/ Go over PS #3

 

 

Feb. 23-F

NO 4th HOUR

 

 

Feb. 26-L

EXAM 1 (on Chapters 1-8)

 

 

Feb. 28-L

Chapter 9 (skip appendix)

 

 

Mar. 2-F

Hand back Exam I

 

 

II.         Extensions and Applications of Demand Theory

Chapters 14 (skip appendix), 15, 16

 

Mar. 5-L

Chapter 14 (skip appendix)

 

 

Mar. 7-L

Chapter 15

 

 

Mar. 9-F

Go over PS #4; Quiz #3 (Chapters 9, 14, 15)

 

 

Mar. 12-L

Chapter 16

 

 

 

III.       Theory of the Firm

Chapters 18, 19 (skip 19.11 and appendix), 20 (skip 20.2), 21-24, 25 (only through 25.4)

 

Mar. 14-L

Chapter 18

 

 

Mar. 16-F

NO 4th HOUR

 

 

Mar. 26-L

Chapter 19 (skip 19.11 and appendix)

 

 

Mar. 28-L

Chapter 20 (skip 20.2)

 

 

Mar. 30-F

Go over PS #5; Quiz #4 (Chapters 16, 18, 19, 20)

 

 

Apr. 2-L

Chapter 21

 

 

Apr. 4-L

out sick

 

 

Apr. 6-F

Go over PS #6; Quiz #5 (Chapters 21, 22)

 

 

Apr. 9-L

Chapter 22

 

 

Apr. 11-L

Chapter 23

 

 

Apr. 13-F

Review for Exam 2

 

 

Apr. 16-L

EXAM 2 (Chapters 9; 14-16; 18-23)

 

 

Apr. 18-L

Chapter 24

 

 

April 20-F

Hand back Exam 2

 

 

April 23-L

Chapter 24 (finish) and Chapter 25 (only through 25.4)

 

IV.       Special topics and applications of Micro Theory

Chapters 31, 34, 36 (skip 36.8-36.10 and appendix), 33 (skip appendix)

 

April 25-L

Chapter 31

 

 

April 27-F

Go over PS #7; Quiz #6 (Chapters 24,25)

 

 

Apr. 30-L

Chapter 31

 

 

May 2-L

Chapter 31/Chapter 34 (intro and section 34.1)

 

 

May 4-F

Review for the final

 

 

May 7-L

Review for the final

 

Updates to this syllabus and other course materials will be posted on Ella.

 

 

 

If a learning disability or religious holiday will require any special arrangements, please come to my office hours or schedule an appointment during the first two weeks of the semester so that I can do my best to accommodate your needs.