ECON 111 - Principles of Microeconomics (Fall 2017)

Syllabus

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Lecture slides: (blue subtopics below link to YouTube videos on those topics; italicized subtopics are optional and will not be covered on exams)

Introduction: An intro to economics; positive and normative; assumptions, models and implications.
Consumer Theory 1: Preferences; rationality; the utility function; opportunity cost; marginal utility.
Consumer Theory 2: Canonical utility functions, indifference curves, ordinal equivalence, marginal rate of substitution, budget constraints.
Consumer Theory 3: Acronyms; choice with cd and log preferences; choice with perfect complements; choice with perfect substitutes; the golden rule.
Consumer Theory 4: Demand; market demand; changes in demand v. quantity demanded; income and substitution effects & price elasticity of demand.
Producer Theory 1: Intro; production; isoquants and isocosts; minimizing cost; cost curve.
Producer Theory 2: Types of costs; maximizing profits; minimizing losses; supply.
Producer Theory 3: Market supply; elasticity; long-run; capital and investment; present values.
Markets and Efficiency 1: Markets; demand shocks; supply shocks, surplus and efficiency.
Markets and Efficiency 2: Exchange economies; utilitarianism; Pareto efficiency; productive efficiency; allocative efficiency; edgeworth boxes.
Industrial Organization 1 (Monopoly and Monopolistic Competition): Monopoly; marginal revenue; welfare analysis; policy; monopolistic competition.
Industrial Organization 2 (Oligopoly): Intro; cartels; Cournot; Bertrand.
Industrial Organization 3 (Game Theory): Intro; Nash equilibrium; prisoner's dilemma; finitely repeated games; infinitely repeated games.
Extensions 1 (Externalities, Public Goods, and CP Resources): Externalities; correcting for externalities; examples; public goods and common-pool resources.
Extensions 2 (Taxation and Information): Taxes; tax bases; tax incidence; DWL; uncertainty; adverse selection; signaling and screening; moral hazard.

Problem sets: 1 (Solutions), 2 (Solutions), 3 (Solutions), 4 (Solutions), 5 (Solutions), 6 (Solutions)

Optional practice problems: 1 (Solutions)

Exams: Midterm 1 (Solutions, Results), Midterm 2 (Solutions, Results), Final (Solutions, Results)

Past exams (from Winter 2017): Midterm 1 (Solutions, Results), Midterm 2 (Solutions, Results), Final (Solutions, Results)

Homework readings (other than textbook) and videos:

September 13 - Friedman (1953)
September 18 - The Rationality Debate, Simmering in Stockholm & Are we in control of our own decisions?
September 27 - Choice, happiness and spaghetti sauce & The paradox of choice & Joan Robinson's critique of utility
November 15 - New thoughts on capital in the 21st century & We need to talk about an injustice

Other fun articles/videos (optional):

2010 was a good year to die & Split or steal & Taxes and birth timing

Student resources:

Prefect: Adam Bigelow (bigelowa@carleton.edu)
Economics Department Student Advisors: TBD

NOBEL PRIZE WINNER PREDICTION CONTEST (y'all lost)