Download GRANITE HILLS HIGH SCHOOL Department of Social Sciences

GRANITE HILLS HIGH SCHOOL
Department of Social Sciences
Term: Spring Semester
Microeconomics AP
COURSE SYLLABUS
Class Meeting Time: Period 4 (10:18-11:16) Period 5 (11:22-12:20)
Full name of Instructor: Christopher M. Tyler
Office Phone: 1-760-961-2290 EXT: 2504
Office E-mail: chris_tyler @avusd.org
Class Location: D504
Office Hours: Monday – Friday 2:00 P.M. – 4:00 P.M.
I.
Course Description (College Board AP)
The purpose of an AP course in Microeconomics is to provide a thorough
understanding of the principles of economics that apply to the functions of individual
decision makers, both consumers and producers, within the larger economic system. It
places primary emphasis on the nature and functions of product markets, and includes
the study of factor markets and of the role of government in promoting greater efficiency
and equity in the economy.
II.
Microeconomic Topics (College Board AP)
I.
Basic Economic Concepts
The study of microeconomics requires students to understand that, in any economy,
the existence of limited resources along with unlimited wants results in the need to
make choices. An effective AP course, therefore, begins by introducing the concepts of
opportunity costs and trade-offs, and illustrates these concepts by using the production
possibilities curve or other analytical examples. The course can then proceed to a
consideration of how different types of economies determine which goods and services
to produce, how to produce them, and to whom to distribute them. It is also important
that students understand why and how specialization and exchange increase the total
output of goods and services. Students need to be able to differentiate between
absolute and comparative advantage, to identify comparative advantage from
differences in opportunity costs, and to apply the concept of comparative advantage, in
order to determine the basis under which mutually advantageous trade can take place
between countries. Specific examples from actual economic situations can be used to
illustrate and reinforce the principles involved. The importance of property rights, the
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role of incentives in the functioning of free markets, and the principle of marginal
analysis should be highlighted.
II.
The Nature and Functions of Product Markets
The study of the nature and functions of product markets falls into four broad
areas: supply and demand models, consumer choice, production and costs, and theory
of the firm.
A well-planned AP course requires an analysis of the determinants of supply and
demand and the ways in which changes in these determinants affect equilibrium price
and output. In particular, the course helps students make the important distinction
between movements along the curves and shifts in the curves. The course also
emphasizes the impact of government policies, such as price floors and ceilings, excise
taxes, tariffs, and quotas on the free-market price and quantity exchanged. The
concepts of consumer surplus and producer surplus should also be introduced.
Students are expected to comprehend and apply the concepts of elasticity, including
calculating price, cross-price, income elasticities of demand, and the price elasticity
of supply.
The next area covered in the course is the theory of consumer choice. Students
should gain an understanding of the basic postulates underlying consumer choice:
utility, the law of diminishing marginal utility, and utility-maximizing conditions, and their
application in consumer decision-making and in explaining the law of demand. By
examining the demand side of the product market, students learn how incomes, prices,
and tastes affect consumer purchases. Here it is important that students understand
how to derive an individual’s demand curve, how individual and market demand curves
are related, and how the income and substitution effects explain the shape of the
demand curve.
The third area covers production and cost analysis both in the short run and in
the long run. This section begins with an introduction of the short-run production
function, describing the relationship between the quantity of inputs and the quantity of
output. Within the context of the production function, students should understand
average and marginal products as well as the law of diminishing marginal returns.
Students learn the link between productivity and costs, and examine the relationships
among the short-run costs: total, average, and marginal. With an introduction of the
concept of cost minimization, this section also includes a discussion of long-run costs
and an examination of economies and diseconomies of scale, as well as returns
to scale.
The fourth area covers the behavior of firms in different types of market
structures. This section begins with the definition of profits and making the distinction
between accounting and economic profits, and establishing the profit-maximizing rule,
using marginal analysis. In covering perfect competition, the course focuses on
determining short-run and long-run equilibrium, both for the profit-maximizing individual
firm and for the industry, and on the equilibrium relationships among price, marginal and
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average revenues, marginal and average costs, and profits. Students should
understand the adjustment process to long-run equilibrium. In considering the market
behavior of a monopolist, students identify and examine the sources of monopoly power
and understand the relationship between a monopolist’s demand curve and its marginal
revenue curve. Students learn how a monopoly’s total revenue changes along its
demand curve as price varies. Having learned the behavior of monopolies and perfect
competition, students should compare a monopolist’s price, level of output, and profit
with those of a firm operating in a perfectly competitive market. By paying particular
attention to the concept of allocative efficiency, students learn how and why competitive
markets achieve an efficient allocation of resources, whereas monopolists do not. The
concept of deadweight loss is a good device to show the efficiency loss due to
monopoly. The model of price discrimination provides another dimension of monopoly
behavior that students need to learn and understand.
In covering oligopoly, the course stresses the interdependency of firms and their
tendency to collude or to form a cartel. With a simple payoff matrix, the basic gametheory model should be used to enhance a student’s understanding of the
interdependent behavior of firms in an oligopolistic market and identification of
dominant strategies.
Finally, the course considers the market structure of monopolistic competition
and highlights the importance of product differentiation and the role of advertising in the
behavior of firms. The course then proceeds to examine firm behavior in the short run
and in the long run, and the existence of excess capacity and its implication for
efficiency.
III. Factor Markets
In this section of the course, students also apply the concepts of supply and
demand to markets for factors such as labor, capital, and land. Students analyze the
concept of derived demand, understand how a factor’s marginal product and the
marginal revenue product affect the demand for the factor, and consider the role of
factor prices in the allocation of scarce resources. When the markets for different factors
are considered separately, most attention should be given to the labor market,
particularly labor supply and wage and employment determination. Although the course
may emphasize perfectly competitive labor markets, the effect of deviations from perfect
competition, such as minimum wages, unions, monopsonies, and product market
monopolies, can also be considered. The principles studied in the analysis of the labor
market should be applied to the markets for land and capital to explain the
determination of economic rent and the price of capital. By studying the determination of
factor prices, students gain an understanding of how the market determines the
distribution of income and the sources of income inequality in a market economy.
IV. Market Failure and the Role of Government
It is important for students to understand the arguments for and against government
intervention in an otherwise competitive market. Students examine the conditions for
economic efficiency, using the marginal social benefit and marginal social cost principle,
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and the ways in which externalities, public goods, and the market distribution of income
create market failures even in competitive free-market economies. In addition, students
are expected to study the effectiveness of government policies such as subsidies,
taxes, quantity controls, and public provision of goods and services, which are designed
to correct market failures and achieve economic efficiency. It is also important both to
emphasize that monopolies can cause market failures when they use their market
power to engage in behavior that restrains competition and to examine the
government’s attempt to solve such problems by using antitrust policy and regulations.
Although there is not a generally accepted standard for judging the equity of an
economy’s income distribution, a well-designed course will incorporate key measures of
income distribution (Lorenz curve and Gini coefficient) and examine the impact of
government tax policies and transfer programs,
III.
Microeconomic Topic Outline (College Board AP)
This is an outline of the major content areas covered by the AP Microeconomics
Exam. The percentages indicated reflect the approximate percentage in the multiplechoice section of the exam devoted to each content area. The outline is a guide and is
not intended as an exhaustive list of topics.
Content Area
Percentage Goals of Exam
(multiple-choice section)
I. Basic Economic Concepts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ………………. . . (8–14%)
A. Scarcity, choice, and opportunity cost
B. Production possibilities curve
C. Comparative advantage, absolute advantage, specialization, and trade
D. Economic systems
E. Property rights and the role of incentives
F. Marginal analysis
II. The Nature and Functions of Product Markets . . . . . ………………………….…………. . (55–70%)
A. Supply and demand (15–20%)
1. Market equilibrium
2. Determinants of supply and demand
3. Price and quantity controls
4. Elasticity
a. Price, income, and cross-price elasticities of demand
b. Price elasticity of supply
5. Consumer surplus, producer surplus, and market efficiency
6. Tax incidence and deadweight loss
B. Theory of consumer choice (5–10%)
1. Total utility and marginal utility
2. Utility maximization: equalizing marginal utility per dollar
3. Individual and market demand curves
4. Income and substitution effects
C. Production and costs (10–15%)
1. Production functions: short and long run
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2. Marginal product and diminishing returns
3. Short-run costs
4. Long-run costs and economies of scale
5. Cost minimizing input combination
D. Firm behavior and market structure (25–35%)
1. Profit:
a. Accounting versus economic profits
b. Normal profit
c. Profit maximization: MR=MC rule
2. Perfect competition
a. Profit maximization
b. Short-run supply and shutdown decision
c. Behavior of firms and markets in the short run and in the long run
d. Efficiency and perfect competition
3. Monopoly
a. Sources of market power
b. Profit maximization
c. Inefficiency of monopoly
d. Price discrimination
e. Natural monopoly
4. Oligopoly
a. Interdependence, collusion, and cartels
b. Game theory and strategic behavior
5. Monopolistic competition
a. Product differentiation and role of advertising
b. Profit maximization
c. Short-run and long-run equilibrium
d. Excess capacity and inefficiency
III. Factor Markets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ………………………………………………... . (10–18%)
A. Derived factor demand
B. Marginal revenue product
C. Labor market and firms’ hiring of labor
D. Market distribution of income
IV. Market Failure and the Role of Government …………………………………………………(12–18%)
A. Externalities
1. Marginal social benefit and marginal social cost
2. Positive externalities
3. Negative externalities
4. Remedies
B. Public goods
1. Public versus private goods
2. Provision of public goods
C. Public policy to promote competition
1. Antitrust policy
2. Regulation
D. Income distribution
1. Equity
2. Sources of income inequality
IV.
Required Textbooks
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Miller, R. (2006). Economics Today. New York: Addison Wesley Publishing
Company.
V.
Other Materials
1. E-mail account
2. 1- college ruled notebook (3 ring or spiral)
3. Pencils or Pens
VI.
Classroom Regulations
1. Come to class on time.
Standing outside the door and rushing in after the bell has begun to ring will
constitute a tardy. You must be INSIDE the door when it begins ringing to be counted
on time.
2. Begin the start up activity within 1 minute after the tardy bell.
Each day when you enter the room their will be a warm up on the screen. It will
consist of an economics cartoon, quote, or brief video. Directions will always be on the
screen accompanying the warm up.
3. Attend to personal needs before coming to class.
Class time is instructional time. Bathroom passes are available, but you will be given
a particular and reasonable amount of time in which to return. Abuse of this privilege will
result in action being taken against your right to have this privilege.
4. Remain in your assigned seat unless you have permission to get up.
Throw scraps away at the end of the period on your way out.
5. Use polite speech and body language.
Unkind teasing and impolite behavior is unacceptable.
VII. Course Requirements
1. Notes ( 200 pts per exam) –
There are twenty one exams total in this course. Notes will be check on each exam day.
2. Supplementary Readings (40 pts each per week)–
There will be 19 total. These will be e-mailed by each Monday and due that Friday.
3. Homework Assignments (20 pts each)–
Typically you will receive homework twice in a week.
4. Quizzes (200 pts each) –
Generally there will be a quiz each week; typically these are administered on
Wednesdays or Thursdays.
5. Tests ( 400 pts each) –
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There will be twenty one exams over the course of the semester.
VIII. Evaluation and Assessment
The evaluation and assessment criteria for each assignment are detailed in this
syllabus and through explanations provided in class. Whenever possible, rubrics will be
provided. Points for each required assignment are specified in the “Requirements”
section of the syllabus. You must attain a C or better to pass this course.
A
B
C
F
IX.
90 – 100%
80 – 89%
70 - 79%
< 70%
Course Policies
1. Attendance is a vital part of this experiential-based learning environment.
Absences will affect your attendance grade, tardiness and early departures may
also affect your grade. Please see your professor immediately if you anticipate
any difficulties in fulfilling your attendance requirements.
2. Cell phones, PDAs, pagers, and beepers ideally should be turned off.
3. All assignments for the course are to be completed and submitted on time in
order to receive credit.
4. WASC guidelines for assignments are a two-hour minimum outside of class for
every hour in class, so plan your time accordingly.
5. Unless specified otherwise, the style standard by which formal writing
assignments will be evaluated is the APA Style Guide. Unless otherwise
specified, please type assignments using a 10 to 12 point font size.
6. All students enrolled in this course are bound by the Academic Integrity and
Dishonesty Policy including plagiarism, fabrication, academic dishonesty, and
cheating (printed in the Granite Hills High School Student Handbook). Students
who engage in academic dishonesty may automatically receive an "F" in the
course.
7. You are responsible for retaining syllabi and all course assignments and
records. These can be helpful in the event of possible grade questions and/or
changes.
X.
Professor Assistance List
Professor
University
E-Mail
Philippe Aghion
Alberto Alesina
Attila Ambrus
Susan Athey
Harvard
Harvard
Harvard
Harvard
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
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Gary Chamberlain
Eric Chaney
Nicola FuchsSchündeln
Claudia Goldin
Jerry Green
Dilip Abreu
JOSEPH ALTONJI
GIUSEPPE
MOSCARINI
XIAOHONG CHEN
Yacine Ait-Sahalia
Andres Aradillas-Lopez
Orley Ashenfelter
Marco Battaglini
Smita Brunnermeier
Sylvain Chassang
Avinash K. Dixit
Alan B. Krueger
Thomas C. Leonard
Stephen Morris
Ulrich Müller
Daniel Klein
Peter T. Leeson
Walter E. Williams
Ralph Andreano
William Brock
Douglas Almond
Jere R. Behrman
Philipp Kircher
Jing Li
George J. Mailath
Neil Bruce
Robert Halvorsen
Sergio Urzúa
Harvard
Harvard
[email protected]
[email protected]
Harvard
Harvard
Harvard
Princeton
Yale
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
Yale
Yale
Princeton
Princeton
Princeton
Princeton
Princeton
Princeton
Princeton
Princeton
George Washington University
Yale
Princeton
George Mason University
George Mason University
George Mason University
University of Wisconsin
University of Wisconsin
Columbia
University of Pennsylvania
University of Pennsylvania
University of Pennsylvania
University of Pennsylvania
University of Washington
University of Washington
NorthWestern University
Ian Savage
MARISTELLA
BOTTICINI
LARRY G. EPSTEIN
IVAN FERNANDEZVAL
JACOB GLAZER
TODD IDSON
ZVIKA NEEMAN
BENJAMIN, Daniel
Lee J. Alston
Martin Byford
Wolfgang Keller
NorthWestern University
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected] <[email protected]>
[email protected]
<[email protected]>
Boston University
Boston University
[email protected]
[email protected]
Boston University
Boston University
Boston University
Boston University
Cornell University
University of Colorado:Boulder
University of Colorado:Boulder
University of Colorado:Boulder
University of Maryland
University of Maryland
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
Thomas C. Schelling
Peter C. Cramton
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XI.
Extra Credit Reading List (+200 E.C. per book report)
(Limit two per student)
Freakonomics [Revised and Expanded]: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden
Side of Everything by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner (Hardcover - Oct 17,
2006)
Average Price: $18.45
ISBN-10: 0061234001
The Undercover Economist: Exposing Why the Rich Are Rich, the Poor Are Poor-and Why You Can Never Buy a Decent Used Car!
By Tim Harford (Paperback - Jan 30, 2007)
Average Price: $10.17
ISBN-10: 0345494016
Armchair Economist: Economics & Everyday Life (Paperback)
By Steven E. Landsburg
Average Price: $11.20
ISBN-10: 0029177766
Hidden Order: The Economics of Everyday Life (Paperback)
By David D. Friedman
Average Price: $10.85
ISBN-10: 0887308856
Rogue Economics: Capitalism's New Reality
By Loretta Napoleoni
Average Price: $17.12
ISBN-10: 1583228241
The Blood Bankers: Tales from the Global Underground Economy
By: James S. Henry
Average Price: $16.77
ISBN-10: 1560257156
(If you have another book that would be appropriate to add to the list please bring it in
for evaluation)
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