Download Course Information Introduction to Economics I (ECON 1001

Course Information Introduction to Economics I (ECON 1001) Course Code ECON 1001 (EC10D) Course Title Introduction to Economics I Course Discipline Economics Units of Credit Three (3) Pre­requisite None Semester of Offering Semester 1, 2009/10 Course Lecturers Dr. Marlene Attzs, Dr. Althea La Foucade, Ms. Christine Laptiste, Dr. Anne­Marie Mohammed, Dr. Ewan Scott and Mrs. Patricia Wescott. Course Description ECON 1001 ­ Introduction to Economics I, is one of the core courses offered by the Department of Economics. It is a foundation course for the understanding of economics and the Department is committed to supporting students in their quest to understand and indeed to excel. Please feel free to consult with your respective lecturers and tutors during the semester as any course problems/issues arise. Students are also strongly encouraged to visit the lecturers during stipulated office hours to discuss various issues and concerns. Alternatively, the secretariat in the Economics Department Office (Room 203) will be pleased to arrange a special appointment if necessary. . Learning Outcomes 1. Students should be equipped with some tools and methods of economic analysis that will serve as the basis for a more advanced course of study in microeconomic theory. 2. The non­specialists economics student should have a good introduction to the fundamental principles of microeconomics. 3. Both specialist and non­specialist economics students should be able to use the concepts to which they are introduced to facilitate analysis of the functioning of the micro­economy, inclusive of those in the Caribbean.
ECON 1001, Semester 1 2009/10 ­ 1 ­ Course Delivery Course Outline Please download a copy of the course outline by logging onto the myelearning site at : http://myelearning.sta.uwi.edu/login/index.php Lectures Students will have two (2) contact hours for lectures weekly. Please select one (1) from the following lecture options :
· Monday, 10­12noon, JFK Auditorium
· Monday (EU), 5­7 pm, LR 2
· Wednesday (EU), 5­7pm, FSS 101 (East and West)
· Thursday (EU), 5­7pm, MLT
· Friday, 10­12 noon, FSS 107
· Friday, 1­3pm, FSS 107 N.B. STUDENTS ARE ONLY REQUIRED TO ATTEND ONE 2­ HOUR LECTURE PER WEEK Tutorials Students will have one (1) contact hour for lectures weekly. Tutorials will normally begin two weeks after lectures. Please check the notices posted at the Department of Economics or at Room 200 for further information. Tutorial sheets are designed to help students internalise and apply concepts taught during the lectures. It is expected that students will complement material covered in the lecture sessions with use of the texts and recommended references. Students will be provided with tutorial questions which they are required to prepare before the weekly tutorial session. Every effort should be made to complete each tutorial sheet and please ensure that you prepare the tutorial questions to maximise your benefits from the tutorials! There will be one 1­hour tutorial session per week. Please visit the myelearning site at: http://myelearning.sta.uwi.edu/login/index.php to select and register for tutorial and lecture sessions for ECON 1001. You may also download the tutorial sheets for the course from this site.
ECON 1001, Semester 1 2009/10 ­ 2 ­ Assessment A FINAL EXAM FOR 100%. Students are reminded that completion of the tutorial sheets will put you in good stead to be successful in the final exam. Main Textbook ECONOMICS by Lipsey & Chrystal. Eleventh (11th) Edition. Oxford University Press. Course Units and Description Unit Number Unit Name & Description Unit 1 Introduction and basic concepts Introduction: The Economic Problem, Good Economics and Economic Systems Scarcity, Choice and Opportunity Cost; Lewis dictum; Brief introduction to Caribbean economic issues. Types of Economic Systems – Traditional, Command, Market and Mixed. Reference: Chapters 1 & 2 Preferences and Utility Unit 2 Total and Marginal Utility – pillars for rational decisions; the “Law” of Diminishing Marginal Utility; Consumer Equilibrium based on the Utility Theory Approach; from Marginal Utility to the Demand Curve Reference: Chapter 5 Indifference Curve Analysis Unit 3 Indifference Curves: What are they? Properties of an Indifference Curve; Slope of the Indifference Curve (Marginal Rate of Substitution); Principle of Diminishing Marginal Rate of Substitution; The Budget Line: What is it? Slope of the Budget Line; Factors Resulting in a Pivot and Shift of the Budget Line; Consumer Equilibrium; Derivation of the Demand Curve; Income and Substitution Effects of a Price Change Reference: Chapter 5
ECON 1001, Semester 1 2009/10 ­ 3 ­ Unit 4 Consumer Demand Quantity Demanded; Determinants of Quantity Demanded; Demand and Prices; The Demand Schedule and the Demand Curve. Movements along the Demand Curve vs Shifts of the Demand Curve. Market demand. Reference : Chapter 3 Unit 5 Supply and Equilibrium Price Determination Quantity Supplied; Determinants of Quantity Supplied; Supply and Price; The Supply Schedule and the Supply Curve. Movements along the Supply Curve vs. Shifts of the Supply Curve, market supply ; Determination of Price by Demand and Supply; Laws of Demand and Supply; Restraining the Market Mechanism: Price Ceilings and Price Floors Unit 6 Reference : Chapter 3 When Market Conditions Change Elasticity Analysis Elasticity: The Measure of Responsiveness; Price Elasticity of Demand ­ the Measurement of Price Elasticity, Determinants of Price Elasticity; Price Elasticity of Demand and the Shapes of the Demand Curves. Other Demand Elasticities: Income Elasticity of Demand; Cross Elasticity of Demand; Elasticity of Supply; Determinants of Supply Elasticity. Reference: Chapter 4 Making Key Business Decisions Unit 7 The Framework Time Horizons for Decision Making ­ The Short Run and The Long Run; The Production Function ­ Input Choices, The Choice and Optimal Input Combinations; Isoquants and Isocosts; Substitutability, Output and Cost; Total, Average and Marginal Products; Marginal and Average Product Curves; The "Law" of Diminishing Returns; Optimal Quantity of an Input and Diminishing Returns; Cost curves; Fixed costs and Variable Costs; Economies of Scale; Long­Run versus Short­Run Costs. Production; costs and profits; profit­maximizing output. References: Chapter 6
ECON 1001, Semester 1 2009/10 ­ 4 ­ Unit 8 Competitive Markets Market Structure and Behaviour; The Significance of Market Structure; Perfect Competition Defined; Demand and Revenue for a Firm in Perfect Competition; Short – Run Equilibrium Rules for All Profit Maximising Firms; Short­Run Profitability of the Perfectly Competitive Firm; Short­Run Losses; Shutdown and Break­even Analysis; Short­Run Supply Curve of the Competitive Firm and the Competitive Industry Long­Run Equilibrium: The Effect of Entry and Exit; Conditions for Long­Run Equilibrium; The Long­Run Industry Supply Curve; Zero Economic Profit; Perfect Competition and Efficiency Reference: Chapters 7 Monopoly Monopoly Defined; Causes of Monopoly: Barriers to Entry and Cost Advantages; Cost and Revenue in the Short­Run; Short and Long­Run Monopoly Equilibrium and the Determination of Profit Maximising Output; Natural Monopoly; Comparison of Monopoly and Perfect Competition; Can Monopolies be Good? Price Discrimination under Monopoly Reference: Chapters 8 & 9 Department of Economics September 2009
ECON 1001, Semester 1 2009/10 ­ 5 ­