ECON 310: Intermediate Microeconomic Theory

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Fall 2024 Syllabus

Table of Contents

Quick Syllabus

Professor

  • Dr. Edward Kung
  • edward.kung@csun.edu

Lectures

  • Section 02: TuTh 10:00am - 11:15am @ Bookstein 1125
  • Section 04: Tu 7:00pm - 9:45pm @ Bookstein 1123

Office Hours

  • TuTh 2:00pm - 3:00pm @ Bookstein 4252

Course Organization

This course meets for 2.5 hours a week, in-person. Attendance is checked and required.

Grading

  • Attendance (10%)

    Attendance in this class will be checked. Everyone starts with full credit (10 pts). For each missed session, an increasing number of points will be deducted. 0 pts are deducted for the first missed class. Afterwards, 1 pt is deducted for the second missed class, 2 pts for the third, and so on. You can earn negative attendance points which will affect the rest of your grade.

  • Homework Assignments (20%)

    Weekly homework assignments will generally consist of a problem set, to be submitted in a greenbook or on stapled sheets of paper. Students can elect to work in groups of up to 3 on homework assignments. If you work in a group, your group only has to make one submission for the whole group. For each problem set, only a randomly selected set of questions will be graded.

  • Exams (70%)

    There will be two midterm exams and a final. The midterms are each worth 20% of your grade and the final exam is worth 30% of the grade.

  • Grading Scale

    A A- B+ B B- C+ C C- D F
    100-93 92-90 89-87 86-83 82-80 79-77 76-73 72-70 69-60 59-0

    Depending on the performance of the class, a curve may or may not be applied before assigning letter grades.

  • Grading Rubric

    Most free-response questions will be graded out of 5 on the following scale:

    Score Rubric
    5 You followed all instructions. Your work is accurate and demonstrates a mastery of the material.
    4 You failed to follow all instructions OR your work has minor inaccuracies but still demonstrates an understanding of the material.
    3 Your work has major inaccuracies OR your work demonstrates only a partial understanding of the material.
    2 You made an attempt, but your work has major inaccuracies or does not demonstrate an understanding of the material (this includes correct answers without shown work).
    1 You made only a partial attempt at completing the assignment; or you made an attempt but I had trouble reading or understanding it.
    0 You did not make any attempt at the assignment. Note that if you do not attempt some parts of an assignment, you may receive a zero for the whole assignment.

Tentative Schedule

Week Dates Session 1 Session 2
1 8/26 - 8/30 Introduction & Math Review Single Variable Optimization I
2 9/2 - 9/6 Supply Curves Demand Curves
3 9/9 - 9/13 Short Run Competitive Equilibrium Application: Taxation
4 9/16 - 9/20 Discussion No class (conference)
5 9/23 - 9/27 Review Midterm 1
6 9/30 - 10/4 Multivariate Optimization I Multivariate Optimization II
7 10/7 - 10/11 Theory of Consumer Choice Exploring Utility Functions
8 10/14 - 10/18 Application: In-kind vs. Monetary Transfers Application: Price Deflators and Real Income
9 10/21 - 10/25 Discussion Review
10 10/28 - 11/1 Midterm 2 No class (work on essays)
11 11/4 - 11/8 Monopolies Price Discrimination
12 11/11 - 11/15 Game Theory Oligopolies
13 11/18 - 11/22 Risk and Insurance *No class (conference)
14 11/25 - 11/29 Saving and Borrowing NO CLASS - THANKSGIVING
15 12/2 - 12/6 Discussion Discussion
16 12/9 - 12/13 Review NO CLASS - SEMESTER ENDS

Final Exam:

  • Section 02 (TuTh 10:00am): Thursday 12/12 10:15am - 12:15pm
  • Section 04 (Tu 7:00pm): Tuesday 12/17 8:00pm - 10:00pm

Course Description

Prerequisites

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Course Overview

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Course Learning Outcomes

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Course Materials

Textbook (Optional)

This course is self contained based on my own materials. If you are interested in delving deeper into the subject matter, Intermediate Microeconomics and its Applications by Nicholson and Snyder can serve as a helpful reference. However, I won’t be assigning any readings or problems from the textbook.

Calculator (Required)

You will need a calculator for this course. Any calculator is fine.

Scantrons (Form 882, Required)

You will need these for exams. You can use off brand, but they need to be compatible with Scantron Form 882.

Exam Policies and Information

Exams will be given in person, on paper. All exams are open book. You are allowed to use a calculator, but no other electronic device besides that. You can bring printed or hand written notes.

Additional Course Policies and Resources

Communications Policy

My preferred form of communication is in-person after class or at office hours, or by email. If you email me and I do not respond within 24 hours, do not hesitate to re-send the email. Sometimes emails get lost in the shuffle.

Late and Missing Assignment Policy

Requests for absences, extensions, or late submissions must be submitted by email with accompanying documentation. Only unanticipated family and medical emergencies, or other extraordinary events, will be considered valid reasons. Events that could have reasonably been anticipated, such as heavy academic workload, busy work schedule, or friends’ birthday parties, will not be accepted as valid reasons.

AI Policy

You are allowed to use AI in homework assignments to help refine your writing and your thinking. You are not allowed to copy and paste text or code directly from an AI generator.

If I suspect your work of being copy-pasted from AI, and if that is also corroborated through an AI detection tool, you will receive a reduced grade. You will receive the reduced grade even if you did not actually use AI. This is because “writing too much like AI” is itself a weakness. For example, a cover letter that looks like it was written by AI will make the recruiter think you were too lazy or disinterested to write the letter yourself (even if you actually did.)

If you are concerned about the possibility that you write too much like AI, you can run your own work through an AI detector first. However, this is quite unlikely as the most common AI chatbots have a fairly distinctive style that makes it easy to distinguish from human writing.

Academic Integrity

By taking this course, you certify that all work is your own. Plagiarism is not allowed, and you are not allowed to have someone else do any course work in your place unless explicitly allowed by the syllabus. If it is discovered that you have violated academic integrity on any assignment, you will receive a grade of zero for that assignment. Repeated violations of academic integrity may result in a failing grade for the entire course.

Minimum Attempt Policy

You must at least attempt to answer every question on an assignment. If you skip a question without attempting an answer, you may receive a grade of zero for the entire assignment.

Why do I have a minimum attempt policy? Because demonstrating effort is important, especially in the workplace. Not even attempting a task is worse than attempting it and getting it wrong. I want to encourage all students to at least make an attempt at all tasks. As Wayne Gretzky said, “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.”

Special Needs

If you have a disability or need special accommodations, please register with the Disability Resources and Educational Services (DRES) office or the National Center of Deafness (NCOD). If you would like to discuss your need for accommodations with me, please contact me to set up an appointment.

Special consideration may be given to students with caregiving responsibilities at home (children, disabled family members, etc.). Please get in touch with me if you need an extension and have caregiving responsibilities.

Emergency Food and Shelter

If you are experiencing an emergency need for food or shelter, do not hesitate to utilize the resources available to you on campus. More information: https://www.csun.edu/heart.

University Counseling Services

If you have need for counseling regarding any personal or academic issues, do not hesitate to reach out to the University’s counseling services. More information: https://www.csun.edu/counseling/students.

Tutoring Services

Tutoring services may be available for this course. Please contact the Economics Department for information: https://www.csun.edu/economics.

Diversity Statement

It is my intent that students from diverse backgrounds and perspectives will be well served by this course, that students’ learning needs will be addressed both in and out of the classroom, and that the diversity students bring to the class will be viewed as a resource, strength, and benefit. It is my intent to present materials and activities in a way that is respectful to students from all backgrounds, and that students from all backgrounds have an equal opportunity to succeed in the course. If you have any concerns, feel free to reach out to me.

All Other Policies

In general, the course follows all relevant CSUN policies and procedures as documented here: https://catalog.csun.edu/policies/alphabetical. Please pay special attention to the rules on attendance and academic dishonesty.