Introduction/Orientation

These are my study buddies:
rvmorton0907@gmail.com
fun90012000@hotmail.com

The rest is copied from the downloadable syllybus:
THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA
DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMICS

Introductory Microeconomics

Professor: Robert G. Gateman Course: Microeconomics 101
Office: Room 903, Buchanan Tower Semester: SEP 2009
Telephone: 822-5088 Email: HYPERLINK mailto:gateman@unixg.ubc.ca gateman@interchange.ubc.ca

SYLLABUS




Introduction

In this course you will investigate economic thinking applied to the basic market mechanism. Fundamentally, you will learn how the behaviour of the consumer and the firm establish the demand for and the supply of goods and services at the market level. The theory of the consumer, the theory of the firm, and the theory of exchange will form the core of your study. This analysis will be applied to the operation of the firm under different market structures. Your investigation into microeconomics will conclude with a look into current Canadian public policy issues.

The objective of the course is to familiarize you with these topics and to encourage a long-lasting interest in the application of economic principles and economic thinking to general business life. To such ends, a great deal of emphasis will be placed on current applications, Canadian economic reality, and deciphering current newspaper reports.

The goal of the course on the other hand is to assist you in developing some new techniques to analyze, synthesize, and evaluate in a creative and yet effective manner. You may find the thinking approaches used in this class somewhat foreign at first, but hopefully you will acquire some comfort with the new methodologies as the course continues.

Prerequisites

There are no prerequisites for this course. It may be helpful to take econ101 before econ102, but this order is certainly not required. The course will focus on explaining economic principles using elementary algebra and geometry. You can succeed in the course without a knowledge of calculus  .
University Closures

UBC is closed on Monday, 12 October, Thanksgiving Day, and Wednesday, 11 November, Remembrance Day; consequently, as these are statutory holidays, there will be no lectures nor tutorials held on these dates. These lectures or tutorials may be rescheduled.

Textbooks

1. gBook: Gateman, R., MicroManual Fall 2009 (make sure you get the updated edition)

2. Text, Studyguide and Online Access: Gateman, R., Microeconomics September 2009, 12th ed., PearsonEd, Toronto, 2007

Note:
Both are available at DISCOUNT TEXTBOOKS, 206 – 5728 University Boulevard (UBC Village Above McDonald’s) Telephone: 604-221-1329.
Both may be purchased as a “package” at a favourable price from Discount Textbooks.
The text/studyguide includes a free access code to the online etext, estudyguide, practice assignments, mandatory quizzes and MyEconLab.

Course Organization

The final course grade will be determined according to the following weighting:

Term Work (Quizzes & Attendance) 15%
Mid-term Examination I (50 Minutes) 20%
Mid-term Examination II (50 Minutes) 25%
Final Examination (120Minutes) 40%

TOTAL 100%

Midterms are preset and cannot be changed without prior (2 weeks) written approval from your professor. If permission is granted, you will be given a form to submit to the examination invigilator. The deferred midterm is prescheduled for the first Monday after the Friday exam, at 9 am. For deferred midterms, see FAQ’s on the homepage.

Final Exams will be cumulative, covering all the material studied in the course. The final exam for our course will be on set sometime during the exam period 8 – 22 December. You must keep this entire time available until the Exam Schedule is posted sometime mid-course. For deferred finals, see FAQ’s on the homepage.

Lectures
Lecture sessions are scheduled thrice a week, M/W/F, commencing the week of 7 Sep., with the final scheduled class on 4 Dec. The final examination period is 8 – 22 Dec.
Summer and night classes will consolidate three lectures into one three-hour mega-lecture.

Assignments
You will be expected, without notice, to complete the corresponding assignments in the StudyGuide section of the text and online after each chapter in the text is completed in the lecture. You do not have to hand in these assignments; they are to assist you in learning only. No marks are assigned for these assignments.

Online Quizzes
You will be expected, without notice, to complete the online quiz after each chapter in the text is completed in the lecture. You will have two attempts to do each quiz. Your highest score will be recorded and counted towards your term work. Online quizzes are worth 10% of your course grade. It is recommended that you use the UBC lab computers; if you opt to use another computer, and it crashes or times out, this is your risk.

Tutorials = Labs = Discussion Groups
Yes, you have to register and go to one. If you wish to switch tutorial groups, you must do it online. If you try to change after the deadline, I must sign an Add/Drop Form. Attendance at the tutorial will be worth 5% of your course grade.

Gateman Homepage

All class communication is done online at: HYPERLINK http://www.elearning.ubc.ca www.elearning.ubc.ca

Need Help?

As this is a large class, it is difficult to establish office hours to suit everyone’s schedule; therefore, students are encouraged to consult with the professor/TA in any one of the following manners:
after class at my “Mobile Office Hours”.
WebCT Notice Board (recommended method).
2. voice-mail me at my number 822-5088.
4. email me at HYPERLINK mailto:gateman@interchange.ubc.ca gateman@interchange.ubc.ca (for urgent matters only please)
6. Professor office hours, MWF 1100 – 1145, Rm 903 BuTo.
7. lab hour in which you have registered.
Teaching Assistant office hour, announced by TA in first lab hour.
Teaching Assistant email, announced by TA in first lab hour.
Email Protocol

In an effort to efficiently respond to all students’ inquiries, I will make it a general practice not to respond to queries to which the answer may be found on the homepage. Please make it a part of your life to “look before your leap”. I will also make it a practice to respond to my email only in the morning and mid-afternoon. For obvious reasons, I will not respond to anonymous emails. And finally, let’s save the use of email for relatively urgent matters. Remember the “411 Rule” from the Student Guidebook. Thanks.

Taking Lecture Notes

The professor’s lectures will closely follow his gBook (MicroManual), available from DISCOUNT TEXTBOOKS, 206 – 5728 University Boulevard (UBC Village Above McDonald’s) Telephone: 604-221-1329. The gBook (MicroManual) and text (including text, studyguide and online access code) are available from Discount Textbooks at a favourable price.

Lab/Tutorial/Discussion Groups

Before the first lecture, you will register in a tutorial which will be held for 1 hour per week. If you have been unable to register for a lab through student services centre (SSC) please keep trying. The bottom line is, the discussion group is part of the course, just like the lectures. Technically, if you don’t register for a discussion group, then your name will not appear on my class list. Lost in Translation? This means you don’t exist.

Course Outline

Every effort will be made to present the course in a manner that follows as closely as possible the structure established in the text. Of course, class needs and preferences may dictate amendments to the following course outline; consequently, the professor reserves the right to alter this outline.

Use of Tutors and the Internet

The use of tutors to understand the material is encouraged. But no tutor may be used to assist in the preparation, review, correction and editing of any submitted work. The internet may be used for research, but all references must be correctly identified and footnoted. GENERAL OVERVIEW OF THE COURSE


The course can be over-simplified into the following FIVE theoretical subsections:

I. INTRODUCTION
What is Economics? (1)
How Economists Work, If They Do. (2)

II. DEMAND AND SUPPLY
Basic Theory (3)
Elasticity (4)
Applications (5)

BEHIND DEMAND AND SUPPLY
Behind Demand – Consumer Theory (6)
Behind Supply – Producer Theory (7, 8)

IV DIFFERENT MARKETS
Perfect Competition (9)
Monopoly (10)
Imperfect Competition (11)

V GOVERNMENT AND MARKETS
Efficiency and Public Policy (12)
B. Market Failure (16)







LECTURE SCHEDULE

Lecture Week
Topic

Chapter(s) Lipsey
1
Economic Issues and Concepts
How Economists Work
1
2

2
Demand, Supply, Price

3
3
Elasticity

4
4
Markets in Action

5
5
MIDTERM EXAM #1 Friday, 9 October, 1900
Consumer Theory (Demand Theory)

6

6
Consumer Theory (Demand Theory)
6

7
The Theory of the Firm - SR (Supply Theory)

7
8
The Theory of the Firm – LR (continued)

8
9
MIDTERM EXAM#2 Friday, 6 November, 1900
Perfect Competition

9
10
Monopoly

10
11
Imperfect Competition

11
12
Efficiency and Public Policy
Government Intervention
12
16

FINAL EXAMINATION
TBA by Registrar during 8 - 22 December




WARNING:
1. Note that midterms are on Friday evenings, 1900 – 2000.
2. For summer courses, each calendar week includes two lecture weeks.