UNIVERSITY OF ALBERTA
Department of Economics
ECON 384 – B2
Intermediate Microeconomic Theory II Winter 2020
Instructor:
Andrew Eckert Office: Tory 9-29 Phone: 492-3959
Email: [email protected]
Class Schedule:
Lectures: Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 12:00 to 12:50, in T 1 91.
Office Hours: Monday and Wednesday from 2:00 – 3:30 or by appointment (see me after class or contact me by telephone or email). Additional office hours may be scheduled before exams and assignment due dates.
Prerequisites:
Students must already have credit for ECON 281 and 299 or equivalent, and Math 156 or
equivalent. Whether you have these prerequisites, or have obtained the consent of the department to take the class without these prerequisites, will be checked. Students who do not satisfy the prerequisites will be notified to drop the class.
Purpose of the Course:
This course is a continuation of the microeconomic theory developed in ECON 281. Topics include intertemporal choice, choice under uncertainty, oligopoly, game theory, externalities, public goods, asymmetric information and general equilibrium.
Evaluation:
The final grade for the course will be determined according to the following formula:
Midterm Exam 1 (February 5) 25%
Midterm Exam 2 (March 11) 25%
Final Exam (April 17, tentative) 50%
The final exam will be cumulative, covering material from the entire term. More weight will be placed on material presented after the second midterm exam.
Grades are not given for attendance or in-class participation.
The formula given above will be used to compute a grade out of one hundred for the course. In translating these numeric grades to letter grades, letter grades will be assigned in an attempt to achieve a grade point average between 2.7 and 3.3 (ie. approximately a B). Note however that, depending on circumstances, the grade point average of the class may lie outside of this interval.
University policy on missed exams and term work can be found in the Attendance section of the Calendar. Note that approval for missing the midterm exam or for submitting a late assignment is at my discretion. Students who offer a medical justification must submit the Request for Deferral of Examinations and/or Term Work form, available on eClass. Students who wish to request a deferred final exam must apply to the Student Services Office of their home Faculty. Please consult the Calendar for further details.
Students who miss a midterm exam for an approved reason will have the weight of the mid-term placed on the final exam. The deferred final exam, for those granted one, will be held on May 6, 2020, at 10:00 AM.
eClass
I will be using eClass to post course documents. These will include the course outline,
assignments, and powerpoint slides used in class. Powerpoint slides are posted after each lecture.
Sample past exams (without answers) are posted on eClass. If you would like to discuss the answers with me, please come see me during office hours.
Books and Materials:
The required textbook for this course is:
Perloff, Jeffrey M. (2018): Microeconomics, 8th Edition, Pearson.
I will be basing my lectures on the most recent version of the text. If you wish to use a previous edition of the text, please consult with me first regarding compatibility. For certain sections of the course I will be posting additional notes, which will be available on eClass when we start that material.
Course Outline and Readings:
In the following, all chapter references are for Pindyck and Rubinfeld. Please note that all dates listed are approximate. The exact sections covered in each chapter may be changed as the term proceeds. Any changes will be announced in class.
1. Introduction January 6
2. Intertemporal Choice (Chapter 16) January 8 - 13 3. Choice under Uncertainty (Chapter 17) January 15 – 20 4. Review of Monopoly and Market Power (Chapter 11) January 22
5. Oligopoly and Game Theory (Chapters 13 and 14) January 24 – March 2 NOTE: MIDTERM 1 IS ON FEBRUARY 5!!
NOTE: NO CLASSES FEBRUARY 17-21!!
6. General Equilibrium (Chapter 10) March 6 - 16
NOTE: NO CLASS MARCH 4 DUE TO STUDENT’S UNION ELECTION FORUM!!
NOTE: MIDTERM 2 IS ON MARCH 11!!
7. Externalities and Public Goods (Chapter 18) March 18 – 25 8. Asymmetric Information (Chapter 19) March 27 – April 1 9. Contracts and Moral Hazard (Chapter 20) April 3 – April 8
Other Notes:
Audio or video recording, digital or otherwise, of lectures, labs, seminars or any other teaching environment by students is allowed only with the prior written consent of the instructor or as part of an approved accommodation plan. Student or instructor content, digital or otherwise, created and/or used within the context of the course is to be used solely for personal study, and is not to be used or distributed for any other purpose without prior written consent from the content author(s).
Policy about course outlines can be found in the Evaluation Procedures and Grading System section of the University Calendar.
The University of Alberta is committed to the highest standards of academic integrity and honesty. Students are expected to be familiar with these standards regarding academic honesty and to uphold the policies of the University in this respect. Students are particularly urged to familiarize themselves with the provisions of the Code of Student Behaviour (online at www.governance.ualberta.ca) and avoid any behaviour which could potentially result in
suspicions of cheating, plagiarism, misrepresentation of facts and/or participation in an offence.
Academic dishonesty is a serious offence and can result in suspension or expulsion from the University.
