Professor Joyce Jacobsen
Office: PAC 332
E-mail: jjacobsen@wesleyan.edu
Phone: 685-2357 (o), 344-8514 (h), 836-6022 (cell)
Office hours: afternoons 1-4 pm, and walk-in when door is open; also by appointment
Teaching Assistants:  Ben Levinger and Sean McClellan (509-301-6260)
Help sessions:  Wednesdays 8-9 pm and Thursdays 8-9 pm, PAC 136

 
Purpose: This course is designed to provide you with a solid foundation in neoclassical microeconomic theory. The goals of the course are to teach you analytical tools that are relevant to a wide range of economic problems and to show you how to apply them appropriately. The course also serves two other functions: To prepare you for further work in economics and related fields; and to familiarize you with some of the limitations and criticisms of the theory.

Lectures: You are responsible for all assigned reading whether or not the material is covered explicitly in class. In the lectures I will focus on the most important topics as well as on those that are more difficult to comprehend. Lectures will often contain material not found in the text.  Please ask questions as they arise during lectures. I encourage you to comment on the level, pace, and content of the course as it progresses.  In particular, feel free to contact me by email.

Readings: The required text is Varian, Intermediate Microeconomics, Seventh Edition. This test is available in ebook format (see NortonEbooks.com) as well as regular book format. Chapter numbers in the course schedule refer to this text. Additional short items may occasionally be handed out in class.

Coursework and Grades: There will be ten homework assignments, two in-term tests, and a final exam. The weights of the different course components in your class grade are:
 

Assignments (3% each)	30%
In-term tests (15% each)	30%
Final Exam	40%
Total	100%

If you want to check the recording of your grades, click here to go to the GradeGetter Page for Econ 301-1.

Homework assignments will be graded on a check-plus, check, check-minus system. All assignments are due by 6 pm on the due date. Assignments handed in late will be penalized unless an agreement is made ahead of time with me. Assignments should be dropped off through the Econ 301-1 slot in the alcove next to the economics department office. Graded assignments and tests that are not picked up in class will be filed by last name in the alphabetical slots in the alcove.

Honor Code: All work handed in must be your own and must be done for this course only. This does not mean that you must refrain from discussing problems with other students as an aid to understanding the material, but it does preclude copying other students' work. You are expected to discourage such behavior on the part of others. This distinction is generally clear enough to make in practice; when in doubt, please discuss it with me.

 
The following course schedule includes course materials.  Materials are added as the course progresses.

All documents are saved in Adobe Acrobat Portable Document Format (pdf).
 

Dates	Topic	Relevant Reading	Homework
Sep. 6	Introduction and Overview	Ch. 1 and Appendix
	Theory of Consumer Behavior:  Budgets; Preferences; Utility
Sep. 8	Budget Constraint	Ch. 2	ps#1 (due Sep. 15)
Sep. 11	Preferences	Ch. 3
Sep. 13	Utility	Ch. 4
Sep. 15	Choice	Ch. 5	ps#2 (due Sep. 22)
	Theory of Consumer Behavior:  Demand; Substitution and Income Effects
Sep. 18	Demand	Ch. 6
Sep. 20	Slutsky Equation	Ch. 8
Sep. 22	Buying and Selling	Ch. 9	ps#3 (due Sep. 29)
	Theory of Consumer Behavior: Extensions
Sep. 25	Labor Supply	Ch. 9
Sep. 27	Revealed Preference	Ch. 7
Sep. 29	Intertemporal Choice	Ch. 10	ps#4 (due Oct. 6)
Oct. 2	Uncertainty	Ch. 12
Oct. 4	Consumer Surplus	Ch. 14
	Theory of the Competitive Firm: Technology; Profit Maximization
Oct. 6	Technology	Ch. 18	ps#5 (due Oct. 13)
Oct. 9	Profit Maximization	Ch. 19
	Theory of the Competitive Firm: Cost Considerations
Oct. 11	Cost Minimization	Ch. 20
Oct. 13	Cost Curves	Ch. 21
Oct. 18	Firm Supply	Ch. 22
Oct. 20	Test #1	Chs. 1-10, 12, 14, 18-22 sample test & answers old test even older test
	Market Equilibrium Under Competition
Oct. 23	Market Demand	Ch. 15
Oct. 25	Market Supply	Ch. 23
Oct. 27	Equilibrium	Ch. 16	ps#6 (due Nov. 3)
Oct. 30	Auctions	Ch. 17
	Departures from the Competitive Model: Imperfectly Competitive Markets
Nov. 1	Monopoly	Ch. 24
Nov. 3	Price Discrimination	Ch. 25	ps#7 (due Nov. 10)
Nov. 6	Monopsony	Ch. 26
Nov. 8	Monopolistic Competition	Ch. 25
Nov. 10	Oligopoly	Ch. 27	ps#8 (due Nov. 17) and answers
Nov. 13	Game Theory	Ch. 28; some of Ch. 29
	Departures from the Competitive Model: Imperfectly Complete Markets
Nov. 15	Asymmetric Information	Ch. 37
Nov. 17	Network Externalities	Ch. 35
Nov. 19 (Sunday any time between 6-11 p.m.)	Test #2	Chs. 15-17, 23-29 sample test & answers old test even older test
	Departures from the Competitive Model: Consumer Nonrationality
Nov. 27	Behavioral Economics	Ch. 30	ps#9 (due Dec. 4)
	The Market Economy
Nov. 29	Exchange	Ch. 31
Dec. 1	Production	Ch. 32
Dec. 4	Welfare	Ch. 33	ps#10 (due Dec. 11)
Dec. 6	Externalities	Ch. 34
Dec. 8	Public Goods	Ch. 36
Dec. 11	Review of the Course
Dec. 17 (Sunday 7:00)	Review Session
Dec. 17 (Sunday 7:00-10:00) or Dec. 19 (Tuesday 9:00-12:00)	Final Exam	Covers all reading essay questions sample test & answers old test

 

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