ECON3332-01: Intermediate Microeconomics

Oscar Galvez-Soriano

Summer, 2021

E-mail: [email protected] Web: OscarGalvezSoriano

Office Hours: By appointment Class Hours: MoTuWeThFr 10:00 - 12:00
Office: 250 McElhinney Hall Class Room: MS Teams
TA: Vasundhara Tanwar ([email protected])

Course Description
In this course, we will explore the foundations of microeconomic theory, focusing on the behavior
of individuals and firms, and the interaction of these agents in the market. If time allows, we
will also examine the market structures: Monopoly and Oligopoly. Emphasis will be placed on
gaining good command of analytical tools used for microeconomic analysis.

Required Materials
I have set up an Achieve course website that contains our textbook (Microeconomics, Austan
Goolsbee, Steven Levitt and Chad Syverson, Third Edition, 2020, Worth Publishers), problem
sets, and other learning resources. This Achieve digital product is REQUIRED for our ECON
3332 course. It costs $99.99+tax, and is the only item you need to purchase for this course.

STUDENT INSTRUCTIONS for accessing the Achieve digital product:

1. Go to https://achieve.macmillanlearning.com/start to create an account. If you already

have a Macmillan Learning account, you can log in with your existing credentials and skip
to step 3.

2. How to create an account: Create your password. For the “Primary School or Institution”
name field, select “University of Houston in the drop-down menu. Set all three security
questions, accept the terms of use and then click “Create Account”. Check your email for
the confirmation link to complete your registration and return to the login page.

3. How to enroll in this course: Under “Enroll in a New Course” tab, type the following
CourseID: ncorn5. Then click on “Enter” and it will welcome you to our specific course
“University of Houston - ECON 3332 - Summer2021 - GALVEZ”. You can either pay imme-
diately or enter this course for 14 days free.

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4. Once you enter our Achieve course site, you will see our eTextbook in the left sidebar
(clicking on the image of the book cover will give you access to our textbook), and you
will see our assignments in the center panel. Note that problem sets are composed by
various chapters’ assignments (please see the course schedule to know what assignments
to submit).

You can also find a useful reference in the textbook Intermediate Microeconomics by Hal
Varian. The PDF version of this book as well as other useful materials can be downloaded from
the course website.

Prerequisites
All students should have completed ECON 2304. Additionally, you must have a good command
of high school Algebra, graphical analysis and, preferably, basic knowledge of Calculus. If you
do not meet this prerequisite and you choose to take this course, then it is your responsibility to
work on your math skills in order to be able to follow the materials taught in this course.

Requirements and Grading

Each student’s cumulative score for this course will be based on class attendance and perfor-
mance on problem sets and exams with the weights given in the grading scheme below. This
cumulative score will then be mapped into a letter grade at end of the course.

1. Problem sets: four problem sets, with the lowest score dropped (10%)

2. Midterm exam. Tuesday, June 22nd (35%)

3. Final exam. Thursday, July 7th (50%)

4. Attendance (5%)

Problem Sets: Problem sets will be assigned and submitted through the Achieve course site.
Assignments labeled “Graded Problem Set” are what you must submit to receive credit for prob-
lem sets. You are allowed and encouraged to work on problem sets with classmates. You may
work on problem sets any time prior to the deadline, either in a single session or multiple ses-
sions, just remember to save your answer as you do each question so that when you return to
that problem set later, your answers from previous sessions will appear. Your answers must be
submitted before the deadline for you to receive credit. Solutions to graded problem sets are
available immediately after the deadline. You should examine the solutions after the deadline
to review any areas of confusion or questions marked incorrect. Note I cannot give deadline
extensions for the problem sets; however, I do drop the lowest problem set grade, which gives
you some flexibility in handling unexpected events.

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Exams: Exams will draw on material from lectures, problem sets and the textbook. They will
be open book exams, and the specific resources you are allowed to use during the exam are your
notes and our Achieve course site. No other resources, online or offline, are allowed. Your exam
responses must be your own individual work; you are not allowed to work on exams with others
in any way, and this includes but is not limited to helping others, receiving help from others,
working together and sharing responses. Note that each exam will be administered during a
Teams class meeting, and you must keep your video on with your face visible during the entire
exam to ensure the academic integrity of exam administration. Additionally, students must sign
an honor code statement as part of their submission of exams for this course: “I understand and
agree to abide by the provisions in the University of Houston Undergraduate Academic Honesty
Policy. I understand that academic honesty is taken very seriously and, in the cases of violations,
penalties may include suspension or expulsion from the University of Houston.” If you are not
prepared to keep your video on during exams, or sign this honor code statement, or abide by our
university’s academic honesty policy described below, then you should not enroll in this course.

Generally, you get a score of zero when you miss an exam, but in certain situations a make-up
exam is possible; email me immediately if you expect to miss an exam or have missed an exam
and a brief reason for missing it, and I will respond.

Attendance: Students are expected to attend every lecture and participate in lecture activities,
subject to the Excused Absence Policy described below. Note that the lectures contain the material
you are expected to know, and the textbook is not a perfect substitute for the lectures.

To prepare for possible disruptions to student schedules due to the COVID-19 pandemic, I
plan to record our lectures. A link to each lecture’s video will be available in Microsoft Teams
under the team name for our class (“ECON3332 Summer 2021”; clicking on the link will take you
to a Microsoft Stream video). In the case of a missed lecture, the student is advised to review the
lecture slides, video recording and textbook readings associated with the missed lecture.

I will check attendance by downloading the participant list during each of our Teams class
meetings, which gives the name, arrival time and leaving time for each participant. To give
you some flexibility in handling unexpected events: (1) excused absences occurring under the
UH Excused Absence Policy described below will not be counted against the attendance part of
your grade; (2) you are allowed to miss up to 4 lectures (on top of the aforementioned excused
absences) without a penalty to the attendance part of your grade. If you have more than 4
unexcused absences, or you regularly arrive late or leave early, then the attendance part of your
grade will be reduced from the full 5%. Regardless of whether your absences are excused or
unexcused, or expected to receive a grade penalty or not, it is your responsibility to review the
material from missed lectures.

General Policies
Our Class Meetings
We will meet from Monday to Friday between June 7th and July 8th. Lectures will begin at 10:00am and end at
11:50pm. I will usually join our Teams video conference by 09:55am and stay on until 11:55am. Depending on the
class flow, I will give you a 5 minutes break at 10:55am.

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Academic Honesty
To cultivate an environment of academic integrity, the University of Houston expects students to abide by the Univer-
sity’s Undergraduate Academic Honesty Policy, found in the Undergraduate Catalog.

Student Code of Conduct

Students are expected to abide by the University of Houston’s Student Code of Conduct.

Sexual Misconduct Policy

In accordance with the UH Sexual Misconduct Policy, your instructor is a “responsible employee” for reporting
purposes under Title IX regulations and state law and must report incidents of sexual misconduct (sexual harassment,
non-consensual sexual contact, sexual assault, sexual exploitation, sexual intimidation, intimate partner violence, or
stalking) about which they become aware to the Title IX office. Please know there are places on campus where you
can make a report in confidence. More information can be found on the Title IX website.

Students with Disabilities

The College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences, in accordance with 504/ADA guidelines, is committed to providing
reasonable academic accommodations to students who request them. Students seeking accommodation must register
with the Center for Students with DisABILITIES and present approved documentation to me as soon as possible. I
can make accommodations only if given advance notice.

Counseling and Psychological Services

Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) is available for students having difficulties managing stress, adjusting
to college, or feeling sad and hopeless. You can reach CAPS by calling 713-743-5454 during and after business hours
for routine appointments or if you or somebody you know is in crisis. The “Let’s Talk” program provides a drop-in
consultation service at convenient locations and hours around campus

Excused Absence Policy

Regular class attendance, participation, and engagement in coursework are important contributors to student success.
Absences may be excused as provided in the University of Houston Undergraduate Excused Absence Policy and
Graduate Excused Absence Policy for reasons including: medical illness of student or close relative, death of a
close family member, legal or government proceeding that a student is obligated to attend, recognized professional
and educational activities where the student is presenting, and University-sponsored activity or athletic competition.
Additional policies address absences related to military service, religious holy days, pregnancy and related conditions,
and disability.

Interim Undergraduate Grading Policy

Due to the unique and unprecedented challenges associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, the University of Houston
has implemented an Interim Undergraduate Grade Policy for undergraduate grades which applies to all undergradu-
ate students in courses offered in all sessions during fall 2020. Under this policy, students have the option of converting
final assigned letter grades to S (Satisfactory, applicable to any letter grade from A to D-) or NCR (No Credit Reported
COVID-19, applicable to grades of F) on their transcripts. Please visit FAQs for additional information.

Recording of Class
Students may not record all or part of class, livestream all or part of class, or make/distribute screen captures, without
advanced written consent of the instructor. If you have or think you may have a disability such that you need to record
class-related activities, please contact the Center for Students with DisABILITIES. If you have an accommodation to
record class-related activities, those recordings may not be shared with any other student, whether in this course
or not, or with any other person or on any other platform. Classes may be recorded by the instructor. Students

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may use instructor’s recordings for their own studying and note taking. Instructor’s recordings are not authorized
to be shared with anyone without the prior written approval of the instructor. Failure to comply with requirements
regarding recordings will result in a disciplinary referral to the Dean of Students Office and may result in disciplinary
action.

Syllabus Changes
Due to the changing nature of the COVID-19 pandemic, please note that the instructor may need to make modifi-
cations to the course syllabus and may do so at any time. Notice of such changes will be announced as quickly as
possible through email and announcement on our Achieve course site.

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Course Outline and Schedule

The schedule is tentative and subject to minor changes.

Week Date Activity Topics Textbook chapter Problem

Goolsbee Varian set due
06/07 Lecture 1 Review on Supply and Demand 2 1
06/08 Lecture 2 Applications of Supply and Demand 3 1
1 06/09 Lecture 3 Indifference curves 4 3
06/10 Lecture 4 Budget constraint 4 2
06/11 Lecture 5 Utility 4 4
06/14 Lecture 6 Marginal utility 4 4 PS1
06/15 Lecture 7 Optimal choice 5 5
2 06/16 Lecture 8 Substitution an income 5 5
06/17 Lecture 9 Demand 5 6
06/18 Lecture 10 Types of goods 5 6
06/21 Lecture 11 Review on consumer behavior PS2
06/22 Midterm: Chapters 2-5 of Gooldsbee textbook (10:00am - 12:00pm)
3 06/23 Lecture 12 Production 6 18
06/24 Lecture 13 Profit maximization 6 19
06/25 Lecture 14 Cost minimization 7 20
06/28 Lecture 15 Perfect competition in short run 8 22 PS3
06/29 Lecture 16 Perfect competition in long run 8 22
4 06/30 Lecture 17 Monopoly 9 24
07/01 Lecture 18 Monopoly maximization profit 9 24
07/02 Lecture 19 Price discrimination 10 25
07/05 Lecture 20 Oligopoly 11 27 PS4
5 07/06 Lecture 21 Review on consumer and producer behavior
07/07 Final exam: Chapters 4-9 of Gooldsbee textbook (11:00am - 2:00pm)

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