Rutgers University – Newark

INTRODUCTION TO MICROECONOMICS
Course No.: 21:220:101:04
Term: FALL 2024
Momna Saeed
Email: [email protected]

Class Schedule:
Tuesdays/Fridays: 1:00 PM - 2:20 PM
Classroom: Engelhard Hall 100

Office hours:
Held over Zoom. Wednesdays by appointment

Textbook:
Principles of Microeconomics, by N. Gregory Mankiw, Cengage Learning,10th Edition, 2023

Learning Objectives:
Welcome to ECON 101! This fast-paced course is an introduction to Microeconomics, focusing
on how individual economic agents, such as consumers and firms, interact within markets. The
course is structured around three key areas: the foundational principles of economic theory, the
behavior of firms across different market structures, and markets and welfare analysis. We will
explore the fundamentals of supply and demand, how firms make decisions in competitive and
non-competitive markets, and how policies such as taxes and regulations influence market
outcomes and economic welfare. By the end of the semester, you will have gained a comprehensive
understanding of key microeconomic concepts and their applications to real-world situations.
Prepare to engage with the material quickly and thoroughly as we cover a wide range of topics in
a limited time.

Learning Outcomes:
By the end of this course, you will be able to:
1. Understand and apply basic microeconomic concepts such as opportunity cost, scarcity,
and comparative advantage.
2. Analyze supply and demand dynamics and predict how changes in these forces impact
market equilibrium and prices.
3. Evaluate firm behavior and decision-making in various market structures, including perfect
competition, monopoly, and oligopoly.
4. Apply game theory to understand strategic interactions between firms in competitive markets.
5. Assess the efficiency of markets and identify the conditions under which markets may fail.
6. Analyze the impact of government interventions such as taxes, price controls, and subsidies
on market outcomes and economic welfare.
7. Examine the role of externalities and public goods in causing market failures and the
effectiveness of policy solutions.
8. Apply microeconomic principles to real-world policy issues, including trade and income
inequality.
These outcomes align with the course structure, ensuring that you not only grasp theoretical
concepts but also develop the ability to apply them to analyze real-world economic challenges.

Grading:
The course grade will be based on 11 quizzes /homework assignments, 2 midterm exams, and 1
final exam.

Final grade breakdown:

Quizzes 15% ( The 5 best quiz scores out of 7 )
Midterms (2*25% each): 50%
Final exam: 35%
Total 100%

Exam dates (tentative dates):

Midterm 1 – October 8th (1:00pm – 2:20pm)
Midterm 2 – November 19th (1:00pm – 2:20pm)
Final Exam - to be determined by SASN

Quizzes (online homework):

There will be a short-graded quiz at the end of the week for most weeks starting with week 3. You
will take the quizzes in Canvas. They will be available to work on starting 72 hours prior to the
deadline of 11:59 PM EST on Monday (the deadline for first quiz will be 16th September, it will
open on Saturday 14th September. Each quiz will be timed to half an hour, and you will get only
one attempt at each question before moving to the next question with no ability to go back to change
an answer later. Therefore, before starting a quiz, review your lecture notes and the assigned
readings, do the practice problems in Canvas, review the end-of-chapter problems, and come to
office hours (Zoom, by appointment) for help with the material. Deadlines are firm and are the
same every single week. You have 72 hours in which to set aside ½ an hour to do the quiz so there
is no reason to miss it. Therefore, there will be no exceptions to the deadlines under any
circumstances except as outlined below under “Missed work.” The lowest quiz score will be
dropped from your overall score so if you do miss only one quiz, your overall grade won’t be
impacted.

Exams:
Exams will consist of multiple-choice questions and application questions like those in the practice
questions posted on Canvas. The midterm and the final exams must be taken at the dates and times
given in the schedule above. There are no make-up exams.

Class Participation:
I expect you to attend all lectures, to prepare in advance, and to participate actively in class
discussions.

Missed work:
A missed quiz or exam earns a score of zero, the only exception, and granted only with
 documentation of the reason and at my discretion, being for critical issues such as a health
emergency. You must email me documentation of such an emergency before the assignment or
exam date or as soon as possible thereafter. Vacation, travel, and other elective absences are not
acceptable reasons to miss deadlines. In the case of exams, a makeup exam, if I authorize it, must
be taken as soon as possible after the original date.

Course Outline:

This tentative schedule is subject to change during the semester, based on the overall pace of the
class.

Unit Week Date Topic Chapter

1 09/03/24 Introduction to the course and to economics Introduction
Firm Behavior and Market

1 09/06/24 Ten Principles of Economics Chapter 1

Microeconomic Theory

2 09/10/24 Thinking Like an Economist & Economic Models Chapter 2

Foundations of

2 09/13/24 Interdependence and the Gains from Trade Chapter 3

Structures

3 09/17/24 Market Forces of Supply and Demand Chapter 4

3 09/20/24 Market Equilibrium Chapter 4 (cont.)
4 09/24/24 Elasticity Chapter 5
4 09/27/24 Supply, Demand, and Government Policies Chapter 6
5 10/01/24 Consumers, Producers, and the Efficiency of Markets Chapter 7
5 10/04/24 The Cost of Taxation Chapter 8
6 10/08/24 First Midterm Exam Chapters 1-5
6 10/11/24 Markets and Production Costs Chapter 14
Firm Behavior and
Market Structures

7 10/15/24 Markets and Production Costs Chapter 14 (cont.)

7 10/18/24 Firms in Competitive Markets Chapter 15
8 10/22/24 Markets & Monopoly Chapter 16
8 10/25/24 Markets & Monopoly Chapter 16 (cont.)
9 10/29/24 Monopolistic Competition Chapter 17
9 11/01/24 Introduction to Oligopoly Chapter 18
10 11/05/24 Game Theory & Strategic Behavior in Oligopoly Chapter 18
10 11/08/24 Second Midterm Exam (Firm Beh. & Market Structure) Chapters 6-8,14-16
Market and Welfare Analysis

11 11/12/24 Open-Economy Microeconomics: International Trade Chapter 9

11 11/15/24 Open-Economy Microeconomics: Barriers to Trade Chapter 9 (cont.)
12 11/19/24 Externalities Chapter 10
12 11/22/24 Externalities Chapter 10
13 11/26/24 Public Goods and Common Resources Chapter 11
13 11/29/24 No Classes (Thanksgiving)
14 12/03/24 Public Goods and Common Resources Chapter 11(cont.)
14 12/06/24 Income Inequality and Poverty Chapter 21
15 12/10/24 Final Discussions and Course Wrap-Up ---
16 TBA Final Exam (Comprehensive) Chapters 1-11,14-
18 and Chap21

*The yellow highlight marks the deadline to take the quizzes (tentative dates)
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