Course Syllabus

ECON 2010 Introduction to Microeconomics

Course Description

This course is designed to provide students an introduction to the principles of microeconomics. This course teaches students microeconomic principles and theories that are the basis for economic behavior and economic systems with the primary focus on the U.S. market system. Students examine how these principles and theories influence economic reality in markets and society. Successful completion of this course satisfies the Social and Behavioral Science General Education requirement at Snow College.

Justification

Justification for this course is based on it fulfilling general education requirements here at Snow College and is designed to be accepted as a general education course in the USHE system. ECON 2010 is also required for an associate of science degree in Accounting, Business Management, and Economics and is a recommended elective for several other majors and associate of applied science degrees.

General Education Outcomes

1. A student who completes the GE curriculum has a fundamental knowledge of human cultures and the natural world. After completing this course, students are prepared to recognize and appreciate the cultural phenomena, differences of ideas, and the role of scarce resources that influence human behavior and decision making in microeconomics. Students read and discuss a variety of primary and secondary sources in order to understand these ideas from a variety of perspectives. Participation, assignments, quizzes, and/or exams will ask students to consider—in a variety of contexts—the institutions, cultures, events, nature of resources, preferences, and human activity that influence national, regional, and local economies.
2. A student who completes the GE curriculum can read and research effectively within disciplines. After completing this course, students are prepared to work competently with a variety of media sources as they analyze economic theories, philosophies, principles, and facts. Students read, watch, and listen to a variety of traditional and electronic media and are assessed, in participation and/or quizzes, on content. Participation, assignments, exams, and/or quizzes are designed to elicit constructive and critical responses.
3. A student who completes the GE curriculum can draw from multiple disciplines to address complex problems. Students must demonstrate an understanding of nature, culture, facts, values, ethics, and civic policies that involve complex problems in every class discussion, written assignment, exam, and/or other assignments. As students engage in multiple disciplines such as history, sociology, and economics, they will analyze and critique how nature, culture, facts, values, ethics, and civil policy influence economic systems through exams and/or quizzes.
4. A student who completes the GE curriculum can reason analytically, critically, and creatively. Understanding economics requires reasoning analytically, critically, and creatively about multiple factors. Participation, assignments, exams, and/or quizzes are designed to facilitate analytical, critical, and creative reasoning about nature, culture, facts, values, ethics, and civic policy.

General Education Knowledge Area Outcomes

1. Through the study of scholarly works and primary sources, students will examine a variety of factors that explain the social institutions, structures, and processes across a broad range of historical periods and cultures—in the context of the economic system of the United States of America—from a social and behavioral science perspective, with emphasis on an economic perspective. Participation, exams, assignments, and/or quizzes will allow students to demonstrate their ability to explain these social institutions, structures, and processes. Through the study of scholarly works and primary sources, students will examine a variety of factors that explain the social institutions, structures, and processes across a broad range of historical periods and cultures—in the context of the economic system of the United States of America—from a social and behavioral science perspective, with emphasis on an economic perspective. Participation, exams, assignments, and/or quizzes will allow students to demonstrate their ability to explain these social institutions, structures, and processes.
2. Develop and communicate hypothetical explanations for individual human behavior within the large-scale historical or social context. Through the study of scholarly works and primary sources and through in-class discussions, students will develop and communicate hypothetical explanations of microeconomic phenomena, in the context of individual and market behavior. Participation, exams, assignments, and/or quizzes will allow students to develop and communicate hypothetical explanations of microeconomic behavior, i.e., individual and market economic behavior.
3. Draw on the social and behavioral sciences to evaluate contemporary problems using social science research methodology. Students will be introduced to social science methodology, with a particular emphasis on economic methods. Through the study of economic research and scholarly texts, students will evaluate contemporary problems using social science and economic research methodology. Participation, exams, assignments, and/or quizzes will allow students to demonstrate their ability to evaluate contemporary microeconomic phenomena using social science and economic research methodology.
4. Describe and analytically compare social, political, economic, cultural, geographical, and historical settings and processes other than one’s own. Students will describe and analytically compare economic settings and processes other than their own. By analyzing scholarly sources and primary sources in economics, students will understand how to describe and analytically compare distinct economic processes and environments. Students will be asked to demonstrate their ability to describe and analytically compare economic settings and processes other than their own through participation, exams, assignments, and/or quizzes.
5. Explain and use the social-scientific method to test research questions and draw conclusions. Students will be introduced to the social-scientific method with particular emphasis on economic methodologies. By analyzing primary and secondary sources in economics, students will understand how to use economic methods to test economic research questions and draw conclusions. Students will be asked to demonstrate their ability to use the social-scientific method with particular emphasis on economic methods that integrate different viewpoints in the context of economics in the United States of America and in the world through participation, exams, assignments, and/or quizzes.
6. Write effectively within the social science discipline, using correct disciplinary guidelines, to analyze, interpret, and communicate about social science phenomena. By performing research, writing essays, and modeling academic writing in the field of economics, students will write effectively within economics, using correct disciplinary guidelines, to analyze, interpret, and communicate about economic phenomena. Participation, exams, assignments, and/or quizzes will allow students to demonstrate their ability to write effectively within economics, to use correct disciplinary guidelines, and to analyze, interpret, and communicate about economic phenomena.

Course Content

This course is structured as an introductory course for students studying economics. Additionally it is designed to benefit those studying business and works as a social science credit. The course's content may include: • Introduction Production • Possibilities and Opportunity Costs • Demand and Supply • Elasticity • Business Ownership and Organization• Costs of Production • Maximizing Profit • Identifying Markets and Market Structures • Price and Output in Monopoly, Monopolistic Competition, and Perfect Competition• Price and Output Determination Under Oligopoly• Antitrust and Regulation • Externalities, Market Failure, and Public Choice • Wage Rates in Competitive Labor Markets • Wages and Employment: Monopsony and Labor Unions • Who Earns What? • Interest, Rent and Profit • Income Distribution and Poverty Microeconomics is a rich and unique course because it generally bases the instruction on topics that affect students from all over the world. It is applicable to these students that are from all backgrounds and cultures.