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Principles of Microeconomics >> Content Detail



Syllabus



Syllabus

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For a detailed listing of topics by session see the calendar below.



Description


This introductory course teaches the fundamentals of microeconomics. Topics include consumer theory, producer theory, the behavior of firms, market equilibrium, monopoly, and the role of the government in the economy. 14.01 is a Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences (HASS) elective and is offered both terms.



Prerequisites


Knowledge of 18.01 Calculus I is helpful. There are no other prerequisites.



Course Format


14.01 is offered in two formats. Both use the same textbook, cover the same topics and have the same requirements, including exams. 14.01 is a 3-0-9 course (3 hours of class plus 9 hours of preparation).



Format 1: Lecture-recitation


Students attend one-hour lectures on Mondays and Wednesdays. Students also attend 1 hour recitations on Fridays—these are not optional. Instructors will introduce new material at these recitations which will be part of problem sets and exams.



Format 2: Discussion Sections


Students attend three one-hour sections weekly on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.



Selecting a Format


During the first 2 weeks of the semester, students may switch between formats. At the due date of the first homework (see below) students must submit the completed assignment at the recitation or section of their choice. This submission will automatically enroll them in that choice. Thereafter you can change only with special Faculty approval. If sessions are extremely unbalanced, the Faculty reserves the right to re-assign students.



Textbook


Amazon logo Pindyck, Robert S., and Daniel L. Rubinfeld. Microeconomics. 6th ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2004. ISBN: 9788120329218.

The book is also available in digital format from CourseSmart.



Problem Sets, Exams, and Grading


The final grade in the course will be based on the following percentages:


ACTIVITIESPERCENTAGES
Homework (best 9 of 10, 3% each)27%
Exam 123%
Exam 223%
Exam 323%
Class participation4%

There will be 10 mandatory problem sets which will be individually graded and returned to the students. At the end of the term students will have the best 9 homework grades cumulated up and this will count for 27% of the final course grade. Problem sets are due on the indicated days in class. Late problem sets will not be accepted.

There will be 3 exams held throughout the term, two at night and one during the final exam period (see calendar below). Each exam will each cover roughly 1/3 of the course material, will be 1.5 hours long and will count as 23% (collectively 69%) of the grade. The remaining 4% of the grade will come from class participation.

Exams and homework will draw heavily on class/lecture material in addition to the textbook.

At the end of the semester, the faculty will report internal grades to the MIT registrar with + and - modifiers, where appropriate, and only for grades A, B, C. The faculty will be happy to regrade any problem set or exam – in entirety. Consequently it is possible for your revised grade to fall as well as rise. If you are an MIT freshman, the faculty will evaluate your performance on the first exam and first 3 problem sets and if it falls below passing, we will send out a warning to you and your advisor.



Conflicts and Makeup Exams


Conflicts must be received by the head TA at least one week prior to the exam.

Illness on the day of the exam: If you should happen to be sick the day of the exam, contact one of the Deans in Student Support Services to verify your illness and let the head TA know.

A fixed makeup exam time will be scheduled by the head TA.



Tutoring


Students are encouraged to seek help from the faculty and their assistants. An undergraduate TA will be in charge of offering tutorial help.



Recommended Citation


For any use or distribution of these materials, please cite as follows:

William Wheaton, Chia-Hui Chen, Rongzhu Ke, Monica Martinez-Bravo, Marco Migueis, Peter Schnabl, and Hongliang Zhang, course materials for 14.01 Principles of Microeconomics, Fall 2007. MIT OpenCourseWare (http://ocw.mit.edu/), Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Downloaded on [DD Month YYYY].



Calendar


The calendars for the two formats are similar but not identical in terms of class meetings. They are presented separately below. The calendar for Format 2 can be found here.



Format 1: Lecture-recitation


The calendar below provides information on the course's lecture (L), and recitation (R) sessions.


SES #TOPICSKEY DATES
L1What is economics?
R1Supply-demand analysis
L2Comparative staticsProblem set 1 out
L3Dynamic analysis
R2Utility, revealed preference

Problem set 1 due

Problem set 2 out

L4Optimization, duality
L5Demand curves
R3Engle curves

Problem set 2 due

Problem set 3 out

L6Risk and uncertainty
R4Risky behavior, examples

Problem set 3 due

Problem set 4 out

L7Production
L8Input use
R5Review of chapters 1-5Problem set 4 due
L9Cost curvesExam 1 taken
R6Scale and costProblem set 5 out
L10Profit maximization
L11Entry and exit
R7Competitive markets

Problem set 5 due

Problem set 6 out

L12Examples
L13Competitive markets (cont.)
R8Economic "surplus"

Problem set 6 due

Problem set 7 out

L14Efficiency of markets
L15Market structure
R9Review of chapters 6-9, 16Problem set 7 due
L16Monopoly powerExam 2 taken 1 day after Ses #L16
L17Monopsony – regulationProblem set 8 out 2 days after Ses #L17
L18Pricing power
L19Pricing power (cont.)
R10Monopoly-pricing power

Problem set 8 due

Problem set 9 out

L20Oligopoly
L21Monopolistic competition
L22Competitive strategy
L23Factor markets
R11Factor-labor markets

Problem set 9 due

Problem set 10 out

L24Labor-land markets
L25Capital markets
R12Review of chapters 10-15, 17-18Problem set 10 due
L26Insurance-risk markets
L27GovernmentExam 3 taken 7 days after Ses #L27



Format 2: Discussion Sections


The calendar below provides information on the course's discussion (D), and question and answer (Q) sessions.


SES #TOPICSKEY DATES
D1Overview: themes, types of markets, economic measurement, economic analysis
D2The basics of supply and demand
D3Elasticities of demandProblem set 1 out
D4Price elasticity of supply; consumer preferences
D5Deriving MRS from utility function, budget constraints, and interior solution of optimization

Problem set 1 due

Problem set 2 out

D6Optimization, revealed preference, and deriving individual demand
D7Substitution and income effects, individual and market demand, consumer surplus
D8Irish potato famine, network externalities, and uncertainty

Problem set 2 due

Problem set 3 out

D9Preference toward risk, risk premium, indifference curves, and reducing risk
D10Insurance and production functions

Problem set 3 due

Problem set 4 out

D11Production functions
D12Production functions and cost of production
Q1Review of chapters 1-5

Problem set 4 due

Exam 1 taken 5 days after Ses #Q1

Problem set 5 out 7 days after Ses #Q1

D13Cost functions
D14The cost of production and profit maximization
D15Short run and long run supply

Problem set 5 due

Problem set 6 out

D16Long run supply and the analysis of competitive markets
D17Supply restrictions, tax, and subsidy
D18Tax, subsidy, and general equilibrium

Problem set 6 due

Problem set 7 out

D19Efficiency in exchange, equity and efficiency, and efficiency in production
D20Production possibilities frontier and output market efficiency
D21Why markets failProblem set 7 due
Q2Review of chapters 6-9, 16Exam 2 taken 1 day after Ses #Q2
D22MonopolyProblem set 8 out 2 days after Ses #D22
D23Monopoly and monopsony
D24Monopoly and monopsony (cont.)
D25Pricing with market power

Problem set 8 due

Problem set 9 out

D26Pricing and monopolistic competition
D27Game theory and oligopoly
D28Oligopoly
D29Strategic games
D30Dominant firm model and factor market

Problem set 9 due

Problem set 10 out

D31Factor market
D32Investment, savings, time, and capital markets
D33Asymmetric informationProblem set 10 due
D34Externalities, market failure and government
D35Public goods and review of chapters 10-15, 17-18Exam 3 taken 7 days after Ses #D35
 

 








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