Economics 320
Spring 2024
Intermediate Micreoeconomics
Course Description: This course expands on the topics of the Intro to Micro course: the purchasing behavior of consumers and the production and selling behavior of irms. In each case, it is shown how the behavior that economics predicts can be described by a solution to a problem of optimization, or “rational maximization.”
Prerequisites: You must have taken Economics 102 (Introduction to Microeconomics) to enroll in this course, as well as Math 135 (Calculus I) or an equivalent course.
Method of Evaluation: Your grade will be determined by your performance on homework assignments, one midterm exam, and one inalexam. The homework is worth a total of 150 points. The midterm exam will be given on Tuesday, March 5 and is worth 90 points. The inal exam will be given on Tuesday, May 7 from 12:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. and is worth 135 points. The inal will cover all material from the course, but will emphasize the material learned after the midterm.
All homework assignments and homework and exam solutions will be distributed via the Canvas site for the course.
Note: missed exams are excused only for medical reasons, and only with a signed form from a physician’s o伍ce and conirmation of the visit by the instructor. In addition, the student or someone acting on behalf of the student must notify the instructor within 24 hours after the missed exam that a medical excuse is pending. A make-up date must be arranged if an exam is missed.
If you know that you will not be able to attend class on an exam date because of a religious holiday, you must notify the instructor of this by Friday, January 26.
If you expect to miss one or two non-exam classes because of illness or a family emergency, please use the Rutgers absence-reporting website https://sims.rutgers.edu/ssra/ to register the date and reason for your absence. An email is automatically sent to the instructor.
Please turn of cell phone ringers during class. If one or more of your classmates are distracting you by using electronic devices in class and you are not comfortable speaking to them about it directly, please let the instructor know about it.
Office Hours: Mondays 11:00-12:00 and Wednesdays 1:30-2:30. All o伍ce hours, and other meetings outside class, will be conducted via Zoom; a link will be distributed through Canvas. A few Wednesday office hours will need to be moved; these will be announced in advance via Canvas.
A note on textbooks: there is no required textbook for the course; the lectures and homework are designed to cover the material sufficiently. If you are someone who feels more comfortable having a book to refer to (for instance, for extra examples, or alternative explanations), there are many, many intermediate microeconomics textbooks, all of which have the same topics that we are covering. Furthermore, the content of intermediate microeconomics has been the same for decades, which means that you can buy or access virtually any edition of any textbook (i.e., it doesn’t matter how old it is), and it will have everything you need. Some of the most commonly used books are by: Besanko and Braeutigam (or Besanko, Briggs and Braeutigam); Perlof; Varian; and Nicholson and Snyder.
Course Schedule
Week of Material
January 16 Introduction; The Budget Constraint
January 23 The Budget Constraint; Consumer Preferences
January 30 Utility; Consumer Choice
February 6 Consumer Choice; Revealed Preference
February 13 Revealed Preference; Demand
February 20 Demand; The Substitution and Income Efects
February 27 The Substitution and Income Efects; Consumer Surplus
Midterm Tuesday, March 5
March 7 Consumer Surplus
March 12 Spring Break; no classes
March 19 Production
March 26 Cost Minimization; Cost Curves
April 2 Cost Curves, Proit Maximization
April 9 Supply, General Equilibrium
April 16 General Equilibrium; Monopoly
April 23 Monopoly (if time)
Final Tuesday, May 7 12:00 p.m.
INCLUDES ALL MATERIAL FROM THE COURSE
Summary of Learning Outcomes
A student who completes this course successfully will have the background to continue in advanced economic electives. The methods of analysis that we learn, including constrained optimization and calculus, are used in all areas of economics. Most economic electives refer back to the methods and material of intermediate microeconomics, at some point or another.
Statement of general learning goals for economics majors
1. “Economic Literacy”: Students who complete the major in economics should understand and be able to articulate, both orally and in writing, the core economic principles, concepts and theories that form the foundation for modern economic analysis and economic research.
2. “Economic Numeracy”:Students who complete the economics major should be familiar with the tools, techniques and methods of empirical economics. They should be able to analyze data us- ing computer applications and should be familiar with regression methods and other statistical techniques. They should be able to read and assess general interest articles on economic topics. In addition, they should be able to understand and evaluate key indings in published economic research from a wide range of sources including academic economists, public policy think tanks, and government agencies.
3. “Economic Citizenship”: Upon completion of the major students should be able to apply their understanding of core concepts and quantitative tools to analyze and research real world problems and evaluate alternative economic policy proposals on microeconomic and macroeconomic issues.
4. “Economic Scholarship”: Qualiied majors should have an opportunity through such avenues as advanced coursework, faculty interactions, national and local competitions and honors courses and programs to utilize up-to-date methodological tools and become fully engaged in economic research and issues on the frontiers of economics.