Introduction to Economics I - Ka-fu Wong

This version: Monday, September 03, 2007University of Hong KongFaculty of Business and EconomicsCourse Syllabus and OutlineECON1001 (A&B): Introduction to Economics IFall 2007Instructor: Ka-fu WongPhone number: 2857-8512.Office: KKL 1002.Office hours: To be announced.Email: kafuwong@econ.hku.hkTeaching assistant : Clifford ChanPhone number: 2857-8310.Office: KKL 1109.Office hours: To be announced.Email: givencana@yahoo.caCourse webpage (login required): http://econ8.hku.hk/moodle/COURSE OBJECTIVES, OUTCOMES, AND ASSESSMENT:AssessmentWeightMidterm #1 (Date: October 6, 2007, Saturday; Time: 10:00-11:00a.m.) 10%Midterm #2 (Date: November 17, 2007, Saturday; Time: 10:00-11:30a.m.) 20%Final exam (To be announced) 30%Tutorials 0%Weekly assignments 10%Economic naturalist writing assignments 30%Note: A “leisure / lazy” mode of study (that counts only the Final exam) is available,subject to the approval of the instructor in the first two weeks of class.Midterms: Usually lasts for one hour for midterm #1 and one and a half hours for midterm #2. Coverseverything taught up to the date of test. The question paper will consist of multiple choice questions andshort essay questions. The midterm exams will be held on Saturday: students should plan to arrive fiveminutes early on these dates to their assigned classroom in order that the designed duration is available tothem for the exam. Students arriving late will not receive compensating time: all exams must be turned into the proctor at the end of the exam. There will be no make-up exams to replace midterms that havebeen missed. Students missing any midterm will receive a grade of zero for the exam unless theyprovide documentation of illness.Final exam: Usually lasts for two hours. Covers everything taught in the semester. About 50% will bemultiple choices and 50% will be short essay questions. Date, time and venue will be arranged centrally bythe university later in the semester.Tutorials: The tutorials are optional. The TA will discuss solutions to the homework assignments, andgive additional examples. You can also sit in the optional tutorials for the non-majors, which are slightlydifferent from the ones we have.Weekly assignments: A short assignment (usually consisted of 10 multiple choices plus one or two shortessay questions) will be posted (in pdf format) in the course website on every Monday, which is to behanded in on the following Monday. A detailed solution will be posted in the course website afterwards.- 1 -

Economic naturalist writing assignments: We would like to make you into an economic naturalist –through two short writing assignments and through assessing the work of others.In each of these writing assignments, you will have to use a principle, or principles, discussed in the courseto explain some pattern of events or behavior that you personally have observed. Don’t worry. You willsee numerous examples in the text and in class.The assignments should have an Asian context (not limited to China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan, orJapan). Try to begin with a really interesting question. A really successful paper often begins with aninteresting question that makes the listener instantly curious to learn the answer. The remaining task is touse an economic principle or principles to construct a plausible answer. You’ll know you have a goodpaper if the first thing your roommate wants to do upon reading it is to tell their friends about it.Please do not write more than 500 words in each of the assignments. Many excellent papers aresignificantly shorter. Please do not use complex terminology. Imagine yourself telling your story to arelative who has never had a course in economics. The best papers are ones that would be clearlyintelligible to such a person. Avoid using algebra and graphs. No need to include a bibliography. Noneed to do voluminous research in support of your argument. We are not writing a PhD dissertation.Nevertheless, a relevant fact or two might help convince yourself and others.Late assignments will not be accepted. The two assignments are due on Friday, October 12 and Friday,November 23. Please write your assignment using your favorite software and copy and paste your writingto the corresponding page in our class website. Your submission will be graded anonymously. Please donot include any information (such as your name, student ID, email address, etc.) that allows other toidentify the author.After each due date, we will ask 10 of your classmates to grade your submission, within a week, based onthe following criteria:o whether the question asked is interesting (a weight of 2/6),o whether the economic principle or principles are applied correctly and appropriately to analyze thequestion (a weight of 3/6), ando whether the submission is easy to read, i.e., on English writing and organization (a weight of 1/6).Our TA will grade all the submissions. The score for each submission is then computed as the weightedaverage score assigned by the 10 peer reviewers and our TA (unreliable assessments will be dropped). Theinstructor will read only the top-scoring 10 or 20 percent of all submissions and decide if any of themdeserve additional bonus points (up to two points).On average, each student will have to assess 10 submissions. He or she will earn a grade from his/herassessment effort.The overall grade of the writing assignment will be a weighted sum of the submission grade (70 percent)and the assessment grade (30 percent).No plagiarism will be tolerated. Please refer to the section of Academic Conduct below for more details.Students can anticipate that grades will fall roughly along the following distribution:GradeA+, A, A-B+, B, B-C+, C, C-D and F- 2 -distribution20% of the class40% of the class30% of the class10% of the class

Statement Of Course Objectives, Outcomes And Assessment And Their RelationshipObjectives Outcomes Assessment1. Acquisition and internalization of Should know the fundamental principles and theories of Problem sets + Exams + writingknowledge of microeconomicsmicroeconomicsassignments + peer assessmentShould be able to use analytical tools to formulate and solvemicroeconomic problems.2. Application and integration ofknowledgeShould be able to identify various microeconomic issues.Problem sets + Exams + writingassignments + peer assessmentShould be able to identify and use relevant informationShould be able to make trade-offs and informed decisions3. Developing global outlook Should demonstrate knowledge and awareness of internationalissuesWriting assignments with a focus onAsian issues4. Mastering communication skills Should be able to write effectively. Problem sets + writing assignments+ peer assessment- 3 -

Programme objectives, outcomes, etc. (Bachelor of Economics / Bachelor of Finance / Bachelor of Economics and Finance)Objective Outcomes Assessment Modes• Should know the fundamental principles and theories ofeconomics and finance• Should be able to use analytical tools to formulate and solveeconomic and business problems1. Acquisition andinternalization ofknowledge ofeconomics & finance• Course-embedded assessment (assignments,tests/quizzes/examination)• External examiner’s assessment• Should be able to continue their graduate studies • Percentage admitted to graduate programs2. Application and • Should be able to distinguish between minor and major issuesintegration of• Should be able to identify and use relevant informationknowledge • Should be able to make trade-offs and informed decisions• Course-embedded assessment (assignments,tests/quizzes/examination, cases, projects)3. Developing globaloutlook• Should demonstrate knowledge and awareness of internationalissues• Course-embedded assessment (assignments,tests/quizzes/examination)• Percentage participating in field trips and exchange programs• Percentage participating in international competitions and forums• Should be able to function in multicultural settings • Percentage participating in exchange programs• Effective contribution to study groups comprising internationalstudents4. Masteringcommunication skills• Should be able to articulate and make convincing and coherentpresentations• Should be able to write effectively• Course-embedded assessment (assignments, cases, projects)• Percentage participating in competitions and forums5. Inculcatingprofessionalism andleadership• Should demonstrate the capacity to deal with ethical and socialissues• Should adhere to and respect university regulations onacademic conduct- 4 -• Course-embedded assessment (assignments,tests/quizzes/examination)• Percentage participating in Internship programs• Percentage subjected to disciplinary action• Survey of employers of our graduates.• Should function in teams effectively • Course-embedded assessment (cases and group projects)• Percentage serving on student associations, university dormitories,and external organizations• Percentage participating in external competitions and forums• Should display leadership traits • Course-embedded assessment (cases and, group projects)• Percentage serving as executives in student associations, universitydormitories, and external organizations• Percentage participating in leadership training programs, e.g., ILOP(Intensified Learning Opportunities Program), TILIP(Tufts Institutefor Leadership and International Perspective), AIPE (Asia Institutefor Political Economy)

COURSE INFORMATION:Prerequisites:The course is open to the B. Finance, B. Economics, B. Economics and Finance students only.Course overview:Economics is the study of human action. To understand how people can cooperate in social orders, andwhy they often cannot, we need to have a framework for understanding human action and itsconsequences. Economics provides one such framework. This is a course in microeconomics: the theoryof consumers, prices, and markets. Microeconomics has been applied to wide range of issues, from whatdetermines the price of consumer goods, to such things as how people vote, how much education theyacquire, and how many children they have.The purpose of this course is to actively engage students in the discovery of the economic content ofeveryday life. We will explore a range of topics and applications concerning how individuals makedecisions about what to consume, produce, buy and sell, and how they interact with other consumers,producers, buyers and sellers in the marketplace. We will also address the role of government in thesystem, and policy areas such as regulation, antitrust, taxation, poverty and welfare.Textbook:Frank, Robert H. and Ben S. Bernanke (2007): Principles of Microeconomics, 3rd edition, McGraw-Hill.Additional readings:Additional readings will be assigned during the course, either distributed as handouts or available fordownload from the course webpage.Online study materials:1. The website that accompanies the text (http://www.mhhe.com/economics/frankbernanke3).2. PowerPoint slides for the lectures will also be accessible on the course webpage, before lectures.Course delivery:Lectures will be conducted by the instructor. There will be optional tutorials. Discussions are welcome inclass and off class.ACADEMIC CONDUCTPlagiarism is defined as the unacknowledged use, as one's own, of work of another person, whether ornot such work has been published.A candidate shall not engage in plagiarism nor employ nor seek to employ any other unfair means at anexamination or in any other form of work submitted for assessment as part of a University examination.(Please refer to http://ec.hku.hk/plagiarism/introduction.htm for further elaboration of the regulation.)- 5 -

COURSE OUTLINE (coverage is subject to change)Week Topic1 Thinking like an Economist (Chapter 1)Games and Strategic Behavior (Chapter 13, 453-466)2 Comparative advantage: the basis for exchange (Chapter 2)3 Supply and demand (Chapter 3)4 Elasticity (Chapter 4)5 Demand: the benefit side of the market (Chapter 5)Midterm #1 (Date: October 6, 2007, Saturday; Time: 10:00-11:00a.m.)6 Perfectly competitive supply: the cost side of the market (Chapter 6)7 Efficiency and exchange (Chapter 7)8 The quest for profit and the invisible hand (Chapter 8)9 Monopoly and other forms of imperfect competition (Chapter 10)10 Strategic choice in oligopoly, monopolistic competition, and everyday life (Chapter 11)Midterm #2 (Date: November 17, 2007, Saturday; Time: 10:00-11:30a.m.)11 Externalities and Property Rights (Chapter 12)12 The Economics of Information (Chapter 13)* May also cover “Labor Markets, Poverty, and Income Distribution” (Chapter 14) if time permits.- 6 -