This coming summer, 2013, I will be teaching a fully online version of ECO 2023, Principles of Microeconomics. The course begins on Thursday, June 27. The class ends on Wednesday, August 7.
These are the notes to give you guidance on the course prior to your access on
June 27.
ECO 2023 PRINCIPLES OF MICROECONOMICS
SUMMER 2013 (20133), Session 3
Reference Number 455201
SUMMER 2013 (20133), Session 3
Reference Number 455201
FULLY ONLINE CLASS
Your access to the class begins on Thursday, June 27.
Your access to the class begins on Thursday, June 27.
Your Professor
My name is Greg Lindeblom. I have been a professor at Broward College since January 2003. I have a Honours B.A. from Carleton University in Ottawa, Ontario (Canada) and a M.A. in Economics from New School University in New York City. My academic specialties are: Macroeconomics, International Economics and Finance, Money and Banking, Economic Development, and the History of Economic Thought.
Prior to coming to BC, I worked in banking and finance for 23 years. Throughout my career, I have had some fascinating jobs in banking. I was on the trade floor in New York for 12 years -- six years in the foreign exchange markets and six years in charge of the techology on the trade floor. Later in my career, I was responsible for web development for all my bank's trading and brokerage departments. That was at the very inception of web application development -- so I'm either a pioneer or a dinosaur depending on your perspective.
During my years in banking, I lived in Toronto; Portland, Oregon; San Francisco; and New York City, prior to moving to Florida in 2001. Believe it or not, I moved into my house on 9/11/01! Since moving to Florida, I have done bank consulting work, in addition to my teaching. Some of my consulting assignments have been in Canada and Mexico.
During my tenure at BC, I have taught:
- Principles of Macroeconomics
- Principles of Microeconomics
- Money & Banking
- International Economics
- Introduction to Business
- Principles of Supervision
- Personal Finance
- Quantitative Methods for Business
Course Description
BC's course outline describes the course as: "An introductory course stressing microeconomic theories. Topics studied include theory and application of supply and demand elasticity; theory of consumer demand, utility; production and cost theory including diminishing returns; the firm's profit-maximizing behaviors under market models ranging from pure competition to pure monopoly; the theory of income distribution; and other international economic issues."
This is an introduction to Microeconomics. Principles of Microeconomics is a challenging course that blends theoretical work with practical applications from the world around us. By obtaining a good grounding in economics, students can better able understand the political, social, and financial issues that confront us and our society every day. The focus in this course is on the actions of the individual economic actors -- households and businesses. We investigate how and why economic actors behave the way they do. By the end of this course, you should be able to see through the political rhetoric and journalistic simplifications to make your own decisions about economic actions that affect us all. On a personal level, understanding the economic issues of our day provides students with important tools to make financial decisions that affect their own lives.
A full description of course outcomes is on hard-copy reserve in the periodicals section of the library and may also be downloaded from BC's web site.
Methods of Instruction
This course is a fully online class. There are no class meetings -- everything is done through our course web site on BCOnline (sometimes known as D2L). In our course web site, you will find Instructor Lecture Notes, access to our online homework in MyEconLab, videos, class discussions, your tests, and other course materials. Together with your textbook, all resources you will need to succeed in the course will be found in the BCOnline site.
Any student who earns a grade of C in this course will earn writing credit as well. Therefore, you will have to verify that your wiriting skills are at a college level during the course. You will accomplish that through the online discussions during the semester.
Learning Outcomes
BC's course outline for ECO2023 indicates the following general course outcomes:
"Course Overview -- Upon successful completion of this course, the students should be able to describe the behavior and interrelationships of individual decision-making units (firms and households) in the U.S. economy, and discuss theories and problems of international economics.
Unit 1: The students should be able to calculate elasticity and apply the concept in various supply and demand situations.
Unit 2: The students should be able to describe the analytical basis of consumer behavior in using goods and services.
Unit 3: The students should be able to determine the theoretical optimum behavior of the firm as it seeks to maximize total profit in various market models ranging across the competitive spectrum, from pure competition to pure monopoly.
Unit 4: The students should be able to describe the basic production theory, the marginal productivity theory of income distribution, and the relationship of the latter to theories of rent, wages, interest, and profit.
Unit 5: The students should be able to describe the theories and problems of international trade.... "
Practically speaking, the course can be logically divided into the following sections:
Introduction to Economics
- Consumer Behavior -- Utility Theory, Indifference Analysis, and Elasticities
- Behavior of Firms -- Costs of Production and the Supply Curve, and Profit Maximization
- Product Markets -- Pure Competition, Pure Monopoly, Monopolistic Competition & Oligopoly
- Government's role in Anti-trust
- the Labor Market --theory and current issues
- International Economics
By the end of the course you should understand the following basic economic principles:
- The definition of economics and the economics perspective
- The production possibilities model
- The laws of demand and supply
- Demand and supply elasticities
- Marginal utility theory and its relationship to consumer choice
- Costs of production and the supply curve
- Principles of Profit Maximization
- Optimal behavior of firms in: Perfect Competition, Pure Monopoly, Monopolistic Competition, and Oligopoly
- The role of the government to encourage competition (anti-trust)
- Payments for resources based on marginal productivity
- The labor market
- Basic elements of international economics
The general outcomes from this course are also available from the BC website (BC course outlines).
Course Requirements
There are no special requirements or admission criteria for this course. We advise students to complete ECO 2013, Principles of Macroeconomics, prior to taking this course, but there is no formal prerequisite.
It is advisable that students have regular access to a computer and be comfortable working online. Students should be able to open/save files, surf the internet, send and receive email, and post to discussion topics.
All email in this course must be sent within BCOnline (D2L).
The complete syllabus for the course will be available on our course website on the first day of class.
Course Technology Requirements
The only unique software you require for this course is a PowerPoint viewer, which can be uploaded at no cost.
Some discussions, the extra credit essay, and the individual essay require you to watch and make a report on videos. Your PC must have speakers or headphones that allow you to hear the videos.
Course Materials
The required text for the course is Miller, Roger Leroy, ECONOMICS TODAY, 16th edition, Boston: Pearson Addison-Wesley, 2011
If you plan to take both ECO 2013 and ECO 2023, purchase the full version hard cover text (ISBN: TBD) or a loose-leaf "a la carte edition" (ISBN: TBD). As an alternative, you can also purchase an eBook that is good for both ECO 2013 and ECO 2023 (ISBN: TBD). You must take ECO 2013 and ECO 2023 in successive semesters if you purchase the eBook. Please note, the bookstore will buy back the hard cover text, but WILL NOT buy back the a la carte or eBook versions.
If you are just taking ECO 2023 at Broward College, you can purchase ECONOMICS TODAY -- THE MICRO VIEW, 16th edition in an "a la carte" edition.
You are NOT required to purchase an access key to MyEconLab. You can purchase it if you wish. MEL gives you access to homework, news and videos which will prove useful in the course.
Within the online portion of the course, you will have access to online tutorials, practice quizzes and additional information from the textbook publisher. In addition, you will have access to the professor's lecture notes. The lecture notes are in PowerPoint, and you can print them in handout format (3 or 4 slides to a page), so you can print them out prior to class and make your own notes right on the slides themselves.
I am confident you will have the tools you need to succeed in this course. Of course, resources are only valuable when they are utilized. One of the key premises of economics is that resources must be allocated (used) efficiently to maximize satisfaction (your grade).
How to Register for this Course
To enroll for the course, please refer to BC's Student Online System. Students must be paid before they will be able to log into the course. If you register late, it may take 36 hours for you to gain access to the course after paying.
Contact Information
If you wish to meet with me prior to enrolling in the course, feel free to send me an email (glindebl@broward.edu) to make an appointment.
How to Access the Course once you are Enrolled in this Course
Once you are enrolled and have paid, access to the course will begin with an on-campus orientation scheduled during the first class session of the semster. During the orientation, we will review login and access procedures, requirements for the course, and begin our study of economic principles.
In the meantime, refer to the BC Flexible Learning page for email lookup and login instructions. All students must obtain and use a BC email address for this course, so please obtain a user ID and PIN code before attempting to login to BCOnline.
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