RUTGERS UNIVERSITY
Department of Economics
Economic Reasoning and Applications; 50:220:200;  Fall 2012 (9/4 – 12/21)
Section 02: F 12:20 to 3:00 PM (Business & Science Building: BSB – 106)

Instructor: Babu Dasari
Office Hours: Tu Th 4:30 PM – 6:00 PM (Armitage Hall – 317)
Email: babu.dasari@rutgers.edu

(Email contact is strongly preferred; you must use your Rutgers email, and always mention course number & section in your email. During the week, I will normally respond within 48 hours. If I have not responded within 48 hours, please send a follow-up email) 

Course Description

This course will introduce the essential elements of micro-macroeconomic reasoning and its practical applications at a fundamental level. Topics include resource allocations, basic economic relations, market efficiency, market failure, consumer behavior, production and cost analysis, market structures, measuring output, unemployment and inflation, economic growth, business cycles, financial markets, and government policies. After the coverage of each topic, real-life examples will be used to show students how each theorem can be applied to practical issues/situations.  

Prerequisites

Basic Algebra

Textbook

Glen Hubbard and Anthony O’Brien, Essentials of Economics, Prentice Hall(Pearson) 3rd ed., 2013 (buy with access code to MyEconLab) ISBN: 9780133138184

Course Objectives

  • Thorough understanding economic concepts.
  • Ability to apply economic concepts to understand a real world situation.
  • Equipping with critical thinking and analytical ability.
  • Make better economic decisions

Grading

Your grade in the course will be determined as follows:

Attendance

Quizzes (2)

Online Homework

Mid Terms (2)

Final

5%

10% (5% each)

20%

40% (20% each)

25%

Attendance has a weight of 5 % in your course grade. There will be 2 quizzes comprising of 10% of your course grade. Quiz 1 will be from Chapters 1 and 4. Quiz 2 will be from Chapters 5 and 6. There will be 2 midterms. Midterm 1 will be from Chapters 1, 4 and 9 comprising of 20% of your course grade. Midterm 2 will be from Chapters 5, 6 and 11 comprising of 20% of your course grade.  The final exam will be on Thursday, December 20, 2012 from 2:00 to 5:00 PM. 

There is a 20% weight given to your online homework. In order to do your online homework, you should gain access to MyEconLab / PearsonMyLab. The following are couple of options to gain access to PearsonMyLab for doing your online homework.

  1. Buy hard textbook with package – PearsonMyLab  / MyEconLab
  2. Buy e-textbook with package – PearsonMyLab  / MyEconLab
  3. Buy access to MyEconLab / PearsonMylab by registering at pearsonmylab.com

Every online homework / assignment will be open for at least 7 days. After the due date you cannot access your online homework / assignment. In order to register to PearsonMyLab you need the following Course ID: dasari30845

Letter grades for the entire course will be assigned as follows:

Final Grade Rubric

Grade

Range

Grade

Range

Grade

Range

A

  B +

B

90 – 100

85 – 89.99

80 – 84.99

  C +

C

D

75 – 79.99

70 – 74.99

60 – 69.99

F

0 – 59.99

Course Policies

I request that you arrive on time and remain present, seated, and engaged in the classroom until I conclude. Do not wander in and out of the classroom. Please turnoff and stow cell phones for the duration of the class period. You may not use a laptop in class.

Missed Examinations and / Assignments   

There will be no make-up tests! If you miss a test, the test will be scored as a “zero”. Late submission of country paper and research paper will not be accepted

Academic Violations

I follow a policy of zero tolerance for violations of standards of academic conduct. Please refer to the following document on Rutgers Academic Integrity Policy

https://academicintegrity.rutgers.edu/files/documents/AI_Policy_9_01_2011.pdf  

Disability Statement

This course is open to all students who meet the academic requirements for participation. Any student who has a need for accommodation based on the impact of a disability should contact the instructor privately to discuss the specific situation as soon as possible. Information about requesting accommodations can be found at:

https://learn.camden.rutgers.edu/disability/disabilities.html

COURSE OUTLINE* AND TEXT READING ASSIGNMENTS

Wk.

DATE

TOPICS/INFORMATION

READINGS

1

9/7

Basic Concepts

Chapter 1

2

9/14

Interaction of Demand and Supply

Chapter 3

3

9/21

Quiz 1 from Chapters 1 and 3, Market Efficiency&Market Failure

Chapter 4

4

9/28

Market Efficiency and Market Failure

Chapter 4

5

10/5

Midterm 1 from Ch. 1, 3 and 4 & Consumer Choice  and Elasticity

Chapter 7

6

10/12

Consumer Choice and Elasticity

Chapter 7

7

10/19

Technology, Production and Costs

Chapter 8

8

10/26

Quiz 2 from Chapters 7 and 8, and Perfect Competition

Chapter 9

9

11/2

Perfect Competition

Chapter 9

10

11/9

Monopoly

Chapter 10

11

11/16

Midterm 2 from Chapters 7, 8, 9 and 10, Measuring Output

Chapter 12

12

11/23

Thanksgiving Recess

 

13

11/30

Unemployment and Inflation

Chapter 13

14

12/7

Economic Growth, the financial System and Business Cycles

Chapter 14

 

12/20

Final Exam from Chapters 9, 10, 12, 13 and 14: Time – 2 to 5PM

 

*The course outline is subject to change.