PPPA 6085 -- Intermediate Microeconomics

George Washington University
Trachtenberg School of Public Policy and Public Administration
Fall 2015

Syllabus available at http://home.gwu.edu/~lfbrooks/leahweb/teaching/pppa6085/2015/pppa6085.html

Course Description and Objectives

This course presents intermediate microeconomics, with a focus on policy-relevant topics and examples.

As a result of completing this course you should be able to

Contact and Office Hours

Professor: Leah Brooks

Media and Public Affairs Building, Room 601F
Office Hours: Thursdays 2:45 to 4:45 PM, and by appointment
Scheduler
lfbrooks at gwu.edu
202-994-4703

Contact policy: I will do my best to answer emails within 24 hours during weekdays, or within 24 hours on the soonest weekday if you email on the weekend. If you do not hear from me within this time frame, you should assume that your email has been lost and you should re-send.

If you have missed a class, your first line of defense to ask what you have missed is another student.

Graduate Assistant: Monika Jansen

monikajansen at gwu.edu
Do not call after 9:30 pm! 530-902-1335
Office Hours: Tuesdays 5:30 to 8 pm, and Thursdays, 5:30 to 6:45 pm. MPA 602A
Sunday office hours are also available upon request, with 24 hours notice by email.
Midterm review Sunday October 18, 1 to 3 pm. Room TBA.

Course Logistics

Section 10: Tuesdays, 3:30 to 5:20 pm, Rome 459
Section 11: Tuesdays, 6:10 to 8 pm, Phillips 217
Final exam is December 15, 2015, 5:20 to 7:20, Rome 459.

Prerequisites

None. If you have already taken Intermediate Microeconomics elsewhere, I suggest that you skip this class and enroll directly in 6014, Economics in Policy Analysis. If you have never taken economics and are a MPP student, this course is required. If you are unsure whether this course is for you, please email me.

This course does require a basic knowledge of linear algebra. Specifically, you need to know how to graph linear equations of the form y = mx + b, and how to solve two linear equations for two unknowns (this means find y and x in terms of a, b, c, and d, given y = ax +c and y = d - bx). If you have not mastered these skills before the beginning of class, it will substantially hinder your ability to understand the economics. I want to be sure that you spend the class thinking about how math helps you tell an economic story, and not trying to understand how to manipulate algebra.

If you are concerned about your algebra abilities, or if you would like a refresher, you have two options. Option one is the math review prepared Nancy Augustine through Kahn Academy. Instructions are here. Option two is our course's algebra review, taught by our TA Monika Jansen. This review is scheduled for Thursday September 3, 5:30 to 6:45 pm in Funger 103. The problems for this review are posted here, and problems with answers are here. If you feel quite shaky, I encourage you to do both.

Readings

Required textbook: Goolsbee, Levitt and Syverson, Microeconomics.
Required reading packet: Selected chapters from Gruber, Public Finance and Public Policy, Second Edition.

The textbook is available at the campus bookstore. The reading packet should be at the bookstore in mid-October. If you don't find it there then, please let me know.

Course Overview

Class Date Topic Textbook Chapters Due
1 September 1 Intro, Supply and Demand GLS, Chapters 1 and 2
2 September 8 Supply and Demand and Policy GLS, Chapter 3 Problem Set 1
3 September 15 Consumer Behavior GLS, Chapter 4 Problem Set 2
4 September 22 Elasticity, Paper Assignment GLS, Section 2.5 and addt'l materials Problem Set 3
5 September 29 Individual and Market Demand GLS, Chapter 5 Problem Set 4
6 October 6 Producer Behavior GLS, Chapter 6 Problem Set 5
7 October 13 Costs GLS, Chapter 7 Problem Set 6
8 October 20 Midterm Problem Set 7
9 October 27 Supply in a Competitive Market GLS, Chapter 8
10 November 3 Market Power and Monopoly GLS, Chapter 9 Problem Set 8
11 November 10 Externalities and Public Goods GLS, Chapter 16 Problem Set 9
12 November 17 Tax Incidence Gruber, Chapters 18 and 19 Problem Set 10, Rough draft of elasticity memo (voluntary)
13 November 24 Social Insurance Gruber, Chapter 12 Problem Set 11
14 December 1 Leftovers and Review Elasticity Memo

Course Content

Outline is preliminary and subject to change.

  1. Intro, Supply and Demand [notes]
    • GLS, Chapters 1 and 2, skimming 2.5
  2. Supply and Demand and Policy [notes]
    • GLS, Chapter 3
    • Priceline and consumer surplus [link]
  3. Consumer Behavior [notes]
    • GLS, Chapter 4
  4. Elasticity [notes]
    • GLS, Section 2.5
    • Avocados and elasticity, [link]
  5. Individual and Market Demand [notes]
    • GLS, Chapter 5
  6. Producer Behavior [notes]
    • GLS, Chapter 6
  7. Costs [notes]
    • GLS, Chapter 7
  8. Midterm
  9. Supply in a Competitive Market [notes]
    • GLS, Chapter 8
  10. Market Power and Monopoly [notes]
    • GLS, Chapter 9
  11. Externalities and Public Good [notes]
    • GLS, Chapter 16
    • Two podcasts on public goods
      • Lighthouses, Autopsies, and the Federal Budget, [link]
      • How to Stop an Asteroid, [link]
  12. Tax Incidence [notes]
    • Gruber, Chapters 18 and 19
  13. Social Insurance [notes]
    • Gruber, Chapter 12
  14. Leftovers and Review [notes]
    • Notes, as needed

Evaluation

  1. Problem Sets (15%)
    • Problem sets are designed to practice the skills we learn in class and prepare you for the exams
    • Turn them in in class at the beginning of class that they are due, or to my mailbox before class
    • There are 11 problem sets due during the semester. Nine will count toward your grade; you can choose to either skip two problem sets, or drop the lowest two grades.
    • I do not accept late assignments
    • We will grade completed problem sets on a check-plus (A), check (A-), and check-minus (B+) system
    • You are welcome and encouraged to work with others, but you must each turn in your own work, in your own words
  2. Elasticity and Policy Memo (15%)
    • Paper is due at the final class, in class
    • Extensions will be given only the case of illness
    • Goal is to apply tools of elasticity to a policy of your interest
    • Any essays submitted late will decline by ten points for each twelve hours the essay is late, e.g. if the essay is due on Friday and is received Monday, if it would have received 70%, it now receives 30%
    • The paper should be no more than five pages.
    • I will hand out detailed instructions for this paper during our fourth class.
  3. Midterm Exam (20%)
    • This is a closed book exam covering all material in the course through this point.
    • You are free to use a calculator for the exam, but you are not allowed to use the programming function if your calculator has one.
    • Do not plan to use your mobile as a calculator
  4. Final Exam (30%)
    • This is a closed book exam covering all material in the course through this point, but with an emphasis on the latter half of the class.
    • You are free to use a calculator for the exam, but you are not allowed to use the programming function if your calculator has one.
    • Do not plan to use your mobile as a calculator
  5. Class Participation (10%)
    • I expect that you will come to class having read the case study and ripped from the headlines material and prepared to engage with me and other students in discussing the material we are covering
  6. Ripped from the Headlines (10%)
    • One to three students (depending on course size) chooses an article related to the topic of the course just covered
    • Article-choosing student must email me and the presenter the link to the article by Thursday following class at noon (for the class the following Tuesday). I will ok the article; do not proceed without this ok.
    • One to three (depending on course size) students prepare short presentations (5 mins or less) on how the article supports or rejects hypotheses we've learned in class
    • I will provide a detailed handout for this assignment the first class
    • More details on this when we know the number of students registered for the class

Handouts

Trachtenberg School Course Policies