UNIVERSITY OF ALBERTA

Department of Economics
ECON 281 A5
Intermediate Microeconomic Theory I
Fall 2016

Instructor:
Andrew Eckert
Office: Tory 9-29
Phone: 492-3959
Email: aeckert@ualberta.ca

Class Schedule:
Lectures: Tuesdays and Thursdays from 3:30 4:50 in T 1 91.
Office Hours: Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 1:00 2:00, or by appointment (see me
after class or contact me by telephone or email). Additional office hours may be scheduled
before the exam or assignment due dates.
Tutor Center and Practice Sessions: There is a tutor (a PhD student) available to ECON 281
students in all sections. The tutors office hours, held in Tory 8 29, are TBA. Students are
welcome to ask the tutor questions about the lecture material, readings, or the practice problems.
The tutor cannot give you answers to assignment questions.
As well, the tutor will be holding sessions throughout the term, in which he will be going
through additional practice questions. These sessions are recommended, but are not mandatory.
Practice questions, without answers, will be circulated the week before each session. If you are
unable to attend a session you are welcome to come to the tutors office hours to speak with him
about the questions. Each practice session in a week will cover the same questions.
Practice sessions will be held on the following days (times and room TBA):
September 22 & 23
October 6 & 7
October 20 & 21
November 3 & 4
November 17 & 18
December 1 & 2

Prerequisites:
ECON 101 or equivalent. This prerequisite will be checked, and students who do not meet the
prerequisite will be removed from the course.
First year calculus (eg MATH 113) is NOT a prerequisite for this course. HOWEVER, we will
be making extensive use of high school-level math. If you are uncomfortable with this material, I
strongly recommend doing some review at the start of term.

Purpose of the Course:

This course discusses the theory of consumer behavior; theory of production and cost; price and
output determination under competition, monopoly and other market structures.

Evaluation:
The final grade for the course will be determined according to the following formula:
Midterm Exam (October 25)
Homework Assignments (4)
Final Exam (December 14, tentative)

30%
30%
40%

The final exam will be cumulative, covering material from the entire term. More weight will be
placed on material presented after the midterm. NOTE: The final exam date listed is tentative you need to check the date and time for the correct section of the final exam later).
Assignments will be posted on eClass. The circulation and due dates of the assignments are as
follows:
Assignment
1
2
3
4

Circulated
Monday September 12
Friday September 30
Friday October 28
Friday November 18

Due
Monday September 26
Friday October 14
Wednesday November 16
Wednesday November 30

Grades are not given for attendance or in-class participation.

The formula given above will be used to compute a grade out of one hundred for the course. In
translating these numeric grades to letter grades, letter grades will be assigned in an attempt to
achieve a grade point average between 2.6 and 3.2. Note however that, depending on
circumstances, the grade point average of the class may lie outside of this interval. Final grades
are based both on absolute and relative performance.

University policy on missed exams and term work can be found in Section 23.3 of the Calendar.
Note that approval for missing the midterm exam is at my discretion. Students who offer a
medical justification must submit the Request for Deferral of Examinations and/or Term Work
form, available online on eClass. Students who wish to request a deferred final exam must apply
to the Student Services Office of their home Faculty (not to me). Please consult the Calendar for
further details.
Assignments are due to the Economics Department office (8th floor Tory) by 4:30 on the due
date. Late assignments will receive no marks unless I have granted you an extension for a valid
reason before the due date. Students who miss the midterm exam for an approved reason will
have the weight of the mid-term placed on the final exam. The deferred final examination for
those students who are granted one will be held on Friday January 6, 2017, at 3:00 PM.

eClass
I will be using eClass to post course documents. These will include the course outline,
assignments, past exam questions and PowerPoint slides used in class. PowerPoint slides are
posted after each lecture.

Books and Materials:

The required textbook for this course is:

Besanko, D., and R. Braeutigam. Microeconomics, John Wiley, 2010 (5th ed).
I will be basing my lectures on the most recent version of the text. If you wish to use a previous
edition of the text, please consult with me first regarding compatibility.

Course Outline and Readings:

In the following, all chapter references are for Besanko and Braeutigam. Please note that all
dates listed (except exam dates) are approximate. The exact sections covered in each chapter
may be changed as the term proceeds. Any changes will be announced in class.
1. Introduction; Analyzing Economic Problems (Ch. 1)

September 1

2. Demand and Supply Analysis (Ch. 2)

September 6-8

3. Consumer Preferences and the Concept of Utility (Ch. 3)

September 13 -15

4. Consumer Choice (Ch. 4)

Excluding Section 4.4, Appendix

September 20 - 22

5. The Theory of Demand (Ch. 5)

Excluding Section 5.6

September 27 October 4

6. Inputs and Production Functions (Ch 6.)

Excluding Appendix

October 6 11

7. Costs and Cost Minimization (Ch. 7)

Excluding Appendix pages 287 288.

October 13 - 18

NOTE: MIDTERM IS OCTOBER 25

8. Cost Curves (Ch. 8)

Excluding 8.4, Appendix

October 20 - 27

9. Perfectly Competitive Markets (Ch. 9)

Excluding Appendix

November 1 November 3

10. Competitive Markets: Applications (Ch. 10)

November 15 - 17

NOTE: NO CLASSES NOVEMBER 8 AND 10!

11. Monopoly and Monopsony; Factor Markets (Ch. 11)*
Excluding 11.4

November 22 - 29

12. Capturing Surplus (Ch. 12)

Excluding 12.6

December 1 - 6

*In addition, the following chapter, which has been made available on eclass, is a required
reading for this section:
Pindyck, R. and D. Rubinfeld (2013): Microeconomics, 5th Edition, Chapter 14.

Other Notes:
Audio or video recording of lectures, labs, seminars or any other teaching environment by
students is allowed only with the prior written consent of the instructor or as a part of an
approved accommodation plan. Recorded material is to be used solely for personal study, and is
not to be used or distributed for any other purpose without prior written consent from the content
author(s).
Policy about course outlines can be found in the Evaluation Procedures and Grading System
section of the University Calendar.

The University of Alberta is committed to the highest standards of academic integrity and
honesty. Students are expected to be familiar with these standards regarding academic honesty
and to uphold the policies of the University in this respect. Students are particularly urged to
familiarize themselves with the provisions of the Code of Student Behaviour and avoid any
behaviour which could potentially result in suspicions of cheating, plagiarism, misrepresentation
of facts and/or participation in an offence. Academic dishonesty is a serious offence and can
result in suspension or expulsion from the University.
Student Accessibility Services: If you have a condition that may require some classroom or exam
modifications, please contact SAS (www.ssds.ualberta.ca) to obtain a determination as to what
accommodations should be made.
Student Success Centre: The Student Success Centre (www.studentsuccess.ualberta.ca) offers a
variety of learning resources, including a variety of workshops in learning effective study and
exam strategies. Sessions are available in person and online, for a fee.