University of California, Berkeley - Department of Economics

ECON 1: Introduction to Economics

Summer 2012 (Session C: June 18 August 10)

Instructor: Prof. Luea
Class Time: MW 10:10 12:00 noon
Classroom: 245 Li Ka Shing
Email: [email protected]


Office: 691A Evans Hall
Office Hours: MW 9:00 10:00 a.m.
and by appointment


Graduate Student Instructors:
Lanwei (lan-way) Yang
[email protected]
Section 102, MW 12-2, 85 Evans
Section 103, MW 2-4, 85 Evans
Office Hours: TBA
David Berger (hard g)
[email protected]
Section 101, MW 8-10, 87 Evans
Section 104, TuTh 8-10, 385 LeConte
Office Hours: TBA
Nick Calabrese (Cala Breeze )
[email protected]
Section 105, TuTh 10-12, 85 Evans
Section 106, TuTh 12-2, 85 Evans
Office Hours: Monday 12-2, 715 Barrows
Mekoce Walker (Coach)
[email protected]
Section 107, TuTh 2-4, 85 EVANS
Section 108, TuTh 4-6, 85 EVANS
Office hours: MW 12:15-1:15, 715 Barrows Hall

UC Catalog Course Description: A survey of economics designed to give an overview
of the field.

Required Course Materials:
Principles of Economics, Karl E. Case, Ray C. Fair, and Sharon M. Oster, 10th
edition, Prentice Hall, ISBNs 13: 978-0-13-255291-2; 10: 0-13-255291-4. Older
editions are fine, but you are responsible for keeping up with the differences
across the editions. I will be working from and assigning problems from the 10
th

edition. Hard copies or e-texts are fine. The entire e-text as well as individual
chapters can be purchased through CourseSmart eTextbook
(www.cousesmart.com). You do not need access to MyEconLab.
Access to Microsoft Word, Excel and the internet.

Anticipated Grading Scale:
A 93 100% B+ 87 89% C+ 77 79% D+ 67 69% F 59% or below
A- 90 92% B 83 86% C 73 76% D 63 66%


B- 80 82% C- 70 72% D- 60 62%

Point Structure:
Discussion Section Participation 20 points
Problem Sets (4) 40 points
Exam 1 100 points
Exam 2 100 points
Total Points Possible 260 points
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Pass/Fail Students: If you are taking this course pass/fail, you must receive at least 70
percent in the course to pass. You must complete all course material, including both
exams.

Academic Accommodations for Disabled Students: Any student with a disability who
needs an accommodation or assistance in this course should make an appointment to
speak with me as soon as possible.

Attendance Policy: Students are expected to attend all classes for the full length of the
class period. If you miss a class, you are responsible for getting all notes and/or
announcements from fellow students.

Practice Problems: Some practice problems will be worked in class. You also should
work through the problems throughout the text. No previous semester exams or
homework problems are available.

Discussion Sections: Your discussion section will meet twice a week for two hours.
You will have the opportunity to earn 20 points in your section over the course of the
semester. You should attend all discussion sections and complete all assigned work.
Your graduate student instructor will provide additional details when you meet with him
or her.

Problem Sets: Four problem sets will be distributed throughout the semester. I
encourage you to work together to solve these problems, but each student must turn in his
or her own written work. No late work will be accepted for any reason as ample time
will be given to complete the problem sets. These problem sets must be turned in at the
beginning of the lecture session in which they are due.

Problem Set 1: Wednesday, June 27
Problem Set 2: Wednesday, July 11
Problem Set 3: Wednesday, July 25
Problem Set 4: Wednesday, August 1

Exams: There are two exams. No make-up exams are given without prior approval.
Make-up exams are only given for documented illnesses, documented family
emergencies, or school-related activities. All make-up exams will be arranged with the
instructor after documentation of the excused absence has been provided. All make-up
exams will be taken the week prior to the final exam and will need to be scheduled with
the assigned GSI at his or her convenience. Please note: while the final exam is not
considered comprehensive, it does contain material that you will have learned in the first
half of the course (such as supply and demand concepts). The material in the latter half
of the course builds on the earlier material, so it is important that you retain the
information.

Exam 1: Monday, July 16
Exam 2: Wednesday, August 8
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Academic Honesty:
We will be very strict in our enforcement of the Student Code of Conduct regarding
academic dishonesty. Any student discovered cheating on an exam will be punished to
the highest degree allowable by the Code of Conduct.

Exam Disruptions:
If the fire alarm sounds either prior to or during any exam without proper cause, or if any
other event occurs that prohibits us from taking an exam, the exam will continue on in an
announced location and will finish at the scheduled time.

General Classroom Conduct:
All students are expected to show respect for the instructor, graduate student instructors,
and fellow classmates. Use of cell phones, headphones, or other electronic devices is not
allowed during lecture (unless to accommodate a documented disability). NO LAPTOP
COMPUTERS ALLOWED (unless to accommodate a documented disability). All
students are expected to be on time to class. Do not arrive late and do not leave early as
it is disruptive to the rest of the class. This is not an inclusive list of classroom conduct
expectations. Other conduct issues will be discussed as needed throughout the course of
the semester.

Important Dates:
Friday, J une 22: Last day to drop/withdraw for refund.
Friday, J une 29: Last day to drop/withdraw without refund.
Friday, J une 29: Deadline to add courses.
Friday, J uly 27: Deadline to change grading option.

Link to Academic Calendar for Summer Session:
http://summer.berkeley.edu/registration/schedule

(see next page for tentative course outline)
Page 4 of 4

Tentative Course Outline:

Date Material
Basic Economic Principles and Microeconomics Focus
Monday, J une 18
Chapter 1: The Scope and Method of Economics, Chapter 1
Appendix, Chapter 2: The Economic Problem: Scarcity and Choice
Wednesday, J une 20
Chapter 3: Demand, Supply, and Market Equilibrium, Chapter 4:
Demand and Supply Applications
Monday, J une 25
Chapter 4: Demand and Supply Applications contd, Chapter 5:
Elasticity
Wednesday, J une 27
Chapter 6: Household Behavior and Consumer Choice, Chapter 7:
The Production Process, Problem Set 1 Due
Monday, J uly 2
Chapter 8: Short-Run Costs and Output Decisions, Chapter 9: Long-
run Costs and Output Decisions, Chapter 10 Input Demand: The
Labor and Land Markets
Wednesday, J uly 4 No Class University Holiday
Monday, J uly 9
Chapter 11: Input Demand: The Capital Market, Chapter 12:
General Equilibrium and the Efficiency of Perfect Competition
Wednesday, J uly 11
Chapter 13: Monopoly, Chapter 14:, Oligopoly, Chapter 15:
Monopolistic Competition, Problem Set 2 Due
Monday, July 16 Exam 1
Macroeconomics Focus
Wednesday, J uly 18
Chapter 21: Measuring National Output and National Income,
Chapter 22: Unemployment, Inflation and Long-Run Growth,
Monday, J uly 23
Chapter 32: Long-Run Growth , Chapter 36: Economic Growth in
Developing and Transitional Economies
Wednesday, J uly 25
Chapter 23: Aggregate Expenditure and Equilibrium Output,
Chapter 24: Government and Fiscal Policy, Problem Set 3 Due
Monday, J uly 30
Chapter 25: Money Supply and the Fed, Chapter 26: Money
Demand and the Equilibrium Interest Rate
Wednesday, August 1
Chapter 27: Aggregate Demand in the Goods and Money Markets,
Chapter 28: Aggregate Supply and the Equilibrium Price Level,
Problem Set 4 Due
Monday, August 6
Chapter 29: The Labor Market, Chapter 30, Financial Crises,
Stabilization, and Deficits
Wednesday, August 8 Exam 2