That's me ;-)

Economics & Statistics
 Winter term 2011/2012 - 23 January 2012
ECONOMICS I -- Introduction to Economics and Microeconomics -- BIM 3rd semester WS 2011/12

Basic Material:

Literature: The course is based on the textbook of Sloman: Economics. (7th edition 2009).
to access the material on the book web page (portal.mypearson.com) please refer to the "Course Title": Economics I (EFA 3, HS Bremen, Germany), Course ID: schmidt82235 (shortcut: enter http://media.pearsoncmg.com/intl/ema/ema_uk_he_sloman_econ_7e/pages/textbook_resources_index.htm to access most of the material available for the textbook).
+ you are expected to use several other (literature) sources - for your presentation (at least three additional sources) as well as for the general work in class, preparation, homework ... (the best might be to take some time in the library starting at the very shelf where our book is located and look around - books about general Economics as well as specific books about Microeconomics can both be helpful.

In this module, we use the AULIS, the E-Learning-Platform of the Hochschule Bremen. The group is Repository (Magazin) » Faculty 1: Business Sciences (School of Int. Business - SIB) » Business Studies / Int. Management (BIM BA) » BIM 3 - Microeconomics - Winter term 2011-12. We are going to use this group for our internal communication and the uploads of the students.

Assessment:
The assessment is a LEARNING PORTFOLIO. This is a relatively new type of assessment in which the students document their own responsibility for their learning process and learning outcome.
Theoretical definition from the module handbook:  "A Learning Portfolio consists of several parts which may include individual as well as team results. Part of the final performance are the reflective statements in which the teams and every student critically reviews and evaluates the individual and teams' learning process as well as the roles of the different partial assessments.
   These partial assessments may be essays, concept papers, individual or team presentations, web pages, web logs, reflected literature research in form of documented bibliographies, own analyses including the documentation of case studies, applied methods, term papers, oral/written tests/exams or also other types that can be proposed to the lecturer. Normally 2 to 4 of these types are selected by the student and have to be approved by the lecturer."
Required parts of the Learning Portfolio in this class are described in this document - they might be subject to change / discussion during the semester.



PRELIMINARY Schedule (the classes take place on Mondays 14.30 to 17.45 and on Wednesdays 8.30 to 10.00)
No week week starting on... presentation Unit - topics (Preliminary Schedule) Material
1 1 05 Oct 2011   Introduction: Basic problems
Teamwork about Mankiws "Ten Principles of Economics" and part from B. Obama "The Audacity of Hope" (p. 176-184) (also see a debate in the Economist)		 Welcome.ppt
-> the material (reader) distributed in class
"Basic Concepts"; Economics @ Wikipedia 
2 2 10 Oct
   Teams' Presentation of Mankiws "Ten Principles of Economics"
Introduction: Basic problems; economic systems
+ presentation methods and strategies (What makes a good presentation?)
- Hierarchy of goals in market economies
3 2 12 Oct  
Introduction: economic systems
Objectives of economic policy and political systems.

- "Wall Street" @ Wikipedia
- See also the quotations of T. Friedman

4 3 17 Oct   PART A: INTRODUCTION
1: Introducing economics
Objectives of economic policy and political systems.  

Discussion of a Learning Agreement 

Please use the online resources, tests and case studies on the Sloman web page (see above)

5 3 19 Oct   PART B: FOUNDATIONS OF MICROECONOMICS
2: Supply and demand		 The Individual Expectations were due on October 19th!
6 4 24 Oct  

2: Supply and demand

 
7 4 26 Oct  

(1) Discussion of the case studies that the groups have to present:     (Assessment.pdf)
> "Each team selects a firm or a specific market (to be approved by the lecturer) as cases for the topics dis-cussed in class."
-- to have their firm/market approved, the groups present a "proposal" (ppt to be presented in the Module Exercise on November 7th/14th / around 5 min per group) preliminary answering the topics below;

> The groups have to deliver a presentation (the duration should be 5-7 minutes per team-member - in the module exercises - starting December 12, see below) together with a written documentation of 6-8 pages (plus appendices) that analyses their market/firm from a microeconomic viewpoint:
- general description (product, suppliers, customers, ...)
- type of market (market structure)
- specific conditions of demand and supply
- presentation / analysis of empirical data
- conclusion: "what do we learn" (from business as well as economic viewpoint)

(5)      2: Supply and demand: Welfare aspects

> (4) Final Discussion of the Learning Agreement developed in class

> (2) Module Exercises (MÜ) and (new) group-structure in AULIS

> (3) Presentations and topics for case study
- Marking Criteria for Presentations
- "What makes a good presentation"
8 5 31 Oct   3: Markets in Action (6th ed: Government intervention in the market)

 
9 5 2 Nov  

More thoughts about the case studies: topics and time frame.

3: Markets in Action (6th ed: Government intervention in the market) -> Elasticity

 External links:
ERS Glossary,  Price Elasticity of Demand, Income Elasticity, Excel-File with empirically measured Elasticities (xls 13 MB, zip 1,3 MB) from Defra
10 6 7 Nov Proposals due in MÜ for groups 1

3: Markets in Action (6th ed: Government intervention in the market) -> Elasticity

  
11 6 9 Nov  

Review and your questions - chapters 1-3 (including Mankiw)

PART C: MICROECONOMICS
4: Background to demand

  
12 7 14 Nov Proposals due in MÜ for groups 2 
(see conditions above)		 4: Background to demand  
13 7 16 Nov  

4: Background to demand

  
14 8 21 Nov   5: Background to supply  The production process 
15 8 23 Nov   5: Background to supply  Examples in XL
16 9 28 Nov   5: Background to supply: Short run and long run  
17 9 30 Nov  

5: Background to supply: Revenue and Profit

6: Profit maximising under perfect competition and monopoly

  
18 10 5 Dec   6: Profit maximising under perfect competition and monopoly

19 10 7 Dec  

6: Profit maximising under perfect competition and monopoly

20 11 12 Dec Presentations of cases (only) today we use the class time for presentations and MÜ (discussing the exam)  
21 11 14 Dec  

Comparing the extremes: Perfect Competition .... Mon. Comp ... Oligopoly ... Contest. Markets ... Monopoly
7: Profit maximising under imperfect competition

  
22 12 19 Dec
Presentations of case studies in MÜ, starting at 3.30
class fro 2.30-3.30; first presentation 3.30 - followed by a break, then the next 2 presentations. Afterwards MÜ

(7) ... imperfect competition - Oligopoly

A beautiful mind
23 12 21 Dec  

(7) ... imperfect competition - Oligopoly -> Game Theory

 Cartoon Introduction to Economics:
- Game Theory: Cutting the cake
- Game Theory: The prisoners dilemma
24 13 09 Jan 2012 Presentations of case studies in MÜ, starting at 3.30
class fro 2.30-3.30; first presentation 3.30 - followed by a break, then the next 2 presentations. Afterwards MÜ

(7) ... imperfect competition - Oligopoly -> Game Theory


  
25 13 11 Jan   

(7) ... imperfect competition - Oligopoly -> Game Theory / Review

  
26 14 16 Jan 2012 Presentations of case studies in MÜ, starting at 3.30
class fro 2.30-3.30; first presentation 3.30 - followed by a break, then the next 2 presentations. Afterwards MÜ

Review and conclusion + YOUR questions
   / Repetition and questions - up to chapter 7

Evaluation

 Contents_of7th_edition.doc discussed in class
27 14 18 Jan   Review and conclusion + YOUR questions
test preparation - summary and questions		 Contents_of7th_edition.doc discussed in class
28 15 23 Jan 2012 BOTH groups in MÜ !

Review and conclusion + YOUR questions
test preparation - summary and questions

8: Alternative theories of the firm
    (9: The theory of distribution of income)
10: Inequality, poverty and policies to redistribute incomes

 - Microeconomics WS 05/06 EFA 3 (90 min) and the corresponding resit exam
- ISGM combined module "Micro- and Macroeconomics"(parts of 45 Minutes each)
  - exam of 27.01.05: Microeconomics, Macroeconomics
  - resit exam of 08.04.05: Microeconomics, Macroeconomics
please remember that these were all courses based on different books, partly of different intensity, so they are not directly comparable.
29 15

25 Jan

room A 01

  

30 minutes test

Evaluation results

outlook:
11: Markets, efficiency and the public interest
     + review and your questions
12: Applied microeconomics

Contents_of7th_edition.doc discussed in class

 

Groups (Module exercise "MÜ"): The "Module Exercise" takes place every week on Mondays at 16.15-17.45. Starting October 24 the class will be divided into two groups so every student has a module exercise every two weeks. We formed 6 teams and every team 7 group is assigned tasks for the next session and is expected to present the results.
The module exercise is part of your individual workload, the lecturer won't deliver new information; he will only moderate the sessions. The tasks of the module exercise normally refer to the topics discussed in the last week(s). The numbers in the table below normally refer to the chapter in the textbook (Sloman: "End of chapter questions" = EoC).
The exercises discussed in the module exercise and tutorial are relevant for the individual as well as the teams grades and they also show the topics of the test. If the students deliver results or approaches to the solution, we'll discuss the correct solution in class. If no approaches are presented, the task will not be discussed in class but nevertheless stay relevant for the test.
Teams:

Date:

 


All students
Alpha   
Beta  
Gamma  
Delta  
Epsilon  
Zeta

names of students / photos

Group 1

            

names of students / photos

Group 2

            
10 Oct (both groups)

Mankiws "Principles" & Obama text - presentation in class:
-> What's it about
-> OWN example(s)
1-2
3-4
5-6
7-8
9-10
Obama
17 Oct (both groups)

Mankiw: "Problems and Applications"
ALL-> No. 17 ONE example !
Sloman p 29 (End of chapter 1 questions)
5 and 6
13-15
10-12
7-9
4-6
1-3
24 Oct (group 1) (sorry, my mobile-photos are so bad that I can't use them here)

Topic: Chapter 2, EoC p 55
-> all students please prepare question 1

2
3
4
5
6
8
31 Oct (group 2) -> fotos

Topic: Chapter 2, EoC p 55

-> all students please prepare question 1

2
3
4
5
6
8
07 Nov (group 1) -> fotos

ALL groups present the proposals for their case study

+ Topic: Chapter 3, EoC p 91
1; 2-a
3; 2-b
3; 2-c
4; 2-d
5; 2-e
6; 2-f
14 Nov (group 2)

ALL groups present the proposals for their case study

+ Topic: Chapter 3, EoC p 91
1; 2-a
3; 2-b
3; 2-c
4; 2-d
5; 2-e
6; 2-f
21 Nov (group 1)

questions not discussed last session +

Chapter 4, EoC p 121,122
8
7
6
 2, 4 - use (own) illustrations for your answer
1
 Describe the income and the substitution effect using figures like 4-16 to 4-18
28 Nov (group 2)

questions not discussed last session +

Chapter 4, EoC p 121,122
8
7
6
 2, 4 - use (own) illustrations for your answer
1
 Describe the income and the substitution effect using figures like 4-16 to 4-18
05 Dec (group 1)

We will discuss some tasks from the Microeconomics WS 05/07 EFA 3 (English) (90 min)

+ tasks left over from 21 Nov!

all teams should please look at the whole exam - we'll roll the dice which team presents which task ;-)

all teams should please look at the whole exam - we'll roll the dice which team presents which task ;-)

all teams should please look at the whole exam - we'll roll the dice which team presents which task ;-)

all teams should please look at the whole exam - we'll roll the dice which team presents which task ;-)

all teams should please look at the whole exam - we'll roll the dice which team presents which task ;-)

vall teams should please look at the whole exam - we'll roll the dice which team presents which task ;-)
12 Dec (group 2)

Presentations of the first groups:
- Delta
+ Epsilon (grp.1) *
+ Delta (grp.1)
already at 14.30 !! (only today 12/12/2011)

Module Exercise:
We will discuss some tasks from the Microeconomics WS 05/07 EFA 3 (English) (90 min)

+ tasks left over from 28 Nov!

all teams should please look at the whole exam - we'll roll the dice which team presents which task ;-)

(teams that don't present case today)

all teams should please look at the whole exam - we'll roll the dice which team presents which task ;-)

(teams that don't present case today)

all teams should please look at the whole exam - we'll roll the dice which team presents which task ;-)

(teams that don't present case today)

all teams should please look at the whole exam - we'll roll the dice which team presents which task ;-)

(teams that don't present case today)

all teams should please look at the whole exam - we'll roll the dice which team presents which task ;-)

(teams that don't present case today)

all teams should please look at the whole exam - we'll roll the dice which team presents which task ;-)

(teams that don't present case today)
19 Dec (group 1)

Presentations of the groups:
- Gamma
+ Alpha (grp.2) *
+ Beta (grp.2)

+ tasks left over from 21 Nov / 5th Dec

            
09 Jan (group 2) Presentations of the groups:
- Epsilon
- Gamma
- Zeta		            
16 Jan (group 1) Presentations of the groups:
- Alpha
- Zeta
- Beta
no tasks
but we discuss
old exams -
AND ...
YOUR
questions !
23 Jan (group 2)

no tasks
but we discuss
old exams -
AND ...
YOUR
questions !

 

You find some older exam papers here, i.e.:
- Macroeconomics SoSe 06 EFA 4 (English) (60 ! min)
- Microeconomics WS 05/07 EFA 3 (English) (90 min) and the corresponding resit exam
- ISGM combined module "Micro- and Macroeconomics"(parts of 45 Minutes each)
   - exam of 27.01.05: Microeconomics, Macroeconomics
   - resit exam of 08.04.05: Microeconomics, Macroeconomics
please remember that these were all courses based on different books, partly of different intensity, so they are not directly comparable.

 

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Links:

 Quotations form the book of Thomas Friedman: "The World is flat":
- For some, particularly among the older generations, this was an unwelcome transformation. Communism was a great system for making everyone equally poor. In fact, there was no better system in the world for that than Communism. Capitalism made people unequally rich, and for some who were used to the plodding, limited, but secure Socialist lifestyle--where a job, a house, an education, and a pension were all guaranteed, even if they were meager--the fall of the Berlin wall was deeply unsettling. (p. 51/52)
- ... to some degree Mikhail Gorbachev's hapless efforts to reform something that was unreformable brought communism to an end. But if I had to point to one factor as first among equals, it was the information revolution that began in the early- to mid-1980s. Totalitarian systems depend on a monopoly of information and force, and too much information started to slip through the Iron Curtain, thanks to the spread of fax machines, telephones, and other modern tools of communication. (p 54)

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Hochschule Bremen
Fachbereich Wirtschaft
VWL und Statistik