Economics 101

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Spring 2002

by David K. Levine

All materials distributed in class, plus slides from the lectures and due dates will be available at this web site. For information about how to access the material on this site, click here. Changes in the course and other course news can be found here.


Discussion, announcements and news

Exam rules and tips

Information on accessing material from this site

Course schedule and slides from lectures

Contact information and office hours for the Professor and TAs

Background Reading: Pure Exchange General Equilibrium; Production Theory


This is the first upper division microeconomics course for economics majors. It covers the basics tools required for upper division economics, and is relatively mathematical.

PREREQUISITES: You must have Economics 11 and Mathematics 31A, and 31B or 31E. We will make serious use of calculus. We will do differentiation, simple equation solving, and a limited amount of integration. It is crucial that you feel comfortable with these operations. If calculus is something you once knew but are now fuzzy on, you will find this course difficult.

TEXTS: There is no text. If you want a supplementary book that covers much of the same material, I recommend H. S. Bierman and L. Fernandez, Game Theory with Economic Applications, Addison-Wesley, ISBN 0-201-56298, 2nd ed.

LECTURES AND SECTIONS: You are responsible for all material covered in lecture and section meetings as well as the required reading.

GRADING: You will be graded on four problem sets, a midterm exam and the final exam. Each problem set will count for 5% of your grade. The midterm exam will have three equally weighted questions, and counts 30% of your grade. It will be based directly on the problem sets. The midterm and problem sets are optional. The final exam is mandatory, and will cover the entire course, and have six equally weighted questions accounting for 50% of your grade. If you do better on the final than on either the midterm or the problem sets, it will replace the corresponding grade.

EXAMS: Dates of the exams, as well as due dates for the problem sets are given in the course schedule. The midterm is given in class. The final exam is mandatory; if you miss the midterm, the final will count in its place. If you have a time conflict involving another final exam, it is possible to take the final in the time slot immediately following the scheduled exam. Other make-up exams are possible only for good reason (medical or legal problems) and with written documentation. Otherwise, if you miss the exam you will either fail the class, or, with the approval of the academic dean, drop the class or withdraw from the quarter. There are no exceptions. I do not give incompletes, nor is it possible to make up a poor or non-existent exam grade by "doing an extra credit project."

PTEs: No such thing. If you have a problem getting into class you must see the undergraduate advisor.

MIRROR SITES: There are a number of mirrors of the class website which you may want to record in case one is unavailable. They are

Note that if you post to a discussion board on one site, it may take up to two days before the post appears on the other sites; as a result it is recommended that you use the main site http://www.dklevine.com, especially for posting.

REGRADING: We are always happy to talk to you about how exams and problem sets are graded. If a score has been tallied incorrectly, we will gladly correct it. Otherwise, if you feel your exam has been graded unfairly, you should bring it to me (and not to the TA). If you feel your problem set had been graded unfairly, you should bring it to the TA who graded it. In each case you must submit the entire assignment for regrading, you may not just ask to get extra points for a particular question. In order to have a problem set regraded, you must submit it for regrading prior to the deadline announced on the class schedule. If errors in your favor are discovered, you may receive a lower grade. It is not fair to ask for a few more points on a particular question because it might net you a higher grade in the class, but we are all concerned that your grade fairly reflect your performance in the class. Please do not ask us what the cutoff is for the next highest grade.

EXAM EQUIPMENT: You must bring two large BLUEBOOKs to the midterm, and three to the final exam. Do not write your name in them: you will turn them in and they will be randomly distributed. Do all scratchwork in the bluebook. You must use pen. Do not remove pages or erase: simply put a line through errors or scratch work. Calculators are not allowed, rulers are OK. You must have a photo ID.

TURNING IN HOMEWORK: Homework is due at the announced date and time. You may turn in written homework to the box in the TA advising room prior to the due date. You may also turn in your homework electronically by email in the form of a pdf file which you produce from your choice of text processor or scanning. The email for homework submitted by email can be found on the TA page. Note that such formats as MS Word are not acceptable, only pdf may be submitted. Social Sciences Computing has a HP Digital Sender next to the helpdesk in 2041 Public Policy that you may use to submit homework by email.

EXAMS TIPS: Several tips for getting the best  possible score on   exams.

AFTER THE QUARTER IS OVER: After they are graded, final exams are available from the 8th floor Economics Office. If you have questions about your grade, I offer office hours every quarter, so please try to see me then. If you cannot make my regular office hours, you can make an appointment by email to discuss your grade.