Course description this course familiarizes studen
- 1. Course Description: This course familiarizes students with the decision-making processes of individual economic units such as household, firms, and industries, and their interrelationships. Topics include the nature and framework of the forces of supply and demand, household behavior, and consumer choice; the behavior of the firm under different industrial structures, resource allocation and income distribution; and international trade and comparative advantage. Course Learning Outcomes: Upon successful completion of this coruse, students will be able to: concept of elasticity. essing market failures and externalities. advantage and analyze the benefits of specialization within the framework of economic
- 2. interdependence. properties of a production function and the prices of economic resources. various market structures (perfect competition, monompoly, oligopoly, monompolistic competition) inequalities and poverty Course Materials: Mankiw, G. N. (2018). Principles of Microeconomics. Boston, MA: Cengage Learning. can be accessed through links just below the readings and resources section of each unit in this course. Grading Breakdown: Assignment Weight Towards Final Grade Discussion Boards 40% Assignments 30% Quizzes Paper 20%
- 3. 10% Student Survey* *To ensure that we continue to meet our academic standards and your learning expectations, we routinely assess our programs, courses, and instructors. Completion of the end-of-course Student Survey is a required component of this course. Course Syllabus ECO202 – Microeconomics Course Outline: Units begin at Sunday, 12:01 am (EST) and end Sunday 11:59 pm (EST) of the following week, unless otherwise noted. Unit Topics Activities Unit 1 Ch 1: Ten Principles of Economics Ch 3: Interdependence and the Gains from Trade Unit 1 Class Discussion Board Problems & Applications (Ch 1&3) Unit 1 Micro Quiz Unit 2
- 4. Ch 4: The market Forces of Supply and Demand Ch 5: Elasticity and Its Applications Ch 6: Supply, Demand, and Government Policies Unit 2 Group Discussion Board Problems & Applications (Ch 4,5 & 6) Unit 2 Micro Quiz Unit 3 Ch 7: Consumers, Producers, and the Efficiency of Markets Ch 8: The Costs of Taxation Ch 9: International Trade Unit 3 Group Discussion Board Problems & Applications (Ch 7, 8 & 9) Unit 3 Micro Quiz Unit 4 Ch 10: Externalities Ch 11: Public Goods and Common Resources Unit 4 Group Discussion Board Homework (Ch 10 & 11) Unit 4 Micro Quiz Unit 5 Ch 12: The Design of the Tax System Ch 13: The Costs of Production
- 5. Unit 5 Group Discussion Board Homework (12 & 13) Unit 5 Micro Quiz Unit 6 Ch 18: The markets for the Factors of Production Ch 19: Earnings and Discrimination Ch 20: Income Inequality and Poverty Unit 6 Class Discussion Board Homework (Ch 18, 19 & 20) Final Paper (due Wed in Unit 8) Unit 7 Ch 14: Firms in Competitive Markets Ch 15: Monopoly Unit 7 Group Discussion Board Homework (Ch 14 & 15) Final Paper (due Wed in Unit 8) Unit 8 Ch 16: Monopolistic Competition Ch 17: Oligopoly Unit 8 Group Discussion Board Homework (Ch 16 & 17) Final Paper (due Wed in Unit 8) Notes: Topics, deliverables, and sequence are subject to change.
- 6. Late Work Policy: Late work will be accepted on a case-by-case basis. Please contact your instructor to discuss. Discussions: unit topics with one another and the instructor. discussions where active participation is defined as 3 or more posts (your initial post plus at least two responses to classmates). Wednesday evening. Professional communication is expected in all posts, which includes proper spelling and grammar, and providing source information when using outside resources.
- 7. thinking and use of extended information in your responses. personal experience and research so your classmates are motivated to continue the conversation and fully explore the discussion topics. grading rubric on the Course Information page in your course. Academic Affair Policies: Below are the links for Post University’s policies that all students must adhere to. Please click on the links to learn about each of the policies. See the full list of Post University Policies. o Academic Course Engagement This link provides details about Post University’s academic engagement requirements for students in courses. Information about Administrative and Official
- 8. Withdrawal, as well as the Unearned F policy, are also provided. o Academic Dishonesty This link provides information about Post University’s definition of plagiarism and guidelines for academic dishonesty. o Americans with Disabilities Act This link provides information about potential accommodations for Post University students with disabilities. o Civility Code This link provides information about Post University’s Civility Code. o Grading Policies This link provides policies on Post University’s grading practices and guidelines. o University Learning Center This link provides information about Post University’s Learning Center where interested students can gain free academic support. o Credit Hour Policy
- 9. This link provides information about instructional contact hours, engaged academic time, as well as other related information. http://post.edu/academic-policies http://post.edu/academic-policies http://post.edu/resources-for-current-students/academic- affiairs/academic-policies-and-procedures/adp-academic- engagement-and-withdrawal-policy http://post.edu/resources-for-current-students/academic- affiairs/academic-policies-and-procedures/academic-dishonesty http://post.edu/admissions/online- students/undergraduate/students-with-disabilities http://post.edu/resources-for-current-students/academic- affiairs/academic-policies-and-procedures/academic-civility- code http://post.edu/resources-for-current-students/academic- affiairs/academic-policies-and-procedures/grading-policies http://post.edu/resources-for-current-students/university- learning-center http://post.edu/resources-for-current-students/university- learning-center http://post.edu/resources-for-current-students/academic- affiairs/academic-policies-and-procedures/credit-hour-policy Power and Social Control Domhoff: Chapters 5 and 6 Chapter 5: The Role of Public Opinion Domhoff shows that the capitalist class works hard at shaping public opinion: role of the policy planning network
- 10. public relations/public affairs efforts Corporations support for opinion-shaping organizations like the Advertising Council and the Policy Association owns almost all the mass media Surveys used extensively to capture public opinion People develop opinions based on the context of their lives Most people are not interested in politics and therefore is not focused enough to have a direct effect 2 General Network used in Shaping Public Opinion (p. 111) Remember policy-planning networks? Think tanks, policy- discussion groups, and foundations. They also have a central role in opinion-shaping networks, carried out by large public relations firms and public affairs departments -they have large staffs -connected to wide-spread dissemination network -policy-discussion groups at the center of the opinion- shaping network, but do not enter directly -most important goals: influencing public schools, churches, and voluntary associations Conflicts between corporate-conservative and liberal-labor alliances in the arena of public opinion (Discussion, Q1) 3
- 11. Public Relations/Public Affairs Multi-billion dollar industry PR v. PA Created by power elite in 1920s to shape public opinion Typically hired to work on specific issues rather than to shape general public opinion PR firms usually operate through the mass media Public affairs more benign than PR – usually operate within a large corporation Work on polishing image Creating doubt about scientific findings: role of PR firms 4 Who Shapes Public Opinion Domhoff Concludes the mass media aren’t that important in shaping public opinion public opinion isn’t that important anyway Why does he conclude this? Do you think he’s right? “…it is unlikely that any focused public opinion exists on very many of the complicated legislative issues of concern to the corporate community...public opinion usually can be
- 12. ignored….” (p. 130) “Public opinion can have an impact when people are forced out of their routines…” or “leads to...social movements that challenge one or another aspect of the established order” (p. 130). As a result, the public-opinion network, the power elite, and elected officials enjoy a great deal of leeway on many domestic and foreign policy issues. Public opinion can usually be ignored because those opinions usually do not lead to opposition or disruption Social disruption can lead to setbacks for incumbents and help fuel movements 6 The Political Spectrum in More Detail How the Institutional Structure of Elections Matters How the Power Elite Dominates Government Chapter 6: Parties and Elections Electoral rules as a containment strategy? The right to vote, districting, proportional representation, electoral college... Voter suppression: poll tax, literacy tests, gerrymandering –
- 13. single party districts Why elections matter? Opportunity to register disapproval of government policies; a way to introduce new policies; initiative and referendum process 7 Most other industrialized nations offer more political choice and have substantially higher rates of political participation than the US. How is this to be explained? Why do most of them have more political parties, including labor parties? stronger unions? universal health care? stronger unemployment insurance systems? stronger environmental legislation? restrictions on plant closings? less income and wealth inequality? How do institutional factors in the U.S. produce different political outcomes than in other advanced capitalist countries? The United States Single-member district plurality system (winner-take-all elections) Direct election of the president Most other industrialized societies: parliamentary systems proportional representation or majority requirement
- 14. One of the net effects is that it provides opportunities for the corporate rich to influence and shape legislation. 10 Elections: In the U.S., the candidate selection process is crucial the political parties are weak parties have little control over candidates and elected officials campaign financing of individual candidates is key to candidate success influencing who is elected is more important than what par ty is elected Following the Money The Critical Importance of Campaign Finance Image is more important than reality in winning elections Symbolic social issues come to mean more than policy positions on health, labor, and other substantive issues The Obama Donor Network: A Case History The liberal-labor alliance: less influence that we might expect 12 Some Outcomes of the Candidate Selection Process Great majority of top elected officials share a common legal or business background with members of upper class 79% of Congressmen in 2001 were business executives, bankers, realtors and lawyers Exactly one former union official in House and Senate combined Ideologically, most are pro-business conservatives
- 15. Recall the distinction between structural and instrumental power. Which form of power is Chapter 7 about? What are the mechanisms of such power? Please read the chapters listed below in your textbook. · Chapter 5: The Role of Public Opinion · Chapter 6: Parties and Elections Question 1: In Chapter 5, Domhoff discusses the political struggle between conservatives (corporate-conservative) and liberals (liberal-labor) as expressing itself in the arena of public opinion as a conflict over the true meaning of Americanism, or what it means to be a true American. Choosing one of the areas in which, according to Domhoff, the corporate elite attempt to shape public opinion (science, foreign policy, economic policy, or social issues), discuss the ways in which the definition of Americanism has been shaped by the opinion-shaping network for that area. Be sure to specify how this definition is shaped in service to corporate interests. For example – How has the opinion-shaping network swayed the discussion over global warming to serve corporate interests, and how is that opinion aligned with a so-called “true American” way of thinking? Global warming is just an example. You can discuss any policy within the areas of science, foreign policy, economic policy, or social issues that you like. You may use the example of Edward Snowden and the NSA, which is the topic of some of your web readings for your web assignment for this week, to describe how opinion on foreign and domestic policy is shaped. Question 2: Chapter 6 offers us insight into the creation and the working of the American political system. Please select one issue from of this chapter and explain why you think it is relevant to our discussion on power and social change. Let's
- 16. engage in a fruitful discussion here. If you select an issue that someone else has already written about you must take the analysis further to receive credit for the post. 2pages Textbook Domhoff, W.G. (2014). Who Rules America? The Triumph of the Corporate Rich (7th ed). NY: McGraw Hill. ISBN-13: 978-0078026713 https://whorulesamerica.ucsc.edu/methods/studying_power.html Use only the course materials no outside sources will be accepted for the essay