14.03 - Intermediate Applied Microeconomics, Fall 2003
SYLLABUS
OVERVIEW:
This is an Economics
course
(and HASS Elective 
)
at the intermediate undergraduate
(
)
level.
The course focuses on empirical applications of microeconomic theory, including the
measurement of price elasticity of demand, assessment of minimum wage laws, effects
of taxation on labor supply, oligopoly pricing, and government policy toward externalities.
LECTURES & RECITATIONS:
This subject meets for two lectures weekly, on Mondays and Wednesdays, 10:30am - 12:00pm, in 56-154. Students are also expected to attend one of two Friday recitations, which meet at 9:00 - 10:00am and 10:00-11:00am, in 56-154. (This subject will be offered
not only this Fall Term 
2003, but also in the
Spring Term
2004.)
FACULTY & STAFF:
Prof. Jeff Harris
(office: E52-252F; phone: 3-2677; hours M12-1, M2-3, W9:30-10:30)
will give the lectures.
Graduate student Teaching Assistants
David Matsa
(office: E52-310; phone: TBA; hours T6-7) and
Bilal Zia
(office: E52-201; phone: TBA; hours W3-4)
will run the recitations.
Prof. Harris' Administrative Assistant is Kelley Donovan.
(Prof. Franklin Fisher will be the lecturer when this subject is again offered in the Spring Term
2004.)
PREREQUISITES & RESTRICTIONS:
Knowledge of microeconomics (14.01
or equivalent) is assumed. Credit is not given for both 14.03 and the more mathematics-intensive, theory-oriented
course 14.04 (which meets only in the Fall Term
2003.)
COURSE REQUIREMENTS: There are two 90-minute midterm examinations, to be administered in class on October 1 and November 5, as well as 10 required homework assignments. A comprehensive 3-hour final examination is scheduled for Final Exam Period. Each midterm exam contributes 20% to the overall grade. The combined score on homework assignments likewise contributes 20%. The score on the final examination is worth 40%.
READINGS AND TEXTBOOK: The required textbook is: Hal. R. Varian, Intermediate Microeconomics: A Modern Approach, 6th Edition, New York, W.W. Norton, 2002. ISBN 0-393-97830-3. Links to additional readings will be posted on the course web site.
HOMEWORK: Homework, in the form of assigned problems, will be due in Recitation on Fridays according to the schedule shown on the homework page. Assignments will be posted on the course web site one week in advance. While assignments will be distributed electronically, you must submit your completed homework on hard copy, typed or by hand, in class. Answers will be usually be posted in the late afternoon or evening after each homework assignment is due. All homework will be individually graded and returned to students. Please identify your homework by your full name and Athena username.
EXTENSIONS, LATE ENROLLMENT, MISSED ASSIGNMENTS: Timely submission of required work is expected. Generally, late homework will receive no credit. All students are expected to take each of the examinations at the scheduled times. If there are extenuating circumstances, including illness or unavoidable conflicts with other MIT assignments, contact Prof. Harris or your TA at least 24 hours in advance, or as soon as possible. If a student misses an assignment but makes a credible showing of illness, we will try to arrange an extension or a timely makeup exam. If we are unsure about the justification of student's excuse, we will ask Counseling and Support Services to resolve the matter. We adhere to MIT's policy (and Massachusetts law) on student religious observances.
STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES: We will make every reasonable accommodation for any student with a learning disability -- such as dyslexia or attention deficit disorder -- or with another physical or mental disability. For example, when it is appropriate, we may give a disabled student a separate room to take an exam, or an extension of time to finish the exam. However, we cannot accommodate a disabled student who fails to give us timely notice of his or her special needs. In particular, a learning-disabled student who needs extra time to finish an exam should present to Prof. Harris -- at least one week in advance of the scheduled exam -- a letter from one of MIT's learning disability specialists certifying the student's disability and requesting accommodations. The contents of the letter will be treated confidentially. For more information, see the MIT Disabilities Services Office or contact Barbara Roberts, MIT Coordinator of Disabilities Services.
INDIVIDUAL VERSUS JOINT WORK: Students may work together to solve homework assignments. However, each student must submit his or her own individual work. All assignments will be graded individually. Students may not work together during exams. Unauthorized collaboration during exams is considered a breach of academic honesty.
ACADEMIC HONESTY: In the past few years, a handful of students enrolled in Economics courses have been caught violating the rules of academic honesty. Violations included: surreptitiously providing answers to another student during an exam; and fraudulently altering the answers to a graded examination in an attempt to get a favorable re-grade. When we suspect that a student has engaged in academic dishonesty, we will follow the procedures described in the latest MIT Guidelines on Academy Honesty, which are given in detail in MIT's Policies and Procedures.
PLUS AND MINUS GRADE MODIFIERS: At the end of the semester, we will be reporting your internal grade to the MIT Registrar with + and - modifiers, where appropriate. MIT's Committee on the Undergraduate Program permits such modifiers only for the letter grades A, B, and C. It is our understanding that, in accordance with current MIT policy, the + modifiers will appear only in your internal end-of-term grade reports, but not in your official MIT transcript.
SCHEDULING CONFLICTS: Students often register for subjects with conflicting schedules. For example, a student may seek to register for 14.03, with lectures from 10:30am to 12:00pm on Monday and Wednesday, and another course, with lectures from 10:00 to 11:00am on the same days. In such cases, enrollment in 14.03 will be denied. Extensive past experience shows that a student's entering or leaving in the middle of lecture is highly disruptive. When it comes time for in-class midterm exams, the conflicts with other course requirements are often impossible to resolve. While a student is free to attend any or all lectures, it is inappropriate to put anyone at an extreme disadvantage by compelling him or her to miss the a significant portion of each and every class.
Last updated 01-Sep-2003 at 16:50 EDT by jeffrey@mit.edu
| Since 22-Aug-2002 |
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