The course examines how individuals and firms make decisions by weighing up costs and benefits, and how the interaction of their decisions leads to market and social outcomes. The model of market supply and demand is employed to examine the effects of taxes, subsidies, and other government interventions in market activity. The implications of different market structures, including perfect competition and monopoly, are examined.  Public goods, externalities and common resources are key examples of cases in which private markets may yield socially sub-optimal outcomes.  Such cases are examined and the role of government policy in correcting for these is discussed.

Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion, students will have the knowledge and skills to:

1. understand the economic principles that underpin modern economics;
2. have a basic understanding of the way budget constrained individuals make optimising choices and the way resources are allocated in private markets;
3. understand the role of different trading arrangements in markets and their impact on prices and the quantities traded;
4. use basic economic principles to evaluate the effects of government interventions and other exogenous changes in markets;
5. be able to evaluate the effects of government interventions in markets;
6. present clearly written analysis of economic issues and problems

Research-Led Teaching

Microeconomics forms the foundation for most research in Economics. In addition to textbook materials, application in research and policy will be introduced wherever appropriate.

Examination Material or equipment

Non-programmable calculators are permitted in exams.

Required Resources

Nicholson, W., & Snyder, C. Intermediate microeconomics and its application. 12th Edition.

• A copy of the book will be available in the reserve & short loan collection of Chifley Library.

We may use some material from other resources wherever appropriate. These will be made available to students either through the Wattle site or through items being placed on a short-term loan in the library as appropriate.

Recommended Resources

This course paves the path to ECON8025 Advanced Microeconomics Analysis and is more advanced than most standard first year microeconomic courses. Hence, any basic microeconomics book can be a good pre-read for the course, e.g.

• Principles of microeconomics. By Joshua Gans, Stephen King, Martin Byford, and N. Gregory Mankiw. 7th Asia-Pacific edition. Published by Cengage Learning.

While we will closely follow the textbook by Nicholson & Snyder, other intermediate microeconomics textbook may be useful to students, especially:

• Price theory and applications. By Steven E. Landsburg. Ninth edition. Published by Cengage Learning.
• Intermediate microeconomics: A modern approach. By Hall R. Varian. Ninth edition. WW Norton and Company.
• Microeconomics: An Intuitive Approach. By Thomas J. Nechyba. Second edition. Published by Cengage Learning.

Staff Feedback

Students will be given feedback in the following forms in this course:

·        Mid-semester exams will be marked and answers provided.

·        Short quizzes.

·        Tutorial questions each week with answers provided afterwards. Students are also encouraged to participate in both lectures and tutorials.

·        Students are encouraged to come for consultation and feedback during the office hours.

Student Feedback

ANU is committed to the demonstration of educational excellence and regularly seeks feedback from students. Students are encouraged to offer feedback directly to their Course Convener or through their College and Course representatives (if applicable). The feedback given in these surveys is anonymous and provides the Colleges, University Education Committee and Academic Board with opportunities to recognise excellent teaching, and opportunities for improvement. The Surveys and Evaluation website provides more information on student surveys at ANU and reports on the feedback provided on ANU courses.

Other Information

Scaling

Your final mark for the course will be based on the raw marks allocated for each of your assessment items. However, your final mark may not be the same number as produced by that formula, as marks may be scaled. Any scaling applied will preserve the rank order of raw marks (i.e. if your raw mark exceeds that of another student, then your scaled mark will exceed the scaled mark of that student), and may be either up or down.

Support for Students

The University offers a number of support services for students. Information on these is available online from http://students.anu.edu.au/studentlife/

RSE has a Frequently Asked Questions page where you can find relevant policies and information on a broad range of topics

https://www.rse.anu.edu.au/students/frequently-asked-questions/

Class Schedule

Week/Session	Summary of Activities	Assessment
1	Introduction (Chapter 1 and 1A)
2	Supply and demand (Chapter 1)	Possible Activity
3	Utility and choice (Chapter 2)	Possible Quiz and/or Activity
4	Demand curves (Chapter 3)	Possible Quiz and/or Activity
5	Production (Chapter 6)	Possible Quiz and/or Activity
6	Costs (Chapter 7)	Possible Quiz and/or Activity
7	Profit maximisation and supply (Chapter 8)	Possible Quiz and/or Activity
8	Perfect competition (Chapter 9)	Possible Quiz and/or Activity
9	General Equilibrium (Chapter 10)	Possible Quiz and/or Activity
10	Monopolies (Chapter 11)	Possible Quiz and/or Activity
11	Extension 1: Market Failure (If time permits)	Possible Quiz and/or Activity
12	Extension 2: Input markets (If time permits)	Possible Activity

Tutorial Registration

Tutorial signup for this course will be done via the Wattle website. Detailed information about signup times will be provided on Wattle or during your first lecture. When tutorials are available for enrolment, follow these steps:

1.   Log on to Wattle, and go to the course site

2.   Click on the link “Tutorial enrolment”

3.   On the right of the screen, click on the tab “Become Member of…..” for the tutorial class you wish to enter

4.   Confirm your choice

If you need to change your enrolment, you will be able to do so by clicking on the tab “Leave group….” and then re-enrol in another group. You will not be able to enrol in groups that have reached their maximum number. Please note that enrolment in ISIS must be finalised for you to have access to Wattle.

Assessment Summary

Assessment task	Value	Due Date	Return of assessment	Learning Outcomes
Mid-Semester Exam	35 %	20/03/2020	08/05/2020	1,2,3,4,5,6,7
Final Exam	50 %	04/06/2020	02/07/2020	1,2,3,4,5,6,7
Tutorial Activity	5 %	02/03/2020	03/06/2020	1,2,3,4,5,6,7
Tutorial Quiz	10 %	09/03/2020	03/06/2020	1,2,3,4,5,6,7

* If the Due Date and Return of Assessment date are blank, see the Assessment Tab for specific Assessment Task details

Policies

ANU has educational policies, procedures and guidelines, which are designed to ensure that staff and students are aware of the University’s academic standards, and implement them. Students are expected to have read the Academic Misconduct Rule before the commencement of their course. Other key policies and guidelines include:

• Student Assessment (Coursework) Policy and Procedure
• Special Assessment Consideration Policy and General Information 
• Student Surveys and Evaluations
• Deferred Examinations
• Student Complaint Resolution Policy and Procedure

Assessment Requirements

The ANU is using Turnitin to enhance student citation and referencing techniques, and to assess assignment submissions as a component of the University's approach to managing Academic Integrity. For additional information regarding Turnitin please visit the ANU Online website. In rare cases where online submission using Turnitin software is not technically possible; or where not using Turnitin software has been justified by the Course Convener and approved by the Associate Dean (Education) on the basis of the teaching model being employed; students shall submit assessment online via ‘Wattle’ outside of Turnitin, or failing that in hard copy, or through a combination of submission methods as approved by the Associate Dean (Education). The submission method is detailed below.

Moderation of Assessment

Marks that are allocated during Semester are to be considered provisional until formalised by the College examiners meeting at the end of each Semester. If appropriate, some moderation of marks might be applied prior to final results being released.

Participation

This is an on-campus course. Attendance at all teaching events, while not compulsory, is expected in line with “Code of Practice for Teaching and Learning”, clause 2 paragraph (b).

 In addition, tutorials are a discussion-based class. Providing worked solutions would not effectively compensate for missing a tutorial. Students who, through unavoidable and unplanned occurrences, are unable to attend a tutorial class one week are encouraged to work through the problems and attend a consultation session for discussion and solutions.

Examination(s)

See Assessment Tasks 1 and 2.

Assessment Task 1

Mid-Semester Exam

• The mid-semester exam will be held during week 6 (the last week before the teaching break) or week 7 (the first week after the teaching break). The exact date, time and venue will be announced.
• The mid-semester exam is fully redeemable. It will contribute 35% to the final grade if higher than the final exam and 0% otherwise.
• The only permitted material is a non-programmable calculator.
• The exam will include both multiple-choice questions and analytical problems. Further information about the form and type of questions will be announced in the lectures.
• The marks will be published on Wattle within two weeks after the exam.
• The deferred exam will be available to eligible students around week 10. The exact date, time and venue will be announced.

Assessment Task 2

Final Exam

• The final exam will be held during the semester 1 examination period, between 4/6/2020 and 20/6/2020. The exact date, time and venue will be announced.
• This will contribute 85% to the final grade if higher than the mid-semester exam and 50% otherwise.
• The only permitted material is a non-programmable calculator.
• The exam will include both multiple-choice questions and analytical problems. Further information about the form and type of questions will be announced in the lectures.

Assessment Task 3

Tutorial Activity

• Some tutorials involve group activities around the course material. Most of the activities will be group discussions where students are asked to think about the question(s) related to the learning outcomes of the course and discuss their evaluation of the problem with their teammates. The discussions will be facilitated by the tutor. There may be one or more activity for each learning outcome. The students will sometimes be asked to reflect on the discussions. The problems are usually about fitting an example, e.g. a buyer preference among different bundles, into the model recently discussed in the lecture. There may be also activities in form of games related to the learning outcomes where the students will be asked to play a role, e.g. a seller or a buyer in a market.
• Active participation (playing a constructive role in games and/or discussions) is required and feedback may be requested as well. Full marks for an activity are obtained by a student demonstrating that they have been able to relate the questions/examples to the concepts covered in the course material and attainment of learning outcomes. The students are recommended to be familiar with the material recently covered in the course.
• There will be 7 activities over the semester. Tutorial activities will NOT be announced and they may be held in tutorials any week over the teaching period.
• All activities will have equal weights when aggregated. They will contribute 5% to the final grade.
• Students should participate in the tutorials they are enrolled in.
• This task is NOT redeemable.
• The marks will be published on Wattle within one week.
• The activity with the lowest mark will be dropped from the aggregation, hence it will not count toward the final grade. If a student misses one activity for any reason, that quiz will be the one which is dropped from aggregation. If a student misses any further activity (i.e. misses more than one activity) for eligible reasons (e.g. sickness with written certificate), the student will be instructed to participate in an equivalent assessment task. If an equivalent assessment is not available, the weighting will be transferred to the final exam.

Assessment Task 4

Tutorial Quiz

• Questions will be related to the material recently covered.
• There will be 6 quizzes (by paper) over the semester. Tutorial quizzes will NOT be announced and they may be held in tutorials any week over the teaching period. 
• All quizzes will have equal weights when aggregated. They will contribute 10% to the final grade.
• Students should sit the quiz in the tutorials they are enrolled in.
• Marked quizzes will be returned to students within one week.
• There will be no substitute quiz if a student misses one.
• This task is NOT redeemable.
• The quiz with the lowest mark will be dropped from the aggregation, hence it will not count toward the final grade. If a student misses one quiz for any reason, that quiz will be the one which is dropped from aggregation. If a student misses any further quiz (i.e. misses more than one quiz) for eligible reasons (e.g. sickness with written certificate), the student will be instructed to sit an equivalent assessment task. If an equivalent assessment is not available, the weighting will be transferred to the final exam.

Academic Integrity

Academic integrity is a core part of the ANU culture as a community of scholars. At its heart, academic integrity is about behaving ethically, committing to honest and responsible scholarly practice and upholding these values with respect and fairness.

The ANU commits to assisting all members of our community to understand how to engage in academic work in ways that are consistent with, and actively support academic integrity. The ANU expects staff and students to be familiar with the academic integrity principle and Academic Misconduct Rule, uphold high standards of academic integrity and act ethically and honestly, to ensure the quality and value of the qualification that you will graduate with.

The Academic Misconduct Rule is in place to promote academic integrity and manage academic misconduct. Very minor breaches of the academic integrity principle may result in a reduction of marks of up to 10% of the total marks available for the assessment. The ANU offers a number of online and in person services to assist students with their assignments, examinations, and other learning activities. Visit the Academic Skills website for more information about academic integrity, your responsibilities and for assistance with your assignments, writing skills and study.

Online Submission

You will be required to electronically sign a declaration as part of the submission of your assignment. Please keep a copy of the assignment for your records. Unless an exemption has been approved by the Associate Dean (Education) submission must be through Turnitin.

Hardcopy Submission

For some forms of assessment (hand written assignments, art works, laboratory notes, etc.) hard copy submission is appropriate when approved by the Associate Dean (Education). Hard copy submissions must utilise the Assignment Cover Sheet. Please keep a copy of tasks completed for your records.

Late Submission

No submission of assessment tasks without an extension after the due date will be permitted. If an assessment task is not submitted by the due date, a mark of 0 will be awarded.

Referencing Requirements

Accepted academic practice for referencing sources that you use in presentations can be found via the links on the Wattle site, under the file named “ANU and College Policies, Program Information, Student Support Services and Assessment”. Alternatively, you can seek help through the Students Learning Development website.

Extensions and Penalties

Extensions and late submission of assessment pieces are covered by the Student Assessment (Coursework) Policy and Procedure. Extensions may be granted for assessment pieces that are not examinations or take-home examinations. If you need an extension, you must request an extension in writing on or before the due date. If you have documented and appropriate medical evidence that demonstrates you were not able to request an extension on or before the due date, you may be able to request it after the due date.

Privacy Notice

The ANU has made a number of third party, online, databases available for students to use. Use of each online database is conditional on student end users first agreeing to the database licensor’s terms of service and/or privacy policy. Students should read these carefully. In some cases student end users will be required to register an account with the database licensor and submit personal information, including their: first name; last name; ANU email address; and other information.
In cases where student end users are asked to submit ‘content’ to a database, such as an assignment or short answers, the database licensor may only use the student’s ‘content’ in accordance with the terms of service – including any (copyright) licence the student grants to the database licensor. Any personal information or content a student submits may be stored by the licensor, potentially offshore, and will be used to process the database service in accordance with the licensors terms of service and/or privacy policy.
If any student chooses not to agree to the database licensor’s terms of service or privacy policy, the student will not be able to access and use the database. In these circumstances students should contact their lecturer to enquire about alternative arrangements that are available.

Distribution of grades policy

Academic Quality Assurance Committee monitors the performance of students, including attrition, further study and employment rates and grade distribution, and College reports on quality assurance processes for assessment activities, including alignment with national and international disciplinary and interdisciplinary standards, as well as qualification type learning outcomes.

Since first semester 1994, ANU uses a grading scale for all courses. This grading scale is used by all academic areas of the University.

Support for students

The University offers students support through several different services. You may contact the services listed below directly or seek advice from your Course Convener, Student Administrators, or your College and Course representatives (if applicable).

• ANU Health, safety & wellbeing for medical services, counselling, mental health and spiritual support
• ANU Diversity and inclusion for students with a disability or ongoing or chronic illness
• ANU Dean of Students for confidential, impartial advice and help to resolve problems between students and the academic or administrative areas of the University
• ANU Academic Skills and Learning Centre supports you make your own decisions about how you learn and manage your workload.
• ANU Counselling Centre promotes, supports and enhances mental health and wellbeing within the University student community.
• ANUSA supports and represents undergraduate and ANU College students
• PARSA supports and represents postgraduate and research students