Economics 311

Instructor: Martin Tackie
Office: Temple Court 107
E-mail: mtackie@utk.edu
Phone: 974-6073
Office Hours: by appointment
Class: Lectures: MTWRF 9:45 - 11:15am
Room: HH 209
Section: 003

Course description: The purpose of this course is to explore the foundations of microeconomic theory, focusing on the behavior of individuals, firms and the interaction of these agents in the marketplace. The organization of markets and its implications for firm behavior will also be examined. The principles covered in this course are the building blocks of economic analysis. As you develop the necessary skills and progress in your economic studies, you will be also able to put these skills into practice by examining concrete real world situations, ranging from firm pricing strategies to optimal government tax policies.

Text: The required text for this class is Microeconomics by Robert S. Pindyck and Daniel L. Rubinfeld (6th edition). There is a study guide available if you desire a source of additional practice problems.
Course outline:

Part I: The Basics of Supply and Demand
Consumer Behavior
Individual and Market Demand
1st Exam: Friday, July 20th 2007

Part II: Production Theory
The cost of production
Profit Maximization
Analysis of competitive markets
2nd Exam: Monday, July 30th 2007

Part III: Monopoly, Pricing under Monopoly
Game Theory
Markets with asymmetric information
Final Exam: Friday, August 10th 2007


Exercises
Excerise 1
Exercise 2
Exercise 3
Exercise 3 Solution
Exercise 4 Solution
Exercise 5 Solution

Assignments
Homework 1
Homework 1 Solution
Homework 2
Homework 2 Solution
Homework 3