EC120-Introduction of Microeconomics

Fall 2020

I acknowledge that in Kitchener, Waterloo, Cambridge and Brantford we are on the traditional territory of the
Neutral, Anishnawbe, and Haudenosaunee peoples.

Instructor Information Dr. Oliver Masakure | S.C. Johnson Building, Room 302
Contact Phone: (519) 756-8228, ext. 5704
Contact E-mail: omasakure@wlu.ca
Weekly Office Hours: Wednesday 1:00pm-2:00pm or by appointment

Course Information
This course is an introduction to Microeconomics. Microeconomics studies economic behavior and how the
price system helps in the allocation of resources in a market economy and the role of government intervention.
We will cover basic microeconomic principles including how markets work, consumer choice, and the
organization of production by firms to meet consumer demand.

Number of Credits: 0.5 credits

Pre-requisites: There are no prerequisites for this course. However, it is advisable that you have basic
mathematical skills.

Class Times/Location: Tuesday and Thursday 1:00pm-2:20pm

Course Overview and Approach

This course will cover basic microeconomic principles including how markets work, and consumer and
producer theory. This course is a prerequisite for students in Business Technology Management and Economics
but optional for students in the Faculty of Liberal Arts and Faculty of Human & Applied Social Sciences.

This course is structured thematically and will cover topics including an introduction to demand and supply, the
role of consumers and producers in the economy, markets and efficiency, factor markets, the role of government
in the market economy as well as Canada in the global economy.

The course is based on online classroom sessions that consist of Zoom lectures, readings and quizzes.
Course Goals and Learning Outcomes
This is an introduction course for business, economics students as well those in other programs interested in
learning about the use of economic ideas and methods in everyday life. The key goals of the course are to
enable students to understand and apply basic economic principles that are used in business and economics.

By the end of this course students should be able to:

1. Understand basic microeconomic principles including demand and supply, the role of consumers and
producers in the economy, markets and efficiency, the role of government in the market economy as
well as Canada in the global economy.
2. Think like an economist in making economic decisions.

Course Website

 Class PowerPoint notes, announcements and grades will be posted on Laurier’s Learning Management
System- course login – http://mylearningspace.wlu.ca

 You are expected to regularly log-in to My Learning Space to access course material, compete quizzes,
and check for announcements.

 A number of required items of assessment are offered through the textbook publisher’s system
(Pearson). Students must access the Pearson system through My Learning Space.

 If you need assistance with My Learning Space, please send an e-mail to myls@wlu.ca

Support Structures
There are a wide range of resources to assist you with specific issues throughout the semester

 Instructor: Dr. Oliver Masakure- email:omasakure@wlu.ca

 Lecture: At the scheduled class time, covering the scheduled content. Students join via Zoom.

 Discussion sessions: Scheduled based on availability, covering whatever either me or the students want
to talk about.

 Office hours: Individual or small group meetings via Zoom. Students will join through Zoom and be
admitted individually through the Waiting Room.

Learning Support
 If you need more assistance on studying, the Centre for Student Success (writing centre, math centre,
academic advising, study skills/supplemental instruction, accessible learning) offers help. Please go to
http://www.wlu.ca/learningservices

Accessible Learning

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  Students with disabilities or other special needs are advised to contact Laurier’s Accessible Learning
Centre for information regarding its services and resources. You are encouraged to review the Calendar
for information regarding all services on campus.

Course Tools and Learning Materials

The material covered in this course is based on the following textbook: Ragan, C.T.S. (2017). Microeconomics,
16th Canadian Edition. Pearson.

You need to buy this book. It is available from Stedman Book Shop. Your access kit for MyEconLab (an
electronic study guide) is included with your textbook.

Table 1: Assessments

Assignment
Pre-Lecture Quizzes
Post-Lecture Quizzes
Post-Chapter Homework
Review Quizzes
% Date
Best 12/20+ -4% Before each Class on MyLab
Best 12/20+ -4% After each Class on MyLab
Best 8/10+ -4% After each chapter on MyLab
Best 3/5+ -4% Leading up to each Mid-term
on MyLearning Space

Test 1 10% Saturday, October 3rd

10:00am-10:45am
Test 2 10% Saturday, October 24th
10:00am-10:45am
Test 3 10% Saturday, November 7th
10:00am-10:45am
Test 4 10% Saturday, November 21st
10:00am-10:45am
Test 5 10% Saturday, December 5th
10:00am-10:45am
Final Exam 30% December 12th to 23rd
Total 100%

Pedagogical Approach
The course is structured to optimize your learning experience. For each lecture, there is a pre-lecture quiz, post-
lecture quiz, post chapter homework and a review quiz. Each of these is graded, and the grades on these from
each part of the course contribute towards a Minor Assessment Grade.

Each part of the course ends with a test. The aim of these tests is to give students the opportunity to assess the
extent to which they are following and understanding the course material. Every test is cumulative- this means
that it includes all previous content in the course, with an emphasis on the most recent material. This approach
is important because the material builds on each other and will help students solidify their understanding of the
course material.

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The final exam will cumulative covering evenly all material in the course. See details below.

MyLab
You need to be registered for Pearson MyLab in order to do the course material assessments. You will need to
use MyLab for the Dynamic Study Modules, the Lecture Quizzes, and the Homework Assignments.

In order to register for Pearson MyLab and Mastering please follows the instructions in the EC120 content
followed on MyLearningSpace page. In order to register you will need an access code. You can get this either
as a package when you buy the textbook or you can buy it on its own directly within the MyLab system.

Pearson recommends that you register MyEconLab using a browser that will allow pop-up windows such as
Chrome or Safari. Please register as soon as possible to ensure that you have full access.

Pre-Lecture Quizzes – MyLab

All the lectures will have one or two questions to help students prepare for class. These questions are grades
based on completion. These are due by 11am on Tuesday and Thursday mornings before the related class
session. The specific dates are listed on the MyLab site.

Post Lecture Quizzes –MyLab

All the lectures will have one or two post lecture questions to help students review each lecture class. These
questions are grades based on completion. These are due a day after each class-by 12pm midnight on
Wednesday and Friday after the related class session. The specific dates are listed on the MyLab site.

MyEconLab – Homework
Every chapter is accompanied by a homework assignment through MyLab. These are generally due one week
after the chapter. The specific dates are posted on the MyLab site. The homework assignments are meant to
make sure you have understood each chapter. You can repeat each assignment as many times as you like- your
best grade will count towards the minor assessment grades in the course.

Review Quizzes – MyLearningSpace

For each mid-term lecture, there is a review quiz posted on MyLearningSpace. The quizzes are due before the
associated mid-term. Specific dates are on MyLearningSpace. Quizzes may be repeated until the due date –
your best grade counts. Quizzes follow the same basic format as the tests and exams in the course. The only
difference is that for the review quizzes, you are allowed to work together and DO not need to use the
Respondus Lockdown Browser or the Respondus Monitor.

Tests and Final Exam

There are 5 scheduled tests and a final exam in EC120. All tests and the exam will be completed on
MyLearningSpace and are to be completed by the student on their own. Students will be required to use the
Respondus Lockdown Browser and the Respondus Monitor. For the tests, students are permitted to have access
to a single standard 8.5” x 11” sheet of paper with study notes, equations, or other information. This study sheet
must be shown to the camera during the environmental scan at the start of the test.

Testing Format (for Tests, the Exam and the Review Quizzes)

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Test questions will include both multiple choice questions and questions requiring a numeric answer. For each
test, questions will be randomly drawn for each student from a question pool, so there will be variation in test
questions across students. Students are required to answer each question before moving to the next question,
and will not be able to return to previous questions. Given the structure of the test, this approach is necessary to
ensure fairness across students.

Test Schedule
Tests are scheduled on October 3rd, October 24th, November 7th, November 21st and December 5th. Each test will
be 45 minutes long and contain 30 questions. The specific timing of the tests is still to be determined. Each test
is worth 10% of your overall grade in the course.

Final Exam Schedule

The final exam is scheduled by the registrar during the final exam period that runs from December 12 th to 23rd.
Students are reminded that they are expected to be available throughout the exam period and should not make
travel plans during this time. The final exam will consist of two segments of one hour each with a break in the
middle. Each segment will include 40 questions. The final exam is worth 30% of your overall grade.

Course Policies and Procedures

Missing Minor Assessments
Due to the timely nature of the minor items of assessment, late submissions will not be accepted for any reason.
Each item is available for completion over an extended period of time, but to allow for missed assessment, your
grade on each part of the minor assessment grade will be based on your best 12 items during that part of the
course.

Missed Tests
Students that will miss a test due to an academic conflict, for a religious reason or due to varsity athletics may
be eligible to write the midterm at an alternate time. To be eligible for this consideration, students must provide
this notification as soon as possible during the term.

Students that have a direct academic conflict should contact me directly as soon as possible. If you will miss a
test due to a religious commitment, please complete the religious exemption form. Students that will miss a test
due to their participation in varsity athletics should contact their coach.

Students that miss a test for any other reason (illness, work, technical issues) must complete the Missed Test
“quiz” on MyLearningSpace explaining why they missed the test. For students that provide an appropriate
explanation, the weight from the test will be shifted to a deferred test or the final exam. No more than 20% may
be shifted to the final exam. Students that miss more than one regularly scheduled test should complete a
deferred test.

Deferred tests will be scheduled on October 31st and November 28th. Any student that has missed a test may
choose to write one of these. Each deferred test is cumulative up to the point of the previous midterm, will be 90
minutes in length, and is worth 20% of your grade (10% if it is only making up one previous midterm).

Deferred Final Examinations

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Students who miss the final exam for an acceptable reason may apply to write a deferred exam (normally in
late January). Petitions, accompanied by supporting documentation, should be submitted via the Lazaridis
School Petitions process. Details about the deferred exam petitions process will be posted closer to the time of
the final exam. Students are strongly urged not to make any commitments (i.e. travel, work, other) during the
examination period. Students are required to be available for examinations during the examination periods of all
terms in which they register.

Academic Misconduct
You are reminded that the University will levy sanctions on students who are found to have committed, or have
attempted to commit, acts of academic or research misconduct. You are expected to know what constitutes an
academic offense, to avoid committing such offenses, and to take responsibility for your academic actions. For
information on categories of offenses and types of penalty, please consult the relevant section of the
Undergraduate Academic Calendar. If you need clarification of aspects of University policy on Academic and
Research Misconduct, please consult your instructor.

Intellectual Property
The educational materials developed for this course, including, but not limited to, lecture notes and slides,
handout materials, examinations and assignments, and any materials posted to MyLearningSpace, are the
intellectual property of the course instructor. These materials have been developed for student use only and they
are not intended for wider dissemination and/or communication outside of a given course. Posting or providing
unauthorized audio, video, or textual material of lecture content to third-party websites violates an instructor’s
intellectual property rights, and the Canadian Copyright Act. Recording lectures in any way is prohibited in this
course unless specific permission has been granted by the instructor. Failure to follow these instructions may be
in contravention of the university’s Code of Student Conduct and/or Code of Academic Conduct, and will result
in appropriate penalties. Participation in this course constitutes an agreement by all parties to abide by the
relevant University Policies, and to respect the intellectual property of others during and after their association
with Wilfrid Laurier University.

Email Policy:
You can contact me by email before or after class. I encourage you to email me if you have any questions about
the course or any other personal issues you think I may need to know that may affect your performance if you
think I can be helpful. My email is omasakure@wlu.ca

All official WLU correspondence is sent to your WLU account so please check it on a regular basis. Any
‘group’ emails I send to the class will be sent to your WLU account

The following are usually helpful if you want to send me an email.

1. Send the email to omasakure@wlu.ca
2. I will try to answer all emails within 48 hours. It takes longer to reply to emails send through my
learning space. If I have not responded within 48 hours, please re-send your email or contact me in
person.
3. ALWAYS include the course code in the subject line of your email (EC120 BR).

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 4. Please also include your name and student number at the bottom of your email so that I know who you
are.
5. Email me from your WLU email account, not from Yahoo or other sorts. WLU uses email filters that
may filter your email into a ‘junk’ or ‘spam’ folder and so emailing from your WLU account increases
the chances that I will receive your email.

Weekly Course Schedule and Readings

Below is an outline of the weekly schedule and readings. The readings are based on the textbook (indicated
above) only. Please note that this class and reading schedule is illustrative. It may change during the course of
the term (e.g., switch order of topics; modify amount of time spent on a given topic area in response to student
feedback/progress)

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 COURSE SCHEDULE and READINGS

The content in EC120 is cumulative and intended to help students develop the knowledge in the early stages of
the course that will allow them to be successful in the later parts of the course. As such each test is cumulative,
and while the focus is on the most recent content, there will be questions from the previous sections of the
course.

Part 1 – Tools for Economic Analysis

Lecture Date Topic Textbook
September 10th Introduction Ch. 1
September 15 Opportunity Cost Ch. 1, 2
September 17 Economic Models Ch. 1, 2
September 22 Demand and Supply Ch. 3
September 24 Elasticity Ch. 4
September 29 Market Efficiency Ch. 5
October 1 Review
Saturday,
Midterm Test 1 Chapters 1 - 5
October 3rd

Part 2 – Consumer and Producer Decisions

Lecture Date Topic Textbook
October 6 Consumer Choice Ch. 6
October 8 Indifference Curves Ch. 6 appendix
October 13-16 Reading Week No Classes
October 20 Firms in the Short Run Ch. 7
October 22 Firms in the Long Run Ch. 8
Saturday, Review Ch. 1-5
Midterm Test 2
October 24 Focus Ch 6 - 8

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Deferred Test scheduled for October 31st covers Chapters 6-8.

Part 3 – Market Structure

Lecture Date Topic Textbook
October 27 Competitive Markets Ch. 9
October 29 Monopoly Ch. 10
November 3 Monopolistic Competition Ch. 11.1, 11.2
November 5 Oligopoly Ch. 11.3, 11.4
Saturday, Review Ch. 1 - 8
Midterm Test 3
November 7 Focus Ch. 9 - 11

Part 4 – Input Markets and Taxation

Lecture Date Topic Textbook

November 10 Competitive Markets Ch. 12
November 12 Monopoly Ch. 13 & 14
November 17 Monopolistic Competition Ch. 14 & 15
November 19 Taxation Ch. 18
Saturday, Review Ch. 1 – 11
Test 4
November 21 Focus Ch. 12 - 15, 18

Deferred Test scheduled on November 28th covers content from Chapter 1-15 and 18

Part 5 – Environment and Trade Policy

Lecture Date Topic Textbook
November 24 Market Failures Ch. 16
November 26 Environmental Protection Ch. 17
International Trade Ch. 32
December 1
December 3 Trade Policy Ch. 33
Saturday, Review Ch. 1-15, 18
Test 5
December 5th Focus Ch. 16-17, 32-33

Final Exam
Lecture Date Topic Textbook Chapters
December 8 Review
Final Exam Period Review Ch. 1-15, 18
Final Exam
December 12th to 23rd Focus Ch. 16-17, 32-33

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University and Course Policies
The following rules apply to all your courses at Laurier in general and to EC120 in particular.

1. Academic Integrity/Misconduct (cheating): Laurier is committed to a culture of integrity within and

beyond the classroom. This culture values trustworthiness (i.e., honesty, integrity, reliability), fairness,
caring, respect, responsibility and citizenship. Together, we have a shared responsibility to uphold this
culture in our academic and non-academic behaviour. The University has a defined policy with respect
to academic misconduct. As a Laurier student you are responsible for familiarizing yourself with this
policy and the accompanying penalty guidelines, some of which may appear on your transcript if there is
a finding of misconduct. You can find the relevant policy at Laurier’s academic integrity website along
with resources to educate and support you in upholding a culture of integrity. Ignorance is not a defense.
See: www.wlu.ca/academicintegrity.

2. Special Needs: Students with disabilities or special needs are advised to contact Laurier’s Accessible
Learning Centre for information regarding its services and resources. Students are encouraged to review
the Academic Calendar. See: www.wlu.ca/page.php?grp_id=1365&p=5123 for information regarding
all services available on campus.

3. Plagiarism: Wilfrid Laurier University uses software that can check for plagiarism. According to the
policy (Approved by Senate May 14, 2002), as an instructor I can request you to submit your written
work in electronic form and have it checked for plagiarism.

4. Classroom Use of Electronic Devices: As stated above, much of the course involves the use of graphs.
You do not need your computer in the lecture. Pen and paper will do. This policy is consistent with
university policy on use of computers in the classroom. See Policy in Syllabus folder on MyLearning
Space. http://www.wlu.ca/documents/50202/9.3_Electronic_Device_Policy.pdf

5. Late Assignment Policy: As stated above, there are NO make-up tests/quizzes under any
circumstances. If you miss a test/quiz, you will get a grade of 0 (zero). If you miss a quiz/test due to
illness or any other legitimate reason you need to provide an acceptable documentation (a doctor’s note
with a date (s) covering the period in question). That documentation must be submitted directly to me in
a timely manner. Once I accept your documentation, I will re-weight your test/quiz accordingly and you
will receive an email from me to confirm any changes to your course evaluation. Please keep such
emails for your records.

6. Final Examinations – As a student in this course, you are strongly urged not to make any commitments
(i.e., vacation) during the examination period in December. As a general rule, you are supposed to be
available for examinations during the examination periods of all terms in which you are registered (See
Academic Regulations – “Examinations” in the academic calendars).

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7. Foot Patrol, The Wellness Centre, and the Student Food Bank:

The university has a wide range of resources and facilities to help succeed and be safe on campus. The
following resources and facilities are available to you at the Kitchener/Waterloo campus and Brantford
campus.

KITCHENER/WATERLOO RESOURCES

 Waterloo Student Food Bank - All students are eligible to use this service to ensure they’re eating
healthy when overwhelmed, stressed or financially strained. Anonymously request a package online
24-7. All dietary restrictions accommodated.

 Waterloo Foot Patrol |519.886.FOOT (3668) - A volunteer operated safe-walk program, available
Fall and Winter daily from 6:30 pm to 3 am. Teams of two are assigned to escort students to and
from campus by foot or by van.

 Waterloo Student Wellness Centre | 519-884-0710, x3146 - The Centre supports the physical,
emotional, and mental health needs of students. Located on the 2nd floor of the Student Services
Building, booked and same-day appointments are available Mondays and Wednesdays from 8:30 am
to 7:30 pm, and Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays from 8:30 am to 4:15 pm. Contact the Centre at
x3146, wellness@wlu.ca or @LaurierWellness. After hours crisis support available 24/7. Call 1-
844-437-3247 (HERE247).

BRANTFORD RESOURCES

 Brantford Student Food Bank - All students are eligible to use this service to ensure they’re eating
healthy when overwhelmed, stressed or financially strained. Anonymously request a package online
24-7. All dietary restrictions accommodated.

 Brantford Foot Patrol | 519-751-PTRL (7875) - A volunteer operated safe-walk program, available
Fall and Winter, Monday through Thursday from 6:30 pm to 1 am; Friday through Sunday 6:30 pm
to 11 pm. Teams of two are assigned to escort students to and from campus by foot or by van.

 Brantford Wellness Centre | 519-756-8228, x5803 - Students have access to support for all their
physical, emotional, and mental health needs at the Wellness Centre. Location: Student Centre, 2nd
floor. Hours: 8:30 am to 4:15 pm Monday through Friday. After hours crisis support available 24/7.
Call 1-884-437-3247 (HERE247).

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