More detailed information on assessment tasks and expectations will be supplied via iLearn. All submissions in ECON203 will be electronic, via iLearn.

The extra-credit market mechanism will apply to the Application assessment tasks.  Students will be presented with multiple choice questions to be answered live in lectures. Correct answers to these questions generate a pool of points for the cohort, and for individual students units of a course currency.  At three points in the session (coinciding with the three submisions for the Application assessment) students can bid for points using their earned currency. The resulting market price determines for each student how many extra marks can be added to the marked result for an Application submission. The pool of extra-credit marks is reset for each Application submission (marks cannot be saved) but balances of 'currency' can be carried over. The market mechanism can be made richer through the addition of of borrowing and lending currency (reflecting unit content on intertemporal choice) and the purchase of assets (e.g. 'stocks') that pay off randomly (reflecting the content the content on risk preference and decision-making under uncertainty). The aim is to provide students with an immersive experience in an actual market which reflects what is covered in the unit and which involves real (positive!) consequences.

Classes

Lecture times and location: http://www.timetables.mq.edu.au.

This unit provides 3 hours face-to-face teaching per week. It consists of one two-hour lecture and one one-hour tutorial. Tutorials do not begin until Week 2.

Lecture slides will be available on the unit web page at http://ilearn.mq.edu.au. Please consult the Unit Schedule on iLearn for the lecture topics in each week. During the semester, unforeseen circumstances may require the cancellation of some lectures and/or tutorials. Any changes will be announced as far as possible in advance on the unit web page.

Attendance is highly recommended. The unit will utilise lecture streaming to allow contemporaneous participation externally. Students who miss classes put themselves at a considerable disadvantage for several reasons, including:

1. Lectures involve an alternative and often more detailed/nuanced explanation of key aspects of the content covered in the textbook.
2. Lectures will involve interactive elements that aid understanding and which link to participation in the market for extra-credit marks (see iLearn). Interactivity is only possible in real time.
3. Student engagement is a key driver of success, and class participation is a vital element of remaining engaged with course material. Catching up at the end always seems like an attractive strategy in the present, but rarely turns out to be anything but a poor choice (and one that can't be rectified when the time comes).
4. It is difficult and often impossible for teaching staff to provide meaningful assistance to students outside class times on topics for which they did not attend the relevant lectures and tutorials.

Required and Recommended Texts and/or Materials

Required Textbook

Perloff, J.M. (2016) Microeconomics (7th Ed), Pearson (Mentioned elsewhere as the textbook)

The text is available for purchase at Co-op Bookshop. A small number are available on reserve in the library. This text is accompanied by MyEcon Lab. Details on logging on to access My EconLab will be provided in iLearn. This resource is available for student's practice and is not assessed for the unit.

Supplementary General Texts

You may find other intermediate microeconomic texts useful:

Pindyck R.S. and Rubinfeld D.L. (2013), Microeconomics (8th Ed), Pearson International Edition.

Nechyba, T.J. (2011), Microeconomics: An Intuitive Approach with Calculus (1st Ed), South-Western.

Varian, H.R. (2014), Intermediate Microeconomics: A Modern Approach (9th Ed), New York: Norton.

Frank, R.H. (2010), Microeconomics and Behaviour (8th Ed), Boston: McGraw-Hill.

Mathematical detail

Henderson, J.M and E. Quandt (1980), Microeconomic Theory: A Mathematical Approach. McGrawHill

Dowling, E.T. (1980), Introduction to Mathematical Economics (2nd ed), Schaum's Outline Series McGrawHill.

As there will be interactive activities in class, students need remember to bring online-capable devices (phones, tablets, laptops etc) with them.

A detailed schedule of topics will be supplied via iLearn  

This offering has a revised assessment regime aimed at ensuring greater engagement with the unit material in order to increase the likelihood of student success:

• A market for extra-credit points will run throughout the session. Students will earn 'currency' and generate a pool of extra-credit marks by answering questions live in lectures, and can use the currency to bid for extra marks from the pool. Variations in the structure of the market will be introduced throughout the session to reflect content learned in the unit. This will give students exposure to market mechanisms that are live and consequential for them.
• The weighting on tutorial assessment has been increased to 30%, and tutorial answers and attendance are required if sufficient marks are to be earned. The participation mark element has been dropped. Students are required to reflect on their answers and the tutorial experience as part of their assessment.
• The assignments have been replaced by three Applications, which will be shorter and explicitly target the ethical aspects of policy evaluation. The marks for these Applications can be supplemented by extra-credit marks purchased from the pool.
• A problem set has been introduced for students to work on in their own time and submit when ready (submission is staged to prevent excessive procrastination). This will give them the chance to work on the strictly technical aspects of the course privately - this kind of material not being particularly conducive to rewarding lecture experiences.
• The weighting on the final exam has been reduced to 30%. The aim here is to realign student incentives away from last-minute cramming and towards more constant engagement with unit material.
• The learning outcomes have been modified to include a focus on analytical skills.

In order to demonstrate attainment of the learning outcomes to an extent sufficient to warrant a passing grade in ECON203 as per the Assessment Policy you must:

• score an aggregate mark at least equal to 50;
• demonstrate sufficient participation in all assessment tasks (i.e. submit at least 50% of the answers or contributions required in each)
• successfully complete (i.e. pass) at least one assessment task from each of the following two sets​: (Final examination, Applications) and (Tutorial, Problem Set)

​The rationale for these rules is that there is a minimum level of general performance required if a student is to be held to have achieved the Learning Outcomes, and the assessment tasks address different combinations of the Learning Outcomes. This means that doing extremely poorly in both of the assessment tasks that directly require ethical interpretation of the course material, or failing both which address analytical skills, is not consistent with demonstrating overall attainment of the Learning Outcomes.  Some degree of 'make up' via other tasks is permissible, but this must limited to maintain the integrity of the grading process.

The Assessment Policy requires that students be given an additional attempt to meet hurdle requirements where failure to meet the requirements will result in a fail grade for the unit. Students who score at least 50, meet the participation requirements and fail to meet the requirement relating to passing at least two tasks from the nominated sets will be given an additional assessment task in line with the Policy. Students who do not meet the participation requirement will not be deemed not to have made a serious attempt and so will not be allowed an additional assessment as per the Policy.