AGRICULTURAL, ENVIRONMENTAL AND DEVELOPMENT ECONOMICS 200
“PRINCIPLES OF FOOD AND RESOURCE ECONOMICS”
9:30 TO 10:48, MONDAY, WEDNESDAY, AND FRIDAY, 38 UNIVERSITY HALL
SPRING 2005
[Click here for lecture notes, homeworks, handouts, and other information]
Instructor Administration
Brent Sohngen Diana Lantz
Phone: 688-4640 Phone: 292-2701
E-mail: Sohngen.1@osu.edu E-mail: lantz.30@osu.edu
Office Hours: Monday and Wednesday, 1 – 2 pm, or by appointment.
TA Office Hours will be announced
Web Site: http://aede.osu.edu/class/aede200/sohngen/
Required Text: Roger A. Arnold. Microeconomics, 6th Edition. Mason, Ohio: Southwestern Publishing Company, 2000.
Objectives: At the completion of the course, the student will be able to:
1. Describe the how economic forces and government policy influence the food production system;
2. Analyze economic problems facing consumers and producers using analytical techniques developed in the course;
3. Identify the role of markets in producing and distributing goods and services and the effect of market structure on economic performance;
4. Analyze issues related to resource use (i.e., land, labor and capital) in the production of goods and services;
5. Identify economic problems facing agriculture and public policies enacted to deal with them;
6. Identify problems related to natural resource use, the environment, and public goods; and
7. Appreciate the perspective that economic theory provides in analyzing such broad issues as international trade and international finance.
Class Organization: The format of the class is lecture and discussion with student participation encouraged. The content of class is designed to supplement (not duplicate) assigned readings.
Grading: Your final grade will be determined by your performance on home work assignments, in-class exercises, midterm exams, and the final exam. The following weights will be used.
Points
Homework assignments (4 @ 50 points) 200
Midterm exam #1 100
Midterm exam #2 100
Final exam 200
Total 600
The grading scale will be:
>92% A 78-80% C+
90-92% A- 72-78% C
88-90% B+ 70-72% C-
82-88% B 68-70% D+
80-82% B- 60-68% D
<60% E
Homework: The due date for homework assignments will be given at the time the homework is distributed. There will be a 10 point per day penalty for an assignment not handed in on the due date. Assignments overdue at the time the answers are given will receive a 0.
Exams: There are two midterms and a final exam for the class. The final exam will be comprehensive for the entire course. Make-up exams will be given only in the event of excused absences. To have an excused absence, a valid excuse must be presented BEFORE the exam.
Readings: You are strongly encouraged to stay current with assigned class readings. Falling behind the assigned schedule imposes two costs for you--it's difficult to catch up and it impairs understanding of later subject matter.
Academic Each student is responsible for his/her own work on exams and exercises.
Misconduct: Plagiarism and other forms of cheating will not be tolerated. University rules provide severe penalties for academic misconduct, ranging from course failure to dismissal from the University. University rules are found in the handbook used in all survey courses: "University Survey - A Guidebook and Readings for New Students."
Disabilities: Any student who feels he/she may need an accommodation based on the impact of a disability should contact the professor privately to discuss to discuss his/her needs. Based on this discussion, the professor will then contact the Office for Disability Services, at 292-3307 (Room 150, Pomerene Hall), to coordinate a reasonable accommodation of the student’s documented disabilities.
Course Outline
Supply, Demand and Price: Theory
April 4 - 8 Supply, Demand and Price: Applications Chapter 4
Elasticity Chapter 5
April 11 - 15 Consumer Choice Chapter 6
The Firm Chapter 7
HW I Due on April 13.
April 18 - 20 Firm's Production and Costs Chapter 8
HW II Due April 20th
April 25 (Monday) Midterm Exam I
April 27 – 29 Perfect Competition Chapter 9
Monopoly Chapter 10
Monopolistic Competition & Oligopoly Chapter 11
May 2 - 6 Government Intervention:
Antitrust & Regulation Chapter 12
Resource Markets: Labor Chapter 13
Resource Markets: Labor Chapter 14
HW III Due May 4
May 9 - 11 Government Intervention: Poverty Chapter 15
May 13 (Friday) Midterm Exam II
May 16 - 20 Resource Markets: Land and Capital Chapter 16
Present Value Analysis: Handouts
May 23 - 27 Government Intervention:
Externalities & Public Goods Chapter 17
Public Choice Theory Chapter 18
HW IV Due May 25
May 30 Memorial Day
June 1 – 3 International Trade Chapter 19
International Finance Chapter 20
June 8 (Wednesday), 9:30-11:18 Final Exam