California State University, Los Angeles
Center for Newly Independent States Studies (CNISS)
offers a Distance Learning course
ECONOMIC ANALYSIS OF INDIVIDUAL, FIRM AND MARKET BEHAVIOR
By Dr. Neil Garston
1 9 9 7
Course ID: ECON
COURSE
DESCRIPTION
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This course employs material written, and software created, by Professor Neil Garston of the Department of Economics and Statistics, California State University, Los Angeles. It is designed for current managers and professionals and those in training for such careers. The materials assume at least a basic knowledge of calculus, but do not assume any prior training in non Marxist economics.
OBJECTIVE OF
COURSE
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This course is designed to familiarize participants with concepts and tools used in analyzing the operations of market based economic phenomena. It will also train participants in some of the major methods used by profit seeking firms to optimize decisions.
INSTRUCTOR
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The instructor for this course is Dr. Neil Garston, Chair of the Department of Economics and Statistics and Professor of Economics in the School of Business and Economics, California State University, Los Angeles. Professor Garston has taught both graduate and undergraduate courses in the area of Microeconomics and has published research in applications of Microeconomic analysis, including in the estimation of industrial production functions, the optimal regulation of transportation, and the (microeconomic) behavior of public and private bureaucracies.
His book on the last named, Bureaucracies: Three Paradigms [Kluwer Academic Publishing] came out in November 1993.
He has taught at the University of California, Los Angeles, Trinity College (Connecticut), and the University of Connecticut. Professor Garston has served as a consultant to the California Consortium of Colleges and Universities and to the Communications Workers of America (union). He took his B.A. from Brooklyn College, City University of New York, and his Ph.D. in economics from Brown University.
COURSE ORGANIZATION
The headings below are taken from the text materials for the course.
Week 1
Chapter 1: Neoclassical Economic .
Send in first assignment at the end of week 1. The first assignment is: Run program 1 from the menu (supply and demand), write an EXPLANATION, in your own words, of why prices and quantities changed as they did when you altered each of the "other" variables in the program. You should be able to do this in about two pages of text. You do not need to submit your own diagrams, refer to those presented in the program.
Weeks 2 and 3
Chapter 2 The Demand for Consumer Goods
The second assignment is due at the end of week 3. The second assignment is: Run program 2 from the menu and write up your results (what you inputted, what the reported results were) and your explanation (in your own words) of why the results were whatever they were. This should take you no more than two pages of text (refer to program diagrams as needed).
Weeks 4 and 5
Chapter 3 Production, Cost, and Profit
There will be a midterm exam at the end of week 5.
Week 6
Chapter 4 The Firm and Industry in Perfect Competition
4.1) The Perfectly Competitive Firm in the Short Run
4.2) The Perfectly Competitive Industry in the Short Run
4.3) Short Run Market Equilibrium in Perfect Competition
4.4) Long Run Adjustment in Perfect Competition
4.5) Useful Applications of the Perfectly Competitive Model
The third assignment is due at the beginning of week 7. The assignment is: Run program 3 from the menu for at least two "years." Write up your results-your decisions and the results, and your explanation (in your own words) of why the results were as they were-and how they could have been improved.
Week 7
Chapter 5 The Monopoly Firm
Weeks 8 and 9
Chapter 6 Imperfect Competition .
The fourth assignment is due at the end of week 9. The assignment is to run programs 4 and 5, and to write up descriptions of your decisions and the results you got in each program, and your explanation of why you got the results you got.
Week 10
Chapter 7: Markets for Resources .
There will be a final exam after week 10.
Grading: Grades will be assigned based on a weighted average of the grades on assignments and the midterm and final exams. The weights are: assignments 1, 2, and 3: 5% each; assignment 4: 10%; midterm exam: 30%; final exam: 45%.
COURSE ADMINISTRATION
The course involves six major activities: registration, an initial class meeting, course
study segments, obtaining and responding to examination questions, an interactive
questions/answers, and obtaining a grade and a certificate of completion.
Details on each will be supplied with the registration verification.
Registration
Announcements and registration forms can be obtained from participating universities/organizations. Completed registration forms with payment will be returned to the designated course coordinator at the participating university/organization.
Confirmation of registration with appropriate course material will then be given to the student.
Initial Class Meeting
Course participants will meet as a group with the course coordinator at each participating university/organization. During the meeting, the Internet material will be distributed and demonstrated; and selfstudy, testing, and grading approaches will be explained.
SelfStudy Sessions
Each of the chapters will be studied and any questions will be sent to the course instructor.
Examination Questions
A course coordinator will request examination questions via e-mail.
Students will answer questions and return them for grading to the instructor.
The student grades and any instructor comments will be returned to the course
coordinator or to a student.
Question/Answer Methodology
Students are encouraged to submit comments and questions to the course instructor.
Grades and Certificates of Completion
Course grades and certificates of completion will be forwarded to the course coordinator
who will distribute them to the students.
To apply, please send your e-maie-mail to: cniss@calstatela.edu
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