Econ 200 Links

Daniel R. Vincent
Department of Economics
University of Maryland
College Park,MD 20742
(301)-405 3485(V)    (301)-405-3542 (FAX)
Daniel R. Vincent (e-mail)

[ Home Page ] [Syllabus] [Lectures ] [Problem Set Schedule] [Exams] [Contacts ][A Crude Calendar]

Announcements:

× A practice problem set on Game Theory and Information can be found here: Game Theory PS A candidate set of solutions can be found here, Game Theory Solutions.

× The final exam will be cumulative. Much the same format as the midterms, probably between 55 and 60 multiple choice questions. If I read Testudo correctly, the exam will be held in the Tydings class room, Tuesday, May 20 1:30-3:30.

× The grades for Midterm 2 are now posted on ELMS/Blackboard. The TAs will have the scantrons. If you have a question about the grading, you first should contact your TA to review the scantron. If a problem remains, then contact me.

× Assuming there are no coding errors that would require recalculation (something that has happened in the past but we have tried our best to avoid), the follow is an approximate "curve" for the midterm grade. To read the chart, you must use your final midterm grade (that is, the maximum of your score on the two midterms)

Approximate Midterm Letter Grade Allocation

(Note this is tentative: Actual scores are still being verified and a final scale will be determined soon)

Final Midterm Score (Maximum of the two Midterms) Scored out of 100

Approximate Letter Grade

Number of Students with Grade

96 and over

A+

12

92 to 95.9

A

37

87 to 91.9

A-

52

83 to 86.9

B+

30

79 to 82.9

B

81

74 to 78.9

B-

58

69 to 73.9

C+

54

64 to 68.9

C

36

59 to 63.9

C-

26

56 to 57.9

D+

9

52 to 55.9

D

10

47 to 51.9

D-

6

below 47

F

 

 

 

× The animated slide from class can be opened here:  chap14slide.ppt

× The news article on the protests in Argentina can be accessed here: http://www.miamiherald.com/news/americas/story/470308.html

 

Some questions: Assuming that Argentina is a "small country" in the world market for soybeans and beef, what are the effects in Argentina of an export tax on, say, soy? Why are farmers upset? Illustrate using a demand and supply diagram. Why would the government impose such a tax)? (That is, who benefits? ) Show using a demand and supply diagram.

× The lecture notes for Chapter 13 now have the three additional slides that I discussed in lecture, April 1. They are slides 35, 44 and 45.

× A revised calendar is now on the website, follow the link above. Note that the due dates for Problem Sets 5 and 6 have been pushed back to Monday, April 7 and  Monday, April 21 respectively. 

× The second midterm is Thursday, April 10. It will be cumulative up to and including the material covered in Chapter 14. However, more emphasis will be on Chapters 9, 10,11, 13 and 14 inclusive. Remember, that your midterm score is the highest of the two midterms. The format will be the same as the first midterm, that is, 40 multiple choice questions.
Material covered in the textbook, the slides and in lectures will all be on the test.

If you require DSS arrangements, you must get the relevant forms to me by Thursday, April 3.
 

 × U.S. presidential candidates position on carbon emissions policies:

http://www.grist.org/candidate_chart_08.html

Here is the link to the web-page on net-neutrality

http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080225-comcast-and-net-neutrality-advocates-clash-at-fcc-hearing.html

 × For the two lectures after the break, there will be a guest lecturer -- Professor Mahlon Straszheim. Professor Straszheim is a former chair of the Economics Department at Maryland. He has also taught Econ200 and will give the lectures on Chapters 13 and 14 while I am out of town. I will try to monitor email however may not be able to do so. A brief biography of Professor Straszheim can be found here:

http://www.econ.umd.edu/~straszheim/

 × The midterm grades are now posted on ELMS/Blackboard. The average score on the test was 69 which was fairly good given it was a tough test. I cannot say at this stage if the midterm scores will need to be "curved" since the final grade is the highest of the two scores.  For those who are interested, here is the grade distribution (out of 40).

MT1 Grade Distribution

 × For those students eligible to take a makeup midterm, please email me and copy your TA on the email. The makeup will be next week. You must have a valid University recognized excuse in order to do the makeup.

 × The results from the midterm will be posted on ELMS/Blackboard as soon as we receive them from OIT. Probably in a day or so. Because of the grading scheme, (best out of two midterms count), there will be no curve on this midterm.

 × There has been a change in the course calendar. The material on Chapter 9, Trade, is moved a little earlier and the material on Public Goods and Common Resources, Chapter 11 has been moved to a more appropriate place, right after Chapter 10, Externalities.

 × A request from a student:

Does anyone interested in joining a study group for ECON200, respond to this email.
Thanks
mmurat@umd.edu <mmurat@umd.edu>
 

Some students found the hint for PS 2 (Elasticity) Question 5.1 and 5.2 confusing. For those students, I am offering the chance at a redo for this question if you wish. IF you did not get 5.1and 5.2  correct, please print a copy of your report showing you received no points for these two questions  (only these two questions are eligible.). Submit a copy of this to your TA along with the correct answer to 5.1and 5.2. The correct answer should compute the elasticity of the demand curve using the midpoint method using as one price, a price of $1000 per ticket and using as the other price, a price that is 1% higher.
 
If you get the correct answer to the questions, the TA will add the two points to your score.
 
If you wish to take up this option, please do it by spring break, (March 14)

 

§http://www.econbrowser.com/archives/2007/02/ethanol_subsidi.html
§http://zfacts.com/p/63.html

§       If you require DSS arrangements, you must get the relevant forms to me by Thursday. (If you do not know what DSS is, then this likely does not apply to you.)

§      × The first midterm is next Tuesday, March 4 in class. It will cover material up to and including Chapter 8 of the textbook. The test will consist of 40 multiple choice questions. It will have graphs but you are not expected to draw any graphs.

§      Concerning Chapters 1 and 2 – only the material from those chapters that I covered in lectures will be on the test.  Otherwise, material covered in the textbook, the slides and in lectures will all be on the test.

§                  You may need to use a calculator on the test, so please bring one. YOU WILL NOT BE ALLOWED TO BORROW CALCULATORS FROM OTHER STUDENTS IN THE ROOM.

§                You will need your student ID number so please bring that with you to the test.

§       × Some links from Thursday, February 14 slides were:

 × I apologize for the equipment failure in class. I hope the projector is working by Tuesday.

× Here is the link to the FCC auction site in case you want to follow it some more:

http://wireless.fcc.gov/auctions/default.htm?job=auction_summary&id=73

Click on the "View Auction Results" link to find the results from the most recent round.

× This is from the Aplia representative (recall that you have a grace period to use Aplia up until Feb. 17):

 Students purchase the textbook bundle from the online bookstore.  They
are then shipped the bundle that contains an Aplia Payment Code inside.
The Payment Code is printed on an Access Card included inside the
textbook bundle.  Once students receive their bundle, they can find the
Aplia card included inside, and then use the printed Payment Code as a
form of payment for your Aplia course.  (When students sign in to your
Aplia course they are prompted to make a payment and Payment Code is one
of the options listed.)
 

 × In order to give the discussion sessions time to cover the material, the due dates of the first two problem sets have been moved to the Monday following the original due date. Thus, Problem Set 1 is now due Monday, Feb. 11 at 11pm. Problem Set 2 is now due Monday, February 18 at 11pm.

 × Please monitor this website for course announcements. The syllabus contains most of the information that is relevant for this course. You can use this for course textbook information and as a fairly good guide to topics covered and midterm dates. Please read it carefully.

 ×  A number of students are concerned that the Aplia website lists problem sets due this Friday. I believe that if you look carefully at the description of the problem set, you will find that they are characterized as PRACTICE problem sets. According to my reading of the site, the first GRADED problem set is not due until February 6 (now changed to Feb.11).

 ×  Aplia was late adding the sections to this course. They will add them today. If you already registered please try to add the information about your section the next time you log in. You should be prompted to add this information at login.

× EMAILS: If you have questions about your grade or the textbook, please first email the TA in charge of your discussion session. If he or she cannot answer the question, then feel free to email me but also copy your TA on the email. Also, please do not forget to include a subject line including the course, ECON200, on your email. This will reduce the likelihood the email gets blocked by my spam filter.

 × Note that there was a typo in the slide in the first lecture describing the final exam date. To the best of my understanding, the final exam is Tuesday, May 20. The typo has been fixed on the file currently on the website.

Links:

    Aplia

            http://www.aplia.com

    Textbook

            http://mankiw.swlearning.com

    Department

          http://www.bsos.umd.edu/econ/

 

Last Updated: 05/01/2008