Syllabus
Executive MBA Program
Sheldon B. Lubar School of Business
University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee
Spring, 2008
Professor Bio Designed for the EMBA Program: www.uwm.edu/~marcus/Bio2008.html
FACULTY OFFICE: Lubar Hall S430F
Office Hours: Mondays 11:00-12:30 PM. Office hours also will be available by appointment to allow for the greatest flexibility of schedules for the EMBA students.
Telephone: 414-229-4103 (faculty office) or 414-228-7731 (home). My faculty mailbox is located on the 4th floor of Lubar Hall.
E-mail: marcus@uwm.edu
Homepage: www.uwm.edu/~marcus
OBJECTIVE: Economic analysis of problems in business and public policy issues so that an EMBA graduate will be able to think and speak like an economist. The topics include traditional issues of price elasticities, cost and production functions, as well as newer topics from behaviorial financial economics, price discrimination, the psychology of price, and game theory.
TESTS: There will be a midterm test on Saturday, February 23, 2008 and there will be a final on Saturday, May 10, 2008. The midterm is worth 50% and the final is worth 50%. Both exams will explore questions on pricing tactics, collusive practices, and behaviorial economics. Some questions in both exams will involve issues explored in classroom discussions on public policy issues.
CLASSROOM POLICIES: UWM has long-standing policies on academic misconduct, sexual harassment, discrimination, and changes of grade. These policies are available at: www.uwm.edu/~marcus/policies.html.
SPECIAL NEEDS: If anyone has need for note-taking or test-taking assistance,please feel free to discuss this with me early in the session. Worked problems and old exams are available on Desire2Learn at http://d2l.uwm.edu/ using your UWM email name and password.
January 18 - Elasticities (F: Chapters 1, 2 and especially Chapter 3; and also MBN: Chapter 7 - Is Water Different?)
January 26 - Techniques for Understanding Consumer Demand and Behavior (F: Chapter 4; and also MBN: Chapter 9 - Smoking and Smuggling).
February 1 - Production and Cost Analysis (F: Chapters 5 and 6 and also MBN: Chapter 26 - The Trashman Cometh).
February 9 - Competition and Agriculture (F: Chapter 7 and its appendix; and also MBN: MBN: Chapter 21 - Raising Less Corn and More Hell).
February 15 - Monopoly and Monopolistic Competition (F: Chapter 8; and MBN: Chapter 20 - Keeping the Competition Out).
February 23 - Midterm Test
February 29 - The Economy and the Stock Market, and also the Economics of Crime (MBN: Chapter 23 - Crime and Punishment).
March 14 - Pricing Strategies for the Firm and Price Discrimination (F: Chapter 10; and also MBN: Chapter 18: Coffee, Tea, or Tuition-Free?).
March 29 - Oligopoly and Game Theory (F: Chapter 9; and also MBN: Chapter 17 - Contracts, Combinations, and Conspiracies).
April 4 - Behavioral Economic Traps (BG: Chapters 4-7 and Conclusion; and also MBN: Chapter 29 - Greenhouse Economics).
April 18 - The Psychology of Price (BG: Chapters 1-3 and Introduction and a (Mercifully) Brief History of Economics; and also MBN: Chapter 8 - Slave Redemption in Sudan, an example of the law of unintended consequences).
April 26 - Labor Markets and the Distribution of Income MBN: Chapter 4 - The Mystery of Wealth and Chapter 31 - The $750,000 Steelworker).
May 2 - Auction Markets, Initial Public Offerings, and How to Be an Entrenched Managemnt Team MBN: Chapter 5 - Sex, Booze, and Drugs, another example of the of unintended consequences).
May 10 - Final Exam