INTERNET BASED DISTANCE LEARNING COURSE

 ECON 2302 MICROECONOMICS   

Below you will find the learning objective, concept, idea, term, or theory that each question on the exam will cover. Each number in the following list refers to the question number on Exam 4 that will test your knowledge of that specific learning objective. Each of these topics/learning objectives is discussed in the textbook in the order that they are listed below.  A much better understanding can often be attained by working through MyEconLab assignments connected to any of these objectives.

Chapter 26

 

  After reading this chapter, you should be able to:

  1. List and explain the characteristics of oligopoly.
  2. Explain why oligopolies exist.
  3. Explain alternative methods of measuring industry concentration.
  4. Explain what Game Theory is and define all the basic concepts and terms used in Game Theory.
  5. Describe the Prisoners' Dilemma with the use of Game Theory and a Game Theory payoff matrix.
  6. Apply game theory to pricing strategies of oligopolistic firms using payoff matricies.
  7. Explain, with the aid of graphs,
    1. the temptation of oligopolistic firms to collude with one another in a cartel;
    2. what conditions must exist for a cartel to work effectively; and
    3. why the temptation to cheat on the cartel agreement is ever present.
  8. Illustrate how Network Effects and Market Feedback can explain why some industries are oligopolies.
  9. Explain the functions and forms of two-sided markets.
  10. Identify and explain the major characteristics of the four types of market structure discussed by economists.

Chapter 28

 

  After reading this chapter, you should be able to:

  1. Define and calculate the Marginal Product of Labor (also know as the Marginal Physical Product of Labor) and the Marginal Revenue Product of Labor.
  2. Define and calculate the Marginal Factor Cost of Labor and state its relatiion to the wage rate under conditions of perfect competition in the labor market.
  3. State and explain the General Rule for hiring labor by a firm wanting to maximize profits.
  4. Discuss what is meant by the term "Derived Demand" and explain the relationship between the Marginal Revenue Product of Labor and the firm's demand curve for labor.
  5. Explain the relationship between the price of the product labor produces and the firm's demand for labor and explain why the total market demand for labor is not simply the horizontal summation of each firm's demand for labor.
  6. Explain wage determination in a perfectly competitive labor market and what might cause shifts in the Demand and the Supply of Labor.
  7. Show how the demand for labor and for other inputs by a Monoplist differs from that of a Perfectly Competitive Firm and explain what effect this has on the utlilization of labor and other inputs.
  8. Reproduce the formula/rule for the cost minimization of all inputs used in the production process by a firm and how this formula/rule is related to the rule for profit maximization referred to in the thirteenth Learning Objective above.
  9. Explain how a monopsonist determines how much labor to employ and what wage rate to pay.
  10. Discuss the goals, strategies, and current status of labor unions.

Chapter 31

 

    After reading Chapter 31, you should be able to:

  1. Discuss how important the export trade is for the U.S. relative to its GDP and how this compares to the percentage in other countries.
  2. Calculate opportunity cost and recognize a mutually beneficial exchange rate when given production figures for two goods from two countries.
  3. Determine comparative advantage and the direction of trade.
  4. Explain how comparative advantage leads to specialization and gains from trade.
  5. Argue whether or not the U.S. is losing its competitive advantage in world trade based on how countries pay for imports.
  6. Explain the reasoning behind the infant industry and foreign subsidies arguments for protectionism, as well as the weaknesses of these arguments.
  7. Explain the reasoning behind the dumping, protecting domestic jobs, protecting the environment, and protecting national security arguments for protectionism, as well as the weaknesses of these arguments.
  8. Define: quota, voluntary restraint agreement (VRA), voluntary import expansion (VIE), and state how they change international trade and domestic markets.
  9. Explain the advantages and disadvantages (gains and losses) of tariffs and quotas.
  10. Present the history of GATT, WTO and regional trade agreements and describe their activities in reference to reducing or increasing trade barriers.

Chapter 32

 

    After reading Chapter 32, you should be able to:

  1. Explain the difference between the Balance of Trade and the Balance of Payment and explain the role accounting identities play in them and how surplus and deficit items in these accounts help balance these identies.
  2. Explain what kinds of transactions are containedin the Current and Financial accounts.
  3. Explain the impact differing inflation rates between countries can have on trade and financial flows; the impact of political instability in a country.
  4. Explain to someone how a foreign exchange market functions and what is meant by the exchange rate, appreciation and depreciation.
  5. Convert one currency into another given the exchange rate between the two.
  6. Write down a list of the determinants of supply and demand for a currency in foreign exchange markets while explaining what factors will cause the curves to shift.
  7. Explain how changes in equilibrium in the foreign exchange markets occur.
  8. Discuss the following two historical fixed exchange rate systems: a) the gold standard, and b) the Bretton Woods Monetary System and IMF.
  9. Explain how a country can maintain a fixed exchange rate if that is its goal.
  10. Explain the pros and cons of a fixed exchange rate, and explain how a floating exchange rate can work as a shock absorber.