Frequently asked questions about Economics A04

1. What is this course about?


ECMA04 is a half-course in microeconomics - one half of the introductory course in Economics for most students in the Department of Management, and is an elective for some other students. Like most introductory courses, it gives a broad survey of a large number of topics you will see later if you continue to study economics. Some of these topics are: demand and supply theory, how a perfectly competitive firm makes its decisions and how a perfectly competitive industry reacts to economic shocks of different kinds, how a monopolized industry functions, the economic role of government in regulating private markets, and the theory of gains from international trade. And that is just the fall term (ECMA04). In the winter term, you will probably take ECMA06 which is macroeconomics, looking at questions like how price changes and unemployment are measured, what forces produce regular business fluctuations in the economy, how the banking system and the Bank of Canada work to control the money supply and interest rates, and how foreign exchange markets work to determine the exchange rate of the Canadian dollar.

2. I hear that ECMA04 is a "problems-based" course. What does that mean?


We don't just study the theory of economics in ECMA04. We teach you how to solve mathematically-based problems using the theory you have learned. This shows you how to use the theory to analyze economic issues, so that you can use your knowledge in later courses. The math is not difficult for anyone with a good base in high-school calculus, but most of the testing is based on your ability to solve mathematical or graphical problems using your growing economic knowledge.

3. What are the tests like in ECMA04?


Of course the tests may vary somewhat from year to year, but a lot of the testing is multiple-choice. There are usually a large number of possible answers to each question (up to 10), because the multiple-choice questions are mathematically-based problems and the answers are numerical. For the tests you write during each term, all of the testing is multiple-choice. For the exams you write in the December final exam period, about 20%-30% is made up of "short-answer" questions, many of them based on drawing and interpreting graphs, plus some written answers.

4. What is the best way to get a good mark in ECMA04?

There are a number of different resources from which you can learn. There are classes for three hours per week. There is a textbook with assigned readings. There are tutorials each week with Teaching Assistants who lead you through the methods used to solve assigned problems. The Teaching Assistants also have office hours each week where you can get individual assistance. There are Study Questions provided in a Course Handbook which you should download from the Intranet. The Study Questions are voluntary, but answers are provided for self-study. There are old exams provided on Prof. Cleveland's course website (which you are looking at), which you can look over to prepare yourself for a testing situation.

The best way to get a good mark in ECMA04 is to use all of these resources wisely. Generally, because this is a problems-based course, that means keeping up with the work in the course each week. With a problems-based course, it is very hard to "cram" at the end of the term and get a good mark. Most students find the lectures, tutorials and old exams to be extremely useful in preparing you for the type of testing used in this course. The Study Questions are a close second, because of the problem format. The textbook is a recommended background to understanding the theory, but, since the text does not teach you how to do problems, it is not sufficient on its own.

5. Do I have to take Mathematics at the same time as ECMA04?


MATA32 and MATA33 should be taken at the same time that you are taking ECMA04 and ECMA06, unless you have already taken these courses (or courses at an equivalent level).  However, if you decide, halfway through the year, that you want to drop out of your math course, you do not have to drop Economics. You do have to complete your math courses (MATA32 and MATA33 or the equivalent) before you will be allowed to take any mathematically-oriented second-year courses in Economics (i.e., ECMB02 and ECMB06).