Questions about administrative stuff for Econ 441, Fall 2008 Nov 7 I am quite upset about one of the problems on the Econ 441 midterm, where we had to derive the markup based on elasticity. I studied for hours for this exam, and feel that I know the material very well, but was under the impression that we would not be tested on the complex math behind the markup equation. This derivation process was discussed once in lecture, and I believe we were told we would not have to do it on the exam. It is unfair that such a small portion of the course that was never practiced or brought up in problem sets accounts for such a large part of the exam (12 points). From the beginning, it was stressed that this is not a math course, and thus, I devoted virtually all of my time to the theory behind monopolies and markups. Hopefully, we can reach a resolution to this issue, as I am speaking on behalf of a number of students. Thank you for your understanding. A: It was not worth 12 points, only 6. And I'm sure I never said that the derivation that I did in class (and was also in the text) would not be on the exam. On the contrary, you should have guessed that it would be, since the first exam also had a mathematical derivation, and this was about the only one that occurred in this part of the class. If indeed there were many students who did poorly on this, then it won't hurt you, since I grade on a curve. Nov 5 Me and my buddies are wondering if the following topics will be covered in the exam (or if they were covered in class at all) - Monopolistic Competition - Chapter 12.5 (Extention of the cournot model to free entry and exit) - Internal Economies of Scale (by what I can see lecture and your notes only covered external but the book covers internal) - Chapter 11.4 (The production expansion condition) A: In principle, I could ask about anything in the assigned readings. In practice, I usually concentrate on what I've covered in lectures. Nov 4 Are we going to need to know how to answer question 4 Summer 2002 exam 2? A: No. Nov 3 Exam 2002 #4 question, I know in the lecture, we talked about the partial equilibrium model of monopolistic competition. But as I look at the solution of this problem, I am confused about the graph. because this graph looks to me is not familiar. Do we have to know about that graph in the solution as well? A: As I say on the website, that year I used a different textbook. This graph is not something we've covered this year. Nov 2 I cannot attend your office hour because I have a class during that time 2-3pm. When are you available on monday? A: I'm sorry, but I don't have any other time free on Monday. I will be holding an extra office hour on Tuesday at 4. Oct 14 I have been reviewing the exam answers and I am a little worried because I did not do as well as I thought I would on this first midterm. I prepared a lot for this test and my grade is just not a good reflection of how well I understand the material. This is not a complaint, I in no way think that the exam was unfair, I just made incredibly unintelligent mistakes that I should have not made. Is there any opportunity for extra credit or anything that will help boost my grade up a little bit? A: No, there's nothing to do for extra credit. If you want to improve your grade, you just need to do better on the next two exams. I do give some small credit for improvement when I calculate the grade for the course, so if you did badly on this exam, that may help. The important thing is that you use this first exam to find out why you didn't do as well as you'd hoped. Don't just dismiss your errors as "unintelligent mistakes," but think through why you made them, so that you can adjust your approach to studying and/or to taking exams, so as to avoid making them in the future. Oct 12 My score on this exam was much lower than I expected it to be, despite how well I actually understood the material (I did not focus on remembering the assumptions that need to hold for theories to work, which apparently is something that's very important). Nevertheless, I feel I could do much better on the next two exams; do you think it is possible for me to still get an A or A- in the class with a B- on the first exam? A: I do give some small credit for improvement, so if you do better on the other two exams, that will help. Incidentally, you shouldn't need to memorize assumptions in a course like this. If you understand the tools and the proofs that use them, the assumptions should be pretty obvious from those. What you should concentrate on is improving your understanding. Oct 8 I, and probably a good deal of other students, will not be in attendance today. Sundown marks the beginning of Yom Kippur and even those of us not praying will be eating their last supper before the fast begins. So with that said, could you tell me what exactly we'll be covering in the book today? Will it be just the remainder of chapter 7? A: I see. Thanks for alerting me. I'll be doing the 4 theorems of the Heckscher-Ohlin Model, which are the content of Chapter 8 (not chapter 7). I do them somewhat differently than the book, using the Lerner diagram more than it does, so you'll want to get notes from others who've attended. Oct 8 I didn't do to well on the exam and I studied really hard for it. Apparantly, I didn't focus on the right material so I was wondering if there are ever any opportunities for extra credit in the course? A: No, just do better on the other exams, and I'll give some small credit for improvement. Oct 6 I was wondering if the Heckscher-Ohlin Model and/or the Edgeworth box will be on the exam. We briefly talked about both so I wanted to know if I needed to worry about them. And the Lerner diagram isn't on the exam, right? Only up until the Ricardian Model? A: Edgeworth box and PPF, yes; Heckscher-Ohlin Model and Lerner diagram no. Oct 6 Upon solving the questions in Problem Set 2 (ECON 441), I noticed that you inquire about a Utility Possibility Frontier (UPF) in a problem. We have not covered this material in class, and it is not in the assigned readings in the Markusen book. Should I expect it on the test, and if so, can you please let me know from where I should prepare for it? I understood the general idea in the problem, I just know that if you ask something like that on the test and it is not covered in the readings and lectures, I will have hard time answering it. A: I did do that in lecture. I think it was on Sep 17. Oct 5 After going through the two previous midterms I noticed that the H-O model is part of both exam. I remember you made a point in class that it will not be in the first midterm, Is that correct? A: That is correct. We haven't done that model yet. Oct 5 Hi. I can't find where the hours and location are for tomorrow's review session. Could you remind me of when and where the review session will be? A: There is no review session, just an extra office hour by the GSI (12-1 in 112 Loch) and my own regular office hour (2-3 in 3314 Weill). Sep 13 Are solutions to any of the problems in the textbook available either in a coursepack or online anywhere? A: I don't think so, but I will ask the author just in case. Sep 9 I joined your last at the end of last week, but missed your first lecture. I am very excited to be in your course and look forward to working with you, though a quick question that I can't seem to answer for myself is whether or not problem sets are turned in/when they should be finished. Is each problem set to be turned in at Thursday's lecture? A: Problem sets are not turned in or graded; they are just to help you study and learn the material. I will be posting answers a while after the questions are posted, and you can check your answers against those. If you have questions, you should ask me or Yun Jung. [End of file]