Introductory_Agricultural_Economics-Syllabus-Spring-2014-CAU-Section-AG132.docVIP

Course Number AGEC 1113 Introduction to Agricultural Economics Syllabus-Spring 2014 (3 Credit Hours) (Section AG132) Prerequisite: None INSTRUCTOR: Mark Phillips, Ph.D. OFFICE: Room 301 International College PHONE: E-MAIL: icbgh207@cau.edu.cn COURSE TIME AND LOCATION: Monday (10:10 AM-12:00 PM): Building-2-Room-203 Tuesday (8:00 AM-9:50 AM): Building-2-Room-215 Wednesday (10:10 AM-12:00 PM): Building 1-Room-206 Thursday (8:00 AM-9:50 AM): Building 2-Room -214 OFFICE HOURS: Tuesday: 10:10 AM-12:00 PM COURSE DESCRIPTION The purpose of the course is to introduce students to the fundamental concepts of Economics. However, it will largely focus on how these concepts relate to agriculture. For instance, most if not all of the examples given in class will take an economic principle and relate it to some agricultural issue. The course is divided into four sections. Section I focuses on the Foundations of Economics which involves a brief description of the food industry, the various components of economics—such as Micro and Macro Economics, graphing basics and how market prices are determined. Section II focuses on Microeconomics and explores some of the concepts that impact producers’ and consumers’ decision making. This includes an exploration of how firms attempt to maximize profits; the role played by governments in the market place, elasticity of supply and demand and the theory of consumer behavior—in particular the importance of consumer utility maximization (well-being). Section III focuses on Macroeconomics and explores concepts such as the money supply, financial markets, banking, income, gross domestic product (GDP), employment, fiscal policy, international trade, and government agricultural programs. Section IV consists of a variety of advanced topics including: food marketing, futures markets, financial markets, investment analysis, the farm service sector, market failure, demographics and the relationship between economic development and food