Dr. Claire Donovan
Associate Professor of Economics
Instructor for ECON 201 (Fall 2026)
- Office
- Tidewell Hall 208
- cdonovan@university.alkimi.ai
ECON 201 · Business & Economics
Principles of Microeconomics
Supply and demand, consumer and firm behavior, market structures, and public policy.
Fall 2026 Overview
Course Essentials
Meeting Times & Location
TTh 11:00 a.m.–12:15 p.m., Tidewell Hall 110
Fall 2026 3 Semester Credits In-Person Modality
Generative AI Policy
AI Level 2AI Level 2: Permitted with disclosure for specified tasks. You may use the ECON 201 assistant for clarifying economic terminology, quizzing on market curve shifts, and drafting outlines for case analyses. AI may not be used to complete numeric homework sets or exam questions.
Instructor of Record
Canvas Pilot
ECON 201 Learning Assistant
Enrolled students have 24/7 access to this course's dedicated AI assistant, grounded in the syllabus, weekly lecture notes, and assignment sheets.
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Syllabus Highlights
Essential course requirements, grading structure, upcoming deadlines, and required learning materials.
Grading Weights
Evaluation Criteria
- Midterm Examination 1 20%
- Midterm Examination 2 20%
- Final Comprehensive Examination 25%
- Assignment 1 (Market Equilibrium & Policy Case Analysis) 10%
- Weekly Problem Sets (8 assignments) 15%
- In-Class Polls & Policy Discussion 10%
Grading scale conforms to the standard institutional scale (Student Handbook §4.1).
Deadlines
Key Course Dates
First Day of Classes
Thursday, August 27, 2026
Assignment 1 Due
Friday, September 18, 2026
Midterm Exam 1 (In-Class)
Thursday, October 8, 2026
Midterm Exam 2 (In-Class)
Thursday, November 5, 2026
Final Comprehensive Exam
Wednesday, December 16, 2026 (1:30 p.m.)
All deadlines close at 11:59 p.m. Eastern via Canvas.
Course Texts
Required Materials
Greenlaw & Shapiro, Principles of Microeconomics 3e (OpenStax)
Free digital access / optional print approx. $40
Standard Four-Function or Scientific Calculator
$0.00
Textbook reserve copies are maintained at the Whitcombe Library circulation desk.
Curriculum
Weekly Topics
Week 1: First Principles of Economics
Scarcity, trade-offs, opportunity cost, rational choice, marginal analysis, and Production Possibilities Frontier.
Week 2: Trade, Specialization, & Comparative Advantage
Absolute vs comparative advantage, opportunity costs, terms of trade, and gains from voluntary exchange.
Week 3: Supply, Demand, & Market Equilibrium
Law of Demand, Law of Supply, equilibrium price and quantity, curve shifts vs movements along curves.
Week 4: Elasticity & Market Responsiveness
Price elasticity of demand (midpoint method), elastic/inelastic/unitary, Total Revenue Test, and cross-price elasticity.
Complete weekly readings and assignments detailed in the full syllabus below.
Student Interactive Tool
ECON 201 Learning Assistant
Your 24/7 Course Study Companion
Ask about the syllabus, deadlines, and this week's notes.
The ECON 201 Learning Assistant is embedded directly into Canvas and accessible right here for registered students. Grounded exclusively in Dr. Claire Donovan's verified course documents, the assistant helps you:
- Review challenging concepts covered in recent lectures
- Verify exam dates, office hour schedules, and assignment guidelines
- Receive Socratic review quizzes aligned with learning outcomes
- Understand course policies on late submissions and academic integrity
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Official Course Contract
Complete Course Syllabus
The official syllabus as filed with the department and published in Canvas for the Fall 2026 academic semester.
ECON 201: Principles of Microeconomics
Term: Fall 2026
Credits: 3.0
Meeting Schedule & Location: Tuesday & Thursday 11:00 a.m.–12:15 p.m., Tidewell Hall 110
Modality: In-Person Lecture & Policy Discussion
Instructor Information
- Instructor: Dr. Claire Donovan (Associate Professor of Economics)
- Email:
cdonovan@university.alkimi.ai - Office: Tidewell Hall 208
- Office Hours:
- Tuesday & Thursday: 1:30–3:00 p.m. (In person, Tidewell Hall 208)
- Wednesday: 11:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m. (Virtual via Zoom / Alkimi Portal; link on Canvas)
- Additional appointments available upon request.
Course Description
Supply and demand, consumer and firm behavior, market structures, and public policy. ECON 201 introduces the analytical foundations of microeconomic theory, exploring how decentralized market economies allocate scarce resources among competing ends. Students examine rational choice, opportunity cost, trade and comparative advantage, competitive market equilibria, elasticities, welfare economics (consumer and producer surplus), and the deadweight loss of government price controls and taxation. The course investigates the theory of the firm, cost structures in the short and long run, profit maximization across four distinct market structures (perfect competition, monopoly, monopolistic competition, and oligopoly/game theory), and market failures including externalities, public goods, and common-pool resources.
Prerequisites
None. Satisfies 3 credits of the Alkimi Core Social Sciences requirement and serves as a core requirement for Business, Finance, Accounting, and Economics majors.
Measurable Student Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of ECON 201, students will be able to:
- Apply Marginal Decision-Making: Model consumer and producer optimization using opportunity costs, marginal benefits, and marginal costs under resource scarcity.
- Solve Equilibrium and Elasticity Models: Calculate competitive market-clearing equilibrium prices and quantities algebraically, and compute price, cross-price, and income elasticities using the midpoint method.
- Evaluate Welfare and Policy Impacts: Quantify consumer surplus, producer surplus, and deadweight loss resulting from price ceilings, price floors, per-unit excise taxes, and import tariffs.
- Analyze Production and Cost Functions: Calculate and graph short-run and long-run cost curves ($FC, VC, TC, AFC, AVC, ATC, MC$), identifying economies and diseconomies of scale.
- Compare Market Structures: Predict equilibrium price, output, and economic profits across perfect competition, monopoly, monopolistic competition, and oligopoly (Nash equilibria).
- Formulate Corrective Policies for Market Failures: Diagnose negative/positive externalities and public goods dilemmas, and design corrective market-based interventions (Pigouvian taxes, subsidies, tradable permits).
Required Course Materials & Costs (Zero-Cost Course)
- Textbook: Greenlaw, Steven A., and David Shapiro. Principles of Microeconomics 3e. OpenStax, 2022. Free digital access at openstax.org. Optional print copy approx. $40.
- Calculator: A standard four-function or scientific calculator. (Cell phones and graphing calculators are prohibited during in-class exams).
- Total estimated cost: $0.00.
Generative AI Policy (AI Level 2: Permitted with Disclosure for Specified Tasks)
In accordance with Alkimi University Academic Policies (Student Handbook §5.8), ECON 201 operates under AI Level 2.
- Permitted Uses: You are encouraged to use the ECON 201 Alkimi Learning Assistant and university-approved AI tools as an interactive Socratic tutor: explaining complex economic concepts (e.g., distinguishing between a change in demand vs. a change in quantity demanded), generating unassigned practice equilibrium calculations, or exploring real-world examples of externalities.
- Prohibited Uses: You may NOT use AI to solve assigned graded problem sets, write your Assignment 1 policy analysis essay, or complete online quizzes. All submitted calculations, graphical sketches, and essay prose must represent your own independent intellectual work.
- Mandatory Disclosure Statement: Any submitted assignment that utilized AI for tutoring or brainstorming must include a brief statement at the end detailing the tool used, the nature of the prompts, and how you verified the economic logic yourself.
Grading Components and Weights
- Midterm Examination 1: 20% (Thursday, October 8)
- Midterm Examination 2: 20% (Thursday, November 5)
- Final Comprehensive Examination: 25% (Wednesday, December 16, 1:30–3:30 p.m.)
- Assignment 1 (Market Equilibrium & Policy Case Analysis): 10% (Due Friday, September 18)
- Weekly Problem Sets (8 assignments): 15% (Canvas submissions due Fridays)
- In-Class Polls & Policy Discussion: 10%
Grading Scale (Alkimi University Standard)
- A: 93–100% | A-: 90–92%
- B+: 87–89% | B: 83–86% | B-: 80–82%
- C+: 77–79% | C: 73–76% | C-: 70–72%
- D+: 67–69% | D: 60–66% | F: Below 60%
15-Week Course Schedule (Fall 2026)
| Week | Dates | Topics & Chapters (TTh) | Assignments & Deadlines |
|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Aug 27 | First Principles of Economics: Scarcity, trade-offs, opportunity cost, rational choice, marginal analysis, the Production Possibilities Frontier (PPF). (First class: Thu Aug 27) | Welcome & syllabus review. |
| Week 2 | Sep 1, 3 | Trade, Specialization, & Comparative Advantage: Absolute vs. comparative advantage, calculating opportunity costs, terms of trade, gains from exchange. | Wed Sep 2: Add/Drop deadline. Problem Set 1 due Sep 4. |
| Week 3 | Sep 8, 10 | Supply, Demand, & Market Equilibrium: The Law of Demand, determinants of demand, Law of Supply, determinants of supply, equilibrium price/quantity, curve shifts vs. movements along curves. | Wed Sep 9: Census date. Assignment 1 assigned. |
| Week 4 | Sep 15, 17 | Elasticity & Market Responsiveness: Price elasticity of demand (midpoint method), elastic/inelastic/unitary, Total Revenue Test, income elasticity, cross-price elasticity, price elasticity of supply. | Assignment 1 Due: Friday Sep 18 at 11:59 p.m. Problem Set 2 due. |
| Week 5 | Sep 22, 24 | Welfare Economics & Efficiency: Consumer surplus, willingness to pay, producer surplus, marginal cost, total economic surplus, Pareto efficiency of competitive markets. | Problem Set 3 due Sep 25. |
| Week 6 | Sep 29, Oct 1 | Price Controls & Deadweight Loss: Price ceilings (rent control, shortages), price floors (minimum wage, surpluses), black markets, deadweight loss; Review for Exam 1. | Problem Set 4 due Oct 2. |
| Week 7 | Oct 6, 8 | Exam 1 & Taxation: Midterm Exam 1; The economics of taxation, tax incidence, deadweight loss of taxation, the Laffer Curve. | Midterm Exam 1: Thursday Oct 8 in class. |
| Week 8 | Oct 15 | International Trade & Tariffs: Gains from trade revisited, world price, tariff analysis, import quotas. (Tue Oct 13: Fall Break, No class) | Fri Oct 16: Midterm grades due. |
| Week 9 | Oct 20, 22 | Consumer Theory & Utility: Total vs. marginal utility, the Law of Diminishing Marginal Utility, utility-maximizing rule ($MU_x/P_x = MU_y/P_y$), budget lines, indifference curves. | Problem Set 5 due Oct 23. |
| Week 10 | Oct 27, 29 | Theory of the Firm & Costs of Production: Explicit vs. implicit costs, economic vs. accounting profit, short-run production, diminishing marginal returns, cost curves ($FC, VC, TC, MC, ATC$), long-run scale economies. | Problem Set 6 due Oct 30. |
| Week 11 | Nov 3, 5 | Perfect Competition & Exam 2: Characteristics of perfect competition, price-taking firm, $MR = P$, profit maximization ($MR = MC$), short-run shutdown rule ($P < AVC$), long-run zero-profit equilibrium; Midterm Exam 2. | Fri Nov 6: Withdrawal (W) deadline. Midterm Exam 2: Thursday Nov 5 in class. |
| Week 12 | Nov 10, 12 | Monopoly & Price Discrimination: Sources of monopoly power (patents, natural monopoly), downward-sloping demand and $MR$, profit maximization, welfare loss of monopoly, first-, second-, and third-degree price discrimination. | Problem Set 7 due Nov 13. |
| Week 13 | Nov 17, 19 | Monopolistic Competition & Oligopoly: Monopolistic competition (product differentiation, excess capacity), Oligopoly, collusion, cartel instability, game theory, payoff matrices, Prisoner’s Dilemma, Nash Equilibrium. | Problem Set 8 due Nov 20. |
| Week 14 | Nov 24 | Externalities & Public Policy: Negative externalities (pollution, social cost, Pigouvian taxes), positive externalities (education, technology spillover, subsidies), the Coase Theorem. (Nov 26: Thanksgiving) | Thanksgiving Break Nov 25–27. |
| Week 15 | Dec 1, 3 | Public Goods & Common Resources: Non-excludability and non-rivalry, public goods, the Free-Rider Problem, common-pool resources, the Tragedy of the Commons. | Policy Brief due Dec 4. |
| Week 16 | Dec 8 | Factor Markets & Course Synthesis: Derived demand for labor, Marginal Revenue Product of Labor ($MRP_L$), wage determination, comprehensive review for final exam. (Classes end Wed Dec 9) | Wed Dec 9: Last day of classes. Thu Dec 10: Reading Day. |
| Finals | Dec 16 | Final Comprehensive Examination: Wednesday, December 16, 2026, 1:30–3:30 p.m., Tidewell Hall 110. | Comprehensive final examination covering all 15 weeks. |
Course Policies
Attendance & Problem Set Policies
- Class Attendance: Daily attendance is expected. Missing the first two class meetings without prior written notice will result in administrative withdrawal (Student Handbook §6.1).
- Problem Set Submissions: Problem sets are submitted through Canvas as clear PDF scans by 11:59 p.m. on Fridays.
- Late Work Policy: Problem sets submitted late incur a 15% penalty per 24 hours, up to a maximum of 48 hours (Sunday 11:59 p.m.). After 48 hours, answer keys are posted and submissions receive a zero.
- Excused Absences: Religious observances require written notice by Wednesday, September 9, 2026. University athletic or academic travel requires documentation one week in advance.
Final Exam Rescheduling Policy
Under university policy (Student Handbook §6.4), any student with three or more final exams scheduled on the same calendar day may petition to reschedule the middle exam by contacting Dr. Donovan in writing no later than Wednesday, December 9, 2026.
Academic Integrity
The university Academic Integrity Policy (Student Handbook §5.1) applies strictly. In economics, unauthorized collaboration on problem sets, copying keys, or using generative AI to produce graded problem set solutions or exam answers constitutes academic dishonesty. Violations are reported to the Office of Academic Integrity (Lovell Hall 315, integrity@university.alkimi.ai, (555) 555-0163).
Accessibility Services & Accommodations
Students with documented disabilities requiring academic accommodations must register with the Office of Accessibility Services:
- Office: Harlan Hall 204 | Phone: (555) 555-0155 | Email:
access@university.alkimi.ai
Please deliver your accommodation letter to Dr. Donovan within the first two weeks of the semester.
Campus Student Support Services
- Academic Advising Center: Lovell Hall 101 | (555) 555-0158 |
advising@university.alkimi.ai - Business & Economics Tutoring Lab: Tidewell Hall 102 | Open Monday–Thursday 2:00–6:00 p.m.
- Writing Center: Whitcombe Library 2nd Floor
- Hollis Health & Counseling Center: Hollis Center | (555) 555-0190 | 24/7 Crisis Line: (555) 555-0199