Department of Economics
ECON 111.3 (01)
Introductory Microeconomics
T1 : 2025/26
Course Details
| Time: | Tuesday and Thursday, 10:00-11:20 (except Oct. 2 and Oct. 28) |
| Course Description: | Shows the student how to understand the individual consumption and production decisions which are made within a market economy, guided by prices and costs. Economic concepts of supply, demand, cost, response to price changes, production, equilibrium, and income distribution are analyzed. |
| Required Textbook: | K. Milligan, P. Oreopoulos, B. Stevenson, J. Wolfers, Principles of Microeconomics. See below for details. |
| Website: | Some materials will be available on Canvas. |
Expected Learning Outcomes
This course introduces students some of the fundamental methods and modelling approaches used in economics and shows how they are used for understanding economic systems and predicting
outcomes for a range of applications. The focus of the course is on microeconomics.
Upon successful completion, students will understand principles of optimal decision making; supply, demand and market equilibria; welfare in partial equilibrium; and strategic interactions
between agents. They will have seen applications of methods introduced in this course to questions studied in various areas of economics, including public finance and taxation; externalities
and public goods; market structure and pricing, including perfect competition and monopoly; and transactions in the presence of asymmetric information.
Instructors and Contact
This course will be taught jointly by Sébastien Box-Couillard and Andreas Pollak. For this section, Andreas Pollak is the instructor of record.
| Instructors: | | Andreas Pollak | E-mail: a.pollak@usask.ca | | Sébastien Box-Couillard | e-mail: boxcouillard@usask.ca |
|
Several teaching assistants will help with the delivery and logistics of this course. The following two of them will be your single point of contact for certain course-related questions and requests.
| Teaching Assistants: | Logistics TA:
Chukwudubem Nwankwo | E-mail: cwn270@mail.usask.ca | Content TA:
Julia Bourgeois | E-mail: jrb723@mail.usask.ca |
|
| Course Material: | With any questions about the course content, you should contact Content TA Julia or the instructor who taught the respective course chapter. Consider attending a tutorial or help session as well. For questions on how assignments or exams were graded, please contact Content TA Julia, who will be able to either answer your question directly or refer you to someone who can. |
| Logistics: | If you have any questions not related to the course material, please contact our Logistics TA Chukwudubem. This includes, for example, technical issues with PAWS or Canvas, late submissions of assignments, requests for exceptions, questions about exam locations and organization, technical problems related to the grading of assignments or exams, and similar issues. Please note that the instructors or Content TA will generally not be able to resolve such issues for you. |
| Registration and Final: | The TAs or instructors will not be able to directly help with problems related to registration, overrides, general access to PAWS or Canvas, missed or deferred final exams, late withdrawals, refunds, AES-related requests or similar issues. These are handled centrally by the College or University. It is recommended to either contact the A&S Undergraduate Office (https://artsandscience.usask.ca/about/contact.php) or the Economics Department office (https://artsandscience.usask.ca/economics/about/contact-us.php) for help or advice. |
| Office Hours: | Julia Bourgeois
(Content TA) | TBA | Arts 824 | Andreas Pollak
(instructor) | Tuesday, 14:40-15:10,
Wednesday 13:30-14:30
or by appointment | Arts 812 | Sébastien Box-Couillard
(instructor) | Wednesday 11:30-12:30
(in-person) and Thursday
17:30-18:30 (zoom) | Arts 816 |
|
Please preface the email subject with “ECON111(01)” in all communication.
Tutorials and Getting Help
There will be several offerings to help you navigate the course material and assist with any content-related questions you may have. Details on times and locations will be posted at the beginning of the term. All of these are strictly optional. Consider taking advantage of these opportunities to have your questions answered.
| Tutorials: | We will be running weekly tutorial sessions for much of the term. In these tutorials, teaching assistants will discuss assignments and practice questions, assist you in practicing for exams and answer your questions. Feel free to contact the Content TA Julia before the tutorial to submit questions or ask for specific material to be addressed in the next session. |
| Help Sessions: | The Economics Department will be running help sessions for much of the term, typically twice a week. These are drop-in sessions open to students taking ECON 1xx and 2xx classes, where senior undergraduate students and graduate students will be able to answer questions and help you with assignments. These sessions are not course-specific, so please don't expect the TAs to have answer keys to your assignments or to know what was covered in the last lecture. However, they be able to explain all the economic concepts and models covered in ECON 111.
There may also be study sessions organized by the Econ Student Society (ESS). |
| Math Help: | The library offers math help sessions. If you have gaps in math, these people will be able to help. This includes algebra-related questions, rearranging equations, graphing and similar issues. |
Course Outline and Readings
The required textbook for this course is:
K. Milligan, P. Oreopoulos, B. Stevenson, J. Wolfers, Principles of Microeconomics, Canadian Edition, Worth Publishers: New York, 2023.
We will be making use of the online features that come bundled with your textbook. This includes the Achieve learning platform as well as integration with the iClicker app. You do not need a paper copy of the textbook; we recommend getting digital access for the this term. Note that used paper copies are unlikely to come with valid Achieve access. If the cost of the textbook is a serious
obstacle to taking this course for you, please contact our Logistics TA Chukwudubem for advice. The University Bookstore sells access codes for the online textbook at a discount compared to the publisher's publicly
posted price. The code for the Achieve platform includes access to the online version of the textbook as well as free iClicker use for this course.
The following list of topics reflects the current plan for this term. All chapter numbers refer to the corresponding textbook chapters.
Please note that the course outline preliminary and may be updated later. Dates are approximate; there is no guarantee that a particular chapter will be covered on a particular day.
| Topic | Texbook Chapters | Approx. Dates |
| A. Introduction | Chapter 1 | Sept. 4-11 |
| B. Markets: Supply and Demand | Chapters 2-5 | Sept. 16-30 |
| C. Markets: Taxes and Policy | Chapter 6 | Oct. 2-7 |
| D. Welfare | Chapter 7 | Oct. 9-14 |
| E. Market Structure and Pricing | Chapters 14-16 | Oct. 16-30 |
| F. Externalities and Public Goods | Chapter 10 | Nov. 4-6 |
| G. Gains from Trade | Chapter 8 | Nov. 18-20 |
| H. Game Theory and Private Information | Chapters 18, 19 | Nov. 25-Dec. 4 |
The first half of the term will be taught by Andreas Pollak, the second half by Sébastien Box-Couillard.
Evaluation
Your performance will primarily be evaluated based on three exams; however, there are other components to your grade, as well. Please note that both
midterms will take place
outside of class time. The final exam will be centrally scheduled by the Registrar's office, and date, time and location will be announced during the term. There will be no classes on October 2 and October 28 to allow for exam preparation.
| Component | Date | Time | Weight |
| Participation: In-class | class time | continuous | 5%* |
| Participation: Online | ongoing | anytime | 5%* |
| Midterm Exam 1 | October 2 | 18:30 | 15%* |
| Assignment 1 | October 6 | 23:59 | 5% |
| Midterm Exam 2 | October 29 | 19:30 | 15%* |
| Assignment 2 | November 3 | 23:59 | 5% |
| Assignment 3 | December 1 | 23:59 | 5% |
| Final Exam | TBA | TBA | 45% |
*The weights of the midterm and participation grades are somewhat flexible and may be shifted to other components if that results in a higher overall grade. See below for details.
| Assignments: | You will complete three homework assignments during the term. These assignments are designed to give you an opportunity to apply what you have learned and to practice solving some longer and more complex problems. You are encouraged to solve them in groups with other students if that helps you learn and to ask for help, tips and clarification when needed in tutorials. Assignments are submitted in Canvas. Detailed answer keys will be posted and the assignments will be discussed in tutorial sessions. |
| Exams: | There will be two 60-minute midterm exams and a three-hour final. The midterm exams will be written outside of class time in the early evening. The exams will test your overall grasp of the course material. Questions will be less complex to solve than assignment questions and there will be a significant multiple-choice component. The midterms will each cover roughly the third of the course preceding the exam, whereas the final exam will be comprehensive. All exams are closed book. Electronic devices will not be permitted during examinations, with the exception of approved non-programmable calculators without communication functions. There will be no deferred or re-take midterms. |
| Participation: | There will be a participation component to your grade, which has two elements, both of them tied to digital course features.
Online Quizzes:
We will regularly post practice exercises on the Achieve platform. These are designed to help you with studying the course material and assess your progress and understanding. Successful completion of the quizzes will earn you up to 5% of the course grade.
In-class polling:
We will be using the iClicker app in class for polling questions. By being in class and successfully participating in these polls, you can earn up to 5% of your course grade. Each in-class polling activity carries equal weight. To get a full score on this component, you need to participate in most polls and get most of the answers right. Don't worry too much about missing a few polls or getting things wrong. This is about participation, not perfection. |
| Missed Components: | Assignments:
If assignments cannot be completed for a justifiable reason, it may be possible to make alternative arrangements prior to the due date at the instructor’s discretion. If no such arrangements are made and the component is missed or submitted late, a grade of 0 will be assigned, unless the student provides written documentation of circumstances beyond his or her control that prevented him or her from completing the assignment on time. Please contact our Logistics TA Chukwudubem regarding any such arrangements, missed or late assignments.
Midterms:
If your midterm grade is lower than the grade on the final exam, the midterm weight will automatically be shifted to the final. This also applies if you do not write the midterm for any reason. This means writing midterms carries no risk, and you do not require any accommodation if you miss a midterm exam.
The midterm exams will be posted on Canvas the day after they were written. Anyone who did not write the midterm has the option to do complete the midterm at home and submit it as an extra assignment with a 5% weight. The remaining 10% weight of the midterm will still be applied to the final exam.
Students who cannot write a midterm for a legitimate reason (e.g. other university-related commitments, lack of child care options) because it does not take place during class time and still want to write the exam will be accommodated in accordance with university rules. In this case, it will be required to submit a form declaring the nature of the time conflict and requesting an alternative exam time at least two weeks prior to the exam date. Details will be provided at the beginning of the term.
Participation:
The participation components will only count towards the course grade if this results in an improvement of the overall grade. Otherwise, the
corresponding weight will proportionately be applied to the remaining grade components. This serves as an automatic accommodation for students who cannot use Achieve or iClicker. |
| Attendance: | University policies apply. Regular attendance is recommended. |
| Grading and Credit: | This course uses a percentage grading scheme. To receive credit for this course, an overall passing grade is required. |
Other Information
Recording of the Course
Students will be allowed to record lectures if they provide a reasonable rationale and if there are no objections by other students.
Midterm and Final Examination Scheduling
Final examinations may be scheduled at any time during the examination period (see https://students.usask.ca/academic-calendar/ for the specific dates this term); students should therefore avoid making prior travel, employment, or other commitments for this period. If a student is unable to write an exam through no fault of his or her own for medical or other valid reasons, documentation must be provided and an opportunity to write the missed exam may be given. Students are encouraged to review all examination policies and procedures: http://students.usask.ca/academics/exams.php
Copyright
Course materials are provided to you based on your registration in a class, and anything created by your professors and instructors is their intellectual property and cannot be shared without written permission. If materials are designated as open education resources (with a creative commons license) you can share and/or use in alignment with the CC license. This includes exams, PowerPoint/PDF slides and other course notes. Additionally, other copyright-protected materials created by textbook publishers and authors may be provided to you based on license terms and educational exceptions in the Canadian Copyright Act (see http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/C-42/index.html).
Before you copy or distribute others’ copyright-protected materials, please ensure that your use of the materials is covered under the University’s Fair Dealing Copyright Guidelines available at https://library.usask.ca/copyright/general-information/fair-dealing-guidelines.php. For example, posting others’ copyright-protected materials on the open web is not covered under the University’s Fair Dealing Copyright Guidelines, and doing so requires permission from the copyright holder.
For more information about copyright, please visit https://library.usask.ca/copyright/index.phpwhere there is information for students available at https://library.usask.ca/copyright/students/rights.php, or contact the University’s Copyright Coordinator at copyright.coordinator@usask.ca or 306-966-8817.
Integrity
The University of Saskatchewan is committed to the highest standards of academic integrity. https://academic-integrity.usask.ca/
Students are urged to read the Regulations on Academic Misconduct and to avoid any behaviours that could potentially result in suspicions of cheating, plagiarism, misrepresentation of facts and/or participation in an offence.
For help developing the skills for meeting academic integrity expectations, see: https://academic-integrity.usask.ca/students.php
Students are encouraged to ask their instructors for clarification on academic integrity requirements.
Examinations with Access and Equity Services (AES)
Access and Equity Services (AES) is available to provide support to students who require accommodations due to disability, family status, and religious observances.
Students who have disabilities (learning, medical, physical, or mental health) are strongly encouraged to register with Access and Equity Services (AES) if they have not already done so. Students who suspect they may have disabilities should contact AES for advice and referrals at any time. Those students who are registered with AES with mental health disabilities and who anticipate that they may have responses to certain course materials or topics, should discuss course content with their instructors prior to course add / drop dates.
Students who require accommodations for pregnancy or substantial parental/family duties should contact AES to discuss their situations and potentially register with that office.
Students who require accommodations due to religious practices that prohibit the writing of exams on religious holidays should contact AES to self-declare and determine which accommodations are appropriate. In general, students who are unable to write an exam due to a religious conflict do not register with AES but instead submit an exam conflict form through their PAWS account to arrange accommodations.
Any student registered with AES, as well as those who require accommodations on religious grounds, may request alternative arrangements for mid-term and final examinations by submitting a request to AES by the stated deadlines. Instructors shall provide the examinations for students who are being accommodated by the deadlines established by AES.
For more information or advice, visit https://students.usask.ca/health/centres/access-equity-services.php, or contact AES at 306-966-7273 (Voice/TTY 1-306-966-7276) or email aes@usask.ca.
Student Supports
Academic Help - University Library
Visit the University Library (https://library.usask.ca/) and Learning Hub (https://library.usask.ca/studentlearning/) to find supports for undergraduate and graduate students with first-year experience, study skills, learning strategies, research, writing, math and statistics. Students can attend workshops (https://library.usask.ca/studentlearning/#Eventsandworkshop), access online resources and research guides (https://libguides.usask.ca/), book 1-1 appointments (https://libcal.usask.ca/appointments) or hire a subject tutor (https://usask.tutorocean.com/search?page=1&sortBy=bestMatch&subjectTutorsForHire=true) through the USask Tutoring Network (https://library.usask.ca/studentlearning/tutor.php)
Connect with library staff through the AskUs (https://library.usask.ca/askus/index.php) chat service or visit various library locations (https://library.usask.ca/hours.php) on campus.
Enrolled in an online course? Explore the Online Learning Readiness Tutorial (https://libguides.usask.ca/Online_Learning_Readiness_Tutorial)
Financial Support
Any student who faces challenges securing their food or housing and believes this may affect their performance in the course is urged to contact Student Central (https://students.usask.ca/student-central.php).
Aboriginal Students’ Centre
The Aboriginal Students’ Centre (ASC) is dedicated to supporting Aboriginal student academic and personal success. The centre offers personal, social, cultural and some academic supports to Métis, First Nations, and Inuit students. The centre is also dedicated to intercultural education, brining Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal students together to learn from, with and about one another in a respectful, inclusive and safe environment. Students are encouraged to visit the ASC’s Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/aboriginalstudentscentre/) to learn more.
International Student and Study Abroad Centre
The International Student and Study Abroad Centre (ISSAC) supports student success and facilitates international education experiences at USask and abroad. ISSAC is here to assist all international undergraduate, graduate, exchange and English as a Second Language students in their transition to the University of Saskatchewan and to life in Canada. ISSAC offers advising and support on matters that affect international students and their families and on matters related to studying abroad as University of Saskatchewan students. Please visit students.usask.ca for more information.