Syllabus

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Dr. David Loomis

Office:             WIH 106A

Office Hours:  TR 10-11 am ; 2-3 pm and by appointment

Phone:             438-7979

E-mail: dloomis@ilstu.edu

Spring 2008     

TR 11 a.m. -12:15 p.m.

WIH 307

Course Prerequisites: ECO 101/105

REQUIRED RESOURCES: *

Jonathan E. Nuechterlein and Philip J. Weiser, Digital Crossroads: American Telecommunications Policy in the Internet Age, Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2005.

Papers referenced in the syllabus will be on e- reserves at the Milner Library website.  To access the articles, go to www.mlb.ilstu.edu, Reserve Readings, Enter On-line Catalog, Course Reserves, and choose ECO 235.

A class web site will be maintained for the course.  This web site can be found at http://www.econ.ilstu.edu/dloomis/235web/235home.htm.  You may find it more convenient to go to the Department of Economics Home Page at http://www.econ.ilstu.edu/, follow the link for Course Web Pages and find ECO 235 under my name.  At the class web site, you will find the following:

·         A current copy of this syllabus,

·         Class Announcements under "What's New",

·         Lecture Notes,

·         Problem Sets,

·         Tutorials, and

·         Links to Useful web sites.

COURSE OBJECTIVES:

This course covers the economic and public policy issues related to the telecommunications industry from a historical, present and future perspective.  Students will learn the economic, legal and regulatory history of the industry to better understand the current issues confronting the telecommunications marketplace. Without a proper understanding of the past, the analysis of current issues facing the industry is meaningless.  Much of the industry's structure, conduct and performance is related to the historical context of its economic and regulatory past.

A proper economic framework will be developed to allow students to analyze the complex public policy issues that face the telecommunications industry.  In addition, students will gain a better understanding of the managerial decision-making that takes place in the industry.  Although the course's focus is on the telecommunications industry, much of the economic analysis is applicable to other industries as well.

Students will also examine the future issues that will confront this rapidly changing industry. Using economic models as a foundation, students will analyze complicated real-world situations.  The course will have an emphasis on actual case studies. 

COURSE REQUIREMENTS

There will be 3 exams and an optional comprehensive final. No make-up exams will be given unless arrangements have been made prior to the exam and approved by the instructor.  Problem sets and quizzes will be given throughout the semester, usually one per week.   Each problem set/quiz will be graded out of 100 points.  The average of all problem sets/quizzes will figure into your final grade.  Writing Assignments will be assigned midway through the semester.

The final grade will be based on the following point scheme:

Exam #1                       100 points
Exam # 2                      100 points
Exam # 3                      100 points
Quizzes                        100 points
Class Participation        50 points
Writing Assignments     50 points
TOTAL                        500 points

Final (optional)             200 points
TOTAL                        700 points

            The following point scale will be used to evaluate your performance:

                   Grade              Total Points (without final)                Total Points (with final)
                    A                       450 or above                                               630 or more
                    B                        400 or above                                               560 or more
                    C                       350 or above                                               490 or more
                    D                       300 or above                                               420 or more
                    F                        less than 300                                               less than 420

Class Participation grades will be determined at the end of the semester based on the following criteria (I reserve the right to assign points in between these categories):

Points	Characteristics
50	This student always attends class, is always prepared for class and regularly makes positive major contributions to class discussion
40	This student always attends class, is mostly prepared for class and frequently makes positive major contributions to class discussion
35	This student regularly attends class, is sometimes prepared for class and occasionally makes positive major contributions to class discussion
25	This student mostly attends class, is sometimes prepared for class and occasionally makes some contribution to class discussion
10	This student misses class frequently, is sometimes prepared for class and occasionally makes some contribution to class discussion
0	This student misses class frequently, is rarely prepared for class and rarely makes a contribution to class discussion

KEYS TO SUCCESS

This course has a large volume of reading.  Some of the reading is technical, focused on economic theory and some of the reading is narrative, focused on historical events.  It is imperative that you read the assigned material in both areas. Because part of the class is discussion oriented, you will not maximize your classroom learning if you have not read the material in advance.  In addition, participating in classroom discussion will help you clarify your own thinking.  As you listen to others' economic reasoning and express your own ideas, true learning takes place.  The goal of this course is not to memorize a set of facts the night before the exam but to develop economic reasoning in the area of telecommunications.  This cannot be done by cramming the night before the exam!!  Finally, do the problem set independently so that you know not only the correct answer but also how to arrive at the correct answer.  Many exam questions will be similar to problem set questions; so view problem sets as practice exams.

If, after reading the assigned material, participating in class discussion and working independently on problem sets, you are not achieving the level of success that you expect of yourself, please come to see me regularly during office hours.  My goal as your professor is to see you succeed.  If you are doing your best to learn, I will do my best to help you learn.