Economics 4450
Law and Economics
David B. Mustard
Midterm 1 Information


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Last Updated on Feb. 26, 2013. This is the final update.

Midterm Grading Policy
    You are required to take the midterms unless you have a justifiable excuse. The syllabus contains the complete grading policy.

Content: The test will cover readings and lectures through Feb. 21. See the course outline for details. I try to emphasize on exams the things I emphasize in the lectures and readings.

    The questions that will be primarily drawn from the following broad topics with approximate point distributions that correspond to each section.
    1. Introduction: 0 points (will not be covered).
    2. Legal Institutions: 10 points
    3. Market for Legal Services: 10 points. 
    4. Property Law: 12 points.
    5. Coase Theorem: 15 points.
    6. Intellectual Property: 24 points.
        A. Copyright
        B. Patent: If there are questions from this section, they will come out of the class notes. If there are questions from this section they will total a small amount--not more than 10 points and probably less.
    Because some questions overlap sections, there is no way to perfectly allocate points to individual sections. Therefore, this is best viewed as a guide for allocating your time rather than a precise contract of how questions will be asked.
    Some questions may pertain to cases we discussed in class. So you should know the fact patterns, decisions, and rulings. 

Length: 
    The test will have 5 short answer questions and 0 multiple choice questions for a total of about 71 points. The number of points will be listed next to each questions. You will have 50 minutes to complete the exam. There are about the same number of points as there are minutes in the class, which can help you allocate your time to each question. 

Suggestions:
    1) Print out web outline and go through the topics systematically. This will also help you target your reading.
    2) Think before you write. It is to your benefit to outline the answer before writing it out in detail.
    3) Be clear and organized--reduce the transactions costs of grading.
    4) Answer the question that is asked.
    5) If there are subsections to a question, arrange your answers by subsection.
    6) Write your own questions. 


 During exam:
    You can write directly on the question sheet and will not need additional paper.
    You may bring a calculator.

Types of questions I could ask:
    1) T, F, U & Explain: I make an assertion and you must indicate whether it is true, false or uncertain and explain why. Most of the points are given for your explanation, not your answer about whether it is true or false.
    2) Legal Problems with Economic Analysis.
    3) Economic Problems with legal applications, including making inferences from data.
    4) Questions from readings - you should be able to provide a coherent overview of the main arguments from the readings.
    5) Extensions of ideas and principles we discussed in class
    6) Cases. Can be from the text, class, or hypothetical cases.
    7) Multiple choice
    8) Definitions

Grades:
    The summary statistics and grade distribution for the exam will be posted when I finish grading the exam. We will cover the exams in class.