Econ201W2016
Syllabus:
Lecture Notes:
1/4/16: Introduction and Review of Consumer Theory
1/6/16: Introduction to the Theory of the Firm
1/13/16: The Long and the Short Run
1/20/16: Equilibrium in Exchange and Production Economies
1/25/16: Shocks and Interventions in Partial Equilibrium
2/1/16: General Equilibrium in Production Economies
2/3/16: Equilibrium and Welfare
2/15/16: Addressing Externalities
2/22/16: Introduction to Game Theory
2/24/16: The Cournot Model of Oligopoly
3/9/16: Asymmetric Information
Additional Material:
On January 27 and February 1 we discuss price controls in class. One very important price control is the minimum wage, a topic that has been debate a lot recently at both the Federal and State levels. This topic is discussed in the op-eds in NYTimes below:
For evidence on the effects of changes in the minimum wage see the following summary paper on employment and this paper on the effect on other markets.
On February 15 we discussed the problem of externalities and approaches to dealing with them. A summary of some of the approaches applied to climate change is available here.
In class on February 22 we discussed second degree price discrimination. An example from the airline industry is available here.
In class on February 24 we discussed game theory and Nash equilibrium. The following is a paper that tests the predictions of game theory using penalty kicks in soccer: Chiappori, Groseclose and Levitt (2002).
Problem Sets:
Problem Set 1 (due January 13, 2016)
Problem Set 2 (due January 20, 2016)
Problem Set 3 (due January 27, 2016)
Problem Set 4 (due February 3, 2016)
Problem Set 5 (due February 17, 2016)
Problem Set 6 (due February 24, 2016)
Problem Set 7 (due March 2, 2016)
Problem Set 8 (due March 9, 2016)
Exams:
Practice Midterm 1 with solutions.
Practice Midterm 2 with solutions.
Practice Midterm 3 with solutions.
Midterm (9-10:20) with solutions.
Midterm (10:30-11:50) with solutions.
Practice Final 1 with solutions.
Practice Final 2 with solutions.
Practice Final 3 with solutions.