Last up-dated: July 2, 2010
Office Hours: Tuesdays 14:00-16:00 (also by appointment)
1. Important Announcement
Total score (= Midterm score + final score): Mean 77.1, Highest 98, Lowest 37, Standard deviation 15.1. The grade criteria and the number of students for each grade are as follows: A: 84-100 (13 students), B: 55-83 (13 students), C: -54 (2 students). July 2
Graded final exams were returned to your mail-boxes: Mean score 42.6, Highest 50, Lowest 20, Standard deviation 8.6. July 2
The solution keys for the final exam is updated. July 1
The solution keys for the final exam is just uploaded. June 4
Practice questions for final exam is uploaded. The solution keys will be uploaded on Monday, May 31. May 26
We have a final exam on June 2 (Wed), which covers from Lectures 7 through 13. May 19
There will be makeup classes on May 19 (Wed), 13:20-14:50. May 10
Midterm solution is uploaded. May 3
Graded midterm exams will be returned to your mail-boxes right after holidays. Here are some statistics: Mean score 34.50, Highest 49, Lowest 10, Standard deviation 8.17. May 3
We have a midterm exam on April 28 (Wed), which covers the materials from Lectures 1 through 6. April 20
Lecture notes will be uploaded after each class (it may take some time). April 7
There is a change on course schedule: we meet 9:00 - 10:30 on Tuesday and Wednesday. April 7
The first lecture starts from 9:00 on April 7 (Wed) in room 5F. Look forward to seeing you there! March 29
2. Course Description syllabus
This is an advanced course in microeconomics, emphasizing the applications of mathematical tools and models to the study of individual economic decisions and their aggregate consequences. We begin with a parsimonious set of hypotheses about human behavior and the ways in which individual choices interact, and then examine the implications for markets. This entails treatments and applications of consumer theory and theory of the firm, under the ideal conditions implied by our hypotheses. Course grade will be determined by a midterm exam (50%) and a final exam (50%).
3. Course Outline
Logic, sets, and mappings April 7
[JR] Ch.A1
Preferences April 7
[NS] Ch.3; [R] Ch.1
Consumer preferences April 13
[NS] Ch.3; [R] Ch.2, Ch.4
Demand April 14
[NS] Ch.3; [R] Ch.4, Ch.5; [V] Ch.7
Optimization 1 April 20
[NS] Ch.2; [JR] Ch.A2
Optimization 2 April 21
[NS] Ch.4; [JR] Ch.A2
Consumer problem April 27
[NS] Ch.4; [R] Ch.6; [JR] Ch.1
Midterm exam April 28 90 minutes, 50 points
Files: practice (solution) exam (solution)
Reading: Ch.1 of Ken Binmore (2008), Rational Decisions.
Reading: Ch.2 of Angus Deaton and John Muellbauer (1980), Economics and consumer behavior.
Duality May 11
[NS] Ch.5; [R] Ch.6; [JR] Ch.1
Production and cost functions May 12
[NS] Ch.9, Ch.10; [R] Ch.7
Profit maximization May 19
[NS] Ch.11; [R] Ch. 7
Expected utility 1 May 19
[NS] Ch.7; [R] Ch.8
Expected utility 2 May 25
[NS] Ch.7; [R] Ch.9
Risk aversion May 26
[NS] Ch.7; [R] Ch.8
Final exam June 2 90 minutes, 50 points
Files: practice (solution) exam (solution comment)
4. Textbooks
There are two main textbooks for this course:
[NS] Walter Nicholson and Christopher Snyder, Microeconomic Theory: Basic Principles and Extensions, 10th edition, 2007
[R] Ariel Rubinstein, Lecture Notes in Microeconomic Theory, 2006. Latest version downloadable from author's page for free
Useful textbooks at roughly the same level as [NS] are:
[JR] Geoffrey Jehle and Philip Reny, Advanced Microeconomic Theory, 2nd edition, 2000
[V] Hal Varian, Microeconomic Analysis, 3rd edition, 1992
Those of you look for more lucid treatment than the above textbooks may consult with the following authoritative sources. The former incorporates game theoretical perspectives, and the latter is a standard textbook most widely used in Economics Ph.D. microeconomics courses.
[K] David Kreps, A Course in Microeconomic Theory, 1990
[MWG] Andreu Mas-Colell, Michael Whinston and Jerry Green, Microeconomic Theory, 1995
A classic textbook for theory and applications on consumer demand is:
Angus Deaton and John Muellbauer, Economics and Consumer Behavior, 1980
A well-written book for optimization techniques, which provides full of intuitive explanation is:
Avinash Dixit, Optimization in Economic Theory, 2nd edition, 1990
A more advanced but highly readable textbook on optimization is:
Rangariajan Sundaram, A First Course in Optimization Theory, 1996
The followings are comprehensive and rigorous textbooks on mathematics for economics both of which contain variety of economic applications.
Angel de la Fuente, Mathematical Methods and Models for Economists, 1999
Efe Ok, Real Analysis with Economic Applications, 2007
The latest comprehensive graduate level textbook on mathematics for economics (and econometrics) is:
Dean Corbae, Maxwell Stinchcombe, and Juraj Zeman, An Introduction to Mathematical Analysis for Economic Theory and Econometrics, 2009
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