Advanced Microeconomics I (2013)

Last up-dated: June 10, 2013

0. Office Hours:

Instructor, Yosuke YASUDA: Mondays 10:00-12:00 or by appointment (Room C911)

TA: Francis Quimba: by appointment (Student ID: PhD11101)

1. Important Announcement

• There will be a TA session on May 31 (Fri), 9:00 - 10:30 at room 5F. May 20

• Final exam will be on June 6 (Thu), 15:00-18:00 at room 5F. May 7

• There will be a TA session on May 10 (Fri), 9:00 - 10:30 at room 5F. May 2

• There will be a TA session on April 26 (Fri), 9:00 - 10:30 at room 5F. April 23

• We have the first lecture on April 4th (Thu), 9:00 - 10:30 at room 5F. April 3

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 homework assignments (50%) and a final exam (50%).

3. Course Outline

1. Logic, Sets, and Topology Apr 4

   • Handout: JR Appendix1

   • Handout: JR Appendix2

   • Handout: JR Chapter1

2. Optimization Apr 9

   • Reading: Rakesh Vohra, Advanced Mathematical Economics, 2004. Chapter1

3. Consumer Problem Apr 11

   • Handout: JR Chapter3

4. Consumer Demand Apr 16

   • Practice: Quiz1

5. Duality Apr 18

   • Reading: Deaton and Muellbauer Chapter2

   • Handout: JR Chapter2

6. Preference, Choice, and Utility Apr 23

   • Assignment: PS1

   • Reading: Rubinstein Lecture3

7. Firm Problem Apr 25

   • Handout: JR Chapter4

8. Partial Equilibrium Apr 30

   • Practice: Quiz2

9. Welfare and Allocation May 2

   • Handout: JR Chapter5

   • Assignment: PS2

10. General Equilibrium May 7

11. Expected Utility May 9

    • Reading: Ken Binmore, Rational Decision, 2009. Chapter3

12. Risk Aversion May 14

    • Practice: Quiz3

13. Production Economy May 16

    • Assignment: PS3

14. Time and Uncertainty May 21

    • Reading: John Riley, Essential Microeconomics, 2013. Chapter 8

15. Final Exam (180 minutes) June 6

4. Assignments

• • Practice Quiz (Not graded. Just for your practice!)

    • Quiz1: file

    • Quiz2: file

    • Quiz3: file

  • Problem Sets (Inside ( ) shows the due day).

    • PS1 (May 2): file

    • PS2 (May 14): file

    • PS3 (May 28): file

5. Textbooks

Advanced Microeconomics (I and II) does not use specific textbooks. Instead, I provide my own lecture slides, which are downloaded from above course outline. There are two textbooks which you may find useful to complement my lecture notes. You are encouraged to purchase the second ([NS]), since it will serve as the main textbook for Advanced Microeconomics III and IV. For the first one ([JR]), the copies of related chapters will be distributed in class.

[JR] Geoffrey Jehle and Philip Reny, Advanced Microeconomic Theory, 3rd edition, 2011.

[NS] Walter Nicholson and Christopher Snyder, Microeconomic Theory: Basic Principles and Extensions, 11th edition, 2011.

An insightful advanced textbook on individual choice theory. It contains full of original ideas.

Ariel Rubinstein, Lecture Notes in Microeconomic Theory, 2nd edition, 2012.

Old version is downloadable from author's page for free

A standard graduate level textbook with full of intuitive explanation is:

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 comprehensively incorporates game theoretical perspectives into microeconomics, and the latter is most widely used for microeconomics courses for economics Ph.D. students.

David Kreps, A Course in Microeconomic Theory, 1990

Andreu Mas-Colell, Michael Whinston and Jerry Green, Microeconomic Theory, 1995

A classic but still useful textbook for consumer theory and its applications is:

Angus Deaton and John Muellbauer, Economics and Consumer Behavior, 1980

A well-written and highly readable book for optimization techniques is:

Avinash Dixit, Optimization in Economic Theory, 2nd edition, 1990

A more advanced, yet readable book 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

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