Syllabus for Economics 603
Daniel R. Vincent: Fall 2007 |
|
Official
Matters
Economics 603 is the first half of the Economics Department’s two-semester core sequence in Microeconomics. This course is taken by all first-year Economics Ph.D. students, as well as by quite a few Ph.D. students in Agricultural & Resource Economics, the Smith School of Business, and other academic departments. The first half of the semester treats consumer theory and the theory of the firm. The second half of the semester is an introduction to game theory and its applications in economics. The first half of this course will be taught by Professor Daniel R. Vincent. The final half will be taught by Professor Larry Ausubel.
All official course announcements will be posted on the course home page:
http://www.wam.umd.edu/~dvincent/econ603/econ603.html
Problem sets, handouts, transparencies and online copies of readings (where available) will be posted on a password-protected area:
http://www.wam.umd.edu/~dvincent/econ603/econ603.html
The login and password for the restricted area will be announced in class.
There will be about 6 problem sets for the first half of the course, and about 6 problem sets for the second half of the course. For your reference, all of the problem sets from last year are currently posted on the password-protected web page, but some of these are likely to be updated, and you should refer to the most recent version at the time of doing the problem sets.
The midterm
exam—for both the
morning and afternoon sections—is likely to be scheduled
for either Friday
October 12 or Friday October 19 [actual date to be determined], from 12:00 noon –
2:00 pm.
However, this information is only tentative, and will be finalized
(along with
locations) later on. Any students having any known conflicts with
either exam
time should notify the professor immediately.
Texts
A. Mas-Colell, M. Whinston and J. Green (henceforth “MWG”), Microeconomic Theory, Oxford Univ. Press, 1995.
R. Gibbons, Game Theory for Applied Economists, Princeton Univ. Press, 1992 (paperback).
Course
Times
Section 0201: Tuesdays/Thursdays
Section 0101: Tuesdays/Thursdays
Discussion Section 0101:
Tuesdays
Discussion Section 0201: Fridays 12 noon - 1:45 pm, Tydings 2111
Teaching Assistant: Oleg Baranov mailto:Oleg Baranov)
Office
Hours
Professor Vincent’s Office Hours:
Wednesdays,
Oleg Baranov's
Office Hours:
Wednesdays,
Topics
for
First Half of Course (approximately one week per topic)
1. Preferences, Utility Functions and Utility Maximization
http://www.wam.umd.edu/~dvincent/econ603/econ603ln1.pdf
http://www.wam.umd.edu/~dvincent/econ603/econ603ln2.pdf
MWG, pp. 3-9, 17-28, 40-57 and 926-935
Problem Set #1 Assigned: http://www.wam.umd.edu/~dvincent/econ603/econ603ps1.pdf
No Discussion Section on August 31 or September 4.
2.
Review of Kuhn-Tucker Theory /
Envelope
Theorem and Applications
http://www.wam.umd.edu/~dvincent/econ603/econ603ln4.pdf
MWG, pp. 935-966 (especially pp. 935-943 and 954-966)
Handout on Kuhn-Tucker Conditions
This material may possibly be covered out of order
3. Expenditure Minimization, Hicksian Demands and Slutsky Equation
http://www.wam.umd.edu/~dvincent/econ603/econ603ln5.pdf
MWG, pp. 57-75
Problem Set #2 Assigned: http://www.wam.umd.edu/~dvincent/econ603/econ603ps2.pdf
4. Integrability, Substitutes Preferences, Submodularity and Walrasian Tâtonnement
http://www.wam.umd.edu/~dvincent/econ603/econ603ln7.pdf
MWG, pp. 75-95, 620-625
Problem Set #3 Assigned: http://www.wam.umd.edu/~dvincent/econ603/econ603ps3.pdf
5. Welfare Evaluation, Revealed Preference and Aggregate Demand
http://www.wam.umd.edu/~dvincent/econ603/econ603ln9.pdf
MWG, pp. 9-14, 28-36 and 105-123
Problem Set #4 Assigned: http://www.wam.umd.edu/~dvincent/econ603/econ603ps4.pdf
6. Theory of the Firm, Profit Maximization, Cost Minimization and Duality
http://www.wam.umd.edu/~dvincent/econ603/econ603ln1011.pdf
http://www.wam.umd.edu/~dvincent/econ603/econ603ln12.pdf
MWG, pp. 127-160
Problem Set #5 Assigned: http://www.wam.umd.edu/~dvincent/econ603/econ603ps5.pdf
7. Monopoly and Price Discrimination
http://www.wam.umd.edu/~dvincent/econ603/econ603ln13.pdf
MWG, pp. 383-387 and 488-501
Problem Set #6 Assigned: http://www.wam.umd.edu/~dvincent/econ603/econ603ps6.pdf