Economics 401: Intermediate Microeconomics, spring 2008
Instructor: Jeremy Sandford
Office hours: MW 4-5pm, 335L B&E
Lecture: MW 2-3:13pm, 213 B&E
Exam dates: Monday, March 3rd (in class), and Monday, April 28th from 1-3pm (BE 213)
Required text: Varian, Hal Intermediate Microeconomics: A Modern Approach, W.W. Norton and Company
either the sixth or seventh edition is fine
Schedule
Wednesday, January 9: introduction, efficiency
reading: Varian, chapter 1
Monday, January 14: budget sets
reading: Varian, chapter 2
Wednesday, January 16: preferences
reading: Varian, chapter 3
Monday, January 21: no class, MLK day
Wednesday, January 23: utility
reading: Varian, chapter 4
Monday, January 28: homework review, utility maximization
reading: Varian, chapter 5
Wednesday, January 30: perfect complements, perfect substitutes, optimal taxation
reading: Varian, chapter 5
Monday, February 4: homework review, individual demand curves
reading: Varian, chapter 6
Wednesday, February 6: deriving individual demand curves from specific utility functions
reading: Varian, chapter 6
Monday, February 11: market demand curves, elasticity
reading: Varian, chapter 15
Wednesday, February 13: theory of the firm, profit maximization, cost minimization
reading: Varian, chapters 18, 20 (skip parts unrelated to what we did in class)
Monday, February 18: technology, returns to scale, marginal products
reading: Varian, chapters 18, 20
Wednesday, February 20: firm supply, average cost and profitability
reading: Varian, chapter 22
Monday, February 25: Equilibrium, surplus
reading: Varian, chapter 16
Wednesday, February 27:Exam review
Monday, March 3: Midterm
Wednesday, March 5: Exam review
Monday, March 17: Equilibrium
reading: Varian, chapter 16
Wednesday, March 19: Monopoly
reading: Varian, chapter 24
Monday, March 24: Price discrimination
reading: Varian, chapter 25
Wednesday, March 26: Oligopoly I: Stackelberg and Cournot models
reading: Varian, chapter 27
Monday, March 31: Oligopoly II: Bertrand models, antitrust implications
reading: Varian, chapter 27
Wednesday, April 2: Game theory: normal form games, Nash equilibrium
reading: Varian, chapter 28
Monday, April 7: Game theory: Nash equilibrium
reading: Varian, chapter 28
Wednesday, April 9: Game theory: mixed strategies and backward induction
reading: Varian, chapter 29
Monday, April 14: Game theory: backward induction and commitment
reading: Varian, chapter 29
Wednesday, April 16: Collusion
reading: Varian, chapter 27
Monday, April 21: No class
Wednesday, April 23: Final exam review
Monday, April 28: Final exam
1-3pm, usual room