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

Syllabus

Optional paper assignment

Practice final exam questions


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