Economics 401: Intermediate Microeconomics, spring 2010
Instructor: Prof. Jeremy A. Sandford
Office hours: TH 1-2pm, 335L B&E, or by appointment
Lecture: 9:30-10:45 TH, BE 213 and 2:00-3:15 TH, BE 205
Midterm date:
Tuesday, March 9, in class
Final date: Thursday, May 6
8:00am-10:00am, 9:30 lecture; Thursday, May 6 1:00pm-3:00pm, 2pm lecture
Quiz dates: 2/4, 2/18,
3/4, 4/1, 4/15
Required text: Perloff, Jeffrey Microeconomics, Pearson/Addison Wesley
Readings to date: Perloff, chapters 4, 6-8, 11-14, 17, 19.1-19.3, 19.6, 20 Notes on quantity discrimination
Problem set 1, Answers
Problem set 2, Answers
Problem set 3, Answers
Problem set 4, Answers
Problem set 5, Answers
Problem set 6, Answers
Homework assignment, due 4/30/2010
Current course grades (updated 5/7/10)
Schedule
Thursday, January 14: Intro, syllabus, brief discussion
Tuesday, January 19: Firms, profit maximization, and production functions
reading: Perloff, chapter 6
Thursday, January 21: Cost minimization
reading: Perloff, chapter 7
WSJ article on how economists are cheapskates
Tuesday, January 26: cost minimization, isocost lines, expansion paths, perfect substitutes
reading: Perloff, chapter 7
Thursday, January 28: perfect complements, long-run versus short-run costs, quantity and shutdown decisions
reading: Perloff, chapter 8
Tuesday, February 2: Competition and efficiency, homework #1 review
reading: Perloff, chapter 8
Thursday, February 4: Monopoly, Quiz #1 (with answers)
reading: Perloff, chapter 11
Tuesday, February 9: Monopoly, elasticity, the Lerner index, regulating monopolies
reading:Perloff, chapter 11
Thursday, February 11: Natural monopoly, price discrimination
reading: Perloff, chapters 11-12, Notes on quantity discrimination
Tuesday, February 16: problem set 2 review
reading: Perloff, chapter 12
Thursday, February 18: Price discrimination, Quiz #2
reading: Perloff, chapter 12
Tuesday, February 23: Oligopoly I: Stackelberg and Cournot models
reading: Perloff, chapter 13
Thursday, February 25: Oligopoly II: Bertrand model, differences between models, colluison and competition in the Cournot model
reading: Perloff, chapter 13
Tuesday, March 2: Game theory I
reading: Perloff, chapter 14
Thursday, March 4: Game theory, iterated removal of dominated strategies, Nash equilibrium, Quiz #3 (with answers)
reading: Perloff, chapter 14
Tuesday, March 9: Midterm
Thursday, March 11: no class
Tuesday, March 16: no class, spring break
Thursday, March 18: no class, spring break
Tuesday, March 23: mixed strategy nash equilibria, sequential games, subgame perfect Nash equilibrium
reading: Perloff, chaptr 14
Thursday, March 25: risk and uncertainty
reading: Perloff, chapter 17
Tuesday, March 30: No class
Thursday, April 1: quiz #4
Tuesday, April 6: risk and uncertainty, insurance markets
reading: Perloff, chapter 17
Thursday, April 8: adverse selection
reading: Perloff, chapter 19.1-19.3
Tuesday, April 13: education as a signal
reading: Perloff, chapter 19.6
Thursday, April 15: quiz review, Quiz #5
Tuesday, April 20: auctions
reading: Perloff, chapter 14.4
Thursday, April 22: moral hazard and contracts
reading: Perloff, chapter 20
Tuesday, Appril 27: consumer choice, constrained maximization
reading: Perloff, chapter 4
Thursday, April 29: no class
Thursday, May 6: final exam
9:30 class: 8-10am
2:00 class: 1-3pm