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

Syllabus

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