Economics 301 Prof. Alexander Karaivanov
Intermediate Microeconomic Theory I Spring 2012
http://www.sfu.ca/~akaraiva/e301.html akaraiva@sfu.ca
SYLLABUS
Introduction
This course is designed to provide an understanding of microeconomic theory at the intermediate level. The goal is to equip you with the basic terminology, analytical tools, and intuition to discuss and address microeconomic issues. The topics covered include consumer theory and production theory in competitive markets as well as an introduction to general equilibrium analysis.
Organization
The webpage for the course is:
http://www.sfu.ca/~akaraiva/e301.html
All course materials, assignments and announcements will be posted on the webpage in pdf or html format.
Assignments and
Grading
There will be three problem sets on which you may work in groups but each student is required to submit his/her solutions separately. The problem sets are take-home and will be posted about a week and a half before each of the exams. They will be handed back to you before the exam date to help you prepare better. Late submission of no more than 1 day will be penalized by reducing your score by 30%. No exceptions will be made. There will be also two midterms (see schedule below for dates) and a final exam. The final exam is comprehensive, the midterms are not. The final course grade will be based on your performance in the problem sets, the midterms, and the final as follows:
- problem sets: 15% of the final grade;
- midterm exams: 20% of the final grade each;
- final exam: 45% of the final grade.
Barring really exceptional circumstances no exam re-takes will be allowed. Students who do not appear at an exam must provide a certified note (e.g., from a doctor, preferably the SFU health service) stating the reason for their absence. If I have a reason to believe that a student has cheated on one of the exams I will give this student a grade of F for the course. In addition, such a student would be subject to disciplinary punishment by the University.
The text for the course is:
Varian, H. Intermediate Microeconomics: A Modern Approach, 8th edition, W. W. Norton, 2010.
Exercises for the tutorials will be assigned from:
Bergstrom, T. and H. Varian, Workouts in Intermediate Microeconomics, 8th edition, W.W. Norton, 2010.
Older editions of these books are perfectly usable in most circumstances but please double-check if exercise numbers have changed.
Course Schedule
The relevant chapters from the textbook are given in brackets. You are encouraged to read the whole chapters, however for examination purposes you will be only responsible for material covered in the lectures or in the tutorials. If material outside the textbook is covered in class I will post lecture notes on the course webpage. The schedule below is tentative – some deviations from it will probably occur.
Week 1 (Jan 10, 12):
Introduction & Course organization
The Budget Constraint (Varian ch. 2)
Week 2 (Jan 17, 19):
Preferences (Varian ch. 3)
Utility (Varian ch. 4)
Week 3 (Jan 24, 26):
Utility (Varian ch. 4)
Choice (Varian ch. 5)
Week 4 (Jan 31, Feb 2):
Choice (Varian ch. 5)
Demand (Varian ch. 6)
Week 5 (Feb 7, 9):
Demand (Varian ch. 6)
MIDTERM I (Thursday, February 9)
READING BREAK (Feb. 13-17)
Week 6 (Feb 21, 23):
Income and Substitution Effects (Varian ch. 8)
Market Demand (Varian ch. 15)
Week 7 (Feb 28, Mar 1):
Market Demand (Varian ch. 15)
Equilibrium (Varian ch. 16)
Week 8 (Mar 6, 8):
Technology (Varian ch. 18)
Profit Maximization (Varian ch. 19)
Week 9 (Mar 13, 15):
Profit Maximization (Varian ch. 19)
MIDTERM II (Thursday, March 15)
Week 10 (Mar 20, 22):
Cost Minimization (Varian ch. 20)
Cost Curves (Varian ch. 21)
Week 11 (Mar 27, 29):
Firm Supply (Varian ch. 22)
Industry Supply (Varian ch. 23)
Week 12 (Apr 3, 5):
General Equilibrium (Varian ch. 31)
Week 13: (Tuesday, Apr. 10)
General Equilibrium (Varian ch. 31)