Masters of Public Policy

Mathematics and Economics
Homepage
Kevin Wainwright
Burnaby:
Office:3689 West Mall
Email:wainwrig@sfu.ca
Harbour Centre:
Office: 3266 HC
 
Fall 2007  MPP 801  

Description

The sequence of MPP801 and MPP802 provides grounding in the core economic ideas required for policy analysis. A requirement is basic college-level mathematics; calculus is not required. MPP801 introduces the theory of rational consumer choice, with emphasis on the role of consumer surplus. It treats production theory and profit maximization subject to production function constraints. The course gives an intuitive introduction to the theory of competitive market equilibrium and its efficiency properties.This course will also spend some time on reviewing and strengthening your basic math skills. The will be “front end” loaded: more in the beginning and tapering off throughout the term. Problem sets, notes, and practice questions can be found on this page.

Course Outline (Adobe PDF)
 

Format

Lecture: Tutorial:

Economics Assigments

  • Assignment #1   Due in week 3  (Wed Lecture)
  • Assignment  #2  Due in week 6  (Wed Lecture)
  • Assignment  #3  Due in week 10 (Wed Lecture)
  • Assignment  #4 Due in week 11  (Wed Lecture)
* Note that the "Due Dates" are tentative

Economics Notes

  • Note 1: Solving Utility Maximization Problems

Economics Assigments

* Note that the "Due Dates" are tentative

 

Math Notes for Economics

Problem Sets (with Answers):

Linear Equation Systems

  1. Linear equations 1
  2. Linear equations 2
  3. Linear equations 3
  4. Linear Systems 1
  5. Linear Systems 2

Nonlinear Equation Systems

  1. Quadratic Equations 1

Single Variable Calculus

  1. Power Function, Sum-difference, and Product Rules
  2. Quotient and Chain Rules

Optimization

  1. Applied Max and Min Problems

Notes and Handouts:

One Variable Calculus

  1. First 5 Rules
  2. Full set of calculus notes
  3. Addional calculus topics (Optional!)

Statistics and Excel

  1. Excel Data file (Download and Save to local computer)
  1. Excel Answer Key
EXCEL TUTORIALS
This page contains Hands On Exercises and EXCEL files that cover topics that are frequently needed for  projects. In some cases there will be techniques that are new to you, and others may simply be a review.
LESSON ONE:PARSING (seperating columns) and CONCATENATING (combining columns)
 PARSING  Tutorial
CONCATENATE Tutorial
  Lesson One EXCEL FILE

LESSON TWO:CHARTING data
CHARTING Tutorial
Lesson Two EXCEL FILE

LESSON THREE:FILTERING data
Filtering Tutorial
Lesson Three EXCEL FILE

LESSON FOUR:WORKING WITH LARGE SPEADSHEETS data Shortcut Keys, cool tricks to select, copy, fill columns, using formulas
Large Speadsheet Tutorial #1
 Large Speadsheet Tutorial #2 Lesson Four EXCEL FILE #2 (Test Data.xls)
Lesson Four EXCEL FILE #2 (Test Data2.xls)