This document outlines the course details for ECO 310 - Microeconomic Theory: A Mathematical Approach being offered in the Spring 2013 term at Princeton University. The course will cover price theory, game theory, and information economics over 18 lectures. Students' grades will be based on 10 problem sets worth 15% total, a midterm exam worth 35%, and a final exam worth 50%. The problem sets will be assigned weekly and are to be completed individually without help from others.
This document outlines the course details for ECO 310 - Microeconomic Theory: A Mathematical Approach being offered in the Spring 2013 term at Princeton University. The course will cover price theory, game theory, and information economics over 18 lectures. Students' grades will be based on 10 problem sets worth 15% total, a midterm exam worth 35%, and a final exam worth 50%. The problem sets will be assigned weekly and are to be completed individually without help from others.
This document outlines the course details for ECO 310 - Microeconomic Theory: A Mathematical Approach being offered in the Spring 2013 term at Princeton University. The course will cover price theory, game theory, and information economics over 18 lectures. Students' grades will be based on 10 problem sets worth 15% total, a midterm exam worth 35%, and a final exam worth 50%. The problem sets will be assigned weekly and are to be completed individually without help from others.
Course web page on Princeton Blackboard: please check regularly
COURSE DESCRIPTION This is a course in microeconomics. The material covered is divided into three segments: 1. Price theory: preferences and utility; consumer and firm optimization; market equilibrium; monopoly. 2. Game theory: simultaneous and sequential move games, oligopoly. 3. Information economics: risk aversion, adverse selection, auctions.
Textbook: Hal Varian: Intermediate Microeconomics, A Modern Approach. 8 th Edition. Norton
- 2- Exams and grading
Course grades will be determined by combining grades on problem sets (15 percent), a midterm exam (35 percent) and the final exam (50 percent). There will be 10 problem sets; the schedule is given below. The problem sets will be posted on the course web page in PDF format. Each problem set will be due in class on the day specified. We will not accept late problem sets. Instead, we will count the grades on the best 8 problem sets you hand in; you can miss up to 2 problem sets without any penalty.
In the answer key handed out with the graded problem sets and exams, we will tell you the distribution of scores for that component.
Problem sets must be completed individually without help from other students. The midterm exam will be in class on Thursday March 15. It cannot be re-scheduled so please check your schedule of classes carefully. The final exam will be a 3-hour exam (scheduled by the registrars office). Both exams are closed-book, under the honor code. Schedule of problem sets:
Number
Available
Due
1
Feb 4
Feb 11
2
Feb 11
Feb 18
3
Feb 18
Feb 25
4
Feb 25
Mar 4
5
Mar. 4
Mar 11
6
Mar 25
Apr 1
7
Apr 1
Apr 8
8
Apr 8
Apr 15
9
Apr 15
Apr 22
10
Apr 22
Apr 29
- 3- Syllabus for Econ 310, Spring 2010
Part I: Price Theory
1. Lecture slides #1: preferences and utility; Chapters 3 and 4 in V(arian) 2. Lecture slides #2: budgets and choice; chapters 2 and 5 in V. 3. Lecture slides #3: optimization; buying and selling; chapters 6 and 9 in V. 4. Lecture slides #4: exchange; chapter 31 in V. 5. Lecture slides #5: Pareto efficiency; chapter 31 in V. 6. Lecture slides #6: supply and demand; chapter 14-16 in V. 7. Lecture slides #7: production; chapter 18 in V 8. Lecture slides #8: equilibrium with production; chapter 32 in V.
Part II: Monopoly
9. Lecture slides #9: monopoly; chapter 24 in V 10. Lecture slides #10: double marginalization; multi-market monopoly; chapter 25 in V. 11. Lecture slides #11: price discrimination and personal arbitrage. Chapter 25 in V.
Part II: Game Theory
12. Lecture slides #12: game theory I. chapter 28 and 29 in V. 13. Lecture slides #13: game theory II. chapter 28 and 29 in V. 14. Lecture slides #14: game theory III. chapter 28 and 29 in V. 15. Lecture slides #15: oligopoly; chapter 27 in V.
Part III: Uncertainty
16. Lecture slides #16: uncertainty and expected utility: Chapter 12 in Varian 17. Lecture slides #17: risk sharing and securitization: Chapters 12 and 13 18. Lecture slides #18: information economics: Chapter 37