Required Text:Toumanoff and Nourzad, A Mathematical Approach to Economic Analysis, (Thomson Learning, 2001).
Recommended References: Chiang, Alpha, Fundamental Methods of Mathematical Economics (Third edition) and Nicholson, Walter, Microeconomic Theory (Fourth edition).
Course Objective: The purpose of this course is to provide the student with the basic mathematical methods that have become increasingly essential for a thorough understanding of today's economic literature. This course will focus on the application of mathematical tools and models to the analysis of both economic theory and contemporary economic problems. The intent is to offer economics students, and others, with previous mathematical training an exposure to the use of mathematics in modern economic analysis.
Course Requirements: The course requirements include a number of problem sets, two mid-term exams and a thirty minutes long oral presentation at the end of the semester. Your final course grade will be based upon the following. The problem sets will count 40%, the mid-term exams 20% each and the presentation 20 %.
Problem Sets: The purpose of the weekly homework assignments is to help you learn and understand the language of mathematics and its application to economic theory. Homework reinforces your knowledge of the course by putting it to immediate use, helps keep you up with the material, gives you examples of the kinds of questions I am likely to ask on exams, and gives me useful feedback from you. You will receive a homework assignment at the beginning of class each Thursday. Each assignment is due one week later. I encourage discussion of the homework but avoid doing entire sections of homework together because you will only learn how to approach these problems if you get some practice by working alone.
Oral Presentation: Your presentation should be based on an article of your choice, selected from economics journals, that contains mathematical models in its economic analysis. Choosing an article is always a challenge for most students and it might take quite some time in selecting an article which might interest you. Be advised that your search for an article should start at least three weeks ahead of your presentation date. Your presentation should also look professional, prepared with a word processor or presentation package (e.g. PowerPoint).