ECON-UA 10: Intermediate Microeconomics Spring 2024

Course Objectives

The typical approach of economists to answering a question that interests them is to formulate a model. Doing so involves specifying the causal linkages (usually in the language of mathematics) that one thinks  underlie the phenomenon under study. This course is an introduction to the art and science of writing down such mathematical models. Being a course in microeconomics, the questions we are interested in relate to the behavior of individual entities like consumers and firms. Some examples:

> How might a budget-constrained consumer decide on the amounts of different products and services to buy?

> How might the manager of a firm choose a production target and/or a production technology?

> How does a market work? When is it a good idea to organize production and consumption using a market?

> When do markets fail? What do markets not do well?

> When, and to what extent, and in what ways, does a firm control the price it can charge its customers?

> How does the presence of competing firms affect the strategic choices of a given firm?

Microeconomics seeks precise ways, or models, to answer these questions. Mathematical analysis facilitates precision and therefore this course will use the language of mathematics extensively. We will frequently impart economic meaning to mathematical objects like equations, derivatives, ratios, tangents, curves, lines and so on. While we will certainly examine the costs and benefits of using the language of mathematics for economics, one of the aims of the course is to first teach you this language. As with learning any language, immersion and repetition is key, and therefore consistent engagement with coursework (class discussion, the textbook, homework, exams) is essential. In terms of the broader economics major, microeconomic theory forms the bedrock for more advanced courses like Industrial Organization, Labor Economics, International Trade, Natural Resource Economics, and so on.

Learning Goals

.     Mastering the mathematical language of economics

.     Identifying microeconomic problems in the real world

.     Building models of microeconomic problems

.    Solving a model using mathematical analysis

.     Using the model to simulate alternative scenarios (comparative statics)

Prerequisites

Introduction to Microeconomics (ECON-UA 2) and Mathematics for Economics II (MATH-UA 212)

Textbook

.    The required textbook is any recent edition of Hal Varian's Intermediate Microeconomics, from W.W. Norton and Co. While I will refer to the 9th edition, the 8th  or 7th  editions contain roughly  identical material to the 9th  edition, which has some new examples and an optional Chapter 17 on “Measurement.”

.     I also recommend the book Workouts in Intermediate Microeconomics by Bergstrom and Varian for additional practice. Select problems that pertain to material covered in class.

.    A detailed day-by-day reading list is posted on Brightspace under Course Schedule. You should check the site regularly for any updates.

Grading and Exams

.    The course grade will be based on

o weekly problem sets (worth 10% total)

. Your lowest scoring problem set will be dropped.

. One 4-day extension allowed on any one problem set —just email your TA, prior to the due date. No extensions allowed during Midterm and Finals week.

. Problem sets will be assigned by the evening of the second class of the week, via Gradescope (see the Brightspace site for a link) and will typically be due there the following Monday.

o two midterms

. Midterm 1 (in class, worth 25%) date posted on Course Schedule in Brightspace

. Midterm 2 (in class, worth 30%) date posted on Course Schedule in Brightspace

o Final Exam (worth 35%) date posted on Course Schedule in Brightspace. The final is cumulative.

.    The letter grade distribution for the class will obey the economics department’s stipulated distribution for large classes (more details).

.    All your submitted work must abide by theNYU Honor Code.

.    There are no make-up exams or extra credit opportunities. In rare instances, on account of

illness or other emergencies, I might distribute some of the weight of a missed midterm on to the remaining exams for the course.

.     Material covered in class will partially overlap with the textbook. The exams will draw from material covered in the class, the problem sets, and the assigned reading.

.     I will post class slides on Brightspace.

Problem set Content and Grading

.    The problem sets will ask you to apply the mathematical models covered in class to specific numerical problems.

.    To encourage your efforts towards mastering the material, we grade the problem sets leniently: receiving full points does not necessarily mean your answers were completely correct: you still   need to check your answers against the answer key. The grading of the exams will be more exacting than the problem sets.

Preparing for Exams

.     It is crucial that you read the assigned portions of Varian’s textbook at least twice.

.     I recommend that you handwrite your own set of notes (with equations, graphs, definitions) as  the course goes on. In addition to doing the homework, it is the best way to prepare for exams. Previous students have reported that writing up a fresh set of notes before the exam, as opposed to simply reading the slides or what they wrote down in class, is helpful for preparation.

.     Practice using the Sample Exams that have been posted on Brightspace. The idea of the sample  exams is to give you some flavor of the kind of questions that are likely to be on the exam. It is fair game for me to ask any question that is based either on the material I ask you to read, or on topics that are discussed in class. While these two sources of information will often overlap, it will not always be the case.

Email Guidelines

.     Before writing me an email, try to:

o Check the syllabus and the Course Schedule on Brightspace

o Google it

o Check the textbook

o Ask a friend (this is especially true if you have recently missed a lecture)

.    The best times to email me are Monday through Friday, 8 AM – 5 PM. You can also email me outside of these times, but if your email is not urgent, consider doing a Schedule Send.

.     If you email me, please do not expect an immediate answer, especially if it is on the weekend or late at night.

o If you emailed me and I did not respond within 48 hours, feel free to email me again.

o If I receive many emails asking the same thing, I may post a class wide announcement rather than respond to each email individually.