Svetlana Boyarchenko

A SURVEY OF NEOCLASSICAL AND CONTEMPORARY THEORIES OF THE PRINCIPAL DETERMINANTS OF PRICES AND OF THE ROLE OF PRICES IN ECONOMIC ORGANIZATION. REQUIRED OF STUDENTS MAJORING IN ECONOMICS. STUDENTS MAY NOT ATTEMPT ECONOMICS 420K MORE THAN TWICE.

PREREQUISITE: ECONOMICS 304K AND 304L WITH A GRADE OF AT LEAST C- IN EACH, AND MATHEMATICS 408C AND 408D, OR MATHEMATICS 408K AND 408L, WITH A GRADE OF AT LEAST C- IN EACH.

The primary objective of the course is to study contemporary theories of the principal determinants of prices and the role of prices in economic organization. The course will emphasize the fundamental concepts of microeconomics and provide concrete examples of their application. The course will cover the demand and supply theories for competitive markets, some instances of market power, basics of the game theory, choice under uncertainty, and equilibrium in an exchange and production economy.

A SURVEY OF NEOCLASSICAL AND CONTEMPORARY THEORIES OF THE PRINCIPAL DETERMINANTS OF PRICES AND OF THE ROLE OF PRICES IN ECONOMIC ORGANIZATION. REQUIRED OF STUDENTS MAJORING IN ECONOMICS. STUDENTS MAY NOT ATTEMPT ECONOMICS 420K MORE THAN TWICE.

PREREQUISITE: ECONOMICS 304K AND 304L WITH A GRADE OF AT LEAST C- IN EACH, AND MATHEMATICS 408C AND 408D, OR MATHEMATICS 408K AND 408L, WITH A GRADE OF AT LEAST C- IN EACH.

The primary objective of the course is to study contemporary theories of the principal determinants of prices and the role of prices in economic organization. The course will emphasize the fundamental concepts of microeconomics and provide concrete examples of their application. The course will cover the demand and supply theories for competitive markets, some instances of market power, basics of the game theory, choice under uncertainty, and equilibrium in an exchange and production economy.

Fall 2009 Dr. Svetlana Boyarchenko

Office: BRB 2.160

Phone: 475-8521

Email: sboyarch@eco.utexas.edu

Office hours: M, W 1:00 p.m.-2:30 p. m.

MICROECONOMIC THEORY (ECO 420K)

Unique identifier 33700

Lectures:

Review sessions: F 11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m., UTC 3.124

Purpose of the Course and Prerequisites:

The primary objective of the course is to study contemporary theories of the principal determinants of prices and the role of prices in economic organization. The course will emphasize the fundamental concepts of microeconomics and provide concrete examples of their application. Prerequisites for this course are ECO 304K (Introduction to Microeconomics) and ECO 304L (Introduction to Macroeconomics) as well as M 408 C (Differential and Integral Calculus) or the equivalent. This class is usually a challenging class - you should be prepared to spend substantial time outside class on readings and frequent homework assignments.

Texts:

homeworks are due Fridays, during review sessions.

Points and the final grade:

1. A
2. B
3. C
4. D
5. F
: less than 40. : 40 or more but less than 55 : 55 or more but less than 70 : 70 or more but less than 85 : 85 and more

The grades are not curved, and I will be happy to give you as many A's and B's as you deserve.

Other issues:

1. Attendance in lectures and review sessions is mandatory.
2. Late homework assignments are not accepted under any circumstances.
3. UT provides upon request appropriate academic adjustments for qualified students with disabilities. For more information, contact the Office of the Dean of students at 471-6259, 471-4641 TTY.

Course Outline:

Fall 2009 Dr. Svetlana Boyarchenko
Office BRB 2.160
Phone 475-8521
e-mail sboyarch@eco.utexas.edu
Office hours: M, W 1:00 p.m.-2:30 p.m. or by appointment
ECON 387L
Microeconomics I
Unique identifier 33965
Lectures: MW 9:30 a.m. - 11:00 a.m., BRB 2.136

This is a graduate level course in general equilibrium (GE) theory, including consumer and producer theory, choice under uncertainty, topics in welfare theory and elements of financial economics.

There will be problem sets, two midterms and a final. The midterms will be given on October 5 and November 9. Your grade will be determined as follows: 10% homework problem sets, 20% each of the midterms, and 50% final.

The problem sets are important, indispensable part of the course; you should spend considerable time and effort on them. I strongly encourage you to work on the problem sets in study groups. However, before meeting with your group you should have attempted each question - study groups work best when they facilitate learning from each other, not when they are used simply to permit division of labor (i.e., you won't learn very much by simply copying other students' answers). Solutions to problem sets will be posted on the Blackboard.

The TA's will primarily be responsible for conducting review sessions based on problem sets. Their office hours and the related time and place for review sessions will be announced as soon as possible.

The text for the course is MasColell, A., Whinston, M., and Green, J., Microeconomic Theory, Oxford University Press, New York, 1995. Other texts you may find useful for reference:
1.
Debreu, G., Theory of Value, Yale University Press, New Haven, CT, 1959.
2.
Gibbons, R., Game Theory for Applied Economists, Princeton University Press, Princeton, 1992.
3.
Leroy S.F., and Werner J., Principles of Financial Economics, Cambridge University Press, 2001.

Much of the material in this course is best formulated mathematically. It is important that you become familiar with both the language and the basic techniques of mathematics. A good exposition for economists is contained in: Blume, L. and Simon, C.P., Mathematics for Economists, W.W. Norton, New York, 1994. A very good basic reference for real analysis is: Rudin, W., Principles of Mathematical Analysis, McGraw-Hill, New York, 3rd edition, 1976.
General course outline:
1.
Consumer theory (6 lectures)
2.
Choice under uncertainty (3 lectures)
3.
Producer theory (4 lectures)
4.
General Equilibrium and Welfare. (8 lectures)
5.
Financial Economics (5 lectures)
Other issues:

Attendance in lectures and review sessions is mandatory.

Homework assignments are not accepted under any circumstances after solutions have been posted.

UT provides upon request appropriate academic adjustments for qualified students with disabilities. For more information, contact the Office of the Dean of students at 471-6259, 471-4641 TTY.

METHODS OF STATISTICAL ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION OF QUANTITATIVE DATA IN THE FIELD OF ECONOMICS. REQUIRED OF ECONOMICS MAJORS.

PREREQUISITE: ECONOMICS 304K AND 304L WITH A GRADE OF AT LEAST C- IN EACH, AND MATHEMATICS 408C AND 408D, OR MATHEMATICS 408K AND 408L, WITH A GRADE OF AT LEAST C- IN EACH.

Economics 329 is an introduction to Economic Statistics. The aim of the course is to familiarize students with methods of summarizing collections of measurements (data sets) of economic, political and business phenomena. Of particular concern will be an introduction to elementary probability theory and its use in the interpretation of summary statistics (inference) obtained from statistical data sets. A number of economic, political and business applications will be used to illustrate the methods. If more information is needed contact instructor.