Economics & Institutions, Semba 1, Spring 2009
Week 0. Orientation Materials
Week 1 (March 31): Macroeconomics: Money & Financial Assets
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Essential: |
Economic Outlook (ppt), CBO Long Term Budget Outlook Macro Graphs The US Phillips Curve, 1960-2002 Fed Game Results: Finance Game Williams on Asset Bubbles (< = good graphic) |
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Additional |
J.M.
Keynes’s “General Theory of Employment, Interest, & Money” Brian Arthur's Web-page Probabilities of "Innocent" Timing Luck
Martin
Wolff on: (Development Policy) (The
Gold Standard) (US Debt) (Long-Term
Budget Outlook) (US
Balance of Payments) (US
Fiscal Deficit) Economic Outlook 2009 G20 Fiscal Balances IMF Report to G20 ("The new world disorder" [Keynes and the origins of the "Bretton Woods" Institutions -- the IMF & World Bank], appearing in The New Yorker, Oct 26, 1998 v74 n33 p. 198-207.) |
Week 2. (April 7) Intro to Markets, Math Anxiety:
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Essential: |
Basics of Supply and Demand Microeconomics, Basics of Calculus An Example of working with Excel Solver: MaxRev.xls, |
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Additional |
Chapter 1 Graphs (PowerPoint), Chapter 2 Graphs (PowerPoint), Multivariate Optimization, Depicted in Excel: Ch2MultiVarOpt.xls The Basic RULES of Calculus (strictly optional material Lagrangians in more detail (optional): Quadratic Equation Solver (comes in handy sometimes): http://www.math.com/students/calculators/source/quadratic.htm |
Here is Assignment # 1 on Optimization
Week 3. (April 14) Consumer Optimization:
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Essential: |
Demand Theory, Pricing Strategies, Price_Discrimination_Game |
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Additional |
Paper on International Price Discrimination (Important New Research) (Patricia Danzon of Penn in Pfizer forum) <= New Link for this Web-site Market Price versus "Just Price" Optimizing Consumption: Cost Minimization / Utility Maximization (Duality)
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Week 4. (April 21) Regression & Forecasts:
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Essential: |
Demand Estimates, Forecasts, Data Sets for Econometric Analysis · FORECASTS of Dependent (Left-Hand-Side) Variables
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Additional |
4 Excel Sheets on: Univariate Regression, Multivariate Regression Multicollinearity, Serial Correlation
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Here is Assignment # 2 on Regression
Week 5. (April 28) Firm Optimization:
Here is Assignment # 3 on Waste
Week 6. (May 5) More on Cost Analysis:
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Essential: |
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Additional |
Profit and Break-Even Analysis Deflation Analysis Excel Sheets on Avg. & Marg. Costs, Unit Costs, "Lab" on Unit Costs More on Avg. vs. Marg. Costs (with & without Calculus)
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Week 7: (May 12) Monopoly & Market Power:
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Essential: |
Basic Monopoly Analysis Tariffs and Monopoly A Brief Introduction to Game Theory |
Week 8: (May 19) Introductory Game Theory:
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Essential: |
Foggy Business: Strategy, Time, and Perception (Military Analogies: Sun Tzu - Clausewitz) |
Here is Assignment # 4 on Nash Sequential Games
Week 9: (May 26) More Game Theory
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Essential: |
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Additional |
An R&D Race Decision Trees, with Risk Calculation, Markup Calculations, Proving Krugman's Result, or Why Microsoft Should not be Broken Up |
Week 10: (June
2) Public Goods I and II: