Courses:

Microeconomic Theory I >> Content Detail



Study Materials



Readings

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This section provides the required and supplemental reading assignments for the course.



Textbooks


The abbreviations in the table refer to the following textbooks:

MWG = Amazon logo Mas-Colell, Andreu, Michael Whinston, and Jerry Green. Microeconomic Theory. New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 1995. ISBN: 0195073401.

JR = Amazon logo Jehle, Geoffrey, and Philip Reny. Advanced Microeconomic Theory. 2nd ed. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley, 2000. ISBN: 0321079167.
This book is more readable and still covers much of the course material in about half as much space.



Readings


The table below provides information on the course's lecture (L) and recitation (R) sessions.


SES #TOPICSKEY DATES
Part I. Utility Functions and Decision-making
L1Preferences, Utility Functions, Revealed PreferenceMWG, sections 1.B-1.D.

JR, sections 1.2 and 2.3.

Carson, Richard T., Leanne Wilks, and David Imber. "Valuing the Preservation of Australia's Kakadu Conservation Zone." Oxford Economic Papers (1994): 727-749.

Diamond, Peter, and Jerry Hausman. "Contingent Valuation: Is Some Number Better than No Number?" Journal of Economic Perspectives (Autumn 1994): 45-64.

Andreoni, James, and John Miller. "Giving According to GARP." Econometrica (March 2002).

Duflo, Esther. "Grandmothers and Granddaughters: Old Age Pensions and Intrahousehold Allocation in South Africa." World Bank Economic Review (2003).
L2Preferences, Utility Functions, Revealed Preference (cont.)

Choice Under Uncertainty
Preferences, Utility Functions, Revealed Preference

MWG, sections 1.B-1.D.

JR, sections 1.2 and 2.3.

Carson, Richard T., Leanne Wilks, and David Imber. "Valuing the Preservation of Australia's Kakadu Conservation Zone." Oxford Economic Papers (1994): 727-749.

Diamond, Peter, and Jerry Hausman. "Contingent Valuation: Is Some Number Better than No Number." Journal of Economic Perspectives (Autumn 1994): 45-64.

Andreoni, James, and John Miller. "Giving According to GARP." Econometrica (March 2002).

Duflo, Esther. "Grandmothers and Granddaughters: Old Age Pensions and Intrahousehold Allocation in South Africa." World Bank Economic Review (2003).

Choice Under Uncertainty

MWG, section 6.B.

JR, sections 2.4.1-2.4.2.
L3Choice Under Uncertainty (cont.)MWG, section 6.B.

JR, sections 2.4.1-2.4.2.
L4Risk AversionMWG, sections 6.C-6.D.

JR, section 2.4.3.
L5Problems With Utility TheoryMWG, section 6.F.

Rabin, Matthew. "Risk Aversion and Expected Utility Theory: A Calibration Theorem." Econometrica (September 2000): 1281-1292.

Kahnemann, Daniel, and Amos Tversky. "Prospect Theory: An Analysis of Decision Under Risk." Econometrica (March 1979): 263-292.

Harless, David W., and Colin Camerer. "The Predictive Utility of Generalized Expected Utility Theories." Econometrica (November 1994): 1251-1289.

List, John A. "Neoclassical Theory versus Prospect Theory: Evidence from the Marketplace." Econometrica (March 2004): 615-625.
Part II. Demand Theory
L6Classical Demand TheoryMWG, sections 2.B-2.E, 3.D-E, and 3.G-H.

JR, sections 1.3, 1.5.3, 1.4, 2.1, and 1.5.
L7Classical Demand Theory (cont.)MWG, sections 2.B-2.E, 3.D-E, and 3.G-H.

JR, sections 1.3, 1.5.3, 1.4, 2.1, and 1.5.
L8Classical Demand Theory (cont.)

Demand Aggregation
Classical Demand Theory

MWG, sections 2.B-2.E, 3.D-E, and 3.G-H.

JR, sections 1.3, 1.5.3, 1.4, 2.1, and 1.5.

Demand Aggregation

MWG, sections 4.A, 4.B, and 4.D.

JR, section 2.2.
R1Price Changes and WelfareMWG, section 3.I.

JR, section 4.3.1.

Hausman, Jerry. "Valuation of New Goods under Perfect and Imperfect Competition." In The Economics of New Goods. Edited by T. F. Bresnahan and R. J. Gordon, 1997. (NBER WP 4970 version). (PDF)

Gordon, Robert J. "The Boskin Commission Report and Its Aftermath." NBER Working Paper 7759, National Bureau of Economic Research, Cambridge, MA, 2000. (PDF)
Part III. Producer Theory
L9Monopoly PricingMWG, section 12.B.

JR, section 4.2.0.
L10Competitive Producer Theory and Robust Comparative StaticsMWG, sections 5.B-5.C.

JR, section 3.5.

Athey, Susan, Paul Milgrom, and John Roberts. "Robust Comparative Statics." Unpublished monograph, 1998, sections 2.1, 2.2, and 2.6, pp. 1-8.

Azar, Ofer. "The Slowdown in First-Response Times of Economics Journals: Can it Be Beneficial." Economic Inquiry (2007).
L11Competitive Producer Theory and Robust Comparative Statics (cont.)MWG, sections 5.B-5.C.

JR, section 3.5.

Athey, Susan, Paul Milgrom, and John Roberts. "Robust Comparative Statics." Unpublished monograph, 1998, sections 2.1, 2.2, and 2.6, pp. 1-8.

Azar, Ofer. "The Slowdown in First-Response Times of Economics Journals: Can it Be Beneficial." Economic Inquiry (2007).
Part IV. Partial Equilibrium Competitive Markets
L12Competitive EquilibriumMWG, section 10.

JR, section 4.1.
Final Exam

 








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