Economics 431
Summer 2007

Syllabus | FAQ | Reading list | Homeworks | Old Exams | Exam Dates and Locations | Office hours

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Selected lecture notes

Notes on residual demand | Handout on second degree price discrimination

Handout on infinitely repeated games

Handout on horizontal mergers | Handout on vertical mergers

Handout on vertical relations | Handout on asymmetric information problems and advertising


Homeworks

 

Homework 1 (due Thurs July 5) | Homework 1 answers | Homework 2 (due Wed July 11) | Homework 2 answers | Homework 3 (due Wed July 18) | Homework 3 answers

Homework 4 (due Wed July 25) | Homework 4 answers | Homework 5 (due Wed Aug 1) | Homework 5 answers | Homework 6 (due Wed Aug 8) | Homework 6 answers | Homework 7 (due Mon Aug 13)  | Homework 7 answers



Office hours

Lorch Hall Room 313

Thursdays and Fridays 4:00 p – 5:00 p 

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Exam dates and locations

Midterm exam – Wednesday, July 18, 2:00 pm – 4:00 pm B844 East Hall

Final Exam – Thursday, August 16, 1:30 pm - 3:30 pm B844 East Hall

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FAQ

Q: Are there any prerequisites?

A: This course requires Economics 401 and first year calculus as prerequisites. In the past, people who were not adequately prepared in either subject found it hard to keep up with the course.

Q: What is the course requirement?

A: Please see the Syllabus for details.

Q: Is the course math-intensive?

A: Depends on your definition of "math intensive". We will probably use more math than some economics courses, but nothing really hard. To get an idea of what to expect, take a look at Chapter 16 on mergers in the required textbook. This is the hardest it will get. Old exams are also available.

Q: What is the grading system like?

A: There are two exams, a midterm and a final. The midterm accounts for 40 % of the grade and the final accounts for 60 % percent of the grade. The final is not cumulative, it focuses on the material covered since the midterm.

Q: …So homeworks do not count for the grade?

A: Directly, they don’t. However, don’t forget about your homework just yet. The course material is very cumulative. You will find that it is much easier to keep up with the course if you do the reading and practice solving homework problems as we go along. Besides, many people were surprised to discover that reading lecture notes and book chapters does not help them solve problems as much as they'd expected. Dealing with problems takes PRACTICE, and that's what homework is for. Statistically, over the years, people who did their homeworks wrote significantly better exams.

Q: Is the final cumulative?

A: Short answer, no. The final focuses on the material covered since the last test. However, when writing exam questions I am assuming that you know all the material covered so far.

Q: Can I bring a formula sheet to use during the exams?

A: All exams are closed books, closed notes. This helps keep the exam problems as simple as possible. I usually provide a reference sheet with every exam. See old exams for sample reference sheets. 

Q: What kind of calculator can I use during the exams?

A: Use any calculator you want. Except you cannot bring palmtop (or laptop) computers. Usually, calculators are not even needed for most problems. Calculators are to be used for computation only, and not for storage of information. If you have a fancy calculator, you cannot use pre-programmed formulas and graphing functions.

If you have other questions I did not cover, please let me know.

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Reading list

<>Required text: Lynne Pepall, Daniel J. Richards and George Norman, Industrial organization: contemporary theory and practice. 3d ed. South-Western College Publishing. ISBN-10: 0324261306, ISBN-13: 9780324261301

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Old exams

Summer 2007 Midterm answers (PDF)

Fall 2003 First Midterm (PDF) | Fall 2003 Second Midterm (PDF) | Fall 2003 Final (PDF)

Fall 2003 First Midterm answers (PDF) | Fall 2003 Second Midterm answers | Fall 2003 Final answers

Winter 2002 First Midterm (PDF) | Winter 2002 Second Midterm (PDF) Winter 2002 Final (PDF)

Winter 2002 First Midterm answers (PDF) | Winter 2002 Second Midterm answers (PDF) | Winter 2002 Final answers


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