Universität Wien
Warning! The directory is not yet complete and will be amended until the beginning of the term.

040317 UK Foundations of Microeconomics (MA) (2017W)

4.00 ECTS (2.00 SWS), SPL 4 - Wirtschaftswissenschaften
Continuous assessment of course work

Lecturer: Prof. Karl Schlag

Registration/Deregistration

Note: The time of your registration within the registration period has no effect on the allocation of places (no first come, first served).

Details

max. 24 participants
Language: English

Lecturers

Classes

First meeting: Wednesday, October 4, 09.45 -11.15 h, Seminarroom 4, 1st floor
For the rest of the semester the lecture will be on Wednesday, 09.45 - 11.15 h
Seminarroom 3rd floor, Doctoral Colleg
No meeting on October 18!

Information

Aims, contents and method of the course

Outline: Microeconomics comes with a formal apparatus that is used to derive results. This formal apparatus involves both mathematics (like when looking at derivatives and constrained optimization) and separate tools such as game theory. Statements are made based on assumptions and proofs using these assumptions. In this course we wish to show to students how to apply such methods, how to be able to derive statements about microeconomics from primitives. The lecture is presented as a series as of topics.
Topics include:
- choice and preferences
- von Neumann Morgenstern and alternative models of choice under uncertainty
- marginal rates of substitution and ordients
- aggregation of preferences and the representative consumer
- power and failure of first and second welfare theorems
- information economics
In addition, each student will be asked to write a short research paper on this topic, progress discussed whenever necessary in class (such as relevant literature, research motivation, model, proofs, outline of paper, final editing).
Goal: Teach students how to use formal and rigorous methods to understand and solve microeconomic research questions. Show students the different phases in writing a research paper in microeconomics that builds on formal methods.

Assessment and permitted materials

The grade of the course is determined based on three equally weighted parts: term paper, midterm and final exam.

Minimum requirements and assessment criteria

this course is designed for advanced master students studying economics and for VGSE students.

Examination topics

Reading list

The main bibliography for the course is A. Mas-Colell, M.D. Whinston & J.R. Green, Microeconomic Theory, Oxford University Press, New York, 1995, complimented by some research papers and handouts.

Association in the course directory

Last modified: Mo 07.09.2020 15:29