ECO 350 01 - Price Theory

About This Course

For an overview of the course, please see the Syllabus page.

Presentations & Activities

Activities

This updated version plots marginal benefits and costs at the midpoints of the intervals of the quantity changes for which they are calculated.

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Download 03 Example - additively separable utility & consum.xls

Updated further on Mon., March 27 after withdrawal of the Republican proposal, with more recent reports and analysis.

Previously updated after class on Fri., March 10, with optional links (at the top of the second list of links) to more recent articles and to a summary of Kenneth Arrow's seminal 1963 analysis of the economics of health care.

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Download 06 Discussion preparation - health care insurance,.docx

This has been updated to correct the choice of which cells in the table to highlight for calculation of short-run TP, APL and MPL. In the original version, a row was highlighted with L=10. The corrected version highlights the cells with K=10, consistent with the wording of the question.

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Download 09 Exercises - returns to labor and to scale.xlsx

This older version of the example was distributed in print, and reviewed first. A newer version with a linear MC function is posted as well, and should also be examined as a model, since it is closer to the exercise for students to work through.

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Download 11 Example - perfect competition (in coffee market).xlsx

This version of the example was intended to be distributed in print, and was shown initially in class before noticing that the version distributed was the older one instead. It is closer to the exercise for students to work through, with algebraic solution possible, so should also be used as a model.

(.xlsx, 79K)
Download 11 Example - perfect competition - coffee, linear .xlsx

This spreadsheet lists the order of presentations at the beginning of the final exam session.

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Download Research Review presentation order.xlsx

Presentations

The part shaded pink is correct, but was copied incorrectly (on Wed. 2/8) as its reciprocal to the first part shaded green. That error was repeated in the later parts shaded green. A corrected derivation will be shown in the next class (Thurs. 2/9). The final result of the correction will be only that b, rather than 1-b, will appear in the demand function for restaurant meals (R).

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Download 03 Board notes 7 - Cobb-Douglas D derivation 2 colored.jpg

We got through only part of this presentation.

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Download 13 Imperfect competition 2 of 2.pptx

Other Handouts

Handouts list view Handouts card view

Slides for Jorge

For chapters without slides with notes below, there are usually slides without notes under Presentations above. The exception is the topic of chapter 5, about which I lectured from handwritten notes that are too messy to bother to scan and send. Let's Skype to go over that.
Title Description File type
01 Thinking as an Economist - with notes.pptx
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02 Supply and demand - with notes (notes for 2nd to last slide TB revised).pptx
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03 Rational consumer choice - with notes.pptx

For the appendix, the slides' typed notes lack many details of algebraic derivation of the best affordable bundle from a utility function and the prices and budget (income). We should Skype about this and I may be able to scan and send some handwritten notes.

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04 Individual & market demand - with notes.pptx
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08 Cognitive limitations and economic behavior - with notes.pptx
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09 Production - with notes.pptx
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Costs - chap10 - with notes 2.pptx

These are an old version of the slides and notes. I've updated this chapter's notes over the years by hand without typing them into the PPT file. Match these notes with the current version of the slides (without notes) above under Presentations. Both sets of slides (and the typed notes) lack many numerical, graphical and algebraic examples that we should discuss by Skype and that I may send scans of.

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11 Perfect competition - with notes.pptx
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12 Monopoly - with notes.pptx
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13 Imperfect competition - with notes.pptx
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Other
Title Description File type
Weekly schedule - Soren Hauge - spring 2017.xlsx
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ECON and BSA lab schedule 2017 Spring - regular.xlsx
This schedule lists when economics department student assistants work in TW 318. Some of them are prepared to do drop-in tutoring for this course, as listed on the NINJA ("Need Information Now? Just Ask.") poster. 
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NINJA poster 2016-17.docx

These student departmental assistants with experience in the courses listed are available for drop-in tutoring, on the schedule shown in the separate spreadsheet.

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Bookmarks

Bookmarks list view Bookmarks card view

Economic research

Analytical tools

Title Description
Rules of exponents
Rules of differentiation

Optional, using calculus for marginal analysis.
Consumer demand with Cobb-Douglas utility function

In the Cobb-Douglas utility function presented in class, the exponents on the quantities of goods (b and 1-b) were assumed to be between 0 and 1 and sum to 1. b represents the relative taste (as a share of 1) of the consumer for the first good, and so appears in each demand function.

These lecture notes are very similar, but use a slightly more general form of the function in which the exponents (a and b) are between 0 and 1 but may not sum to 1. Here a/(a+b) represents the relative taste of the consumer for the first good.

News & analysis, current & past
Title Description
Analysis of House Republican health care payments plan

This supplements readings assigned in the document under Activities.
Experiment access
Analysis of Pres. Trump's remarks on health care payments

Another supplement.
Political analysis of House Republican health care payments plan

Another supplement.
Birds of Paradise on display

How does this relate to economics?

Guidelines and Assessment

General guidelines and assessment criteria

For specific assignments, please see the Coursework page.
Follow these general guidelines as well as directions specific to a problem assignment.
(.docx, 24K)
Download Problem assessment
The name of the student who provided the example, and the collaborators that student listed, are removed for reasons of confidentiality.
 
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Download Example of complete, accurate, legible & original problem set responses.pdf
Follow these guidelines, along with the specific guidelines for the assignment, in making a formal oral presentation with a visual display.
(.doc, 53K)
Download Presentation assessment
Follow these guidelines, along with the specific guidelines for the assignment, in writing short papers of fewer than five pages (not including the list of references).
(.doc, 52K)
Download Short paper assessment
A version of the rubric included in the short paper assessment document, formatted for printing two half-sheet copies.  Use this as a backup copy if you are assigned to complete the rubric for your own paper or a peer's paper and you don't get a printed copy in class.
(.docx, 44K)
Download Short paper assessment rubric

A version of the short paper assessment rubric with numeric codes for levels of attainment of the objectives. Use it to read any codes in feedback on a short paper.

(.pdf, 46K)
Download Short paper assessment codes
Follow these guidelines, along with the specific guidelines for the assignment, in writing long papers of at least five pages (not including the list of references).
(.doc, 60K)
Download Long paper assessment
Follow these supplemental and more detailed guidelines, along with the general guidelines for papers and the specific guidelines for the assignment, especially in writing long papers of at least five pages (not including the list of references).
(.doc, 40K)
Download Writing organization
Follow these guidelines, along with the specific guidelines for the assignment, in preparing a poster based on primary or secondary research.
(.docx, 39K)
Download Poster assessment

Follow these guidelines in directing your participation in class sessions.

(.docx, 20K)
Download Participation assessment.docx
This describes in general terms how I determine course letter grades.
(.docx, 21K)
Download Grading

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