Syllabus for Econ 276: MATHEMATICAL ECONOMICS Duke University Spring 2007 Instructor: Juan F, Rubio-Ramirez (juan.rubio-ramirez@duke.edu) Office: 232 Social Sciences Building Office hours: By appointment. ‘Textbook: Mathematics for Economics - 2nd Edition by Michael Hoy, John Livernois, Chris McKenna, Ray Rees, Thanasis Stengos. The MIT Press, 2001 Course Description: A thorough knowledge of mathematics is essential for understanding almost all fields of economics. Mathematics is essential in the expression and communication of ideas in economies. The goal of this course is to help students understand and use the mathematics required for studying economics at the master’s level. As a way of demonstrating the importance of mathematics in economics, the ‘mathematical concepts studied will be illustrated with applications in economics. Grades: 25% problem sets 25% midterm 50% final ‘Tentative Schedule: Week 1: Chapter 2 (Set and Number theory; Functions) Week 2: Chapters 3-4 (Sequence, series, and limits; Continuity of functions) Week 3: Chapters 5-6 (Derivative of functions of one variable; Optimization of functions of one variable) ‘Week 4: Chapters 7-8 (System of linear equations; Matrices) Week 5: Chapters 9-10 (Determinants and Inverse of Matrices; ‘Topics in linear algebra) ‘Week 6: Midterm and Chapter 11 (Calculus for functions of “n” variables) Week 7: Chapters 12-13 (Optimization for funetions of “n” variables; Constrained optimization) ‘Week 8: Chapter 15 (Concave-programming and Kuhn-Tucker conditions) Week 9: Spring Break Week 10: Chapter 16 (Integration) ‘Week 11; Chapters 18-19 (Linear, First-Order difference equations; Nonlinear, First- Order difference equations) Week 12: Chapters 21-22-23 (Linear, First-Order differential equations; Nonlinear, First- Order differential equations; Linear, Second-Order differential equations) Week 13: Chapter 24 (Simultaneous systems of difference and differential equations) ‘Week 14: Chapter 25 (Optimal control theory)