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Departement Ekonomie - Department of Economics

Mathematical Economics for Postgraduate Students 771 2011

Mr DP von Fintel & Dr G Liu

Background

The use of mathematics in economics is often viewed negatively by practitioners, ranging from mild opposition to much deeper skepticism in the underlying epistemology. These skeptics see quantitative methods as a compromised mode of expression that is best done away with. Sometimes these sorts of sentiments are justied. A great deal of economics nowadays proceeds on the basis that an elegant mathematical proof of something is truth, no matter the empirical evidence for or against the theorem/theory in question. While a sober assessment of its usefulness as a tool is to be encouraged, much of this sort of disagreeable sentiment is premised on a misunderstanding of the role played by mathematics in economics. The mathematical formulation of an argument is a style of reasoning that lends itself to disciplines, like economics, where evidence plays a central role. Of course, good writing can accomplish the same goal, but this is a rare skill that very few posses. So rst and foremost, mathematical formalisms help to communicate ideas succinctly and with clarity that is often more dicult to do any other way. But a second, perhaps more important role for mathematics, is that it helps us clarify how our conclusions (say over the ecacy of policy) follow from our (often hidden) assumptions. A formal approach to theorising about the economy oers a way of making transparent the underlying assumptions behind received ideas. Indeed, some of the most celebrated advances in economics during the 20th century have embodied exactly this idea. In the end however, mathematical techniques are nothing but tools. Good economics requires ingenuity as well as creativity in the application of these tools. Although few might aspire to be like the Kenneth Arrows of the world - brilliant masters of both mathematical formalism and narrative exposition - both manners of communicating the discipline are encouraged. Formal training in mathematical methods is therefore a core competency demanded by our postgraduate coursework degree programmes.

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Role

Course Contacts
Name Mr DP von Fintel Dr G Liu Ms M Coetzee Ms C Smit Mr GP du Rand E-mail ntel@ekon.sun.ac.za gliu@sun.ac.za marisa.coetzee@gmail.com carina@sun.ac.za gideondurand@sun.ac.za Room 420 504 202A 506A 503 Consultation By appointment By appointment During Tutorials -

Lecturer Lecturer Tutor Postgraduate Administration Internal Moderator

Prescribed Text and Course Resources


The core text for this course is Simon, C.P. and L. Blume, 1994. Mathematics for Economists, New York: WW Norton & Company. All information, announcements, lecture notes, assignments and tutorials will be posted on the ocial course website: http://www.ekon.sun.ac.za/mathecon You will require a password to access this content. To obtain access rights, enter your student e-mail address on the following webpage: http://www.ekon.sun.ac.za/requestactivation

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Course Structure
Lectures, Tutorials and Problem Sets

One formal lecture is scheduled for every week of the semester, usually on Tuesdays from 08:30-10:30. In addition to formal lectures, a weekly tutorial is scheduled on Fridays from 14:00-16:00. This slot will be used to work through problems with the tutor. This course requires a substantial amount of practice to be able to implement and grasp the theoretical concepts and solve the problems in tests and exams. Students should prioritize the attendance of tutorials and the completion of problem sets. When a chapter is covered in the lectures, a set of problems from the text will be posted on the course website. Problem sets must be handed in at the beginning of the following weeks tutorial to the tutor. These will contribute to your tutorial mark (10% of the nal mark). 1. Please hand in problem sets from the previous week to the tutor at the beginning of each tutorial.

2. Tutorials should be handed in by each student. While group work is encouraged, each individual should do his/her own write-up of the problem. Should excessive copying be suspected, students will be penalised severely.

Assessment

The nal mark for this course will be calculated as follows (please note the relevant dates of assessment): 1. Test 1: 20% (a) Date: 14 March 2011 at 17:00 (b) Examinable material: Chapters 12 to 15 (c) This test is compulsory for all students. 2. Test 2: 20% (a) Date: 21 April 2011 at 17:00 (b) Examinable material: Chapters 16 to 19 and Appendix A4 i. This section of the test is compulsory for all students. (c) A second section of the test will examine Chapters 12 to 15. This section of the test is compulsory only for students that obtained a mark below 50% in Test 1 or were ill with a valid medical certicate for Test 1. It is optional for other students to complete this section of the test. Should any student complete this section of the test after having written Test 1, then the mark from Test 2 will be used to calculate the nal mark. 3. Tutorial mark: 10% 4. Final exam: 50% (a) The exam timetable will be compiled by Ms Smit at the end of the semester. (b) The exam will be composed of 50% from Chapters 16-19 and Appendix A4, and 50% of Chapter 23, Recursive Methods and Linearisation.

Basic Course Outline

The following times and venues apply, though sometimes lectures and tutorials are interchanged: Lecture: Tuesday 08:30-10:30 - Schumann 207B (Jan Sadie Lecture Room) Tutorial: Friday 14:00-16:00 - Schumann 207B (Jan Sadie Lecture Room) Please watch the course website and listen for announcements in class regarding the slots with an (*). (L) denotes a formal lecture for a specic date, while (T) indicates a tutorial. The time taken and order of the topics may be adjusted to suit the schedule, but will be timeously communicated to students in class and/or via the course website.
Lectures (L) Tue 08:30-10:30 Background 08-Feb 15-Feb 22-Feb 01-Mar 08-Mar Ch 12: Limits and Open Sets (L) Ch 13: Functions of Several Variables (L) Ch 14: Calculus of Several Variables (L) Ch 15: Implicit Functions and Derivatives (L) Ch 14 (T) Optimisation 15-Mar 22-Mar 29-Mar 05-Apr Ch 17: Unconstrained Optimisation (L) RECESS Ch 18: Constrained Optimisation I (L) Ch 19: Constrained Optimisation II (L) Integral Calculus 12-Apr 19-Apr 26-Apr Appendix A4 (L) App A4 (T) * Introduction to Dynamic Theory 03-May 10-May 17-May Ch 23: Eigenvalues and Eigenvectors (L) Recursive Methods (L) Linearisation (L) 06-May 13-May 20-May Ch 23 (T) Recursive Methods and Linearisation (T) 15-Apr 22-Apr 29-Apr 18-Mar 25-Mar 01-Apr 08-Apr 11-Feb 18-Feb 25-Feb 04-Mar 11-Mar * Ch 12 (T) Ch 13 (T) Ch 16: Quadratic Forms (L) Ch 15 (T) Mr DP von Fintel Ch 16 (T) RECESS Ch 17 (T) Ch 18 (T) Mr DP von Fintel Ch 19 (T) GOOD FRIDAY * Dr G Liu Ch 23: Eigenvalues and Eigenvectors (L) Fri Tutorials (T) 14:00-16:00 Mr DP von Fintel

*To be announced: please stay up to date with announcements in class or on the course website

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