ECON 387—Applications of Mathematics to Economics II (Winter 2016)
Instructor: Dmytro Hryshko Teaching Assistant: April Seburn Meeting Room: TB-108
Class Hours: MWF 11:00–11:50 AM My Office: HM Tory Building, 9-19
Office Hours: Friday 2–3 PM, or by appointment e-mail: [email protected]
TA’s e-mail: [email protected]
web-page: http://www.artsrn.ualberta.ca/econweb/hryshko/
Course Description: The purpose of this course is to make a rigorous introduction to mathematical techniques and concepts that are essential for the study of theoretical economics and econometrics.
Highly recommended Text: Alpha Chiang and Kevin Wainwright “Fundamental Methods of Mathematical Economics.” McGraw-Hill Irwin, Fourth Edition (CW). This book should be available at the university bookstore.
Prerequisites: ECON 386. The requirements are strictly enforced, and the department may cancel your registration if you do not meet the prerequisite.
Material Covered: The course content is on the last page of the outline. Any material I cover in class, inclusive of the material beyond the textbook, may appear on your exams.
Grading: Evaluation will be based on your performance on two in-class midterm exams, each worth 23%, the final exam worth 48%, and 3 problem sets each worth 2%. I will assign problem sets as we proceed through the material but I will allow at least 10 days for you to complete a problem set since the moment of its distribution. The final exam will be cumulative, although more weight will be given to the material covered from the date of the previous exam. Tentativedates for the midterm exams are listed on the last page of the outline. Your final grade will be calculated as follows: 0.23·M1+ 0.23·M2+
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0.48·F +P3
i=10.02·PSi, where F is the final grade (percent out of 100), M1, M2—same for each respective midterm, and PSi—same for each respective problem set. Each numerical grade will be converted into a letter grade, ranging from F to A+. Your final grade depends on yourabsolute performance (i.e., on your raw grade calculated in accordance with the formula above), and on your relative performance (i.e., your standing in the class distribution of grades).
Theminimumletter grade (your absolute performance) will be determined according to the table below:
Numerical Grade Letter Grade
90-100 A+
85-89 A
80-84 A–
75-79 B+
70-74 B
65-69 B–
60-64 C+
55-59 C
50-54 C–
45-49 D+
40-44 D
0-39 F
Notes:
1. You will not have make-up exams, or extra credit essays. Please plan your work on the course appropriately and put your effort into reading the text and solving the problems assigned.
2. I encourage you to actively participate in class asking questions and taking course notes—this should help you learn the material better.
3. Class attendance can prove to be important since my exams will emphasize the material covered in class. Class attendance will not count towards your grade.
4. I will provide you with sample midterm and final exams.
5. In case you miss the midterm, its weight will be transferred to the final exam.
6. Audio or video recording of lectures, labs, seminars or any other teaching envi- ronment by students is allowed only with the prior written consent of the
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instructor or as a part of an approved accommodation plan. Recorded material is to be used solely for personal study, and is not to be used or distributed for any other purpose without prior written consent from the instructor.
7. As per request of the University administration, please be aware of the following statement: “Policy about course outlines can be found in§23.4(2) of the University Calendar.” (GFC 29 SEP 2003).
8. As per request of the University administration, please familiarize yourself with the following statement: “The University of Alberta is committed to the high- est standards of academic integrity and honesty. Students are expected to be fa- miliar with these standards regarding academic honesty and to uphold the poli- cies of the University in this respect. Students are particularly urged to famil- iarize themselves with the provisions of the Code of Student Behaviour (online at www.ualberta.ca/secretariat/appeals.htm) and avoid any behaviour which could potentially result in suspicions of cheating, plagiarism, misrepresentation of facts and/or participation in an offence. Academic dishonesty is a serious offence and can result in suspension or expulsion from the University.” (GFC 29 SEP 2003)
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Course Content
Constrained Optimization (CW, Chapter 12)
Concave Programming and the Kuhn-Tucker Conditions (CW, Chapter 13) Integration (CW, Chapter 14)
Differential Equations (CW, Chapter 15–16) Difference Equations (CW, Chapters 17–18)
Systems of Differential and Difference Equations (time permitting) (CW, Chapter 19) Optimal Control Theory and Dynamic Programming (time permitting) (CW, Chapter 20) Midterm Exam 1—Friday, February 12 (tentative), in class
Midterm Exam 2—Friday, March 11 (tentative), in class Final Exam—Tuesday, April 19 at 9:00 AM
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