ECON504

Course Description

The course is structured into two parts, mathematical economics and computational economics. The first is an introduction to mathematical tools and methods that can be applied to formulate economic models, and the second is an introduction to the basic numerical techniques that are mostly used to solve numerical problems in economics. We will apply these tools and methods to typical economic problems.

The objective of this course is to develop mathematical and computational modeling skills that will increase your capacity for performing quantitative research in economics. This knowledge should enable you to use mathematical and numerical methods for your own research projects. It may also make your other economics courses easier.

Textbooks

Required Textbooks

Sydsæter, Hammond, Seierstad and Strøm (2008), Further Mathematics for Economic Analysis, 2nd Edition, Prentice Hall.

Miranda and Fackler (2002), Applied Computational Economics and Finance, MIT Press.

Recommended Textbooks

Hoy, Livernois, McKenna, Rees, Stengos (2011), Mathematics for Economics, 3rd Edition, MIT Press.

Simon and Blume (1994), Mathematics for Economists, Norton.

Silberberg and Suen (2000), The Structure of Economics: A Mathematical Analysis, 3rd Edition, McGraw-Hill.

Judd (1998), Numerical Methods in Economics, MIT Press.