Minimalistic Page for Microeconomics 33001 (Autumn 2007, Bleakley)
Announcements
- [December 12, 2007.] Grades have been submitted to the
registrar, and should be on C-more in the next few days. Scores on
the various assignments and exams are found on chalk. Please let us
know if a score was misrecorded.
- [December 12, 2007.] Results for the final-exam grades are in.
Out of 171 points, the average score was 136.6 (or 79%) with a
standard deviation of 15.3. People tended to do best on question 4 (a
pretty standard utility problem) and do worst on question 2 (a problem
that involved combining different concepts from distinct parts of the
course). Actual mileage may vary.
- [December 12, 2007.] The graded exams are being returned to the
mail folders. Solutions are here.
The exam itself is here.
- [November 25, 2007] There will be an additional review session in
Gleacher 204 from 12:10 to 12:50 on Saturday, December 1st. There
will also be a review session at the normal time (4:10pm). Come with
questions.
- [November 17, 2007] No class Thanksgiving week. In the mean
time, here's something for
you powerpoint enthusiasts out there.
- [November 13, 2007]
Official exam schedules are posted here.
The Friday morning section (33001-01) has its exam on December 7th, 8-11am.
The Friday evening section (33001-81) has its exam on December 7th, 6:30-9:30pm.
The Saturday afternoon section (33001-85) has its exam on December 8th, 1-4pm.
Note the exam times for the Friday sections differ from normal class hours.
- [November 13, 2007] Practice final exams are posted below.
- [November 5, 2007] Problem set 6 will be distributed in November
9th. There is no assignment for the week following November 3rd.
- [November 1, 2007] Supplemental class notes are posted below
under "lectures".
- [October 23, 2007] The average score on the midterm was 77/90,
with a standard deviation of 10.
- [October 10, 2007] Regrading Policy: Students may submit
assignments or exams for re-grading if there is a grievance. The
reason should be submitted in writing to the TA or professor, along
with the original assignment. The TA and Professor will meet to
discuss the matter, and then the TA will regrade the entire assignment
with adjusted standards if necessary. This will go for one round at
most. In other words, there are no re-re-grades, so consider your
justification carefully the first time around.
As a general matter, bear in mind two things:
- because the entire assignment is regraded, your grade might
actually decline.
- except for egregious mistakes, regrades on problem sets rarely
change things by more than 15%. This translates into less than 0.5% of
one's final grade. Efforts (and time with the TA) are generally better
spent understanding why one's answer is at variance with the suggested
one.
- [October 4, 2007] Update on the syllabus/schedule of material:
- Week 3: last bit of week 2, start week 3.
- Week 4:
- finish week 3, discuss week 3 articles.
---- midterm covers up to this point ----
- start week 4 (uncertainty basics)
- Week 5: 1st half(+): midterm ; 2nd half(-): finish uncertainty (discuss week 4 articles).
- Week 6: Cost (week 5 readings), then a bit of week 6.
- Weeks 7-10: Weeks 6-10.
- [October 3, 2007] Two notes for PS2. (a) on part 3b 3/2=1.50.
This is not a typo. (b) see below in "practice problems" for an
solved-out example of a problem with a utility function.
- [September 10, 2007] A review session is scheduled for 4pm
Saturday at Gleacher on the weeks in which class meets. The first
week will consist of a math refresher course.
- [September 10, 2007] A note on which edition of Perloff to buy.
The fourth edition is now out, and I recommend it to students.
However, the content pertinent to the course can be found in the 2nd
and 3rd editions as well, and bargain hunters might want to consider
them as an option. In any case, note that Perloff is
recommended rather than required.
Problem Sets
- PS1, and solutions.
- PS2 and solutions.
- PS3 and solutions. (For the consumer surplus problem, note that the area of a triangle is equal to 1/2 * base * height.)
- PS4 and solutions. (Not to be handed in.)
- No problem set due October 26/27.
- PS5 and Solutions.
- PS6 (Due Nov. 30th/Dec 1st.) For the essay (problem 3), note that oil producers in a particular state are small relative to the world market for oil. Solutions.
- PS7, problems and solutions. (Goes with material in week 10. Not to be handed in.)
Practice Problems/Solutions, Et cetera
Presentations in Lecture
(Note that a GSB log-on is required to access these materials.)
These files are (slightly) condensed versions of the presentations
that I give in lecture. They are not error-checked as thoroughly as
the lecture notes in the reading packet. Moreover, if I spot an error
in class, I merely point out it and do not retrospectively revise
these presentations. For this and other reasons, the presentations
are a complement to rather than a substitute for going to class.
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