Advanced Microeconomics II (2013)
Course number: ECO601E
Instructor: Yosuke YASUDA (yosuke.yasuda@gmail.com) Teaching Assistant: Yoko OISHI (phd11108@grips.ac.jp)
Term / Time / Room: Spring 2nd / Thu 13:20‐14:50 & 15:00‐16:30 / 5F
Course web: https://sites.google.com/site/yosukeyasuda/Home/teaching/micro13_2
1. Course Description
This is an advanced course in microeconomics, succeeding to Advanced Microeconomics I (ECO600E) in which we study individual economic decisions and their aggregate consequences under ideal situations. In this course, we extend our previous analyses to incorporate imperfectly competitive market structures, dynamic market competitions, and incomplete information. To this end, we study game theory, a collection of mathematical tools for analyzing strategically interdependent situations.
2. Course Outline
1. Monopoly 2. Externalities 3. Public Goods 4. Static Games 5. Oligopoly 6. Dynamic Games 7. Repeated games
8. Incomplete information Games 9. Auction Theory
10. Dynamic Games with Incomplete Information 11. Adverse Selection
12. Moral Hazard 13. Social Choice
14. Bargaining and Cooperative Games 15. Final exam: in class 150 minutes
3. Course Grade
Course grade will be determined by combining grades on three homework assignments (50%) and a final exam (50%). Each problem set will be distributed in class. You are encouraged to form study groups, but must write up solutions independently.
4. Textbooks
Advanced Microeconomics II does not use specific textbooks. Instead, I provide my own lecture notes, which is downloaded from my course website.
https://sites.google.com/site/yosukeyasuda/Home/teaching/micro13_2
There are three textbooks that you may find useful to complement my lecture notes. You are encouraged to purchase the first one ([G]); its level and coverage are most appropriate for this course.
[G] Robert Gibbons, Game Theory for Applied Economics, 1992
[NS] Walter Nicholson and Christopher Snyder, Microeconomic Theory: basic principles and extensions, 11th, 2011
[JR] Geoffrey Jehle and Philip Reny, Advanced Microeconomic Theory, 3rd, 2011 The copies of related chapters will be distributed in class.
For introduction to game theory, the following books are recommended:
Avinash Dixit, Susan Skeath, and David Reiley, Games of Strategy, 3rd, 2009 Joel Watson, Strategy, 3rd, 2013
Detailed textbooks at roughly the same level as Gibbons are:
Martin Osborne, An Introduction to Game Theory, 2004 Steven Tadelis, Game Theory: An Introduction, 2012
Those of you interested in pursuing game theory further may consult the advanced and authoritative sources such as:
Drew Fudenberg and Jean Tirole, Game Theory, 1991 Roger Myerson, Game Theory, 1991
Martin Osborne and Ariel Rubinstein, A Course in Game Theory, 1994
(You can download it for free: http://theory.economics.utoronto.ca/books/)
A useful and concise textbook for theoretical analyses on oligopoly markets is:
Luis Cabral, Introduction to Industrial Organization, 2000
On contract theory, the following concise textbook is useful:
Bernard Salanie, The Economics of Contract, 2nd, 2005