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Recommended Course Outline for Microeconomic Theory

This recommended course outline is an ordered list of topics and lecture videos that I follow in my microeconomic theory courses. Watching lecture videos in my channel with a proper order is key for effective learning because the concepts in each video is built over the ones that I introduce in previous videos. Depending on your interest and objective, you may prefer to skip some of the videos. But be mindful of the order of watch.

 

To make navigation of my channel more user-friendly I’ve tagged each video in this list by“Intermediate” or “Advanced.” Most of the videos require some background in microeconomics (e.g., introduction to microeconomics). If you want in depth understanding of the concepts of Microeconomic theory or a second-year college student, then you should watch videos that are tagged “Intermediate.” If you want some extra challenge, a fourth-year college student, or a Master student, then you can watch all the videos on this list, including the ones that are tagged “Advanced.”

 

If you are a PhD level student, then the videos on this list would be perfect resources for refreshing your knowledge or catching up with the rest of the class. 

Course Description and Objective

The purpose of this course is to introduce students to important topics in modern microeconomic theory, at an advanced and rigorous level. These topics include consumer behavior, the theory of the firm, static and dynamic models of perfect and imperfect competition, general equilibrium, social welfare, expected utility and risk aversion. 

Suggested Textbooks

Lecture Notes in Microeconomic Theory, The Economic Agent, Ariel Rubinstein

Microeconomic Theory: Basic Principles and Extensions, Nicholson, Walter, and Christopher M. Snyder.

Advanced Microeconomic Theory, Geoffrey A. Jehle and Philip J. Reny (JR)

Course Outline

 

TOPIC 1: MATHEMATICS AND LOGIC REVIEWS (Intermediate-Advanced)

 

  • BASIC CONCEPTS IN MATHEMATICS (Intermediate)

       1. Part 1 (Intermediate)

       2. Part 2 (Intermediate)

       3. Part 3 (Intermediate)

  • PROPOSITIONAL LOGIC (Intermediate-Advanced)

       1. Section 1 (Intermediate)

       2. Section 2 (Intermediate)

       3. Section 2 - Example 2 (Intermediate)

       4. Section 2 - Example 3 (Intermediate)

       5. Section 2 - Example 4 (Intermediate)

       6. Section 2 - Example 5 (Intermediate)

       7. Section 3 (Intermediate)

       8. Section 3 - Example 2 (Intermediate)

       9. Section 3 - Example 3 (Intermediate)

       10. Section 4 (Intermediate)

       11. Section 4 - Example 2 (Intermediate)

       12. Section 5 (Intermediate)

       13. Section 5 - Example 2 (Intermediate)

       14. Section 5 Theorems (Intermediate)

       15. Section 5 Theorems - Example 2 (Intermediate)

       16. Section 6 (Intermediate)

       17. Section 6 - Example 2 (Intermediate)

       18. Section 7 (Intermediate)

       19. Section 7 - Example 2 (Intermediate)

       20. Section 7 - Example 3 (Intermediate)

       21. Section 7 - Example 4 (Intermediate)

       22. Section 8 (Intermediate)

       23. Section 8 - Example 2 (Intermediate)

       24. Section 8 - Example 3 (Intermediate)

       25. Review Questions - Part 1 (Intermediate)

       26. Review Questions - Part 2 (Advanced)

       27. Review Questions - Part 3 (Advanced)

       28. Review Questions - Part 4 (Advanced)

       29. Review Questions - Part 5 (Advanced)

       30. Review Questions - Part 6 (Advanced)

       31. Review Questions - Part 7 (Advanced)

     

  • OPTIMIZATION (Intermediate)

       1. Part 1 (Intermediate)

       2. Part 2 (Intermediate)

       3. Part 3 (Intermediate)

 

  • PROBABILITY (Intermediate)

       1. Probability (Intermediate)

 

  • TOPOLOGY (Intermediate-Advanced)

        1. Part 1 (Intermediate-Advanced)

        2. Part 2 (Intermediate-Advanced)

        3. Part 3 (Intermediate-Advanced)

        4. Part 4 (Intermediate-Advanced)

TOPIC 2: CHOICE AND PREFERENCES (Intermediate - Advanced)

       1. Economics as a Study of Incentives and Choice (Intermediate)

       2. Introduction to Choice and Preferences (Intermediate)  

       3. Preferences (Intermediate - Advanced) 

       4. Utility Representation (Intermediate - Advanced) 

       5. Choice behaviour, Choice Functions, and Condition Alpha (Advanced) 

       6. "AS IF" approach & "Rational" Behavior (Intermediate) 

       7. What is Alternative? (Intermediate)

       8. Lexicographic Preferences: Reflexive and Complete Relation (Advanced) 

       9. Lexicographic Preferences: Transitive Binary Relation (Advanced) 

       10. Continuity of Preferences: Lexicographic Preferences (Advanced) 

       11. How to Prove or Disprove a Binary Relation is a Preference Relation: Example 1 (Advanced)  

       12. How to Prove or Disprove a Binary Relation is a Preference Relation: Example 1 continued (Advanced) 

       13. How to Prove or Disprove a Binary Relation is a Preference Relation: Example 2 (Advanced)

       14. How to Prove if a Preference Relation can be Represented by a Utility Function? (Advanced) 

       15. How to Prove if a Choice Behavior is Consistent with Condition Alpha? (Advanced) 

TOPIC 3: UTILITY FUNCTIONS (Intermediate - Advanced)

       1. Indifference Curves (Intermediate)

       2. Marginal Utility (Intermediate) 

       3. Marginal Rate of Substitution (MRS) and Convexity of Preferences (Intermediate)

       4. How to Draw Indifference Curves and Calculate Marginal Rate of Substitution: Examples (Intermediate) 

       5. How to Draw Indifference Curves of a Preference Relation: Example 1 (Advanced) 

       6. How to Draw Indifference Curves of a Preference Relation: Example 2 (Advanced) 

       7. How to Draw Indifference Curves of Min Function, U=min{ax+by,cx+dy} (Intermediate - Advanced) 

       8. How to Draw Indifference Curves of a Max Funtion, U=max{ax+by,cx+dy} (Intermediate - Advanced) 

TOPIC 6: UNCERTAINTY (Intermediate - Advanced)

       1. Introduction to Uncertainty and Risk (Intermediate)

       2. Risk Preferences (Intermediate)

       3. Expected Utility Theory (Advanced) 

       4. A very Short Review of Expected Utility Theory (Intermediate) 

       5. Expected Utility Theory at Work: A Numerical Example (Intermediate)

       6. Expected Utility Theory at Work: Risky Investment Problem 1 (Intermediate)  

       7. Expected Utility Theory at Work: Risky Investment Problem 2 (Intermediate) 

       8. Expected Utility Theory at Work: Risky Investment Problem 3 (Intermediate) 

       9. First Order Stochastic Dominance: Definition (Advanced)

       10. First Order Stochastic Dominance: Theorem (Advanced)   

       11. Risk Aversion and Concavity (Advanced) 

       12. Certainty Equivalence and Risk Premium (Advanced)

       13. Risk-Aversion, Risk-Loving and Certainty Equivalence: An Example (Advanced)

TOPIC 7: PRODUCTION (Intermediate - Advanced)

       1. Introduction to Producer Theory (Intermediate) 

       2. Production Functions (Intermediate) 

       3. Production Functions: Returns to Scale (Intermediate)     

       4. Cost Functions (Intermediate)    

       5. Cost Minimization Problem (Intermediate)  

       6. Cost Minimization Problem: Numerical Examples (Intermediate) 

       7. Total Cost, Average Cost vs Marginal Cost (Intermediate)  

       8. Profit Maximization (Intermediate)    

       9. Producer Theory at Work: A Numerical Example 1 (Intermediate)     

       10. Producer Theory Under Risk: A Numerical Example (Intermediate - Advanced)   

       11. Producer Theory at Work: A Numerical Example 2 (Intermediate)   

       12. Leontief Technology: Optimal Inputs, Cost, Output and Profit: An Example (Intermediate - Advanced)  

TOPIC 8: PARTIAL EQUILIBRIUM (Intermediate)

       1. Perfectly Competitive Markets and Partial Equilibrium Analysis: Introduction (Intermediate) 

       2. Market Demand or Aggregate Demand (Intermediate)     

       3. Demand Elasticity (Intermediate)     

       4. Perfectly Competitive Markets (Intermediate)     

       5. Short Term Market Supply (Intermediate)     

       6. Perfectly Competitive Equilibrium Price (Intermediate)     

       7. Long-Run Equilibrium of Perfectly Competitive Markets and Zero Economic Profit (Intermediate)    

       8. Long-Run Supply Curves (Intermediate)     

       9. Welfare Analysis: Consumer and Producer Surpluses and Deadweight Loss (Intermediate)    

       10. Partial Equilibrium Analysis at Play: A Numerical Example 1 (Intermediate)     

       11. Partial Equilibrium Analysis at Play: A Numerical Example 2 (Elasticity and Tax) (Intermediate)     

       12. Welfare Analysis Under Consumption Tax (Intermediate)     

       13. Welfare Analysis in Labor Market: The Case of Minimum Wage (Intermediate) 

       14. Welfare Implications of Subsidy in Perfectly Competitive Market: An Example (Intermediate) 

       15. Solving for Long-Run Competitive Market Price and Quantity: An Example (Intermediate) 

TOPIC 9: GENERAL EQUILIBRIUM (Intermediate - Advanced)

       1. General Equilibrium: Introduction to Pure Exchange Economy (Intermediate - Advanced) 

       2. Edgeworth Box and Feasible Allocations (Intermediate - Advanced)   

       3. Trade in Pure Exchange Economy: Some Intuition (Intermediate -  Advanced)   

       4. Pareto Efficiency (Optimality) (Intermediate - Advanced)   

       5. How to Find Pareto Efficient Allocations and Contract Curve (Intermediate - Advanced)

       6. How to Find Pareto Efficient Allocations and Contract Curve: Numerical Examples (Intermediate - Advanced)   

       7. How to Find Core Allocations? (Intermediate - Advanced) 

       8. How to Calculate Equilibrium Prices in a Pure Exchange Economy? (Advanced)  

       9. General Equilibrium with Production: How to Calculate Equilibrium Prices? (Advanced)

      10. Solving Walrasian Equilibrium Allocation and prices in Exchange Economy With No Production (Advanced)

      11. Solving Walrasian Equilibrium Allocation and Prices in Exchange Economy With Production (Advanced)

      12. First and Second Fundamental Theorem of Welfare Economics and Existence of Walrasian Equilibrium (Advanced)

TOPIC 10: IMPERFECT COMPETITION (Advanced)

       1. Introduction to Game Theory - Part 1 

       2. Introduction to Game Theory - Part 2 

       3. Introduction to Game Theory - Part 3 

       4. Strategy in Games 

       5. Normal (Strategic) Form Representation of Games - Part 1 

       6. Review Examples for Normal Form Representation - Example 1 

       7. General Assumptions and Methodology   

       8. Best Response 

       9. Nash Equilibrium: Formal Definition and Intuition 

       10. Finding Pure Strategy Nash Equilibrium in Finite Simultaneous-Move Games 

       11. Finding Pure Strategy Nash Equilibrium in Cournot Duopoly Game 

       12. Finding Pure Strategy Nash Equilibrium in Bertrand Duopoly Game      

       13. The Basics of Extensive Form Games 

       14. Extensive Form Games: The case of Ultimatum Offer Bargaining Game 

       15. Nash Equilibrium in Extensive Games: The Case of Entry-Deterrence Game 

       16. Sequential Rationality and Backward Induction 

       17. Backward Induction, Subgame Perfect Nash Equilibrium & Nash Equilibrium

       18. Extensive Games with infinitely Many Strategies: Stackelberg Duopoly 

       19. A Review Example for an Extensive Game With Infinitely Many Strategies 

       20. Subgame Perfection for Extensive Form Games With Imperfect Information 

       21. Subgame Perfection for Extensive Form Games With Imperfect Information 

       22. An Application: Advertising and Competition 

       23. An Application: Cournot Competition Under Capacity Constraints 

       24. An Application: Dynamic Monopoly and Price Discrimination 

 

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