ECO301 - Advanced Microeconomics (2023-2024)

Prerequisite: ECO201

In Advanced Microeconomics (ECO 301), we build on the ECO 201 course to go beyond the competitive equilibrium setting and elicit new causes of market failures. We aim to study how the pre-sence of incomplete and asymmetric information  affects the standard analysis of microeconomic theory. The starting point is that the presence of asymmetric information leads to market failures and open the question of how to regulate and appropriately design markets to solve or reduce these failures. We will present the basics of two important theories and methods which have been the core of the modern microeconomic analysis since 1970: the signaling games and the mechanism design. The students will learn the tools to analyze markets and interactions in the presence of incomplete and asymmetric information. They will learn how to develop policy tools and how to design markets to mitigate the issues induced by the information structure.

Advanced Microeconomics (ECO 301)

In Advanced Microeconomics (ECO 301), we study advanced topics in undergraduate-level microeconomics. With the highest rigor required at the undergraduate level, we aim to study how analytical tools of modern economics are used in the topics in microeconomics, such as game theory, industrial organization, information economics, contracts, public economics, market design, etc. Students are expected to obtain theoretical understanding beyond the competitive equilibrium, especially with presence of asymmetric information, strategic interactions, as well as applications to market design, and/or mechanism design in general.

The mathematical treatments are rigorous but not as much as at the graduate level. This course will be thus most useful as a preparation for formal graduate studies in Economics.

Textbooks:

·         Osborne, M., “An Introduction to Game Theory” Oxford University Press, 2004

·         Jehle G.A. and Reny P.J., “Advanced Microeconomic Theory” (3^rd Edition) Pearson, 2011

·         Hindriks J. and Myles G.D., “Intermediate Public Economics” MIT Press, 2006