There are two core papers each semester as follows:
- Semester I
- Introductory Microeconomics
- Mathematical Methods for Economics - I
- Semester II
- Introductory Macroeconomics
- Mathematical Methods for Economics - II
Introductory Microeconomics
Description:
This paper is designed to expose the students to the basic principles of microeconomic theory. The emphasis will be on thinking like an economist and the course will illustrate how microeconomic concepts can be applied to analyse real-life situations.
Outline:
Readings:
This paper is designed to expose the students to the basic principles of microeconomic theory. The emphasis will be on thinking like an economist and the course will illustrate how microeconomic concepts can be applied to analyse real-life situations.
Outline:
- Exploring the subject matter of Economics: Why study economics? Scope and method of economics; the economic problem: scarcity and choice; the question of what to produce, how to produce and how to distribute output; science of economics; the basic competitive model; prices, property rights and profits; incentives and information; rationing; opportunity sets; economic systems; reading and working with graphs.
- Supply and Demand: How Markets Work, Markets and Welfare: Markets and competition; determinants of individual demand/supply; demand/supply schedule and demand/supply curve; market versus individual demand/supply; shifts in the demand/supply curve, demand and supply together; how prices allocate resources; elasticity and its application; controls on prices; taxes and the costs of taxation; consumer surplus; producer surplus and the efficiency of the markets.
- The Households: The consumption decision - budget constraint, consumption and income/price changes,
demand for all other goods and price changes; description of preferences (representing preferences with indifference curves); properties of indifference curves; consumer‘s optimum choice; income and substitution effects; labour supply and savings decision - choice between leisure and consumption. - The Firm and Perfect Market Structure: Behaviour of profit maximizing firms and the production process; short run costs and
output decisions; costs and output in the long run. - Imperfect Market Structure: Monopoly and anti-trust policy; government policies towards competition; imperfect
competition. - Input Markets: Labour and land markets - basic concepts (derived demand, productivity of an input,
marginal productivity of labour, marginal revenue product); demand for labour; input demand curves; shifts in input demand curves; competitive labour markets; and labour markets and public policy.
Readings:
- Karl E. Case and Ray C. Fair, Principles of Economics, Pearson Education Inc., 8th
Edition, 2007 - N. Gregory Mankiw, Economics: Principles and Applications, India edition by South Western, a part of Cengage Learning, Cengage Learning India Private Limited, 4th edition, 2007
- Joseph E. Stiglitz and Carl E. Walsh, Economics, W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., New York, International Student Edition, 4th Edition, 2007
Mathematical Methods for Economics - I
Description:
This is the first of a compulsory two-course sequence. The objective of this sequence is to transmit the body of basic mathematics that enables the study of economic theory at the undergraduate level, specifically the courses on microeconomic theory, macroeconomic theory, statistics and econometrics set out in this syllabus.
In this course, particular economic models are not the ends, but the means for illustrating the method of applying mathematical techniques to economic theory in general. The level of sophistication at which the material is to be taught is indicated by the contents of the prescribed textbook.
Outline:
Readings:
This is the first of a compulsory two-course sequence. The objective of this sequence is to transmit the body of basic mathematics that enables the study of economic theory at the undergraduate level, specifically the courses on microeconomic theory, macroeconomic theory, statistics and econometrics set out in this syllabus.
In this course, particular economic models are not the ends, but the means for illustrating the method of applying mathematical techniques to economic theory in general. The level of sophistication at which the material is to be taught is indicated by the contents of the prescribed textbook.
Outline:
- Preliminaries: Logic and proof techniques; sets and set operations; relations; functions and their
properties; number systems. - Functions of one real variable: Graphs; elementary types of functions: quadratic, polynomial, power, exponential,
logarithmic; sequences and series: convergence, algebraic properties and applications; continuous functions: characterisations, properties with respect to various operations and applications; differentiable functions: characterisations, properties with respect to various operations and applications; second and higher order derivatives: properties and applications. - Single-variable optimisation: Geometric properties of functions: convex functions, their characterizations and
applications; local and global optima: geometric characterisations, characterisations using calculus and applications. - Integration of functions
- Difference equations
Readings:
- K Sydsaeter and P Hammond, Mathematics for Economic Analysis, Pearson Educational Asia: Delhi, 2002
Introductory Macroeconomics
Description:
This course aims to introduce the students to the basic concepts of macroeconomics. Macroeconomics deals with the aggregate economy. This course discusses the preliminary concepts associated with the determination and measurement of aggregate macroeconomic variable like savings, investment, GDP, money, inflation and balance of payments.
Outline:
Readings:
This course aims to introduce the students to the basic concepts of macroeconomics. Macroeconomics deals with the aggregate economy. This course discusses the preliminary concepts associated with the determination and measurement of aggregate macroeconomic variable like savings, investment, GDP, money, inflation and balance of payments.
Outline:
- Introduction to Macroeconomics and National Income Accounting: Basic issues studied in macroeconomics; measurement of gross domestic product; income, expenditure and the circular flow; real versus nominal GDP; price indices; national income accounting for an open economy; balance of payments: current and capital accounts.
- Money: Functions of money; quantity theory of money; determination of money supply and demand; credit creation; tools of monetary policy.
- Inflation: Inflation and its social costs; hyperinflation.
- Closed Economy in the Short Run: Classical and Keynesian systems; simple Keynesian model of income determination; IS-
LM model; fiscal and monetary multipliers.
Readings:
- Dornbusch, Fischer and Startz, Macroeconomics, McGraw Hill, 11th edition, 2010
- N. Gregory Mankiw, Macroeconomics, Worth Publishers, 7th edition, 2010
- Olivier Blanchard, Macroeconomics, Pearson Education, Inc., 5th edition, 2009
- Richard T Froyen, Macroeconomics, Pearson Education Asia, 2nd edition, 2005
- Andrew B Abel and Ben S Bernanke, Macroeconomics, Pearson Education, Inc.,
7th edition, 2011 - Errol D'Souza, Macroeconomics, Pearson Education, 2009
- Paul R Krugman, Maurice Obstfeld and Marc Melitz, International Economics, Pearson Education Asia, 9th edition, 2012
Mathematical Methods for Economics - II
Description:
This course is the second part of a compulsory two-course sequence. The objective of this sequence is to transmit the body of basic mathematics that enables the study of economic theory at the undergraduate level, specifically the courses on microeconomic theory, macroeconomic theory, statistics and econometrics set out in this syllabus.
In this course, particular economic models are not the ends, but the means for illustrating the method of applying mathematical techniques to economic theory in general. The level of sophistication at which the material is to be taught is indicated by the contents of the prescribed textbook.
Outline:
Readings:
This course is the second part of a compulsory two-course sequence. The objective of this sequence is to transmit the body of basic mathematics that enables the study of economic theory at the undergraduate level, specifically the courses on microeconomic theory, macroeconomic theory, statistics and econometrics set out in this syllabus.
In this course, particular economic models are not the ends, but the means for illustrating the method of applying mathematical techniques to economic theory in general. The level of sophistication at which the material is to be taught is indicated by the contents of the prescribed textbook.
Outline:
- Differential equations
- Linear algebra: Vector spaces: algebraic and geometric properties, scalar products, norms, orthogonality; linear transformations: properties, matrix representations and elementary operations; systems of linear equations: properties of their solution sets; determinants: characterisation, properties and applications.
- Functions of several real variables: Geometric representations: graphs and level curves; differentiable functions:
characterisations, properties with respect to various operations and applications; second order derivatives: properties and applications; the implicit function theorem, and application to comparative statics problems; homogeneous and homothetic functions: characterisations and applications. - Multi-variable optimization: Convex sets; geometric properties of functions: convex functions, their characterisations,
properties and applications; further geometric properties of functions: quasi-convex functions, their characterisations, properties and applications; unconstrained optimisation: geometric characterisations, characterisations using calculus and applications; constrained optimisation with equality constraints: geometric characterisations, Lagrange characterisation using calculus and applications; properties of value function: envelope theorem and applications.
Readings:
- K Sydsaeter and P Hammond, Mathematics for Economic Analysis, Pearson Educational Asia: Delhi, 2002