Economic Sciences 536
Economics of Marketing
Spring 2008: Prof. Inaba,
http://ses.wsu.edu/people/faculty/inaba
Objectives:
This course will survey several topics in applied microeconomic theory by studying articles from mainstream economics journals. Most of the articles belong to the field of Industrial Organization, which includes the Economics of Marketing. The rest of the articles deal with issues commonly associated with Public Economics and Agricultural Economics. An important component of the course is an introduction to Game Theory, which will serve as a foundation for reading the articles in the reading list.
By learning to read articles in applied microeconomic theory, students will develop the following skills:
Learn to grasp the main problem, question, or issue addressed by the article;
Learn to understand the article’s basic, underlying theoretical economic model;
Learn to achieve a basic grasp of the mathematical and logical arguments used in the article;
Learn to recognize the importance of the article’s major assumptions;
Learn to evaluate the article’s main contributions.
Students will sharpen their skills at reading articles by presenting them and leading the discussion of them in class. The presentation assignments are given in the following link: Presentation Schedule.
Prerequisites:
In order to achieve satisfactory completion of the course, students must have a firm foundation in graduate-level microeconomic theory, eg., EconS 526, basic probability theory, and competence in multivariate calculus and mathematical optimization.
Grades: Link to course grades:
Graded material will consist of problem sets, a midterm examination, a final examination and class participation.
Office Hours:
Hulbert Hall 301A: M, W 4:10-5 pm, Tu 2:10-3 pm, F 2:10-3 pm, and by appointment.
inaba@wsu.edu 335-1940
Reasonable accommodations are available for students with documented disabilities. If you have a disability and may need accommodations to fully participate in this class, please visit the Disability Resource Center (DRC), Admin Annex Bldg, Room 205 or call 509-335-3417. All accommodations must be approved through the DRC.
Link to the Final Exam - Take-Home
Links to Problem Sets: