Advanced Mathematical Economics

Main course materials

Please regularly check that you have the latest version the lecture notes, which were last updated at 12:00AM, Monday 16 of December. You can see what changed using Adobe Acrobat Pro on the uCreate computers in the library. Choose Tools -> Compare Documents, and select the PDFs containing the old and new versions of the notes.

You can read the Assessment Guide and Practice Questions and Sample Solutions.

You can ask questions and get involved in discussions on the course's Piazza page.

You can browse last year's course materials.

News

Please check here regularly for updates. You might need to reload the page (Control-R or F5).

• February 18: Please sign up for an exam feedback session. Details are on Piazza.
• January 22: sample solutions are now available for the December exam.
• Week 10:
  • Watch Compactness introduction (C9). You can read the whiteboard.
  • Watch Bolzano-Weierstrass theorem (C9). You can read the whiteboard.
  • Watch 2019/20 week 10 lecture from 0:31:05 to 0:43:05 about the Extreme Value Theorem (C9), and from 1:10:15 to 1:30:30 about extreme punishments (C11). You can read the whiteboard.
  • The project due dates are now confirmed; see below.
  • Please fill in the course survey on Learn (under Have Your Say).
  • Homework: part A of practice question 20, C.50, C.54, C.59, C.62, C.66 (skip home production).
  • Watch the AME week 10 Q&A session if you missed it.
• Week 9:
  • Watch Infinite horizon dynamic programming (4.3). You can read the whiteboard.
  • Errata:
    • I wrote N_r(x) instead of B_r(x) when referring to an open ball of radius r. This is also common notation (N stands for "Neighbourhood").
  • Homework: 4.4, 4.5, 4.6, C.54, Practice Question 37 B(vii) and A(i).
  • Watch the AME week 9 Q&A session if you missed it.
• Week 8:
  • Watch Complete spaces (C.7). You can read the whiteboard.
  • Watch Banach's fixed point theorem (C.8). You can read the whiteboard.
  • Errata:
    • In the complete spaces lecture, in the proof of continuity, M and N should be the same letter.
  • Homework: C.43, C.44, C.46, C.48, C.56, Practice question 6 parts (i), (iii), (iv).
  • Watch the AME week 8 Q&A session if you missed it. You can read the whiteboard.
• Week 7:
  • Watch Connected sets (C10). You can read the whiteboard.
  • Watch Micro 1 Week 3 PM (2018) from 34:00 until the break about time preference (4.1), and from 1:17:00 to 1:40:00 about finite horizon dynamic programming (4.2). You can read the whiteboard. The first segment (about 4.1) is not examinable, but it will give you a bit of background to why section 4.2 is important. You can skip it if you like.
  • Homework: C.79, C.80, C.82, 4.2, Practice Question 5 part (i).
  • Watch the AME week 7 Q&A session if you missed it. You can read the whiteboard.
• Week 6:
  • Watch Model formulation. You can read the whiteboard.
  • Watch Continuity and open sets (C6). You can read the whiteboard.
  • Watch Cauchy sequences (C7). You can read the whiteboard.
  • Please come to the Q&A session at 4:10pm on Tuesday, which will be recorded. To join, please go into Learn and click on Online Sessions on the left panel.
  • Watch the AME week 6 Q&A session if you missed it. You can read the whiteboard.
  • Please fill out the mid-semester survey. It is very important for improving the quality of the course. To complete the survey, please go into Learn, click on Have Your Say, and click on the mid-semester survey.
  • Errata
    • The proof of Theorem C.12 (that Cauchy sequences are bounded) in the lecture has a minor mistake. The radius needs an extra + 1, because open balls don't include their boundaries.
  • Homework: practice question 4(i)-(v), C.24, C.32, C.36, C.41.
• Week 5:
  • Watch Dynamic programming (2.4). You can read the whiteboard.
  • Watch Continuity (C6). You can read the whiteboard.
  • Homework: Practice question 2 parts (i) and (ii), C.23, C.30, C.38, C.39.
  • Watch the AME week 5 Q&A session if you missed it. You can read the whiteboard.
  • Please fill out the mid-semester survey. It is very important for improving the quality of the course. To complete the survey, please go into Learn, click on Have Your Say, and click on the mid-semester survey.
• Week 4:
  • Watch Getting Started - Weeks 3-4 (optional). Note: this is helpful for the week 3 homework.
  • Watch Comparative statics (finishing 2.3). You can read the whiteboard.
  • Watch Closed sets (C4). You can read the whiteboard.
  • Watch Open sets (C5). You can read the whiteboard.
  • Homework: 2.11, C.17, C.19, C.21, C.25, C.27.
  • Watch the AME week 4 Q&A session if you missed it. You can read the whiteboard.
  • I added a PhD discount code to the Learn Announcements page. I will add more as they come.
  • Help wanted: This course teaches you about some ideas discovered by some very clever people. Some of these people had to overcome both official and unofficial discrimination. For example, you will soon see that David Blackwell, an African American, was central in developing infinite horizon dynamic programming. If you are interested in helping tell his story to the class, please let me know.
• Week 3:
  • Watch The firm's problem (2.2). Note: this lecture includes lots of non-examinable material about the chain rule and the implicit function theorem. You can read the whiteboard.
  • Watch The envelope theorem (2.3). You can read the whiteboard.
  • Watch Boundaries (C3). You can read the whiteboard.
  • Errata:
    • In the last step of the chain rule proof of the envelope theorem (minute 26), the partial derivative should be with respect to a, not b.
    • In the lazy decision maker proof of the envelope theorem, I sometimes confused Rupert Murdoch's sons, Lachlan and James. Only James is relevant to the proof.
    • In the Convergence (C2) video, I wrote k instead of k² when proving that in the function convergence example.
  • Please come to the Q&A session at 4:10pm on Tuesday, which will be recorded. To join, please go into Learn and click on Online Sessions on the left panel.
  • Please submit your homework on Learn by clicking on Assessment and then Weekly Homework.
  • Homework: C7, C10, C11, 2.6, 2.7, 2.9.
  • Watch the AME week 3 Q&A session if you missed it. You can read the whiteboard.
  • The online tutorial this week will be on Friday, 2:10pm-4pm. You can access it on Learn under Online Sessions (right next to where you join lectures).
• Week 2:
  • Watch Convergence (C2). You can read the whiteboard.
  • Watch Production functions 1 (2.1). You can read the whiteboard.
  • Watch Concave production functions (D and 2.1). You can read the whiteboard.
  • Watch Getting started - Week 2 (optional).
  • Tutorials begin this week. Tutorials are compulsory (except they are optional for mathmicro1 students). Please read the Tutorial Guide. If you are planning to come to the online tutorial, then please email me as soon as possible. We need to find a time that suits everyone.
  • Homework: read Appendices E1 and E6, and do questions E1 and C5.
  • Watch the AME week 2 Q&A session. You can read the whiteboard.
  • The online tutorial this week will be on Friday, 2pm-4pm. You can access it on Learn under Online Sessions (right next to where you join lectures). We will revisit the scheduling for next week.
• Week 1:
  • Watch Naive Set Theory (B1, B2, B3). You can read the whiteboard.
  • Watch Naive Set Theory (B4, B5, B6). You can read the whiteboard.
  • Watch Metric Spaces (C1). You can read the whiteboard.
  • Watch Getting started - introduction (optional).
  • Watch Getting started - week one (optional).
  • Please come to the Q&A session at 4:10pm on Tuesday, which will be recorded. To join, please go into Learn and click on Online Sessions on the left panel.
  • Watch the AME week 1 Q&A session. You can read the whiteboard.
  • I recommend you watch the logic videos from the preparation guide.
  • Homework (optional): Questions B1-14, C1, C2.
  • There is no tutorial this week, but please check back regularly for details.
  • Please sign up for Piazza.

Overview

This course teaches some of the important mathematical tools used by economists. More importantly, the course's intensive structure with tutorials every week is designed to train students how to think like mathematicians. Specifically, how to use mathematical notation to write clearly, how to write proofs, how to find counter-examples to conjectures, how to transform complicated problems into simple and elegant problems, and how to think abstractly.

The course is available both to University of Edinburgh students (undergraduate, masters, PhD) and to Continuing Professional Development (Mathematical Economics) students who are not enrolled on any degree.

This course is primarily targeted at students who would like to prepare for post-graduate study in economics. Mathematics is essential for advanced study of economics, and many top MSc and PhD programmes require university-level training in mathematics for admission. In the past, students have also taken this course to prepare for study in other areas including mathematics, cognitive science, computer science, data science, and finance. On the other hand, admissions committees for MBAs and professionally-oriented finance degrees are unlikely to put a high value on this course.

I recommend that students follow the preparation guide which involves watching videos to refresh their high-school mathematics knowledge and learn a bit about logic; this is also a good opportunity to take the GRE test. The course draws on economics examples, so Economics 2 (or equivalent) is also required. Students who have already taken the three first-year undergraduate courses in mathematics (Introduction to Linear Algebra, Calculus and Its Applications, and Proofs and Problem Solving) are already well-prepared for post-graduate study, although might still benefit from this course. Joint honours students with mathematics are welcome to take this class, although I recommend they "spend" their two economics options on courses more focused on social problems.

The main reference is my lecture notes, which I am updating regularly. You can download the Latex source if you want to annotate or contribute improvements to the notes.

Half of every lecture will be on the language of mathematics and metric spaces. The other halves will be on calculus, convex analysis, and dynamic programming.

Extra Reference

Some students like an extra reference, although it is unnecessary. A clickable reading list is available with the same books as below, via the library.

Half of every lecture will be on the language of mathematics and metric spaces. The closest book to my notes is Rosenlicht's (1968) "Introduction to Analysis". I recommend that everyone buy a copy of Rosenlicht's book.

For the calculus and convex analysis topics, the closest book to my notes is Boyd and Vandenberghe's (2004) "Convex Optimization". For the dynamic programming topic, the closest book is Stokey and Lucas' (1989) "Recursive Methods in Economic Dynamics".

You might also find these books helpful: Kolmogorov and Fomin's (1970) "Introductory Real Analysis", Angel de la Fuente's (2000) "Mathematical Methods and Models for Economists", and Luenberger's (1969) "Optimization by Vector Space Methods".

• Daepp and Gorkin's (2011) "Reading, Writing, and Proving: A Closer Look at Mathematics",
• Kane's (2016) "Writing Proofs in Analysis",
• Liebeck's (2015) "A Concise Introduction to Pure Mathematics",
• Oliveira and Stewart's (2015) "Building Proofs: A Practical Guide",
• Robert's (2010) "Introduction to Mathematical Proofs: A Transition",
• Solow's (2005) "How to read and do proofs: an introduction to mathematical thought process",
• Sundstrom's (2013) "Mathematical Reasoning: Writing and Proof" (open access),
• Velleman's (2006) "How to prove it: a structured approach".

The economics topics in my notes are closer to Varian and Kreps than MWG, but quite different from all of them.

MWG means Mas-Colell, Whinston and Green's (1995) "Microeconomic Theory". V means Varian's (1992) "Microeconomic Analysis". K means Kreps' (1990) "A Course in Microeconomic Theory". KK means Kreps' (2013) "Microeconomic Foundations 1: Choice and Competitive Markets". SL means Stokey and Lucas (1989), "Recursive Methods in Economic Dynamics". Debreu (1960) is Topological methods in cardinal utility theory.

1. Introduction
2. Production
   1. Production Functions   See: V1, MWG5, K7.1
   2. Profit Maximization   See: V2, MWG5, K7.2
   3. Upper Envelopes and Value Functions   See: V3, SL4, MWG5, K7.2
   4. Cost Functions and Dynamic Programming   See: V4, SL4, MWG5, K7.3, K.A.2
   5. Upper Envelopes with Constraints   See: V5, SL4, MWG5, K7.3
3. Consumption
   1. Utility Functions   See: V7, MWG3, K2.1
   2. Utility Maximization   See: V7, MWG3, K2.2
   3. Consumer’s Value and Policy Functions   See: V7, MWG3, K2.2, K2.3
   4. Expenditure Function and Policy Functions   See: V7, MWG3, K2.2, K2.3
   5. Slutsky Decomposition   See: V8, MWG3, K2.3
4. Time
   1. Time Preference   See: Debreu (1960), V19, SL4, SL5, MWG20, KK2.5
5. Equilibrium
   1. Economies   See V17, V18, V19, MWG16, K6.1, K6.2
   2. Efficient Allocations   See V17, V18, V19, MWG16, MWG22, K5.2
   3. Equilibrium   See V17, V18, V19, MWG16, K6.1
   4. Characterising Equilibria   See V17, MWG15, MWG16, MWG20, K2.2
   5. Efficiency of Equilibria   See V17, MWG16, K6.3
   6. *Existence of Equilibria   See V17, MWG17, K6.4
   7. Implementation of Efficient Allocations   See V17, MWG16, K6.3

Project

• compulsory for all CPD students, i.e. students enrolled in ECNM11072 (due April 21, 2022), and
• optional for all one-semester visiting students (due December 21, 2021).

Examinable Topics

• Chapter 2 (Production) except the following:
  • Quasi-concavity and upper contour sets.
  • The constrained envelope theorem, i.e. none of Section 2.5.
  • Production technology sets, i.e. none of Section 2.6.
• None of Chapter 3 (Consumption) is examinable.
• Chapter 4 (Time), except preference relations and Debreu's theorem.
• Of Chapter 5 (Equilibrium), only model formulation is examinable (which isn't really explained in the notes anyway).
• The content of Appendix B (Naive set theory) will not be examined directly. However, it is the language of mathematics and economics, so you should be familiar with all of it (except the section on cardinality).
• Appendix C (Topology), except for the open-cover approach to compactness. This means that Cantor's intersection theorem is examinable, but not the Heine-Borel theorem. Exam questions might ask you to apply topology ideas to simple economic problems (like the Extreme Punishment application in C.11) that we did not talk about these ideas in the course. Such questions will explain all of the economics you need to know. You do not need to study any extra economics applications. You might find Section C.11 helpful preparation.
• Appendix D (Convex Geometry) up to Theorem D.6, and also Definition D.7 and Theorem D.9. Specifically, upper contour sets, quasi-convexity/concavity are not examinable.
• Appendix E (Optimisation) you should understand intuitively, but you do not need to memorise the theorems.

Course quality and improvement

• I plan to take advantage of the pre-recorded videos from last year to increase the amount of contact. I plan to use extra time to do Q&A, and to do practice problems at a slow pace.
• I plan to experiment with new ways of giving homework feedback during tutorials.