Microeconomics II

Microeconomics II

専門教育科目

−

国際商経学部

学年指定なし

KCCBG1MCA1

2.00単位

講義 (Lecture)

2024年度後期

(Fall semester)

磯貝 茂樹

国際商経学部

英語

目標4

To be annouced in the first class.

To be annouced in the first class.

1◎／2〇／3〇

ー

ー

ー

The course aims to provide students with basic knowledge of microeconomics. The second semester focuses on advanced topics such as information and game theory.

The students will be able to understand basic ideas and concepts on relatively new topics: economics of information and game theory. In particular, they will be able to analyze economic phenomena (some are closely related to applications to businesses) with their knowledge.

Intermediate microeconomics, game-theory part.

Microeconomics, Information economics, Game theory

As we saw in Microeconomics I, microeconomics is a field of economics that studies how each individual makes economic decisions and then how those individual behaviors affect the economy. The microeconomic tools are applied to economic policies and businesses in countries such as the U.S. (and recently in Japan). Fields of information economics and game theory are relatively recent topics that are vigorously applied in fields such as finance, businesses, and so-called "market designs."

The course explains basic topics in information economics and game theory. Necessary analytical tools such as (a little bit of) math will also be covered during the course.

The tentative schedule is as follows:
Week 1: Introduction and preliminaries
Week 2: Expected utility and risk attitude
Week 3: Information economics: Adverse selection
Week 4: Information economics: Moral hazard
Week 5: Introduction to game theory
Week 6: Nash equilibrium (1)—Definition
Week 7: Nash equilibrium (2)—Applications
Week 8: Dynamic games—Examples and game-tree representation
Week 9: Dynamic games—Subgame-perfect equilibrium
Week 10: Dynamic games—Applications
Week 11: Repeated games
Week 12: Games of incomplete information—Application to auctions
Week 13: Dynamic games of incomplete information—Application to communication
Week 14: Matching
Week 15: Review of the course

Exam week: Final exam


The course covers relatively recent developments in microeconomics. The first 4 classes are devoted to studying situations when there is something people do not know well about. The knowledge of information economics helps students understand various phenomena in the real world. The remaining courses study another exciting topic called game theory. The topic analyzes interaction between people and provides a vast amount of applications to our daily lives, business, politics, etc. Game theory also provides recent (very hot) applications of economics to business and policy fields.

Note: While not relevant to evaluation, students are allowed to use generative AI to help their self-study. However, they need to be aware that the currently used AIs (such as chatGPT) do not necessarily tell you correct statements about your inputs (particularly when you ask something academic or professional). It is their responsibility to make a "fact-check" on the output.

The instructor provides the lecture notes.

Hal Varian, "Intermediate Microeconomics: A Modern Approach,"
Steven Tadelis, "Game Theory: An Introduction," and
Robert Gibbons, "Game Theory for Applied Economists."

[Preparation] Reading the lecture notes beforehand (15h)
[Review] Checking your understanding of the course materials (including reading the lecture notes again and solving review exercises) (15h)

Due to the nature of a theoretical course, hours for "explicit" active learning are not reserved (for group activity or discussion). However, any questions and spontaneous discussions from students are always welcome, and the instructor plans to introduce a web service that enables students to anonymously ask questions (to help shy students).

The course evaluation aims to assess students' understanding of the course materials. It will be based on the final exam.

The course materials (such as lecture notes and review exercises) will be provided through the university system.

Though a former exposition to microeconomics may be helpful, there is no prerequisite for the class. Everyone is welcome.

Not applicable.