ECON GU4260

Mechanism Design, Information Design, Matching and Queuing.

15% 8 HW released Tuesday at abt 9:30 PM and due the following Tuesday at 9:00 PM, 42% Midterm, 43% Final.

5-7 problem sets, 1 midterm, 1 take-home final

Advanced mechanism design (auctions, dynamic models), matching, queuing systems.

Auction & matching theory, nothing super in depth in either rather more applications. I love Murat, he cracks me up and he really does want you to succeed in the class. Slides are super clear and homework is incredibly doable. Truly such a great experience. Exams had really high medians, I personally ended the class with over a 100% and an A+

While I found this class very challenging, I have been highly rewarded for my hard work. I've noticed that the professor deliberately presented difficult material in order to weed out the weaker students. Those of us that stayed on board were in for quite a treat. His early slides were somewhat disorganized, if only to throw some of us off the scent. After the first few weeks, it really got cooking. Too often we Economics majors are patronized by professors that teach to the lowest common denominator. If you are serious about the study and research of markets, Professor Che is a must have. What I would never have expected is the joy and humor that Professor Che revealed on our take-home exam. Hint: do the last problem first- it will save you a lifetime. Call me a sycophantic try-hard, but I would even say the professor was pretty cute. He brought candy to class, couldn't stop smiling, and cracked some side-splitters. When he invited the entire class to dinner, we met his wonderful and warm family. The eldest, undeserving son was far from a chip off the old block, the youngest had the humorous countenance of his father, and his wife was a dreamy dime piece. No surprises there- he teaches so well he should have a lion's pride of wives (#LionPride).

I learned a wide range of topics including auction theory, recommendation system and matching. Through problem sets we learn how to tackle those problems on hands.

In terms of assessment, Murat is extremely fair. If you attend the weekly recitations and his office hours, you’ll be more than prepared to handle any homework assignment smoothly. Don’t be intimidated when he warns during add/drop that the first part of the course is challenging, he’s right, but there are no bad surprises: I’m terrible at statistics and still got a perfect score on the midterm because the preparation was so thorough. 5-6h/week outside class: 1h recitation, 1h Murat's OH, 3-4h working on Pset

Fundamental approaches and techniques to address market design research questions in economics and operations.

Murat is a gem. It’s genuinely the first time I have nothing negative to say about an Economics instructor at Columbia (and I’m not alone, everyone I know who took Micro with him had an amazing experience). His lecture slides are crystal-clear, but what really makes the difference is how he teaches from them: Murat is lively, engaging, and explains every new concept so clearly that it’s almost impossible to be confused if you pay even minimal attention. He truly values interaction. He may cold-call you, only because he cares about your presence, wants you engaged, and sees participation as part of learning. He starts learning everyone’s name during the very first week. Whenever he holds special office hours before an assignment or exam, you MUST attend: you’ll walk into his office unsure about something and leave fully confident in your ability to complete any problem. Murat genuinely wants you to understand the material. He regularly uses end-of-class surveys and practice examples to check how students are doing and to clarify anything that needs more attention. Murat is kind, dedicated, and creates one of the safest, most supportive learning environments I’ve experienced at Columbia. If he were teaching any other elective next semester, I would sign up without hesitation.