Economics · Columbia University
preferences, utility, demand function, general equilibrium, matching problem
Microeconomics, Demand side, supply side, perfect competition, Monopoly, Oligopoly
Horizontal/vertical mergers and integration, collusion, price discrimination, research and development, patents, etc.
4 quizzes 10% 5 problem sets 10% midterm 35% final 55%
Consumer Theory, Utility Theory, Production, General Equilibrium
Exactly what was in the syllabus; microeconomics principles
More in-depth micro. A lot on firm decisions and behavior
READ THE TEXTBOOK!!! I didn't begin reading the textbook until toward the end of the class when the prospects of passing were not looking good for me. Everything made so much more sense (DUH)! He posts slides from class online, but they're mostly regurgitations from the text book, so going to class is important to hear how he supplements them. I think the curve on the final class grade is pretty generous because I failed the midterm, slept through the last quiz, and was a pretty shitty student in general, but still ended up with a B in the class because I did well on the final. If I were not so terrible until the last minute, I would have gotten an A. If you put in a reasonable effort, expect to do well. The problem sets are very fair and so is how they're graded. Quizzes are each 5 multiple choice questions. Practice midterm is easier than the actual midterm which is 100% micro. The final is 70% macro, 30% micro. Wouter Vergote is the funniest professor I've ever had. He's a tiny Belgian man and as such has lots of stories to tell about his Belgian childhood, and he does a good job of connecting each story to economic concepts. He is very approachable. It seemed like the people I knew in Gulati's section were miserable, but the general mood at every lecture in Vergote's section was pretty cheery, so there's that. I went to maybe 4 of the 11-ish recitation sessions, so I can't…
The syllabus is very complete and I enjoyed the combination of classic micro theory on demand, supply and GET with the last part on matching problems. This course has been useful in enabling me to read and understand more formal/advanced micro in general (now I feel I can approach the Mas-Colell more confidently).
Learnt about how consumers and firms would act in a market under specific conditions, at least in a quantitative manner, and how to calculate such decisions.