Course Syllabus for students Autumn 2022

On completion of the course the students will be able to:

1. explain or demonstrate how various mathematical constructs within the covered material can indicate economic and statistical relationships.

2. apply economic concepts with a strong mathematical basis that have a broad use for decision making (for example, equilibrium and disequilibrium, stability, dynamic patterns, and the relevance of marginal considerations).
3. determine equilibria in dynamic system, whether each of those equilibria is stable or unstable, and how the dynamic system behaves outside of equilibrium.
4. perform constrained optimization and determine whether that optimization leads to maximization or minimization given the constraint(s).
5. perform standard operations on matrices, such as addition, multiplication, inversion, and finding
eigenvalues.

6. Evaluate the results of mathematical derivations to determine their economic and/or statistical relevance.

Students in this course are presented with mathematical tools for economic and statistical theory,
including matrix algebra and dynamic mathematical systems. It also focuses on mathematical concepts useful for economics courses at the master’s level or above.
The contents of this course include

• Matrix algebra: addition, multiplication, and inversion of matrices, eigenvalues, eigenvectors
• Constrained optimization with inequality constraints
• The envelope theorem
• Difference equations
• Differential equations

Connection to Research and Practice
Mathematics provides a language through which scientists, including social scientists, can communicate their thoughts and results in a succinct way. Theoretical and empirical models in economics use mathematics, so research papers in economics at JIBS that focus on entrepreneurship, renewal, ownership, and other areas will almost always utilize some of the elements of mathematics presented in this course. Without the basic understanding of this course’s mathematical tools, master’s students in economics will have difficulty understanding many elements in other courses they will study within an economics master’s programme. The course demonstrates how mathematical tools can be applied to economic theory and how those tools can be used to support statistical analysis for application to real-world data.

The course includes lectures, with exercises discussed during lectures or during separate sessions. Written examinations are also included in the course.

The teaching is conducted in English.

The applicants must hold the minimum of a bachelors's degree in Economics equal to 180 credits (or the equivalent).

The course is graded A, B, C, D, E, FX or F.

Individual written exam (midterm) (ILOs: 1, 2, 4 and 6) representing 1,5 credits
Individual written exams (ILOs: 1, 2, 3, 5 and 6) representing 6 credits

Name of the Test	Value	Grading
Individual written exam (midterm)1	1.5 credits	U/G
Individual written exam (final)1	6 credits	A/B/C/D/E/FX/F

¹ The final grade of the course is determined by the sum total of points for all parts of examination points from the written final examination in the course (0-100 points). The course grade is set in accordance to JIBS grading policy, on a scale A/B/C/D/E/FX.

It is the responsibility of the examiner to ensure that each course is evaluated. At the outset of the course, the programme evaluators in the course must be contacted. In the middle of the course, the examiner should meet the programme evaluators to identify strengths/weaknesses in the first half of the course.
At the end of the course, the examiner should remind students to fill in the survey. The examiner should also call a meeting with the programme evaluators to debrief the course, based on course evaluation data and comments. The next time the course runs, students should be informed of any measures taken to improve the course based on the previous course evaluations.
At the end of each study period, JIBS’ Director of Quality and Accreditation crafts a “Course Evaluation Quarter Report”, presenting the quantitative results from course evaluation surveys. The Associate Dean of Education, The Associate Deans of Faculty, Programme Directors, and JSA President and Quality receive the report.

Academic integrity
JIBS students are expected to maintain a strong academic integrity. This implies to behave within the boundaries of academic rules and expectations relating to all types of teaching and examination.

Copying someone else’s work is a particularly serious offence and can lead to disciplinary action. When you copy someone else’s work, you are plagiarizing. You must not copy sections of work (such as paragraphs, diagrams, tables and words) from any other person, including another student or any other author. Cutting and pasting is a clear example of plagiarism. There is a workshop and online resources to assist you in not plagiarizing called the Interactive Anti-Plagiarism Guide.

Other forms of breaking academic integrity include (but are not limited to) adding your name to a project you did not work on (or allowing someone to add their name), cheating on an examination, helping other students to cheat and submitting other students work as your own, and using non-allowed electronic equipment during an examination. All of these make you liable to disciplinary action.

Chiang, Alpha C. and Wainwright, Kevin C. (2005) Fundamental Methods of Mathematical Economics
4th edition, McGraw Hill [ISBN: 007-123823-9], or later edition.
Supplementary material may be used, a full list of which is supplied at the course introduction.