This is an intermediate course in microeconomics. It is based on the book Intermediate Microeconomics by Hal Varian. Below contents have been covered in this course:
Chapter 1: Budget Constraint
We begin this chapter by introducing the two-goods model, a model we will work with for the first five chapters. We have two goods, two prices and one individual with income m. This chapter is about the restrictions faced by the consumer who cannot spend more than her income. The most important concept in the chapter is the budget line and we will see how to draw the budget line and how it changes when prices and/or income change.
Chapter 2: Preferences
Total order
Indifference curve
More on indifference curves
Perfect substitutes
Perfect complements
Neutrals and bads
Monotonicity
Monotonicity and indifference curves
Convex preferences
Marginal rate of substitution
Marginal rate of substitution, topics
Discrete goods
Chapter 3: Utility
Utility function
Demonstration of a utility function with its level curves
Preferences relation from utility function
Different utility functions may represent the same preferences
Cardinal and ordinal utility
Monotonic transformation
Utility function when goods are perfect substitutes
Utility function when goods are perfect complements
Quasi-linear preferences
Cobb-Douglas preferences
Utility functions representing Cobb-Douglas preferences
Marginal utility
Chapter 4: Choice and demand
Optimal choice
Unique optimal choice
First order condition for optimal choice
Mathematical formulation of optimal choice and the Lagrangian
Three strategies for finding the optimal choice
Optimal choice when preferences are not well behaved
Optimal choice for discrete goods and quasi-linear preferences
Demand functions and their dependence on income
Income offer curve and Engel curve
Homothetic preferences
Homogenous of degree 1
Examples of homothetic preferences
Homothetic preferences: results
Demand with quasilinear preferences
Demand functions and their dependence on price
Demand for discrete goods
Chapter 5: Consumer surplus and market demand
Consumer surplus, discrete goods
Consumer surplus with continuous demand
The market demand model and aggregate demand
Price elasticity of demand
Price elasticity of demand - logs, units and elastic vs inelastic demand
Price elasticity of demand for linear demand functions
Revenue function
The connection between the price elasticity of demand and changes in revenue
The sign of the derivative of the revenue function when demand is elastic and inelastic
Marginal revenue
Income elasticity of demand
Chapter 6:
Two factors production model and isoquants
Production functions: perfect substitutes, perfect complements and Cobb-Douglas production function
Marginal product
Monotonic and convex technology
Technical rate of substitution
Long run, short run and return to scale
Return to scale for Cobb-Douglas production function