The Pre-Midterm Schedule

Back to the Section Page.

Mon. Aug. 23

Section Logistics. All that you need to know can be found either on this page or on Prof. Brad Delong's Home Page for Econ 101b.

Wed. Aug. 25

Math Review I:

• Analytic Geometry
  • From equations to curves and back again
  • Solutions to systems of equations are "where the curves cross"
  • Slopes
  • Comparative statics: what happens when curves shift depends on their slope
  • A line is a special case of a curve

  You can review these topics in Simon and Blume, Chapter 2 (One Variable Calculus, Foundations)
  AND/OR Stewart, Review 1 (Functions and Their Graphs) and Review 2 (Types of Functions: Shifting and Scaling.)

• Simple Algebra
  • Solving two equations with two unknowns
  • Equations that implicitly define Y as a function of X

You can review these topics in Simon and Blume, Chapter 9 (Determinants: An Overview) and 15 (Implicit Functions and Their Derivatives.)

Tues. Aug. 31

Math Review II:

• Calculus
  • Derivatives of power functions
  • Derivative of a producg
  • Derivative of a quotient
  • Rates of change and growth rates
  • Integrals of power functions
  • Derivatives as slopes
  • Implicit functions
  • Chain rule

  You can review these topics in Simon and Blume, Chapter 2 (One Variable Calculus, Foundations) and 15 (Implicit Functions and Their Derivatives.)
  AND/OR Stewart, Chapter 2.1 (Derivatives), 2.2 (Differenciation Formulas), 2.5 (The Chain Rule) and 2.6 (Implicit Differenciation)

• Differential equations
  • It's an integral: if dx/dt = q(t), what is x(t)?
  • exponential functions: if dx/dt = x(t), what is x(t)?

  You can review these topics in Simon and Blume, Chapter 24 (Ordinary Differential Equations: Scalar Equations.)
  AND/OR Stewart, Chapter 5.4 (The Fundamental Theorem of Calculus), 8.1 (Differential Equations), 15.1 (Basic Concepts; Seperable and Homegeneous Equations) and 15.2 (First Order Linear Equations.)

  As we haven't had enough time to finish covering differential equations, here is my rough guide to 1st Order Autonomous Differential Equations. The "rough guide" MS Word document will not download correctly using Netscape Navigator.  However, Microsoft Internet Explorer does download the file correctly. To download the file, point the cursor over the link and press the right mouse button.  Choose "Save Target As..." and you will be prompted for a directory in which to download the file. If you don't have a word processor that can read MS Word documents, you can download a free word viewer from Microsoft.

  There is now a PDF version of these notes. You will need the (free) Acrobat reader to view PDF files.

  Also, Lutfi Latif, one of our students, has been kind enough to provide us with some additional (and arguably more rigorous) notes on 1st Order Autonomous Differential Equations. If you don't have access to Mathematica, you will have to download the Mathematica Notebook Reader to read these.

  There is now a PDF version of his notes. You will need the (free) Acrobat reader to view PDF files.

Wed. Sep. 1

National Accounting and the like (I):

• The difference between the Consumer Price Index and the GDP Deflator...
• The 3 approaches to GDP measurment...
• Why (S-I)-(G-T)=X-M...

Mon. Sep. 6

Labor Day

Wed. Sep. 9

National Accounting and the like (II):

• The Flow Diagram of the Economy...
• National Income or Product Accounting for an Open Economy...
• Y(t)=E(t) as an equilibrium condition...
• The Income - Expenditure Diagram / The Keynesian Cross
• A simple example of Comparative Statics...

Section notes for 9/9 are available on the web. You can also view them as a Mathematica notebook if you have access to Mathematica or if you have downloaded the Mathematica Notebook Reader.

There is now a PDF version of these notes. You will need the (free) Acrobat reader to view PDF files.

Mon. Sep. 13

Growth Theory (I):

• Constant-Returns-To-Scale Cobb-Douglas production functions and their properties...
• What's a Steady State?

Wed. Sep. 15

Growth Theory (II):

• The Quest for a Steady State...
• The Transition towards the Steady State...

Mon. Sep. 20

Growth Theory (III):

• The effect of a change in s,n,g or delta on the steady state growth path of the economy.
• Transition dynamics vs. steady-state (again.)

Wed. Sep. 22

Growth Theory (IV):

The Golden Rule savings rate (with an eye on Problem Set 3.)

Mon. Sep. 27

Growth Theory (V):

Discussion of the Answer Key to Problem Set 2.

The answer key to Problem Set 2 is here.

You can also view them as a Mathematica notebook if you have access to Mathematica or if you have downloaded the Mathematica Notebook Reader.

There is now a PDF version of this answer key. You will need the (free) Acrobat reader to view PDF files.

Wed. Sep. 29

Discussion of the Answer Key to Problem Set 3.

The answer key to Problem Set 3 is here.

You can also view them as a Mathematica notebook if you have access to Mathematica or if you have downloaded the Mathematica Notebook Reader.

There is now a PDF version of this answer key. You will need the (free) Acrobat reader to view PDF files.

Mon. Oct. 4

Full Employment Macroeconomics (I):

How did we come to the formulation we have for C, I, and NX. Some complications...

Wed. Oct. 6

Growth Theory (VI):

• Discussion of the Answer Key to Problem Set 4.
  The answer key to Problem Set 4 is here.
  You can also view them as a Mathematica notebook if you have access to Mathematica or if you have downloaded the Mathematica Notebook Reader.
  There is now a PDF version of this answer key. You will need the (free) Acrobat reader to view PDF files.
  
  
• In Section 101, I have made reference to the following book:
  Jared Diamond (1997), Guns, Germs, and Steel, New York: W.W. Norton.
  http://members.aol.com/jbdelong/books.html#Diamond
  
  In Section 102, I have made reference to the following article:
  J. Bradford DeLong and Barry Eichengreen (1993), "The Marshall Plan: History's Most Successful Structural Adjustment Programme," in Rüdiger Dornbusch, Wilhelm Nölling, and Richard Layard, eds., Postwar Economic Reconstruction and Lessons for the East Today (Cambridge, MA: M.I.T. Press, 1993), pp. 189-230.
  http://www.j-bradford-delong.net/Econ_Articles/Econ_Articles.html
  

Mon. Oct. 11

Midterm Review (I):

Some of Brad's Extra problems.

Wed. Oct. 13

Midterm Review (II):

The rest of Brad's extra problems.

Th. Oct. 14: Official Review Session

Midterm Review (III):

Solutions to practice midterm + overflow + Q&A.

Jean-Philippe Stijns
Doctoral Student in Economics
Teaching Assistant in Macroeconomic Theory
University of California at Berkeley
Department of Economics
508-7 Evans Hall  Berkeley, CA 94720
email: stijns@econ.berkeley.edu
resume: http://www.well.com/user/jeanphi/resume.html
phone: (510)642-5952