ECON 2001 - Introduction to Mathematical Methods
Pitt economics summer math camp

Instructor:
Luca Rigotti, 4905 Posvar Hall, luca at pitt dot edu
Office hours: by appointment.

Teaching Assistant: Eric Duerr

Lectures: Monday to Friday, 10:30am to 11:45am, W.W.P.H room 4716.
Recitations: Monday to Friday, 3:00pm, W.W.P.H room 4716.
Exams: There will be 3 tests, on each Friday during the course.

Announcements:
The class will start on August 10 and finish on August 28

2015 Handouts and Problem Sets:
Lecture 1Problem Set 1
Lecture 2Problem Set 2
Lecture 3Problem Set 3
Lecture 4Problem Set 4
Lecture 5Problem Set 5
Lecture 6Problem Set 6
Lecture 7Problem Set 7
Lecture 8Problem Set 8
Lecture 9Problem Set 9
Lecture 10Problem Set 10
Lecture 11Problem Set 11
Lecture 12Problem Set 12
Lecture 13Problem Set 13
Lecture 14Problem Set 14

Problem Set Answers and Recitations' Notes:
These are directly distributed by the teaching assistant.

2014 Exams:
Exam 1
Exam 2
Exam 3

2013 Exams:
Exam 1
Exam 2
Exam 3

2012 Exams:
Exam 1
Exam 2
Exam 3

2011 Exams:
Exam 1
Exam 2
Exam 3





Class Description
This very intensive 3 weeks course focuses on the mathematical tools necessary for graduate studies and research in economics.
The goal is for students to gain a deeper knowledge and of some of the mathematics they need for the courses they will take in the first semester of the Ph.D. program in Economics. An hypothtetical list of topics goes as follows:
1 Methods of Proof
2 Sets
3 Functions
4 Cardinality
5 Metric and Normed Spaces
6 Real Numbers
7 Sequences and Subsequences
8 Open and Closed Sets
9 Limits of Functions
10 Continuity
11 Monotonicity
12 Compactness
13 Matrices and Linear Algebra
14 Matrix Operations
15 Linear Equations
16 Bases, Eigenvalues, Eigenvectors
17 Quadratic Forms
18 Analytic Geometry
19 Linear Functions
20 Multivariate Calculus
21 Gradients
22 Differentiability
23 Chain Rule
24 Homogenous Functions
25 Uncostrained Optima, Global and Local
26 Inverse Function Theorem
27 Implicit Function Theorem
28 Envelope Theorem
29 Lines and Plans
30 Separating Hyperplane Theorem

Two references will be:
Mathematical Methods and Models for Economists, by Angel de la Fuente; Mathematics for Economists, by Carl P. Simon and Lawrence E. Blume .