Basic Methods of Mathematical Economics

This book was written for students studying economics to comprehensively learn the basic mathematical methods that have become indispensable for a thorough understanding of today's economic literature. Unfortunately, for many people, learning mathematics is like taking bitter pills - a necessary but extremely unpleasant task. The origins of such an attitude, also called "fear of mathematics", lie largely, we believe, in the sinister attitude that is often followed in presenting mathematics to students. In the belief that brevity is elegance, explanations are often kept too short to provide clarity, confusing students and leading to an undeserved sense of intellectual inadequacy. An overly formal presentation style can be demotivating when not supported by intuitive explanations and examples of its "validity." An uneven progression of topics can make certain mathematical topics seem more difficult than they actually are. Finally, keeping practice problems exclusively complex and difficult can destroy the student's self-confidence rather than stimulating thinking as desired.

In the preface they wrote about the book, the authors summarized the writing process of the book, taking into account the facts listed above: "Taking all this into consideration, we made a very serious effort to minimize the features that create fear. Instead of implicit explanations, we gave as patient explanations as possible. We deliberately kept the style informal." We chose it as distant and "reader-friendly". We routinely tried to anticipate and answer questions that we thought might arise in students' minds while reading the book, by firstly seeing that the analytical needs of the economist require the examination of relevant mathematical techniques, and by exemplifying these techniques with appropriate economic models. Again, we have built the mathematical toolbox on a very carefully developed program, with the basic tools serving as a stepping stone to the more advanced tools discussed later, with algebraic results visually supported wherever appropriate. And we designed the practice problems to be exercises that would ease their comprehension and build their confidence, rather than sharp challenges that would unknowingly frustrate and intimidate beginners.”

Contents:

• The Nature of Mathematical Economics

• Economic Models

• Equilibrium Analysis in Economics

• Linear Models and Matrix Algebra

• Linear Models and Matrix Algebra (Continued)

• Comparative Stationarities and the Concept of Derivatives

• Differentiation Rules and Their Use in Comparative Stationarity

• Comparative Stationarity Analysis in General Function Models

• Optimization: A Special Kind of Equilibrium Analysis

• Exponential and Logarithmic Functions

• Multiple Selection Variable Case

• Optimization Under Equality Constraints

• Advanced Optimization Topics

• Economic Dynamics and Integral Calculus

• Continuous Time: First-Order Differential Equations

• Higher Order Differential Equations

• Discrete Time: First-Order Difference Equations

• Higher Order Difference Equations

• Simultaneous Differential Equations and Difference Equations

• Optimal Control Theory

First Print Year: 2016

Language Turkish