ETC2440/BEX2440 Mathematics for Economics and Business

Semester 1 2018

Chief Examiner and Unit Coordinator

John Stapleton CL_20Chn/E777
Email : john.stapleton@monash.edu.

Lecturers
John Stapleton

Dr Dan Zhu CL_20ChnE766

Email: dan.zhu@monash.edu

Tutors
Name Email Address
Kanchana Nadarajah kanchana.nadarajah@monash.edu
Dr Elena Sanina elena.sanina@monash.edu
Ravee Menon raveendran.menon@monash.edu
Dr Phillip Edwards phillip..edwards@monash.edu

Prerequisites
ETC1000

Prohibitions
ETC2700, ECC2440,ETF2700. Students are also prohibited from enrolling in
ETC2440 if they have passed bothMTH2010 and MTH2021.

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Synopsis

This unit introduces mathematical concepts and techniques which are widely
used in econometrics, economics and finance. Topics covered include:

 Matrix algebra

 Elementary real analysis

 Multivariable calculus

 Optimisation theory

 Elementary integration

Assessment
Group Assignment 1 11%
Group Assignment 2 12%
Group Assignment 3 12%
Participation 5%
Final Exam (2 hours) 60%

Final Mark Determination

The final mark is normally the sum of the marks obtained in all of the
individual assessment tasks in the unit. However, students attain a mark of
at least 50 percent in the final examination. Where a student fails the unit
solely because of this hurdle requirement, a mark of 48 will be returned for the
unit.

Board of Examiners
Faculty policy states that ‘the final mark that a student receives for a unit will
be determined by the Board of Examiners on the recommendation of the
Chief Examiner taking into account all aspects of assessment’.

Assignments
• There is a penalty of 5% per day for late submission of assignments.
• All requests for assignment extensions must be directed to the Chief
Examiner.
• A hard copy of each assignment must be deposited in the assignment
box for the unit, which is located on the seventh floor of the Menzies
building. Electronic submission of assignments is not permitted.

Plagiarism and cheating

Plagiarism and cheating are not permitted. More details are available from the
following links:
http://www.monash.edu.au/teaching/academic-
integrity/student/res_student2.html.
http://www.buseco.monash.edu.au/secretariat/discipline/

2
Lectures
 There are two one hour lectures each week.
 The lectures in this unit will be recorded.

Tutorials
 Tutorials begin in the second week of the semester.
 In tutorials students will study problem sets based on the material
taught in lectures. The problem sets are designed to help your
understand the lecture material and to develop your ability to
understand and formulate mathematical proofs.
 The problem set for each tutorial will be available on Moodle in
advance of the tutorial.
 You may register in a tutorial at https://allocate.timetable.monash.edu
 

Prescribed Text
[CW] Alpha C. Chiang and Kevin Wainwright, “Fundamental Methods of
Mathematical Economics”, (2005), 4th edition, McGraw-Hill Irwin.

Earlier editions of the textbook are also suitable for use in this unit.

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Provisional Program
Part 1: Matrix Algebra
Reading
Topic 1: Elementary matrix algebra CW chapters 4 and 5
 Elementary matrix operations
 Special matrices
 Inner and outer products and norm of a vector Lecture notes
 Determinants
 Inverse matrices
 Partitioned matrices
 The Kronecker product
 Applications
Topic 2: Intermediate matrix algebra
 Linearly independent vectors CW chapters 4 and 5
 The rank of a matrix
 Solving systems of linear equations
 Eigenvalues and eigenvectors Lecture notes
 Quadratic forms and definite matrices
 Orthogonal matrices

Part 2: Elementary Real Analysis, Optimisation Theory and Multivariable Calculus

Reading

Topic 1: Sets, functions and sequences CW chapters 2, 6.5, 10.1-

 sets 10.5
 functions
 cardinality of sets Lecture notes
 absolute values, inner products, norms and metrics
 suprema, infima, maxima and minima
 sequences and subsequences
 sequential limits
 open and closed sets
 bounded sets, compact sets and convex sets
Topic 2: Continuous functions CW chapter 6.6-6.7
 functional limits
 continuity of a function at a point Lecture notes
 properties of continuous functions
 uniformly continuous functions
 continuous functions on compact sets
Topic 3: Differentiable functions CW chapters 6.7, 7.1-7.4,
 differentiable functions of a single variable 8.1-8.5
 differentiable functions of several variables
 total differentials Lecture notes
 total derivatives
 implicit differentiation
 Taylor’s theorem and Taylor’s series approximations
 concave and convex functions
 homogeneous functions

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 Topic 4: Optimisation theory CW chapters 9, 11.1-11.5,
 first-order conditions for unconstrained local extrema 12.1-12.3
 second-order conditions for unconstrained local extrema
 first-order conditions for equality constrained local extrema Lecture notes
 second-order conditions for equality constrained local extrema

Topic 5: Elementary integration CH chapter 14.1-14.4

 definite and indefinite integrals
 integration by substitution Lecture notes
 integration by parts
 improper integrals
 multiple integration
Note: This program is a guide to the material to be covered in the unit. Due to time constraints it
may not be possible to cover all the topics listed above.