The Elements of Economic Analysis

Lecture Details

ECON 20100 The Elements of Economic Analysis E. Glen Weyl, Assistant Professor of Economics and the College "Supply and Duration." The first part of this course discusses markets with one or a few suppliers. The second part focuses on demand and supply for factors of production and the distribution of income in the economy. This course also includes some elementary general equilibrium theory and welfare economics.This lecture derives the supply behavior of an individual firm from her cost functions using the ironing technique. We then discuss how the shape of the firms cost curve depends on the duration over which production is expected to last. We draw a key distinction between durable (intertemporally complementary) and storable (intertemporally substitutable) inputs and use LeChateliers principle to derive from these the notion of the Marshallian short- and long-run. We conclude by discussing some broader issues in the dynamics of production, including exhaustible resources.For readings associated with this lecture and slides, visit httpwww.glenweyl.comteaching