Professor Anthony M. Marino
Department of Finance and Business Economics


 

GSBA 602-Fall 2026

Selected Issues in Economic Theory

Textbook:  Mas-Colell, Whinston, Green, Microeconomic Theory, Oxford, 1995: ISBN - 13: 978-0195073409

 

Contact Information: 

 

Office:  HOH 814
Phone:  213-740-6525

E-mail: amarino@usc.edu

Office Hours:  MW 2-3:30 and open door

Web Page:  http://faculty.marshall.usc.edu/Anthony-Marino/ or a no frames version

https://faculty.marshall.usc.edu/Anthony-Marino/main.html

Topics

Individual Decision Making

 

Chapter (MWG)        Topic

 

1.                                 Preference and Choice

 

2.                                 Consumer Choice.

 

3.                                 Classical Demand Theory.

 

4.                                 Aggregate Demand

 

5.                                 Production

 

6.                                 Choice under Uncertainty

 

  

Market Equilibrium and Market Failure.

 

Chapter                     Topic

 

10.                               Competitive Markets

 

11.                               Externalities and Public Goods

 

12.                               Market Power

 

An Introduction to Information Economics

 

Chapter                     Topic

 

Lecture Notes 10         Games

and MWG 7-8.

 

Lecture Notes 11         Information

and MWG 13-14

 

Other Course Information

1. I will give a midterm and a final exam. In addition I will assign problem sets, which will be graded and returned. The point allocation scheme is as follows:

Midterm...............80 points 
Final Exam...........120 points  See final examination schedule
Problem Sets..........80 points  
2. Other texts which may be of interest to you include the following (in order of importance):

·         Kreps, D., A Course in Microeconomic Theory, Princeton University Press, 1990.

·         Kreps, D., Microeconomic Foundations I, Choice and Competitive Markets, Princeton University Press, 2013.

·         Kreps, D., Microeconomic Foundations II, Imperfect Competition, Information, and Strategic Interaction, Princeton University Press, 2023.

·         Varian, H., Microeconomic Analysis, W. W. Norton, Third Edition, 1992.

·         Jehle, G. and P. Reny, Advanced Microeconomic Theory, Addison Wesley, Third Edition, 2011.

·         Nicholson, W., and C. Snyder, Microeconomic Theory: Basic Principals and Extensions, Cengage Learning, Thirteenth Edition, 2025.

·         Rasmusen, E., Games and Information, Blackwell, Fourth Edition, 2006.

·         Fudenberg, D. and J. Tirole, Game Theory, MIT Press, 1991.

·         Tirole, J., The Theory of Industrial Organization, MIT Press, 1998.

Tentative Schedule

Session

Date

Topics

MWG

Marino

1 M

8/24

Preferences and Choice

Ch1

L0, L1

2 W

8/26

Preferences and Choice

Ch1

L1

3 M

8/31

The Consumer's Choice

Ch2

L2

4 W

9/2

The Consumer's Choice

Ch2

L2

5 W

9/9

Neoclassical Demand Theory

Ch3

L3

6 M

9/14

Neoclassical Demand Theory          

Ch3

L3

7 W

9/16

Neoclassical Demand Theory          

Ch3

L3

8 M

9/21

The Aggregation of Demand

Ch4

L4

9 W

9/23

The Aggregation of Demand

Ch4

L4

10 M

9/28

Production Theory

Ch5

L5

11 W

9/30

Production Theory

Ch5

L5

12 M

10/5

Decision Making under Uncertainty

Ch6

L6

13 W

10/7

Decision Making under Uncertainty

Ch6

L6

14 M

10/12

Decision Making under Uncertainty

Ch6       

L6

15 W

10/14

Midterm ******

******

******

16 M

10/19

Competitive Markets

Ch10

L7

17 W

10/21

Competitive Markets

Ch10

L7

18 M

10/26

Competitive Markets

Ch10

L7

19 W

10/28

Externalities and Public Goods

Ch11

L8

20 M

11/2

Externalities and Public Goods

Ch11

L8

21 W

11/4

Imperfect Competition

Ch12

L9

22 M

11/9

Imperfect Competition

Ch12

L9

23 M

11/16

Games

Ch7,8

L10

24 W

11/18

Games

Ch7,8

L10

25 M

11/23

Games and Information

Ch7,8,13

L10, L11

26 M

11/30

Information

Ch,13,14

L11

27 W

12/2

Review

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Slides

LN0

LN1

LN2

LN3

LN4

LN5

LN6

LN7

LN8

LN9

LN10

LN11

Sample Exams

Midterm

Final