| Aspect | MWG (the “Bible”) | Varian (Microeconomic Analysis) | | |--------|-------------------|--------------------------------|--------------------------| | Rigor | Very high (theorem-proof) | Moderate | High | | Intuition | Low (assumed) | Moderate | Very high | | Examples | Few, abstract | Some, numerical | Many, central | | Best for | Reference, theorists | Mid-level graduate prep | Learning the intuition behind the math |
Week 12 — Review and projects
Appendix A (math review) covers Lagrange multipliers, concave/convex functions, and the envelope theorem in about 30 pages. If your calculus is rusty, you’ll need a separate math for economists text (e.g., Simon & Blume).
The mathematical appendix covers the following topics: