Publication: Journal of Economic Education
Volume: Volume 23, No. 4
Issue: Fall 1992
Pages: pp. 317-331
Author(s): Allen J. Wilkins
Address (Principal Author):
Title: Facilitating the Transition from Graphical to Algebraic Models: A Teaching Challenge for Intermediate Microeconomics
Abstract: This article outlines a three lecture introduction to a course in intermediate microeconomic theory which is designed to: (1) to enable students to transfer the basic economic concepts learned in terms of restrictions on slopes and curvatures of graphical models into appropriate restrictions on the functional forms of equivalent algebraic models; (2) to establish the comparative advantage of algebra for developing links between economic models; and (3) to illustrate how algebraic models provide a vehicle for understanding how income and prices coordinate and communicate information, which in turn establish priorities in production and consumption.