MATHEMATICS FOR SOCIAL SCIENCES

The course provides an introduction to essential mathematical concepts and tools which are useful for quantitative social sciences, including key concepts of calculus in one variable and of optimization.
This also serves as an introduction to thinking mathematically. Moreover the course aims to present some important financial mathematical tools necessary for the analysis of financial problems.

The course aims at introducing students to the fundamentals of calculus in one variable. The course begins with the fundamental building blocks of mathematics, then covers essential topics such as derivatives and optimization.
At the end of the course students should have acquired the ability to analyze properties of functions of one variable and the ability to compute derivatives and they should be able to maximize/minimize a quantity described by a one variable function. Moreover students are expected to know and use the main concepts necessary to describe and understand main financing and investment instruments.

The course assumes that students have no mathematical background beyond secondary school algebra.

-Building blocks
-Functions, relation and utility
-Functions and change: growth models
-Time value of money and interest rates
-Annuities, mortgages and amortization schemes.
-Introduction to calculus and the derivative
-Single-variable optimization

W.H. Moore, D.A. Siegel A Mathematics Course for Political and Social Research, 2013, Princeton University Press.
During the course other references will be given.

Grading is based on a final written exam consisting of exercises and questions based on open answer.

Lectures and pratice sessions.

English

written