Syllabus Application
ECON 488
Matchings and Markets
Faculty
Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
Semester
Spring 2025-2026
Course
ECON 488 -
Matchings and Markets
Time/Place
Time
Week Day
Place
Date
13:40-16:30
Wed
FASS-2101
Feb 16-May 22, 2026
Level of course
Undergraduate
Course Credits
SU Credit:3, ECTS:6
Prerequisites
ECON 204 and ECON 201
Corequisites
-
Course Type
Lecture
Instructor(s) Information
Ahmet Alkan
- Email: alkan@sabanciuniv.edu
Course Information
Catalog Course Description
Game theoretic analysis of the matching of individuals with other individuals or items, typically across two sides, as in marriage, university placement, employment, housing. Competitive cooperative solutions: existence, optimality order structures, constructive procedures; strategic properties; auctions, mechanisms; institution and market design.
Learning Outcomes:
| 1. | Upon completion of this course, students should be able to: 1. Identify outcomes which are "stable" or in "competitive equilibrium" and provide proofs for their existence. 2. Describe the common-interest order (lattice) structure of stable and competitive equilibrium outcomes. 3. Describe procedures/algorithms (the Deferred Acceptance and Multi-object Auction) that find stable outcomes which are optimal for one side of the market. 4. Describe features which lead to "assortative" outcomes. 5. Describe "unravelling" and inefficiencies under imperfect information. 6. Explain the workings of an existing matching market (e.g., student university placement) and review desirable/undesirable aspects with reference to benchmark outcomes. 7. Blend tools and solution concepts of cooperative and noncooperative game theory. 8. Substantiate notions of economic design as "mechanism/institution", "efficiency", "fairness". 9. Visualize/analyze a "market" with reference to abstract models. 10. Apply basic mathematical reasoning and give elementary proofs. |
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Course Objective
The objective of this course is to introduce the student to models on matchings (between individuals or between individuals and firms) and analyses of markets and institutions where matchings take place.
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Related to This Course:
| Decent Work and Economic Growth | |
| Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions |