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1、OntheUseofSymbolicComputationinUndergraduateMicroeconomicsInstructionDavidW.BoydEconomicanalysisandinstruction,atboththegraduateandundergraduatelevels,continuetoemploymoreandmoresophisticatedmathematicalmethods,yetthetechnologytypicallyusedbystudentstosolveeconomi
2、csproblemsana-lyticallyhasnotadvancedmuchbeyondpencilandpaper.Inthelastdecadeorso,powerfulsoftwareprograms,generallycalledsymbolicprocessorsorcom-puteralgebrasystems,havebecomereadilyavailableforassistanceinsolvingproblemsmathematically.Ingeneralterms,symbolicproc
3、essingprogramsarerelativelysophisticatedsoftwarepackagesthatcombinenumeric,symbolic,andgraphiccomputationinasingle,unifiedcomputingenvironment.Thepackagesalsoincludeprogrammingcapabilityformoreadvancedanalysis.Althoughtheprogramshavenotmadesubstantialinroadsintoec
4、onomics,1mathematicians,scientists,andengineersareincreasinglyavailingthemselvesofthesepowerfultoolsandgeneratingasubstantialliteratureontheiruse.2Inthisarticle,Iillustratehowonesymbolicprocessingprogram,Maple,3caneasilybeincorporatedintoanadvancedundergraduatemic
5、roeconomicscourse.IshowthatMaple’sgraphicalcapabilitiesprovideundergraduatestudentsinsightintomicroeconomicfunctionalrelationshipsbeyondthatpossibleinatextbookoronablackboard.Maplecanalsobeusedtohelpsolveanalyticallytheoftenalgebraicallytediousoptimizationproblems
6、commonlyfoundinadvancedun-dergraduatemicroeconomicscourses.Bylettingtheprogramperformthebulkofthemathematics,thestudentisfreetoconcentratemoreontheunderlyingeco-nomicsoftheproblemandontheeconomicintuitionbehindtheresults.Ifirstintroducesomeofthebasicsofsymbolicpro
7、cessing,layingafounda-tionforthespecificexamplesthatfollow.IthenprovideananalysisofhowMaplecanbeusedbothgraphicallyandanalyticallyinconsumertheory.SpecialattentionispaidtoMaple’scapabilitytodepictfundamentaleconomicrelation-shipsinthreedimensions.Iconcludewithabri
8、efdiscussionofmyexperiencesincorporatingMapleintoanundergraduatemathematicaleconomicscourse.DavidW.BoydisanassociateprofessorofeconomicsatDenisonUnivers