ECOMath 1. Mathematics for economists (Q999169)

As the title of the book ``ECOMath 1'' indicates, it is the first of a total of three volumes of a mathematical textbook, written for undergraduate students in economics or related fields. The first volume mainly deals with one-dimensional mathematical methods to solve common problems in differential and integral calculus as well as extreme value problems. These mathematical tools are introduced and explained first, and in a second step their application is demonstrated using economic problems. As the author remarks all three volumes are written at an elementary level and no attempts are made to proof certain sentences in a rigorous way. Instead, many examples are thought to help the students to understand the mathematical tools and techniques. Along this concept, the book uses different colors in graphical presentations, colored backgrounds to highlight important results, and to indicate important parts in formulas or possible pitfalls in exercises. A little bit of an additional topic for undergraduate textbooks in mathematics is the final chapter which gives a brief introduction into financial mathematics. The topics discussed here are simple more period models, continuous models, and the treatment of payments which occur at higher than annual frequencies. The appendix consists of two parts. In the first part arguments are given for certain sentences and remarks made in the main part of the book. These arguments are best described as something between a rigorous proof of a sentence and a verbal motivation. In this sense, the book offers a new idea to bring mathematical ideas in a fresh way to the reader. The second part of the appendix contains solutions to selected problems stated in the various chapters.