On the Use of Symbolic Computation in Undergraduate Microeconomics Instruction

Economic analysis and instruction, at both the graduate and undergraduate levels, continue to employ more and more sophisticated mathematical methods, yet the technology typically used by students to solve economics problems analytically has not advanced much beyond pencil and paper. In the last decade or so, powerful software programs, generally called symbolic processors or computer algebra systems, have become readily available for assistance in solving problems mathematically. In general terms, symbolic processing programs are relatively sophisticated software packages that combine numeric, symbolic, and graphic computation in a single, unified computing environment. The packages also include programming capability for more advanced analysis. Although the programs have not made substantial inroads into economics,1 mathematicians, scientists, and engineers are increasingly availing themselves of these powerful tools and generating a substantial literature on their use.2 In this article, I illustrate how one symbolic processing program, Maple,3 can easily be incorporated into an advanced undergraduate microeconomics course. I show that Maple’s graphical capabilities provide undergraduate students insight into microeconomic functional relationships beyond that possible in a textbook or on a blackboard. Maple can also be used to help solve analytically the often algebraically tedious optimization problems commonly found in advanced undergraduate microeconomics courses. By letting the program perform the bulk of the mathematics, the student is free to concentrate more on the underlying economics of the problem and on the economic intuition behind the results. I first introduce some of the basics of symbolic processing, laying a foundation for the specific examples that follow. I then provide an analysis of how Maple can be used both graphically and analytically in consumer theory. Special attention is paid to Maple’s capability to depict fundamental economic relationships in three dimensions. I conclude with a brief discussion of my experiences incorporating Maple into an undergraduate mathematical economics course.