Harvard EC 1010A: Intermediate Microeconomics

Ec 1010A is Harvard's intermediate microeconomic theory course — consumer and producer optimization, equilibrium, market failures, and welfare — and the first of the two theory pillars of the economics concentration after Ec 10. It's where economics goes from graphs to calculus.

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What makes it hard

The jump from Ec 10 is mathematical: utility maximization with Lagrangians, comparative statics, and deriving demand rather than drawing it. Students whose calculus has gone cold since Math 1a feel it immediately, and exam partial credit flows to clean setups, not memorized conclusions.

What you'll cover

• Consumer theory and utility maximization
• Producer theory and cost functions
• Market equilibrium and comparative statics
• Monopoly and imperfect competition
• Externalities and public goods
• Welfare analysis

The EC 1010A study guide

How to study for Harvard EC 1010A, step by step.

1
Rewarm the calculus in week one
Partial derivatives and constrained optimization are the working language of 1010A. A focused refresher on Lagrangians before the consumer theory unit prevents the math from obscuring the economics.
2
Derive each result before memorizing it
Work from utility function to demand curve by hand for the standard cases. Exams reward students who can run the machinery on a new function, not recite outputs from familiar ones.
3
Translate every solution back into economics
After the algebra, write one sentence on what the result means — why demand slopes down here, what the multiplier measures. The interpretation questions are where derivation-only students lose points.
4
Rework pset problems cold before exams
Redo each pset's hardest problems from a blank page a week later. The course's exam style is pset style, and the gap between following your old solution and regenerating it is the gap exams measure.
5
Run the theory reps through Fennie
Upload the Ec 1010A syllabus and Fennie's Daily Plan paces derivation practice and calculus review toward each exam, with practice problems generated from your actual course materials. Free to start.
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How Fennie helps with EC 1010A

Fennie's Daily Plans pace Ec 1010A's derivation practice with calculus review queued before the units that need it. Chat through a Lagrangian setup when the first-order conditions blur, and drill the derive-then-interpret pattern that exams grade.

FAQ

Is Ec 1010A hard?

It's the mathematical step up of the economics concentration — constrained optimization replaces graphical intuition. Students with fresh calculus find it systematic; rusty calculus makes it miserable.

What's the difference between Ec 1010A and Ec 1011A?

Both cover intermediate micro; 1011A is the more mathematically intensive version. 1010A is the standard track for most concentrators.

What math do I need for Ec 1010A?

Single-variable calculus is the formal prerequisite, and comfort with partial derivatives helps from the first unit. The Lagrangian technique is taught, but calculus fluency is assumed.

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More Harvard courses

EC 10A — Principles of Economics: Microeconomics

Ec 10A is the fall-semester microeconomics half of Harvard's famous Principles of Economics sequence — historically one of the largest courses at the college. It covers supply and demand, markets, firm behavior, and policy applications, and is the entry point to the economics concentration.

EC 10B — Principles of Economics: Macroeconomics

Ec 10B is the spring macroeconomics half of Harvard's principles sequence: GDP, inflation, unemployment, growth, monetary and fiscal policy, and international economics. Together with Ec 10A it forms the foundation for all further economics coursework at Harvard.

EC 1010B — Intermediate Macroeconomics

Ec 1010B is Harvard's intermediate macroeconomic theory course — growth, fluctuations, unemployment, inflation, and the analytics of fiscal and monetary policy — the second theory pillar of the economics concentration after Ec 10. Models that Ec 10B sketched verbally get full mathematical treatment here.