Synopsis:

The intellectual goal of this course is to study the interplay between computer science and economics. This interplay gives rise to two complementary directions of basic research. One is to use computer science tools to solve economics problems; the other is to use economics ideas to solve computer science problems. E-commerce algorithms provide a concrete context, although not the only one, in which we can pursue these directions. Specific topics of this course will change as our understanding of this interplay expands; they will center around e-commerce but will not be limited to it. The educational goal of this course is to help students learn how to formulate and approach research problems through novel combinations of classical computer science and economics ideas, in hopes that such interactions of ideas will some day result in fundamental advances in both disciplines.

Instructor:

Ming-Yang Kao
Office: Tech M324
Phone: 847-230-9867
Email: kao@cs.northwestern.edu
URL: http://www.cs.northwestern.edu/~kao
Office Hours: 3:00-4:00 MWF or by appointment.

Prerequisites:

CS 336 Design and Analysis of Algorithms.

Course Work and Grading Policy:

• There will be no midterm or final examination. The course grade will be based on a project (50%) and classroom presentations (50%).
• Project: The project may be any meaningful combination of implementation of algorithms, in-depth survey, and original research.
• Presentations: The instructor will give the first 8 lectures (1/5--1/29). Afterwards, the students will take turns to give lectures and lead discussions with the help of the instructor.

Textbooks and Course Materials:

• There is no required textbook.
• a reading list (last updated 2/26/2007)
• a list of related courses (last updated 1/11/2007)

Tentative Topics and Schedule:

1. Algorithmic Mechanism Design
2. Computational Complexity of Equilibriums
3. Applications of Economics to Computer Science
4. Others

The following schedule will be updated as needed: