Harvard EC 1010A: Intermediate Microeconomics
Ec 1010A is Harvard's intermediate microeconomic theory course, covering consumer and producer optimization, equilibrium, market failures, and welfare. It's the first of the two theory pillars of the economics concentration after Ec 10, and where economics goes from graphs to calculus.
Fennie is independent and not affiliated with Harvard University. This is an unofficial study guide.
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.
Today
Today's EC 1010A plan
What a Fennie Daily Plan looks like for EC 1010A. Yours is built from your own syllabus and adapts every day to your deadlines and progress.
First plan free, no card required. Fennie is independent and unaffiliated with your school.
FAQ
Is Ec 1010A hard?
It's the mathematical step up of the economics concentration, where 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.
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, covering growth, fluctuations, unemployment, inflation, and the analytics of fiscal and monetary policy. It's the second theory pillar of the economics concentration after Ec 10. Models that Ec 10B sketched verbally get full mathematical treatment here.