An introduction to economics with emphasis on macroeconomics. Topics include: scarcity and choice, elements of supply and demand, inflation, unemployment, recessions, booms, fiscal and monetary policy, international balance of payments, and budget deficits. Prerequisite: basic algebra and graphing.
An introduction to economics with emphasis on macroeconomics. Topics include: scarcity and choice, elements of supply and demand, inflation, unemployment, recessions, booms, fiscal and monetary policy, international balance of payments, and budget deficits. Prerequisite: basic algebra and graphing.
An introductory course on the fundamentals of microeconomics. The behavior of individuals and firms in deciding on prices and allocation of scarce resources. Topics include: consumer preferences, costs of production, equilibrium prices and output, different market types, potential market failures, and the role of government interventions and public policy. Prerequisite: ECON 201-0.
An introductory course on the fundamentals of microeconomics. The behavior of individuals and firms in deciding on prices and allocation of scarce resources. Topics include: consumer preferences, costs of production, equilibrium prices and output, different market types, potential market failures, and the role of government interventions and public policy. Prerequisite: ECON 201-0.
An introduction to econometrics. The underlying theory of regression and the practical application of these techniques to data sets. Understanding and diagnosing common statistical problems encountered during estimation. Prerequisite: ECON 201-0, ECON 202-0, MATH 220-1, STAT 210-0 or higher level statistics class. All other substitutions (including AP Statistics) must be cleared through the Director of Undergraduate Studies for Economics.
Application of microeconomics to the study of health insurance and the health care sector. Topics include: design and financing of health insurance, public and private demand for medical care, role of competition, regulation of hospitals and physicians, roles of nonprofit and for-profit organizations, and technological change. Prerequisites: ECON 281-0, ECON 310-1, ECON 310-2.
The role of money, banking, and financial markets in the modern economy. Topics include: function and history of money, financial flows, evolving nature of banks and their regulation, monetary policy, modern central bank practices, effect of monetary policy on economic outcomes, and the response to financial crises. Prerequisites: ECON 281-0, ECON 310-1, ECON 311-0.
A more mathematically formal and rigorous treatment of the core concepts of microeconomics introduced in ECON 202-0. Topics include: consumer behavior and the theory of demand, costs of production and the nature of equilibrium in competitive and monopolistic markets. Prerequisites: ECON 201-0, ECON 202-0, MATH 220-1.
The continuation of the intermediate microeconomics sequence provides tools to analyze social wellbeing, social choice, risk and uncertainty, information asymmetries, competitive independencies between firms (game theory), market spillovers and general equilibrium. Prerequisite: ECON 310-1.
A more mathematically formal and rigorous treatment of the core concepts of macroeconomics introduced in ECON 201-0. Topics include: aggregate consumption, inflation, unemployment, growth, international balances between countries, and the role of monetary and fiscal policy. Prerequisites: ECON 201-0, ECON 202-0, MATH 220-1.
ECON 323-1 Economic History of the United States Before 1865
Economic development of the United States with emphasis on changing structure and performance of the economy: Colonial period to 1865. Prerequisites: ECON 281-0, ECON 310-1, ECON 311-0.
Economic change in sub-Saharan Africa, emphasizing current issues and policies in their historical contexts. Agriculture and rural development, industrialization, and international economic relations. Prerequisites: ECON 281-0, ECON 310-1, ECON 310-2, ECON 326-0.
NEW COURSE - SUBJECT TO APPROVAL. Economists have found it useful to relax the traditional assumptions of an economy in equilibrium populated by agents who are perfectly rational. Complexity economics is one alternative approach that assumes that markets may not be in equilibrium and that the people in the economy may not perfectly understand their environment. They face fundamental uncertainty in their decision-making. Prerequisites: ECON 281-0, ECON 310-1, ECON 310-2, ECON 311-0.
Models of decision making under uncertainty. Use of these models to understand economic phenomena such as investments in financial assets, insurance, contracting, and auctions. Prerequisites: ECON 281-0, ECON 310-1, ECON 310-2, Math 300-0 or equivalent.
The analysis of political motivations and policy outcomes using economic models of social choice theory and voting theory. Application of formal theory to contemporary and historical public policy decisions. Prerequisites: ECON 281-0, ECON 310-1, ECON 310-2.
The theory and empirical analysis of employment relationships. Topics include: decision to participate in the labor market, tradeoff between labor and leisure, demand for labor by firms, matching of workers and jobs, role and effect of trade unions, minimum wage legislation, labor mobility, and human capital acquisition, Prerequisites: ECON 281-0, ECON 310-1, ECON 310-2, ECON 311-0.
The economic analysis of education. Topics include: returns to schooling, individual decisions to invest in education, the production of education, markets for schools and teachers, financing, and public policy. Prerequisites: ECON 281-0, ECON 310-1, ECON 310-2.
Examination of the competitive and cooperative strategies employed by profit-maximizing firms in a wide range of market structures. Topics include: the setting of prices and outputs, product quality and variety, competitive responses, entry barriers, mergers and acquisitions, and relationships with suppliers and distributors. Prerequisites: ECON 281-0, ECON 310-1, ECON 310-2.
Factors affecting the spatial distribution of economic activity within cities and between different regions of a country. Choice of residential and workplace location. Applications of economic analysis to problems of urban areas such as housing markets, zoning restrictions, and racial and social patterns of employment and housing. Prerequisites: ECON 281-0, ECON 310-1, ECON 310-2.
Analysis of the issues and tradeoffs involved in forming a portfolio of financial instruments from the perspectives of individual and institutional investors. Prerequisites: ECON 360-1 (Should not be taken by students who have taken KELLG_FE 312-0.)
Economic analysis of scarcity and incentives explaining environmental issues such as pollution and climate change. Modeling and evaluation of public policy. Prerequisites: ECON 281-0, ECON 310-1, ECON 310-2. (Students may not receive credit for both ECON 370-0 and ECON 372-0.)
Evaluation of economics models and public policy concerning natural resources such as farming, fisheries, forests, minerals, ores and fossil fuels. Prerequisites: ECON 281-0, ECON 310-1, ECON 310-2. (Students may not receive credit for both ECON 370-0 and ECON 373-0.)
First part of the specialized sequence in econometrics. A more rigorous and higher level alternative to ECON 281-0. Economics majors completing ECON 381-1 will have the ECON 281-0 requirement waived. Prerequisites: ECON 310-1, (ECON 310-2, ECON 311-0 recommended), MATH 226-0, MATH 230-1, MATH 230-2, MATH 240-0 and MATH 314-0 (or equivalent).
Methods for using actual data together with modern software to build, assess critically, and interpret econometric models of real world phenomena and policy issues. Prerequisites: ECON 281-0, ECON 310-1.
For students of superior ability. Original research on a topic of interest to the student, culminating in a senior thesis. By department invitation only. Grade of K given in 398-1. Prerequisites: ECON 281-0, ECON 310-1, ECON 310-2, ECON 311-0, MATH 220-2, MATH 230-1; at least four 300-level economics electives.
M 3:30-5:20 (in KGH 3301), F 2:00-3:20 (in KGH 1410, to 3:50 if no recruiting seminar)
ECON 410-2 Microeconomics
Theoretical treatment of the behavior of consumers and firms. Topics include: uncertainty, monotone comparative statics, competitive equilibrium, matching, game theory, informational asymmetries, and mechanism design (Required sequence.)
Theoretical methodologies and their application to the study of dynamic economies. Topics include: economic growth and business cycles, the determinants of consumption and investment, and the effects of monetary and fiscal policy. (Required sequence.)
Information imperfections and asymmetries in markets and organizations. The theory and application of mechanism design to markets and contracts. Topics include: modeling information, search, the value of information, games with incomplete information, adverse selection and moral hazard.
Recent contributions to macroeconomics. Topics may include: models with heterogeneous agents, the role of financial markets and of the housing market, models of search and unemployment, the role of market power in good markets, and inequality.
Nonparametric and linear regression, identification, principles of statistical inference, extremum estimators, asymptotic statistical theory, discrete response analysis, and and structural microeconometrics. (Required sequence.)
Advanced theory of identification, estimation, and statistical inference. Topics include: partial identification of probability distributions, the bootstrap, refinements of asymptotic theory, and semi- and nonparametric structural microeconometrics.
STAT 210 Introduction to Probability and Statistics
A mathematical introduction to probability theory and statistical methods, including properties of probability distributions, sampling distributions, estimation, confidence intervals, and hypothesis testing. STAT 210-0 is primarily intended for economics majors. May not receive credit for both STAT 202-0 and STAT 210-0. Prerequisite: strong background in high school algebra (calculus is not required).
$ = Discussion sections in core classes are for 50 minutes