180.102 (S)

ELEMENTS OF MICROECONOMICS (3) Hamilton   Limit 18 per section An introduction to the economic system and economic analysis with emphasis on demand and supply, relative prices, the allocation of resources, and the distribution of goods and services; theory of consumer behavior, theory of the firm, and competition and monopoly, including the application of microeconomic analysis to contemporary problems. Prerequisite: basic facility with graphs and algebra.

Lec.

Sec. 01

02

03

04

05

06

07

08

09

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

MT 11

W 11

W 11

W 11

W 11

W 11

W 1

Th 1

Th 1

Th 1

Th 1

W 12

W 12

W 11

W 11

W 11

W 1

W 11

Th 1

W 11

W 11

W 11

W 1

Th 1

F 9

180.215 (S)

(formerly 180.315)

GAME THEORY AND THE SOCIAL SCIENCES (3) Harrington   Prereq: 180.102 or Perm. Req=d.  Limit 40  This course provides an introduction to game theory with an emphasis on applications. Applications in economics, political science, business, military science, history, biology, theology and recreation will be covered.  No prior knowledge of game theory is presumed and the required mathematical background is minimal (high school algebra and one term of calculus will be sufficient).

Sec. 01

TW 9

180.230 (S)

SEMINAR IN APPLIED MICROECONOMICS (3) Gersovitz   Limit 10   Prereq: 180.102 and Perm. Req’d.   Formerly 180.330

Sec. 01

T 3-5

180.242 (S)

INTERNATIONAL MONETARY ECONOMICS (3) Lubik   Limit 125 Prereq: 180.101-102  Balance of payments concepts and the trade balance, exchange rates and the foreign exchange market, expectations, interest rates and capital flows, central banking and monetary policy in open economies, exchange rate regimes and macroeconomic policy.   
Formerly 180.342

Sec. 01

ThF 10:30-12

180.261 (S)

MONETARY ANALYSIS (3) Ball   Prereq: 180.101-102, 110.106     This course analyzes the financial and monetary system of the U.S. economy and the design and implementation of U.S. monetary policy. Among other topics, we will examine the role of banks in the economy, the term structure of interest rates, the stock market, the supply of money, the role of the Federal Reserve in the economy, the objectives of monetary policy in the United States and current monetary policy practice.
Formerly 180.361

Sec. 01

TW 2

180.280 (S)

POPULATION ECONOMICS (3) Boggess   Limit 80   Prereq: 180.101-102  This course includes the historical back-ground of demographic trends and their economic manifestations; their relationship to the labor force, consumption, productivity and technical change, and to the demand for health, education, and housing; the accumulation of human capital; living standards and the quality of life; population planning.  Formerly 180.380   Cross-listed with Public Health

Sec. 01

M 2-4

180.302 (S)

MACROECONOMIC THEORY (4.5) Driscoll   Prereq: Differential Calculus and 180.101-102 or Perm. Req=d.  Limit 40 per section. The course provides a treatment of macroeconomic theory including a static analysis of the determination of output, employment, the price level, the rate of interest, and a dynamic analysis of growth, inflation, and business cycles. In addition, the use and effectiveness of monetary and fiscal policy to bring about full employment, price stability, and steady economic growth will be discussed.

Lec.


Sec. 01


02


03

04

ThF 9-10:30

T 2

T 6pm

W 2

W 6pm

180.334 (Q,S)

ECONOMETRICS  (3) McClelland Limit 30 per section     Prereq or Coreq: 180.301-302 & 550.111-112 or Perm Req’d.    Introduction to the methods of estimation in economic research. The first part of the course develops the primary method employed in economic research, the method of least squares. This is followed by an investigation of the performance of the method in a variety of important situations. The development of a way to handle many of the situations in which ordinary least squares is not useful, the method of instrumental variables, concludes the course.

Lec.

Sec. 01
    
02

03

04

Th 2-4

M 4
 
M 6pm

W 4

W 6pm

180.336 (S)

ART AND SCIENCE OF ECONOMIC FORECASTING (3) Barbera   Limit 25 per section. Prereq: 180.101-102, 180.302 or Perm. Req’d. Will sketch out a strategy for anticipating economic turning points. Business cycle basics, monetary policy/financial market/real economy interactions will be reviewed. Long term growth issues will be explored.

Sec. 01

Th 1-3

180.346 (S)

(W)

SEMINAR IN POLITICAL ECONOMICS (3) Chan   Limit 25 Prereq: 180.301, 550.111 Course examines the working of political institutions and its effects on economic outcomes.  Topics include basic models of electoral competition, political cycles, social preferences, economic effects of constitutions.  The emphasis is on formal mathematical modeling and statistical analysis.

Sec. 01

F 2-4

180.351 (Q,S)

LABOR ECONOMICS (3) Barnow  Limit 25   Prereq: 180.301 or Perm. req”d. The economics of the determination of earnings and the allocation of  labor. The theory of labor supply and labor demand will be developed, and then applied to questions of income distribution  unions, government intervention in the labor market, and discrimination. If time allows, the relation between unemployment and inflation will be discussed.

Sec. 01

MT 10

180.367 (S)

INVESTMENTS AND PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT (3) Christ   Limit 80   Prereq: 180.301, Statistical Analysis - 550.111 and Senior Status per instructor or Perm. Req=d.  Investment securities and their markets, especially the stock market. The relations between expected return and risk. The determination of security prices. Financial portfolio selection. The assessment of the performance of managed portfolios.

Sec. 01

MT 11

180.368 (S)

MANAGERIAL ECONOMICS AND BUSINESS STRATEGY (3) Knapp   Limit 25     Prereq: 180.301, 550.111, and either 180.367 or 551.302 or Perm. Req’d.  Seminar on quantitative concepts, decision-making, and strategy in business organizations. Overall context is ‘value’ – how it is measured and maximized long term. Microeconomic theory of the firm, competitive analysis, corporate finance.     

Sec. 01

M 2-4

180.375 (S)

ECONOMICS OF ELECTRONIC COMMERCE (3) Harrington Limit 20     Prereq: 180.301 This course examines how online markets function. We want to identify their unique features and try to understand their implications for competition and welfare. Questions include - How does the form and intensity of competition differ between online markets and conventional markets? How has online markets affected search? How do online auctions function and what determines their outcomes? What are the forces determining market dynamics? Is there a first-mover advantage? What is the role and source of technological innovation? The format will be a blend of lecture and roundtable discussion.

Sec. 01

W 2-4

180.392 (S)

SENIOR THESIS Hamilton Prereq: 180.301-302 or Perm. Req=d A seminar for senior economics majors, designed to develop the student's abilities to formulate, analyze and present in both        written and oral form and economic question of current interest. The Senior Seminar and Thesis are required of those who wish to be considered for department Honors, and are optional for others. Senior thesis may be done as independent study.

Sec. 01

TBA

360.328

APPLIED ECONOMICS INTERNSHIP (3) Hanke   Prereq: 180.101-102

Perm. Req=d. 

Satisfactory/ Unsatisfactory only

Cross-listed with DOGEE and Interdepartmental

Sec. 01

TBA

180.502

INDEPENDENT STUDY

180.602

MICROECONOMIC THEORY Khan   Prereq: 180.301-302, 110.106 or Perm Req=d.  First term: a systematic presentation of microeconomic theory both its partial equilibrium and general equilibrium aspects. Topics covered will include preferences and utility, exchange, production, theory of the firm, capital and interest, competition and monopoly, stability of equilibrium, and welfare economics. Second term: a more intensive discussion of selected topics, emphasizing recent contributions. Prerequisites: 180.301-302 or equivalent and Differential Calculus 110.106 or permission of instructor.

Sec. 01

Th 9,

F 9-11

180.604

MACROECONOMIC THEORY Carroll Prereq: 180.301-302 or Perm. Req=d. First term: a comprehensive treatment of macroeconomic theory, including static analysis of aggregate output employment, the rate of interest, and the price level; aggregative theory of investment, consumption, demand and supply of money; empirical work on aggregative relationships. Second term: the macrodynamic theory of growth, cycles, unemployment and inflation, and selected subjects.

Sec. 01

M 11-1,

T 11:30-1

180.606

ADVANCED MACROECONOMICS   Carroll   Prereq: 180.603-604 Topics of recent research in macroeconomics. Prof. Ball's course covers nominal rigidities, dynamic-consistency theories of inflation, inflation inertia and the costs of disinflation, monetary policy, costs and benefits of price stability, benefits of output stabilization, alternative policy rules, measuring inflation, unemployment, efficiency-wage theories, the behavior of the NAIRU, macro in middle-income countries, high inflation and stabilization, currency crises. Prof. Carroll's course analyzes implications of the buffer-stock and habit formation theories of consumption for comovement of aggregate variables and asset pricing. The models are applied to study the phenomena of declining U.S. saving rate, the dynamic relationship between saving rates and growth, and the equity  premium puzzle.

Sec. 01

M 4-6pm
3-5

180.607

MACROECONOMETRICS Levin   Prereq: 180.633-634 or Perm. Req’d.  This course is an attempt to provide a framework for discussing the techniques that are used in macroeconometric analysis. Generally the bias that it has is one of looking at these from the perspective of someone analysing macroeconomic data for policy analysis. Consequently, many of the applications considered are drawn from the type of research conducted in central banks and finance ministries. Its emphasis is therefore upon the issues raised by the analysis of time series of macro-economic data. Today there is an emerging literature that looks at micro-economic data as well as conducting cross-country studies. We will tend to ignore that material, as the methods used in such research are essentially those of micro-econometrics, although sometimes with adjustments made to reflect the nature of macro-economic time series.

Sec. 01

T 1-3

180.611

ECONOMICS OF UNCERTAINTY Karni    Prereq: 180.601-603 or Perm. Req’d. A review of the theory of decision making under uncertainty and its applications to problems of optimal insurance, portfolio selection, savings decisions and optimal search. Alternative approaches to decision making under uncertainty will be surveyed. Attitudes towards risk will characterized and the issues of measurement and comparability of these attitudes discussed, both in the univariate and multivariate cases; applications will be given. The theory of optimal search will be developed with emphasis on its usefulness for the study of labor markets and unemployment.

Sec. 01

M 9-11

180.616

MATHEMATICAL METHODS IN ECONOMICS II Lubik  Prereq: 180.615 or Perm. req’d     This is a continuation of 180.615 and is a course in dynamic aspects of optimization models. Techniques of dynamic programming and the calculus of variations will also be developed.

Sec. 01

ThF 1-2:30

180.622

POLITICAL ECONOMY Chan     This course will discuss topics in political economy.

Sec. 01

F 11-1

180.624

TOPICS IN ECONOMIC THEORY Klemens   Prereq: 180.601-603 or Perm. req’d   Covers a range of models in which agents gain utility from emulating others, including herding, network externalities, consumer goods, political applications.

Sec. 01

Th 3-5

180.633

ECONOMETRICS Dey Prerequisites: 180.301-302, statistical inference, and differential calculus (including partial derivatives and matrix algebra), or permission of Instructor. Mathematical models of economic behavior and the use of statistical methods for testing economic theories and estimating economic parameters. Subject matter will vary from year to year; statistical methods, such as linear regression, multivariate analysis, and identification, estimation and testing in simultaneous equation models, will be stressed.

Sec. 01

W 10-12,

W 2-3

180.638

MICROECONOMETRICS II Woutersen Prereq: 180.633-634 or equivalent    In this course techniques that are used in applied research in microeconomics are introduced. Focus is on a particular class of models, namely discrete choice models. Well-known models in this class are the logit and probit models. Models that have better properties involve high-dimensional integrals, and this leads us to a discussion of simulation estimation. Finally, dynamic decision models for forward-looking agents who face irreversible decisions are introduced. As an application some models in economic demography are considered.

Sec. 01

M 1-3

180.641

INTERNATIONAL TRADE Krishna   Coreq: 180.601,180.603.  The pure theory of trade. Theories of comparative advantage, factor price equalization, trade and welfare, tariffs, trade and factor movements.

Sec. 01

W 12-2

180.651

LABOR ECONOMICS Moffitt        Prereq: 180.601   First term: theories of the allocation of time and supply of labor, human capital, demand for labor, market equilibrium, and income distribution. As time allows, other topics, such as unemployment, unions, and compensating differences will be discussed. Second term: current topics in labor economics. The content will vary from year to year. Likely areas include nature vs. nurture in the determination of earnings, the function(s) of unions the question of the existence of dual labor markets, and internal markets with specific human capital.

Sec. 01

T 8:30-11:30

180.672

INDUSTRIAL ORGANIZATION Shum  Prereq: 180.601  First term: An investigation of firm behavior in imperfectly  competitive industries from a game-theoretic perspective. Firm decision making with respect to price and quantity, entry an d exit, and investment will be explored. Both static and dynamic theories will be presented to address questions related to the intensity of competition and the creation and maintenance of market dominance. The course is largely, though not exclusively, theoretical in content. Though no background in game theory is required, students are encouraged to take 180.618 or some other game theory concurrently. Second term: The emphasis in this course is on empirical analysis of firm behavior. The first part of the course focuses on models of the internal organization of the firm. The second part considers empirical analysis of firm behavior in markets, with an emphasis on the "new industrial economics."

Sec. 01

Th 11-1

180.694

APPLIED MICRO WORKSHOP Woutersen

Sec. 01

W 3:30-5

180.695

MICROECONOMICS WORKSHOP Karni

Sec. 01

M 3:30-5

180.696

MACROECONOMICS WORKSHOP Lubik

Sec. 01

T 3:30-5

180.698

RESEARCH AND TEACHING PRACTICUMS Staff Prereq: Ph.D grads in Economics Dept. only The purpose of the Ph.D program in Economics is to train students to teach and to do research in Economics. This course is for graduate students in the Ph.D program in Economics to obtain graduate credit for work off campus that provides training and the development of skills in teaching and/or research. Before the practicum is begun, the graduate student must identify a sponsoring faculty member or seek permission from the student's faculty advisor. The faculty member or advisor must sign a form that certifies that graduate credit will be granted, verifies the nature of the work to be performed by the student, and explains how the practicum helps to fulfill a degree requirement. Once completed, the sponsoring faculty member or advisor submits a grade of pass or fail for the student. This course may be used for Curricular Practical Training. Course added 11/19/04

Sec. 01

TBA