sp4.gif (44 bytes)

    Yale University

  

  Department of Economics

Department of Economics Buildings

Yale University > Department of Economics > Graduate Program

Course Descriptions, 2013/14
   » Economic Theory (500-549)
   » Econometrics (550-574)
   » Economic History (575-589)
   » Market Organization and Public Policy (600-624)
   » Labor Economics (625-649)
   » Money and Finance (650-674)
   » Economics of the Public Sector (675-699)
   » International Trade and Finance (700-724)
   » Economic Development (725-749)
   » Economic Demography (775-784)
   » Economic Systems and National Economies (785-899)

NOTE: Courses not offered are "greyed out"

ECONOMIC THEORY (500-549)  [top]

Econ 500a  General Economic Theory: Microeconomics — T. Bewley, J. Horner
The topics are consumer and firm behavior, decision making under uncertainty, competitive, oligopolistic, and monopolistic markets, game theory, general equilibrium theory, overlapping generations models, and growth theory.

Econ 501b  General Economic Theory: Microeconomics — D. Bergemann, L. Samuelson
This course is an introduction into game theory and the economics of information. It begins with the basic notions of action, strategy and equilibrium for complete information environments. The theory is extended to cover situations where different agents have different informations. This extends game theory to cover situations where every agent may possess private information. The classis models of adverse selection, signalling and moral hazard are introduced first. We end with the general theory of mechanism design which will lead us, inter alia, to the theory of auctions and related optimal trading problems.

[Econ 502   Optimization in Economic Theory for 1st Year Economics Ph.D. Students ]
This course covers mathematical methods important in economic theory, including Kuhn–Tucker theory, continuous time optimal control theory, dynamic programming, zero sum games and repeated sum games. Details of description to follow. 1/2 credit course.

Econ 510a  General Economic Theory: Macroeconomics — C. Arkolakis, E. Engel
Basic facts and time series for macroeconomics.  Stochastic dynamic programming with applications to macroeconomics.  Advanced topics in consumption.   Competitive equilibrium and dynamic models, and in overlapping generation models.   Stochastic growth models.  Real business cycles.  Fiscal policy.   Asset pricing.

Econ 511b  General Economic Theory: Macroeconomics —  G. Moscarini
Monetary theory and modern theories of short-run fluctuations: (real business cycle theory and sticky price theories), and the conduct of monetary policy (monetary policy rules, advantages of credible policy commitments). Theory of dynamic factor demand and empirical models of investment. Equilibrium job search and unemployment. Continuous time Dynamic Programming with diffusion and jump processes.

Econ 520a  Advanced Microeconomic Theory: I — J. Horner
The first half of the course provides an introduction to the classical theory of choice and delves into nonstandard preference models, including preferences for commitment, preferences for the timing of resolution of uncertainty, reference dependent preferences and time-nonseparable preferences. The second half covers topics in game theory.

Econ 521b  Advanced Microeconomic Theory: II — P. Strack,  J. Välimäki
Games with cheap talk (strategic information transmission, experts, and information cascades); repeated games under various monitoring assumptions; game theoretic models of reputations; and high order beliefs (implications for game theory and mechanism design.

Econ 522a/523b  Microeconomic Theory Lunch —Staff
Provides a forum for advanced students to examine critically recent papers in the literature and to present their own work. Permission of the instructor is required.

Econ 525a  Advanced Macroeconomics: I — E. Engel, R. Lagos
Macroeconomics with heterogeneous agents. DSGE models with complete and incomplete markets.  Equilibrium in models with idiosyncratic and aggregate uncertainty. Non-convex adjustment costs, lumpy adjustment and generalized Ss models. Applications to the dynamics of the U.S. income distribution, sticky price models, investment and employment.

Econ 526b  Advanced Macroeconomics: II — L. Caliendo, P. Krusell
Macroeconomic equilibrium in the presence of uninsurable labor income risk. Implications for savings, asset prices, unemployment.

[Econ 527b  Behavioral and Institutional Economics]
Behavioral economics incorporates insights from other social sciences, such as psychology and sociology, into economic models, and attempts to explain anomalies that defy standard economic analysis. Institutional economics is the study of the evolution of economic organizations, laws, contracts, and customs as part of a historical and continuing process of economic development. Behavioral economics and institutional economics are naturally treated together, since so much of the logic and design of economic institutions has to do with complexities of human behavior.
    The course will emphasize two main topics:  behavioral macroeconomics and behavioral finance, though references will be made to other branches of economics as well. Because macroeconomics is a major part of this course, it is part of the graduate macroeconomics sequence (including also Economics 510a, 511b, 525a and 526b). However, this course does not list these other courses as requirements.

Econ 530a  Mathematical Economics I — J. Geanakoplos
This academic year, Economics 530 and 531 will constitute a one-year course in mathematical finance. The first term will be taught by John Geanakoplos covering asset pricing and optimality in complete financial markets.  The second term will be taught by Eduardo Faingold and cover the asset pricing and optimality in complete financial markets. To prepare students for the oral exams in finance, the final exam will be an oral exam. All students must write a short research prospectus on a topic in mathematical finance or a referee's report on a recent reserach paper in mathematical finance.

[Econ 531b  Mathematical Economics II]
This course examines the foundations of money and finance from the perspective of general equilibrium with incomplete markets. The relevant mathematical tools from elementary stochastic processes to differential topology are developed in the course. Topics include asset pricing, variations of capital asset pricing model, the "Hahn Paradox" on the value of flat money, default and bankruptcy, collateral equilibrium, market crashes, adverse selection and moral hazard with perfect competition, credit card equilibrium and general equilibrium with asymmetric information.

Econ 537a/538b  Microeconomic Theory Workshop — Staff
This seminar will meet weekly. Presentations will be divided between research scholars and participating students. Speakers will be encouraged to spend the first half hour giving a brief history of thought on the questions they are addressing.

Econ 540a/541b  Student Workshop in Macroeconomics —Staff
A course for third and fourth year students doing research in macroeconomics to prepare their prospectuses and to present their dissertation work. Each student will be required to make at least two presentations per semester. For third year students and beyond, at least one of the presentations in the first semester should be a mock job talk.

Econ 542a/543b  Macroeconomics Workshop — STaff
A forum for presentation and discussion of state-of-the-art research in macroeconomics. Presentations by research scholars and participating students of papers in closed economy and open economy macroeconomics and monetary economics.

Econ 544a/560a (IR)  Economic Analysis — staff
This course introduces I.R. Students to more advanced concepts of micro and macro economic analysis in an applied context. Different economies in different stages of development will be used as illustrations of these concepts. Areas covered will include employment, income and interest rate determination as well as theories of consumption, investment, pricing, money and production.

Econ 545a (IDE)  Microeconomics — M. Boozer
The first part of the course studies optimization and programming theory, which we then apply to the theory of producer and consumer behavior. The aim is to explain the logic of the basic mathematical techniques used in microeconomics. We then turn to a partial equilibrium analysis of perfect competition and monopoly, and to the welfare properties of general equilibrium. The course concludes with a brief introduction to game theory, with applications to imperfect competition. Problem sets and two exams are required.

Econ 546a (IDE)  Macroeconomics — I. Alonso
This course presents a basic framework to understand macroeconomic behavior and the effects of macroeconomic policies. Topics include consumption and investment, labor market, short-run income determinations, unemployment, inflation, growth, and the effects of monetary and fiscal policies. The emphasis is on information, incentives, strategic behavior and the relationship between the underlying assumptions and their policy implications. For IDE students.


ECONOMETRICS (550-574)  [top]

NB: The general program requirement in econometrics is described in the Economics Department Requirements. Students who have already taken much of the material in Econ. 550a and 551b (Econometrics I and II) should consult with the DGS. They may be well advised to substitute for the basic courses the following more advanced courses: Statistics 610a (Statistical Inference), Econ. 552b (Econometrics III) or Econ 553a (Econometrics IV). Other special programs may be arranged for such students who wish to move directly into intermediate or advanced work in econometrics. Such arrangements are worked out between the DGS, the econometrics faculty, and the student.

Econ 550a  Econometrics I — D. Andrews
This course is designed to cover the mathematical and statistical material required for entry into Econometrics II. Syllabus: Introduction to measure theoretic probability; random variables, distributions and densities; expectations and conditional expectations; families of distributions and transformations; multivariate normal distribution; notion of statistical inference; the methods of estimation and optimality; decision theoretic approach; hypothesis testing; introduction to asymptotic theory; law of large numbers and central limit theorem; asymptotics for maximum likelihood estimation. Note: Students who have preparation equivalent to that of economics Ph.D. students will be admitted with permission of the instructor.

Econ 551b  Econometrics II — X. Chen
This is a basic course in asymptotic econometric theory, where the econometric models include linear regression, time-series and simultaneous equations. We discuss in detail indentification, consistency, asymptotic normality, efficiency and inference in the following estimation procedures: ordinary least squares (OLS), maximum likehood (ML) and generalized method of moments (GMM). Empirical applications include cross-section, time-series and panel data. Prerequisite: Econ. 550a.

Econ 552b  Econometrics III — Y. Kitamura
This course is designed for first-year students with a strong background in statistical theory and second year students who have taken Econometrics II (Econ551). The aim of the course is to provide a theoretical background that is useful for research in econometric methods. The topics covered in this course are: (i) the basic linear model, including a review of relevant linear algebra and projection material (not covered in class), some optimality results of least squares (including loss and risk functions, sufficient statistics, and completeness), and finite sample testing results, (ii) some asymptotic theory not covered in econometrics I (econ550), (iii) consistency of extremum estimators--least squares, maximum likelihood, generalized method of moments, (iv) asymptotic normality of extremum estimators, (v) testing in nonlinear models (Wald, likelihood ratio, and Lagrange multiplier tests) and specification tests, (vi) parametric and nonparametric identification, with emphasis on the recent advances in nonparametric identifiability results, and (vii) basic nonparametric estimation techniques, such as kernel estimation, and various semiparametric estimators. Additional topics that will be discussed as time permits are: (viii) the bootstrap, (ix) simulation estimation, and (x) weak instruments.

Econ 553a  Econometrics IV: Time Series Econometrics — P. Phillips
This is a one semester version of a two-course sequence in time series econometrics.  This course provides an introduction to time series methods in econometrics covering aspects of trend behavior, detrending mechanisms and their properties, unit root theory, cointegrated system approaches, realized volatility and quarticity, model selection, Wold and BN decompositions, nonlinear nonstationary models, spatial density asymptotics, and long memory modeling.  Both time domain and frequency domain methods are discussed, and Bayesian as well as classical approaches are included.  The treatment relies on asymptotic theory for linear processes, martingales and martingale approximations.  Theory, computations and some empirical applications are discussed.  Most classes are divided into two parts, one dealing with theory and the other with empirics.  Credit for the course is obtained from a take home examination, a scientific overview paper, or an empirical paper that may be used for the applied econometrics paper requirement..

Econ 554b  Econometrics V — T. Armstrong  
The first part of this course  deals with empirical likelihood (EL) and other nonparametric maximum likelihood methods (NPMLE). EL and NPMLE is a direct application of the maximum likelihood estimation (MLE) method to nonparametric and semiparametric models. We focus on the rapidly growing literature on EL, though other applications of NPMLE will be also discussed. Applications to be covered include (conditional) moment restriction models, semiparametric discrete choice models, stratified/biased samples, mixture models, and measurement errors.
The second part of this course  covers nonparametric and semiparametric instrumental variables estimation. In particular, it focus on the case when the function of interest is identified through conditional moment restrictions and the estimation of the identified function involves the ill-posed inverse problems. Both sieve and kernel- based estimation methods are covered.
The third part of this course  covers inference with partial identification. The focus is on inference for parameters defined by unconditional or conditional moment inequalities and/or equalities. Applications of such methods include various missing data models and models with multiple equilibria.

[Econ 555b  Applied Econometrics II: Microeconomics]
The purpose of this course is to develop the concepts needed to approach empirical problems in microeconomics with econometrics. The focus is less on developing a catalogue of econometric methods than on developing a conceptual basis for understanding how data, econometric methodology and assumptions combine to produce statistical inference. We spend considerable time in thinking how to test these assumptions and how critical they are in producing our results. We will consider econometric methods in both cross-section economtetrics and panel data econometrics, exploring the tradeoff of assumptions, robustness, adherence to an economic model, and data requirements.   Special focus will be given to both cross-section and panel-data methods to control for endogenous regressors and selection bias.  

Econ 556a Topics in Empirical Economics & Public Polilcy.   C. Meghir, P. Goldberg, T. Petra

[Econ 557a Econometrics VI.

Econ 558a (IDE)  Statistics and Econometrics — M. Boozer
This is an introductory course in econometrics for IDE students. The topics in the course include basic probability and statistics; linear regression; estimation and testing of economic model.

[Econ 561b  Computational Methods: Economic Dynamics]
This course aims to teach students how to use computational methods to solve and analyze dynamic economic models. The first part of the course covers standard tools of numerical analysis that are useful in economics (minimization of functions, root-finding, interpolation, approximation of functions, integration, simulation). The second part shows how to use these tools to study dynamic economic problems in macroeconomics, finance, labor economics, public finance, and industrial organization. This part of the course pays special attention to methods for solving stochastic dynamic programming problems and for computing equilibria in economic models with heterogeneous actors.

[Econ 563a/CPSC 555a  Economics and Computation]
A mathematically rigorous investigation of the interplay of economic theory and computer science with an emphasis on the relationship of incentive compatibility and algorithmic efficiency.  Particular attention is paid to the formulation and solution of mechanism-design problems that are relevant to data networking and Internet-based commerce.  Suitable for mathematically inclined or advanced undergraduates and first-or second-year graduate students in Computer Science, Economics, or closely related fields.  Some familiarity with basic algorithmics and basic microeconomic theory will be helpful but is not a formal prerequisite.

Econ 567a/568b  Econometrics Research Seminar — Staff
This class will provide a forum for state-of-the-art research in econometrics. Its primary purpose will be to disseminate the results and the technical machinery of ongoing research in theoretical and applied fields. Efforts will be made to maintain a high level of effective communication through the conduct of the seminar and the provision of manuscripts.

Econ 570a/571b  Prospectus Workshop in Econometrics —Staff
A course for 3rd and 4th year students doing research in econometrics to assist in research start-up, to prepare prospectuses and to present dissertation work.


ECONOMIC HISTORY (575-589)  [top]

Econ 580a  General Economic History: Western Europe — T. Guinnane
A survey of some major events and issues in the economic development of Western Europe during the 18th and 19th centuries, stressing the causes, nature, and consequences of the industrial revolution in Britain and on the Continent, and the implications of the historical record for modern conceptions of economic growth.   This course is intended for students in the Economics program. Simultaneous enrollment in or successful completion of Econ 500a and Econ 510a; permission of the instructor.

Econ 581b  General Economic History: United States — N. Lamoreaux
This course will examine both the long-term factors (such as industrialization and the development of markets) and the epochal events (such as the Revolution, Civil War, and Great Depression) that have shaped the development of the American economy. The objectives of the course are to familiarize students with the major topics and debates in American economic history and to introduce students to the methods and materials of economic history.This course is intended for students in the Economics program.  Simultaneous enrollment in or successful completion of Econ 500a and Econ 510a; permission of the instructor.

[Econ 582a  Economic History of Latin America]
This course examines some major issues and events in the economic growth and development of selected countries in Latin America during the 19th and 20th centuries. Emphasis is on the institutions and other historical factors that have affected the relative long-run performance of Latin American countries and their implications for understanding economic development.

Econ 588a/589b  Workshop in Economic History — Staff
This workshop is organized as a forum for discussion and criticism of research in progress. Presentors will include graduate students, Yale faculty, and visitors. Topics concerned with long-run trends in economic organization are suitable for the seminar. Special emphasis will be given to the use of statistics and of economic theory in historical research.


MARKET ORGANIZATION AND PUBLIC POLICY (600-624)  [top]

Econ 600a/601b  Industrial Organization — Fall:  S. Berry, P. Haile; Spg:  Spg: M. Igami, N. Agarawal
The course combines theoretical and empirical analysis of market behavior. Methodologically, the emphasis is on identification and estimation of empirical models that are consistent with, or even derived directly from, theoretical models. Topics to be covered include collusion, demand estimation, differentiated products, oligopoly, entry and exit, vertical relations, auctions, dynamic oligopolymodels, network markets, estimation of production functions, and the roles of moral hazard and adverse selection in markets. While the focus of the course will be on empirical work, the discussion of each topic will include the relevant theoretical framework.

Econ 606a/607b  Prospectus Workshop in Industrial Organization  Staff
This workshop for third-year and other advanced students in industrial organization. It is intended to guide students in the early stages of dissertation research. The emphasis will be on presentation and discussion of material by students that will (hopefully) lead to dissertations by those students. Each student must make at least one such presentation by the end of the year and multiple presentations by students at different stages of their research are encouraged. Students enrolled in this workshop are strongly encouraged to attend at least one advanced workshop in the field or fields that interest them.

Econ 608a/609b  Industrial Organization Seminar —  Staff
For graduate students in applied micro economics and interested faculty. It will serve as a forum for presentation and discussion of work in progress of students, Yale faculty members, and invited speakers.


LABOR ECONOMICS (625-649)  [top]

Econ 630a  Labor Economics — J. Altonji, C. Meghir
First semester: Topics covered will include:  approaches to labor supply and family coordination of time allocation and commodity demand, incorporating gender and generational bargaining; human capital, job tenure, union status, and discrimination as wage determinants; wage inequality as affected by skill supplies, minimum wages, unions, immigration, and international trade; interpretation of compensating variations in wages as evidence on employer demands, job and location amenities.

Econ 631b  Labor Economics — J. Altonji, C. Meghir
Second semester: Topics covered will include static and dynamic models of labor supply, human capital wage function estimation, firm specific training, compensating wage differentials, discrimination, household production, bargaining models of household behavior, intergenerational transfers and mobility.

Econ 638a/639b  Labor/Public Economics Workshop  - Staff
A forum primarily for graduate students to exposit their research plans and findings. Students planning to write a dissertation on labor and human capital economics and related microeconomic and demographic household behavior should attend and participate. Discussions will encompass both high and low income countries. Faculty and several outside speakers will be invited to report on their research each term. Weekly meetings will be held on Friday's at noon.

Econ 640a/640b  Labor/Public EconomicsWorkshop — Staff
This workshop is for third-year and other advanced students in labor and public finance. It is intended to guide students in the early stages of dissertation research. The emphasis will be on presentation and discussion of material by students that will eventually lead to dissertation topics


MONEY AND FINANCE (650-674)  [top]

Econ 670a   Financial Economics I — 
The purpose of this course is to provide the foundations for the study of modern financial economics. Concentrating on individual's consumption and portfolio decisions under uncertainty, we will explore the implications of these decisions on the valuation of securities. The focus will be on single period models although some dynamics, discrete-time models will be considered. Topics will include stochastic dominance, arbitrage, CAPM and APT.

Econ 671b   Financial Economics II — J. Ingersoll
The sequence of courses Financial Economics I and II examines financial theory in detail. The first term covers single-period models and the second term examines multi-period models. Topics covered include arbitrage, portfolio theory, efficient markets, CAPM, APT, contingent claims pricing and the term structure of interest rates.

Econ 672a   Behavioral Finance  N. Barberis
Much of modern financial economics works with models in which agents are rational, in that they maximize expected utility and use Bayes' law to update their beliefs. Behavioral finance is a large and active field which studies models in which some agents are less than fully rational. Such models have two building blocks: limits to arbitrage, which make it difficult for rational traders to undo the dislocations caused by less rational traders; and psychology, which catalogues the kinds of deviations from full rationality we might expect to see. We discuss these two topics, and then consider a number of applications: asset pricing (the aggregate stock market and the cross-section of average returns); individual trading behavior; and corporate finance (security issuance, corporate investment, and mergers). This is a research-oriented course aimed at Ph.D. students. Undergraduate students with outstanding academic records and prior experience of graduate courses may register with the instructor's permission. Grades will be based on a small number of referee reports and a final exam.
Econ 674b/Mgmt 746b  Financial Crises -    G. Gorton, A. Metric
An elective doctoral course covering theoretical and empirical reserach on financial crises.  The first half of the course focuses on general models of financial crises and historical episodes from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.   The second half of the course focuses on the recent financial crisis.   Prerequisites:  Mgmt 740a and 741b (doctoral students in Economics may substitute the core microeconomics sequence), and permission of the instructor.


ECONOMICS OF THE PUBLIC SECTOR (675-699)   [top]

Econ 680a  Public Finance I  A. Kowalski
This course will introduce students to core concepts and empirical methodologies in public economics.  Core concepts include theories of government provision of public goods, moral hazard, and adverse selection.  Empirical methodologies will vary from standard reduced form techniques to structural estimation.   The first half of the course will focus on topics in health economics.  The second half will cover other topics in public economics including taxation, social security, and non-health components of government spending.  Students will prepare response papers and a research proposal.

Econ 681b  Public Finance II - A. Kowalski, staff
Econ 681b will cover social insurance, health care, charitable giving, externalities, crime and an introduction to political economy. Students will be expected to participate actively in class discussion and to write and present a short empirical research paper.


INTERNATIONAL TRADE AND FINANCE (700-724)   [top]

Econ 702b (IDE)  International Economics — A . Bubula
International trade theory, International Finance and their implications for economic policy. The text will most likely be by Krugman and Obstfeld. Basic training of trade theory and open-macroeconomics with discussion of the implication of these theories and empirical findings to actual formation of policy and the conduct of international institutions. Discussions of Hamada's recent experiences with the WTO, the IMF and the Japanese Government.

[Econ 708b/IR/561b (IR)  International Economic Analysis]
This course is a continuation of IR 560a/Econ 544a. It extends the use of economic analysis to international trade and monetary policy including exchange rates and balance of payments with an emphasis on their relation to international trade, cross border capital flows, and national economic policies. The second half of the course will introduce quantitative tools and analysis as a way to determine the effects of various policies, building on concepts introduced both in IR 560a/Econ 544a and the first part of this course.

Econ 720a  International Trade I — P. Goldberg, G. Maggi
This course will be organized in two parts.  The first part will cover the basic theory of international trade, spanning from neoclassical perfect-competition theory  where the trade is the result of comparative advantage (Ricardo, Hecksher-Ohlin), to the "New Trade Theory"  where trade is generated by impefect competition and increasing returns to scale.   Particular emphasis will be placed on the implications of the different theories concerning the sources of gains from trade and the distributional implications of trade liberalization.  The second part will focus on trade policy and international trade agreements.  Topics will include:  the classical theory of trade policies under perfect competition; the second-best theory of taxation in open economies; strategic trade policies under imperfect competition; political economy models of trade-policy making; the economic and political foundations of trade agreements, particularly the GATT/WTO; and the optimal design of trade agreements as (self-enforcing and incomplete) contracts between governments.

Econ 721b  International Trade II  - C. Arkolakis, S. Kortum
The first part of this course will be taught by Prof. Arkolakis and will focus on new firm-level theories of trade and analyze their qualitative and quantitative implications, at the firm- and the country-level.  The analysis will start by introducing firm-heterogeneity into different market structures such as perfect, Bertrand and monopolistic competition and deriving the micro-level predictions of these models.   The course will proceed by aggregating these frameworks to the country level and deriving implications about aggregate bilateral trade and welfare.  Finally, the calibration-estimation of these models and their quantitative predictions will be discussed.  The second part will be taught by Prof. Goldberg and will cover empirical topics with particular emphasis on current research areas.  Topics will include: tests of international trade theories; studies of the relationship between international trade, labor markets, and income distribution; recent trade liberalization episodes in developing countries; empirical assessment of various trade policies, such as VERs and Anti-Dumping; productivity (and its relation to international trade liberalization); protection of intellectual property rights in the global economy.  Methodologically, this part of the course will draw heavily on empirical models used in the field of Industrial Organization and to a lesser degree Labor Economics; taking these courses is thus recommended (though not required).

[Econ 724b  International Finance]
This class addresses the following main topics: exchange rate determination in open economy models, failures of the law of one price and pricing to market, international business cycles transmission in general equilibrium models, exporter dynamics, short and long run adjustments of trade flows, determinants of international capital flows and multinational production.  The readings for the class will be equally split between theory and empirical papers.  We will discuss stylized facts and the empirical performance of the models on these facts as well as major theoretical puzzles.  We will also discuss topics for new research questions on the empirical and theoretical front.

Econ 728a/729b  Workshop in International Trade — Staff
This workshop is a forum for discussion about research in International Trade. Yale graduate students conducting dissertation research in issues related to International Trade are strongly encouraged to present their work. They need to discuss guidelines and scheduling with the seminar organizers. Students who anticipate undertaking work in trade are expected to attend the workshop and to register at least during one semester.


ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT (725-749)  [top]

Econ 730a  Economic Development I — M. Rosenzweig, C. Udry
The goals of this course are two. The first half is to explore the application of microeconomic analysis to issues of development in poor countries. The second half will analyze the implications for Development of sectoral and economy-wide issues and policies such as growth, savings and investment (including foreign direct investment), domestic and external debt, fiscal, monetary, trade and exchange rate policies, and political economy. The focus of the microeconomic component of the course is the study of household behavior In developing countries. The course will cover formal and informal financial markets, household savings and investment decisions, education, health and nutrition, technological innovation and project evaluation. The focus of the second component is primarily on analytics of policy based on recent literature. Experience of individual and groups of developing countries will be used illustratively. This course presumes knowledge of development economics at an undergraduate level. Students should have knowledge of the structural characteristics of developing countries, and be familiar with the traditional models of development economics (basic growth theory, macroeconomic and trade theories and dual economy models). In addition, it is assumed that you have the first-year sequences in microeconomics and econometrics.

Econ 731b  Economic Development II —D. Karlan, M. Rosenzweig
Analysis of development since the second world war. Planning and policymaking across countries and over time. Models of development, growth, foreign trade and investment. Trade, capital and technology flows and increasing interdependence. Macroeconomics of Development; Monetary, Fiscal and Exchange Rate Policies; Stabilization and adjustment, models of speculative attacks and financial crises. The political economy of policymaking and policy reform. Developing countries in global financial and trading system and institutions.

Econ 732b (IDE)  Economic Development IDE — M. Boozer
Examines the models of classical and modern economists to explain the transition of developing economies into modern economic growth, as well as their relevance to income distribution, poverty alleviation and human development outcomes. For students not pursuing a Ph.D. in Economics. This course will focus on development theory and policy and cover many of the topics included in 730a and 731b.

[Econ 735b/329b  Economics of Agriculture]
This course is directed toward understanding the performance of the agricultural sector in the process of economic development. In the first part of the course the role of the sector in aggregated (macro) growth and development theories, including the recent endogenous growth theories is reviewed. In the second part of the course several micro-economic topics focussing on the agricultural household are covered. These include production and cost efficiency, time allocation and labor use, (including migration), contracts under varying forms of market efficiency, nutrition and health. The third part of the couse deals with the production and diffusion of improved agricultural technology. The fourth part deals with institutions, infrastructure and markets. The final section covers food security policy and international markets.

[Econ 736a/479a  Economics of Technology]
Focus on an analysis of the microeconomic incentives for the discovery and adoption of new technology and on the macroeconomic implications of technical change. Topics include the incentives to conduct research and development; patents and other means of appropriating the returns from R&D investment; measuring the effects of technical change; national policies for directing technical change.

Econ 737a/330a  Economics of Natural Resources — R. Mendelsohn
Microeconomic theory brought to bear on current issues in natural resource policy. Topics include regulation of pollution, hazardous waste management, depletion of the world's forests and fisheries, wilderness and wildlife preservation, and energy planning.

Econ 738a/738b  Workshop on Environment and Natural Resources — W. Nordhaus R. Mendelsohn
Review economic studies in the environment and natural resources. Areas of concern will be global lelnvironmental issues, conceptual issues in environmental economics, energy economics, and mathematical modeling of this area.

[Econ 740b Experimental Economics Seminar]
This is a doctoral level course on field experiments, i.e., controlled experiments that take place outside the university laboratory. The course includes standard laboratory-type surveys in non-standard environments, all the way to fully "natural" experiments in which the subects do not realize that they are participating in controlled research. The course will be part methodological (e.g. selection bias, human subjects concerns, statistical techniques) and part substantive.   A large focus will be on design of experiments, across many sub-fields within economics and other social science disciplines, with a large attention to using experiments to test theories. The major requirement for the course (in addition to presenting and critiquing papers from the literature) will be to fully design an implementable field experiment. Topics covered will include racial discrimination; incentives and cooperation; risk and time preferences; commitment and self-control; savings behavior; credit behavior; public health; education; charitable giving; altruism and social preferences; and possibly more depending on interest.  Despite the long list of topics, research from developing countries will receive more than its pro-rata share of attention. Students from non-economics fields are welcome to contact the professors to discuss enrollment.

Econ 749a/750b  Development Workshop — Staff
This workshop is designed as a forum for graduate students and faculty with an interest in international trade and economic problems of developing countries. Faculty, students, and a limited number of outside speakers will discuss research work in progress. Student participants will be encouraged to develop and present a workshop paper in each term. The scope of topics includes: international trade (theory, policy and empirical analysis), agricultural and rural development, industrial development, employment, poverty and income distribution, structural adjustment and macroeconomic stabilization and interaction of international trade and development.

Econ 756a/756b  Prospectus Workshop in Development —  Staff
This workshop is for third-year and other advanced students in Development. It is intended to guide students in the early stages of dissertation research. The emphasis will be on presentation and discussion of material by students that will eventually lead to dissertation topics.


ECONOMIC DEMOGRAPHY (775-784)  [top]

[Econ 776b/462b  The Economics of Population]
Analysis of economic aspects of population change including fertility, mortality, health, marriage, migration, and labor force behavior. Microeconomic models of household behavior incorporating gender and inter-generational bargaining over resource allocation, are used to explain behavior in contemporary low- and high-income countries. Policy interventions that seek to improve health, reduce fertility, or change work patterns are then evaluationed statistically based on the developed models of household behavior.


ECONOMIC SYSTEMS AND NATIONAL ECONOMIES (785-899)  [top]

[Econ 786a  International Political Economy]
This new course will cover a range of major topics in international political economy. It is intended as a complement to Economics 787b/Polsci 752b and Economics 700a. It will assume rational behavior of individuals and groups with respect to economic and political decision, given relevant constraints, but in a predominantly international context. Since a primary intent of the course is to foster interdiciplinary discussion and research in this area, the range of topics covered (and methods of analysis) will depend to some extent on the interests and prior analytical training of participants. Among the likely topics are international trade, international finance, economic integration, international institutions, harmonization of international labor and environmental standards, and policy reform. Students will be asked to prepare class presentations and to write a course paper.

Econ 788a/PolSci 575a  Political Competition - John Roemer
Political competition in democracies is party competition. We develop, from the formal viewpoint, theories of party competition in democracies. The familiar "median voter theorem" of A. Downs is the simplest example of such a theory, but it is inadequate in several ways. We develop a theory in which parties: (1) compete over several issues, not just one issue, as in Downs; (2) are uncertain about how citizens will respond to platforms; and (3) represent interest groups in the population. Applications, particularly to the theory of income distribution and taxation, are studied.

Econ 790b  Political Economy —  E. Washington
The course provides an overview of the field of empirical political economy. While students will be expected to familiarize themselves with the most prevalent models in the field, the emphasis in this course will be on the applied work. The goal is for students to attain a working knowledge of the literature, to learn to critically evaluate the literature and most importantly to develop the skills to come up with interesting, workable and theoretically grounded reserach questions that will push that literature forward.

[Econ 792b/PoliSci 721b  Political Economy of Institutions and Development] 
TDescription forthcoming.

[Econ 793b  Comparative and International Political Economy]
The first section of the course will focus on the link between theoretical models and current work in empirical political economy.  Topics may include war, ethnic fragmentation, the resource curse, the optimal size of jurisdictions, decentralization, and federalism.  Emphasis will be placed on structural estimation techniques where applicable.  The second section of the course will focus on endogenous trade policies, and in particular on optimal trade policies under perfect competition and under oligopoly; the political economy of unilateral trade policy; and the economics of international trade agreements.  Both theoretical and empirical work on these topics will be discussed.

Econ 794b  Political Economy —  G. Maggi
Description forthcoming.

[Econ 791a/PLSC 595a  Theories of Distributive Justice. ]
We survey the main theories of distributive justice proposed by economists and political philosophers since 1950, critiquing each theory from both the economic and philosophical perspective. Topics covered include Arrow's impossibility theorem and its resolution, axiomatic bargaining theory (J. Nash and followers), utilitarianism according to J. Harsanyi and others, egalitarianism according to J. Rawls and A. Sen, the veil of ignorance as a thought experiment, neo-Lockeanism according to R. Nozick, resource egalitarianism according to R. Dworkin, and equality of opportunity according to R. Arneson, G.A. Cohen, and J. Roemer. The main text, Theories of Distributive Justice (J.E. Roemer, 1996), will be supplemented by other readings. Pre-requisite: PLSC 517 or equivalent sophistication with micro-economic modelling.

[Econ 795b/PLSC 795b  Models of Political Economy]
This course provides an overview of recent scholarship applying game theory to topics in political economy.  After providing a brief overview of the canonical models employed to model lawmaking and elections — the Downsian model of political competition, the citizen-candidate models of politics, and models of repeated elections — we will examine scholarship analyzing the policy and welfare consequences of alternative institutional arrangements. Such topics will include models of campaign finance regulatioin, models of federalism, models of redistricting, and models analyzing the consequence of alternative electoral and party systems.

[Econ 797b  Institutions, Politics, and Economic Policy (in Developing Countries)]
This course examines issues on the political economy of institutions, with an empirical emphasis on developing countries (especially in Latin American) from a comparative perspective. It draws on theoretical tools and concepts used mostly in economics (such as game theory and the new institutuional economics) to look into issues that are largely political. The first part of the class looks into theories of institutions and of institutional development, with emphasis on long-term development paths and on the endogeneity of institutions. The second part of the class investigates the contemporaneous functioning of political systems and policymaking processes, and their effects on public policies and economic performance. Some empirical topics include federalism, redistribution, and social policies. The emphasis will be on the ideas, not on the modeling per se, but students should be able to read materials that base their arguments on mathematical models and/or econometric evidence. The class is geared towards graduate students in Economics and Political Science - and it assumes some knowledge of game theory and of classic results in public choice / social choice theory.

[Econ 890b  Stochastic Dynamic Programming and Stochastic Games]
Stochastic dynamic programming is the theoery of how to "control" a stochastic process so as to maximize the chance, or the expected value, of some objective. For example, a player might try to choose bets (investments) to maximize the chance of winning $1000 while playing roulette (the stock market). The subject is also known as Markov decision theory, stochastic control, or even gambling theory. The multitude of names is due in part to the many fields of application which include statistics, economics, opeations research, and mathematical finance. The course will cover the basic theory of discrete-time dynamic programming including backward induction, discounted dynamic programming, positive, and negative dynamic programming. Several examples will be treated in detail. In a stochastic game, two or more players jointly control a stochastic process. Typically the players have different ojectives and each player seeks to control the process in a way favorable to him or her. There will be an introduction of some fundamental concepts of game theory including the notions of the value of a two-person, zero-sum game and a Nash equilibrium for an n-person game. These concepts will then be used to study n-person stochastic games. The course will introduce strategic market games. These are stochasatic games with infinitely many players that are used to model certain aspects of a large economy.

[Econ 798a/Plsc 724a  Equity and Climate Change] 
Climate change presents two important challenges for equity:  1)  How should the rights to emit carbon into the biosphere be allocated across the present and future generations (i.e., equity across time) and 2) how should the rights...be allocated among regions of the world in the next 75, or so, years (i.e., equity across space).  The course will present work, mainly by economists, addressing these issues.   The problem will be to study paths of resource use which maximize an appropriate intergenerational social welfare function, subject to emitting a time-stream of CO2 which will maintain atmospheric concentration of carbon at an acceptable level.  We will address debates involving utilitarianism, sustainability, and appropriate rates at which to discount the utility of future generations.
 

Econ 899a/899b  Independent Reading and Research — Faculty