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Economic
Theory (500-549) [top] |
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|
| Econ 500a General
Economic Theory: Microeconomics — T. Bewley, J. Geanakoplos |
|
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 502a Mathematical
Foundations of Economic Analysis — E. Faingold |
|
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 — E. Engel, B. Bruegemann |
|
Analysis of short-run and long-run determination of aggregate employment,
income, inflation, wages, and interest rates. Private consumption and investment behavior.
Economic growth. Stochastic dynamic programming with applications to macroeconomics. |
| Econ 511b General
Economic Theory: Macroeconomics — E. Engel, 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 — K. Rozen, J. Hörner |
|
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 — D. Bergemann, 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
— Fall: D. Bergemann, D. Brown; Spg: B. Polak, E. Faingold |
|
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, G. Violante |
|
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 — A. Tsyvinski |
|
Macroeconomic equilibrium in the presence of uninsurable labor income
risk. Implications for savings, asset prices, unemployment. |
| Econ 527a Behavioral and
Institutional Economics — R. Shiller |
|
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 Asset Pricing
— D. Brown |
|
This academic year, Economics 530 and 531 will constitute a one-year
course in mathematical finance. The first term will be taught by Don Brown and the
principal topic is 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.
The second term is on asset pricing and optimality in complete financial markets and will
be taught by John Geanakoplos. |
| Econ 531b Mathematical
Economics II — J. Geanakoplos |
|
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 535a/536b Prospectus
Workshop in Mathematical Economics |
|
Workshop for students researching in mathematical economics to meet to
present and discuss work. |
Econ 537a/538b Microeconomic Theory Workshop
— Fall: K. Rozen, J. Hörner;
Spring: J. Geanakoplos, L.
Samuelson |
|
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 — Fall: B. Bruegemann, G. Moscarini |
|
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
— Fall: T. Smith, A. Tsyvinski, B. Bruegemann, E. Engel |
|
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 — C. Doss |
|
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 — T. Otsu |
|
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 for second year students who have already taken Econometrics II.
The aim of the course is to provide a theoretical background that is useful for research
in econometric methods. The course will cover fundamental asymptotic results and their
utilization in the treatment of nonlinear parametric models. Maximum likelihood and
generalized method of moments estimators and tests will be considered. Additional topics
include asymptotic efficiency, identification, and nonparametric methods. |
| Econ 553a Econometrics
IV: Time Series Econometrics — P. Phillips |
|
This course provides an introduction to time series methods in
econometrics, has an emphasis on stationary time series, considers classical and Bayesian
approaches, deals with model determination issues and covers the following topics. Trend
elimination. Strict stationarity, and ergodic theory with econometric applications. Weak
dependence, mixing, near epoch dependence and linear processes. Martingales, martingale
convergence theory, strong laws and central limit theory. The Wold decomposition and
prediction theory. BN decompositions and the Phillips–Solo device. Frequency domain
methods, nonparametric spectral estimation and long run variance estimation. Theory,
applications and computational aspects are covered. Credit for the course is obtained from
a take home examination and involves an empirical computer application. |
| Econ 554b Econometrics
V — X. Chen |
|
This course intends to cover various aspects of semi-nonparametric
econometric models. We shall first motivate the need of semi-nonparametric methods
by several famous papers. We then introduce four leading semi-nonparametric
smoothing methods: sieve, penalization, kernal and local linear (polynomial)
regression. Instead of presenting each semi-nonparameric model by model in great
detail, we shall study the consistency, rate of convergence, semiparametric efficiency,
limiting distribution and inference of general semi-nonparametric models from the point of
view of extremum estimation. We also discuss recent development in nonparametric
instrumental variables identification, estimation and testing. We shall discuss many
semi-nonparametric models and methods that have been successfully applied in empirical
labor, consumer theory, industry organization, game theory, program evaluation,
non-classical measurement error, empirical finance, learning models, nonlinear time
series, panel and spatial models, etc. The prerequisite for this course is
Econometrics I and II (or III). Additional tools will be developed as needed.
Course requirements and grading: 2 or 3 homeworks, one presentation, one short
paper. |
| Econ 555b Applied
Econometrics II: Microeconomics — E. Vytlacil |
|
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. The empirical exercises consist of journal
article replications, but the principal focus of the course is to produce a paper that
either satisfies or forms the basis of an acceptable economics paper for the departmental
requirement for the Ph.D, in Economics. For a detailed description of the
econometrics paper requirement, click here. |
| 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 561a 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 — D. Bergemann, J. Feigenbaum |
|
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 —
Fall: D. Andrews; Spring: E. Vyltacil |
|
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 — Fall: Y. Kitamura; Spring: X. Chen |
|
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 580b 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 581a General
Economic History: United States — B. Chabot |
|
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. |
| [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 585b/Hist
797b Readings in Economic History — T. Guinnane, F. Trivellato |
|
Classics in economic history. Emphasis on Europe from the late medieval to
the modern period, but readings also cover the Atlantic and North America, and include
comparisons with China. Among the themes to be discussed: the industrial revolution;
slavery; guilds and woman's work; historical demography; long-distance trade and tafiffs.
This course does not satisfy the economic history requirement for Ph.D. students in
Economics. |
| Econ 588a/589b Workshop in Economic History
— T. Guinnane |
|
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 & Spring: S. Berry, A. Shcherbakov |
|
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 — S. Berry |
|
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 — J. Chevalier, J. Hastings |
|
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 — F. Lange |
|
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, M. Tartari |
|
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 and Population Workshop
— Fall: J. Altonji, E. Washington; Spg: F. Lange, M. Tartari |
|
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 Prospectus Workshop in Labor
Economics and Public Finance — Fall: Altonji; Spg: Lange |
|
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 — Z. Chen |
|
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. |
|
Economics of the Public Sector (675-699)
[top] |
|
|
| [Econ 680a Public
Finance I] |
|
Topics in Econ 680a will include economics of taxation (tax incidence,
welfare cost of taxation and optimal taxation), public goods and externality and theory of
discrimination. Students will be expected to make short presentations and participate
actively in class discussion. Students will also be expected to to write a short reserach
paper in the first term, and can either extend that paper in the second term or write
another short paper. Empirical papers, which can also be submitted for the
econometrics requirements will be encouraged. There will be a oral final examination
in each term. |
| Econ 681b Public
Finance II — A. Tsyvinski |
|
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 — C. Arkolakis |
|
This course will cover the theory of international trade, policy and
institutions. Classical (Ricardian), Neo-classical (Hecksher-Ohlin-Samuelson) and more
recent (Helpman-Grossman-Krugman) imperfect-Competition-Scale-Economies based static
models of trade will be discussed. Dynamic extensions of some of the models that explore
the relations between trade, innovation and growth will be presented. The analytics of
trade policy issues, such as gains from trade, tariffs and quotas, customs unions and free
trade areas, and political economy of trade policy making will be discussed. The economic
foundations multilateral institutions governing world trade, viz. GATT and its successor
WTO, will be analyzed. |
| Econ 721b International
Trade II — S. Redding |
|
This course will cover empirical topics in International Trade 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); exchange rates,
market integration and international trade. Methodologically, the course will draw heavily
on empirical models used in the fields of Industrial Organization and to a lesser degree
Labor Economics; taking these courses is thus recommended (though not required) 1/2 credit
course. |
| Econ 724b International
Finance - G. Eggertsson |
|
This class addresses the following main topics: macroeconomic policy
in small and large open economy, exchange rate determination, determinants of
international capital flows. Specific topics include intertemporal approach to
current account and its empirical performance, international transmission of monetary
policy in a general equilibrium model (new open macro), models of exchange rates and their
empirical performance (a random walk problem), international asset trade, financial
crises, sovereign debt, capital controls, exchange rate regimes, role of international
financial institutions. The readings for the class will be equally split between theory
and empirical papers. We will discuss stylized facts and puzzles, proposed explanations,
and empirical performance of these proposed models. We will also discuss relevant
policy questions and review academic debates on those. |
| Econ 728a/729b
Workshop in International Trade
— C. Arkolakis, S. Redding, P. Schott |
|
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 — 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/325b
(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. D. Karlan, J. Jamison |
|
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
— Fall: Dean Karlan |
|
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 — Fall: C. Udry |
|
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 — J. 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 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 899a/899b Independent
Reading and Research — Faculty |
|
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