Spring 2014

Behavior of firms and consumers, functions of the price system, competition and monopoly, labor markets, poverty, government regulation, international trade, and the environment.

Unemployment, inflation and output determination and links.Effects of government taxation and spending on growth, investment,saving, consumption, and trade.

Decision making by business firms, consumer preferences and behavior, uncertainty, competition, monopoly, labor and resource markets, efficient resource allocation, externalities, and government policy.

The determinants of aggregate income, employment, and inflation;economic fluctuations; fiscal and monetary policy; financialmarkets; the national debt.

Introduction to statistical methods appropriate for analyzing economic data: probability theory, random variables and probability distributions, sampling, estimation, statistical inference.

Causes of economic underdevelopment: historical, institutional, structural, ideological, technological, cultural. Patterns and theories of development. Role of government, international trade, and education in economic growth.

Contemporary economic problems of the Middle East: comparative and historical perspectives on issues of institutions, investment, oil, trade, migration, finance, inequality, labor and capital markets. Recommended preparation: ECON 205 and ECON 303.

A comprehensive investigation of problems stemming from changing composition of the workforce, urban decline, new technologies, inequalities, ethnic relations, government deficits. Prospects for continued growth.

International cooperation and conflict in the world economy. Global economic problems of growth and development, trade and finance, migration, economic stability, and the environment.

Development and business applications of: theory of the firm; theory of the consumer; inter-temporaldecisions; decisions under risk; market failures; industrial and enterprise structure. Not for major credit for: Economics, Economics/Mathematics, Social Sciences (Economics).

Theoretical development and significance to business and markets of economic growth; inflation;unemployment; monetary and fiscal policy; business cycles; savings and investment; exchange rates.Recommended preparation: introductory economics course, high school math, and algebra. Not for major credit for: Economics, Economics/Mathematics, Social Sciences (Economics).

The money, bond, stock, and other financial markets; portfolio choice; determinants of asset prices and interest rates; inflation; interactions between financial markets and government policies.

Selected policy dilemmas, including welfare reform, urban renewal, government budget deficits, regulation and deregulation, environmental problems, immigration, and global development. Lectures by leading authorities and weekly discussion sessions.

Introduction to the methodology used in experimental neuroeconomics and discussion of neural correlates of decision-making. Prerequisite: ECON 303.

Application of statistical methods to economic data: estimating economic relationships using regression analysis, testing hypotheses involving economic behavior, forecasting economic variables.

Analysis of economic variables; investigation of empirical economics to estimate or test for relationships using various forms of data. Prerequisite: ECON 303, ECON 305, ECON 317 and ECON 414.

Common law and property; rationing of justice; resource allocation between prevention and enforcement; division of decision making between public and private sectors.

Determinants and economic consequences of international trade patterns; effects of trade restrictions and trading blocs; trade negotiations and arrangements.

Economic approaches and political processes are used to explain observed international trade policy choices. Topics covered include globalization, regionalism, labor standards, the environment and sanctions. Recommended preparation: ECON 450, IR 330

Consequences of trade deficits; theories of capital and currency markets, exchange rate regimes, and international monetary coordination.

A human capital interpretation of labor demand and supply; wage determination, differentials, and discrimination; job turnover and occupational mobility; unions and collective bargaining.

Health as an investment in human capital; analysis of the demand for and supply of health services and manpower; health insurance; cost-effectiveness analysis; market structures and the pricing of medical services.

Pricing and resource allocation in imperfectly competitive markets; monopoly regulation, collusion, cartels, mergers and antitrust; patents and development incentives; industry case studies.

Supervised individual research. Not available for graduate credit. Requires departmental approval.

Individual research supervised by a faculty advisor. Successful completion required for departmental honors degree.

Selected topics in economic theory, history, or policy.

Theories of the household and the firm; product and factor markets; perfect and imperfect competition; welfare criteria.

Theories of aggregate economic activity; design and use of macroeconometric models; stabilization and control of inflation, unemployment, and growth.

Review of statistical methods of estimation and inference, linear regression with multicollinearity and serial correlation; multivariate regression and simultaneous equations.

Application of econometric tools using standard econometric software packages for microcomputers; empirical applications to selected economic problems of estimation and inference.

Historical trends in developed and developing societies in various aspects of modernization such as human resources, capital, technology, resource allocation, income distribution, international relations.

Information, property rights, bargaining, transaction costs, incentives, free-riding and contracting in organizations; the nature of cooperation; bureaucracies.

Development, underdevelopment and the problems thereof; agriculture, industry, trade, population, human capital, capital formation; structural, technological, environmental and institutional changes; political economy of the state.

Research leading to the master's degree. Maximum units which may be applied to the degree to be determined by the department. Graded CR/NC.

Practical principles for the long-term development of effective teaching within college disciplines. Intended for teaching assistants in Dornsife College.

Credit on acceptance of Thesis. Graded CR/NC.

Credit on acceptance of Thesis. Graded CR/NC.

Credit on acceptance of Thesis. Graded CR/NC.

Selected topics in economics as developed by the instructor.

General equilibrium theory; existence, uniqueness, and stability; welfare economics; social choice; dynamic models and uncertainty; special topics.

Macroeconomic theory based on the concepts of optimal growth and intertemporal equilibrium; overlapping generations models; recent developments in macroeconomic theory.

Advanced methodology of neuroeconomics including neural activity, memory, value and reward systems, emotions, and risk. Prerequisite: ECON 503.

Simultaneous equation models, dynamic structural econometric models, vector autoregressions, causality, forecasting, univariate and multivariate nonstationary time series, tests for unit roots, cointegration, autoregressive conditional heteroscedasticity models, time series models with changes in regime.

Stock returns, predictability and volatility, random walk and variance-bounds tests, estimation of capital asset, multifactor, and derivative pricing models, term structure of interest rates.

Laboratory methods for testing economic theory; experimental comparison of alternative market and non-market institutions; identification of behavioral responses to alternative regulations.

Experimental methods relying on non-choice data. Design methods of experiments that record information in decision-making and physiological data of emotions. Prerequisite: ECON 503. Recommended preparation: ECON 616. Graded C/NC.

Theory and empirics of the sources of and barriers to economic development and the micro underpinnings of macroeconomic dynamics of growth, inequality, and productivity.

Household production models and intra-household models of behavior and their empirical implementation, focus on poverty, human resouce investments and their interaction with public policies.

Balance of payments concepts and measures; price theory and the foreign exchange market; international monetary systems; adjustment mechanisms; speculation and official intervention.

Financial market equilibrium and partial equilibrium asset pricing in discrete and continuous time; properties of equilibria with and without complete markets: theory of option prices: Black-Scholes pricing formula; term structure of interest rates; hedging strategies and managing market risk using options, futures and swaps; hedging exhange-rates risks.

Theories and methods of government regulation; effects of regulation on various industries; behavior of regulatory agencies.

Current research in economic theory presented by faculty, students, and outside scholars. Graded CR/NC.

Current research in econometrics presented by faculty, students, and outside scholars. Graded CR/NC.

Current research in international, regional, and urban development economics presented by faculty, students, and outside scholars. Graded CR/NC.

Topics in dynamic economics involving business fluctuations, economic growth and development, microeconomic adjustments and market mechanisms; related quantitative and qualitative methods; empirical research involving economic change. Graded CR/NC.

Research leading to the doctorate. Maximum units which may be applied to the degree to be determined by the department. Graded CR/NC.

Credit on acceptance of Dissertation. Graded CR/NC.

Credit on acceptance of Dissertation. Graded CR/NC.

Credit on acceptance of Dissertation. Graded CR/NC.

Credit on acceptance of Dissertation. Graded CR/NC.

Credit on acceptance of Dissertation. Graded CR/NC.