Fall 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.

Application of statistical methods to economic data: estimating economic relationships using regression analysis, testing hypotheses involving economic behavior, forecasting economic variables. Prerequisite: ECON-317. Duplicates credit in former ECON-414.

Contract law and economic organization, determinants of firm boundaries, transaction cost economics, agency theory, incomplete contracting, business strategy, bureaucracy, institutional environment, politics and property rights.

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.

Contemporary economic problems of sub-Saharan economies: policies and endowments. Focus on issues of poverty, agriculture, health, macroeconomy and political economy.

A focus on the Chinese economy, its reform and transition to a market economy, its relation with East Asian countries and integration into the world economy.

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.

Introduction to quantitative methods for analyzing economic equilibria; comparative statics and dynamics. Utility theory, consumer behavior, and profit maximization. Model formulation in micro and macroeconomics.

Analysis of strategic economic interactions. Topics include bargaining, insurance, patents, voting, environment depletion, strategic trade, learning, reputation, strikes, corporate takeovers, and the provision of public goods.

What is happiness? How does it vary by socio-economic status and over the life cycle? This course will develop insight into the nature and determinants of subjective well-being. Recommended preparation: ECON 305

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

General equilibrium analysis of economics with financial markets; decision making under uncertainty; methods of risk reduction; portfolio theory and valuation of securities; efficiency of security markets.

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.

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.

Introduction to probability theory and statistical inference to prepare students for graduate courses in econometrics and economic theory; probability, random variables, distributions, estimation, testing, asymptotics.

Classical economic theory; its precursors, main contributors, extensions, and critics; focus upon the writings and ideas of Smith, Say, Malthus, Ricardo, Mill and Marx.

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

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.

Optimization of the consumer and the firm; duality and imputed value; perfect and imperfect competition in product and factor markets. Prerequisites: ECON 401. Recommended preparation: ECON 500. Duplicates credit in former ECON 503.

Aggregate demand, supply and government policy; theories of economic growth and business cycles; static and dynamic implications of government policies. Prerequisite: ECON 401. Duplicates credit in former ECON 505.

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

Introduction to probability theory and statistical inference to prepare students for graduate courses in econometrics and economic theory; probability, random variables, distributions, estimation, testing, asymptotics. Prerequisite: MATH-226. Duplicates credit in former ECON-514.

Use of quantitative models to describe and forecast economic activity; estimation and application of such models to selected policy problems. Prerequisites: ECON 609.

Experimental methods of and design of computer-based experiments. Use of standard software for data collection in individual decision-making experiments and games. Prerequisite: ECON-601. 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. Prerequisites: ECON 601 and ECON 609.

Empirical treatment of advanced topics in international finance including the determination of real and nominal exchange rates; stabilization policies in developing currencies and currency crisis models. Econometric methods in analyzing foreign exchange data and in forecasting. Recommended preparation: ECON 625, ECON 651

Equilibrium model of finance economy; absence of arbitrage; complete and incomplete markets; asset pricing theory: representative agent pricing, Capital Asset Pricing Model, martingale property of security prices. Prerequisite: ECON-601.

Decision making, economic behavior and organization in firms; types of competition and market structure; property rights, nonprofit decision making. Prerequisite: ECON-500 or ECON-601.

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.

Time-series methods; aggregation; structural models and methods such as factor analysis and multiple indicator models; various special topics.

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.