Ec 11
Introduction to Economics
9 units (3-2-4)
|
first, third terms
An introduction to economic methodology, models, and institutions. Includes both basic microeconomics and an introduction to modern approaches to macroeconomic issues. Students are required to participate in economics experiments.
Instructors:
Plott, Rangel
BEM/Ec/SS 20
Scientific Writing and Oral Presentation in the Social Sciences
6 units (2-0-4)
|
second term
This class provides the opportunity for students to improve their written and oral presentation skills in the social sciences. Students should come prepared with complete drafts of papers from another course or a SURF project, which they will substantially revise and improve in a style typical of peer-reviewed journals in their discipline. These papers must be the students' original work and must be papers with social science content. An initial introduction to the art of scientific writing will be provided by the staff of the Hixon Writing Center. In addition, each student will work closely with an HSS mentor whose own research is close to the student's paper topic. Fulfills the Institute scientific writing requirement and the option oral presentation requirement for HSS majors.
Instructor:
Yariv
Ec 98 abc
Senior Research and Thesis
Prerequisites: instructor's permission.
Senior economics majors wishing to undertake research may elect a variable number of units, not to exceed 12 in any one term, for such work under the direction of a member of the economics faculty.
Ec 101
Selected Topics in Economics
9 units (3-0-6)
|
offered by announcement
Instructors:
Staff, visiting lecturers
Ec 105
Industrial Organization
9 units (3-0-6)
Prerequisites: Ec 11 or equivalent.
A study of how technology affects issues of market structure and how market structure affects observable economic outcomes, such as prices, profits, advertising, and research and development expenditures. Emphasis will be on how the analytic tools developed in the course can be used to examine particular industries in detail.
Instructor:
Iaryczower
Ec 106
Topics in Applied Industrial Organization
9 units (3-0-6)
|
third term
Prerequisites: Ec 11; Ec 116 recommended.
Topics include simulation of mergers in oligopolistic industries, valuation of intellectual property, price setting and concentration in the pharmaceutical market, and statistical analysis of combined tobacco and asbestos exposure. A term paper will be required. Not offered 2009-10.
Ec 116
Contemporary Socioeconomic Problems
9 units (3-0-6)
|
first term
Prerequisites: Ec 11 and PS 12 or equivalents.
An analytical investigation of the economic aspects of certain current social issues. Topics: the economics of education, medical-care systems, urban affairs, and the welfare system. Not offered 2009-10.
Ec 118
Environmental Economics
9 units (3-0-6)
|
third term
Prerequisites: Ec 11 or equivalent.
This course provides a survey from the perspective of economics of public policy issues regarding the management of natural resources and the protection of environmental quality. The course covers both conceptual topics and recent and current applications. Included are principles of environmental and resource economics, management of nonrenewable and renewable resources, and environmental policy with the focus on air pollution problems, both local problems (smog) and global problems (climate change).
Instructor:
Ledyard
Ec 121 ab
Theory of Value
9 units (3-0-6)
|
first, second terms
Prerequisites: Ec 11 and Ma 2 (may be taken concurrently).
A study of consumer preference, the structure and conduct of markets, factor pricing, measures of economic efficiency, and the interdependence of markets in reaching a general equilibrium.
Instructor:
Border
Ec 122
Econometrics
9 units (3-0-6)
|
first term
Prerequisites: Ma 112 a.
The application of statistical techniques to the analysis of economic data.
Instructor:
Sherman
Ec 123
Macroeconomics
9 units (3-0-6)
|
third term
Prerequisites: Ec 11 and modest ability to program in Matlab or Mathematica.
The role of time and uncertainty in understanding the behavior of economic aggregates such as investment, employment, and price levels. Emphasis is on representative-agent recursive equilibrium models. Topics include practical dynamic programming; job search, matching, and unemployment; asset pricing; monetary and fiscal policy; and taxation and insurance. Not offered 2009-10.
Ec/SS 129
Economic History of the United States
9 units (3-0-6)
|
second term
Prerequisites: Ec 11 or SS 13.
An examination of certain analytical and quantitative tools and their application to American economic development.
Instructor:
Rosenthal
Ec/SS 130
Economic History of Europe from the Middle Ages to the Industrial Revolution
9 units (3-0-6)
Prerequisites: Ec 11 or SS 13.
Employs the theoretical and quantitative techniques of economics to help explore and explain the development of the European cultural area between 1000 and 1850. Topics include the rise of commerce, the demographic transition, the industrial revolution, and changes in property rights and capital markets. Not offered 2009-10.
Ec 131
Market Design
9 units (3-0-6)
Prerequisites: Ec 11 or equivalent.
This course studies the design of markets, focusing on efficient organizations and the incentives created by market rules. Applications include online auction markets, government auctions of natural resources, matching markets (e.g., students to classes or schools or kidneys to recipients), and electricity and gas markets. It will examine the details of real-world markets, using game theoretic analysis, empirical analysis, and experimental work. Not offered 2009-10.
Ec 132
Auctions
9 units (3-0-6)
|
second term
Prerequisites: Ec 11.
The course covers basic topics in auction theory (private and common value auctions, revenue equivalence, reserve prices, budget constraints, risk aversion, etc.) and discusses more advanced theory such as mechanism design, multi-unit auctions, and interdependent valuations. Experimental studies of auctions will be reviewed where appropriate. The course will also discuss practical considerations that arise when designing auctions to sell licenses in a particular industry.
Instructor:
Goeree
Ec 140
Economic Progress
9 units (3-0-6)
|
third term
Prerequisites: Ec 11 and Ma 2; Ec 122 recommended.
This course examines the contemporary literature on economic growth and development from both a theoretical and historical/empirical perspective. Topics include a historical overview of economic progress and the lack thereof; simple capital accumulation models; equilibrium/planning models of accumulation; endogenous growth models; empirical tests of convergence; the measurement and role of technological advancement; and the role of trade, institutions, property rights, human capital, and culture. Given in alternate years; offered 2009-10.
Instructors:
Border, Hoffman
Ec 145
Public Finance
9 units (3-0-6)
Prerequisites: Ec 11 or equivalent.
An intermediate-level course on the economics of the public sector. Material is chosen from welfare economics, public expenditure theory and practice, taxation theory and practice, federalism, and public choice theory. Not offered 2009-10.
BEM/Ec 146
Organization Design
9 units (3-0-6)
Prerequisites: Ec 11.
An introduction to the analysis, design, and management of organizations with an emphasis on incentives and information. Principles from economics, political science, and game theory will be applied to problems in project and team management, in organizational computing, and in allocating and pricing shared facilities.
Instructor:
Camerer
Ec/PS 160 abc
Laboratory Experiments in the Social Sciences
9 units (3-3-3)
An examination of recent work in laboratory testing in the social sciences with particular reference to work done in social psychology, economics, and political science. Students are required to design and conduct experiments.
Instructor:
Plott
PS/Ec 172
Game Theory
9 units (3-0-6)
|
first term
Prerequisites: PS 12 or equivalent.
Axiomatic structure and behavioral interpretations of game theory models in social science. Axiomatic utility theory and general noncooperative games.
Instructor:
Echenique
PS/Ec 173
Cooperation and Social Behavior
9 units (3-0-6)
Prerequisites: PS/Ec 172 or instructor's permission.
Game theoretic and evolutionary approaches to modeling various types of cooperative, altruistic, and social behavior. Emphasis on economic and political applications. Not offered 2009-10.
Ec 181
Convex Analysis and Economic Theory
9 units (3-0-6)
|
second term
Prerequisites: Ma 2 ab, Ec 121 a.
Introduction to the use of convex analysis in economic theory. Includes a rigorous discussion of separating hyperplane theorems, continuity and differentiability properties of convex and concave functions, support functions, subdifferentials, Fenchel conjugacy, saddle-point theory, theorem of the alternative, and linear programming. Emphasis is on the finite-dimensional case, but infinite-dimensional spaces will be discussed. Applications to the theory of cost and production functions, decision theory, and game theory.
Instructor:
Border
BEM/Ec 185
Political Economy of Corporate Governance
9 units (3-0-6)
|
first term
Prerequisites: PS/Ec 172.
The course covers issues of how firms are organized. Topics include the distribution of power and returns among shareholders, managers, and other stakeholders; the role of law, public policy, and financial markets in constraining or enabling firms to solve the problems they face; the interaction between history, financial market structure, and the ownership of very large firms.
Instructor:
Rosenthal
BEM/Ec 186
Political Economy of Financial Markets
9 units (3-0-6)
|
third term
Prerequisites: BEM 103.
The course covers how the political process affects the structure of financial markets and how private actors influence financial regulation. Topics include government intervention in financial crises; how law, regulation, and financial markets affect the ownership and capital structure of firms; how elections and court decisions affect the value of stocks and bonds.
Instructor:
Rosenthal
Ec/PS 190
Undergraduate Research
Units to be arranged
|
any term
Prerequisites: advanced economics course and instructor's permission.
This course offers advanced undergraduates the opportunity to pursue research in political science or economics. Graded pass/fail.
Published Date:
July 28, 2022