Through most of the 20th century gaps in income between rich and poor declined in the US, but after 1970 we experienced a very rapid increase in inequality. This course challenges students to investigate why people make different amounts of money, why income inequality has risen so dramatically in recent years, what public policy tools exist to counter inequality increases, and what different institutional arrangements different countries use to lower inequality.

An introduction to the problems of unemployment, inflation, and economi growth. Emphasis on roles of monetary and fiscal policy in the conduct of macroeconomic policy.

Covers several mathematics techniques and demonstrates their application to a wide variety of models and problems in both microeconomic and macroeconomic analysis. Reviews concepts from algebra and elementary calculus and introduces components of multivariable calculus, linear algebra and differential equations.

Analysis of the theories of consumer behavior, producer behavior, different market structures, and various sources of inefficient outcomes. Analysis of microeconomic policies designed to improve market outcomes.

Analysis of the economic and social characteristics of underdeveloped areas. Recent theories of economic development, obstacles to development, policies and planning for development.

Introduction to the use of statistics in economics. Topics include: Probability, random variables and their distributions, sampling theory, estimation, hypothesis testing, analysis of variance, regression analysis and correlation.

Analysis of economic decision-making by individual buyers and sellers, and resulting market outcomes, with emphasis on theoretical rigor. The efficient properties of perfect competition are examined, followed by consideration of market power, externalities, and asymmetric information.

Covers economic models of international transactions, exchange rates, and balance of payments. Analysis of policies of protection, devaluation, and exchange rate stabilization and their consequences.

Normally taken in senior year. Course will explore selected topics in economic theory and its application in depth. Analysis of methodologies in economic research and the development of student skills in research methods. Students will prepare workshop papers.

This course examines economic policy in Palestine/Israel from 1909 (under Ottoman rule) through the British Mandate (1922-48) until 1988, when the current neo-liberal economic policy began. It will examine how the governments and society dealt with issues such as growth versus equality (distributive justice); ideology versus praxis; local original policy versus imported policy; and politics versus academic economics who decides and under what circumstances?

Analysis of current economic problems and public policies. Topics include increasing competitiveness, mitigating poverty, addressing harmful effects of income inequality, promoting environmental sustainability, and facilitating economic stability and growth.

Analysis of the fluctuations in economic activity and the formulation and use of forecasting models of the economy. Illustrations of computer macro models and forecasting problems.

An in-depth analysis of current issues in macroeconomic theory and policy. Topics covered include: 1. alternative perspectives on macroeconomics including monetarism, new classical equilibrium models, rational expectations, and real business cycle models; 2. long term growth, the slowdown in productivity growth, and concerns about U.S. competitiveness; 3. the effectiveness of macroeconomic policy in an open economy; 4. the effects of finance on the real sector.

Studies the competitive and cooperative behavior that results when several parties with conflicting interests must work together. Learn how to use game theory to analyze situations of potential conflict. Applications are drawn from economics, business, and political science.

Economic theory of the developing nations; role of innovation, capital formation, resources, institutions, trade and exchange rates, and governmental policies.

Economic Development of Selected Areas; Middle East

Interaction between economic problems and specification and estimation of econometric models. Topics include issues of autocorrelation, heteroscedasticity, functional form, simultaneous equation models, qualitative choice models, and other computational methods.

Study of how to use cost benefit analysis and other similar tools of applied microeconomics to conduct policy analyses. Cost-benefit analysis is an empirical method of identifying an optimal choice from a set of policy alternatives, where optimal is defined in terms of economic efficiency. Real world examples are addressed, so that students understand limitations of the methods and also interactions of economic analysis with political and administrative processes.

The different types of financial assets that exist, the markets that they trade in, and the determination of their prices and rates of return are examined. Specific topics that will be covered include the Markowitz portfolio selection model, the capital asset pricing model, the arbitrage pricing theory, the efficient markets hypothesis, the term structure of interest rates, and options. There will be almost no emphasis on issues in corporate finance.

Examines the economics of international economic integration, including the theory of customs unions and free trade areas, the role of GATT and the WTO, changes in individual countries' foreign trade policies during the new era of globalization, the special role of multinational firms in world trade, and recent controversies about the benefits and costs of globalized trade.

Study of welfare economics and the theory of public goods, taxation, public expenditures, benefit-cost analysis, and state and local finance. Applications of theory to current policy issues.

Examines different theoretical models of firm behavior in markets with varying amounts of market power. Relates theory to specific industries and examines how market structure evolves over time.

Economic theory highlights the role of entrepreneurs in fueling economic growth and accomplishing reallocation of resources in response to changes in preferences, technology, demographics, and resource. This course uses empirical evidence to examine the extent to which these predictions are valid. To more fully understand the motivations and constraints relevant to entrepreneurs, student will write a business plan as if s/he were starting a new business.

Analyze markets for health care and related products by understanding the incentives and constraints for various participants, including individuals, family units, doctors, pharmaceutical companies, hospitals, and insurance providers. Analysis will combine both theoretical models and empirical tools.

Central topics include the determinants of firms' demand for labor and households' decision making about whether to work, how much to work, and where to work. We will then study the equilibrium amount of labor hired in society and the wages paid to workers. The course will also include the measurement of the labor market, human capital, discrimination, incentives, and current changes in the American economic landscape. Various economic policies impacting labor markets will be analyzed.

Students will work in small groups (3-4 per group) to gather macroeconomic and industry-specific data, analyze and interpret this information, and use findings to develop recommendations for simulated clients. Each semester’s research will focus on a different business line. Each group will examine data pertaining to unemployment rates, personal income, uncollectible debt, and collection laws. They will analyze this data with an eye to the accounts receivable management industry and private collection agencies, explaining their findings in a final executive summary and a visual presentation.

Directed research under the supervision of a faculty member. Contact department for additional information.

Further issues regarding macroeconomic topics. First half emphasis will be placed on dynamic macroeconomic theory as pertaining to monetary issues, policy ineffectiveness and effectiveness. The second half of the course will focus on theories of investment and growth.

Analysis of markets and market equilibria; the Arrow-Debreu model of general equilibrium, the two-sector model, welfare theorems, externalities, public goods, markets with incomplete and asymmetric information.

Explore both the causes and consequences in development economics from a historical and scientific approach. Presents theoretical models and applied work that test alternative hypotheses. Explore models of economic growth and institutions, with emphasis on property rights and political regimes as causal factors affecting development. Discuss empirical methods widely used in the field and important related topics including poverty, inequality, education and health.

Specification, estimation, hypothesis testing and prediction in the classical and generalized linear regression model. Topics include: ordinary least squares, generalized least squares, instrumental variableestimation, quantile regression, finite and large sample analysis and general testing principles including misspecification tests. The course will also provide instructions on the use of a major statistical packagesuch as Stata or TSP.

An examination of the specification, computation, estimation and interpretation of structural models that are widely used in applied microeconomics (empirical and theoretical Industrial Organization, public and urban economics, environmental economics, development, political economy (e.g., voting), health and education economics, trade) and Marketing. The focus will be on how to use these models in practice, and students will solve and estimate models in weekly problem sets, with solutions/code being discussed in class.

Essential computational methods used in macroeconomics. There will be particular focus on approximating the solution to dynamic stochastic general equilibrium models. Methods for representative-agent and heterogeneous-agent models will be extensively studied. Econometric methods such as Generalized Method of Moments, Maximum Likelihood, Vector Autoregressions wil also be covered. Beginning on Fri, October 23rd, students will need to attend an evening meeting from 5:30p-830p

An exploration of how people make decisions, questioning the concept of "perfect rationality" in the standard economic theory, providing improved models in line with the observed biases of decision makers. Focusing on decision making under risk and ambiguity, endowment effect, status quo bias, loss aversion, intertemporal choice, and selfish and pro-social preferences.

Fundamental aspects of data management and interpretation emphasizing sampling, descriptive statistics, index numbers and construction of aggregated variables. Students will learn probability theory, confidence intervals, hypothesis testing and regression analysis using the EXCEL spreadsheet program and STATA statistical software.

This course is the first in a two-part graduate sequence in Public Economics. We will focus on the role of government intervention in the economy and cover the following topics: externalities, public goods theory, local public finance (with a focus on the economics of education), and social insurance. For each topic, we will focus on theoretical and empirical evidence as well as relevant empirical research methods.

Review recent empirical literature in industrial organization. Covers price discrimination, cartel and collusion, entry and market structure, information and competition, technological change and adoption, auction, and firm organization.

A study of the application of economics to law with a focus on game theory, strategic behavior and public policy.

Behavioral and Experimental Economics

Selected issues in monetary economics with an equal emphasis of learning the models and understanding important issues: a survey of models (cash-in-advance, money-in-the-utility-function, transaction cost, search-based models), empirical issues in monetary economics, business cycles and money, monetary policy, welfare cost of inflation, alternative media of exchange.

This is the second half of a two-semester sequence in Advanced Microeconomics, intended for second-year Ph.D. students. The course material varies from year-to-year, but currently it focuses on auction theory, matching theory, and the relationship between matching and auction theory. Other topics that are treated in some years include: sequential bargaining under incomplete information; and equilibrium refinements.

Advanced Topics in Applied and Theoretical Macroeconomics

Oriented towards micro-econometric methods. Topics covered will be selected from the following: Further discussion of topics covered in ECON624, binary and multinomial response models, censored and truncated regression models, sample selection models, count data models, duration models program evaluation and treatment effects methods, structural econometrics, the identification problem, stratified and clustered samples, spatial/cross sectional dependence models, dynamic panel data models, weak instruments, non-parametric estimation, boot strap and Jack Knife methods, pre-test estimators.

Comparative advantage, Heckscher-Ohlin theory, specific-factors model, empirical verification, economies of scale, imperfect competition, commercial policy, factor mobility.

Designed primarily for students planning to write dissertations on a topic related to international trade. Its focus is on recent research in this field including tests of trade theories; the effects of trade on growth and knowledge diffusion; the political economy of trade policy and the theory and practice of trade agreements.

Study of political determinants of macroeconomic outcomes. Time inconsistency in monetary and fiscal policy, political business cycles. Political models of redistribution, delay in reform, transition, growth, and international policymaking.

Modern analytical and quantitative labor economics. Labor supply decisions of individuals and households; human capital model and distribution of income. Demand for labor; marginal productivity theory, imperfect information and screening. Interaction of labor demand and supply; unemployment; relative and absolute wages; macroeconomic aspects of the labor market.

The theory and practice of valuing environmental benefits, including the health, recreation and aesthetic benefits associated with controlling air and water pollution, and the damages associated with climate change. Estimation of the benefits of energy efficiency improvements-including the benefits of fuel economy standards.

Master's Thesis Research

Workshop in Econometrics

Workshop in Industrial Organization

Pre-Candidacy Research