This course covers microeconomic analysis applied to public policy problems with an emphasis on practical examples and how they illustrate microeconomic theories.  Policy issues such as pollution, welfare and income distribution, market design, industry regulation, price controls, tax policy, and health insurance are used to illustrate the abstract principles of microeconomics.

In this course, focus is on applied macroeconomic models used by federal agencies to explain and predict economic behavior.  Course emphasizes macroeconomic data:  NIPA accounts, GDP, construction and application of CPI, labor force data, and economic indicators.  Students will also study a selected set of current macroeconomic topics including models of economic growth, economic fluctuations, monetary policy, the Great Recession, inflation, and financial markets.

Fundamental aspects of data management and interpretation emphasizing sampling, descriptive statistics, index numbers and construction of aggregated variables. Students will learn basic probability theory and statistics. The course will include an introduction to simple regression analysis using STATA statistical software.

An introduction to econometric methods with applications to public policy analysis. Primary focus on application and interpretation of multiple regression analysis.

Refinements and generalizations of multiple regression analysis. Topics can include: panel data methods, instrumental variables, quasi-experimental methods, time series analysis, limited dependent variables, and sample selection corrections.

This course applies microeconomic theory and applied econometric techniques to the study of financial institutions and markets for financial assets. Students will learn how economists model and estimate the value of financial assets. The economic and empirical models are of interest to public policy makers and private wealth managers. Specific topics can include financial intermediation, the regulation of financial institutions, risk management, portfolio theory, the capital asset pricing model and the efficient markets hypothesis.

This course is an examination of the structure, conduct, and performance of the health care market including physician services, the pharmaceutical industry, the hospital market, and health insurance using quantitative and analytic economic tools.  Special emphasis is on regulatory response to market imperfections.

This course examines various methods of program evaluation including randomized and nonrandomized (retrospective) evaluations. The focus is on evaluation design and implementation including needs assessment, process evaluation, and cost benefit analysis.
 

This course focuses on strategic decision-making and the theory and practice of market design.  Topics include experimental economics, spectrum auctions, labor markets, electricity markets, and environmental auctions.
 

This course applies microeconomic theory to the analysis of legal rules and institutions.  Topics include property rights, externalities, contract theory, bargain theory, remedies, industrial organization, patents, damages, and antitrust.

This course develops a framework for an economic assessment of environmental problems and policy design with respect to market failures and the valuation of environmental resources.  Focus is on policy issues, economic incentives, and instruments and valuation of nonmarket goods.

The course will focus on the consequences of poverty and poor institutions for the behavior and welfare of individuals, households, firms and the aggregate economy in developing countries. Theoretical models and empirical evidence will be used to understand the intended and unintended consequences of policies designed to enhance economic development.

Students will analyze the causes and consequences of international trade. The course will cover a set of conceptual tools that are useful for understanding “globalization” and the usage of these tools to address interesting and important questions about how countries, firms, and workers respond to international trade.
 

Economic analysis of international macroeconomic issues and policy. Topics can include the study of exchange rates, balance of payments, international financial markets, international business cycles, contagion, and the roles played by international economic institutions.

Students will learn the theory of stationary processes and how it applied to econometric techniques for estimation and forecasting based on time series data. The techniques will be applied in macroeconomic, financial and business applications.
 

Students will build on the data analysis and econometric skills learned in the Empirical analysis sequence of ECON 643, 644, and 645. The STATA skills acquired in that sequence, such as basic data manipulation and econometric estimation, will be extended to the R programming language. The fundamentals of more advanced scientific programming--objects, data structures, loops, functions, simulation, parallel computing--will be introduced with applications to economics and the social sciences.

Contact department for information to register for this course.