12062

ECON 101 A Introduction to Microeconomics

Sanjaya DeSilva

. . W . F

10:10 - 11:30 am

OLIN 201

SSCI

Cross-listed: Economics & Finance, Environmental & Urban Studies; Global & Int’l Studies; Social Policy This course covers the essential ideas of economic analysis. Students will learn how economists explain human behavior as we seek to satisfy our needs and wants. The first part of the course develops models of consumer and firm behavior, including demand and supply, in the context of an idealized competitive market. From there we analyze several ways in which the real world deviates from this model, including monopoly and other forms of imperfect competition, information problems, minimum wages and other price controls, taxes, and government regulation. Along the way we will explore public policy problems such as pricing the environment, winners and losers from international trade, health care costs and insurance, and the high price of textbooks. Econ 101 and 102 may be taken in either order. Prerequisite: MATH 110. Class size: 22

12257

ECON 101 B Introduction to Microeconomics

Thomas Masterson

. T . Th .

3:10 -4:30 pm

ALBEE 106

SSCI

See above. Class size: 22

12258

ECON 102 A Introduction to Macroeconomics

Olivier Giovannoni

M . W . .

11:50 -1:10 pm

RKC 103

SSCI

Cross-listed: Economics and Finance, Environmental & Urban Studies; Social Policy; Global & Int’l Studies This course begins with the examination of the aggregate behavior of modern economies: the factors leading to economic growth, explanations of booms and recessions, unemployment, interest rates, inflation, budget deficits or surpluses, and international trade. We will also analyze the government’s ability (or inability) to use monetary and fiscal policies to achieve economic goals such as full employment and price stability. Throughout the course, we will debate whether government should use monetary and fiscal policy tools to try to ‘fine tune’ the economy and what the likely effects of such government involvement are. We will analyze these issues using current domestic and international examples. Econ 101 and 102 may be taken in either order. Pre- or co- requisite: ARC 150, if recommended. Class size: 22

12064

ECON 102 B Introduction to Macroeconomics

Taun Toay

. T . Th .

11:50 -1:10 pm

OLIN 204

SSCI

Cross-listed: Economics and Finance, Environmental & Urban Studies; Social Policy; Global & Int’l Studies Macroeconomics is concerned primarily with the aggregate behavior of modern economies: growth and measurement of the economy, unemployment, interest rates, inflation, government spending and its impacts, boom and bust cycles, and international trade. A large part of the course focuses on the governments tools to impact economic growth and individuals' behavior. This section takes an applied approach: emphasizing theory where appropriate and then looking at its application through example and assessing the limits of our models. Class size: 22

12589

ECON 202 Intermediate Macroeconomics

Olivier Giovannoni

M . W . .

8:30 -9:50 am

OLIN 204

SSCI

Cross-listed: Global & Int’l Studies, Social Policy This course is the continuation of the introductory macroeconomics course. In it, students will get acquainted with main models that macroeconomists use to analyze the way economies behave. The course starts by looking at the models that explain long run economic growth. We then focus our attention on investigating economic theories that explain short run business cycles, the periods of recessions and booms that occur on a regular basis. An important part of the course is to investigate the role of governments in affecting the long run and short run economic prospects of their countries. We apply the acquired theoretical knowledge to a range of current economic issues, including budget deficits and national debt, international trade, and the role of institutions. Prerequisite: ECON 101 and ECON 102, MATH 110, ARC 150 if recommended. Class size: 22

12063

ECON 218 Economic History of Modern Asia

Sanjaya DeSilva

. . W . F

1:30 -2:50 pm

ALBEE 106

HIST

Cross Listed: Asian Studies, Global & International Studies This course is an analytical examination of historical events and circumstances that have shaped the economic landscape of twentieth century Asia. We trace the evolution of selected Asian economies from colonialism, economic dependency and isolationism at the advent of the 20^th century through the World Wars and post-War experiments with communism and planning to the era of globalization and liberal reforms. Strategies of economic development such as import-substituting industrialization, national planning, export-led growth and global/regional integration are studied in depth. The course is divided in to three segments regionally: South Asia (India and Sri Lanka), China and Southeast Asia. Prerequisite: ECON 102

Class size: 22

12060

ECON 229 Statistics

Alex Chung

. T . Th .

11:50 -1:10 pm

RKC 101

MATC

Cross-listed: Economics & Finance, Environmental & Urban Studies, Global & Int’l Studies, Social Policy The first of a two-course series designed to examine empirical economics, and a prerequisite for Economics 329, Econometrics. Basic concepts of statistics, probability, probability distributions, random variables, correlation, and simple regression are introduced; the techniques of statistical inference hypothesis testing are developed. Numerous examples and computer-based exercises are included. Prerequisite: Economics 101 or 102, ARC 150 if recommended. Class size: 22

12260

ECON 237 Economics of the Public Sector

Kris Feder

. T . Th .

3:10 -4:30 pm

HEG 106

SSCI

Cross-listed: Environmental & Urban Studies The public sector is a large component of every national economy, even of “market” economies such as that of the United States. Public sector economics (or public economics) covers four general areas: Government revenue, government spending, regulation, and public choice (study of incentives influencing the behavior of voters, politicians, and bureaucrats, and of the consequences of alternative decision structures). This course focuses on the microeconomics of the public sector. Specific topics covered include market failures, externalities, public goods, optimal taxation, the economic theory of voting, regulatory capture, and fiscal federalism. As the field is broad, we focus on applications to the US economy. Prerequisite: Econ 101. Class size: 22

12261

ECON 329 Econometrics

Sanjaya DeSilva

M . . . .

4:40 -7:00 pm

ALBEE 106

SSCI

Econometrics is the artful blending of economic theory with statistics. Economic theory helps us to develop behavioral hypotheses, while statistics help us to test these hypotheses. For example, consumer theory tells us that there is an inverse relationship between price and quantity demanded; we use econometrics to see if consumers actually behave in this way. This course provides an in-depth treatment of the linear regression model, the Ordinary Least Squares methodology and common estimation problems. More advanced models and tests that deal with violations of classical assumptions, time series, panel data, structural models and limited dependent variables are introduced. Students will gain a working knowledge of the econometric software STATA. In the semester-long research project, students will have an opportunity to apply econometric tools to analyze an economic issue of their choice. Prerequisites: a 200 level economics course, Math 141 and one of Econ 229, Math 123, Math 319 or permission of instructor. Class size: 15

12262

ECON 390 Contemporary Developments in Finance

Dimitri Papadimitriou

. T . . .

1:30 -3:50 pm

OLIN 307

SSCI

Cross-listed: Economics & Finance The seminar will contrast the academic analysis of financial economics with the coverage it receives in the newspapers and on the nightly newscast. The stories on the news are almost always connected with people, whether we observe them shouting bids in a trading floor or talking on two phones simultaneously. Financial markets are dominated by people behaving in many different ways. Yet traditional finance theories concentrate on efficient markets, predictable prices that are determined by the concepts of present value, rates of return and analysis and pricing of computable risks. Human behavior has neither a place in the theory nor a need to be studied. This prevailing view has recently been challenged by the new paradigm of behavioral finance that considers the many anomalies of "rational" behavior and "efficiency" of markets. The new paradigm concerns itself with economic decision-making and investor psychology, and specifically with questions relating to how and why people exhibit a mixture of rational and irrational behavior. The seminar will examine the influence of economic psychology in the decision-making process of various agents as well as in the market's dynamics. Several guest lecturers will also offer their informed views in the development of contemporary finance. Class size: 15