Graduate Course Listings

The Department's graduate level offerings, as well as some related courses, are listed below, together with those who customarily teach them. All basic and most advanced courses are offered every year. Those courses surrounded by brackets are taught only when there is sufficient student and faculty interest. A variety of advanced undergraduate courses may be taken, under certain conditions, for graduate credit.

Areas of Graduate Study in Economics

Economic Theory

Monetary Economics and Advanced Macroeconomics

Labor Economics

Industrial Organization and Public Policy

International Economic Relations

Economic Development and Transition

Economic History

Population Studies

Quantitative Research Methods

Public Finance

Economic Research

Health Care Economics

Natural Resources Economics

ECONOMIC THEORY

Econ 500 Quantitative Economics. Johnson, Stolyarov, van 't Veld

A course designed for students in the MAE program. The use of mathematics enables economists to describe and solve complex problems that cannot be tackled effectively in any other way. A modern economist must know how to turn economic problems into mathematical problems, how to solve them, and how to interpret the results. The course will focus on general techniques of solving several important classes of mathematical problems frequently encountered in economics. In the first part of the course, we will learn the language of mathematics: how to manipulate mathematical objects such as sets, functions, graphs, derivatives, equations and matrices. The second part will describe the basic techniques of solving the systems of equations and finding the maxima of functions. The third part will introduce probability theory and elements of statistical inference.
Prerequisite: Permission of instructor.

Econ 501 Applied Microeconomic Theory.

A course designed for students in the MAE program. Basic models in the principal areas of microeconomic theory are covered: consumer demand, production and costs, product markets, factor markets, allocative efficiency, and corrections for market failure. Most of the course is spent studying the use of these tools in the analysis of specific microeconomic policy problems. Application of theory to current policy problems is stressed, and a substantial amount of class time is devoted to exercises based on such problems.
Prerequisite: Intermediate microeconomic theory.

Econ 502 Applied Macroeconomic Theory. Hymans, Johnson

A course designed for students in the MAE program. Approximately one third of the course is spent reviewing and elaborating on standard macro theory of the sort covered in an advanced undergraduate course. The remainder of the time is spent on applications of this theory to problems of stabilizing aggregate demand, unemployment and inflation, economic growth, and macroeconomics of open economies. Students will normally do a computer project involving hypothesis testing or model simulation.
Prerequisite: Intermediate macroeconomic theory.

Econ 600 Mathematics for Economists. Ozdenoren, Silverman, Simon

Econ 600 is highly recommended for students taking 601 and required for all Ph.D. students in economics. This course offers an introduction to the mathematics used in contemporary economics. Topics covered include linear algebra, multivariable calculus, and optimization theory. The course also provides an introduction to differential and difference equations and dynamic programming. Students can place out of the course by exam. This course begins meeting in late August, two weeks before the beginning of the Fall term.
Prerequisite: Familiarity with techniques of one-variable calculus.

Econ 601 Producer Theory, Consumer Theory, and Decision Theory. Ozdenoren, Smith

Consumer choice and classical demand theory. Producer theory. Choice under uncertainty: Expected utility, Allais paradox, Ellsberg paradox.
Prerequisite: Permission of graduate director.

Econ 602 Game Theory. Ozdenoren, Smith

Introduction to game theory. Equilibrium with complete and incomplete information, and in static and dynamic contexts.
Prerequisite: Permission of graduate director.

Econ 603 Partial and General Equilibrium. Ozdenoren, Salant, Smith

Aggregation. Partial equilibrium analysis; competitive markets. Externalities, public goods; Coase Theorem. Exchange economies; the 2x2 production economy. Existence and welfare theorems. Positive theory of equilibrium. General equilibrium under uncertainty, including incomplete markets.
Prerequisite: Permission of graduate director.

Econ 604 Incentives and Welfare. Ozdenoren, Salant, Smith

Market power, adverse selection, moral hazard, and principal-agent models. Mechanism design, optimal auctions. Social choice theory.
Prerequisite: Permission of graduate director.

Econ 605 Macroeconomic Theory I. Laitner

The first required macroeconomic theory course for doctoral students. Begins with an overview of aggregate income determination. Continues with an in-depth treatment of dynamic models: the Solow, neoclassical, and new growth models. Proceeds with introduction of rational expectations models and techniques with application to output determination and price adjustment in closed and open economies.
Prerequisite: Permission of graduate director.

Econ 607 Macroeconomic Theory II. Basu, House, Shapiro

The second required macroeconomic theory course for doctoral students. Topics include models of aggregate supply and business cycles (rational expectations, new Keynesian, real business cycles, coordination failure and multiple equilibrium), money supply and demand, investment and consumption demand and their relationship to financial markets, and fiscal and monetary policy. The primary emphasis of the course is on understanding different models, their interrelationship, and empirical evidence, but new analytic tools are developed and applied as needed.
Prerequisite: Econ 605.

Econ 610 Stochastic Dynamic Optimization in Economics. Ozdenoren, Smith

This course studies stochastic dynamic optimization in discrete and continuous time. The focus is on optimal stopping and control. The discrete time theory explores discounted, positive, and negative stochastic dynamic programming, with applications to gambling, search theory, and multiarmed bandits. The continuous time portion first develops the math underlying Brownian motion, diffusions, Ito integrals, stochastic boundary value problems, and stochastic differential equations. It then investigates optimal stopping, smooth pasting, and optimal stochastic control. Applications, such as irreversible decision making in investment, exchange rate target zones, learning and R&D, and options are considered.
Prerequisites: Econ 600-604, 603 and 604 can be taken concurrently, or permission of instructor.

Econ 617 Advanced Game Theory. Ozdenoren, Smith

This is an advanced course on game theory. Topics include: solution concepts (iterated dominance, rationalizability, Nash equilibrium, subgame perfection, sequential equilibrium), infinitely repeated games (dynamic programming, self-generation, stick-and-carrot punishments, renegotiation, folk theorems), evolutionary game theory (evolutionary stable strategies, replicator dynamics, adaptive play), games with incomplete information (revelation principle, single crossing property, mechanism design), and implementation theory (social choice functions, voting schemes, implementation in dominant strategies and Nash equilibrium). Many examples illustrate these concepts: Vickrey auctions, signaling games, entry-deterrence, bargaining models, oligopolistic supergames, optimal auction design, and nonlinear pricing.
Prerequisites: Econ 602 or Permission of instructor.

Econ 619 Advanced Theory I. Ozdenoren, Smith

This half-term topics course currently is mostly focused on information economics, including informational herding, optimal learning and experimentation (including models of informational herding, financial timing, and informational demand). We also explore dynamic search-matching models..
Prerequisites: Econ 600 or Permission of instructor.

Econ 620 Advanced Theory II. Ozdenoren, Smith

This course focuses mostly on axiomatic theories of decision making under risk and uncertainty. We will first study classical theories of decision making under risk and uncertainty: von Neumann and Morgenstern, Anscombe and Aumann, and Savage. After this we will study a selection of topics that are closer to the research frontier. These topics may include: (i) Ellsberg Paradox, ambiguity aversion, Schmeidler and Gilboa and Schmeidler representations, and applications of these representations; (ii) probabilistic sophistication and non-expected utility models; (iii) Dynamics, Bayesian updating, dynamic consistency, recursive expected utility; (iv) Unforeseen contingencies, and applications.
Prerequisites: Econ 619

Econ 851, 852 Seminars in Advanced Economic Theory. Ozdenoren, Salant, Simon, Smith, van 't Veld

(Back to Top)

MONETARY ECONOMICS AND ADVANCED MACROECONOMICS

Econ 609 Advanced Mathematical Methods for Macroeconomics. Kimball

This course covers advanced methods in optimal control, dynamic programming, monotone comparative statics and von Neumann-Morgenstern decision theory. Some of the methods covered are the Classic Lagrangian for control theory, preservation of properties under expectations and maximization, Boyd’s symmetry theorem, and convex cone methods. The close relationship between continuous-time and discrete-time approaches will be stressed. The course emphasizes developing an intuitive understanding of the methods by proof-sketches, solved examples and problem sets rather than fully formal proofs. The focus is on qualitative characterization, comparative statics and analytical calculation rather than on electronic computation or on topological, existence and measure-theoretic results. (For example, only very small portions of Stokey and Lucas’s textbook are used in the course.) Both stochastic and non-stochastic problems will be considered, but the course will not cover stochastic calculus other than to give the Bellman equation for Ito processes as a cookbook formula. The companion course, Economics 610, covers stochastic calculus.
Prerequisites: Econ 600-604, 603 and 604 can be taken concurrently, or permission of instructor.

Econ 611 Advanced Theoretical Macroeconomics. Kimball

This course deals with recent developments in macroeconomic theory. Particular attention is given to the application of the techniques of optimal control to Real and New Keynesian business cycle theory. Other likely topics include New
Keynesian foundations, imperfect competition macroeconomics, Q-theory, monetary and financial theory, growth theory, efficiency wages, Ricardian equivalence, precautionary saving, and Stochastic optimization.
Prerequisites: Econ 601-605, and 607. May be taken concurrently with 607. Econ 611 and Econ 612 can be taken in either order.

Econ 612 Advanced Empirical Macroeconomics. Barsky, Shapiro

This course examines selected issues in macroeconomics and monetary economics. The aim is to teach how theory, data, and econometric and historical analysis are used to study the behavior of the economy at the aggregate level. In recent years, topics covered have included theories of consumption and investment, the relationship between economic activity and asset markets, the determinants of labor supply in aggregate, theories and empirical analysis of the business cycle, and issues in open-economy macroeconomics.
Prerequisites: Econ 601-605, 607, 671 and 672. May be taken concurrently with 607. 675 is strongly recommended or to be taken concurrently. Econ 611 and Econ 612 can be taken in either order.

Econ 752 Computational Macroeconomics. Laitner

This half-semester course is an introduction to computational analysis of dynamic macroeconomic models, and it is based on practical exercises. Methodologically, the analysis in most of the course is carried out using an undetermined coefficients method, applied to the linearized first-order conditions. This analysis also involves calibration of the relevant model as the solution to a set of steady-state equations, and the computation of impulse response functions and second moments of the model’s variables.
Topics to be addressed are the neo-classical growth model, the stochastic growth model with endogenous labor and productivity shocks, or the RBC model, the RBC model with government: the impact of exogenous changes in government spending, income tax rates and consumption tax rates, and the stochastic endogenous growth model.
Prerequisites: Econ 600, 601-604, or permission of instructor

Econ 811, 812 Seminars in Macroeconomics. Barsky, Basu, House, Kilian, Kimball, Laitner, Shapiro, Stolyarov

(Back to Top)

LABOR ECONOMICS

Econ 621 Labor Economics I. Bound, Brown, Johnson, Solon, Stafford, Willis

This course develops theoretical models of the labor market, presents related empirical research, and discusses some policy applications. Topics include labor supply, labor demand, market equilibrium and compensating wage differences, investment in human capital, and cyclical unemployment.
Prerequisites: Econ 601 - 604, 671, and 672.

Econ 622 Labor Economics II. Bound, Brown, Johnson, Solon, Stafford, Willis

This course presents recent research on a number of labor-market topics, with some emphasis on questions that are related to government policies and/or that have generated a significant empirical literature. Likely topics include labor unions, compensation policies and productivity, discrimination and equal-opportunity laws, and social security and retirement.
Prerequisites: Econ 605, 607, 621, 671 and 672.

Econ 821, 822 Seminars in Labor Economics. Bound, Brown, Charles, Johnson, Solon, Stafford, Willis

(Back to Top)

INDUSTRIAL ORGANIZATION AND PUBLIC POLICY

Econ 631 Industrial Organization. Kwon

This course studies the nature and effectiveness of competition in imperfectly competitive markets. Topics include product differentiation, oligopoly, mergers, entry and exit (including strategic entry-deterrence and predation), and technological change. Secondary emphasis is placed on the nature of the firm as opposed to competition between firms. Here, contractual relationships and the separation of ownership and control are the focus.
Prerequisites: Econ 601 - 604 or permission of instructor.

Econ 632 Public Policy Toward Business. Adams, Kuhn, Levinsohn, Stolyarov

This course emphasizes two broad topics--anti-trust and regulatory policy and empirical research in industrial organization. The former will focus on studies of market dominance, mergers, collusion, price and investment regulation, and marketing policies. The latter will explore econometric approaches to investigating current issues in industrial organization.
Prerequisites: Econ 671, 672, and 631 or permission of instructor.

Econ 831, 832 Seminars in Industrial Organization. Adams, Kuhn, Kwon, Lafontaine, Levinsohn, Stolyarov

(Back to Top)

INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC RELATIONS

Econ 641 International Trade Theory. Deardorff, Hallak, Levinsohn

This course deals with the microeconomic aspects of international economics. Specific topics covered include theories of international specialization and exchange, trade policy and economic welfare, international factor movement, trade and growth, under both perfect competition and imperfect competition, and selected problems of trade policy in the international trading system. For most topics, both theoretical and empirical results from the literature are examined.
Prerequisite: Econ 601-604.

Econ 642 International Finance. Kilian, Tesar

This is a doctoral-level course in international finance and macroeconomics. Topics covered include international real business cycle models, monetary exchange rate models and their building blocks, the international effects of monetary policy, risk sharing and portfolio diversification, fixed exchange rate models for small open economies and stabilization programs, and models of currency crises.
Prerequisites: Econ 605 and 607.

Econ 739/SPP 747 Topics in International Economic Policy. Stern

This course is taught as two separate half-term seminars. Students may take one or both mini-seminars. Recent topics have included: crisis management in the Asian financial and foreign exchange markets, and issues of economic and monetary unification in the European Union.
Prerequisites: Econ 551.

Econ 841,842 Seminars in International Economics. Deardorff, Hallak, Kilian, Levinsohn, Tesar

(Back to Top)

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND TRANSITION

Econ 659 Economics of Transition. Svejnar

This course offers an overall survey of various issues and approaches to the historical process of the post-socialist transition and economic development. It consists of six parts: 1) the origin of socialism; 2) theoretical and empirical analysis of the former socialist systems; 3) major tasks of transition and reform measures; 4) transition as a process of economic development; 5) transition as a large scale institutional change; and 6) recent country experience of transition.
Prerequisite: Intermediate economic theory.

Econ 665 Economic Development and Transition I. Coleman, Park, Somanathan

Part I covers the microeconomics of development. Topics include household decision-making (the household model, risk response, health and education investments, migration, intrahousehold bargaining), rural institutions (land, labor, and credit), and development policy (microfinance, regional targeting, public works). Part 2 is concerned primarily with theories of growth, income distribution and political economy, presented together with the relevant empirical literature.
Prerequisite: Econ 601-604, 671, and 672.

Econ 666 Economic Development and Transition II. Coleman, Park, Svejnar

Part I examines the economics of transition from central planning to a market economy, including the socialist system, macroeconomic stabilization, price liberalization and opening up to trade, enterprise privatization and restructuring, labor and financial market reforms, and the implications of transition for economic inequality. Part 2 focuses on issues of macroeconomic growth and development, including the empirical growth literature and the link between development and financial development, property rights, and trade.
Prerequisites: Econ 601 - 604, 671, and 672.

[Econ 668] Economics of Western Europe. Adams

The structure and performance of the Western European economics since World War II. Emphasis is placed on using international comparisons to evaluate the effects of governmental policies and national cultures on the behavior of firms and households.
Prerequisites: Econ 501-503 or equivalent.

[Econ 669] Economy of Japan. Saxonhouse

Structure and performance of the Japanese economy during the past 100 years. Particular emphasis is placed on the microeconomic analysis of distinctive Japanese corporate, government, and household institutions. Post 1945 Japanese economic performance is set within the context of changing global comparative advantage.
Prerequisites: 501 - 503 or equivalent.

Econ 859, 860 Seminars in Comparative Economic Systems. Coleman, Park, Somanathan, Svejnar

(Back to Top)

ECONOMIC HISTORY

[Econ 663] Topics in World Economic History I. Chabot, Whatley

This course will cover the evolution of economic institutions and the role of these institutions in the economic growth of Europe, Latin America, Asia and the United States. Topics include: The divergence of Asian and European growth rates between 1500 and 1800. The creation of modern fiscal and monetary institutions. The role of stock markets, banking systems and exchange rate regimes in historical economic development. Particular attention will be paid to the Great Depression and historical banking panics, stock market crashes and exchange rate devaluations. The course will explore the historical costs and benefits of the different monetary and fiscal institutions adopted by Europe, Argentina, Brazil, China, Japan, The United States and Canada.
Prerequisites: Intermediate economic theory, statistics.

[Econ 664] Topics in World Economic History II. Chabot, Whatley

This class introduces students to a variety of topics in the economic history of the world. The class is largely student driven and seminar in format. New topics are added each year. Students are encouraged to introduce topics from around the world. Topics covered over the past few years include: methodological issues concerning path dependence, institutions, transactions cost and markets in economic history; the Paleolithic revolution and world economic inequality before 1500 A.D.; the economics of early long-distance trade diasporas; the ancient gold trade of Africa; increasing world inequalities after 1500; the economics of constitutions; Pre-Columbian Native American economic history; the determinants of U. S. economic success; the economics of gender and racial labor market discrimination; the evolution and variety of early forms of money; the industrial revolution in comparative perspective (e.g. why industrialization in Europe but not India or China in the 18th century?); the economic history of slavery and freedom; and the importance of endowments, technology, property rights, warfare, disease, climate, culture and markets in the broad sweep of world history. Strategic case studies have included the United States, West Africa, Western Europe, Germany, China, the Ottoman Empire, Brazil, and India.
Prerequisites: Intermediate economic theory, statistics.

Econ 863, 864 Seminars in Comparative and Historical Research on the Market Economies. Adams, Chabot, Saxonhouse, Whatley

(Back to Top)

POPULATION STUDIES

Econ 667 The Economics of Population. Lam, Willis

This course focuses on applications of economic theory to demographic behavior, including fertility, marriage, and intergenerational resource allocation. The course looks at both developing countries and high-income countries, and includes both theoretical and empirical literature. Topics covered in the course include: household production and the allocation of time; economics of fertility and investments in children; economics of marriage; the link between marriage and fertility; altruism in the family; bargaining models and intra-family allocations age structure, intergenerational transfers, and social security. Students specializing in economic demography are expected to take Economics 667 along with Sociology 630, a course in demographic methods.
Prerequisites: Econ 601, 602, 605, 671 and 672.

Econ 867 Seminar in Economic Demography. Bound, Lam, Willis

(Back to Top)

QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH METHODS

Econ 503 Econometrics for Applied Economics. Johnson, Sedo, Solon

This course is an introduction to econometric methods and their use in policy analysis. Most of the course focuses on multiple regression analysis, beginning with ordinary least squares estimation and then considering the implications and treatment of serial correlation, heteroskedasticity, specification error, and measurement error. The course also provides an introduction to simultaneous equations models and models for binary dependent variables.
Prerequisite: Permission of the instructor.

Econ 671 Econometric Analysis I. Howrey, Kilian

This course is the first in a two-course block that forms the basic required sequence in econometrics for all doctoral students. Their purpose is to provide Ph.D. students with the training needed to do the basic quantitative analysis generally understood to be part of the background of all modern economists. This includes: the theory and practice of testing hypotheses, statistical estimation theory, the basic statistical theory underlying the linear model, an introduction to econometric methods, and the nature of the difficulties which arise in applying statistical procedures to economic research problems.
Prerequisite: A semester of statistics at the undergraduate level and minimal preparation in mathematics is adequate.

Econ 672 Econometric Analysis II. Howrey, Kilian, Ng, Solon

This course is the second in a two-course block that forms the basic required sequence in econometrics for all doctoral students. Their purpose is to provide Ph.D. students with the training needed to do the basic quantitative analysis generally understood to be part of the background of all modern economists. This includes: the theory and practice of testing hypotheses, statistical estimation theory, the basic statistical theory underlying the linear model, an introduction to econometric methods, and the nature of the difficulties which arise in applying statistical procedures to economic research problems.
Prerequisite: Demonstrated competence in the material covered in Econ 600 and 671.

Econ 675 Applied Microeconometrics. DiNardo, Solon

The purposes of the course are (1) to discuss types of microeconometric models likely to be useful in dissertation (and subsequent) research and (2) to provide some supervised experience in applied econometric research. The course’s topics vary from year to year, but they typically include models for discrete and limited dependent variables and methods for analysis of longitudinal data.
Prerequisites: Econ 672.

Econ 676 Applied Macroeconometrics. Kilian, Ng, Shapiro

The aim of this course is to equip students with a working knowledge of important econometric techniques used in monetary economics, financial economics, international economics, and econometric theory. The centerpiece of this course is the vector autoregressive model. The course is divided into six parts: (1) a review of the foundations of time series econometrics; (2) detrending methods; restricted and unrestricted estimation of stationary vector autoregressive and moving-average models; asymptotic, bootstrap and Bayesian inference; model selection and specification tests, forecasting; exogeneity and Granger causality; tests of forecast encompassing and tests of equal forecast accuracy; impulse response analysis, variance decompositions and historical decompositions; (3) estimation and inference in the presence of trends, structural change and unit roots in univariate models; (4) spurious regressions, unbalanced regressions and cointegration; (5) identification problems and the relationship between structural and reduced form models; and (6) estimation and inference for structural dynamic macroeconomic models and their relationship to vector autoregressive models.
Prerequisite: Econ 671 and 672.

Econ 677/Statistics 531 Analysis of Time Series. Howrey, Kilian

Introduction to modern time series models and methods including identification and estimation of univariate and multivariate autoregressive moving average models for discrete time covariance stationary processes, spectrum estimation and inference, and state space methods.
Prerequisite: Econ 672, Stat 505 or the equivalent

Econ 678 Econometric Theory. Howrey

A course in econometric theory stressing the statistical foundation of the general linear model and the asymptotic distribution theory of nonlinear models. The course involves a development of the required theory in mathematical statistics and derivations and proofs of the main results associated with statistical inference in econometric models. Asymptotic distribution theory is studied in some detail.
Prerequisites: Econ 600, 671 and 672 or their equivalents.

Econ 679 Econometric Theory II. Howrey

This course continues from Econ 678. Includes a thorough treatment of statistical problems in econometrics, cross section data, times series data, panel data, development of simultaneous equation techniques, generalized method of moments, and formulation and estimation of special models. Selected current research topics depend on time and interest.
Prerequisite: Econ 678.

Econ 875, 876 Seminars in Econometrics. Howrey, Kilian, Ng

(Back to Top)

PUBLIC FINANCE

Econ 683 Government Expenditures. Cullen, Silverman

Emphasizes theory and evidence on government expenditure policy. Topics covered include the theory of public goods, state and local public goods, welfare economics and income distribution, political economy and voting mechanisms, and the design and evaluation of social insurance programs.
Prerequisite: Econ 601 and 602.

Econ 684 Government Revenue. Hines, Slemrod

Provides a positive and normative analysis of alternative government revenue sources. The first part of the course explores theoretical analyses of the incidence, efficiency costs, and distributional effects, of alternative tax systems. The rest of the course examines the implications of existing tax law in the U.S., and commonly proposed revisions in the law, for the allocation of resources in the economy.
Prerequisite: Econ 601 and 602. Econ 683 is not a prerequisite.

Econ 881, 882 Seminars in Public Finance. Courant, Cullen, Hines, Silverman, Slemrod

(Back to Top)

ECONOMIC RESEARCH

Econ 695/696 Introduction to Economic Research I and II

This course is designed to introduce students to "how to do economic research." Students will be required to produce a polished paper by the end of the course, which can be incorporated into their thesis. Students
will be expected to meet weekly in sub-groups with shared interests and regularly with faculty advisors to discuss progress. Students will also present their research before general sessions open to all graduate students and faculty members.
Prerequisite: Permission of instructor.

Econ 700 Research Work (independent reading course).

Econ 990 Dissertation Research (precandidacy).

Econ 995 Dissertation Research (candidacy).

(Back to Top)

HEALTH CARE ECONOMICS

HSMP 826 Applied Econometrics in Health Services Research. Chernew

Application of advanced econometric techniques to problems in the health services field. Focuses on selected econometric topics, including pooled cross-section/time-series data, limited dependent variables, multi-equation systems, and translog cost functions. General discussion of appropriate techniques, with emphasis on students applying these techniques, using a variety of data sets. Series of computer exercises and empirical term paper required.
Prerequisite: Econ 503

HSMP 827 Advanced Seminar in Health Care Economics.

Analysis of the application of advanced economic theory to problems in the health services field. Focuses on several health economic issues, including topics of current policy interest as well as topics for which the application of economic theory has been fully explored. General discussion of the appropriate economic theory and a critical review of the relevant health economics literature. Students must read approximately 30-40 articles and write 6 or 7 short papers.
Prerequisite: Econ 501 and permission of the instructor.

(Back to Top)

NATURAL RESOURCES ECONOMICS

Econ 661/NR 668 Advanced Natural Resources Economics. Salant

This course reviews the literature on the pricing of natural resources (agricultural goods, renewable and nonrenewable resources and durables) over time. The first half of the course considers resources that are privately owned; the second half considers resources that are common property. To provide a point of reference, the behavior of resource markets in the absence of government intervention is studied first. There is then an extensive treatment of the dynamic effects on market equilibria of widespread government policies (unanticipated, partially anticipated or fully anticipated).
To simplify the mathematics, discrete time methods are used predominately. The Kuhn Tucker theorem is utilized when studying competitive equilibrium under certainty. Dynamic programming is used to study single agent (planning or monopoly) problems under uncertainty (with or without learning). Multi stage game theory is used to investigate dynamic common property problems. A working understanding of these methods is developed during the cours.
Prerequisites: Econ 501 or 601 and 602, 600 or permission of the instructor.

Econ 662/NR 669 Advanced Environmental Economics. van 't Veld

In the presence of pollution externalities, market allocations are typically inefficient and corrective government regulation may be desirable. This course first reviews solutions favored by economists, namely Pigouvian taxes, tradable pollution permits, and judicial remedies, but then points out various real-world informational, technological, and political constraints that make such solutions difficult or impossible to implement in practice. The course then focuses on optimal interventions in the presence of these real-world constraints. Topics discussed are likely to include (1) optimal regulation when firms possess more information about compliance costs than regulators; (2) optimal enforcement of regulations when monitoring is costly; (3) non-market methods of measuring environmental and resource values; and (4) the interrelationship of environmental issues and international trade.
Prerequisites: Econ 501 or 601and 602, 600, or permission of the instructor.

(Back to Top)