Doctoral Courses
ECO 609 Macroeconomic Theory
This course aims to provide you with a basic knowledge of the leading contemporaneous theories of growth and economic fluctuations. Second, it intends to help you develop the analytical and methodological tools to follow and understand modern professional research in macroeconomics.
ECO 610 Macroeconomic Theory II
The focus of this course is to study short-run economic fluctuations. In contrast with ECO 609, we will relax the assumption that the “classical dichotomy” holds. Thus, we will allow for nominal variables, such as the stock of money, to affect real variables, such as the level of economic activity or the rate of unemployment.
ECO 611 Mathematics for Economists
The goal of this course is to learn the fundamental mathematical tools used by research economists. The student must already be familiar with calculus, some linear algebra, basic optimization, and some real analysis.
ECO 612 Mathematical Economics II
Topics include: cones and separation theorems, specifically Minkowski’s Theorem, Farka’s Lemma, and Gordan’s Lemma, maximum-value functions, envelope theorems, duality and comparative statics analysis.
ECO 613 Introduction to Econometrics
This course is a systematic study of the econometrics of the Least Squares (LS), the Generalized Least Squares (GLS), and the Maximum Likelihood (ML) estimation methods in the context of a Gauss-Markhoff regression framework and several of its variants; it also offers a brief treatment of the Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) estimation method and its properties. The emphasis is on model specification, testing of hypothesis and forecasting, and also on rigorous derivation of pertinent results. Students will be instructed on how to use standard computer software, and will be provided with real-world data sets for implementing the various models.
ECO 614 Econometric Applications and Methods
This course deals mostly with the asymptotic distribution theory in several contexts. It begins by considering the asymptotics for LS and GLS estimators. Topics covered include: Transformation of variables, Distributed Lags, Time-Series Models (AR, MA, and ARMA only), Non-Linear Regressions, SUR models, and most important, Simultaneous Equation Systems. The course also offers students an opportunity to implement some of the models to real-world data, using standard software.
ECO 665 Microeconomics Theory I
This course covers the theory of the firm both under perfect and imperfect competition, the theory of the consumer, general equilibrium analysis in competitive markets and welfare analysis. The course emphasizes mathematical rigor as well as economic content. By the end of the course, students will be expected to have developed an ability to forge ahead into advanced topics in microeconomic theory and to read and understand relevant journal articles. The course prepares the economics graduate student for Economics 666 (Spring) and for about one third to a half of the preliminary Examination in Microeconomics.
ECO 666 Microeconomics Theory II
This course continues where ECO 665 leaves off. Topics include: decisions under uncertainty, dominant strategies, Subgame perfect Nash equilibrium and GE under certainty/non-certainty.
ECO 708 Topics in Macroeconomics
This course deals with two of the main topics of current research frontier in macroeconomics: 1) Human capital and economic growth and 2) Human capital and wage inequality. Each introduces labor economic concept of human capital to explain the trends in the quantity and the distribution of economic output, which many Macroeconomists actively work on the first part of the course reviews literature that considers human capital as an important source of economic growth and attempts to quantify its contribution to economic growth and development. The second part focuses on the trends in wage inequality in the U.S. and relates those to human capital theory. The macroeconomic implications of the rising wage inequality are also discussed.
ECO 710 Financial Markets
In this course, we study interesting problems in the analysis and design of market mechanisms with emphasis on financial markets. Possible topics include: static and dynamic asset pricing theory, game theoretical models of finance, empirical asset pricing, corporate finance, comparative study of financial markets, and the financial crisis and its policy implication. We may be also interested in auctions and matching with applications to IO, market design, and computer science. The specific topics will be determined during the first class based on students’ interests.
ECO 712 Time Series Analysis
Topics to be covered include: basic concepts in time series analysis, stationary ARMA process, time series regression, co-integration, conditional heteroscedasticity, and the Kalman filter.
ECO 713 Advanced Econometric Methods
Topics to be discussed include: discrete regression models and discriminant analysis, censored and truncated regression models, multivariate qualitative variables, models with self-selectivity, and duration models.
ECO 714 Advanced Econometric Methods
This course is an in-depth study of some select topics in which students will be familiarized with the latest developments after reviewing earlier literature. It is necessarily theoretical, though it keeps applications of the models in proper perspective. Several econometric tolls will be presented which will be potentially useful in preparing doctoral dissertations. The content of this course is part of the material included in the field exam in econometrics.
ECO 721/722 Industrial Organization
The goal of this course is to study industrial organization [IO] from a theoretical and empirical perspective. Industrial organization is the study of how firms compete and interact in different types of markets and under different types of conditions.
ECO 725 Growth in Under-developing Economies
Application of contemporary methods of economic analysis to typical and critical problems of poor countries. Depending upon staffing, topics may include: problems of agricultural change and industrial development, organization of markets and risk-sharing, problems of planning, and issues in class and international economic relations.
ECO 739 Health Economies
Rather than a broad and shallow survey of the field of health economics, which is massive, we will go in depth into a more narrow set of topics. The main theme of the course will be insurance. While much of the course will focus on health insurance in the U.S., other related forms of insurance, such as life insurance and annuities, will also be examined. Moreover, we will conceive of insurance very broadly, including public (social) and private insurance, self-insurance, and intra-household insurance. We will also examine how access to insurance interacts with other household decisions, including labor supply and savings. Because research on insurance overlaps with many other areas of applied microeconomics, especially public economics, labor, and industrial organization, I hope this course will appeal to a broad range of students.
ECO 743 Labor Economics
The approach is primarily that of applied microeconomics, with occasional excursions into macroeconomics. The difficulties in identifying and estimating the demand for labor, short run and long run, are explored. On the supply side, we include a review of the studies of labor force participation, search theory, the human capital model, and studies of mobility. The above is then used for analyzing models of aggregate wage change for studying relative wages. The latter is given attention within the frameworks of industrial occupational, and regional wage structures, and also union-nonunion differentials. Policy questions regarding wages, inflation, unemployment, and labor market problems of disadvantaged groups are considered.
ECO 751 Monetary Economics
The objective of this course is to provide students with a review or survey of some of the most important issues in monetary economics including how and why changes in money affect macroeconomic variables such as output, income and its distribution, employment, prices, and interest rates.
ECO 751 Monetary Policy
This course focuses on monetary theory and policy. Topics to be discussed include: basics, stylized facts, data sources, and questions; money and inflation; money and asset prices; Fisherian Theory; money and interest rates; segmented markets; money and production; inflation targeting and the Taylor rule; monetary policy and term structures/credit structures; bank regulations; some foundations
ECO 755 Econometric Methods for Causal Interference
This applied microeconometrics course strengthens students' knowledge of the empiral methods they have learned in foundational courses. The courses focuses on how to obtain (or try to obtain) estimates that have a causal interpretation. Specifically, these methods include the basics of classical experiments, instrumental variable, regression discountinuity, difference-in-difference, and some extensions.
ECO 758 Capital Theory
This course will give students a serious understanding of Marxist political economy. Topics to be discusses include: value and surplus value; reproduction and development of productive forces; transfer of surplus and the transformation problem; fractions of capital and capitalist competition; accumulation and crises; the ‘Cambridge’ controversy.
ECO 761 Theory of Economic Growth
The aim of the course is to examine the “new growth” or “endogenous growth” theories developed in the last 40 years, with the discussion of growth theories being selective and focusing mainly on the analytical models. The first part of the course we will examine the seminal work in growth, in other words we look at the Basic Paradigms of Growth Theory We will study the various mechanisms that will result in sustained long-run growth –learning-by-doing, investments in infrastructure, education, and firms’ R&D decisions– and analyse the role played by externalities and increasing returns to scale. We will see that a crucial implication of these growth models is that the equilibrium growth rate is not socially optimal, and that a laissez-faire economy can grow either too slowly or too fast. The second section of the course will examine several topics related to growth: the empirical evidence, the relationship between growth and inequality, non scale growth models, the role of institutions, natural resources, fertility and more general policy issues.
ECO 763 Public Finance & Fiscal Policy
This course introduces the students to the basic concepts, tools and models of Public Economics. The course is organized in three parts. The first part covers the basic forms of the optimal taxation problem, including a study of tax incidence, welfare costs and comparisons between direct income taxation and indirect commodity taxation; The second part introduces externalities and public goods (pure and local, congestible public goods) and their implications for public finance. The theory of first-best and second-best efficiency is covered with applied examples. The third part deals with a brief introduction to inter-temporal taxation and taxation under uncertainty. Basic microeconomic theory (ECO 665 and ECO 666) provide sufficient background for this course
ECO 764 Public Finance & Fiscal Policy 2
This course introduces the macroeconomic approach to public finance. The course is divided in three parts. The first part covers the classical Ramsey approach to optimal taxation with applications to commodity, intermediate goods, labor, capital, and wealth taxation. Stochastic taxation and debt management with complete and incomplete markets are also studied. The second part studies fiscal policy in the presence of inequality with applications to tax progressivity and social insurance. The last part deals with policies under the government’s lack of commitment and time inconsistency. Concepts of limited commitment, Markov perfect equilibrium, and sustainable equilibrium are covered.
ECO 775 International Economics I
International Economics I is a first semester course studying the theory and policy of real-side trade. It starts with surveys of the classical Ricardian model, neoclassical Heckscher-Ohlin model, and the modern specific-factor model of trade. The duality approach of the modern theory and the trade models with economies of scale are then followed. The policy issues involving tariffs, quotas, voluntary export restraints, and anti-dumping actions will also be discussed.
ECO 776 International Economics II
This is a second year graduate course in open economy macroeconomics. First year graduate micro, macro, and math theory are prerequisites. The lectures will focus on developing an analytical framework that can be used to think about real world problems. Students will be expected to develop a good grasp of both analytical tools and relevant policy issues.
ECO 778 Economics of Uncertainty
This course is concerned specifically with predictions about market outcomes when agents are incompletely informed about trading opportunities and interacting with a potential trading partner is costly. Four steps will be taken in this process. Each of them involves the study of specific papers.
ECO 787 Urban Economics
This course explores urban economics and its connections with industrial organization, public finance, international trade, and the theory of endogenous growth. The course focuses on the theory of externalities in an urban context. Transportation, housing markets, and environmental issues are also studied.
ECO 794 Student Seminar
ECO 794 is the PhD student seminar for the Department of Economics. The seminar is intended to introduce the research process and allow students the opportunity to receive feedback on their own research progress. Students should expect to present their research progress at least once per academic year.
All current PhD students are expected to enroll in ECO 794.
ECO 796 Special Topics: Computational Analysis of Economic Models
This course introduces the student to the basic concepts of computation and then the same techniques that are frequently used to solve various types and classes of economic problems.
ECO 796 Special Topics: Economics Applications of Simulation-Based Estimation
ECO 796 Special Topics: Empirical Methods for Applied Micro