Economics

An examination of the economics of the labor market, especially the forces determining the supply of and demand for labor, the level of unemployment, labor mobility, the structure of relative wages, and the general level of wages.

The course surveys both the theoretical literature and the relevant empirical methods and results in selected current research topics in labor economics.

Methods for empirical and theoretical analysis of markets composed of productive enterprises and their customers are studied. Analyses are applied to modern market structures and practices and the public policy toward them. Topics include the roles of technology and information; the structure of firms; modes of interfirm competition; determination of price, quality, and research and development investment; and criteria for government intervention.

Theoretical and empirical study of the public regulation and deregulation of rate of return, prices, and entry in public utilities and franchise oligopolies. Theory and practice of antitrust policy is examined, including some elements of antitrust law. In addition, regulation of product quality, advertising, and safety is examined. This course draws heavily on material developed in 541.

This half-course discusses empirical work on imperfect competition among firms: how to implement empirical methods as well as how to read empirical papers. The first section of the course considers applications that apply tools covered in previous courses from the IO sequence to consider issues such as antitrust (particularly merger policy) and price discrimination. The next section covers the issues and tools involved with estimating partially identified models. The third section of the course looks at several different topics from an empirical point of view, particularly those centered around vertical markets.

The determinants of foreign trade: (1) intercountry differences of factor endowments and technologies and (2) scale economies and imperfect competition are studied. Dynamic comparative advantage; innovation and growth; factor movements and multinational corporations; gains from trade; tariffs and quantitative restrictions on trade and their role in dealing with market failures and oligopolies; the political economy of trade policy; international negotiations on trade policy; and economic integration are studied as well.

A continuation of Economics 551, with emphasis on current research issues. Topics vary from year to year.

Course develops core models of international finance and open-economy macroeconomics and surveys selected current research topics in the field. Topics include investment and the current account, international capital market integration, international transmission of business cycles, international borrowing and default, the determination of nominal and real exchange rates, monetary and fiscal policy in the open economy, alternative exchange rate arrangements, and policy interdependence and coordination.

Advanced topics in monetary economics, with an emphasis on open economies. Price-level and exhange-rate determination under alternative monetary policy rules; money demand and currency substitution; real effects of monetary disturbances; exchange-rate policy and macroeconomic stability; welfare effects of exchange rate stability; advantages and disadvantages of monetary union.

An examination of those areas in the economic analysis of development where there have been recent analytical or empirical advances. Emphasis is given to the formulation of theoretical models and econometric analysis and testing. Topics covered include models of household/farm behavior, savings behavior, equity and efficiency in pricing policy, project evaluation, measurement of poverty and inequality, and the analysis of commodity prices.

Selected topics in the economic analysis of development beyond those covered in 562. Topics are selected from theoretical and empirical models of economic growth, trade, and international finance; health and education policy; innovation in agriculture in developing countries; private and social security systems; and the political economy of development. Prerequisite: 562.

Examines health issues in the developed world. Specific topics include the evolution of health over the life course; the fetal origins hypothesis; the two-way links between socioeconomic status and health; the impact of social safety nets on health outcomes; environmental threats to children¿s health and development; health insurance and its effects on health; the industrial organization of health care delivery. Prerequisites: PhD-level microeconomics and econometrics.

Examines issues in global health. Specific topics include effects of health on growth and development; health, nutrition and productivity; the relationship between health and height; the relationship between education and health; structural problems in health service delivery in developing countries; and the impact of the AIDS crisis on economic wellbeing; measurement of health and well-being around the world. Prerequisites: PhD-level microeconomics and econometrics.

Course focuses on modeling the interaction of politics and economics, with applications to a variety of substantive areas. Topics include: poltics of taxation and redistribution; governmental structure, political economy of constitutional arrangements, development, and growth. Familiarity with microeconomic theory and POL 575 or the equivalent are prerequisites.