ECON 43: Introduction to Financial Decision-Making
The purpose of the class is for you to obtain greater comfort making the major financial decisions your life journey will require. Illustrative examples, case studies, historical and statistical evidence, and some simple analytical tools will be presented. Small breakout sessions with other students will focus on applying the material to developing and analyzing the options available to you and the tradeoffs among them in the situations you will face, from job choice to home purchase to investing. We hope to help students avoid damaging mistakes in the decisions that will determine their financial flexibility and safeguard them against life's uncertainties. Students will learn how to keep more options open and to live with fewer constraints by making sound financial decisions. Topics include making a financial plan and budget, managing money, obtaining and using credit and loans, saving, investing in stocks, bonds, mutual funds, ETFs, options and other assets, venture capital and private equity, purchasing insurance, purchasing vs. renting a home, getting a mortgage, taxes, inflation and inflation protection, financial markets and financial advisors.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: WAY-SI
Instructors:
Boskin, M. (PI)
ECON 44: The Modern Financial System
The purpose of the class is to introduce you to the modern financial system. What are the major financial instruments -- bonds, bank loans and also equity - and how are their prices determined. What are the key financial institutions that lend, provide liquidity and make markets. What role does the government play through regulation, monetary policy and special intervention in crisis time. We'll devote particular attention to the payments system: how do households and firms make payments, how do financial institutions organize these payments, and how could this business change with potential entry of new digital currencies, provided by central banks or the private sector. This course is intended for freshmen and sophomores. Prerequisites:
Econ 1 is recommended.
Last offered: Winter 2023
ECON 46: Networks and Human Behavior
Two threads are interwoven: why social and economic networks have special features, and how those features shape power, opinions, opportunities, and behaviors. Some of the topics included are: the different ways in which a person's position in a network determines their influence; which systematic errors people make when forming opinions based on what they learn from others; how financial contagions work and why are they different from the spread of a flu; the role of splits in our social networks in inequality, immobility, and polarization; and how network patterns of trade and globalization have changed international conflict and wars. The course requires analyzing network data, which will be provided. No prerequisite but
Econ 102A or equivalent is recommended.
Last offered: Spring 2021
| UG Reqs: WAY-AQR, WAY-SI
ECON 47: Media Markets and Social Good
This class will apply tools from economics and related social sciences to study the functioning of media markets and their impact on society. The guiding question will be: when and how do media best serve the social good? Topics will include the economics of two-sided markets, media bias, polarization, social media, fake news, advertising, propaganda, effects of media on children, media and crime, and the role of media in corruption, protests and censorship. The course will give students a non-technical introduction to social science empirical methods, including regression analysis, causal inference, experimental and quasi-experimental methods, and machine learning.
Last offered: Autumn 2020
| UG Reqs: WAY-AQR, WAY-SI
ECON 48: Law and Economics of Biomedical Innovation
Why don't we have an HIV vaccine, or a cure for Alzheimer's disease? Why weren't we better prepared for a pandemic? A variety of evidence suggests market incentives - such as provided by policies ranging from patent law to public health insurance - are a critical determinant of which potential technologies successfully make the transition from the lab to the market. This course articulates the key market failures justifying government intervention in biomedical innovation markets, reviews theory and evidence on the legal instruments governments use to intervene in these markets, and considers leading proposals for legal reform. We close by discussing links between biomedical innovation and inequality. No prerequisites. Elements used in grading: class participation, attendance, and short writing assignments. Undergraduates: letter grade only.
ECON 50: Economic Analysis I
Individual consumer and firm behavior under perfect competition. The role of markets and prices in a decentralized economy. Monopoly in partial equilibrium. Economic tools developed from multivariable calculus using partial differentiation and techniques for constrained and unconstrained optimization. Prerequisites:
Econ 1 or 1V, and
Math 51 or
Math 51A or
CME 100 or
CME 100A.
Terms: Aut, Spr
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: WAY-SI, WAY-FR, GER:DB-Math
ECON 51: Economic Analysis II
Neoclassical analysis of general equilibrium, welfare economics, imperfect competition, externalities and public goods, risk and uncertainty, game theory, adverse selection, and moral hazard. Multivariate calculus is used. Prerequisite:
ECON 50.
Terms: Aut, Spr
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: WAY-FR, WAY-SI
ECON 52: Economic Analysis III
Long-run economic growth and short-run economic fluctuations. Focus on the macroeconomic tools of government: fiscal policy (spending and taxes) and monetary policy, and their effects on growth, employment, and inflation. Prerequisites:
ECON 50.
Terms: Win, Spr
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: WAY-SI
Instructors:
Boul, R. (PI)
;
Dalva, C. (TA)
;
Fiaux, F. (TA)
;
Gao, E. (TA)
;
Luo, C. (TA)
;
Rockall, E. (TA)
ECON 101: Economic Policy Seminar
Capstone and writing in the major course open to Econ majors only. Economic policy analysis, writing and oral presentations will be large components of this course. Students may also complete group projects that include empirical economic analysis focused on a specific topic. The goal of this course is to enable students to utilize the skills they have acquired throughout their time in the major. Section topics vary by instructor. Enrollment limited to application at the start of each school year with student placement notifications before the term starts. Permission numbers will be provided to students. Limited to students applying to graduate in 2023-24. Prerequisites:
Econ 51 and 52, 102B, and two field courses. Enrollment by application:
https://economics.stanford.edu/forms.
Terms: Aut, Win, Spr
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: WAY-SI
| Repeatable
for credit
Instructors:
Boul, R. (PI)
;
Clerici-Arias, M. (PI)
;
Goda, G. (PI)
...
more instructors for ECON 101 »
Instructors:
Boul, R. (PI)
;
Clerici-Arias, M. (PI)
;
Goda, G. (PI)
;
Popov, I. (PI)
;
Voena, A. (PI)
;
Grasley, N. (TA)
;
Harris, L. (TA)
;
Le, V. (TA)
;
Yi, L. (TA)
;
Zheng, K. (TA)
ECON 102A: Introduction to Statistical Methods (Postcalculus) for Social Scientists
Probabilistic modeling and statistical techniques relevant for economics. Concepts include: probability trees, conditional probability, random variables, discrete and continuous distributions, correlation, central limit theorems, point estimation, hypothesis testing and confidence intervals for both one and two populations. Prerequisite:
MATH 20 or equivalent.
Terms: Aut, Win
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Math, WAY-AQR, WAY-SI
Instructors:
McKeon, S. (PI)
;
Crystal, M. (TA)
;
Francisco Pugliese, J. (TA)
...
more instructors for ECON 102A »
Instructors:
McKeon, S. (PI)
;
Crystal, M. (TA)
;
Francisco Pugliese, J. (TA)
;
Haberman, A. (TA)
;
He, C. (TA)
;
Lennie, M. (TA)
;
Love, S. (TA)
;
Tyger, E. (TA)
;
Yan, N. (TA)
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