51 - 60 of 173 results for: ECON

Use of incentive and algorithm theory to design practical mechanisms for matching markets with or without money payments. Matching algorithms without money have applications including school choice, organ exchanges, charitable food distribution, and some entry-level labor markets, while auction mechanisms using money have applications including natural resources, financial assets, radio spectrum, and advertising. Guests will speak about practical applications. Students must write term paper.

Effective decision models consider a decision maker's alternatives, information and preferences. The construction of such models in single-party situations with emphasis on the role of information. The course then evolves to two-party decision situations where one party has more information than the other. Models examined include: bidding exercises and the winner's curse, the Akerlof Model and adverse selection, the Principal-Agent model and risk sharing, moral hazard and contract design. Prerequisite: ECON 102A or equivalent. Recommended: Econ 50, Optimization and simulation in Excel.

Optimization techniques are increasingly used in economics and power systems worldwide. These methods are particularly relevant to operating modern electricity systems with growing shares of intermittent low-carbon renewable resources and storage. The technical characteristics of generation units and transmission networks require the solution of sophisticated constrained optimization problems to ensure secure, reliable, and efficient operation. The addition of renewable resources, high levels of storage, and load flexibility technologies adds a second layer of complexity regarding the consideration of uncertainty. This course provides students with an understanding of the general concepts and optimization models and techniques used in the analysis of electricity markets and modern power system operations and planning. This course introduces both the theoretical concepts and practical applications of optimization methods and decision making under uncertainty methodologies in electricity market operations, system planning, and regulation. This is a graduate level course. Interested undergraduates should enroll in ECON 138.

May be repeated for credit.

This course covers the foundations of financial economics. The main focus is on the valuation of assets and liabilities, including fixed income (bonds), stocks, options, and corporate investment projects. We will use the tools of valuation to study portfolio management (the tradeoff between risk and return) and corporate financial decision-making (how firms make financing, capital structure, and investment decisions). The course qualifies for the Economics major (BA and BS) and requires little prior exposure to finance. ECON majors may only count units from one of the following towards their major requirements as the courses are too similar in content: ECON 141, ECON 140, or ECON 135.

This class provides an introduction to financial markets. We cover major financial instruments -- bonds, bank loans, equity and derivatives -- and how their prices are determined. What are the key financial institutions that lend, provide liquidity and make markets. What role does the government play through regulation, monetary policy, bailouts and other interventions during financial crises. First we teach basic principles of modern finance. Then we focus on recent developments (digital currencies provided by central banks or the private sector, climate finance.) The course qualifies for the Economics major (BA and BS) and requires little prior exposure to finance. ECON majors may only count units from one of the following towards their major requirements as the courses are too similar in content: ECON 141, ECON 140, or ECON 135.

As society faces major challenges, democracies and "free-market" capitalism appear to be in crisis. This interdisciplinary course will explore the complex interactions between corporations, governments, and individuals, drawing on insights from the social sciences, business, and law to understand how institutions and collective actions translate to a set of rules and to outcomes for people and nature. The course aims to help students become savvier in their interactions with our economic and political systems and understand the governance issues that are critical to whether and how well institutions in the private and public sectors serve us. Topics include financial decisions, financial markets, banks and institutional investors; corporations and corporate governance; political economy and the rule of law as it applies to people and to organizations, and the role and functioning of the media. We will connect the material to specific issues such as climate change and justice, and discuss current events regularly throughout the course. Students will have the opportunity to explore a situation of their choosing in more depth through group final projects. Visitors with relevant experiences will regularly enrich our class discussion.

The family into which a child is born plays a powerful role in determining lifetime opportunities. This course will apply tools from economics and related social sciences to study how the functioning of families is shaped by laws, social insurance, social norms, and technology. Topics will include intergenerational transmission of wealth and health, the importance of the early family environment, partnership formation, cohabitation and marriage, teen pregnancy and contraception, assisted reproduction, Tiger Moms and Helicopter Parenting, and the employment effects of parenthood. In the context of these topics, the course will cover social science empirical methods, including regression analysis, causal inference, and quasi-experimental methods. Throughout the course, we will think critically about the role of the government and how the design of public policy targeting families affect our ability to solve some of the most important social and economic problems of our time.

How a decision to invest in education is affected by factors including ability and family background. Markets for elementary and secondary schooling; topics such as vouchers and charter schools, accountability, expenditure equalization among schools, and the teacher labor market.The market for college education emphasizing how college tuition is determined, and whether students are matched efficiently with colleges. How education affects economic growth, focusing on developing countries. Theory and empirical results. Application of economics from fields such as public economics, labor economics, macroeconomics, and industrial organization. Prerequisites: ECON 50, ECON 102B.