printer friendly pageECON 111: Money and Banking
The primary course goal is for students to master the logic, intuition and operation of a financial system - money, financial markets (money and capital markets, debt and equity markets, derivatives markets), and financial institutions and intermediaries (the Central Bank, depository institutions, credit unions, pension funds, insurance companies, venture capital firms, investment banks, mutual funds, etc.). In other words, how money/capital change hands between agents over time, directly and through institutions. Material will be both quantitative and qualitative, yet always highly analytical with a focus on active learning - there will be an approximately equal emphasis on solving mathematical finance problems (e.g. bond or option pricing) and on policy analysis (e.g. monetary policy and financial regulation.) Students will not be rewarded for memorizing and regurgitating facts, but rather for demonstrating the ability to reason with difficult problems and situations with which they might not previously be familiar. Prerequisite:
Econ 50, 52. Strongly recommended but not required: some familiarity with finance and statistics (e.g.
Econ 135 or 140,
Econ 102A)
Terms: Aut
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: WAY-SI
ECON 118: Development Economics
The microeconomic problems and policy concerns of less developed countries. Topics include: health and education; risk and insurance; microfinance; agriculture; technology; governance. Emphasis is on economic models and empirical evidence. Prerequisites:
ECON 50,
ECON 102B.
Terms: Win
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: GER:EC-GlobalCom, WAY-AQR, WAY-SI
Instructors:
Morten, M. (PI)
;
Zhang, S. (TA)
ECON 125: Economic Development, Microfinance, and Social Networks
An introduction to the study of the financial lives of households in less developed countries, focusing on savings, credit, informal insurance, the expansion of microfinance, social learning, public finance/redistribution, and social networks. Prerequisites-
Econ 51 or
Publpol 51 and
Econ 102B.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: WAY-SI, WAY-AQR, GER:EC-GlobalCom
Instructors:
Chandrasekhar, A. (PI)
;
Lenk, A. (TA)
ECON 126: Economics of Health and Medical Care (BIOMEDIN 156, BIOMEDIN 256, HRP 256)
Institutional, theoretical, and empirical analysis of the problems of health and medical care. Topics: demand for medical care and medical insurance; institutions in the health sector; economics of information applied to the market for health insurance and for health care; measurement and valuation of health; competition in health care delivery. Graduate students with research interests should take
ECON 249. Prerequisites:
ECON 50 and either
ECON 102A or
STATS 116 or the equivalent. Recommended:
ECON 51.
Last offered: Spring 2020
| UG Reqs: WAY-SI
ECON 127: Economics of Health Improvement in Developing Countries (MED 262)
Application of economic paradigms and empirical methods to health improvement in developing countries. Emphasis is on unifying analytic frameworks and evaluation of empirical evidence. How economic views differ from public health, medicine, and epidemiology; analytic paradigms for health and population change; the demand for health; the role of health in international development. Prerequisites:
ECON 50 and
ECON 102B.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: WAY-SI
Instructors:
Miller, G. (PI)
;
Pousada, B. (TA)
ECON 131: The Chinese Economy
This is a survey course of the Chinese economy with emphasis on understanding the process of economic reform, transition and development during the past 40 years. It will help students learn the different historical stages of institutional changes, develop an informed perspective on economic and political rationale and the effectiveness of the economic policies that have shaped China's economic emergence, and think critically about the process of economic and social changes. Prerequisite:
Econ 1.
Terms: Win
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: WAY-SI
ECON 140: Introduction to Financial Economics
Modern portfolio theory and corporate finance. Topics: present value and discounting, interest rates and yield to maturity, various financial instruments including financial futures, mutual funds, the efficient market theory, basic asset pricing theory, the capital asset pricing model, and models for pricing options and other contingent claims. Use of derivatives for hedging. Prerequisites:
ECON 50,
ECON 102A.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: WAY-SI
ECON 141: Public Finance and Fiscal Policy (PUBLPOL 107)
What role should and does government play in the economy? What are the effects of government spending, borrowing, and taxation on efficiency, equity and economic stability and growth? The course covers economic, historical and statistical analyses and current policy debates in the U.S. and around the world. Policy topics: Fiscal crises, budget deficits, the national debt and intergenerational equity; tax systems and tax reform; social security and healthcare programs and reforms; transfers to the poor; public goods and externalities; fiscal federalism; public investment and cost-benefit analysis; and the political economy of government decision-making. Prerequisites:
ECON 51 (Public Policy majors may take
PUBLPOL 51 as a substitute for
ECON 51),
ECON 52 (can be taken concurrently).
Last offered: Spring 2018
| UG Reqs: WAY-SI
ECON 144: Family and Society
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. Prerequisites:
Econ 50
Terms: Win
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: WAY-AQR, WAY-SI
ECON 145: Labor Economics
Analysis and description of labor markets. Determination of employment, hours of work, and wages. Wage differentials. Earnings inequality. Trade unions and worker co-operatives. Historical and international comparisons.. Prerequisites:
ECON 51 (Public Policy majors may take
PUBLPOL 51 as a substitute for
ECON 51),
ECON 102B.
Last offered: Autumn 2018
| UG Reqs: GER:EC-Gender, WAY-AQR, WAY-SI
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