Global Arc

Using applied microeconomic theory and case studies, this course examines the impact of digital technology on markets. In a connected market, information is freely and instantly available to all participants. We ask how these features affect the way markets function. Topics include the economics of platform markets and multisided markets, the impact of the internet on the news media, education, health care and new industries, such as big-data driven industries, social networks, technological innovation and intellectual property, internet security, privacy and other regulatory issues.

This course considers firms, markets, and competition. We will study the theory of industrial organization, focusing on models of the way firms make decisions and compete and the impact of those decisions on market outcomes such as prices, quantities, the type of products offered and social welfare. This is a more math-focused version of ECO 321. For most topics considered, we will write down and solve a model of firm behavior, before considering real-world examples of the phenomenon the model seeks to analyze. We will use the examples to assess the model's ability to capture real-world outcomes.

Applies microeconomic analysis to the demand for labor, labor supply, and the determination of wages. Examines investments in human capital, unemployment, discrimination, unions, government intervention in the labor market. Empirical findings as well as theoretical models are studied. Prerequisites: ECO 100, ECO 302, and MAT 175 or equivalent. Two lectures, one precept.

This course will provide an opportunity to apply the concepts and methods studied in economics core courses to analyze selected topics in health economics. Topics will change from year to year. Prerequisites depend on topic. Two 90-minute lectures and one precept.

This course develops a conceptual framework for examining government taxing and spending, and uses this framework to analyze current public policy issues. We focus on both the efficiency and equity aspects of the government.

This course explores the role that money, financial markets and institutions, and monetary policy play in shaping the economic environment. The class investigates why these markets and institutions arise and may lubricate the resource allocation analytically (rather than descriptively), using tolls of economic theory. Two lectures, one class.

In the US and many other developed countries, economic inequality has risen to historic levels in recent decades. What are the causes of this trend -- "natural" market forces (e.g., globalization?) or changes in public policy (e.g., erosion of the minimum wage)? Are measures currently proposed to counteract inequality and poverty -- e.g, progressive taxation, transfer programs to low-income families, public insurance programs such as Medicare -- effective? An emphasis is placed on understanding what basic microeconomic theory as well as empirical evidence can (and cannot) tell us about these questions.

The course focuses on fiscal and monetary policies to promote high-quality growth with price stability, but some attention will also be given to sector-specific policies and other aspects of macroeconomic adjustment and structural reform, including tax and financial sector reforms, external competitiveness, and public and external debt management. We will study various macroeconomic models, including models used by central banks for monetary policy analyses.

Foreign exchange markets and balance-of-payments accounts. Effects of incomes, prices, interest rates, and exchange rates on trade and capital flows. Effects of exchange rate arrangements and capital mobility on macroeconomic policies. Current policy issues: exchange rate management, macroeconomic policy coordination, managing currency crises, the roles of international institutions.

Hunger and under-nutrition are widespread in poor countries while an obesity crisis is growing in rich countries. Rural-urban income inequality occurs throughout the world and farming and food industry practices everywhere have significant adverse effects on public health and the environment/climate. What are the economic causes of these problems? Are agricultural, food, nutrition and environmental policy measures currently proposed to deal with these problems effective? This course uses theoretical and empirical economic analysis to study the agricultural and food sector and related government policies in rich and poor countries.