University of Chicago: Department of Economics

30100   PRICE THEORY I  (Murphy / Becker)

Theory of consumer choice, including household production, indirect utility, and hedonic indices.  Models of the firm.  Analysis of factor demand and product supply under competitive and monopolistic conditions.  Static and dynamic cost curves, including learning by doing and temporary changes.  Uncertainty applied to consumer and producer choices.  Property rights and the effects of laws.  Investment in human and physical capital.  (=LAWS 43611)

30200   PRICE THEORY II  (Becker / Murphy / Reny)

The first five weeks of this course are a continuation of ECON 30100, Price Theory I.

The second half of the course will be devoted to the Walrasian model of general competitive equilibrium as developed by Arrow and Debreu.  This will begin with a brief development of the consumer and producer theories, followed by the welfare theorems connecting equilibria and optima and a treatment of the classical existence of equilibrium theorem.  The core of an economy, a limit theorem relating the core to the set of competitive equilibria, and models in which agents are small relative to the market will also be considered.  Finally we will study general equilibrium under some alternative assumptions; such as, informational asymmetries and rational expectations equilibrium, public goods and Lindahl equilibrium, financial general equilibrium and asset pricing.  (=LAWS 43621)

30300   PRICE THEORY III  (Reny / Myerson)

The course begins with expected utility theory, and then introduces the fundamental ideas of game theory: strategic-form games, Nash equilibrium, games with incomplete information, extensive-form games, and sequential equilibrium.   Then the course will focus on the effects of informational asymmetries in markets and the problems of moral hazard and adverse selection.  Topics include: optimal risk sharing, signaling and screening in competitive markets, principal-agent problems, strategic and informational incentive constraints, incentive efficiency, and mechanism design for auctions and bilateral trading.

30400   INTRODUCTION TO MATHEMATICAL METHODS IN ECONOMICS  (Lima)

This optional three-week course for incoming graduate students meets August 29 through September 16, 2011 and introduces some basic mathematical concepts used in economic theory: a "briefing" of the math students will encounter in the Core classes.  Emphasis is placed on problem-solving, but also on some fairly abstract math you might not see otherwise.  Cooperative work is strongly encouraged.

30501   TOPICS IN THEORETICAL ECONOMICS  (Reny)

Some of the topics covered in this course are: Nash equilibrium existence in discontinuous games, existence of monotone pure strategy equilibria in Bayseian games, defining sequential equilibrium in infinite extensive form games, efficient auction design, correlated information and mechanism design.

30600   THE ECONOMICS OF INFORMATION  (Harris)

This course introduces students to a range of economic tools used to study models explicitly involving strategic behavior, information transmission, and contracting in economics and finance. The intention is to prepare the student to conduct research using these tools.  Techniques studied include agency theory, signaling models, and sequential games of incomplete information. In addition, some applications of the tools will be covered. The approach is rigorous and analytical. First class assignment: purchase the required materials, read the syllabus (with special attention to the section on prerequisites), and read the article "Moral Hazard and Observability" by Bengt Holmström (Bell Journal, spring 1979) which can be downloaded from JSTOR. The syllabus is available on the "Booth Syllabi" link on Chalk:  https://chalk.uchicago.edu/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_id=_109_1  PQ:  ECON 30100-30200.  (=BUSF 33911)

30701   EVOLUTIONARY GAME THEORY  (Szentes)

The goal of this course is to give an introduction to Evolutionary Economics with a particular focus on the evolution of preferences. The topics covered in this course include altruism, risk-preferences, discounting, happiness and social norms.

31000   EMPIRICAL ANALYSIS I  (Shaikh / Uhlig)

This course introduces students to the key tools of econometric analysis.  It covers basic OLS regression model, generalized least squares, asymptotic theory and hypothesis testing for maximum likelihood estimation, extremum estimators, instrumental variables, decision theory and Bayesian inference.

31100   EMPIRICAL ANALYSIS II  (Uhlig / Hansen)

This course will develop time series methods pertinent for the analysis of dynamic economic models. Vector autoregressive methods for identifying shocks and their transmission and related filtering methods for models with hidden states will be investigated.  Generalized method of moments and indirect inference methods will be studied.  These econometric methods will be applied to models from macroeconomics and financial economics.

31200   EMPIRICAL ANALYSIS III  (Neal / Hortaçsu)

The course will cover methods that economists use in applied microeconomic research. Our focus will be on exploring and understanding data sets, evaluating predictions of economic models, and identifying and estimating the parameters of economic models.  The methods discussed will include regression techniques, maximum likelihood, method of moments estimators, as well as some non-parametric methods. Lectures and homework assignments will seek to build proficiency in the correct application of these methods to economic research questions.

32000   TOPICS IN AMERICAN ECONOMIC HISTORY  (Galenson)

Economic analysis is applied to important issues in American economic history.  Specific topics vary, but may include the following:  the economics of colonization, the transatlantic slave trade, the role of indentured servitude and slavery in the colonial labor market, the record and sources of 19th-century economic growth, economic causes and effects of 19th-century immigration, the expansion of education, the economics of westward migration, determinants of long-run trends in the distribution of income and wealth, the quantitative analysis of economic and social mobility, and the economics of racial discrimination in the twentieth- century South.  PQ:  ECON 20000.  (=ECON 22200)

32200   POPULATION AND THE ECONOMY  (Fogel)

This course deals with the effects of swings in population on the stability of the economy and on business opportunities.  In both the short run and the medium run, shifts in the demographic rates, including migration, probably have been more destabilizing than unwise macroeconomic policy or abrupt political realignments.  Population change thus constitutes a major challenge to policy makers in business and in government.  Topics covered include:  the effects of demographic changes on markets for labor and capital, on savings rates and the structure of investment, on pensions and health care costs, on taxes and government expenditures, and on household behavior.  Special attention is given to development in China and India.  Problems of planning for the consequences of population changes, including methods of forecasting, are also considered.  The grade for this course is based on problem sets discussed during T.A. sessions, a midterm, and a final examination. PQ:  BUSF 33001 or the equivalent.  (=ECON 22500 =BUSF 33470)

32300   A GUIDE TO BUSINESS ETHICS  (Fogel)

This course examines the way that religious and political movements affect the ethics of business.  It focuses on such current issues as the conflict between technical efficiency and morality, the ethical status of property rights, the politics of retirement and intergenerational equity, the ethics of the distribution of income and other conflicts between ethical and economic standards for compensation, the ethics of international trade and finance, globalization, agency problems, and ex post redefinitions of the legal status of de facto business practices. These issues are put into historical perspective by relating them to long cycles in religiosity in America, to the long-term factors influencing political images of business, and to the factors influencing domestic conceptions of the proper economic relationships between the U.S. and the rest of the world. The grade for this course is based on a midterm and a final examination. (=ECON 22300 =BUSF 38114)

32400   ECONOMICS AND DEMOGRAPHY OF MARKETING  (Fogel)

This course focuses primarily on problems in strategic marketing forecasts that are related to long-term product development and new technologies. Alternative procedures for estimating variations in the demand over business cycles (3-5 years), intermediate periods (5-15 years) and long periods (15-50 years) for both consumer and producer commodities and services are considered. Much attention is given to the impact of rapid economic growth in China and India on global markets. Attention is also given to the use of existing on-line databases for the estimation of a variety of forecasting models.  Students receive hands-on-the-data-training in statistical sections that meet throughout the quarter.  In addition, there are two lectures per week that deal with four broad topics:  the evolution of markets and of methods of distribution in America and globally since 1800; variations in the life cycles of products; the role of economic and demographic factors in the analysis of long-term trends in product demand; the impact of technological change; and the influence of business cycles on product demand. The grade for this course is based on problem sets discussed in the weekly statistical lab and a final examination. (=ECON 22700 =BUSF 37104)

33000   THE THEORY OF INCOME I  (Alvarez)

This course formulates and analyzes aggregate general equilibrium models to study classical questions in macroeconomics. The course starts with the formulation and analysis of competitive equilibrium in the general equilibrium models, including the 1st and 2nd welfare theorem. The first applications of this model are: social security (using an OLEG model), optimal risk sharing, and asset pricing (using a one period model with uncertainty). Most of the remaining applications focus on dynamic models without uncertainty. To do so we study tools to characterize optimal solutions of control problems: Hamiltonian, calculus of variations and dynamic programming. The main application of these tools is the neoclassical growth model in many variations: determinants of steady state and balanced growth path, endogenous growth, effect of variable labor supply, TFP changes and of investment specific technical progress, habit formation, the q-model of investment, taxation of capital and labor, optimal taxation a la Ramsey, among others.

33100   THE THEORY OF INCOME II  (Stokey)

This course will focus on the use of recursive general equilibrium models to study various macroeconomic questions.  On the substantive side, particular topics include models with idiosyncratic (insurable) and aggregate (uninsurable) risk; issues in dynamic fiscal policy (Ricardian equivalence, tax smoothing, capital taxation); models of asset pricing; issues in monetary policy (money demand, the welfare cost of inflation); time consistency; and aggregate models with price setting. On the methodological side, the course will focus on dynamic programming and other recursive modeling techniques.

33200   THE THEORY OF INCOME III  (Mulligan)

The course shares with the other two Theory of Income courses the objectives of (1) explaining human behavior as evidenced by aggregate variables and (2) predicting the aggregate effects of certain government policies.  Economics 33200 considers some of the prevailing business cycle theories, and their application to the recession of 2008-9.  Some hypotheses to be considered are the q-theory of housing investment, the neoclassical approach to fiscal policy, and whether government spending has a "multiplier."  The course confronts several empirical issues that are also encountered outside the field of macroeconomics such as the construction of aggregate data, choice of data set, and the measurement of expectations.

33502   MONETARY ECONOMICS I  (Alvarez)

In this class we will analyze monetary models, focusing on money demand and interest rate determination. In most of the model that we will use real balances will be derived as ways to economize in different transactions. We will study properties of both individual (i.e. households and firms) as well as aggregate money demand. Among the properties we will study are interest rate and expenditure elasticity, and the effect on money demand of changes on transaction technology (i.e. credit card, ATMs, changes in banking, etc). We will use study of some of these properties to empirically evaluate the fit of different models, and some to evaluate the welfare consequence of different policies. We will also study some equilibrium aspects of monetary models. Among these aspects we will feature the liquidity effect of monetary injections, as well as the effect of money on aggregate nominal expenditure, interest rates and exchange rates. While the class will have mostly a theoretical bent, we will also review a selection of the empirical evidence on both long run and short run properties of money demand, as well as properties of interest rates and inflation.

33602   MONETARY ECONOMICS II  (Lucas)

This course will be concerned with theoretical models of monetary economies in which government-issued money and privately-issued money substitutes ("outside" and "inside" money) coexist. We will seek frameworks suitable for the study of changes in the relative values of inside and outside money, and of rationales for government insurance and regulation of inside money suppliers. We examine the roles of the central bank in inflation control and as lender of last resort.

33702   MONETARY ECONOMICS III  (Guerrieri / La'O)

This course will explore a series of macroeconomic models with frictions, such as dispersed information, asymmetric information, and trading frictions. In particular, we will focus on the interaction of financial markets and the real economy. Topics will include: the effects of dispersed information and noise on the business cycle, the effects of a contraction in credit availability for both households and firms, and sources and effects of illiquidity and fire sales in financial markets.  (=BUSF 33940)

34300   HUMAN CAPITAL  (Becker)

This course covers both micro and macro aspects of human capital.  Investments by parents in the education and other human capital of their children.  Intergenerational transmission of inequality.  The links between specialization in particular types of human capital and coordination costs, general knowledge, and the extent of the market.  The relation between human capital, population change, and economic growth is also emphasized.  (=SOCI 30306)

34701   AGGREGATE LABOR MARKET DYNAMICS  (Shimer)

This course will examine recent research at the intersection of Macroeconomics and Labor Economics.  The first part of the course will look at the determinants of business-cycle-frequency fluctuations in employment and hours worked.  We will ask whether search models are capable of addressing empirical inconsistencies in market-clearing models of the labor market.  We will also examine how these models can be used to study worker mobility across geographic or occupational sectors of the economy.  The second part of the course will study the determinants of long-run, cross-country differences in employment and hours worked.  We will examine the role played by differences in taxes, unemployment insurance, and firing costs.  The emphasis throughout the course will be on the use of empirically grounded general equilibrium models to address the key determinants of labor market outcomes.

34901   SOCIAL INTERACTIONS AND INEQUALITY  (Durlauf)

This course will examine recent research on social interactions with a focus on their implications for inequality.  Our conception of social interactions will be broad and will include studies of social networks, social capital, and racial discrimination.  We will examine the effects of social interactions on individual and group outcomes as well as the implications of social interactions for how groups form.  The lectures will explore theoretical models and the associated econometric and empirical literatures. Particular attention will be given to identification problems associated with empirical studies of social interactions.

35002   THE ORIGINS AND CONSEQUENCES OF INEQUALITY IN CAPABILITIES  (Heckman)

This course examines human capital as a vector of skills, preferences, and personality traits subsumed under the term "capabilities."  We examine the origins of capabilities—the role of markets, family investment, social interactions, and heritability—in explaining inequality in wages, health, education, participation in risky activities, crime, labor supply, and a variety of other behaviors using a unified approach.  The course considers, among other topics, recent work on addiction, self-control, and preference formation, as well as gene-environment interactions and the influence of inequality per se on capability formation.  Economic models and econometric tools will be developed.

35700   FIRMS AND INTERNATIONAL TRADE  (Chaney)

This course introduces students to recent theories of international trade, with a special emphasis on the role of firms. We will study models of trade with heterogeneous firms, dynamic models of the firm size distribution, as well as the role of networks in international trade.

35800   QUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS IN INTERNATIONAL TRADE  (Kortum)

This course is the last in the sequence on International Trade and Growth.  It covers recent quantitative work in international trade. It explores the behavior of individual producers in international markets, trade flows between nations, and aggregate growth. It develops theoretical models, evaluates their ability to capture key stylized facts, shows how to estimate their parameters, and demonstrates their use in performing policy experiments.  The course involves a mix of theory, data, econometrics, and computation.

36200   PUBLIC SECTOR ECONOMICS  (Mulligan)

The concept of "market distortion" is used to formulate measurements, explanations, and consequences of government activities including tax systems, expenditure programs, and regulatory arrangements. Topics include cross-country comparisons of government behavior, predicting microlevel responses to policy, measuring and evaluating the incidence of government activity, alternative models of government decision-making, and the application of public finance to other economics fields.

36301   PUBLIC ECONOMICS  (Meyer)

This course covers areas of active empirical research on the design and effects of taxes and government spending.  The areas covered are welfare economics, income taxation and labor supply, optimal income taxation, the effects of welfare and social insurance programs including AFDC/TANF, social security, unemployment insurance, workers' compensation, and disability insurance.  While the emphasis is primarily empirical, the course begins each topic with the main theoretical work in that area.  (=PPHA 44000)

36500   ADVANCED HEALTH ECONOMICS  (Philipson)

Most developed economies spend substantial fractions of their incomes on improving health through investments in health enhancing activities, in health care markets, and other means. In particular, in the last half century there has been substantial growth in the amount of income devoted to health care expenditures. Also, in developed and developing countries alike the public sector is heavily involved in both the financing and production of health care; about two thirds of health expenditures on average are made by the public sector. This course will discuss advanced topics in the economic aspects of health and health care markets. The discussion will be focused on, but not limited to, health care markets in the United States. Particular attention will be paid to the effects and role of public sector interventions in health care markets including the subsidization of health care demand and the regulation of health care production. The course is mainly aimed at doctoral students but also open to master's students with an economics background.  (=PPHA 47000)

37200   ANALYSIS OF MICROECONOMIC DATA I  (Black)

This course covers several substantive issues that affect applied researchers including sampling issues in complex survey design, the problem of nonresponse in surveys, measurement error, latent variables, and the selection problem.  Econometric topics include bounds, binary choice models, matching models, nonparametric regression, censored regression models, control function, and introduction to modern instrumental variables methods.  (=PPHA 48200)

37300   ANALYSIS OF MICROECONOMIC DATA II  (Lalonde)

This course will cover methods for program and policy evaluation using panel data. In the first half of the course we will discuss longitudinal models. In the second half of the course, we will discuss hazard models.  (=PPHA 48300)

37403   RESEARCH SEMINAR ON THE QUANTITATIVE STUDY ON INEQUALITY  (Heckman)

This course teaches the empirical tools needed to understand inequality in both cross sectional and dynamic settings. This year the course will emphasize the measurement of inequality and the study of dynamic and static choice and outcomes including dynamic treatment models and models for dynamic discrete choice. The course will be run as a seminar with hands on experience in both doing empirical research and in crafting the models to use economics to interpret empirical evidence.  (=PPHA 48410)

38001   APPLIED MACROECONOMICS: MICRO DATA FOR MACRO MODELS  (Davis / Hurst)

This course considers the use of data on households, workers and producers in research on consumption behavior, labor market fluctuations, business dynamics and other areas of macroeconomics.  A key goal is to help students develop the ability to identify interesting research questions and devise promising research strategies.  Topics include life cycle consumption behavior, home production and time use, housing market dynamics, wage rigidities and their consequences, unemployment fluctuations, employer behavior on the hiring margin, entrepreneurship, and business productivity dynamics.  Lectures treat a mix of important, well-established research contributions and new, often rough, papers that seek to advance the frontier.  Homework assignments aim to build proficiency in the use of micro data to address macroeconomic issues, expose students to a variety of useful data sources, and give them first-hand experience in identifying and evaluating research questions and strategies.  (=BUSF 33942)

38101   APPLIED MACROECONOMICS: METHODS AND APPLICATIONS  (Davis / Hurst / Uhlig)

The first five weeks of this course are a continuation of ECON 38001/ BUSF 33942, Applied Macroeconomics: Micro Data For Macro Models.

In the second part of winter quarter, the course will investigate models of financial crises and banking in a macroeconomic context.  It will further develop quantitative methods for studying dynamic, stochastic, general equilibrium models. Methods of solution, estimation and characterization of short run and long run model properties will be justified and applied. A variety of applications from economic dynamics, asset pricing as well as fiscal and monetary policy analysis will be considered. (=BUSF 33943)

38201   APPLIED MACROECONOMICS: INFLATION*  (Cochrane / Sargent)

The first half of this course will cover the basic issues of how monetary and fiscal policy determine the price level and inflation rate. We will consider a spectrum of theories, including the quantity theory, interest rate targets in new-Keynesian models, and the fiscal theory of the price level. We will also study empirical and historical evidence, and consider various doctrines for the conduct of central banks. Reading list and course outline will be available on the class website  http://faculty.chicagobooth.edu/john.cochrane/teaching/Monetary%20Economics%20PhD%20course/

The second half of this course will primarily cover how concerns about model uncertainty affect valuations of assets and the design of macroeconomic policy.  To set up policy problems, we shall study aspects of the theory of policy design under commitment that are needed to properly formulate government policy problems using ideas from dynamic programming.  We will also touch on the econometric implications of model uncertainty. (=BUSF 33944)

38900   THEORY OF FINANCIAL DECISIONS I  (Fama)

This course is concerned with models for portfolio decisions by investors and the pricing of securities in capital markets.  The material is covered in a rigorous analytical manner, although formal technical requirements are minimal.  The reading list is extensive.  The expectation is that the average student spends 15+ hours per week on the course, outside of class.  Grades are based on weekly take-home exam questions, about five problem sets, and a term paper. Class participation (I cold call) is also used to determine grades.  Cannot be taken pass/fail or audited. Written proof of permission from the Instructor to enroll in this class is required at the time of registration. Attendance at the first class is mandatory.

This course is intended for (i) first-year Booth Ph.D. students with no finance and (at best) undergraduate economics and statistics backgrounds, and (ii) second-year MBA students with rather minimal economics and statistics backgrounds.  Students with stronger backgrounds in economics and statistics are likely to find the pace of the course, and the exam and problem set requirements, somewhat tedious.  Such students are better served by the Booth Ph.D. Asset Pricing courses offered by Cochrane, Constantinides, and Heaton.  (=BUSF 35901)

39001   THEORY OF FINANCIAL DECISIONS II  (Diamond / Rajan / Sufi)

This course provides a theoretical and empirical treatment of major topics in corporate finance, including: capital structure and financial contracting; investment decisions; bankruptcy; and the market for corporate control.  The course is designed for Ph.D. students interested in corporate finance.  Grades will be based on problem sets, referee reports, and a final examination.  PQ:  ECON 38900/ BUSF 35901.  (=BUSF 35902)

39100   ASSET PRICING  (Cochrane)

This is the first course in the Ph.D. asset pricing sequence. We will march through the book Asset Pricing as far as possible. Main topics will be: 1) Discount factors and the consumption-based asset pricing model; 2) Mean-variance analysis; 3) Linear factor pricing models CAPM, ICAPM, APT; 4) GMM and regression based tests of asset pricing models; 5) Term structure of interest rates; 6) Black-Scholes and its extensions; 7) Empirical survey: Equity premium, volatility, predictability, and multiple factors; 8) New utility functions; 9) Portfolio theory. (=BUSF 35904)

39200   TOPICS IN EMPIRICAL FINANCE  (Hansen / Heaton)

The central question of empirical finance is "what are the real sources of aggregate risk that determine asset prices?" This course focuses on current topics in empirical finance that address this question.

This course begins with a review and synthesis of asset pricing and macroeconomic theory. The emphasis is on the stochastic discount factor framework for thinking about asset pricing, and the course spends some time exploring this framework and relating it to traditional expected return-beta statements of asset pricing models. The class discusses some econometric issues in assessing asset pricing models, including the relationship between GMM and traditional tests. Finally, the course surveys current empirical work in consumption-based models, investment or production based models, volatility tests and predictability, and the effects of individual heterogeneity and frictions in asset markets.  (=BUSF 35905)

39400   THEORY OF FINANCIAL DECISIONS III  (Diamond / Zingales)

We plan to cover three broad topics in this course: (1) theory of the firm; (2) the development of financial markets and its effects on real markets; and (3) financial intermediaries. We will start by trying to understand why firms exist. This will naturally lead on to questions about their organizational and control structures and about the way they are financed. Financial intermediaries play a key role in financing and we will attempt to understand why they are useful. Among the topics we will examine are the effects of financial contracts and intermediaries on incentives, commitment, and the liquidity of markets and the chance of a financial crisis.

This course is intended for Ph.D. students and advanced M.B.A. students who have a substantial understanding of formal economics and some basic game theory.  Grades will be based on problem sets, referee reports and a final examination.  PQ:  ECON 39001/ BUSF 35902.  A solid background in advanced microeconomics is highly recommended.  (=BUSF 35903)

39600   TOPICS IN ASSET PRICING  (Panageas)

This course covers topics in the area of dynamic asset pricing, with a focus on the development of useful tools. Indicative topics include: Complete markets in discrete and continuous time, portfolio choice with dynamic programming and martingale methods, incomplete markets and portfolio constraints in partial and general equilibrium, limited participation, overlapping generations models, heterogeneous-agents models, investment-based and real-options models in partial and general equilibrium, asymmetric information, non-expected utility theory and asset pricing implications, behavioral models (optimal and rational inattention, hyperbolic discounting, commitment), dynamic global games and coordination.  (=BUSF 35907)

39802   ADVANCED LAW AND ECONOMICS  (Malani)

This seminar examines theoretical and empirical work in the economic analysis of law. It will cover, among other things, optimal tort rules, models of contract liability and remedies, optimal criminal rules, settlement and plea bargaining, and models of judicial behavior. Familiarity with calculus and either advanced undergraduate microeconomics or graduate microeconomics is expected. Grades will be based on class participation and a major paper.   (=LAWS 55401)

40101   ADVANCED INDUSTRIAL ORGANIZATION I  (Syverson)
40201   ADVANCED INDUSTRIAL ORGANIZATION II  (Hortaçsu)

This two-quarter sequence is part of the Industrial Organization Specialized Field taught jointly at the Ph.D. level in the Department of Economics and the Booth School of Business. Topics include modeling consumer demand, production function estimation, static and dynamic models of imperfect competition, pricing strategies, theory of the firm, auctions and market design. Recent theoretical and empirical approaches are emphasized. PQ: Solid background in first year Ph.D. level microeconomics and econometrics, e.g., ECON 30100, 30200, or 30300 and ECON 31000, 31100, or 31200. (=BUSF 33921, 33922)

40301   ADVANCED INDUSTRIAL ORGANIZATION III  (Carlton)

This course will complement the other courses in the Ph.D. sequence for industrial organization and will focus on topics closely related to antitrust economics and regulation. Topics will include optimal price discrimination, bundling, tie in sales, price fixing, two sided markets including credit cards, the theory of optimal regulation, and the empirical facts of regulation. The course is primarily for PhDs in economics and business, but advanced law students interested in antitrust and regulation plus advanced and interested MBAs are welcome.  (=BUSF 33923 =LAWS 99304)

40402   ADVANCED INDUSTRIAL ORGANIZATION:  TOPICS  (Hickman)

The course will cover dynamic models in industrial organization.  We will cover both theory and theory-based estimation methods, with emphasis on the latter.  Topics will include models of firm dynamics and entry/exit, industry evolution, R&D/innovation, durable goods markets, the Rust model of bus engine replacement, and technology adoption.  If time permits, we may also cover related dynamic discrete-choice models on human capital investment.  (=BUSF 33926)

40603   MARKET DESIGN  (Budish)

This half-course explores the theory and practice of market design, drawing on examples from entry-level labor markets, school choice procedures, kidney exchanges, course allocation procedures, internet marketplaces, and financial exchanges. The main assignment is to write a final paper, due at the end of the quarter, that studies either an existing organized market or an environment with a potential role for an organized market.

Students are encouraged (though not required) to take Econ 30900 in the Fall on the theory of auction design, and Econ 40201 in the Winter for treatment of empirical methods for auction and matching markets.  (=BUSF 33915)

40701   TOPICS IN MATCHING AND MARKET DESIGN  (Kominers)

This course is a reading seminar on current research in the theory of market design. Recent papers will be discussed alongside their classical antecedents.  Topics may include: matching with contracts, couples matching, the Japanese resident match, large-scale kidney exchange, random assignment, spectrum reassembly, and markets for private data.  This course complements Economics 40603.

41001   BEHAVIORAL ECONOMICS  (Thaler / Kamenica / Pope)

This is a research class aimed at Ph.D. students in economics, psychology, or related disciplines.

Traditional economic theory is based on standard working assumptions which include unlimited rationality and complete self-control. Behavioral economics considers what happens in economic contexts when these working assumptions are modified to incorporate more realistic conceptions of human behavior. The role of markets is central to this study. We carefully consider conditions under which rationality of participants influences market outcomes. However, financial markets are not covered in detail, and this is not a finance class.

Students will be asked to write frequent short papers and a more substantial research paper. The research paper is due in March, 2012 to give students time to undertake a serious paper. There will be one course meeting during the Spring quarter, on a date to be arranged, where these papers will be presented.  (=BUSF 38912)

41100   EXPERIMENTAL ECONOMICS  (List / Price)

This course will provide the student with the necessary tools to be an avid consumer of the experimental literature and eventually a producer of the literature.  These issues will be discussed through evaluation of both outstanding papers in the literature, and papers that fail to achieve their full potential. Thus, it will provide a summary of recent experimental findings and detail how to gather and analyze data using experimental methods.  Students will be expected to carry out their own original empirical research to meet the course requirements. (=ECON 21800)

41800   NUMERICAL METHODS IN ECONOMICS  (Judd)

This course introduces a broad range of numerical methods, and then uses them to compute equilibrium in economic models and related econometric estimators. We will study examples of computational techniques in the current economic literature as well as discuss areas of economic analysis where numerical analysis may be useful in future research of dynamic economic problems. Applications will include solution of dynamic stochastic general equilibrium models, life-cycle dynamic programming problems, optimal taxation, nonlinear pricing, Nash equilibrium of dynamic games, and estimation of structural models.

42100   AN INTRODUCTION TO DOING EMPIRICAL MICROECONOMIC RESEARCH  (Levitt)

This course is designed to give students early in their graduate careers exposure to carrying out their own empirical micro-focused research.  Attention will be paid to every step in the process: idea generation, the use of data, identifying the right tools to answer the question at hand, testing hypotheses, making arguments convincing, etc.  These issues will be discussed through evaluation of both outstanding papers in the literature, and papers that fail to achieve their full potential.  Students will be expected to carry out their own original empirical research to meet the course requirements.  (=LAWS 99303)

42800   CREATIVITY  (Galenson)

This seminar will study why and how creative people innovate. The emphasis will be on understanding the process by which innovators work, and measuring the timing of their creativity over the life cycle. Examples will be drawn principally from the arts – important modern painters. Including Cézanne and Picasso; poets, including Eliot and Frost; novelists, including Woolf and Hemingway; movie directors, including Welles and Godard; architects, including Corbusier and Gehry; and songwriters, including Dylan and the Beatles. The principal assignment will be a term paper that will examine the creative life cycle of one or more innovators of the student's choice; students will present this research in progress to the class during the second half of the quarter. The empirical study of individual creativity is a new field, and there are many excellent research opportunities for students.  (=ECON 22650)

42900   INNOVATORS  (Galenson)

Economists believe that innovation is a primary source of economic growth.  Yet although most innovations are made by individuals or small groups, until recently economists have not studied how those exceptional people produce their discoveries.  Recent research has shown that there are two very different types of innovators, who have different goals, and follow different processes.  This course will survey this research, examining the careers and innovations of important practitioners in a range of modern arts, including painters, novelists, sculptors, poets, movie directors, photographers, songwriters, and architects, as well as entrepreneurs and scientists.  The material covered in this course adds a new dimension to our understanding of creativity, and of how innovators in many different activities produce new forms of art and science.  (=ECON 22600)

43400   TOPICS IN LABOR MARKETS AND MACROECONOMICS  (Lopes de Melo)

The course will cover topics on the Macroeconomics of Labor Markets. We will cover recent advances in the literature, giving emphasis to theory as well as data issues. Topics will include employment fluctuations over the business cycle, partial and general equilibrium search theory, theories of wage formation, job and worker flow analysis, frictional wage dispersion and its interactions with labor market turnover, and firm and worker heterogeneity.

43800   TOPICS IN GENERAL EQUILIBRIUM, DEFAULT, BANKRUPTCY, AND APPLICATIONS (Araujo)

This course will start by motivating the need of good regulation and laws both to avoid excessive economic fluctuation and to induce the enhancement of economic development. We will present formal models of default and bankruptcy. We will prove some theorems but will give numerical results as well, and will be as intuitive as possible. Concrete examples of laws will be given. Therefore, the course will be accessible to students in Law and Latin American studies with some background in economics. Graduate students in Economics will de required to show understanding of the formal models as well as some mathematical proofs. The main goal of the course is to shed some light of Default and Bankruptcy in many important situations such as: Regulation of collateral and banks; Bankruptcy laws for individuals, corporations (emphasis on the recent Brazilian reform) and banks; Default of countries (Latin America and Europe).  (=LACS 23800, 43800 = LAWS 73704 = PPHA 37030)

46000   TOPICS IN POLITICAL ECONOMY  (Martinelli)

This course is an introduction to the growing literature on the political economy of institutions. The course combines formal models with applications and illustrations from recent Latin American experience. Topics covered include the origins of state capacity, political parties and politicians' selection, division of powers and accountability, media capture and government accountability, crime and violence, and transitions to democracy. (=LACS 29412, 39412 =ECON 26950)

49900   INDIVIDUAL RESEARCH:  For Required Research Paper:  to be arranged between individual faculty and students – see Time Schedule for faculty Section Numbers.

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