Graduate Courses for Economics (ECON)

Schedule of Classes: Fall | Winter | Spring | Summer
(Only current and next semester available)

ECON 401 Current Issues in American Economic Policy (3 credits)
Prerequisite: ECON306; or permission of department. For ECON majors only.
Analysis of current economic problems and public policies. Inflation, unemployment, market power, government regulation, poverty and distribution of income, federal budget and tax policy, environment.

ECON 402 Macroeconomic Models and Forecasting (3 credits)
Prerequisite: ECON305 and ECON321.
Analysis of the fluctuations in economic activity and the formulation and use of forecasting models of the economy. Illustrations of computer macro models and forecasting problems.

ECON 407 Advanced Macroeconomics (3 credits)
Prerequisite: ECON305; or permission of department. For ECON majors only.
An in-depth analysis of current issues in macroeconomic theory and policy. Topics covered include: 1. alternative perspectives on macroeconomics including monetarism, new classical equilibrium models, rational expectations, and real business cycle models; 2. long term growth, the slowdown in productivity growth, and concerns about U.S. competitiveness; 3. the effectiveness of macroeconomic policy in an open economy; 4. the effects of finance on the real sector.

ECON 413 Information and Markets (3 credits)
Prerequisite: ECON306. For ECON majors only.
Presents advanced microeconomic theory, concentrating on how information affects exchange and market outcomes, including insurance, signaling, reputations, and incentive contracts. Studies applications to various markets and policy questions.

ECON 414 Game Theory (3 credits)
Prerequisites: ECON306; or permission of department. For ECON majors only.
Studies the competitive and cooperative behavior that results when several parties with conflicting interests must work together. Learn how to use game theory to analyze situations of potential conflict. Applications are drawn from economics, business, and political science.

ECON 415 Strategic Behavior and Incentives (3 credits)
Prerequisite: ECON414 or permission of department. For ECON majors only.
Applies the foundations of game theory learned in ECON414 to several important topics in business and economics. Emphasis is on topics of practical importance: negotiation, markets with few participants, pricing and incentives.

ECON 416 Theory of Economic Development (3 credits)
Prerequisite: ECON305 and ECON321. For ECON majors only. Credit will be granted for only one of the following: ECON315 or ECON416.
Economic theory of the developing nations; role of innovation, capital formation, resources, institutions, trade and exchange rates, and governmental policies.

ECON 418 Economic Development of Selected Areas (3 credits)
Prerequisite: ECON306 and (ECON315 or ECON416). Repeatable to 6 credits if content differs.
Institutional characteristics of a specific area are discussed and alternate strategies and policies for development are analyzed.

ECON 422 Econometrics I (3 credits)
Prerequisites: ECON200, ECON201, and ECON321; or permission of department. For ECON majors only.
Emphasizes the interaction between economic problems and the assumptions employed in statistical theory. Formulation, estimation, and testing of economic models, including single variable and multiple variable regression techniques, theory of identification, and issues relating to inference.

ECON 423 Econometrics II (3 credits)
Prerequisite: ECON422. For ECON majors only.
Interaction between economic problems and specification and estimation of econometric models. Topics include issues of autocorrelation, heteroscedasticity, functional form, simultaneous equation models, and qualitative choice models.

ECON 424 Computer Methods in Economics (3 credits)
Prerequisites: ECON305, ECON306, and ECON321. For ECON majors only.
Database development from Internet and other sources, research methods, and statistical analysis in economics using EXCEL and SAS.

ECON 425 Mathematical Economics (3 credits)
Prerequisites: ECON300, ECON325, ECON326, and MATH220 or equivalent. For ECON or MATH majors only.
Mathematical developments of theory of household and firm, general equilibrium and welfare economics, market imperfections, and role of information.

ECON 435 Financial Markets and the Macroeconomy (3 credits)
Prerequisite: ECON306. Not open to finance majors. For ECON majors only. Credit will be granted for only one of the following: BMGT343 or ECON435. Formerly ECON 398F.
The different types of financial assets that exist, the markets that they trade in, and the determination of their prices and rates of return are examined. Specific topics that will be covered include the Markowitz portfolio selection model, the capital asset pricing model, the arbitrage pricing theory, the efficient markets hypothesis, the term structure of interest rates, and options. There will be almost no emphasis on issues in corporate finance.

ECON 441 Theory of International Economics (3 credits)
Prerequisite: ECON305 and ECON306; or permission of department. For ECON majors only. Credit will be granted for only one of the following: ECON340, ECON440 or ECON441.
Theoretical treatment of international trade and international finance. Includes Ricardian and Heckscher-Ohlin theories of comparative advantage, analysis of tariffs and other trade barriers, international factor mobility, balance of payments adjustments, exchange rate determination, and fiscal and monetary policy in an open economy.

ECON 442 Globalization and Capital Markets (3 credits)
Prerequisite: ECON305 and ECON306; or ECON325 and ECON326; and permission of department. For ECON majors only. Credit will be granted for only one of the following: ECON398M or ECON442. Formerly ECON 398M.
Uses models of open-economy macroeconomics to explain the causes and consequences of international capital flows. Analysis is made of private consumption, investment, the government sector, current accounts, the labor market, and the money and foreign exchange markets in small open economies. This framework is then used to study examples of how speculative attacks on currencies, sudden reversals of capital inflows, and the effects of the lack of credibility of economic policy affect economic development.

ECON 451 Public Choice (3 credits)
Prerequisite: ECON306 or ECON326; or permission of department. For ECON majors only.
Analysis of collective decision making, economic models of government, program budgeting, and policy implementation; emphasis on models of public choice and institutions which affect decision making.

ECON 454 Public Finance and Public Policy (3 credits)
Prerequisite: ECON306 or ECON326; or permission of department. For ECON majors only. Credit will be granted for only one of the following: ECON350 or ECON454.
Study of welfare economics and the theory of public goods, taxation, public expenditures, benefit-cost analysis, and state and local finance. Applications of theory to current policy issues.

ECON 456 Law and Economics (3 credits)
Prerequisite: ECON306 or ECON326; or permission of department. For ECON majors only.
Relationship of the exchange process to the system of institutions and rules that society develops to carry out economic transactions. Topics covered include: Property rights; torts, negligence, and liability; contracts and exchanges; criminal control and enforcement; equity issues in the rule and market environment.

ECON 457 Economics of the Gambling Industry (3 credits)
Prerequisite: ECON306, ECON321, and MATH140 (or higher). For ECON majors only.
Analysis of basic economic issues related to the gambling industry. Topics will include: (i) structure and profitability of the gambling industry; (ii) public policy issues (distribution of the tax burden, addiction, government operation of lotteries); (iii) probabilistic and microeconomic elements of various games in play (lotteries, blackjack, keno, poker, sports gambling, etc) and related issues in strategic behavior; (iv) microeconomic similarities and distinctions between risky investment and gambling.

ECON 460 Industrial Organization (3 credits)
Prerequisite: ECON306; or permission of department. For ECON majors only.
Changing structure of the American economy; price policies in different industrial classifications of monopoly and competition in relation to problems of public policy.

ECON 461 Economics of Regulation and Anti-trust (3 credits)
Prerequisite: ECON306. For ECON majors only. Credit will be granted for only one of the following: ECON398R or ECON461. Formerly ECON 398R.
Considers government intervention in economic activity of three types: antitrust policy, regulation of natural monopolies, and health safety regulation. Covers theoretical models, real-world policy applications, and empirical studies relevant to the impact of regulation.

ECON 465 Health Care Economics (3 credits)
Prerequisite: ECON306 or ECON326; or permission of department. For ECON majors only.
Analysis of health care, the organization of its delivery and financing. Access to care; the role of insurance; regulation of hospitals, physicians, and the drug industry; role of technology; and limits on health care spending.

ECON 470 Theory of Labor Economics (3 credits)
Prerequisite: ECON306; or permission of department. For ECON majors only. Credit will be granted for only one of the following: ECON370 or ECON470.
An analytical treatment of theories of labor markets. Marginal productivity theory of labor demand; allocation of time in household labor supply models; theory of human capital; earnings differentials; market structure and the efficiency of labor markets; the role of trade unions; discrimination; and unemployment.

ECON 480 Seminar in the New Economy (3 credits)
Prerequisites: ECON305, ECON306, and permission of department. For ECON majors only. Credit will be granted for only one of the following: ECON398J or ECON480. Formerly ECON 398J.
Six research topics will be examined each semester. The course will be divided into six modules, each focusing on the research of an Economic Department faculty member. Topics vary depending on the faculty members in the course in any given year. Students will be expected to prepare a short research paper for each module.

ECON 481 Theory and Policy in Environmental Economics (3 credits)
Prerequisite: ECON306. For ECON and ENSP majors only. Credit will be granted for only one of the following: ECON381 or ECON481. Formerly ECON 381.
Application of economic theory and empirical tools to the analysis of environmental issues. The concepts of externalities, public goods, property rights and cost-benefit analysis are applied to air pollution, water pollution, solid waste management, hazardous waste, and global warning. The optimal role and various tools of public policy are addressed.

ECON 600 Analytical Techniques for Economists (3 credits)
Mathematical techniques applied in microeconomics and macroeconomics. Problems involving the use of constrained and unconstrained optimization are discussed, and difference equations, differential equations, and optimal control theory are introduced.

ECON 601 Macroeconomic Analysis I (3 credits)
Three hours of lecture and two hours of laboratory per week. Prerequisite: ECON 600 or permission of department.
Introductory technical treatment of standard Keynesian, classical and new classical macroeconomic models. Expectations formation and microeconomic foundations of consumption, investment, money demand, and labor market behavior.

ECON 602 Macroeconomic Analysis II (3 credits)
Three hours of lecture and two hours of laboratory per week. Prerequisite: ECON 601 or permission of department.
Further issues regarding macroeconomic topics. First half emphasis will be placed on dynamic macroeconomic theory as pertaining to monetary issues, policy ineffectiveness and effectiveness. The second half of the course will focus on theories of investment and growth.

ECON 603 Microeconomic Analysis I (3 credits)
Three hours of lecture and two hours of laboratory per week. Prerequisite: ECON 600 or permission of department.
A detailed treatment of the theory of the consumer and of the firm, particularly emphasizing the duality approach. Topics include the household production model, imperfect competition, monopolistic and oligopolistic markets.

ECON 604 Microeconomic Analysis II (3 credits)
Three hours of lecture and two hours of laboratory per week. Prerequisite: ECON 603 or permission of department.
Analysis of markets and market equilibria; the Arrow-Debreu model of general equilibrium, the two-sector model, welfare theorems, externalities, public goods, markets with incomplete and asymmetric information.

ECON 606 History of Economic Thought (3 credits)
Prerequisite: ECON 403 or permission of department.
The classical economists, Adam Smith, David Ricardo, and John Stuart Mill are studied in detail after a survey of their predecessors: Aristotle, Aquinas, the Mercantilists, Founders, and Physiocrats. Attention is given to methodological issues, including the meaning and validity of economic theories.

ECON 611 Seminar in American Economic Development (3 credits)
Prerequisite: permission of department.
Selected topics in the long-term movements of the American economy. Quantitative studies of the growth of output; applications of econometric methods and economic theory to topics in American economic history.

ECON 613 Origins and Development of Capitalism (3 credits)
Prerequisite: permission of department. Advanced special students not permitted.
Institutions and technology shaping pre-capitalist economies: Archaic, Greek and Roman, Feudal, and Mercantile. Rise of the market system, national economies, and capitalism. The nature of industrial society. Imperialism.

ECON 615 Economic Development of Less-Developed Areas (3 credits)
Prerequisite: ECON 603 or permission of department.
Analysis of the forces contributing to and retarding economic progress in less-developed areas. Topics include the relationship of international trade to development, import-substituting and export-led industrialization, the effects of population growth on economic development, and the analysis of institutions and institutional change in land tenure, finance, and labor markets.

ECON 616 Seminar in Economic Development (3 credits)
Prerequisite: ECON 615 or ECON 415.
Current topics in economic development. Special emphasis on application of theory and research techniques to special problems or countries.

ECON 621 Quantitative Methods I (3 credits)
Prerequisite: ECON 600 or permission of department.
An introduction to econometrics, and a development of the mathematical background concepts needed. Background materials relate to various topics in linear algebra, and in distribution theory. Focus on estimation, hypothesis testing, and prediction in the classical linear regression model. Corresponding large sample issues are considered. Special topics such as non-nested models, hypotheses relating to nonlinear functions of parameters, and specification analysis, including tests for the dynamic stability of a model.

ECON 622 Quantitative Methods II (3 credits)
Prerequisite: ECON 621 or permission of department.
A continuation of ECON 621. Topics relate to the generalized least squares model, to dynamic single equation and simultaneous equation models, and to qualitative dependent variable models. Among the topics discussed are various tests for heteroskedasticity and autocorrelation, prediction issues, time series models such as ARCH and GARCH models, tests for unit roots, panel data models, and systems estimation including the GMM procedure. Both linear and nonlinear models are considered. General testing principles, such as likelihood ratio, Wald, and Hausman-type test are also discussed.

ECON 623 Advanced Econometrics I (3 credits)
Prerequisite: advanced undergraduate course in probability and statistics with permission of department.
Specification, estimation, hypothesis testing and prediction in the classical and generalized linear regression model. Small and large sample properties of estimators. Instrumental variables estimation and quantile regression methods.

ECON 624 Econometrics II (3 credits)
Prerequisite: ECON 623 or permission of department.
Estimation, hypothesis testing and prediction in the classical and generalized linear regression model. Topics include: ordinary least squares and generalized least squares, including a discussion of their algebraic, small and large sample properties, prediction and parameter restriction; specification tests; large sample distribution theory.

ECON 625 Computational Economics (3 credits)
Prerequisite: ECON 604 and ECON 622; or ECON 721. Credit will be granted for only one of the following: ECON 625 or ECON 698R. Formerly ECON 698R.
A one-semester course designed to give students tools for numerical dynamic programming and computation of related general equilibrium and game-theoretic problems.

ECON 626 Empirical Microeconomics (3 credits)
Prerequisite: ECON 622 or ECON 721 or permission of instructor.
Empirical techniques that are particularly valuable in the analysis of microeconomic data. Topics include panel data, nonlinear optimization, limited dependent variables, truncated, censored, and selected samples, the analysis of natural experiments, and quantile regressions.

ECON 627 Empirical Macroeconomics (3 credits)
Prerequisite: ECON 622 or ECON 721 or permission of instructor.
Introduction to the solution, identification, estimation, and evaluation of macroeconomic models under rational expectations. Emphasis is on those tools that allow researchers to tightly link economic theory with econometric methods. Hands-on application of these techniques to empirical macroeconomic problems (business cycles, growth, consumption/ saving, investment), using time-series and panel data.

ECON 651 Social Insurance (3 credits)
Prerequisite: ECON 604 and ECON 621; or ECON 624. Credit will be granted for only one of the following: ECON 651 or ECON 698S. Formerly ECON 698S.
A one-semester graduate course that surveys the theoretical and empirical literature on the effects of social insurance on welfare, savings, labor supply and its interaction with private insurance markets. The main components of social insurance, including old age benefits, disability and unemployment insurances, and sickness benefits are studied. However, the course does not provide in-depth analysis of health insurance or welfare programs, which are themselves sufficiently complicated to be topics of separate courses.

ECON 652 Public Economics I (3 credits)
Prerequisite: ECON 604 and ECON 621; or ECON 624.
The characteristics and effects of government programs whose role is redistribution and social insurance are considered. Examples include cash welfare assistance, unemployment insurance, and Social Security. The focus is on U.S. programs, though other countries may be considered. Both theories of program design and empirical research on program effects will be covered. Topics in empirical methodology generally will also be stressed.

ECON 661 The Corporate Firm (3 credits)
Prerequisites: ECON 603 and ECON 604.
This course examines firms' strategic behavior in a variety of settings and considers theories of the firm and industrial structure. Topics may include product choice, quality, advertising, consumer search and switch costs, manufacturer-retailer relations, manufacturer-supplier relations, vertical integration, and alternative industrial structures.

ECON 662 Industry Structure, Conduct, and Performance (3 credits)
Prerequisites: ECON 603 and ECON 604.
This course studies theories of industry structure, conduct and performance. Topics inlcude long run industry structures and dynamics, d durable goods monopoly, price discrimination, classical models of oligopoly, models of entry and limit pricing, dynamic oligopoly and collusion, R&D ubcebtuves abd competitive R&D.

ECON 664 Empirical Studies in Industrial Organization (3 credits)
Prerequisites: ECON 603, ECON 604, and either ECON 621 or ECON 624. Recommended: ECON 661, ECON 662, ECON 626. Credit will be granted for only one of the following: ECON 664 or ECON 698J. Formerly ECON 698J.
Review recent empirical literature in industrial organization. Covers price discrimination, cartel and collusion, entry and market structure, information and competition, technological change and adoption, auction, and firm organization.

ECON 665 Health Economics (3 credits)
Prerequisite: ECON603 and (ECON621 or ECON624); or permission of department.
The determinants of health and how health care markets operate are examined by utilizing quantitative and analytic economic tools. Topics covered include: measuring health outcomes; the determinants of health; the government control of unhealthy behavior; the demand and supply of health insurance; markets for medical care; social insurance programs such as Medicare and Medicaid; the causes and consequences of medical innovation; the role of non-profits in health care; medical malpractice; covering the uninsured.

ECON 668 The Economics of Retail Systems (3 credits)
Repeatable to 6 credits if content differs.
This course is designed mainly but not exclusively for students in the third year of the economics Ph.D program and for students at a similar stage in a marketing program. Its main objective is to help the student generate their first professional research paper. In terms of interests it targets those in the area of microeconomics (advanced micro, industrial organization, or more generally applied microeconomics or micro aspects of any field). The course will be conducted as a seminar.

ECON 681 Comparative Institutional Economics I (3 credits)
Analysis of the nature of institutions, their origins, development and construction, and their effects, using microeconomic theory and applied econometrics. Understanding economic institutions by focusing on three central examples; property, contract, and decentralization. Investigating the origins, causes and consequences of institutional change through analysis of the determinants of per capita incomes, the effects of different legal systems, the influence of culture, the progress of transition economies, and the structure of China's reforms.

ECON 682 Comparative Institutional Economics II (3 credits)
Theory and practice of economic institutions. Investigate how different organizations work and how alternative institutional arrangements facilitate or hinder economic transition and development. Focus on the issue s arising from the experience of transition economies, especially China and Russia. Topics include (1) economic systems and comparative institutional economics; (2) markets; (3) firms; (4) the State; and (5) the politics of economic reform.

ECON 698 Selected Topics in Economics (3 credits)

ECON 701 Advanced Macroeconomics I (3 credits)
Prerequisite: ECON 601; and ECON 602.
Recent developments in macroeconomics with an emphasis on topics and techniques useful for conducting research in macroeconomics. Topics include advanced treatment of fiscal and monetary policy issues; the role of imperfect competition; real, sectoral and nominal business cycle models.

ECON 702 Advanced Macroeconomics II (3 credits)
Prerequisites: ECON601 and ECON602.
Selected issues in monetary economics with an equal emphasis of learning the models and understanding important issues: a survey of models (cash-in-advance, money-in-the-utility-function, transaction cost, search-based models), empirical issues in monetary economics, business cycles and money, monetary policy, welfare cost of inflation, alternative media of exchange.

ECON 703 Advanced Microeconomics I (3 credits)
Prerequisites: ECON 603 and ECON 604.
Formal treatment of game theory and its microeconomic applications are presented, emphasizing dynamics and information. Equilibrium concepts for static and dynamic games, and games with complete and incomplete information are studied. Topics also discussed: mechanism design, efficiency, reputations, signaling, and screening.

ECON 704 Advanced Microeconomics II (3 credits)
Prerequisites: ECON 603 and ECON 604.
General equilibrium theory and its relation to the core, the convergence theorem, and temporary equilibrium in a sequence of markets. The role of information in various economic organizations: including coordination and incentives under incomplete information, the principal-agent problem, search, and signaling. Principles of efficient and optimal allocation over time, and applications to capital accumulation and taxation.

ECON 708 Advanced Topics in Applied and Theoretical Microeconomics (2 credits)
Prerequisite: completion of a one-year graduate sequence in one of the microeconomic fields. Repeatable to 12 credits if content differs.
Read, discuss, and analyze current topics in microeconomics, including public economics, environmental economics, labor economics, industrial economics, microeconomic theory, public choice and international trade. Specific topics covered will change from semester to semester depending on the students' and faculty's interests. Intended primarily for students beginning thesis research in economics.

ECON 709 Advanced Topics in Applied and Theoretical Macroeconomics (2 credits)
Prerequisite: completion of a one-year graduate sequence in one of the macroeconomic fields. Repeatable to 12 credits if content differs.
Read, discuss, and analyze current topics in macroeconomics, including asset pricing models, models of economic growth, investment, and the labor market. Specific topics covered will change from semester to semester depending on the students' and faculty's interests. Intended primarily for students beginning thesis research in economics.

ECON 721 Econometrics III (3 credits)
Prerequisite: ECON 624 or permission of instructor.
A continuation of ECON 624. Estimation hypothesis testing and prediction in various generalized linear regression models, and in dynamic and simultaneous equation models. Topics include: autocorrelation, heteroskedasticity, seemingly unrelated regressions, cross section and time-series models, and general testing principles for significance.

ECON 722 Econometrics IV (3 credits)
Prerequisite: ECON 721 or permission of instructor.
A continuation of ECON 721. A "topics course." The topics considered are a large subset of the following: inference in parametric and semi-parametric nonlinear econometric models (least mean distance and GMM estimation); pretest estimation issues; rational expectations models; further issues in specification testing; qualitative and limited dependent variable models (binary and polychotomous choice models, truncated and censored samples, etc.); causality and exogeneity; time series models with unit roots; cointegration; spatial models; ARCH and GARCH models; the Kalman filter; cross section time series models (random parameters); and optimal control.

ECON 723 Time Series Econometrics (3 credits)
Prerequisite: ECON 622 or ECON 722 or permission of instructor.
Provides a broad survey of the models and methods commonly used in the analysis of time series data. Emphasis on analyzing the statistical properties of the methods being discussed. Particular attention to recent developments in time series econometrics.

ECON 725 Empirical Economic Modeling I (3 credits)
Three hours of lecture and two hours of laboratory per week. Prerequisite: ECON 622 or ECON 721. Credit will be granted for only one of the following: ECON 725 or ECON 625.
The experience of building a structural macroeconomic model. Computer techniques for creating models and writing model-building software. Basics of input-output economics.

ECON 726 Empirical Economic Modeling II (3 credits)
Three hours of lecture and two hours of laboratory per week. Prerequisite: ECON 725.
Modeling of interindustry flows, personal consumption and saving, investment, exports and imports, wages, employment, profits, prices, interest and income distribution. Analyzing a model's simulation properties. Applications of general models to specific questions.

ECON 741 Advanced International Economics I (3 credits)
Prerequisite: ECON 601 or permission of department.
Exchange rate determination; exchange rate regimes; international monetary reform; policy conflict and cooperation; the LDC debt problem; pricing of international assets; balance of payments crises.

ECON 742 Advanced International Economics II (3 credits)
Prerequisite: ECON 603 or permission of department.
Comparative advantage, Heckscher-Ohlin theory, specific-factors model, empirical verification, economies of scale, imperfect competition, commercial policy, factor mobility.

ECON 743 Topics in International Finance (3 credits)
Prerequisite: ECON 602 or permission of department. Recommended: ECON 741.
Puzzles in international finance; portfolio balance, current account dynamics, exchange rate behavior; capital market imperfections; balance of payments crises.

ECON 744 Business Cycle Theory of Emerging Economies (3 credits)
Prerequisite: ECON 602 and ECON 604. Credit will be granted for only one of the following: ECON 698M or ECON 744. Formerly ECON 698M.
An advanced course in International Economics that studies business cycle theory for emerging economies. It develops a set of quantitative tools for studying the determinants of international capital flows and their business cycle implications, with emphasis on the "Sudden Stop" phenomenon of emerging-markets crises. The course blends elements of real business cycle theory, international finance and equilibrium asset pricing theory and it relies heavily on recursive macroeconomic theory. Familiarity with computing software and the techniques covered in a course on computational economics are also useful, but not required in advance.

ECON 745 Advanced Topics in International Trade (3 credits)
Prerequisite: ECON 604 and ECON 622; or ECON 624. Credit will be granted for only one of the following: ECON 698L or ECON 745. Formerly ECON 698L.
Designed primarily for students planning to write dissertations on a topic related to international trade. Its focus is on recent research in this field including tests of trade theories; the effects of trade on growth and knowledge diffusion; the political economy of trade policy and the theory and practice of trade agreements.

ECON 751 Advanced Theory of Public Finance (3 credits)
Prerequisites: ECON 603 and ECON 604.
Expenditure side of the public sector, and the economics of state and local public finance. Topics may include: normative theory of public goods, private provision of public goods, voting models, monopoly models of government, demand revelation models, growth of the public sector, externalities, in-kind and cash transfers, the Tiebout model, empirical studies of the demand and supply of local public goods, and fiscal federalism.

ECON 752 Public Economics II (3 credits)
Prerequisite: ECON 751.
Theoretical and empirical issues in taxation, with particular emphasis on income taxation.

ECON 754 Topics in Political Economy I (3 credits)
Prerequisites: ECON602 and ECON604 or permission of department.
Study of political determinants of macroeconomic outcomes. Time inconsistency in monetary and fiscal policy, political business cycles. Political models of redistribution, delay in reform, transition, growth, and international policymaking.

ECON 755 Theory of Public Choice I (3 credits)
Prerequisite: ECON 604 or permission of department.
This course covers public choice approaches to the study of economic growth and development. Alternative approaches to the study of politics: median voter model, models with interest groups, endogenous property rights and endogenous preferences. Economic Growth: Steady state growth, endogenous growth, technology, human captial and extent of the market. Inequality: Positive and normative approaches. Political Economy of Growth: voting interest groups and rent-seeking, conflict and appropriation, inequality and growth. Political Economy of trade liberalization, structural adjustment and market reforms.

ECON 756 Theory of Public Choice II (3 credits)
Prerequisites: ECON 603 and ECON 604.
The economic study of non-market decisions and the application of economic methodology to political issues is a main focus. Topics may include: Bergson-Samuelson social welfare functions; Arrow's impossibility theorem; single-profile impossibility theorems; relation between "independence" and "neutrality"; Sen's liberal paradox; majority rule and unanimity rule; other voting rules; Buchanan's critique of social rationality; Rawls and just social contracts; Harsanyi and Utilitarianism; Nash social welfare functions.

ECON 757 Topics in Political Economy II (3 credits)
Prerequisite: ECON602, ECON604, or permission of department. Recommended: ECON754.
A continuation of ECON754 Topics in Political Economy I. Topics will include: the informational role of special interest groups; campaign finance, including welfare analysis of campaign finance reform; advanced models of the political economy of redistribution, with emphasis on inefficient redistribution, intergenerational redistribution, and "pork barrel" politics; fairness and redistributive politics; the effects of alternative electoral systems; theoretical models of parliamentary democracies, government formation and political parties; accountability of government officials; and the political economy of federalism.

ECON 771 Advanced Labor Economics: Theory and Evidence (3 credits)
Prerequisite: ECON 603, and (ECON 621, or ECON 624) or permission of department.
Modern analytical and quantitative labor economics. Labor supply decisions of individuals and households; human capital model and distribution of income. Demand for labor; marginal productivity theory, imperfect information and screening. Interaction of labor demand and supply; unemployment; relative and absolute wages; macroeconomic aspects of the labor market.

ECON 772 Population Economics (3 credits)
Prerequisite: ECON 771 or permission of department.
Covers the central ideas in population economics. These include theories and test of theories of mortality, fertility and immigration.

ECON 781 Environmental Economics (3 credits)
Prerequisites: ECON 603 and ECON 604; and (ECON 621 or ECON 624).
The study of economics as it applies to environmental issues and policies. Topics include: the theory of externalities and its implications, the design of environmental policies with applications, open-economy environmental economics encompassing the impact of international trade on the environment and global environmental management, and the measurement of the benefits and costs of environmental programs.

ECON 785 Advanced Economics of Natural Resources (3 credits)
Prerequisites: ECON 603 and ECON 604; and (ECON 621 or ECON 624).
The use of exhaustible and renewable natural resources from normative and positive points of view. Analysis of dynamic resource problems emphasizing energy, mineral, groundwater, forestry, and fishery resources; optimal, equilibrium, and intergenerational models of resource allocation.

ECON 799 Master's Thesis Research (1-6 credits)

ECON 808 Workshop on Macroeconomics and Growth (2 credits)
Prerequisite: permission of department. Repeatable to 12 credits if content differs.

ECON 818 Workshop in Microeconomic Theory (2 credits)
Repeatable to 12 credits if content differs.
Current research in microeconomic theory. Topics drawn from game theory, mathematical economics, and the economics of information and will include applications of the theory to diverse areas of economics. Specific topics: bargaining, auctions, mechanism design, signaling, general equilibrium, industrial organization theory, and financial markets theory.

ECON 825 Advanced Economic Welfare Analysis (3 credits)
Prerequisites: ECON 603 and ECON 604, or permission of department. Not open to students who have completed AREC 825. Credit will be granted for only one of the following: ECON 825 or AREC 825.
Theory of economic welfare measurement, problems of path dependence in evaluating multiple price changes, welfare measurement under risk, general equilibrium welfare measurement with multiple distortions, and applications in evaluation of agricultural and resource policies.

ECON 828 Workshop in Econometrics (2 credits)
Prerequisite: permission of department. Repeatable to 12 credits if content differs.
Current research in econometrics. Topics drawn from theoretical and applied econometrics. Special topics include: maximum likelihood and generalized method of moments estimation of linear and non-linear models, analysis of stationary and non-stationary time series, cross section time series estimation, spatial estimation mehtods, Bayesian methods, semi-and non-parametic methods, rational expectations models, numerical methods, and various applications.

ECON 848 Workshop in International Development, and Comparative Economics (2 credits)
Prerequisite: permission of department. Repeatable to 12 credits if content differs.

ECON 858 Workshop in Public Economics (3 credits)
Prerequisite: permission of department. Repeatable to 6 credits if content differs.

ECON 868 Workshop in Industrial Organization (2 credits)
Prerequisite: permission of department. Repeatable to 12 credits if content differs.

ECON 878 Workshop in Labor Economics (2 credits)
Prerequisite: permission of department. Repeatable to 12 credits if content differs.

ECON 888 Workshop in Comparative Institutional Economics (2 credits)
Prerequisite: permission of department. Repeatable to 12 credits if content differs.
Current research in institutional economics and closely related fields such as economic transition, economic development, economic theory, law and economics, political economics, and economic history. Topics are drawn from both theoretical analysis of institutions and empirical studies of the effects and determinants of institutions.

ECON 898 Pre-Candidacy Research (1-8 credits)

ECON 899 Doctoral Dissertation Research (1-8 credits)