Economics (ECON)
A graduate course in microeconomics, intended for PhD students, presenting a rigorous treatment of the analysis of choices for consumers and producers with and without strategy and uncertainty, partial and general equilibrium, and the fundamental theorems of welfare economics.
Advanced topics in modern microeconomics to include elements of game theory, information economics, economics of risk and uncertainty, the theory of incentives and others.
A first graduate course in macroeconomics, presenting a rigorous introduction to the tools and basic models of dynamic general equilibrium theory. The topics covered include economic growth and development, economic fluctuations, and monetary and fiscal policies.
This course considers the dynamics resulting from intertemporal optimization models. Foundations of unemployment theory. Approaches to business cycles. Models of long-run growth.
Introduction to the specification, estimation and testing of economic models. Topics include the classical linear regression model, t tests, structure tests, specification error, the consequences of the violation of the classical assumptions, detection and correction of autocorrelation and heteroscedasticity.
This course is designed to provide students with the necessary mathematical tools to follow the contents of the core economics and econometrics courses in the MA program and successfully complete them. The material covered will include advanced topics in linear algebra, multivariate optimization techniques and comparative statics.
This course introduces the student to game theory, which is an important tool for modelling economic situations with multi-person interaction. Economic applications such as oligopoly, bargaining, auctions, and public goods provision will be discussed. Broader applicaitons to voting games, candidate strategy, war games, and parlour games will also be briefly discussed. Students need to be very familiar with optimization and single person decision-making.
This course examines the use of the experimental methodology in economics. We will study how experiments have been used to test theories in many subfields within economics. In the process, students will learn how to construct and run economics experiments and analyze experimental data.
This course introduces students to the mathematical techniques used in advanced economic analysis. Topics covered in any year: analysis of dynamic economic models and optimization in dynamic economic models.
Topics include a review of the classical linear regression model, applications of generalized least squares, maximum likelihood methods and various statistical test procedures.
Topics include general method of moments as a method of estimation and inference, instrumental variables, nonlinear estimation and simultaneous equations. Also, more specialized topics such as limited-dependent-variable models and time series methods may be covered.
This is an advanced econometrics topics course that covers the area of non-parametric and semiparametric estimation and testing of econometrics models, including time series and panel data semiparametric models.
This course follows ECON*6050. It covers estimation by instrumental variables, estimations of simultaneous systems, asymptotic distribution theory, maximum likelihood estimation, binary choice and limited dependent variable models, and issues in time series analysis.
This course considers topics in economic history which vary from year to year. The emphasis will be usually on late-19th or 20th century topics and often involves a world emphasis. Student presentations and papers form a large part of the course.
This course provides a rigorous treatment of both positive and normative aspects of trade theory through extensive use of general equilibrium models under varying assumptions. Topics may also include barriers to trade, international factor movements, growth and development, and strategic trade policy.
This course examines economic development from an international perspective: theories, history, policies and prospects.
This course will examine the experience of economic development focusing on the emergence of the Third World. Topics for discussion will vary from year to year; they may include the impact of trade expansion during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the role of manufacturing as a leading sector, statist vs. the new classical approaches to government policy, and others.
This course surveys the normative theory of the public sector. Topics may include public expenditure theory, tax theory, cost benefit analysis and fiscal federalism.
This course studies monetary economies using overlapping generations models, MIU models and CIA models. More specifically, we will study major issues in money and banking, such as the role of money and banks, the cost of inflation, and the optimal monetary policies.
A first graduate course in microeconomics, intended for Master students, presenting a rigorous treatment of the analysis of choices in markets and organizations. It covers consumer theory, general equilibrium, uncertainty, game theory, and information economics.
Major themes in labour market theory including static and dynamic labour demand and supply, migration and wage structures and dynamics, unemployment, migration and the role of social programs.
The major topics of industrial organization are analyzed from both a game theoretic perspective and from a Structure-Conduct-Performance perspective. Typical topics include: oligopoly theory, determinants of industrial structure, Coase theorem, market entry, advertising, research and development, product differentiation, and price discrimination.
The course introduces students to the latest developments in the economic analysis of the inside workings and organization of firms. The course tries to explain the diversity of economic organizations, and more generally why economic activity is sometimes carried out through firms and sometimes through markets. For graduate students outside the Department of Economics and Finance.
This course examines the implications of financing decisions made by firms in a world of uncertainty. Topics such as capital budgeting, capital structure, dividend policy, market efficiency and capital asset pricing will be analyzed from the perspective of corporate finance and portfolio management theory.
A topics course concerning the interrelationships between economic activities and the state of the natural environment. Topics may include: pollution and economic growth; energy use and environmental quality; international trade and pollution; policies for controlling pollution; techniques for assessing the benefits of environmental improvement.
This course examines economic models of the use of non-renewable resources to analyze issues such as resource conservation, sustainable development, taxation of resource rents, and price determination in resource markets.
This is a seminar course for PhD students. Students will discuss papers on the research frontier that have recently been published in top journals. Students will also present their own work.
In some circumstances, students may arrange to take a reading course under the direction of a faculty member.
All students who choose the research project option in the MA program will register in this course. Research projects are written under the direct supervision of a faculty member. Normally, research projects are completed within one or two semesters. Students must make a presentation of their work and a copy of the final report must be submitted to the Department before the final grade is submitted to the Office of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies.
This course provides opportunities for graduate students to study topics in economics that are not covered in other graduate-level economics courses. This course is offered when there are both available faculty and sufficient interest among students.