Requirements

This course will discuss important issues and topics related to charitable giving and prosocial behavior. Topics may include fundraising, charitable donations, voluntarism, and religious activity. Students will learn about economic models and methods currently being used to study these topics. Students will also be expected to produce written works exploring these topics.

Economics and data science are powerful tools that can improve peoples’ quality of life. This course will put knowledge into action, equipping you to: (1) describe data, (2) use machine learning to predict the future, (3) establish cause and effect, and (4) address pressing social challenges using economic frameworks. There will be an emphasis on critical thinking – including the strengths and limitations of impact evaluation – and communicating research findings effectively with stakeholders. The course will feature guest speakers from public policy, tech, and economics. Focus areas will include: poverty alleviation, child protection, upward mobility, predictive analytics in high-stakes settings, sports and culture, and other topics of student interest. Students will develop and present their own research project during the semester. Basic applied statistics background is recommended but can be waived with permission. This course is ideal for students hoping to see the big picture of an economics major, those in other disciplines passionate about the intersection of data analysis and social challenges, and those hoping to gain perspective on high-impact career opportunities.

This course combines economic theory and methods to study the production and delivery of education. We will apply economic principles to understand the rationale for particular education approaches, policies, and programs and use an economic lens to explore their potential impact. We will also learn about applying analytic tools to examine the effects of schooling as well as specific education interventions and reforms. Students will read empirical research and will practice being critical consumers of policy arguments and research findings. They will also complete problem sets and writing assignments with the goals of 1) using economic principles to inform policy debates about education investments, 2) employing evidence to evaluate the impact of education policies and programs, and 3) developing skills in conducting original research on education. Substantive topics will span early childhood education, K-12 schooling, and higher education with a focus on the role of incentives, prices, and markets throughout. The course will explore teacher labor markets and teacher effectiveness, school choice, and accountability, and will include discussion of international contexts.

This course provides an introduction to the economics of housing, with particular attention to issues of homelessness and the low-income housing market. Topics include economic models of homelessness, housing subsidies and regulations, housing market filtering, concentrated poverty and neighborhoods effects, and public policy responses to housing problems.

This course will use economic theory and empirical economic research to study the family. Topics will include household decision making; the determinants of marriage and fertility; how marriage, fertility, and family structure are related to other outcomes; and public policies that affect the family and family formation. Students will learn to read and evaluate empirical economic research. This is a writing-intensive seminar course.

This course offers an introduction to the economics of the environment and natural resources. Topics include externalities, market failure, cost-benefit and contingent valuation analyses, climate change, and public policies related to the environment and natural resources.

The objective of this course is to help students develop a good understanding of the basic concepts in game theory and learn how to employ these concepts to better understand strategic interactions. Topics covered will include normal form games, extensive form games, pure and mixed strategies, Nash Equilibrium, subgame perfect equilibrium, repeated games, and introduction to games of incomplete information. Selected applications will include competition and collusion in oligopoly, entry deterrence, political competition and rent seeking, social norms and strategic interaction.

This course examines how economic analysis can be applied to various components of the health care system. Microeconomic theory is used to understand the operation of health care markets and the behavior of participants (consumers, insurers, physicians, and hospitals) in the health care industry. International comparisons and the role of the public sector are discussed.

This course explores the origins of central banking and examines how the role of central banks in stabilizing the financial system and key macroeconomic aggregates has evolved over the decades. It discusses how the conduct of monetary policy has changed and what lessons can be learned from historical events such as the Great Depression, the Great Inflation, and the Volcker disinflation, among others.

This course provides students with an introduction to open-economy macroeconomics. Course topics include theories of trade, exchange rates, business cycles in emerging markets, international financial crises, and sovereign debt. The course is primarily model-based, giving students an analytic framework through which they can understand international economic issues. However, current events and policy issues are integrated to give context.

This course develops analytical tools to help students understand the causes and consequences of international trade. The course covers a suite of models that feature national product differentiation, comparative advantage, increasing returns to scale in production, and firm heterogeneity. The course also introduces students to widely used quantitative and empirical methods for studying the impacts of trade on consumers, workers, and firms.

In this course we will discuss the relationship between economics and Catholic social teaching. We will learn about key principles in Catholic social thought and read key Papal encyclicals and other writings. We will then review key economic concepts and empirical facts and discuss how they relate to Catholic social teaching. Finally, we will apply these ideas to discussions on labor, capital, finance, the environment, globalization, and development.

This course will provide a survey of theoretical and empirical research in labor economics. Topics typically include compensating differentials, human capital accumulation (including education, experience, and tenure), incentive contracts, job matching, job search, worker mobility, and discrimination. Students will be responsible for analyzing research and presenting it to the class.

This class teaches students how to use the basic tools and concepts of economics to analyze the economic effects of legal rules, regulations, and enforcement methods. Examples of this "economic approach" to the study of the law are taken from the basic bodies of law in a civil society: property law, tort law, contract law, and criminal law. The course also explores the role of the state in creating and enforcing a body of law that promotes economic growth and development.

This course will cover the development of monetary theory and policy with a particular focus on financial crises and the appropriate central bank response. Other topics include the welfare cost of inflation, countercyclical monetary policy, and central bank independence.

This course is on the economics of sports, and aims to use economic principles, theories, and tools to analyze the organization of the sports industry and sports markets, the activities of professional and amateur athletes, the effects of sports on the broader economy, and strategic behavior in sports settings. Topics include the industrial organization of professional sports leagues, the labor economics and labor markets in both professional and amateur sports, the public economics and politics of the funding of sports, the economic impact of the sports industry, as well as the application of microeconomic theory to strategic decision-making in sports.

This course provides an introduction to urban economics, focusing on both contemporary and historical issues in the United States. Topics include location decisions of households and firms, agglomeration economies, housing and zoning policy, suburbanization, local governments, and segregation. Students will use economic models, data analysis, and academic articles to study these topics.