Requirements

What are the drivers of economic growth? Can governments induce it? How does it interact with inequality and climate change? Having these questions in mind, this course has two objectives. The first is to familiarize students with the evolution of debate about economic growth, from the modernization theories of the 1960s to the current policy and academic debate. The second is to develop key quantitative and theoretical tools used in the current discussions about economic growth. This course will cover subtopics related to migration, agricultural development, industrial policy, climate change, and trade liberalization.

The course covers the core methods necessary to read and conduct economic research using examples from the public finance literature. Students should have a good understanding of statistical inference and linear regression methods to be eligible. The course stresses the practical implementation of various econometric methodologies to analyze longitudinal datasets and "big data." Lectures will provide a comprehensive introduction to randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and survey design, quasi-experimental research designs, non-parametric methods, maximum likelihood estimation (MLE), the generalized method of moments (GMM), time series econometrics, and modern machine learning. The course will also provide a refresher on hypothesis testing and model specification testing. Readings and practical problem sets will be posted each week to provide hands-on numerical experience to students.

Human induced climate change is one of the major problems facing society. Economics provides a powerful intellectual basis for understanding, analyzing and correcting these problems. This course will cover the basic science of climate change, the associated market failure and tragedy of the commons, cost-benefit analysis of climate mitigation, computation of the social cost of carbon, and empirical research on the economic effects of climate change, adaptation, and carbon taxation.

This course examines why some individuals decide to become immigrants through a cost-benefit analysis, viewing migration as an investment in human capital. It addresses the selection among immigrants and how they integrate and assimilate in the destination country. Primary focus is given to the labor market, wages in particular, both of immigrants and of natives in the host country. A distinction is made between economic migrants and refugees, and discrimination in its varied forms is also studied. The fiscal impact of immigration is discussed along with immigration policy in a global context.

This is an advanced undergraduate economics course that provides a broad introduction to development economics, with an emphasis on the application of modern econometric techniques to questions in development. This course surveys recent literature that examines the factors that explain poverty in the developing world. In particular, we consider the relative roles of government failures, market failures, history, geography, culture and technology among others. This course briefly surveys 'classic' theories in development and then focus on understanding recent journal articles in detail. We explore these questions primarily from a microeconomic perspective, paying careful attention to understanding, evaluating and applying econometric techniques. The goal of this course is to introduce students to modern research in development economics and produce an original empirical research paper.

This course introduces core frameworks used to analyze the global economy and international economic policies. We will study the impact of monetary policy and fiscal policy on exchange rates and output, the behavior of current account balances, and the mechanics of fixed exchange rate regimes. We will also explore the microeconomic determinants of international trade, the labor market impacts of globalization, and the goals and instruments of international trade policy. The goal of the course is to equip you with tools to understand the sources and consequences of trade and macroeconomic interdependence, analyze contemporary developments in the world economy, and critically evaluate international economic policies.

This course presents the theory of International Finance and applies it towards gaining an understanding of recent events and current policy issues. The theory presented in this course covers a broad range of topics including exchange rate determination and the choice of exchange rate systems, monetary and fiscal interactions in an open economy, balance of payments crises, and international debt. The insights gained from the theoretical framework will enable us to discuss topics such as current account deficits and global financial imbalances, the Chinese exchange rate regime, proposed changes in the international financial architecture, the single currency in Europe, the Asian and Argentine financial crises, and the role of international factors on a nation's employment, wages, and economic performance.

This course provides students with an introduction to open-economy macroeconomics. 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 to understand international economic issues. Current events and policy issues are integrated to give context.

This is an advanced undergraduate course in labor economics that will feature theoretical and empirical analysis of labor market policies and institutions in high- and low-income countries. We will cover topics ranging from unions, minimum wages, public workfare programs/job guarantees, international and internal migration, and fairness and social preferences in the labor market, among others. The course will start with a theoretical overview of labor markets and an empirical overview of features that distinguish labor markets in high- and low-income countries. We will then focus on reading empirical papers in detail, drawing on evidence from high- and low-income countries for a given topic.

The course will focus on why and how political institutions affect economic development. The goal is to understand core theoretical concepts in political economy, discuss the political determinants of economic policy choices and learn how to understand and evaluate empirical evidence. The course will use evidence and examples from both developed and developing countries. Topics will include the determinants of economic development, the role of historical circumstances and political leaders, the role of politics in creating or resolving economic crises, and the constraints posed by corruption and political instability. Readings for the class will comprise selected academic papers, case studies, and sections from books.