Courses of Particular Possible Relevance to Economists Economics 2460 (formerly Economics 2910). The Health Economics Workshop

Courses of Particular Possible Relevance to Economists
Economics 2460 (formerly Economics 2910). The Health Economics Workshop

David M. Cutler, Joseph P. Newhouse (Kennedy School, Medical School, Public Health), and William C. Hsiao (Public Health)

Focuses on theory, econometric models, and public policy of health care. Frontier work in health economics presented and discussed by instructors and outside speakers.

Note: May be taken for credit only by dissertation students writing a research paper.

Economics 3460chf. Research in Health Economics

David M. Cutler 2954 and Joseph P. Newhouse (Kennedy School, Medical School, Public Health) 2425

Participants discuss recent research in health economics. Course may also include presentation of original research by participants. Open to doctoral students only.
Economics 2450a. Public Economics and Fiscal Policy I

Casey Bryant Mulligan (University of Chicago)

Surveys theoretical and empirical analyses of taxation and government expenditures. Topics include tax incidence, optimal tax theory, public goods and externalities, and empirical analysis of responses to taxation.

Economics 2450b. Public Economics and Fiscal Policy II

David M. Cutler and Martin Feldstein

Surveys theoretical and empirical analyses of taxation and government expenditures. Special topics include taxes and corporate finance, social insurance and fiscal policy, including social security and health care.
Economics 2610. Industrial Organization I

Gautam Gowrisankaran

Applied work in industrial organization. Static analysis (theory, estimation): demand systems, cost functions, and game theoretic concepts of equilibrium and their application. Dynamic analysis (theory, computation, estimation): single agent problems, dynamic games and their application.
Economics 2611. Industrial Organization II

Julie Holland Mortimer and Ariel Pakes

Application of industrial organization to problems of public policy. Applied analysis of antitrust policy, network industries, vertical relationships, auctions, and other topics depending on interest.

Note: Students are urged to take Economics 2610 before Economics 2611.
Economics 2810a. Labor Market Analysis

Richard B. Freeman

Theoretical and empirical research on labor markets, wages, human capital, employment. Wage determination covers equalizing differences, human capital, job mobility, matching and tournament models. Labor supply covers allocation of time life-cycle models. Labor demand includes minimum wage and adjustment models.
Economics 2810b. Labor Economics and Labor Market Institutions

Lawrence F. Katz

Examines the operation of the labor market and evaluation of labor market policies. Topics: labor econometrics, theories of wage determination, empirical analysis of wage differentials and changes in the wage structure, unemployment, labor market institutions, discrimination, economics of social mobility and social interactions.
Economics 2390b. Development Economics I: Microeconomic Issues

Michael Robert Kremer and Abhijit V. Banerjee (MIT)

Topics include agricultural issues such as peasant behavior, land tenancy, interlinked markets; credit and insurance market problems and institutions; health, nutrition, and productivity; gender bias; education; and technology adoption.

Economics 2390c. Development Economics II: Macroeconomic Issues

Michael Robert Kremer and Abhijit V. Banerjee (MIT)

Topics include innovation-based growth, innovations and capital accumulation, scale effects and convergence, exhaustible resources, learning-by-doing, growth and market structure, general purpose technologies, dynamics of wage inequality, and technical change and institutional change.

(School of Public Health) HPM 206 Economic Analysis

Dr. D. Hemenway

Lectures. Three 2-hour sessions each week.

Designed to bring students to an intermediate-level understanding of microeconomic theory. Emphasizes the uses and limitations of the economic approach, with applications to health and medical care.

Course Note: Students who have taken HPM 205 must obtain the signature of instructor.
(Kennedy School) API-101A Markets and Market Failure

This course applies microeconomic reasoning to public issues, policies, and programs. It considers economic incentives and organizations; models of economic behavior, including markets, the absence of markets, and interventions in markets; the price system and how it works; and policy objectives and instruments. All sections cover a common set of core topics; the pedagogical approaches vary with the individual instructor. Prerequisite: The A section of this course presumes some prior exposure to the field and the ability to use basic calculus.

Economics 1011a. Microeconomic Theory

Edward L. Glaeser

Economics 1011a is similar to Economics 1010a, but uses more mathematics and covers more material. The course aims to teach the basic tools of economics and to apply them to a wide range of human behavior. Tools include consumer theory, optimization under uncertainty, game theory, welfare economics, incentive theory, and the economics of information. Topics include industrial organization, public finance, law and economics, the economics of the family, religion and riots. Note: Economics 1011a fulfills the intermediate microeconomic theory requirement for economics concentrators. Students may take either Economics 1010a or Economics 1011a for credit. Prerequisite: Social Analysis 10 and Mathematics 20 or 21a, or permission of the instructor.
Economics 2052. Game Theory

Drew Fudenberg

Topics vary slightly from year to year, but typically include the equilibria of various classes of games, the definition and application of “common knowledge,” and non-equilibrium processes of strategy adjustment.

Prerequisite: Economics 2010a or permission of the instructor.
Economics 2060. Contract Theory

Oliver S. Hart

Recent developments in contract theory. Includes hidden action and hidden information models, dynamic agency issues, incomplete contracts, and applications of contract theory to theories of the firm and corporate financial structure.
(Kennedy School) API-302 Analytic Frameworks for Policy

Develops abilities in using analytic frameworks in the formulation and assessment of public policy. Considers a variety of analytic techniques, particularly those directed toward uncertainty and interactive decision problems. Emphasizes the application of techniques to policy analysis, not formal derivations. Students encounter case studies, methodological readings, the computer, a final exam, and challenging problem sets. Prerequisites: An understanding of intermediate-level microeconomic theory and introductory techniques of optimization and decision analysis, API-101, API-102, or equivalent.

Economics 2480. The Public Economics and Fiscal Policy Workshop

David M. Cutler, Martin Feldstein, Judith Li, and Casey Bryant Mulligan (University of Chicago)

Focuses on current issues in the theory and practice of public finance, including both tax and expenditure policies.

Economics 2812. The Labor Economics Workshop

Lawrence F. Katz and Richard B. Freeman

Focuses on research concerning the operation of labor markets.
Economics 2640hf. The Industrial Organization Workshop

Richard E. Caves, Gautam Gowrisankaran, Markus M. Möbius, Julie Holland Mortimer, and Ariel Pakes

Economics 2390d. The Economic Growth and Development Workshop

Michael Robert Kremer, Abhijit V. Banerjee (MIT), Robert J. Barro, Francesco Caselli, Asim Khwaja (Kennedy School), Dwight H. Perkins, and Jeffrey G. Williamson