Boston University Department of Economics


<b>CONTACT</b> Department Admin Contacts <b>DEPARTMENT</b> Overview Admin Contacts Directions Directory Student Organizations Working Papers Donations <b>FACULTY</b> <b>CENTERS</b> IED ISP African Studies Center <b> SEMINARS & WORKSHOPS </b> Seminars IED Microeconomics Macroeconomics Econometrics Health div> Workshops Empirical Micro Lunch Microeconomic Theory Macroeconomics Graduate Microeconomics Lunch Special Lectures Conversations with Economists Rosenthal Lectures Distinguished Research Visitors <b>GRADUATE</b> Contact Admissions PhD Program MA Programs <b>UNDERGRADUTE</b> Admissions BA BA/MA BA/MA Econ & Math Courses Career & Development <b>CURRENT SEM</b> Course Schedule Discussion Sections Office Hours Tutors


			CAS EC 171 Personal Lifestyle Economics Applies the lifecycle model to personal economic decisions including spending, saving, borrowing, insuring; matriculation; choosing careers, jobs, and locations; marrying, having children, divorcing; retiring, retirement accounts, taking Social Security; buying insurance; and investing in stocks and bonds. Does not count for EC major or minor concentration credit. CAS EC 201 Intermediate Microeconomics Analysis (Requirement for economics majors) Prereq: CAS EC 101 or 111. Determination of commodity prices and factor prices under differing market conditions of competition and monopoly. CAS EC 202 Intermediate Macroeconomic Analysis (Requirement for economics majors) Prereq: CAS EC 102 or 112. Determination of aggregate income and employment. Analysis of fiscal and monetary policy. Inflation and income policy. Problems of the open economy. CAS EC 305 Economic Statistics (Requirement for economics majors; it is strongly recommended that students take MA 121 or its equivalent before enrolling in EC 305) Introduction to fundamentals of statistical inference; estimation and tests of hypotheses; regression and analysis of variance; nonparametric statistics; applications using automatic computation programmed packages. CAS EC 320 Economics of Less-Developed Regions Prereq: CAS EC 101 or 111; CAS EC 102 or 112. Theoretical and empirical examination of the structural changes associated with the process of economic development; special reference to poor regions and countries, and rigorous analysis of criteria for policy judgments in development planning and programming. CAS EC 323 Behavioral Economics Prereq: CAS EC 201. Introduction to a new field in economics that challenges the traditional model of rational decision-making and uses research in psychology to construct alternative models. Covers the theory of choice under certainty, uncertainty, and temptation; biases in judgment; social preferences. CAS EC 325 Economics of Poverty and Discrimination in the United States Prereq: CASEC201 OR CASEC211 OR CASEC303 and CAS EC 305. Examines who is poor in the United States and how the evidence of poverty has changed over time. Various economic theories for the causes of poverty and discrimination are presented for examination and discussion. CAS EC 332 Market Structure and Economic Performance Prereq: CAS EC 303. Structure of the American economy. The theory of imperfect competition. Topics include firm concentration and conglomeration; consumer ignorance and market failure; advertising and technological change as part of market performance. CAS EC 333 Seminar on Market Organization and Public Policy Prereq: CAS EC 332 or 303. Discussion of selected markets determined by the instructor. Introduction to antitrust and regulatory policy. CAS EC 337 Economic Analysis of Legal Issues Prereq: CAS EC 101 or 111. Economic analysis of current important legal issues. Contributions of economics to analysis of contracts, torts, property, and crime. Effects of property rights on allocation of resources and distribution of income. Market and nonmarket schemes guiding various activities. CAS EC 341 Monetary and Banking Institutions Prereq: CAS EC 304. Survey of commercial and central banking institutions. Examination of macro relations between financial organizations and principal objectives of stabilization policy. Recent monetary policy. CAS EC 342 Monetary and Banking Theory Prereq: CAS EC 341 or consent of instructor. After a brief survey of the development of modern monetary theory, this course examines the selected theoretical aspects of monetary economics and financial organization covered in EC 341. Additional emphasis on capital theory and macroeconomic models. Research paper required. CAS EC 356 Economics of the Labor Market Prereq: CASEC201 or CASEC211 or CASEC303. Analysis of labor force, labor supply, wages, and unemployment in terms of labor market experience and current theories. Appraisal of the effects of unions and government policies on the economic position of labor. CAS EC 364 The Chinese Economy Prereq: CAS EC 201, CAS EC 202 and CAS EC 305. Introduces the working of the Chinese economy. Combines historical-institutional and theoretical-quantitative approaches to study the transformation of China's economy into a market economy with special characteristics. CAS EC 365 Economic Institutions in Historical Perspective Prereq: CAS EC 101. Historical development and role of institutions underlying market economies. Topics include contract enforcement and trading institutions, financial institutions, property rights in land, environmental resources such as water management and fisheries, economic infrastructure, regulation of labor, and capital markets. CAS EC 367 Economics of the Public Sector Prereq: CAS EC 303. Basic principles of public finance; consideration of classical and modern attitudes toward government revenues and expenditures. Survey of problems related to public debt and budget making. Evaluation of fiscal policy as an instrument of control. CAS EC 368 Contemporary East Asian Economics Prereq: CAS EC 101 or 111, and EC 102 or 112. Provides an introduction to the economics of Japan, Korea, and Taiwan. Topics include Japanese firms, labor markets, finance, monetary and fiscal policies, industrial policies, and Taiwanese and Korean post-1960 economic development. CAS EC 369 Economic Development of Latin America Prereq: CAS EC 101 or 111; EC 102 or 112. Contemporary issues of economic and social policy. Macroeconomic issues: inflation, stabilization, and the debt crisis. Foreign trade and economic restructuring. Poverty and income distribution. Role of the state. CAS EC 371 Environmental Economics Prereq: CAS EC 303. Role of economics in environmental planning. Economic analysis of the causes of pollution and its control through taxes, the use of property rights, and standards. Application of cost-benefit models as an aid in policy decisions affecting the environment. Domestic and international issues addressed. CAS EC 377 Government, Business, and Labor Prereq: CAS EC 201, EC 211, or EC 303. Examines economic growth from the perspective of the structure, conduct, and performance of business. Combines economic theories of conduct and strategy with industry case studies and evaluates the effect of government policy toward business and labor on the performance of the economy. CAS EC 387 Introduction to Health Economics Prereq: CAS EC 303. Concepts of health economics applicable to both developed and developing countries. Topics include effect of health on the economy, effect of health care on health, hospital behavior, health manpower supply, demand for health care. CAS EC 391 International Economics I Prereq: CAS EC 303. The pure theory of international trade. Topics include comparative advantage; the gains from trade; tariff and nontariff barriers to trade; case studies in international economic policy. CAS EC 392 International Economics II: Problems and Policy Prereq: CAS EC 304. Open economy macroeconomics. Various models are covered to study the role that international trade and capital flows play in the macroeconomic adjustment to internal and external disturbances. Specific topics to be covered include balance of payments accounting; internationalization of financial markets and macroeconomic implications; international policy coordination; exchange rate determination; efficiency of foreign exchange market. CAS EC 403 Game Theory Prereq: CAS MA 121, 123, or 127. Models of decision making in which the choices of different individuals interact. CAS EC 404 Economics of Information Prereq: CAS EC 201and one of CAS MA 121, 122, 123, 124, 127 or 129, or consent of instructor. Recommended: CAS EC 403. Introduction to the field of information economics and its applications. Covers a wide range of situations in which players have access to different private information and this private information differently affects their incentives and strategic behavior. CAS EC 414 Introduction to Econometrics Prereq: CAS EC 305 or equivalent. Single equation models, hypothesis testing, econometric problems (errors in variables, heteroscedesticity, autocorrelation), instrumental variables, and simultaneous equation models. Emphasis will be on application to a variety of economic problems through the use of computer program packages. CAS EC 436 Economics of Corporate Organization Prereq: CAS EC 201; and CAS MA 121 or CAS MA 123 or CAS MA 127; and CAS EC 305 or CAS MA 213; and CAS MA 214 or SMG SM 221. Economic analysis of the architecture of firms and other organizations. Topics include firm boundaries, the allocation of ownership and control, integration and outsourcing, corporate governance, performance evaluation, and compensation. CAS EC 445 Economics of Risk and Uncertainty Prereq: CAS EC 201, CAS EC 202 and CAS EC 305; and CAS MA 121 or CAS MA 123 or CAS MA 127. For advanced undergraduates. Emphasis on quantitative links between theory and data. Topics include expected utility, portfolio choice and the capital asset pricing model, interest rates and monetary policy, the relation between the real economy and the stock market. DIRECTED STUDIES AND SENIOR HONORS THESIS CAS EC 401, 402 Senior Honors Thesis Prereq: minimum GPA of 3.0 and approval of department, CAS EC 305 or MA 214 strongly recommended. This is a requirement to graduate with distinction. It is a two-semester independent investigation, culminating in a thesis and an oral examination based on the thesis. CAS EC 491, 492 Directed Study in Economics Prereq: approval of department. One-semester independent investigation under faculty supervision. Variable credit.