Undergraduate Course Descriptions

This course provides an introduction to the economic approach tor analyzing public policy questions. It examines the role of government in a market economy and models and methods for the analysis of specific public projects.

Prerequisites: ECON 0100 (formerly 001) and 0200 (formerly 002) or ECON 0110 (formerly 010). Credit cannot be received for both ECON 0410 and 4410 (formerly 231).

This course examines the effects of strategic behavior on political outcomes and government policies.  Topics and applications may include voting behavior, candidate competition, voting systems, social choice and welfare, policy divergence, redistributive policies and theories of political transitions.

Prerequisites: ECON 0100 (formerly 001) and 0200 (formerly 002) or ECON 0110 (formerly 010). Credit cannot be received for both ECON 0420 and 4420 (formerly 232).

This course covers topics in labor supply and labor demand, income distribution, labor market contracts and work incentives, human capital, labor market discrimination, job training and unemployment.

Prerequisites: ECON 0100 (formerly 001) or ECON 0110 (formerly 010). Credit cannot be received for both ECON 0430 and 4430 (formerly 233).

The relationship of economic principles to law and the use of economic analysis to study legal problems. Topics will include: property rights and intellectual property; analysis of antitrust and of legal decision-making.

Prerequisites: ECON 0100 (formerly 001) or ECON 0110 (formerly 010). Credit cannot be received for both ECON 0440 and 4440 (formerly 234).

This is an introductory undergraduate course on the digital economy. Our two main goals are (a) to understand how people and companies interact in digital markets and (b) to understand how digital markets should be designed and regulated. We analyze some key features that are prevalent in digital markets, including price discrimination, network effects, two-sided markets, search and matching, reputation systems, and the use of data. We also zoom in on individual markets, such as e-commerce, media platforms, and the gig economy.

Prerequisites: ECON 0100

Theories of various industrial organizational structures and problems are developed, including monopoly, oligopoly, moral hazard and adverse selection. These theories are then applied to the study of various industries, antitrust cases, and regulatory issues.

Prerequisites: ECON 0100 (formerly 001) or ECON 0110 (formerly 010). Credit cannot be received for both ECON 0450 and 4450 (formerly 235).

Free markets excel at producing wealth, but seem to do so at the cost of economic inequality. Is this inequality unjust? Is it a problem economics and public policy should solve?

Liberal democracies have traditionally had the protection of private property as a core mandate. But they also have varying degrees of redistribution in order to fund social welfare systems. How can we reconcile these objectives which seem to conflict?

Is the protection of individual rights more important than the promotion of the greatest good for all? To what extent can personal liberty and the common good be reconciled?

Are current entitlement programs like Medicare unfair to the younger generation? Is our current natural resource usage unfair to future generations?

In this course, we will use the philosophical concept of justice to address these and other related questions. We will draw from the economic history, political theory, and the history of philosophy in order to acquire a framework for understanding the concepts of justice, liberty, rights, and equality. We shall then apply this historical and conceptual framework to discussion topics and case studies drawn from present day economics and contemporary social issues. In this way, we shall come to understand economics as more than a social science of laws and theorems. Instead we shall see how economics as an applied science influences the well-being of the whole of society.

Prerequisites: ECON 0100 (formerly 001) and ECON 0200 (formerly 002)

This course examines some of the ways in which economics as a social science is related to philosophy. We start with a discussion of the definition, scope, and methodology of economics, reading Robbins on the definition of economics, Mill on the science of political economy and Friedman’s essay on methodology, along with some of its critical responses. We then consider three central concepts of economics which have their roots in philosophy: rationality, utility, and welfare, and we examine the philosophical assumptions in each of these economic concepts.

Prerequisites: ECON 0100 (formerly 001) and ECON 0200 (formerly 002)

Introduction to the theory of international trade and international monetary economics. The theoretical background is used as a basis for discussion of policy issues. Patterns of international trade and production; gains from trade; tariffs, and other impediments to trade; foreign exchange markets, balance of payments, capital flows, financial crises, coordination of monetary and fiscal policy in a global economy.

Prerequisites: ECON 0100 (formerly 001) and 0200 (formerly 002) or ECON 0110 (formerly 010).

Antirequisite: ECON 4510 (formerly 251), ECON 4520 (formerly 252)

A broad overview of American economic history will be provided by focusing on the following topics: colonial trade patterns, the growth of the market economy, the political economy of slavery, industrial expansion, segmentation in the labor force and changes in work, technological and organizational innovations, business cycle of the corporate welfare state, the growth of monopoly capitalism, and current economic problems in historical perspective.

Crosslisted with HIST 1161

Prerequisites: ECON 0100 (formerly 001) and 0200 (formerly 002) or ECON 0110 (formerly 010)

This course is offered by the history department as HIST 3965 and is cross-listed as ECON 0615.

The course will cover the modern evolution of the international monetary system going all the way back to the era when sterling became the leading international currencies. It is arranged thematically and chronologically both. The lessons and readings will introduce students to the principal evolutions of the international monetary system and at the same time, it will give them an understanding of regimes, their mechanics and the geopolitical economies behind systemic shifts. Students need not have an economic background but must be prepared to read about exchange rates (and world politics). Special focus on: The early modern international monetary system. How Amsterdam and London captured the Spanish treasure. Beyond the West (Ottoman Empire, India, China). The Napoleonic wars and the rise of sterling. Hong-Kong: Silver, Opium, and the Recycling of Surpluses. The emergence of the Gold Standard. Bimetallism: The US election of 1796. Sterling and Key Currencies before WWI. The First World War and the origins of dollar supremacy. When the dollar displaced sterling (1920s). The collapse of the international gold standard (1930s). The Bretton Woods System. The rise and rise of the US dollar. Currency competition (Dollar, Euro, Yuan Renminbi). The meaning of cryptocurrencies.

This course is offered by the history department as HIST 1731 (formerly 131) and crosslisted as ECON 0620 (formerly 028).

Economic history is increasingly recognized as a crucial source of policy advice and is invoked with growing frequency in public debates.

In particular, the subprime crisis in 2008 and after has generated a demand for "historical perspective" that would improve the understanding of the causes o financial turmoil and facilitate the prevention of comparable catastrophes. This course begins with a review of the principal features of the subprime crisis of 2008 and asks, so to speak, "how did we get there?" It answers by providing historical insights that shed light on crucial aspects of financial disasters.

Prerequisite(s): ECON 0100 (formerly 001) and 0200 (formerly 002) or ECON 0110 (formerly 010).

Business, Economic and Financial History plays a crucial role today in informing the views of business leaders, policy makers, reformers and public intellectuals. This seminar provides students with the opportunity to acquire a command of the key elements of this important intellectual field. The seminar format enables us to do this engagingly through reading and discussion. Students acquire a knowledge of the fundamental texts and controversies. Each meeting focuses on one foundational debate and provides a means to be up to date with the insights gleaned from rigorous economic history. We will examine twelve important debates and students will be asked to write a paper. The debates will include such questions as: What is growth and how can it be measured? What caused the "great divergence" in long run development among countries? How can we "understand" the rise and fall of slavery and its long shadow today? What is globalization and when did it begin? Did the Gold Standard and interwar fiscal and monetary policy orthodoxy cause the great depression? How can we explain the evolution of inequality in the very long run?

Systematic and critical review of the present economic literature on the health care "industry". Topics include the demography and determinants of illness, the demand for curative and preventive care and determinants of recent health cost inflation, the efficacy of markets, and the role of government.

Crosslisted with HCMG 2020

Prerequisites: ECON 0100 (formerly 001) or ECON 0110 (formerly 010).

Theories of consumer behavior, demand, production, costs, the firm in various market contexts, factor employment, factor incomes, elementary general equilibrium, and welfare.

Prerequisites - ECON 0100 (formerly 001) and 0200 (formerly 002), MATH 1400 (formerly 104) or 1070 and MATH 1410 (formerly 114) or 1510 (formerly 115) or 1080.

*The Economics Department strongly recommends that freshmen satisfying the ECON 2100 prerequisites wait until the sophomore year before they take ECON 2100. The teaching for this course is not tailored toward freshmen and assumes that students have fully transitioned into the university environment

Facts and theories about the determination of per capita income and its differences across countries and across time. The study of economic fluctuations in output and employment. The role of government in influencing these aggregate variables: monetary and fiscal policy.

Prerequisites - ECON 2100 (formerly 101), MATH 1400 (formerly 104) or 1070 and MATH 1410 (formerly 114) or 1510 (formerly 115) or 1080.  FNCN 1010 cannot be used to satisfy the ECON 2200 requirement for the Economics and Mathematical Economics majors. Majors are required to take ECON 2200.

Wharton students can satisfy the ECON 2100 prerequisite with BEPP 2500 (formerly 250) HONORS. The regular BEPP 2500 course does not count as a substitute for ECON 2100.

FNCE 1010 does not substitute the intermediate macroeconomics requirement for the major.  

The course focuses on elementary probability and inferential statistical techniques. The course begins with a survey of basic descriptive statistics and data sources and then covers elementary probability theory, sampling, estimation, hypothesis testing, correlation, and regression. The course focuses on practical issues involved in the substantive interpretation of economic data using the techniques of statistical inference. For this reason, empirical case studies that apply the techniques to real-life data are stressed and discussed throughout the course, and students are required to perform several statistical analyses of their own.

Prerequisites: ECON 0100 (formerly 001) and 0200 (formerly 002) or ECON 0110 (formerly 010), MATH 1400 (formerly 104) or 1070 and MATH 1410 (formerly 114) or 1510 (formerly 115) or 1080.

Note: ECON 2300 is a one-semester course on probability and statistical inference.  A two-semester sequence of mathematical statistics (STAT 4300/4310 -formerly 430/431) or (ESE 3010/4020 -formerly 301/402) can be taken to replace ECON 2300.  Students who take the mathematical statistic sequence need to take an additional 4000 (formerly 200)-level economics course to complete the requirements for the economics major.

  

Students may NOT take ECON 2300 if they have completed the STAT 4300/4310 or ESE 3010/4020 sequence. Students who have taken the first course of the statistics sequence (STAT 4300 or ESE 3010) are encouraged to also take the second course (STAT 4310 or ESE 4020) because ECON 2300 covers, in part, material on probability that is covered in the first course of the statistics sequence.



Students who have taken STAT 4300 or ESE 3010 but experienced difficulties with the material taught in these courses may take ECON 2300 instead of the second course of the statistics sequence.



Introductory sequences STAT 1010/1020 (formerly 101/102) and STAT 1110/1120 (formerly 111/112) do not count as substitutes for ECON 2300.

ECON 2300 satisfies the University's Quantitative Data Analysis requirement.

This course is designed to introduce students to econometric techniques and their applications in economic analysis and decision making. The main objective of the course is to train the student in (i) handling economic data; (ii) quantitative analyses of economic models with probabilistic tools; (iii) econometric techniques, their application as well as their statistical and practical interpretation; (iv) implementing these techniques on a computer.

The course focuses on practical and conceptual issues involved in the substantive applications of econometric techniques. Estimation and inference procedures are formally analyzed for simple econometric models and illustrated by empirical case studies using real-life data. The course covers linear regression models, simultaneous-equations models, discrete choice models and univariate time series models. Estimation and Inference is conducted using least squares and likelihood based techniques. Students are required to perform several econometric analyses of their own.

Prerequisites: ECON 2100 (formerly 101) and [ECON 2300 (formerly 103) OR (STAT 4300 (formerly 430) AND STAT 4310 (formerly 431)) OR (STAT 4300 (formerly 430) AND STAT 1020 (formerly 102))], MATH 1400 (formerly 104) or 1070 and MATH 1410 (formerly 114) or 1510 (formerly 115) or 1080 or with instructor's permission.

Wharton students can satisfy the ECON 2100 (formerly 101) prerequisite with BEPP 2500 (formerly 250) HONORS. The regular BEPP 2500 course does not count as a substitute for ECON 2100.

An introduction to game theory and its applications to Economic analysis. The course will provide a theoretical overview of modern game theory, emphasizing common themes in the analysis of strategic behavior in different social science contexts. The economic applications will be drawn from different areas including trade, corporate strategy and public policy.

Prerequisites: ECON 2100 (formerly 101), MATH 1400 (formerly 104) or 1070 and MATH 1410 (formerly 114) or 1510 (formerly 115) or 1080.

Wharton students can satisfy the ECON 2100 prerequisite with BEPP 2500 (formerly 250) HONORS. The regular BEPP 2500 course does not count as a substitute for ECON 2100.

This course will study modern family economics. The class will develop economic models to study topics such as female labor supply, fertility, marriage and divorce, women's liberation, premarital sex and parental socialization, investment in health, and retirement. This is an advanced undergraduate class. Calculus is an integral part of the course. Some elementary probability theory is drawn upon. Students unwilling to learn some of the tools used in modern economic should not take this class.

Prerequisites: ECON 2100 (formerly 101), MATH 1400 (formerly 104) or 1070 and MATH 1410 (formerly 114) or 1510 (formerly 115) or 1080.

Wharton students can satisfy the ECON 2100 prerequisite with BEPP 2500 (formerly 250) HONORS. The regular BEPP 2500 course does not count as a substitute for ECON 2100.

Market design is broadly about designing interventions in economic systems so as to enhance their performance. The power and potential of market design has recently entered a new era of possibility with the rise of Artificial Intelligence. Artificial Intelligence is concerned with the design of intelligent autonomous systems. Such systems are rapidly transforming our society and economy and have been enabled by major advances in cloud computing and network telecommunications. Yet underlying the technological surface of many AI-oriented applications are fundamental economic and econometric principles which are central to their design and implementation. In short, to perform well, an AI system must “think like economists” - it must:

1. Make predictions about its environment
2. Test causal hypotheses about the effect of various actions they can take, and
3. Make decisions about an optimal plan of action in the face of uncertainty, which is a cycle that repeats and iteratively improves. Many of the established success stories in AI today have largely been focused on achieving (1), the trend is towards AI increasingly encompassing (2) and (3).

In this course we aim to isolate these economic principles and understand their role in the modern development of AI, as well as gaining an appreciation for what the proliferation of AI based technologies means for the economy in which we live. Although the course will be principally interested in the former, we won’t fully shy away from some discussion of the latter.

Topics include human judgment and decision making biases (a light intro to behavioral economics), predictive machine learning and regularization, causal inference as distinct from prediction with application to product pricing, and reinforcement learning for dynamic decisions.

Prerequisites: ECON 2100 (formerly 101) and 2300 (formerly 103), MATH 1400 (formerly 104) or 1070 and MATH 1410 (formerly 114) or 1510 (formerly 115) or 1080.

Wharton students can satisfy the ECON 2100 prerequisite with BEPP 2500 (formerly 250) HONORS. The regular BEPP 2500 course does not count as a substitute for ECON 2100.

In this course we learn how individuals make decisions in a world full of uncertainties, both normatively and descriptively. This theory will help us build skills in understanding and analyzing a choice problem with uncertainty in a systematic fashion, as well as deepening our understanding of the fundamental concept of a utility function, which plays a critical role in economic modeling. The course requires a substantial ability of abstract thinking. Homework is intended to be thought-provoking rather than skill-sharpening.

Prerequisites: ECON 2100 (formerly 101) and 2300 (formerly 103), and MATH 1400 (formerly 104) or 1070 and MATH 1410 (formerly 114) or 1510 (formerly 115) or 1080. Prerequisites cannot be taken concurrently.

Wharton students can satisfy the ECON 101 prerequisite with BEPP 2500 (formerly 250) HONORS. The regular BEPP 2500 course does not count as a substitute for ECON 2100.

This semester long course will introduce students to a variety of mathematical topics associated with convexity, optimization and fixed points that are used in Economic theory. The use of these techniques will be illustrated with a host of economic applications. Students who have not taken ECON 2100 (formerly 101) require instructor permission.

Prerequisites: MATH 3140 (formerly 314), MATH 3600 (formerly 360), ECON 2100 (formerly 101)

People often systematically deviate from predictions of standard models in economics. Behavioral economics is an emerging subfield of modern economics that incorporates insights from psychology and other social sciences into economics to improve realism of standard models. This course reviews some of the standard assumptions in economics and evidence on how human behavior systematically departs from these assumptions. Several well-known behavioral theories that explain such deviations and their implications will be discussed. Topics may include (but not limited to) context-dependence, prospect theory, loss aversion, present bias, self-control, reference-dependence, limited attention, biased beliefs, fairness, and biases in strategic reasoning.

Prerequisites: ECON 2100 (formerly ECON 101) AND ECON 2300 (formerly ECON 103) AND (MATH 1080 OR MATH 1410 [formerly MATH 114])

This course is designed to introduce economics students to the theory of contracts. The origin of economic contract theory was in the 1970s, and has continued at high speed on both the theoretical and the applied economics fronts. It is motivated by real-world settings in which the standard price taking, symmetric information, and complete markets assumptions of general equilibrium theory are violated, thus making GE models inadequate. Non-market institutions determine production and allocation decisions in such settings, and a key ingredient of them is generally a “contract.” Most simply, a contract is a set of promises made by two or more agents to each other to perform certain activities e.g., how much of a good to produce, the quality of that good, and how much of it to buy. In most interesting settings there is asymmetric information; some agents know more than others about the state of the world, or what effort choices they made in the past, or about their inherent abilities. The ultimate contracts that are agreed upon are determined via bargaining as opposed to impersonal market exchanges. How a contract is enforced, either explicitly via a third party (Court) or implicitly through the future interactions of the parties, determine in part the nature of adopted contracts. In dynamic contexts, central questions concern how adopted contracts change (are renegotiated) over time.

Prerequisites: ECON 2100 AND (MATH 1080 OR MATH 1410)

The process of economic growth and the sources of differences in economic performance across nations are some of the most interesting, important and challenging areas in modern social science. You cannot travel or read the news without wondering why differences in standards of living among countries are so large. The primary purpose of this course is to introduce undergraduate students to these major issues and to the theoretical tools necessary for studying them. The course therefore strives to provide students with a solid background in dynamic economic analysis, as well as empirical examples and data analysis.

Prerequisites: ECON 2100 (formerly 101), ECON 2200 (formerly 102) or FNCE 1010 (formerly 101), ECON 2300 (formerly 103), MATH 1400 (formerly 104) or 1070, MATH 1410 (formerly 114) or 1510 (formerly 115) or 1080.

Wharton students can satisfy the ECON 2100 prerequisite with BEPP 2500 (formerly 250) HONORS. The regular BEPP 2500 course does not count as a substitute for ECON 2100.

Prerequisites are ECON 2100 (formerly 101), ECON 2200 (formerly 102) or FNCE 1010 (formerly 101), MATH 1400 (formerly 104) or 1070, and MATH 1410 (formerly 114) or 1510 (formerly 115) or 1080.

Wharton students can satisfy the ECON 2100 prerequisite with BEPP 2500 (formerly 250) HONORS. The regular BEPP 2500 course does not count as a substitute for ECON 2100.

This course will study numerical methods as used in modern macroeconomics.  Students will learn how to solve nonlinear equations, difference equations, interpolate functions, smooth data, and conduct Monte Carlo simulations on the computer. This will be done while studying economic problems, such as the determination of labor supply, economic growth and business cycle analysis. Calculus is an integral part of the course and some elementary probability theory will be drawn upon. The MATLAB programming language will be used.

This is an advanced course in macroeconomics. A relatively simple, but well defined and internally consistent model of the U.S. economy is set up and used to study how output is generated given the initial resources, how output is divided between consumption and addition to capital stock, and how this process accumulates over time. The role of prices including the rate of interest in this process is also reviewed. Finally, some reasons why such a process does not necessarily result in efficient results with full employment of resources are reviewed, and monetary and fiscal policies needed to improve the performance of the economy under such circumstances are discussed.

Prerequisites: ECON 2100 (formerly 101) and ECON 2200 (formerly 102) or FNCE 1010 (formerly 101), MATH 1400 (formerly 104) or 1070 and MATH 1410 (formerly 114) or 1510 (formerly 115) or 1080.  ECON 2300 (formerly 103) is also recommended.

Wharton students can satisfy the ECON 2100 prerequisite with BEPP 2500 (formerly 250) HONORS. The regular BEPP 2500 course does not count as a substitute for ECON 2100.

Inequality among economic agents is a defining feature of modern economies: Households at the top of the wealth distribution own billions of dollars, while the bottom half of the population has almost no wealth and lives paycheck to paycheck. Some firms have thousands of employees while others operate only with a handful of workers. And inequality among both households and firms has been on the rise. Which forces shape the distribution of income and wealth across households? Why do some firms hire more employees than others? And how do these differences across households and firms affect aggregate outcomes in the economy?

The objective of the course is to introduce students to micro-data evidence on the rich heterogeneity among economic agents and to provide them with simple theories to understand and analyze this heterogeneity and its interaction with macroeconomic outcomes. The course may be loosely structured in two parts, the first focussing on economic differences across households and the second focussing on differences across firms. Topics covered in the first half may include the distribution of income, wealth and spending across households and their determinants, the role of Macroeconomic trends and shocks for inequality among households, and the role of the distribution of income and wealth for macroeconomic dynamics. Topics covered in the second half of the course may include the distribution of employment and output across firms, the misallocation of resources and aggregate productivity, as well as firms' price-setting decision, its implications for trends in inflation, market power and profits.

Prerequisites: ECON 2100 AND ECON 2200 AND ECON 2300

Fundamentals of modern macroeconomic modelling and applications for forecasting and policy analysis. Attention will focus on representing such macroeconomic phenomena as inflation, unemployment, the business cycle, productivity, and secular growth. Students will build a macro model. Topics will include how to simulate a range of fiscal and monetary policies and how to measure their effectiveness for stabilization and growth.

Prerequisites: ECON 2100 (formerly 101) and ECON 2200 (formerly 102) or FNCE 1010 (formerly 101). ECON 2300 (formerly 103) is recommended and MATH 1400 (formerly 104) or 1070 and MATH 1410 (formerly 114) or 1510 (formerly 115) or 1080.

Wharton students can satisfy the ECON 2100 prerequisite with BEPP 2500 (formerly 250) HONORS. The regular BEPP 2500 course does not count as a substitute for ECON 2100.

This course studies the role that financial markets, institutions, and money play in resource allocation. Financial intermediation and the role of banks in the economic system are analyzed and the economic rationale behind banking regulation is studied. The course examines how monetary policy influences interest rates and asset markets, such as the bond market and the stock market. Finally, the instruments and goals of monetary policy are discussed, focusing in particular on credibility and commitment for central banks. All of the questions are explored analytically, using the tools of economic theory.

Prerequisites: ECON 2100 (formerly 101), ECON 2200 (formerly 102) or FNCE 1010 (formerly 101), MATH 1400 (formerly 104) or 1070, and MATH 1410 (formerly 114) or 1510 (formerly 115) or 1080.

Wharton students can satisfy the ECON 2100 prerequisite with BEPP 2500 (formerly 250) HONORS. The regular BEPP 2500 course does not count as a substitute for ECON 2100.

This course is designed to introduce students to key topics in financial economics: the fundamentals of modern financial analysis, instruments and institutions, corporate investment and financing decisions, the theory of portfolio choice and theories of asset pricing. Along the way, students will be introduced to economics of uncertainty and statistical decision theory. We will explore both the older risk neutral models of valuation as well the more modern risk/arbitrage based theories. We will cover the central elements of corporate finance as well as some of the key financial aspects of public and international finance, as well as cryptocurrencies and their associated financial assets.

Prerequisites: ECON 2100 AND (ECON 2200 OR FNCE 1010) AND (MATH 1400 OR MATH 1070) AND (MATH 1410 OR MATH 1080)

Wharton students can satisfy the ECON 2100 prerequisite with BEPP 2500 (formerly 250) HONORS. The regular BEPP 2500 course does not count as a substitute for ECON 2100.

This course provides a comprehensive introduction to forecasting in economics and business. Topics covered include statistical graphics, trends, seasonality, cycles, forecast construction, forecast evaluation and forecast combination.

Prerequisites: ECON 2100 (formerly 101), ECON 2200 (formerly 102) or FNCE 1010 (formerly 101),  ECON 2300 (formerly 103), and ECON 2310 (formerly 104), and MATH 1400 (formerly 104) or 1070 and MATH 1410 (formerly 114) or 1510 (formerly 115) or 1080.

Wharton students can satisfy the ECON 2100 prerequisite with BEPP 2500 (formerly 250) HONORS. The regular BEPP 2500 course does not count as a substitute for ECON 2100.

This course introduces students to advanced study in econometrics, with an emphasis on methods used in microeconomic applications and in evaluating the effects of social interventions. The methods covered include methods for handling limited dependent variables (useful, for example, in forecasting the demand for a new good), maximum likelihood estimators, and flexible semiparametric and nonparametric estimation methods, and randomized and nonexperimental methods of estimating treatment effects. Applications of Econometrics to the field of program evaluation will also be studied.

Prerequisites: ECON 2100 (formerly 101) and 2310 (formerly 104), MATH 1400 (formerly 104) or 1070 and MATH 1410 (formerly 114) or 1510 (formerly 115) or 1080.

Wharton students can satisfy the ECON 2100 prerequisite with BEPP 2500 (formerly 250) HONORS. The regular BEPP 2500 course does not count as a substitute for ECON 2100.

ECON 4330 is a new course that will be offered for the first time in Fall 2018.

Pre-requisites: ECON 2300 (formerly 103) and ECON 2310 (formerly 104) (students who have not taken ECON 2310 require instructor permission)

The first part of the course will cover prediction and statistical learning, including linear regression, ridge regression, LASSO, logistic regression, regression trees, and random forests. The second part of the course will cover causal inference: potential outcomes, randomized controlled trials, regression under unconfoundedness, isntrumental variables, regression discontinuity, and differences-in-differences. The final part of the course will examine how economists are increasingly combining tools from statistical learning and causal inference to tackle exciting policy questions.

Econ 4330 will be a very applied class, and will make heavy use of R. Grades will mainly be based on applied data analysis problem sets and projects rather than exams. By the end of the course, you’ll be able to applied fairly sophisticated machine learning and causal inference tools on important problems.

This course provides a broad introduction to the economics of climate change. The relevant theory is reviewed, but the emphasis throughout is thoroughly empirical. We begin by providing necessary background in geophysics and econometrics. We then move into aspects of the bi-directional feedback relationship between climate change and economic activity. First we examine effects of economic activity on climate, and then we examine the effects of climate on economic activity. Finally, we move to economic strategies, policies, and institutions for climate change mitigation and adaptation, including trading or taxing carbon, hedging climate risk in financial markets, and monetary and supervisory policy.

Prerequisites

ECON 0100 (formerly 001) and 0200 (formerly 002) and 2100 (formerly 101) and ECON 2200 (formerly 102) or FNCE 1010 (formerly 101) and ECON 2300 (formerly 103) and 2310 (formerly 104)

Does increasing the minimum wage reduce employment? Do smaller class sizes improve students' achievement? Does Medicare improve its recipients' health status?

Program evaluation is an essential part of policy making and the political debate. More generally, causality and the identification of causal effects are at the heart of many questions in economics. The goal of this class is to give students a precise understanding of what causality is, and a working knowledge of empirical methods used in economics to estimate causal effects and evaluate public policy. Recommended: ECON 104.

Prerequisites: ECON 2100 (formerly 101) and ECON 2300 (formerly 103)

This course has two parts. The first looks at market and government failures and discusses the need for public policies as well as limits to their effectiveness including the evaluation of public projects using cost-benefit analysis. The second part focuses on the Economic analysis of taxation, including the economic incidence and efficiency of taxes.

Prerequisites: ECON 2100 (formerly 101). ECON 2300 (formerly 103) is also recommended and MATH 1400 (formerly 104) or 1070 and MATH 1410 (formerly 114) or 1510 (formerly 115) or 1080. Credit cannot be received for both ECON 0410 (formerly 030) and 4410.

Wharton students can satisfy the ECON 2100 prerequisite with BEPP 2500 (formerly 250) HONORS. The regular BEPP 2500 course does not count as a substitute for ECON 2100.

This course examines the political and economic determinants of government policies. The course presents economic arguments for government action in the private economy. How government decides policies via simple majority voting, representative legislatures, and executive veto and agenda-setting politics will be studied. Applications include government spending and redistributive policies.

Prerequisites: ECON 2100 (formerly 101). ECON 2300 (formerly 103) is also recommended and MATH 1400 (formerly 104) or 1070 and MATH 1410 (formerly 114) or 1510 (formerly 115) or 1080.

Wharton students can satisfy the ECON 2100 prerequisite with BEPP 2500 (formerly 250) HONORS. The regular BEPP 2500 course does not count as a substitute for ECON 2100.

This course covers topics in labor supply and labor demand, income distribution, labor market contracts and work incentives, human capital, labor market discrimination, job training and unemployment.

Prerequisites: ECON 2100 (formerly 101).  MATH 1400 (formerly 104) or 1070 and MATH 1410 (formerly 114) or 1510 (formerly 115) or 1080. ECON 2300 (formerly 103) is also recommended. Credit cannot be received for both ECON 0430 (formerly 033) and 4430 (formerly 233).

Wharton students can satisfy the ECON 2100 prerequisite with BEPP 2500 (formerly 250) HONORS. The regular BEPP 2500 course does not count as a substitute for ECON 2100.

This course will use basic microeconomic tools to understand how the law often, but not always, promotes economic efficiency. Among the areas to be discussed will be tort law, property law, intellectual property, antitrust regulation.

Prerequisites: ECON 2100 (formerly 101), MATH 1400 (formerly 104) or 1070 and either 1410 (formerly 114) or 1510 (formerly 115) or 1080. Credit cannot be received for both ECON 0440 (formerly 036) and 4440.

Wharton students can satisfy the ECON 2100 prerequisite with BEPP 2500 (formerly 250) HONORS. The regular BEPP 2500 course does not count as a substitute for ECON 2100.

Theories of various industrial organizational structures and problems are developed, including monopoly, oligopoly, nonlinear pricing and price discrimination. These theories are used to model various industries, antitrust cases, and regulatory issues.

Prerequisites: ECON 2100 (formerly 101). MATH 1400 (formerly 104) or 1070 and MATH 1410 (formerly 114) or 1510 (formerly 115) or 1080. ECON 2300 (formerly 103) is also recommended.  Credit cannot be received for both ECON 0450 (formerly 035) and 4450.

Wharton students can satisfy the ECON 2100 prerequisite with BEPP 2500 (formerly 250) HONORS. The regular BEPP 2500 course does not count as a substitute for ECON 2100.

In this course we will use the tools of microeconomics to analyze the functioning of the health care system. We will draw from the sub-disciplines of information economics, industrial organization, labor economics, public economics, and behavioral economics. The primary goal is to use these tools to develop a critical analysis of the functioning of the health care system as well as of the policies aimed at improving it. We will learn about US specific institutional details and policies (most notably the Affordable Care Act), and we will compare them to other important international experiences.

Prerequisites: ECON 2100 (formerly 101), MATH 1400 (formerly 104) or 1070 and MATH 1410 (formerly 114) or MATH 1510 (formerly 115) or 1080.  Wharton students can satisfy the ECON 2100 prerequisite with BEPP 2500 (formerly 250) HONORS. The regular BEPP 2500 course does not count as a substitute for ECON 2100.)

This course examines the role of cities in the modern economy. Topics include the economic rationale of cities, the importance of agglomeration externalities, fiscal federalism and decentralization, the design of tax and spending policies for local governments, and the impact of local political institutions on resource allocations.

Applications include analyses of recent fiscal crises, real estate markets, local labor markets, the economics of crime, managing urban poverty, infrastructure and transportation, financing and the provision of public education, as well as managing labor relations.

The course explores the applications of modern methods in empirical microeconomics. Hence, good working knowledge of statistics and econometrics is required.

Prerequisites: ECON 2100 (formerly 101), ECON 2200 (formerly 102) or FNCE 1010 (formerly 101), ECON 2300 (formerly 103), 2310 (formerly 104), MATH 1400 (formerly 104) or 1070 and MATH 1410 (formerly 114) or 1510 (formerly 115) or 1080.

The course focuses on the educational decisions, including individual choices, institutional strategies and government policies. It is an elective course in economics and it is designed for junior and senior students.



During the first part of the course we will go over the mathematical and empirical tools needed to understand and perform quantitative analysis on topics in the economics of education. Students should expect to work on optimization methods, regression analysis and causal inference analysis.



After we have built a solid foundation of empirical and theoretical knowledge, we start thinking about educational decisions, including individual choices, institutional strategies, and government policies. We begin by framing education choices within a model of investing in human capital. Topics include measuring the costs and returns of education from an individual and public policy perspective, the relationship between education and inequality, and the role of K-12 and post-secondary institutions in economic growth. 

 

Prerequisites: ECON 2100 (formerly 101), ECON 2200 (formerly 102) or FNCE 1010 (formerly 101), and ECON 2300 (formerly 103).

This is an advanced undergraduate course on the digital economy. Our two main goals are (a) to understand how people and companies interact in digital markets and (b) to understand how digital markets should be designed. The course uses a combination of theoretical modeling and empirical evidence in order to achieve those goals. We analyze some key features that are prevalent in digital markets, including network effects, two-sided markets, search and matching, reputation systems, and the use of data. We also zoom in on individual markets, such as search engines, e-commerce platforms, and the gig economy.

Prerequisites: ECON 2100 (formerly 101) and ECON 2310 (formerly 104) and MATH 1400 (formerly 104) or 1070 and MATH 1410 (formerly 114) or MATH 1510 (formerly 115) or 1080.

The course analyzes the theories of International Trade for developed and developing countries. Topics covered will include direct investment, technology transfers and multinational firms. The course will examine the political economy of trade policy where both positive and normative arguments concerning free trade and restricted trade will be analyzed.

Prerequisites: ECON 2100 (formerly 101) and ECON 2200 (formerly 102) or FNCE 1010 (formerly 101), MATH 1400 (formerly 104) or 1070 and MATH1410 (formerly 114) or Math 1510 (formerly 115) or 1080. 

Antirequisite: ECON 0500 (formerly 050)

Wharton students can satisfy the ECON 2100 prerequisite with BEPP 2500 (formerly 250) HONORS. The regular BEPP 2500 course does not count as a substitute for ECON 2100.

A formal study of International Macroeconomics with emphasis on financial crises and policy responses in open economies. Topics covered include: macroeconomic equilibrium in open economies, theories of current account and exchange rate determination, the effects of exchange rate adjustments, macroeconomic policy under fixed and floating exchange rates, currency crises, and financial contagion. Preparation and presentation of a policy essay, and discussions of current international policy issues are also part of the curriculum.

Prerequisites: ECON 2100 (formerly 101) and ECON 2200 (formerly 102) or FNCE 1010 (formerly 101), MATH 1400 (formerly 104) or 1070 and MATH 1410 (formerly 114) or 1510 (formerly 115) or 1080. Prerequisites can’t be taken concurrently with 4520.

Antirequisite: ECON 0500 (formerly 050)

Wharton students can satisfy the ECON 2100 prerequisite with BEPP 2500 (formerly 250) HONORS. The regular BEPP 2500 course does not count as a substitute for ECON 2100. 

This course studies selected topics on developing economies related to models of growth and development, inequalities and poverty, population, human resources, the international sector and markets, institutions and policies.

Prerequisites: ECON 2100 (formerly 101), MATH 1400 (formerly 104) or 1070 and MATH 1410 (formerly 114) or 1510 (formerly 115) or 1080. ECON 2300 (formerly 103) is also recommended.

Wharton students can satisfy the ECON 2100 prerequisite with BEPP 2500 (formerly 250) HONORS. The regular BEPP 2500 course does not count as a substitute for ECON 2100.

The rise of China since its economic reform starting from 1978 is one of the most important developments the world witnessed in the twenty first century. In this seminar course, we explore topics including the political logic of China's economic reform, the institutional foundations of the Chinese economic growth miracle, as well as detailed analysis of Chinese financial markets, housing markets, fiscal reform, corruption/anti-corruption, labor market transitions, China's integration into the world economy, village democracy and its impact on resource allocation, the impact of population ageing, the impact of China on US economy and politics, among others. The discussions will focus on China, but will relate broadly to emerging and developed economies. The course will be based on reading and discussing research articles and books selected by the instructors.

Prerequisites: ECON 2100 (formerly 101); MATH 1400 (formerly 104) or 1070 and MATH 1410 (formerly 114) or MATH 1510 (formerly 115) or 1080. ECON 2300 (formerly 103) recommended. PSCI majors PSCI 0100 (formerly 110) recommended.

This course focuses on the interception between finance and economic growth by studying some of the most important events in economic history that have taken place over the last few centuries. Starting with the emergence of the modern capital markets and economic growth, the course examines in depth, major developments in financial history, such as the classical gold standard, the origins of central banking, the Great Depression, and the Bretton Woods system. However, this course goes beyond any standard course on financial history and examines how finance has affected economic growth in the long-run, from an international perspective and starts in the seventeenth century in Europe, up to the 1990s in South-East Asia.

Prerequisites: ECON 2100 (formerly 101) and ECON 2200 (formerly 102) or FNCE 1010 (formerly 101) and ECON 2300 (formerly 103) and MATH 1400 (formerly 104) or 1070 and MATH 1410 (formerly 114) or MATH 1510 (formerly 115) or 1080.

This course will study the political economy of Early America, from the British Settlement to c. 1820. In particular, we will explore the forces behind the economic growth of the British colonies, the economic forces behind the Revolution, the economic consequences of the Revolution, the political economy of the constitutional convention and ratification, the role of SCOTUS in creating a national market, and the opposing Hamilton-Jefferson views of an American economy. Early America is a fascinating and rich historical period, and we will need to skip many issues of interest. Nevertheless, we hope to provide you with a good overview of how a group of small peripheral colonies created an institutional arrangement that allowed them, in less than two centuries, to become the biggest economy in the world.

Prerequisites: ECON 2100 (formerly 101) and ECON 2200 (formerly 102) or FNCE 1010 (formerly 101)

This course surveys the history of the development of economic thought, beginning with the Classical school and the works of Smith, Ricardo, J.S. Mill, Marx and others and continuing to the 20th century thought, including Keynes, Hayek, and Arrow.

Prerequisites: ECON 2100 (formerly 101), ECON 2200 (formerly 102) or FNCE 1010 (formerly 101), and ECON 2300 (formerly 103)

This course will study how market economies have appeared and evolved over time and how economists have thought about them. The class will analyze market economies from Ancient Greece, Classical Rome, the Islamic world, Song’s China, Middle Ages Europe, and the Industrial Revolution. We will read and discuss selections from Adam Smith, Karl Marx, Max Weber, and F.A. Hayek among others. Even if the economic theory will structure much of the discussion, insights from intellectual history, microhistory, legal history, and institutional history will help to frame the main narrative.

Prerequisites: ECON 2100 (formerly 101); MATH 1400 (formerly 104) or 1070 and MATH 1410 (formerly 114) or 1510 (formerly 115) or 1080.

See the program webpage. This course, required for all honors majors, is a two-semester two-c.u. course.  The fall semester (ECON 4900) counts as one econ elective towards the major.  The spring semester (ECON 4910) counts only towards the honors requirement. Students conduct original research and write a thesis, under the supervision of a faculty advisor.

This is a graduate-level course that can serve as an economics elective for MathEcon majors. Non-MathEcon majors require special permission by the instructor and undergraduate chair.

The course provides an introduction to game theory. Game theory is a language to describe a strategic interaction and proposes solution concepts, which try to predict what rational players would do if they were faced with a specific game. The goal of the course is to provide students with sufficient knowledge of game theory to be able to read applied research papers. Topics include static games with complete information; dynamic games with complete information; static games with incomplete information; dynamic games with incomplete information; and contract theory.

Prerequisite(s): A strong mathematical background with knowledge of multivariable calculus, analysis, probability theory, and optimization. Moreover, knowledge of microeconomics. ECON 2100 (formerly 101) or ECON 6100 (formerly 681) will be helpful.