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Fall 2021

ECON 108 01 Quantitative Foundations of Microeconomics

Introductory microeconomics with a special emphasis on quantitative methods and examples. Intended for students with limited or no experience with calculus.

Prerequisite from Feed:

Enrollment limited. Online preregistration is required; visit economics.yale.edu/undergraduate-program for more information. May not be taken after ECON 110 or 115.

Instructor(s):
Tolga Koker
Category:
YCQR, YCSO, Microtheory, Introductory
Term Code:
202103
ECON 110 01 An Introduction to Microeconomic Analysis

Similar to ECON 115, but taught as a lecture discussion with limited enrollment.

Prerequisite from Feed:

Enrollment limited to first-years and sophomores. Online preregistration is required; visit economics.yale.edu/undergraduate-program for more information. May not be taken after ECON 108 or 115.

Instructor(s):
Tolga Koker
Category:
YCQR, YCSO, Microtheory, Introductory
Term Code:
202103
ECON 110 02 An Introduction to Microeconomic Analysis

Similar to ECON 115, but taught as a lecture discussion with limited enrollment.

Prerequisite from Feed:

Enrollment limited to first-years and sophomores. Online preregistration is required; visit economics.yale.edu/undergraduate-program for more information. May not be taken after ECON 108 or 115.

Instructor(s):
Tolga Koker
Category:
YCQR, YCSO, Microtheory, Introductory
Term Code:
202103
ECON 110 03 An Introduction to Microeconomic Analysis

Similar to ECON 115, but taught as a lecture discussion with limited enrollment.

Prerequisite from Feed:

Enrollment limited to first-years and sophomores. Online preregistration is required; visit economics.yale.edu/undergraduate-program for more information. May not be taken after ECON 108 or 115.

Instructor(s):
Tolga Koker
Category:
YCQR, YCSO, Microtheory, Introductory
Term Code:
202103
ECON 110 04 An Introduction to Microeconomic Analysis

Similar to ECON 115, but taught as a lecture discussion with limited enrollment.

Prerequisite from Feed:

Enrollment limited to first-years and sophomores. Online preregistration is required; visit economics.yale.edu/undergraduate-program for more information. May not be taken after ECON 108 or 115.

Instructor(s):
María Sáez Martí
Category:
YCQR, YCSO, Microtheory, Introductory
Term Code:
202103
ECON 110 05 An Introduction to Microeconomic Analysis

Similar to ECON 115, but taught as a lecture discussion with limited enrollment.

Prerequisite from Feed:

Enrollment limited to first-years and sophomores. Online preregistration is required; visit economics.yale.edu/undergraduate-program for more information. May not be taken after ECON 108 or 115.

Instructor(s):
María Sáez Martí
Category:
YCQR, YCSO, Microtheory, Introductory
Term Code:
202103
ECON 110 06 An Introduction to Microeconomic Analysis

Similar to ECON 115, but taught as a lecture discussion with limited enrollment.

Prerequisite from Feed:

Enrollment limited to first-years and sophomores. Online preregistration is required; visit economics.yale.edu/undergraduate-program for more information. May not be taken after ECON 108 or 115.

Instructor(s):
Katerina Simons
Category:
YCQR, YCSO, Microtheory, Introductory
Term Code:
202103
ECON 111 01 An Introduction to Macroeconomic Analysis

Similar to ECON 116, but taught as a lecture discussion with limited enrollment.

Prerequisite from Feed:

Enrollment limited to first-years and sophomores. Online preregistration is required; visit economics.yale.edu/undergraduate-program for more information. May not be taken after ECON 116. Prerequisite: ECON 108, 110, or 115.

Instructor(s):
Marnix Amand
Category:
YCSO, Introductory, Macroeconomics
Term Code:
202103
ECON 111 02 An Introduction to Macroeconomic Analysis

Similar to ECON 116, but taught as a lecture discussion with limited enrollment.

Prerequisite from Feed:

Enrollment limited to first-years and sophomores. Online preregistration is required; visit economics.yale.edu/undergraduate-program for more information. May not be taken after ECON 116. Prerequisite: ECON 108, 110, or 115.

Instructor(s):
Marnix Amand
Category:
YCSO, Introductory, Macroeconomics
Term Code:
202103
ECON 115 01 Introductory Microeconomics

An introduction to the basic tools of microeconomics to provide a rigorous framework for understanding how individuals, firms, markets, and governments allocate scarce resources. The design and evaluation of public policy.

Prerequisite from Feed:

May not be taken after ECON 108 or 110. 

Instructor(s):
Cormac O'Dea
Category:
YCQR, YCSO, Microtheory, Introductory
Term Code:
202103
ECON 116 01 Introductory Macroeconomics

An introduction that stresses how the macroeconomy works, including the determination of output, unemployment, inflation, interest rates, and exchange rates. Economic theory is applied to current events.

Prerequisite from Feed:

May not be taken after ECON 111. Prerequisite: ECON 108, 110, or 115. 

Instructor(s):
Samuel Kortum
Category:
YCSO, Introductory, Macroeconomics
Term Code:
202103
ECON 117 01 Introduction to Data Analysis and Econometrics

Introduction to data analysis from the beginning of the econometrics sequence; exposure to modern empirical economics; and development of credible economic analysis. This course emphasizes working directly and early with data, through such economic examples as studies of environmental/natural resource economics, intergenerational mobility, discrimination, and finance. Topics include: probability, statistics, and sampling; selection, causation and causal inference; regression and model specification; and machine learning and big data.

Prerequisite from Feed:

Prerequisites: ECON 108, 110, 115, or equivalent and familiarity with single variable calculus. Students who have taken ECON 131 may not receive major credit for this course.

Instructor(s):
Nicholas Ryan
Category:
YCQR, YCSO, Methodology, Core
Term Code:
202103
ECON 121 01 Intermediate Microeconomics

The theory of resource allocation and its applications. Topics include the theory of choice, consumer and firm behavior, production, price determination in different market structures, welfare, and market failure.

Prerequisite from Feed:

After introductory microeconomics and completion of the mathematics requirement for the major or its equivalent. Elementary techniques from multivariate calculus are introduced and applied, but prior knowledge is not assumed. May not be taken after ECON 125.

Instructor(s):
Evangelia Chalioti
Category:
YCQR, YCSO, Microtheory, Core
Term Code:
202103
ECON 122 01 Intermediate Macroeconomics

Contemporary theories of employment, finance, money, business fluctuations, and economic growth. Their implications for monetary and fiscal policy. Emphasis on empirical studies, financial and monetary crises, and recent policies and problems.

Prerequisite from Feed:

After two terms of introductory economics and completion of the mathematics requirement for the major or its equivalent. May not be taken after ECON 126.

Instructor(s):
Fabrizio Zilibotti
Category:
YCQR, YCSO, Core, Macroeconomics
Term Code:
202103
ECON 123 01 Intermediate Data Analysis and Econometrics

Comprehensive and theoretical examination of econometrics, with further exploration of topics covered in ECON 117. A term research project addresses a research question chosen by the student, and involves the application of learned methods to a relevant data set.

Prerequisite from Feed:

Prerequisites: ECON 108, 110, 115, or equivalent; ECON 117; and familiarity with single variable calculus.

Instructor(s):
Ed Vytlacil
Category:
YCQR, YCSO, Methodology, Core
Term Code:
202103
ECON 125 01 Microeconomic Theory

Similar to ECON 121 but with a more intensive treatment of consumer and producer theory, and covering additional topics including choice under uncertainty, game theory, contracting under hidden actions or hidden information, externalities and public goods, and general equilibrium theory. Recommended for students considering graduate study in economics.

Prerequisite from Feed:

After introductory economics, and MATH 118 or 120 or equivalent. May not be taken after ECON 121.

Instructor(s):
Category:
YCQR, YCSO, Microtheory, Core
Term Code:
202103
ECON 135 01 Introduction to Probability and Statistics

Foundations of mathematical statistics: probability theory, distribution theory, parameter estimation, hypothesis testing, regression, and computer programming. Recommended for students considering graduate study in economics.

Prerequisite from Feed:

Prerequisites: Introductory microeconomics and MATH 118 or MATH 120 and MATH 222; or MATH 120 and MATH 225.

Instructor(s):
Yusuke Narita
Category:
YCQR, YCSO, Methodology, Core
Term Code:
202103
ECON 159 01 Game Theory

An introduction to game theory and strategic thinking. Ideas such as dominance, backward induction, Nash equilibrium, evolutionary stability, commitment, credibility, asymmetric information, adverse selection, and signaling are applied to games played in class and to examples drawn from economics, politics, the movies, and elsewhere.

Prerequisite from Feed:

After introductory microeconomics. No prior knowledge of game theory assumed.

Instructor(s):
Benjamin Polak
Category:
YCQR, YCSO, Microtheory
Term Code:
202103
ECON 170 01 Health Economics and Public Policy

Application of economic principles to the study of the U.S. health care system. Emphasis on basic principles about the structure of the U.S. system, current problems, proposed solutions, and the context of health policy making and politics.

Prerequisite from Feed:

After introductory microeconomics.

Instructor(s):
Howard Forman
Category:
YCSO, Public, Health
Term Code:
202103
ECON 185 01 Global Economy

A global view of the world economy and the salient issues in the short and the long run. Economics of crises, fiscal policy, debt, inequality, global imbalances, climate change. The course is based on reading, debating, and applying cutting edge macroeconomic research.

Instructor(s):
Aleh Tsyvinski
Category:
YCSO
Term Code:
202103
ECON 187 01 European Economic History, 1815–1945

European economic growth and development from the industrialization of Germany and other Continental countries in the early nineteenth century through World War II. The role of institutional development, the role of trade and imperialism, agricultural improvements, and industrialization.

Prerequisite from Feed:

After two terms of introductory economics.

Instructor(s):
Timothy Guinnane
Category:
YCSO, History, Education
Term Code:
202103
ECON 209 01 Economic Analysis of Law

This course is intended to provide an introduction to the economic analysis of law. We examine the economic rationale(s) underlying various legal doctrines of both common law and statutory law, as well as the economic consequences of different legal doctrines. Previous coursework in economics, while helpful, is not a prerequisite for the course.

Instructor(s):
Category:
YCSO
Term Code:
202103
ECON 212 01 Introduction to Political Economy

The course is an introduction to important economic ideas:  preferences and rationality, Pareto efficiency, economic equilibrium in a capitalist economy, externalities, the role of the state,  uncertainty and von Neumann-Morgenstern utility, the principle of insurance, elementary game theory (Nash equilibrium), the median voter theorem, political equilibrium with party competition, distributive justice, equality of opportunity,  and Arrow’s impossibility theorem. These topics are essential tools for political economists. 

Prerequisite from Feed:

Prerequisite: One year of calculus or intermediate microeconomics with calculus.

Instructor(s):
Category:
YCSO
Term Code:
202103
ECON 251 01 Financial Economics

Introduction to the economic analysis of investment decisions and financial markets. Topics include time discounting, portfolio choice, equilibrium pricing, arbitrage, market efficiency, equity valuation, fixed-income securities, derivative pricing, and financial intermediation.

Prerequisite from Feed:

Prerequisite: Introductory microeconomics.

Instructor(s):
Eduardo Davila
Category:
YCQR, YCSO, Finance
Term Code:
202103
ECON 265 01 History of Economic Thought

The objective of this course is to give an overview of how economic analysis has developed, and an introduction to the varied ways in which some of the great economists of the past have gone about studying how the economy functions. We discuss the relevance of their theories to public policy and the role of the state, and consider the roles of pre-analytic vision, improvements in analytical technique, and external events (such as the Great Depression or Global Financial Crisis) in the development of economic analysis.

Prerequisite from Feed:

Prerequisites: ECON 115 and ECON 116.

Instructor(s):
Category:
YCSO, History, Political Economy
Term Code:
202103
ECON 330 01 Economics of Natural Resources

Microeconomic theory brought to bear on current issues in natural resource policy. Topics include regulation of pollution, hazardous waste management, depletion of the world’s forests and fisheries, wilderness and wildlife preservation, and energy planning.

Prerequisite from Feed:

After introductory microeconomics.

Instructor(s):
Robert Mendelsohn
Category:
YCQR, YCSO, Environment, Public
Term Code:
202103
ECON 350 01 Mathematical Economics: General Equilibrium Theory

An introduction to general equilibrium theory and its application to finance and the theory of money. Recommended for students considering graduate study in economics, or a career in quantitative finance.

Prerequisite from Feed:

Prerequisites: After MATH 118 or 120, and intermediate microeconomics.

Instructor(s):
John Geanakoplos
Category:
YCQR, YCSO, Microtheory
Term Code:
202103
ECON 363 01 The Global Financial Crisis

Comprehensive survey of the causes, events, policy responses, and aftermath of the recent global financial crisis. Study of the dynamics of financial crises in a modern economy. Prerequisite: Successful completion of a course in introductory economics.

Instructor(s):
Andrew Metrick
Category:
YCSO, International, Macroeconomics, YXWR
Term Code:
202103
ECON 407 01 International Finance

A study of how consumers and firms are affected by the globalization of the world economy. Topics include trade costs, the current account, exchange rate pass-through, international macroeconomic co-movement, multinational production, and gains from globalization. 

Prerequisite from Feed:

Prerequisite: intermediate macroeconomics or equivalent.

Instructor(s):
Ana Fieler
Category:
YCSO, International, Finance
Term Code:
202103
ECON 411 01 Economics of Uncertainty and Information

Individual and collective choice in the presence of uncertainty and asymmetric information. Implications of such decision making for economic phenomena. Basic analytical tools for studying decisions under uncertainty. Asset markets, adverse selection, screening, signaling, moral hazard, incomplete contracts, bilateral trade with asymmetric information, and mechanism design.

Prerequisite from Feed:

Prerequisites: intermediate microeconomics and econometrics.

Instructor(s):
Soenje Reiche
Category:
Environment, Microtheory
Term Code:
202103
ECON 414 01 Economic Models of New Technology

Analysis of firms’ incentives to innovate, focusing on the effects of market power on the intensity of innovative activity. Topics include strategic investment in innovation, patent races, the diffusion of knowledge, intellectual property (IP) protection systems, IP licensing, research joint ventures, litigation, venture capital, and conflicts between IP rights and antitrust regulation.

Prerequisite from Feed:

Prerequisites: intermediate microeconomics and econometrics.

Instructor(s):
Evangelia Chalioti
Category:
YCSO, Industrial Organization
Term Code:
202103
ECON 419 01 Financial Time Series Econometrics

This is an advanced course covers basic univariate and multivariate models and methods used to analyze financial and economic time series data and panel time series data. Topics include: classic linear models; serial dependence, autocorrelation in error variances (ARCH, GARCH); methods that allow for nonlinearity, tail dependence, comovements, conditional value at risk, fat-tails, nonstationarity; vector autoregressive models; factor models; Markov switching, latent factors, measurement errors, stochastic volatility; empirical asset pricing models. The aim of the course is to help students write their senior essays and start their own research in economics and finance.

Prerequisite from Feed:

Prerequisites: ECON 117 and 123, or ECON 135 and 136.

Instructor(s):
Xiaohong Chen
Category:
Methodology
Term Code:
202103
ECON 424 01 Central Banking

Introduction to the different roles and responsibilities of modern central banks, including the operation of payments systems, monetary policy, supervision and regulation, and financial stability. Discussion of different ways to structure central banks to best manage their responsibilities.

Prerequisite from Feed:

Prerequisites: Intermediate Microeconomics, Intermediate Macroeconomics, and Introductory Econometrics.

Instructor(s):
William English
Category:
Term Code:
202103
ECON 433 01 The Economics of Space

The aim of this course is to analyze the ways that geography determines economic outcomes. We discuss and analyze data on regional economic activity and how economic shocks propagate in space. We pair those data with simple models where geography plays a crucial role in the determination of economic activity and discuss how changes in this geography lead some regions to grow and economic outcomes to diverge. Various policies that affect the spatial allocation of economic activity, such as infrastructure investment, local taxes, and transfers, are analyzed

Prerequisite from Feed:

Prerequisites: MATH 118, 120, or permission of instructor.

Instructor(s):
Costas Arkolakis
Category:
YCSO, Methodology, Public, Developent
Term Code:
202103
ECON 434 01 Labor Economics: Inequality and Social Mobility

The objective of this advanced course is to study various aspects of inequality and social mobility and to understand their trends over time and their drivers. Although we briefly study some international comparisons, the focus of the course is inequality in the US and, to a less extent, the UK. We consider inequalities among different countries only tangentially.

Prerequisite from Feed:

Prerequisites: ECON 121 and Econometrics.

Instructor(s):
Orazio Attanasio
Category:
YCSO, Public, Labor
Term Code:
202103
ECON 438 01 Applied Econometrics: Politics, Sports, Microeconomics

This course has an applied econometrics focus. Topics include voting behavior, betting markets, and various issues in sports. The aim of the course is to help students prepare original empirical research using econometric tools and to read empirical papers in economics and other social sciences. Students write three empirical papers. The first can be an extension of an existing article, where some of the results are duplicated and then extended. The second is similar to the first with no example provided. The third is an original paper within the range of topics covered in the course, where data are collected and analyzed using relevant econometric techniques.

Prerequisite from Feed:

Prerequisites: Two courses in econometrics or statistics, or one course with special permission from the instructor.

Instructor(s):
Ray Fair
Category:
Methodology, Political Economy
Term Code:
202103
ECON 444 01 Market Inefficiencies and the Limits of Arbitrage

The role of hedge funds in the United States financial markets and hedge fund behavior; understanding what hedge funds do, why they exist, and how they are different from other investment vehicles. Study of investment strategies that provide opportunity and risk for investors and study of academic papers analyzing (risky) arbitrage strategies.

Prerequisite from Feed:

Prerequisite: intermediate microeconomics and econometrics.

Instructor(s):
Michael J Pascutti
Category:
Finance
Term Code:
202103
ECON 456 01 Private Equity Investing

A case-oriented study of principal issues and investment types found in substantial private equity portfolios. Discussion of enterprise valuation, value creation, business economics, negotiation, and legal structure, based on primary source materials and original cases.

Prerequisite from Feed:

Prerequisite: ECON 251 or ECON 252 or ECON 255.

Instructor(s):
Michael Schmertzler
Category:
YCSO, Finance
Term Code:
202103
ECON 467 01 Economic Evolution of the Latin American and Caribbean Countries

Economic evolution and prospects of the Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) countries. Topics include the period from independence to the 1930s; import substitution and industrialization to the early 1980s; the debt crisis and the “lost decade”; reform and disappointment in the late 1980s and the 1990s; exploration of selected episodes in particular countries; and speculations about the future.

Prerequisite from Feed:

Prerequisities: intermediate microeconomics and macroeconomics.

Instructor(s):
Ernesto Zedillo
Category:
Term Code:
202103
ECON 472 01 Economics of Artificial Intelligence and Innovation

This course studies the economics of innovation and the effects of artificial intelligence on different industries. Topics include economics of the intellectual property (IP) protection system; strategic choices in innovation and competition; patent races; measurement and big data; the sharing and digitalized economy; collective intelligence and decisions; online auctions; venture capital; legal and social infrastructure.

Prerequisite from Feed:

Prerequisites: ECON 115 or equivalent; ECON 121.

Instructor(s):
Evangelia Chalioti
Category:
YCSO, International, Macroeconomics
Term Code:
202103
ECON 475 01 Discrimination in Law, Theory, and Practice

How law and economic theory define and conceptualize economic discrimination; whether economic models adequately describe behaviors of discriminators as documented in court cases and government hearings; the extent to which economic theory and econometric techniques aid our understanding of actual marketplace discrimination.

Prerequisite from Feed:

Prerequisites: introductory microeconomics and at least one additional course in Economics, African American Studies, Ethnicity, Race, and Migration, or Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies.

Instructor(s):
Gerald Jaynes
Category:
Poverty, Law
Term Code:
202103
ECON 480 01 Banking Crises and Financial Stability

Focus on systemic risk, banking crises, financial stability and macroprudential policies. Additional emphasis on systemic risk and prudential policies in peripheral European economies and emerging economies.

Prerequisite from Feed:

Prerequisites: ECON 115 and 116, or equivalent.

Instructor(s):
Sigridur Benediktsdottir
Category:
YCSO
Term Code:
202103
ECON 486 01 Dynamic Games

This course explores topics on dynamic games: we consider situations where agents interact repeatedly. We cover applications related to a range of fields from industrial organization (price wars and oligopoly with imperfect monitoring) to macroeconomic policy (time consistency). Students should have a solid background in multivariate calculus, be comfortable with rigorous proofs and mathematical arguments, and be willing to learn further mathematical tools as needed.

Prerequisite from Feed:

Prerequisites: either ECON 121 or ECON 125, as well as completion of the mathematics requirement of the economics major.

Instructor(s):
Anna Sanktjohanser
Category:
YCSO, Industrial Organization, Macroeconomics
Term Code:
202103
ECON 491 01 The Senior Essay

Students wishing to write a senior essay must choose their topics and advisers by Monday, October 4, 2021. One-term senior essays are due on Wednesday December 8, 2021 by 4:30 pm. Two-term senior essays are due by 4:30 pm on Wednesday, April 6, 2022. Essays should be submitted electronically to the Economics department (qazi.azam@yale.edu) by the due date. Late essays will not be accepted without a dean’s excuse. Advisers are chosen with the assistance of the DUS, lecturer and TA. The format and character of the departmental senior essay may vary to suit the interest of the student and the demands of the topic, but it is expected that the tools and concepts of economic analysis will be employed and that the essay will contain original research. Paper lengths may vary; the normal expectation is thirty pages. Students may receive up to two credits for the senior essay, though it counts as only one departmental seminar whether one or two terms are taken. Please see the canvas page for an introductory video. Senior essay Q&A session will be held shortly before the start of school.  Senior essay prospectus forms are due Monday, October 4, 2021. Students who do not turn the prospectus in on time will not be permitted to write an essay.

Prerequisite from Feed:

NA

Instructor(s):
Ebonya Washington
Category:
Term Code:
202103
ECON 498 01 Directed Reading

Junior and senior economics majors desiring a directed reading course in special topics in economics not covered in other graduate or undergraduate courses may elect this course, not more than once, with written permission of the director of undergraduate studies and of the instructor. The instructor meets with the student regularly, typically for an hour a week, and the student writes a paper or a series of short essays. Junior and senior majors may take this course for a letter grade, but it does not meet the requirement for a department seminar.

Instructor(s):
Ebonya Washington
Category:
Term Code:
202103

Source URL: https://economics.yale.edu/undergraduate/courses-fall