Fundamentals of Economics for PPEL
This course introduces fundamental concepts of microeconomics. We study consumer behavior and decision-making to understand the fundamentals of demand theory. We examine concepts of production and the supply of goods. After modelling the technology of a firm, we analyze the case where firms face competitive factor and production markets. We then deviate from the competitive paradigm to study monopolies and monopolistic competition. We also explore the concepts of general equilibrium and market efficiency, public goods, public choice, transaction costs, and institutions.
Behavioral and Experimental Economics for PPEL
Students are introduced to how behavioral economists explain a range of psychological and social phenomena, and how those explanations differ from standard economic ones. Topics may include drug use, crime, gambling, over-eating, overconfidence and procrastination. In particular, we study various ways in which (apparent) irrationality influences people’s judgment and decision-making. We also study how experimental economics has been used to test standard economic theory, and to both test and improve upon ideas in behavioral economics.
Economics of the Family, Gender, and Inequality
This course covers theoretical and empirical models of microeconomics of the family. The course critically reviews the current literature on household economics (or economics of the family), with attention to assumptions made in modeling household decisions and issues with identifying empirical relationships and making causal inferences. We discuss current applications of the economist’s approach to studying the family. Relevant topics include marriage, divorce, investment in children, intergenerational transfers, and migration.
Capstone Seminar: Understanding Social Preferences Using Experimental Methods
This course covers empirical approaches to understanding social preferences. We study trust, fairness, cooperation, reciprocity, altruism, and social norms. We learn about economics experiments used to identify social preferences in a wide array of contexts.
Capitalism and Socialism
This class is an introduction to the comparative analysis of economic systems. We cover fundamental questions about how to define an economic system, and practical questions about how to evaluate the performance of different systems. The class also provides an introduction to the field of Philosophy, Politics, Economics and Law (PPEL) by exploring the connections between economic and political institutions, and the use of moral and political philosophy to set goals for public policy. The class also encourages thinking about big questions regarding the long-term sustainability of capitalism, and whether we should aim for the replacement of capitalism with some better system or only for the improvement of capitalism.
Previously taught at Michigan State University, Department of Agricultural, Food, and Resource Economics:
Introductory Econometrics
This is a masters-level econometrics course. The purpose of the course is to provide students with a core set of empirical skills to test economic theories and to address real-world economic problems. Much of the underlying statistical theory and estimation techniques will be covered, but the emphasis of the course is on the empirical applications with a focus on model specification, estimation, testing, and interpretation of results. Topics covered in this course are equivalent to those covered in a Ph.D. level econometrics sequences (for non-econometric major) offered in a standard economics department. However, the materials in this course are taught at a much more basic level.