Economics
College of Letters and Science
Department Office: 530 Evans Hall, (510) 642-0822
Chair: James Powell, PhD
Department Website: Economics
Overview
Founded in 1903, our department is well-known for the excellence of its teaching and advising, with a strong reputation for producing outstanding PhD graduates, as well as rigorous and innovative economic research. In recent years, UC Berkeley economics PhD's have been hired at many other leading institutions, including Harvard, MIT, Yale, the U.S. Federal Reserve, and the World Bank. We are also consistently ranked among the world's top research departments. Berkeley faculty have won five Nobel Prizes , five John Bates Clark Medals , and 21 Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellowships (an average of one per year since 1995). Berkeley economics faculty and students have done ground-breaking work in economic theory, econometrics, macroeconomics, and all major fields of applied research, and have served as policymakers at the highest levels, both in the US and abroad.
Admission to the Major
As an impacted major with a highly competitive admissions process, the economics major is capped. Students who want to apply to the economics major must have completed or be currently enrolled in all the major prerequisites. After Fall 2004, students admitted to Berkeley as freshmen must apply by their fifth semester of post-high school coursework unless they have fewer than 80 total units. This total includes coursework in progress but excludes high school enrichment units, e.g. Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate, or other college units earned prior to high school graduation. Transfer students admitted to Berkeley in Fall 2006 and later are required to enroll in missing prerequisites and apply to the major during their first semester at Berkeley. The unit cap does not apply to transfer students.
For more information, please visit our website.
Major Requirements
Prerequisites
One year of calculus (Mathematics 1A-1B or Mathematics 16A-16B) and one semester of statistics: either Statistics 20, 21, 25, 101, 102, 131A or 134 (the statistics course must have a calculus prerequisite); Economics 1 or 2; and Economics 100A, 100B, 101A, or 101B. At least one semester of the calculus/statistics requirement must be completed at UC Berkeley.
Lower and Upper Division Requirements
Economics 100A and 100B, or 101A and 101B, Econometrics (either Economics 140 or 141) and five upper division economics courses. All courses must be taken on a letter-graded basis.
Advising
All majors are encouraged to consult with faculty advisers and the undergraduate adviser frequently in planning their programs. Students planning to do graduate work in economics are urged to take more quantitative courses in economics.
Department Honors
Students interested in graduating with honors in economics should consult with a faculty adviser no later than their first semester of the senior year. The department recommends a student for graduation with honors based on: evidence of superior performance provided by a thesis written in the senior year, and the student's course grade record overall and in the major. The minimum major grade point average (GPA) requirement is 3.5 in upper division economics courses and 3.3 GPA overall. The senior thesis may be an extension of a seminar paper prepared under the continued guidance of a faculty member through enrollment in H195A/B.
Graduate Program
The graduate program trains doctoral students interested in pursuing advanced study and conducting original research in economics. A strong mathematics background is a must. Detailed information concerning admission, financial aid, and degree requirements may be found on the Department of Economics website .
New admissions to the graduate program are restricted to students pursuing the PhD degree. There is no external, terminal program for the MA degree; only students enrolled at the Berkeley Law or in other doctoral programs at Berkeley may enroll for an M.A. degree in economics if approval is given by both departments.
Other requirements for the internal M.A. degree are as follows:
- Coursework in economic theory equivalent to Economics 101A-101B, 200A-200B, or 201A, 202A
- Completion of 24 units of approved coursework, of which 12 units must be in graduate economics courses numbered 201 or greater
- Satisfactory performance in two written field examinations (interested students should contact the graduate adviser for further details and an application at gradofc@econ.berkeley.edu )
Law and Economics
Berkeley Law and the Department of Economics sponsor a concurrent program which permits students to study for the degree of Juris Doctor (JD) while preparing for the PhD in economics. In four years, a well-prepared student can receive the law degree and also complete the pre-thesis requirements for the PhD. Further information may be obtained from the graduate adviser of the Department of Economics at gradofc@econ.berkeley.edu .
ECON 1 Introduction to Economics 4 Units
Department: Economics
Course level: Undergraduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall, spring and summer
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 2 hours of Lecture and 2 hours of Discussion per week for 15 weeks. 4 hours of Lecture and 4 hours of Discussion per week for 8 weeks.
A survey of economics designed to give an overview of the field.
Students will receive 2 units of credit for 1 after taking Economics 3 or Environmental Economics and Policy 1; no credit after taking Economics 2.
ECON 2 Introduction to Economics--Lecture Format 4 Units
Department: Economics
Course level: Undergraduate
Term course may be offered: Spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 3 hours of Lecture and 1 hour of Discussion per week for 15 weeks.
The course provides a survey of economics principles and methods. It covers both microeconomics, the study of consumer choice, firm behavior, and market interaction, and macroeconomics, the study of economic growth, unemployment, and inflation. Special emphasis is placed on the application of economic tools to contemporary economic problems and policies. Economics 2 differs from Economics 1 in that it has an additional hour of lecture per week and can thus cover topics in greater depth. It is particularly appropriate for intended economics majors.
Students will receive no credit for 2 after taking 1; 2 units after taking 3 or Environmental Economics and Policy 1.
ECON C3/ENVECON C1 Introduction to Environmental Economics and Policy 4 Units
Department: Economics; Environmental Economics and Policy
Course level: Undergraduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 3 hours of Lecture and 1 hour of Discussion per week for 15 weeks.
Prerequisites: Mathematics 32.
Introduction to microeconomics with emphasis on resource, agricultural, and environmental issues.
Students will receive 2 units of credit for 1 after taking Economics 1.
ECON 24 Freshman Seminar 1 Unit
Department: Economics
Course level: Undergraduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: The grading option will be decided by the instructor when the class is offered.
Hours and format: 1 hour of Seminar per week for 15 weeks.
The Freshman Seminar Program has been designed to provide new students with the opportunity to explore an intellectual topic with a faculty member in a small seminar setting. Freshman seminars are offered in all campus departments. Topics vary from department to department and semester to semester. Enrollment limited to 15 freshman.
Course may be repeated for credit as topic varies. Course may be repeated for credit when topic changes.
ECON 84 Sophomore Seminar 1 or 2 Units
Department: Economics
Course level: Undergraduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall, spring and summer
Grading: The grading option will be decided by the instructor when the class is offered.
Hours and format: 1 hour of seminar per week per unit for 15 weeks. 1 and 1 half hours of seminar per week per unit for 10 weeks. 2 hours of seminar per week per unit for 8 weeks. 3 hours of seminar per week per unit for 5 weeks.
Prerequisites: At discretion of instructor.
Sophomore seminars are small interactive courses offered by faculty members in departments all across the campus. Sophomore seminars offer opportunity for close, regular intellectual contact between faculty members and students in the crucial second year. The topics vary from department to department and semester to semester. Enrollment limited to 15 sophomores.
Course may be repeated for credit as topic varies. Course may be repeated for credit when topic changes.
ECON 98 Directed Group Study 1 - 4 Units
Department: Economics
Course level: Undergraduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Offered for pass/not pass grade only.
Hours and format: Hours to be arranged.
Written proposal must be approved by Department Chair. Seminars for the group study of selected topics, which will vary from year to year. Topics may be initiated by students.
Course may be repeated for credit. Course may be repeated for credit when topic changes. Enrollment is restricted; see the Introduction to Courses and Curricula section of this catalog.
ECON 100A Economic Analysis--Micro 4 Units
Department: Economics
Course level: Undergraduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall, spring and summer
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 3 hours of Lecture and 1 to 2 hour of Discussion per week for 15 weeks. 6 hours of Lecture and 1.5 to 4 hours of Discussion per week for 8 weeks.
Prerequisites: 1 or 2 or C3, or Environmental Economics and Policy 1, and Mathematics 1A or 16A, and Mathematics 1B or 16B, or equivalent.
Resource allocation and price determination.
Students will receive no credit for 100A after taking 101A or Undergraduate Business Administration 101A. A deficient grade in Undergraduate Business Administration 101A may be repeated by taking 100A.
ECON 100B Economic Analysis--Macro 4 Units
Department: Economics
Course level: Undergraduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall, spring and summer
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 3 hours of Lecture and 1 to 2 hour of Discussion per week for 15 weeks. 6 hours of Lecture and 1.5 to 4 hours of Discussion per week for 8 weeks.
Prerequisites: 1 or 2, and Mathematics 1A or 16A.
A study of the factors which determine national income, employment, and price levels, with attention to the effects of monetary and fiscal policy.
Students will receive no credit for 100B after taking 101B or Undergraduate Business Administration 101B. A deficient grade in Undergraduate Business Administration 101B may be repeated by taking 100B.
ECON 101A Economic Theory--Micro 4 Units
Department: Economics
Course level: Undergraduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall, spring and summer
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 3 hours of Lecture and 1 to 2 hour of Discussion per week for 15 weeks.
Prerequisites: 1 or 2, Mathematics 53 or equivalent or consent of instructor.
Theory of resource allocation and price determination with an emphasis on microeconomic principles.
Students will not receive credit for 101A after taking 100A or Undergraduate Business Administration 101A. A deficient grade in Undergraduate Business Administration 101A may be repeated by taking 101A.
ECON 101B Economic Theory--Macro 4 Units
Department: Economics
Course level: Undergraduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 3 hours of Lecture and 1 to 2 hour of Discussion per week for 15 weeks.
Prerequisites: 1 or 2, and Mathematics 1A and 1B.
A study of theories of the determination of national income, employment, and price levels, with attention to the effects of monetary and fiscal policy.
Students will not receive credit for 101B after taking 100B or Undergraduate Business Administration 101B. A deficient grade in Undergraduate Business Administration 101B may be repeated by taking 101B.
ECON C102/ENVECON C102 Natural Resource Economics 4 Units
Department: Economics; Environmental Economics and Policy
Course level: Undergraduate
Term course may be offered: Fall
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 3 hours of Lecture and 1 hour of Discussion per week for 15 weeks.
Prerequisites: 100, or Economics 100A or 100B.
Introduction to the economics of natural resources. Land and the concept of economic rent. Models of optimal depletion of nonrenewable resources and optimal use of renewable resources. Application to energy, forests, fisheries, water, and climate change. Resources, growth, and sustainability.
Instructor: Sunding
ECON C103/MATH C103 Introduction to Mathematical Economics 4 Units
Department: Economics; Mathematics
Course level: Undergraduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 3 hours of Lecture per week for 15 weeks.
Prerequisites: Math 53 and 54.
Selected topics illustrating the application of mathematics to economic theory. This course is intended for upper-division students in Mathematics, Statistics, the Physical Sciences, and Engineering, and for economics majors with adequate mathematical preparation. No economic background is required.
Formerly known as 103.
ECON 104 Advanced Microeconomic Theory 4 Units
Department: Economics
Course level: Undergraduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 3 hours of Lecture and Zero to 1 hour of Discussion per week for 15 weeks.
Prerequisites: 101A or consent of instructor.
This course explores some issues in advanced microeconomic theory, with special emphasis on game-theoretic models and the theory of choice under uncertainty. Specific applications will vary from year to year, but will generally include topics from information economics and models of strategic interaction.
ECON 105 History of Economic Thought 4 Units
Department: Economics
Course level: Undergraduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall, spring and summer
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 3 hours of Lecture per week for 15 weeks. 5.5 hours of Lecture per week for 8 weeks. 7.5 hours of Lecture per week for 6 weeks.
A survey of the theories of major economists from Adam Smith to Keynes.
ECON C110/POL SCI C135 Game Theory in the Social Sciences 4 Units
Department: Economics; Political Science
Course level: Undergraduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 3 hours of Lecture and 1 hour of Discussion per week for 15 weeks.
A non-technical introduction to game theory. Basic principle, and models of interaction among players, with a strong emphasis on applications to political science, economics, and other social sciences.
Students will receive no credit for C135 after taking Economics 104. Formerly known as 135.
ECON N110 Game Theory in the Social Sciences 4 Units
Department: Economics
Course level: Undergraduate
Term course may be offered: Summer
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 3 hours of Lecture and 1 hour of Discussion per week for 15 weeks. 6 hours of Lecture per week for 8 weeks.
A non-technical introduction to game theory. Basic principle, and models of interaction among players, with a strong emphasis on applications to political science, economics, and other social sciences.
Students will receive no credit for N110 after taking 104, C110, or Political Science C135. Formerly known as 135.
ECON 113 American Economic History 4 Units
Department: Economics
Course level: Undergraduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall, spring and summer
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 3 hours of Lecture and Zero to 1 hour of Discussion per week for 15 weeks. 6 hours of Lecture and Zero to 2 hours of Discussion per week for 8 weeks.
Prerequisites: 1 or 2 or C3, or Environmental Economics C1.
A survey of trends in the American economy; emphasis on factors explaining economic growth and on the changing distribution of the gains and losses associated with growth.
ECON N113 American Economic History 4 Units
Department: Economics
Course level: Undergraduate
Term course may be offered: Summer
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 3 hours of Lecture and 1 hour of Discussion per week for 15 weeks. 8 hours of Lecture per week for 8 weeks.
Prerequisites: 1 or 2.
A survey of trends in the American economy; emphasis on factors explaining economic growth and on the changing distribution of the gains and losses associated with growth.
ECON 115 The World Economy in the Twentieth Century 4 Units
Department: Economics
Course level: Undergraduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 3 hours of Lecture and Zero to 1 hour of Discussion per week for 15 weeks.
Prerequisites: 1 or 2.
Development of the world economic system with particular reference to world-wide trading relationships. This course is equivalent to HISTORY 160; students will not receive credit for both courses.
ECON 119 Psychology and Economics 4 Units
Department: Economics
Course level: Undergraduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall, spring and summer
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 3 hours of Lecture and Zero to 1 hour of Discussion per week for 15 weeks. 6 hours of Lecture and Zero to 2 hours of Discussion per week for 8 weeks.
Prerequisites: 100A or 101A.
This course presents psychological and experimental economics research demonstrating departures from perfect rationality, self-interest, and other classical assumptions of economics and explores ways that these departures can be mathematically modeled and incorporated into mainstream positive and normative economics. The course will focus on the behavioral evidence itself, especially on specific formal assumptions that capture the findings in a way that can be incorporated into economics. The implications of these new assumptions for theoretical and empirical economics will be explored.
ECON 121 Industrial Organization and Public Policy 4 Units
Department: Economics
Course level: Undergraduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall, spring and summer
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 3 hours of Lecture and Zero to 1 hour of Discussion per week for 15 weeks. 6 hours of Lecture and Zero to 1.5 hours of Discussion per week for 8 weeks.
Prerequisites: 100A or 101A.
The organization and structure of production in the U.S. economy. Determinants of market structure, business behavior, and economic performance. Implications for antitrust policy.
ECON 122 Industrial Organization Seminar 4 Units
Department: Economics
Course level: Undergraduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 3 hours of Seminar per week for 15 weeks.
Prerequisites: 121 and/or consent of instructor.
Seminar on problems in the field of industrial organization. Seminar paper is required.
ECON 123 Government Regulation of Industry 3 Units
Department: Economics
Course level: Undergraduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 3 hours of Lecture per week for 15 weeks.
Prerequisites: 121.
Problems of public policy in the field of industrial organization. Analysis of regulatory consequences with particular attention to economic performance.
ECON 124 Special Topics in Industrial Organization 4 Units
Department: Economics
Course level: Undergraduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 3 hours of Lecture per week for 15 weeks.
Prerequisites: 121.
Analysis of market structure, conduct and performance in selected industries. See course announcement for current topics.
ECON C125/ENVECON C101 Environmental Economics 4 Units
Department: Economics; Environmental Economics and Policy
Course level: Undergraduate
Term course may be offered: Spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 3 hours of Lecture and 1 hour of Discussion per week for 15 weeks.
Prerequisites: 100, Mathematics 16A-16B, or Economics 100A or 101A.
Theories of externalities and public goods applied to pollution and environmental policy. Trade-off between production and environmental amenities. Assessing nonmarket value of environmental amenities. Remediation and clean-up policies. Environment and development. Biodiversity management.
Instructor: Zilberman
ECON 131 Public Economics 4 Units
Department: Economics
Course level: Undergraduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall, spring and summer
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 3 hours of Lecture and Zero to 1 hour of Discussion per week for 15 weeks. 5.5 hours of Lecture and Zero to 2 hours of Discussion per week for 8 weeks.
Prerequisites: 100A-100B or 101A-101B.
This course focuses on the role of the government in the economy from a theoretical and empirical perspective. The aim of the course is to provide an understanding of the reasons for government intervention in the economy, analyzing the merits of possible government policies, and the response of economic agents to the government's actions. The course covers the analysis of tax policy, social insurance programs, public goods, environmental protection, and the interaction between different levels of government. Special emphasis is set on current government policy issues such as social security reform, income tax reform, and budget deficits.
ECON 132 Seminar in Public Sector Economics 4 Units
Department: Economics
Course level: Undergraduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 3 hours of Seminar per week for 15 weeks.
Prerequisites: 131 and/or consent of instructor.
Enrollment will be limited. A seminar paper is required.
ECON 134 Macroeconomic Policy from the Great Depression to Today 4 Units
Department: Economics
Course level: Undergraduate
Term course may be offered: Spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 3 hours of Lecture and 1 hour of Discussion per week for 15 weeks.
Prerequisites: 100B or 101B.
This course will analyze the macroeconomic challenges and policy responses in the United States over the past century. Among the key topics studied are the Great Depression and the New Deal; boom and bust monetary and fiscal policy in the early post-World War II period; the Volcker disinflation and the Great Moderation; and the 2008 financial crisis and the Great Recession.
Instructor: Romer
ECON 136 Financial Economics 4 Units
Department: Economics
Course level: Undergraduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall, spring and summer
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 3 hours of Lecture and Zero to 1 hour of Discussion per week for 15 weeks. 6 hours of Lecture and Zero to 2 hours of Discussion per week for 8 weeks. 8 hours of Lecture and Zero to 2 hours of Discussion per week for 6 weeks.
Prerequisites: 100A or 101A, and one semester of statistics.
Analysis of financial assets and institutions. The course emphasizes modern asset valuation theory and the role of financial intermediaries, and their regulation, in the financial system.
Students will receive no credit for 136 after taking Undergraduate Business Administration 103. Students intending on majoring in Business should not take 136.
ECON N136 Financial Economics 4 Units
Department: Economics
Course level: Undergraduate
Term course may be offered: Summer
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 3 hours of Lecture and 1 hour of Discussion per week for 15 weeks. 8 hours of Lecture per week for 8 weeks.
Prerequisites: 100A or 101A, and one semester of statistics.
Analysis of financial assets and institutions. The course emphasizes modern asset valuation theory and the role of financial intermediaries, and their regulation, in the financial system.
ECON 138 Financial and Behavioral Economics 4 Units
Department: Economics
Course level: Undergraduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall, spring and summer
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 3 hours of Lecture and Zero to 1 hour of Discussion per week for 15 weeks. 6 hours of Lecture and Zero to 1.5 hours of Discussion per week for 8 weeks. 7.5 hours of Lecture and Zero to 2.5 hours of Discussion per week for 6 weeks.
Prerequisites: 100A or 101A, and Statistics 20, 21, or 25 or any upper division statistics course.
This course is an advanced class in Financial Economics. Topics include moral hazard (principal-agent problems, free cash flow), asymmetric Information (security issurance, dividends), mergers and acquisitions (theory, managerial incentives), corporate governance (separation of ownership and control, internal capital markets, superstar CEOs), corporate fraud (earnings manipulations). This class emphasizes the economic underpinning of financial decision-making and is mathematically and technically demanding. You will be required to do some empirical homework using STATA.
ECON 140 Economic Statistics and Econometrics 4 Units
Department: Economics
Course level: Undergraduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall, spring and summer
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 3 hours of Lecture and 1.5 hours of Discussion per week for 15 weeks. 6 hours of Lecture and 3 hours of Discussion per week for 8 weeks.
Prerequisites: 100A-100B or 101A-101B or equivalent and Statistics 20, 21, 25, or 131A or equivalent.
Introduction to problems of observation, estimation, and hypothesis testing in economics. This course covers the linear regression model and its application to empirical problems in economics.
Students will not receive credit for 140 after taking 141.
ECON 141 Econometric Analysis 4 Units
Department: Economics
Course level: Undergraduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall, spring and summer
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 3 hours of Lecture and 1.5 hours of Discussion per week for 15 weeks. 4 hours of Lecture and 3 hours of Discussion per week for 8 weeks.
Prerequisites: 100A-100B or 101A-101B or equivalent; Statistics 20, 21, 25, or 131A, or equivalent; and Mathematics 53 and 54, or equivalent.
Introduction to problems of observation, estimation, and hypothesis testing in economics. This course covers the statistical theory for the linear regression model and its variants, with examples from empirical economics.
Students will not receive credit for 141 after taking 140.
ECON C142/POL SCI C131A/PUB POL C142 Applied Econometrics and Public Policy 4 Units
Department: Economics; Political Science; Public Policy
Course level: Undergraduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall, spring and summer
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 3 hours of lecture and zero to 1 hour of discussion/laboratory per week.
Prerequisites: 140 or 141 or consent of instructor.
This course focuses on the sensible application of econometric methods to empirical problems in economics and public policy analysis. It provides background on issues that arise when analyzing non-experimental social science data and a guide for tools that are useful for empirical research. By the end of the course, students will have an understanding of the types of research designs that can lead to convincing analysis and be comfortable working with large scale data sets.
ECON 151 Labor Economics 4 Units
Department: Economics
Course level: Undergraduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall, spring and summer
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 3 hours of Lecture per week for 15 weeks. 6 hours of Lecture per week for 8 weeks. 7.5 hours of Lecture per week for 6 weeks.
Prerequisites: 100A or 101A, or consent of instructor.
This course will analyze the economic forces that shape labor markets, institutions, and performance in the U.S., Japan, and at least one European country (usually Germany). Institutions examined include trade unions, legal regulations, and social conventions.
ECON 152 Wage Theory and Policy 4 Units
Department: Economics
Course level: Undergraduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall, spring and summer
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 3 hours of Lecture and Zero to 1 hour of Discussion per week for 15 weeks. 6 hours of Lecture and Zero to 2 hours of Discussion per week for 8 weeks.
Prerequisites: 100A or 101A.
This course focuses on theoretical and empirical analysis of wage and employment determination in the labor market. In addition, the role of public policy in affecting wage and employment outcomes in the U.S. labor market is examined. Topics include labor supply, labor demand, minimum wages, the economics of education and training, discrimination and the impact of antidiscrimination programs, changes in wage inequality over time, immigration, unions, unemployment, and poverty.
ECON N152 Wage Theory and Policy 4 Units
Department: Economics
Course level: Undergraduate
Term course may be offered: Summer
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 3 hours of Lecture and 1 hour of Discussion per week for 15 weeks. 8 hours of Lecture per week for 8 weeks.
Prerequisites: 100A-100B or 101A-101B.
This course focuses on theoretical and empirical analysis of wage and employment determination in the labor market. In addition, the role of public policy in affecting wage and employment outcomes in the U.S. labor market is examined. Topics include labor supply, labor demand, minimum wages, the economics of education and training, discrimination and the impact of antidiscrimination programs, changes in wage inequality over time, immigration, unions, unemployment, and poverty.
ECON 153 Labor Economics Seminar 4 Units
Department: Economics
Course level: Undergraduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 3 hours of Seminar per week for 15 weeks.
Prerequisites: 140 or 141, and 151 or 152 and consent of instructor.
Topics in labor economics. Seminar paper required.
ECON 154 Economics of Discrimination 4 Units
Department: Economics
Course level: Undergraduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 3 hours of Seminar per week for 15 weeks.
Prerequisites: 140 or 141.
Starting from Becker's classic book on the economics of discrimination, this course will focus on issues of difference and discrimination accociated with race, gender, or nation of birth, focusing particularly on credit and housing markets, education, and health care. The course looks carefully at the ways in which econometrics is used to address questions of discrimination.
ECON 155 Urban Economics 3 Units
Department: Economics
Course level: Undergraduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall, spring and summer
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 3 hours of Lecture per week for 15 weeks. 6 hours of Lecture per week for 8 weeks. 8 hours of Lecture per week for 6 weeks.
Prerequisites: 100A or 101A.
Application of economic theory to urban problems. Topics covered include location theory, housing, transportation, and the fiscal problems of city government.
ECON 157 Health Economics 4 Units
Department: Economics
Course level: Undergraduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall, spring and summer
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 3 hours of Lecture per week for 15 weeks. 6 hours of Lecture per week for 8 weeks.
Prerequisites: 100A or 101A.
An economic analysis of policies and institutions in the U.S. health care sector. Topics covered include the supply and demand for health services, conceptual and policy issues relating to the provision of health insurance, and economic analysis of efficient regulatory policies toward the health care sector.
ECON 161 Economics of Transition: Eastern Europe 4 Units
Department: Economics
Course level: Undergraduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall, spring and summer
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 3 hours of Lecture per week for 15 weeks. 6 hours of Lecture per week for 8 weeks.
Prerequisites: 100A or 101A.
Economic behavior under socialism; socialism vs. capitalism. Transition challenges. Stylized facts of transition. Political economy of reform strategies. Liberalization and the macroeconomic environment. Privatization policies and enterprise restructuring. Legal reform, institutional change, and variation in economic performance across countries. Foreign trade and enlargement of the European Union to transition countries. The Washington consensus, transition, and the institutions of capitalism.
ECON 162 The Chinese Economy 3 Units
Department: Economics
Course level: Undergraduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall, spring and summer
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 3 hours of Lecture per week for 15 weeks. 5.5 hours of Lecture per week for 8 weeks.
Prerequisites: 100A-100B or 101A-101B.
The Chinese economy, its institutions, reform and transition to the market, and development.
ECON C171/ENVECON C151 Economic Development 4 Units
Department: Economics; Environmental Economics and Policy
Course level: Undergraduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and summer
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 3 hours of Lecture and 1 hour of Discussion per week for 15 weeks. 6 hours of Lecture and 2 hours of Discussion per week for 8 weeks. 8 hours of Lecture and 2 hours of Discussion per week for 6 weeks.
Prerequisites: 100, Economics 100A or 101A.
Problems of underdevelopment and poverty, policy issues, and development strategy.
Instructor: de Janvry
ECON N171 Economic Development 4 Units
Department: Economics
Course level: Undergraduate
Term course may be offered: Summer
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 3 hours of Lecture and 1 hour of Discussion per week for 15 weeks. 8 hours of Lecture per week for 8 weeks.
Prerequisites: 100A or 101A or Environmental Economics and Policy 100.
Problems of underdevelopment and poverty, policy issues, and development strategy.
ECON 172 Case Studies in Economic Development 4 Units
Department: Economics
Course level: Undergraduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 3 hours of lecture and zero to 1 hours of discussion per week. 6 hours of lecture and zero to 2 hours of discussion per week for 8 weeks.
Prerequisites: 100A.
A detailed study of the problems of development in a selected geographical area in Asia or Africa or Latin America.
Course may be repeated for credit when topic changes.
ECON 173 Economic Development Seminar 4 Units
Department: Economics
Course level: Undergraduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 3 hours of Seminar per week for 15 weeks.
Prerequisites: 171 or 172 and consent of instructor.
A seminar paper will be required.
ECON 174 Global Poverty and Impact Evaluation 4 Units
Department: Economics
Course level: Undergraduate
Term course may be offered: Spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 3 hours of Lecture and 1 hour of Discussion per week for 15 weeks.
Prerequisites: At least one prior term of intermediate economics (i.e., 100A or 100B) and some prior coursework in statistics.
Rather than simply describing the causes and symptoms of global poverty, this course will explore the variety of tools available for rigorously measuring the impact of development programs. Through weekly case studies of field research, the course will cover impact evaluation theory and methods. The course will culminate with a final project in which each student will design an impact evaluation of a policy or intervention.
Instructor: Miguel
ECON C175/DEMOG C175 Economic Demography 3 Units
Department: Economics; Demography
Course level: Undergraduate
Terms course may be offered: Spring and summer
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 3 hours of Lecture per week for 15 weeks. 6 hours of Lecture per week for 8 weeks. 7.5 hours of Lecture per week for 6 weeks.
Prerequisites: Economics 1 or 2.
A general introduction to economic demography, addressing the following kinds of questions: What are the economic consequences of immigration to the U.S.? Will industrial nations be able to afford the health and pension costs of the aging populations? How has the size of the baby boom affected its economic well being? Why has fertility been high in Third World countries? In industrial countries, why is marriage postponed, divorce high, fertility so low, and extramarital fertility rising? What are the economic and environmental consequences of rapid population growth?
Formerly known as 175. Instructor: Lee
ECON N175 Economic Demography 3 Units
Department: Economics
Course level: Undergraduate
Term course may be offered: Summer
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 6 hours of lecture per week for 8 weeks.
Prerequisites: Economics 1 or 2.
A general introduction to economic demography, addressing the following kinds of questions: What are the economic consequences of immigration to the U.S.? Will industrial nations be able to afford the health and pension costs of the aging populations? How has the size of the baby boom affected its economic well being? Why has fertility been high in Third World countries? In industrial countries, why is marriage postponed, divorce high, fertility so low, and extramarital fertility rising? What are the economic and environmental consequences of rapid population growth?
Students will receive no credit for Economics N175 after taking Economics C175/Demography C175; Economics 175/Demography 175. A deficient grade in Economics C175/Demography C175 may be removed by taking Economics N175.
ECON C181/ENVECON C181 International Trade 4 Units
Department: Economics; Environmental Economics and Policy
Course level: Undergraduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 3 hours of Lecture and Zero to 1 hour of Discussion per week for 15 weeks. 6 hours of Lecture and 2 hours of Discussion per week for 8 weeks.
Prerequisites: 100A-100B or 101A-101B.
The theory of international trade and its applications to tariff protection. This course is equivalent to UGBA 118; students will not receive credit for both courses.
ECON N181 International Trade 4 Units
Department: Economics
Course level: Undergraduate
Term course may be offered: Summer
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 8 hours of Lecture per week for 8 weeks.
Prerequisites: 100A-100B or 101A-101B.
The theory of international trade and its applications to tariff protection.
ECON 182 International Monetary Economics 4 Units
Department: Economics
Course level: Undergraduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall, spring and summer
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 7 and 1 half hours of lecture/discussion per week for 8 weeks.
Prerequisites: 100A-100B or 101A-101B.
The balance of payments, the determination of the trade balance and income under fixed and floating exchange rates, money and prices in open economies, the internationalization of financial markets and its implications, international macroeconomic interdependence, capital flows, and the determination of the exchange rate.
ECON 191 Topics in Economic Research 4 Units
Department: Economics
Course level: Undergraduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 3 hours of Lecture per week for 15 weeks.
Prerequisites: 100A or 100B.
This course discusses recent research and policy developments. The core objective is to expose students to different aspects of research in economics. A sequence of five different frontier research topics are studied in depth each semester. Each topic lasts three weeks, during which students will familiarize themselves with cutting-edge economic research and methodology. Students will then develop their own research ideas and write two medium- size research papers.
ECON H195A Senior Honors Thesis 1 - 3 Units
Department: Economics
Course level: Undergraduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall, spring and summer
Grading: Offered for pass/not pass grade only.
Hours and format: Hours to be arranged.
Prerequisites: Senior honors candidates only (students with major GPA of 3.50 or better or permission of instructor.)
Preparation for writing a thesis, finding and organizing a topic, gathering data and getting started. H195A is not prerequisite to H195B.
ECON H195AS Senior Honors Thesis 1 - 3 Units
Department: Economics
Course level: Undergraduate
Term course may be offered: Summer
Grading: Offered for pass/not pass grade only.
Hours and format: 1 to 3 hour of Independent study per week for 15 weeks.
Prerequisites: Senior honors candidates only, with major GPA of 3.5 or better. Permission of undergraduate adviser.
Preparation and writing of an honors thesis under the supervision of a member of the faculty. H195AS is not a prerequisite to H195BS.
ECON H195B Senior Honors Thesis 1 - 3 Units
Department: Economics
Course level: Undergraduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall, spring and summer
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: Hours to be arranged.
Prerequisites: Senior honors candidates only (students with major GPA of 3.50 or better or permission of undergraduate adviser).
Writing a thesis under the supervision of a faculty member. Applications and details through the departmental undergraduate office. H195A is not prerequisite to H195B.
ECON H195BS Senior Honors Thesis 1 - 3 Units
Department: Economics
Course level: Undergraduate
Term course may be offered: Summer
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: Hours to be arranged, dependent upon unit value. Seminar.
Prerequisites: Senior honors candidates only, with major GPA of 3.5 or better. Permission of undergraduate adviser.
Preparation and writing of an honors thesis under the supervision of a member of the faculty.
ECON 196 Special Topics in Economics 1 - 4 Units
Department: Economics
Course level: Undergraduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall, spring and summer
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 1 to 4 hour of Lecture per week for 15 weeks. 1.5 to 7.5 hours of Lecture per week for 8 weeks. 2.5 to 10 hours of Lecture per week for 6 weeks.
Prerequisites: Upper division standing or consent of instructor.
Study in various fields of economics. Topics will vary from semester to semester and will be announced at the beginning of each semester.
Course may be repeated for credit. Course may be repeated for credit when topic changes.
ECON 197 Field Studies 1 - 4 Units
Department: Economics
Course level: Undergraduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall, spring and summer
Grading: Offered for pass/not pass grade only.
Hours and format: Hours to be arranged.
Prerequisites: Upper-division standing.
Written proposal must be approved by Department Chair. Supervised field studies in economics. Projects may be initiated by the students.
Course may be repeated for credit. Course may be repeated for credit when topic changes.
ECON 198 Directed Group Study 1 - 4 Units
Department: Economics
Course level: Undergraduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Offered for pass/not pass grade only.
Hours and format: Hours to be arranged.
Prerequisites: Upper-division standing and consent of instructor.
Written proposal must be approved by Department Chair. Seminars for the group study of selected topics, which will vary from year to year. Topics may be initiated by students.
Course may be repeated for credit. Course may be repeated for credit when topic changes. Enrollment is restricted; see the Introduction to Courses and Curricula section of this catalog.
ECON 199 Supervised Independent Study and Research 1 - 4 Units
Department: Economics
Course level: Undergraduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall, spring and summer
Grading: Offered for pass/not pass grade only.
Hours and format: Hours to be arranged.
Prerequisites: Upper-division standing.
Written proposal must be approved by Department Chair. Enrollment is restricted.
Course may be repeated for credit when topic changes. Enrollment is restricted; see the Introduction to Courses and Curricula section of this catalog.
ECON 201A Economic Theory 4 Units
Department: Economics
Course level: Graduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 3 hours of Lecture and 2 hours of Discussion per week for 15 weeks.
Prerequisites: 101A-101B, 204, Mathematics 53 and 54; or equivalent.
Basic preparation for the Ph.D. program including theory of the firm and the consumer, game theory.
ECON 201B Economic Theory 4 Units
Department: Economics
Course level: Graduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 3 hours of Lecture and 2 hours of Discussion per week for 15 weeks.
Prerequisites: 101A-101B, 201A, 204, Mathematics 53 and 54; or equivalent.
Basic preparation for the Ph.D. program including agency theory and mechanism design, general equilibrium theory.
ECON 202A Macroeconomic Theory 4 Units
Department: Economics
Course level: Graduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 3 hours of Lecture and 2 hours of Discussion per week for 15 weeks.
Prerequisites: 100A-100B or 101A-101B or equivalent. Mathematics 53 and 54 or equivalent.
Basic preparation for the Ph.D. program including aggregation theory, national accounting and index problems, survey of major short-term models, implications of various expectations hypotheses, wage price determination, the role of money and financial assets, theories of consumption and investment, disequilibrium theory, dynamic systems, and international considerations.
ECON 202B Macroeconomic Theory 4 Units
Department: Economics
Course level: Graduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 3 hours of Lecture and 2 hours of Discussion per week for 15 weeks.
Prerequisites: 100A-100B or 101A-101B or equivalent. Mathematics 50A or equivalent.
Basic preparation for the Ph.D. program including aggregation theory, national accounting and index problems, survey of major short-term models, implications of various expectations hypotheses, wage price determination, the role of money and financial assets, theories of consumption and investment, disequilibrium theory, dynamic systems, and international considerations.
ECON 204 Mathematical Tools for Economics 3 Units
Department: Economics
Course level: Graduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall, spring and summer
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 2 hours of Lecture and 1 hour of Discussion per week for 15 weeks. 10 hours of Lecture and 5 hours of Discussion per week for 3 weeks.
Prerequisites: Mathematics 53 and 54 or equivalent and consent of instructor.
The course provides a rigorous abstract treatment of the elements of real analysis and linear algebra central to current research in economics. The course develops in the students the ability to read mathematical proofs and to compose simple proofs on their own.
ECON 206 Mechanism Design and Agency Theory 3 Units
Department: Economics
Course level: Graduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 2 hours of Lecture per week for 15 weeks.
Prerequisites: 201B and 209A or consent of instructor.
This course will study the optimal design of mechanisms in the presence of incomplete information and imperfect observability. The course will begin with the "classic" principal-agent problem and will then develop its applications to the "implicit contracts" theory of agency and to the choice of government policies for regulated industries. The second half of the course will treat the design of auctions, regulation with costly or imperfect monitoring, mechanism design with limited contracts.
Formerly known as 209B.
ECON 207A Mathematical Economics 3 Units
Department: Economics
Course level: Graduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 2 hours of lecture per week. 12 hours per week including class time and preparation.
Prerequisites: Math 104 and 110 and Statistics 101.
Mathematical analysis of economic theory. The problems treated involve as wide a range of mathematical techniques and of economic topics as possible, including theories of preference, utility, demand, personal probability, games and general equilibrium. Also listed as IDS 213A-213B and Math 213A-213B.
ECON 207B Mathematical Economics 3 Units
Department: Economics
Course level: Graduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 2 hours of lecture per week. 12 hours per week including class time and preparation.
Prerequisites: Math 104 and 110 and Statistics 101.
Mathematical analysis of economic theory. The problems treated involve as wide a range of mathematical techniques and of economic topics as possible, including theories of preference, utility, demand, personal probability, games and general equilibrium. Also listed as IDS 213A-213B and Math 213A-213B.
ECON 208 Microeconomic Theory Seminar 3 Units
Department: Economics
Course level: Graduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 2 hours of Seminar per week for 15 weeks.
Prerequisites: Consent of instructor.
Course may be repeated for credit. Course may be repeated for credit when topic changes.
ECON 209A Theory and Application of Non-Cooperative Games 3 Units
Department: Economics
Course level: Graduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 2 hours of Lecture per week for 15 weeks.
Prerequisites: Consent of instructor.
This course will study both pure game theory and its application to such problems as oligopoly pricing, non-cooperative bargaining, predatory pricing, and optimal auctions. The focus will be on game theory as a modelling process as opposed to a body of known results.
ECON 209B Theory and Application of Non-Cooperative Games: II 3 Units
Department: Economics
Course level: Graduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 2 hours of Lecture per week for 15 weeks.
Prerequisites: 209A or consent of instructor.
The course will cover basic topics not covered in 209A; will provide a more thorough treatment of topics covered in 209A; will cover a selection of advanced topics.
ECON 210A Introduction to Economic History 3 Units
Department: Economics
Course level: Graduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 2 hours of Lecture per week for 15 weeks.
Survey of some central themes in world economic history. Required of all Ph.D. candidates in economics.
ECON 210B Topics in European Economic History 3 Units
Department: Economics
Course level: Graduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 2 hours of Lecture per week for 15 weeks.
Prerequisites: 210A.
A survey of some central themes in European economic history.
ECON 210C Topics in American Economic History 3 Units
Department: Economics
Course level: Graduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 2 hours of Lecture per week for 15 weeks.
Prerequisites: 210A.
A survey of some central themes in American economic history.
ECON 211 Seminar in Economic History 3 Units
Department: Economics
Course level: Graduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 2 hours of Seminar per week for 15 weeks.
Prerequisites: Consent of instructor.
Course may be repeated for credit. Course may be repeated for credit when topic changes.
ECON 215A Political Economics 3 Units
Department: Economics
Course level: Graduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 2 hours of Lecture per week for 15 weeks.
Prerequisites: 215A is a prerequisite to 215B.
Tools of political economics: preferences and institutions, electoral competition, agency, partisan politics. Redistributive politics: general interest politics, special interest politics. Comparative politics: electoral rules, separation of powers, political regimes. Dynamic politics: fiscal policy, growth.
Instructor: Roland
ECON 215B Political Economics 3 Units
Department: Economics
Course level: Graduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 2 hours of Lecture per week for 15 weeks.
Prerequisites: 215A is a prerequisite to 215B.
Tools of political economics: preferences and institutions, electoral competition, agency, partisan politics. Redistributive politics: general interest politics, special interest politics. Comparative politics: electoral rules, separation of powers, political regimes. Dynamic politics: fiscal policy, growth.
Instructor: Roland
ECON C215A/POL SCI C237A Political Economics 3 Units
Department: Economics; Political Science
Course level: Graduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 2 hours of Lecture per week for 15 weeks.
Tools of political economics: preferences and institutions, electoral competition, agency, partisan politics. Redistributive politics: general interest politics, special interest politics. Comparative politics: electoral rules, separation of powers, political regimes. Dynamic politics: fiscal policy, growth.
ECON C215B/POL SCI C237B Political Economics 3 Units
Department: Economics; Political Science
Course level: Graduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 2 hours of Lecture per week for 15 weeks.
Prerequisites: ECON C215A is a prerequisite to ECON C215B, and POL SCI C237A is a prerequisite to POL SCI C237B.
Tools of political economics: preferences and institutions, electoral competition, agency, partisan politics. Redistributive politics: general interest politics, special interest politics. Comparative politics: electoral rules, separation of powers, political regimes. Dynamic politics: fiscal policy, growth.
ECON 218 Seminar in Psychology and Economics 3 Units
Department: Economics
Course level: Graduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 2 hours of Seminar per week for 15 weeks.
A graduate seminar in the field of behavioral economics.
Instructors: Della Vigna, Koszegi, Rabin
ECON 219A Foundations of Psychology and Economics 3 Units
Department: Economics
Course level: Graduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 2 hours of Lecture per week for 15 weeks.
Prerequisites: 201A-201B or consent of instructor.
This course presents psychological and experimental economics research demonstrating departures from perfect rationality, self-interest, and other classical assumptions of economics and explores ways that these departures can be mathematically modeled and incorporated into mainstream positive and normative economics. The course will focus on the behavioral evidence itself, especially on specific formal assumptions that capture the findings in a way that can be used by economists. Economic applications will be used for illustrative purposes, but the course will emphasize formal theory.
ECON 219B Applications of Psychology and Economics 3 Units
Department: Economics
Course level: Graduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 2 hours of Lecture per week for 15 weeks.
Prerequisites: 219A, 240A-240B or consent of instructor.
This course will build off of the material presented in 219A. It will expand on the psychological and experimental economic research presented there, but will emphasize a range of economic applications and especially empirical research.
ECON 220A Industrial Organization 3 Units
Department: Economics
Course level: Graduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 2 hours of Lecture per week for 15 weeks.
Prerequisites: 201A.
Market structure, conduct and performance in the unregulated sector of the American economy. Public policies related to the promotion or restriction of competition.
ECON 220B Industrial Organization 3 Units
Department: Economics
Course level: Graduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 2 hours of Lecture per week for 15 weeks.
Prerequisites: 220A.
Continuation of 220A. The characteristics of regulated industries and the consequences of regulation for economic performance.
ECON 220C Special Topics in Industrial Organization 3 Units
Department: Economics
Course level: Graduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 2 hours of Lecture per week for 15 weeks.
Prerequisites: 220A.
See course announcement for current topics.
ECON 221 Seminar in Industrial Organization: Regulation and Public Enterprise 3 Units
Department: Economics
Course level: Graduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 2 hours of Seminar per week for 15 weeks.
Prerequisites: Consent of instructor.
Course may be repeated for credit. Course may be repeated for credit when topic changes.
ECON C222/PHDBA C279I Economics of Innovation 3 Units
Department: Economics; Ph.D. in Business Administration
Course level: Graduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 3 hours of Lecture per week for 15 weeks.
Study of innovation, technical change, and intellectual property, including the industrial organization and performance of high-technology industries and firms; the use of economic, patent, and other bibliometric data for the analysis of technical change; legal and economic issues of intellectual property rights; science and technology policy; and the contributions of innovation and diffusion to economic growth. Methods of analysis are both theoretical and empirical, econometric and case study.
Course may be repeated for credit. Course may be repeated for credit when topic changes.
ECON 224 Economics of Institutions 3 Units
Department: Economics
Course level: Graduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 2 hours of Lecture per week for 15 weeks.
This course develops the proposition that institutions have pervasive ramifications for understanding economic organization. A comparative institutional approach is employed whereby the transaction is made the basic unit of analysis and alternative modes of organization are assessed with respect to their comparative contracting properties.
ECON C225/PHDBA C270 Workshop in Institutional Analysis 2 Units
Department: Economics; Ph.D. in Business Administration
Course level: Graduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Offered for satisfactory/unsatisfactory grade only.
Hours and format: 2 hours of Lecture per week for 15 weeks.
Prerequisites: Economics 100 or 101; Business Administration 110 or equivalent; or consent of instructor.
This seminar features current research of faculty, from UC Berkeley and elsewhere, and of advanced doctoral students who are investigating the efficacy of economic and non-economic forms of organization. An interdisciplinary perspective--combining aspects of law, economics, and organization--is maintained. Markets, hierarchies, hybrids, bureaus, and the supporting institutions of law and politics all come under scrutiny. The aspiration is to progressively build toward a new science of organization.
ECON 230A Public Economics 3 Units
Department: Economics
Course level: Graduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 2 hours of Lecture per week for 15 weeks.
The economic and policy analysis of government expenditures, taxes, and intergovernmental fiscal relations. 230A is not a prerequisite for 230B.
ECON 230B Public Economics 3 Units
Department: Economics
Course level: Graduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 2 hours of Lecture per week for 15 weeks.
Government intervention changes opportunities and incentives for firms, families, individuals, service providers, and state and local government. This course considers the incentive effects of government expenditure programs. The primary emphasis will be in the examination of the effect of social expenditure programs on individuals and families. Most of the papers will be empirical. The course will not contain an explicit section on methodology and econometric techniques; instead, relevant econometric techniques (e.g., discrete choice, duration analysis) will be discussed in the context of the empirical literature.
ECON 230C Public Sector Microeconomics 3 Units
Department: Economics
Course level: Graduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 2 hours of Lecture per week for 15 weeks.
The economic and policy analysis of government expenditures, taxes, and intergovernmental fiscal relations.
ECON 231 Seminar in Public Sector Economics 3 Units
Department: Economics
Course level: Graduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 2 hours of Seminar per week for 15 weeks.
Prerequisites: Consent of instructor.
Course may be repeated for credit. Course may be repeated for credit when topic changes.
ECON 234A Macroeconomic Finance 3 Units
Department: Economics
Course level: Graduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 3 hours of Lecture per week for 15 weeks.
Introduction to macroeconomic finance. Course covers static portfolio choice, capital asset pricing model (CAPM), consumption based models, dynamic equilibrium asset pricing theories, and current issues in behavioral finance. Strong emphasis on household finance and risk-sharing. Course is both theoretical and empirical.
Formerly known as 236D.
ECON 234C Financial Decision-Making in Firms 3 Units
Department: Economics
Course level: Graduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 3 hours of Lecture per week for 15 weeks.
Prerequisites: 240A-240B or equivalent.
This course provides a theoretical and empirical treatment of the core topics in corporate finance including internal corporate investment; external corporate investment (mergers and acquisitions); capital structure and financial contracting; bankruptcy; corporate governance.
ECON 235 Financial Economics Seminar 3 Units
Department: Economics
Course level: Graduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 1.5 hours of seminar per week for 8 weeks.
This course presents speakers who work on the boundary of economics and finance, on topics including asset pricing, behavioral finance, and corporate finance.
Course may be repeated for credit. Course may be repeated for credit when topic changes.
ECON 236A Aggregate Economics 3 Units
Department: Economics
Course level: Graduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 2 hours of Lecture per week for 15 weeks.
Prerequisites: For 236A: 201A-201B and 202A-202B. For 236B: 236A.
Macroeconomic models; theory and practice of aggregate economics; rational expectations models; finance theory integrated with macro.
ECON 236B Aggregate Economics 3 Units
Department: Economics
Course level: Graduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 2 hours of Lecture per week for 15 weeks.
Prerequisites: For 236A: 201A-201B and 202A-202B. For 236B: 236A.
Macroeconomic models; theory and practice of aggregate economics; rational expectations models; finance theory integrated with macro.
ECON 237 Seminar in Advanced Macroeconomics and Money 3 Units
Department: Economics
Course level: Graduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 2 hours of Seminar per week for 15 weeks.
Prerequisites: Consent of instructor.
Course may be repeated for credit. Course may be repeated for credit when topic changes.
ECON 240A Econometrics 5 Units
Department: Economics
Course level: Graduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 4 hours of Lecture and 2 hours of Discussion per week for 15 weeks.
Prerequisites: 100A or 101A or equivalent; 100B or 101B or equivalent; Mathematics 53 and 54, or equivalent; Statistics 131A or equivalent.
Basic preparation for the Ph.D. program including probability and statistical theory and the classical linear regression model.
Formerly known as 240.
ECON 240B Econometrics 4 Units
Department: Economics
Course level: Graduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 3 hours of Lecture and 2 hours of Discussion per week for 15 weeks.
Prerequisites: 240A or equivalent.
Basic preparation for the Ph.D. program including generalized least squares; instrumental variables estimation; generalized method of moments; time series analysis; and nonlinear models.
ECON 241A Econometrics 4 Units
Department: Economics
Course level: Graduate
Term course may be offered: Spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 3 hours of Lecture per week for 15 weeks.
Prerequisites: Statistics 200A-200B or equivalent and a course in linear algebra. Recommended: Math 112.
Intended for students specializing in econometrics and others with strong mathematical backgrounds. Linear and nonlinear statistical models and their applications in economics. Special problems in analyzing data from non-controlled experiments.
ECON 241B Econometrics 4 Units
Department: Economics
Course level: Graduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 3 hours of Lecture per week for 15 weeks.
Prerequisites: 241A.
Simultaneous equations and time-series models.
ECON 242 Seminar in Econometrics 3 Units
Department: Economics
Course level: Graduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 2 hours of Seminar per week for 15 weeks.
Prerequisites: 240A-240B.
Course may be repeated for credit. Course may be repeated for credit when topic changes.
ECON 244 Applied Econometrics 3 Units
Department: Economics
Course level: Graduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 3 hours of Lecture per week for 15 weeks.
Prerequisites: 240A-240B.
Methods of applied econometrics, with emphasis on alternative modelling strategies and problems met in practice. Intended for doctoral students conducting empirical research.
ECON 250A Labor Economics 3 Units
Department: Economics
Course level: Graduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 2 hours of Lecture per week for 15 weeks.
Prerequisites: 250A is prerequisite to 250B. Consent of instructor.
Analysis of labor market behavior.
ECON 250B Labor Economics 3 Units
Department: Economics
Course level: Graduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 2 hours of Lecture per week for 15 weeks.
Prerequisites: 250A is prerequisite to 250B. Consent of instructor.
Analysis of labor market behavior.
ECON 250C Labor Economics 3 Units
Department: Economics
Course level: Graduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 2 hours of Lecture per week for 15 weeks.
Prerequisites: 250B.
Analysis of labor market behavior.
ECON 251 Seminar in Labor Economics 3 Units
Department: Economics
Course level: Graduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 2 hours of Seminar per week for 15 weeks.
Prerequisites: Consent of instructor.
Seminar for students at the doctoral dissertation level.
Course may be repeated for credit. Course may be repeated for credit when topic changes.
ECON 260A Comparative Economics 3 Units
Department: Economics
Course level: Graduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 2 hours of Lecture per week for 15 weeks.
Prerequisites: 260A is prerequisite to 260B.
New issues raised by transition for economics. Political economy of reform: speed, sequencing, reform design, political economy of privatization. Allocative changes: speed of sectoral reallocation, price liberalization, output fall and macroeconomic dynamics, law enforcement, dynamics of institutional change.
Instructor: Roland
ECON 270B Development Economics 3 Units
Department: Economics
Course level: Graduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Problems of underdevelopment and poverty, policy issues and development strategies.
ECON 270C Development Economics 3 Units
Department: Economics
Course level: Graduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 2 hours of Lecture per week for 15 weeks.
Basic macro-policy planning with investment project analysis.
ECON C270A/A,RESEC C251 Microeconomics of Development 3 Units
Department: Economics; Agricultural and Resource Economics
Course level: Graduate
Term course may be offered: Fall
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 3 hours of Lecture per week for 15 weeks.
Prerequisites: Consent of instructor.
Theoretical and empirical analyses of poverty and inequality, household and community behavior, and contract and institutions in the context of developing countries.
ECON 271 Seminar in Economic Development and Planning 3 Units
Department: Economics
Course level: Graduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 2 hours of Seminar per week for 15 weeks.
Prerequisites: Consent of instructor.
Course may be repeated for credit. Course may be repeated for credit when topic changes.
ECON 274 Global Poverty and Impact Evaluation 4 Units
Department: Economics
Course level: Graduate
Term course may be offered: Spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 3 hours of Lecture and 1 hour of Discussion per week for 15 weeks.
Prerequisites: At least one prior term of intermediate economics (i.e., 100A or 100B) and some prior coursework in statistics.
Rather than simply describing the causes and symptoms of global poverty, this course will explore the variety of tools available for rigorously measuring the impact of development programs. Through weekly case studies of field research, the course will cover impact evaluation theory and methods. The course will culminate with a final project in which each student will design an impact evaluation of a policy or intervention.
Instructor: Miguel
ECON C275A/DEMOG C275A Economic Demography 3 Units
Department: Economics; Demography
Course level: Graduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 2 hours of Lecture per week for 15 weeks.
Economic consequences of demographic change in developing and developed countries including capital formation, labor markets, and intergenerational transfers. Economic determinants of fertility, mortality and migration.
Instructor: Lee
ECON 280A International Economics 3 Units
Department: Economics
Course level: Graduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 2 hours of Lecture per week for 15 weeks.
The world economy as a general equilibrium system. The theory of international economics, trade policy.
ECON 280B International Economics 3 Units
Department: Economics
Course level: Graduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 2 hours of Lecture per week for 15 weeks.
Prerequisites: 280A is not prerequisite to 280B.
This course develops basic theoretical models for studying issues in open-economy macroeconomics. The current account and the trade balance, international capital market integration, developing country debt problems, the real exchange rate, fiscal policy in the open economy, and international policy coordination.
ECON 280C International Economics 3 Units
Department: Economics
Course level: Graduate
Term course may be offered: Spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 2 hours of Lecture per week for 15 weeks.
Prerequisites: 280B.
This course is an empirical treatment of open-economy macroeconomics and finance. Topics include trade elasticities, the determination of the trade balance and income under fixed and floating exchange rates, purchasing power parity, devaluation in small open economies, quantifying the degree of international capital mobility, implications for the effectiveness of monetary and fiscal policy, international interdependence and coordination, models of exchange rate determination.
ECON 281 Seminar in International Trade and Finance 3 Units
Department: Economics
Course level: Graduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 2 hours of Seminar per week for 15 weeks.
Course may be repeated for credit. Course may be repeated for credit when topic changes.
ECON 291 Departmental Seminar 1 Unit