ECON 120 - AN INTRODUCTION TO POLITICAL ECONOMY
ECON 211 - PRINCIPLES
OF ECONOMICS I
ECON 250 - FOUNDATIONS OF PUBLIC SECTOR ECONOMICS
ECON 340 - INTRODUCTION TO GAME THEORY
ECON 348 - ORGANIZATION DESIGN
ECON 355 - FINANCIAL MARKETS
ECON 370 - MICROECONOMIC THEORY
ECON 375 - MACROECONOMIC THEORY
ECON 382 - PROBABILITY AND STATISTICS
ECON 400 - ECONOMETRICS
ECON 403/404 - SENIOR INDEPENDENT RESEARCH
ECON 415 - LABOR ECONOMICS
ECON 420 - INTERNATIONAL ECONOMICS
ECON 421 - INTERNATIONAL FINANCE
ECON 435 - INDUSTRIAL ORGANIZATION
ECON 436 - ECONOMICS OF REGULATION
ECON 437 - ENERGY ECONOMICS
ECON 438 - BUSINESS, LAW AND ECONOMICS
ECON 439 - TORTS, PROPERTY, AND CONTRACTS
ECON 440 - ADVANCED GAME THEORY
ECON 445 - MANAGERIAL ECONOMICS
ECON 446 - APPLIED ECONOMETRICS
ECON 447/547 - ADVANCED TOPICS IN ENERGY ECONOMICS
ECON 448 - CORPORATE FINANCE
ECON 449 - BASICS OF FINANCIAL ENGINEERING
ECON 450 - WORLD ECONOMICS AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT
ECON 451 - THE POLITICAL ECONOMY OF LATIN AMERICA
ECON 452 - RELIGION, ETHICS, AND ECONOMICS
ECON 455 - MONEY AND FINANCIAL MARKETS
ECON 461 - URBAN ECONOMICS
ECON 475 - INTEGER AND COMBINATORIAL OPTIMIZATION
ECON 477 - MATHEMATICAL STRUCTURE OF ECONOMIC THEORY
ECON 479 - APPLIED GENERAL EQUILIBRIUM MODELING
ECON 480 - ENVIRONMENTAL ECONOMICS
ECON 481 - HEALTH ECONOMICS
ECON 482 - DISTRIBUTIVE JUSTICE
ECON 483 - PUBLIC FINANCE TAX POLICY
ECON 484 - PUBLIC EXPENDITURE THEORY AND SOCIAL INSURANCE
ECON 485/486 - CONTEMPORARY ECONOMIC ISSUES
ECON 495/496 - SENIOR SEMINAR
ECONOMICS 120
AN INTRODUCTION TO POLITICAL ECONOMY
This course will first cover the ideas of Smith, Malthus, Ricado, Jevon, Keynes and issues associated with externalities and common property resources. Possible readings are: "Adam's Fallacy," "The Tragedy of the Commons," Coase, "The Problem of Social Cost," "Property Rules," "Liability Rules and Inalienability," "One View of the Cathedral."
ECONOMICS
211
PRINCIPLES OF ECONOMICS I
Economics 211 provides an introduction to the basic nature of economics at the level of individual economic agents; primarily consumers and business firms. Topics covered include the analysis of supply and demand and market equilibria; household decisions regarding demands for consumption goods and supplies of labor and saving; and business decisions regarding the supply of outputs and demands for factor inputs such as labor and capital.
Particular emphasis is placed on the role of prices and markets in allocating resources, economic relationships between costs and productivity, alternative market structures including perfect competition, monopoly and various models of imperfect competition, the theory of labor markets and income distribution, and the economics of information. Additional topics include analyses of economic efficiency, externalities such as environmental pollution, and the provision of public goods.
Students (both majors and non-majors) enrolled at Rice who wish to transfer this course from another institution must pass a departmental qualifying examination.
Economics 211 is a required course for economics and mathematical economic analysis majors.
Offered Fall & Spring.
ECONOMICS 250
FOUNDATIONS OF PUBLIC SECTOR ECONOMICS
The prime focus of the course is upon the government budget including taxes, expenditures, debt finance as well as government-owned enterprises. Effects of the budget on income distribution, efficiency and economic growth are also considered.
Prerequisities: Economics 211.
ECONOMICS 340
INTRODUCTION TO GAME THEORY
Game theory is a way of thinking about strategic situations. Ideas such as dominance, Nash equilibrium, evolutionary stability, backward induction, commitment, credibility, asymmetric information, adverse selection, and signaling are discussed and applied to games played in class and to examples drawn from economics, politics, the movies, and elsewhere. Some familiarity with the principles of microeconomics (e.g. ECON 211) is desirable, but not essential. No prior knowledge of game theory is assumed.
Offered Fall.
ECON 348
ORGANIZATIONAL DESIGN
An introduction to the analysis, design, and management of organizations with emphasis on incentives and information. Principles from economics, political science, and game theory will be applied to problems in project and team management, in organizational computing, and in allocating and pricing shared facilities. Cross-listed with POLI 348.
Prerequisites: Economics 211.
Offered Spring.
ECONOMICS 355
FINANCIAL MARKETS
An introduction to the micro-foundations of financial markets and instruments.
Prerequisites: Economics 211 and Math 101 or permission of instructor.
Offered Spring.
ECONOMICS 370
MICROECONOMIC THEORY
Economics 370 provides the student with the basic concepts of microeconomic theory. Although the topics covered are similar to those discussed in Economics 211 (Principles of Economics I), theoretical issues are covered in much greater detail, and there is a considerable emphasis on problem solving. Thorough knowledge of the material taught in Economics 370 provides excellent preparation for the upper level Economics courses offered at Rice, especially the advanced courses in applied microeconomics such as Public Finance, Urban Economics, Energy Economics, Labor Economics, Economics of Regulation and Industrial Organization as well as International Economics and International Finance.
Economics 370 covers four major areas. First, the theory of the consumer is presented. The analysis of budget allocation among alternative consumption commodities is developed, and its implications for consumer demand are examined. Applications in areas such as the theory of labor supply and the analysis of the supply of personal savings are explored.
Second, the theory of the firm is developed. The relationships between productivity and costs are analyzed, and the implications of profit maximizing behavior on factor demands and the supplies of consumption commodities are examined.
Third, the theory of market equilibrium is presented. The determination of price and quantity of output is analyzed for the cases of perfect competition and a variety of imperfectly competitive market structures. Also, the critical relationships between factor markets and income distribution are explored.
Finally, general equilibrium theory of the analysis of systems of markets is developed. The construction of general equilibrium economic models is described, and the evaluation of economic outcomes from a social perspective is described.
To the extent time permits, topics from the various areas of applied microeconomics noted above are discussed.
Prerequisites: Economics 211 and Math 101, or Econ 211 and Math 111 and 112.
Offered Fall & Spring.
ECONOMICS 375
MACROECONOMIC THEORY
This course is designed to provide students with the economic and analytical tools to better understand the domestic and global economic environments, macroeconomic issues, such as inflation, unemployment, underdevelopment, and the alternative policy proposals suggested for solving these problems. Emphasis will be placed on business cycle behavior, stabilization policies, economic growth and international macroeconomic linkages.
Prerequisites: Economics 211, Math 101 or permission of instructor.
Offered Fall & Spring.
ECON 382
PROBABILITY AND STATISTICS
Probability theory and the central concepts and methods of statistics. Topics include probability distributions, expectation, estimation, hypothesis testing, sampling distributions, linear models, basic ideas of statistical optionality. Cross listed with STAT 310.
Prerequisites: Economics 211, and Math 102.
Econometrics focuses initially on an analysis of unvariate linear models. Subsequent topics include ordinary and generalized least squares estimation, maximum likelihood estimation, analysis of variance, two step regression, constrained least squares, hypothesis testing and prediction.
Prerequisites: Economics 382 (Statistics 310) or Statistics 381. Also Math 101 or permission of instructor.
Course also offered as Statistics 400.
Offered Spring.
ECONOMICS 403/404
SENIOR INDEPENDENT RESEARCH
Economics 403/404 allows students to investigate in depth a topic of their own choosing under the direction of a faculty member. All requirements for the course are determined by the professor supervising the project. For further information, see the Economics Department handout on the course.
Prerequisites: Economics 211, 370 or 372, 375, and all the 400 level economics courses that are closely related to the topic to be investigated.
This course studies empirical evidence and theories relating to several features of labor markets. Topics covered may include fertility, health, criminal behavior, labor force participation, hours of work, education and training, geographical and interfirm labor mobility, static and dynamic labor demand, unions, discrimination, government intervention in labor markets, and "hedonic" equilibria in labor markets.
Prerequisites: Economics 211, 370, and Mathematics 101 (or equivalent).
Offered Spring.
ECONOMICS 420
INTERNATIONAL ECONOMICS
Study of the economic relationship between countries. The material covered includes trade theory, tariffs, and other trade restrictions; international finance; trade and development; and current policy issues.
Prerequisites: Math 101, Economics 211, 370.
ECONOMICS 421
INTERNATIONAL FINANCE
This course focuses on the analysis of foreign exchange and international financial markets. We explore theoretical links that exist between exchange rates, interest rates, aggregate production, and price under alternative exchange rate regimes. We supplement the theory by empirical evidence gained from the classical gold standard, the Bretton Woods era, and the European Monetary System.
The course starts out with some balance-of-payments accounting to lay the oundations for studying the link between international goods and capital flows and foreign exchange rates. In the second part, we focus on exchange rate risk. We explore hedging possibilities such as forward contracts, and foreign currency options and futures. The course concludes with an introduction to the pricing theory of these hedging instruments.
Prerequisites: Math 101, Economics 375, 370, (382 or Statistics 280).
Offered Fall.
ECONOMICS 435
INDUSTRIAL ORGANIZATION
Analysis of the behavior of firms in imperfectly competitive markets. Core topics include monopoly, price discrimination, oligopoly, collusion, product choice decisions, mergers, entry deterrence, and research and development.
Prerequisites: Economics 211 and 370 or Economics 211 and Mathematics 101 and 102 or permission of instructor.
Offered Spring.
ECONOMICS 436
ECONOMICS OF REGULATION
This course examines the conceptual basis for government regulation of business, as well as various theories of regulations that explain, in part, how government regulation has actually performed. It also traces the legal basis for regulation, discussed various regulatory institutions, and then focuses on specific areas of regulatory policy. These areas include: utilities, telecommunications, transportation, energy, the environment, consumer protection, and job safety. Depending on the semester, the course may focus on some specific area such as telecommunications or energy. Emphasis is placed on classroom discussions of various current regulatory issues.
Prerequisites: Economics 211 and Economics 370. Economics 435 is recommended.
ECONOMICS 437
ENERGY ECONOMICS
Discussion of key aspects in the supply and demand of energy. Topics include optimal extraction of depletable resources, transportation, storage, end-use and efficiency, and the relationship between economic activity, energy, and the environment.
Prerequisites: Economics 211, 370, and 375.
Offered Spring.
ECONOMICS 438
BUSINESS, LAW, AND ECONOMICS
This course covers the tools in law and economics which are used to characterize efficient laws in property, tort, contract, agency, and criminal law. The course will focus on applying the law and economic tools to actual cases.
Prerequisites: Economics 211.
Offered Fall.
ECONOMICS 439
TORTS, PROPERTY, AND CONTRACTS
The course will address the role of economics in understanding the legal system, in particular, understanding how the law allocates entitlements and risk in property, tort and contract law. This course is primarily intended for students who are considering attending law school and uses instruction methods appropriate for that goal. Students wishing to enroll in this course should submit a one-page statement to the instructor explaining their interest in the course.
Prerequisites: Economics 211, and Economics 370.
Offered Spring.
ECONOMICS 440
ADVANCED GAME THEORY
Choice under uncertainty and Von Neumann Morgenstern
utility; games in normal form: mixed strategies, Nash equilibrium (existence
and stability); games in extensive form: backward induction and other
equilibrium refinements; games with incomplete information: Bayesian
Nash equilibrium, application to signaling, cooperative games: the
coalition form, coalition information and core stability, applications
to exchange and bilateral Groves mechanisms.
Prerequisites: Economics 370 and some familiarity with mathematical
arguments and probability theory.
Offered Spring.
ECONOMICS 445
MANAGERIAL ECONOMICS
Students are expected to learn how to apply the tools they learned in Microeconomic Theory (Econ 370) to business problems. For instance, designing the optimal channels of distribution and compensation packages, and determining the profitability of an industry.
Prerequisites: Economics 370, Math 101 or Math 111 (Calculus).
Offered Spring.
ECONOMICS 446
APPLIED ECONOMETRICS
Applied econometrics methods; focus will be on the application of econometrics and complementary measurement methodologies to modeling, forecasting, and hypothesis testing. Applications will include firm decision-making testing for discrimination in the workplace, competition policy, portfolio management, and macroeconomic forecasting. Some knowledge of calculus is required.
Prerequisites: Economics 211, and Stat 280.
Offered Spring & Fall.
ECONOMICS 447
ADVANCED TOPICS IN ENERGY ECONOMICS
A more detailed development and analysis of topics in energy modeling. Topics include optimal extraction of depletable resources with uncertainty, energy demand by commodity and end-use sector, and the relationship between energy commodity prices. Graduate/Undergraduate Equivalency: ECON 547.
Prerequisites: Economics 437 and (Economics 400 or Economics 446).
Recommended prerequisite: Economics 477.
ECONOMICS 448
CORPORATE FINANCE
Study of financial theory and its application to practical problems in corporations. Covers the valuation of stocks and bonds, investment decisions, financing decisions, corporate control and the interaction between investment and financing decisions.
Prerequisites: Economics 370, and Acco 305, and Stat 280, or permission of instructor.
Offered Fall & Spring.
ECONOMICS 449
BASICS OF FINANCIAL ENGINEERING
This course covers the use of financial securities and derivatives to take or hedge financial risk positions. Most commonly used instruments, from simple forwards and futures to exotic options and swaptions are covered. The pricing of derivative securities will also be studied, but the emphasis will be on the mechanics and uses of financial engineering methods.
Prerequisites: Economics 211 or Economics 370; Math 221/222; Stat 310 or Economics 400.
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ECONOMICS 450
WORLD ECONOMICS AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT
The course discusses economic growth, poverty, inequality, demographics,
human capital, market failures, institutional failures, trade, religion
and terrorism.
Prerequisites: Economics 370 or permission of instructor.
Offered Spring.
ECONOMICS 451
THE POLITICAL ECONOMY OF LATIN AMERICA
This course examines the economic development of selected
countries of Latin America. The course covers a large number of areas
typically surveyed in the field of development economics as well as
how these issues are impacted by the political process.
The first part
of the course focuses on the characteristics and problems of Latin
American economies. These countries vary enormously
with respect to their level of development, population density, ethnic
and linguistic make-up, and historical experience. They share a record
of uneven development, high rates of inequality,and chronic deficits
in both government and foreign current accounts.
The second part of
the course provides a critical analysis of the shifts in development
policy from outward oriented policies in the late 19th and early 20th
centuries to protectionist import substitution in the 1930s and early
post war II years and then finally to the neo-liberal policies that
are currently being pursued.
Students
are divided into small groups each of which are assigned one or more
countries. These groups are responsible for making short presentations
on various aspects of their assigned countries. Close collaboration
within groups is expected.
A major paper is required in which the student
investigates some problem or policy of a country in considerable depth
or undertakes a comparative study, examining differences in performance
or policies among several countries.
Prerequisites: Economics 211, Math 101 or permission of instructor.
Offered Fall.
ECONOMICS 452
RELIGION, ETHICS, AND ECONOMICS
Review economics models of the formation of religious groups and ethical norms, as well as, the interactions of religious beliefs and ethical norms with economic incentives and legal systems. Also review recent debates on the role of ethics in corporate culture, especially in highly competitive industries and markets. Students will write term papers on topics of their choosing, subject to professor's approval.
Prerequisites: Economics 211.
ECONOMICS 455
MONEY AND FINANCIAL MARKETS
Micro-foundations of monetary, fiscal and financial theory.
Prerequisites: Economics 211, and 370, and Mathematics 101.
Offered Spring.
Economics 461 is a course dealing with the nature and development of urban areas. The analytical sections of the course deal with the location of firms and households in an urban spatial context, the size distribution of urban areas, the theory of land rent, and optimal city size.
Various urban problems such as poverty, racial segregation and discrimination, and pollution and environmental quality are discussed. Other policy questions deal with congestion tolls and efficient highway investment, land use regulation, central city fiscal problems, and alternative educational policies.
Prerequisites: Economics 211.
Offered Fall.
ECONOMICS 475
INTEGER AND COMBINATORIAL OPTIMIZATION
Economics 475 involves the modeling and solving of optimization problems with discrete components. Topics covered include graphs and networks, network flow problems, minimum spanning trees, basic polyhedral theory, standard problems (e.g. the knapsack problem, the plant location problem, and the set packing problem), computational complexity, branch and bound, cutting planes, Lagrangian relaxation, and Benderís decomposition.
Prerequisite: Economics 471 or Computational and Applied Mathematics 471.
Also offered as Computational and Applied Mathematics 475.
ECONOMICS 477
MATHEMATICAL STRUCTURE OF ECONOMIC THEORY
The course goal is to make acquaintance with the optimization technique and other advanced tools used in modern economic theory. It concentrates on individual optimization. We start from the two person zero sum games, and discuss its connection to duality in linear programming. We proceed to study elements of topology, convexity and separation. The usage of separation and fixed point theorems to prove equilibrium existence is demonstrated. Next, calculus technique for constraint optimization is presented. The last part of the course is devoted to the principles of dynamic optimization (dynamic programming, calculus of variation and optimal control).
Mastering of technical skills, such as multivariable analysis and basic linear algebra, and interest in learning the logic behind mathematical statements are essential to succeed in the course.
Prerequisites: Economics 211, Mathematics 212 (or 221), and Computational and Applied Mathematics 310 (or Mathematics 355).
Also offered as Computational and Applied Mathematics 477.
ECONOMICS 479
APPLIED GENERAL EQUILIBRIUM MODELING
Students will learn the theory of general equilibrium modeling and the details of a basic model (constructed using Matlab), and then use the model to analyze the efficiency, equity, and transitional effects of various policy options. Tax reform will be the primary application; others may include social security, debt policy, environmental policy, and energy policy.
Prerequisites: Economics 370.
ECONOMICS 480
ENVIRONMENTAL ECONOMICS
The economic theories of externalities and common property resources are used to analyze environmental problems such as air and water pollution and wildlife conservation. Regulation, taxes and subsidies, transferable pollution rights and legal solutions to environmental problems are evaluated. Environmental and other aspects of energy sources will also be discussed. Crosslisted with ENST 480. Cross-list: ENST 480.
Prerequisites: Economics 370 or permission of instructor.
ECONOMICS 481
HEALTH ECONOMICS
Health economics applies the tools of economics to issues of the
organization, delivery, and financing of health care. The objectives of
this course are to:
(1) develop an understanding of the relevance of
economic concepts to the health care sector,
(2) to describe the system
of
health care financing and delivery arrangements in the health care
sector,
and
(3) to impart an understanding of the role of economic factors
in the
development of public policy concerning health and health care.
Prerequisites: Economics 370, and Economics 382 or Stat 310, or Economics 400, or Stat 280, or Stat 305, or Stat 385.
Offered Spring.
ECONOMICS 482
DISTRIBUTIVE JUSTICE
The microeconomic approach to fair division seeks to combine efficiency, fairness and incentive-compatibility in allocation problems involving trade and production. The course focuses on: the simple proportionality and equality principles; competitive trade and the No Envy test; the Stand Alone test and the cooperative game model; the Shapley value.
The welfarist model of collective utility functions captures competing theories of the social contract such as utilitarianism and egalitarianism. The social choice model of preference aggregation and voting rules formalizes democratic decision-making and uncovers some of its limits in the impossibility results of Arrow and Gibbard-Satterthwaite.
Prerequisites: Economics 211 and 370, or permission of instructor.
Offered Fall.
ECONOMICS
483
PUBLIC FINANCE: TAX POLICY
Economics 483 provides a description of the theory and practice of tax policy. The course begins with a discussion of alternative tax systems, including the current income tax as well as many of the consumption-based reform proposals currently under discussion, and theoretical methods of evaluating such alternative tax systems. The effects of taxes on individual labor supply, saving, human capital formation, and risk taking are analyzed, as are the effects of taxes on the investment decisions made by business firms. The theory of tax incidence is presented and applications using computational general equilibrium models are discussed. Recent theories of optimal taxation and optimal tax reform are described. The course concludes with a discussion of special topics, such as the tax treatment of the family, interactions between federal, state, and local government tax policies, the effects of local taxes with special emphasis on the property tax, the taxation of electronic commerce, and the estate tax.
Prerequisites: Economics 211, Economics 370, Math 101 (or Math 111 and 112) or permission of instructor.
Offered Fall.
ECON 484
PUBLIC EXPENDITURE THEORY AND SOCIAL INSURANCE
Public good theory including non-rival and congestible facilities, theory of local public goods including the economics of education. The problem of preference revelation and the fundamentals of benefit-cost analysis. Analysis of the effects of social security, old age retirement, and the role of government in financing healthcare - Medicare and Medicaid.
Prerequisites: Economics 211.
ECONOMICS 485/486
CONTEMPORARY ECONOMIC ISSUES
The role of energy in the economy, including the history of markets for primary fuels, such as coal, oil, and natural gas. Energy demand in the long term, energy supply and resource pricing and emerging energy technologies. The theory of exhaustible resources. Energy prices and business cycles, energy taxation and other relevant policy and environmental issues.
Prerequisites: Economics 211, Math 101 or permission of instructor.
Not offered every year.
Senior seminar is devoted to a comprehensive analysis of a specific economic topic. Topics covered vary from year to year. In many cases, a faculty member will structure the course around a current individual research project. Students are typically expected to present a paper in the course.
Prerequisite: Permission of instructor.
Not offered every year.
Updated: August 23, 2007