Reviews lecture material presented in ECON 1110 lectures; provides problem-solving techniques, study tips, and additional problems to prepare for exams and problem sets; provides additional time for questions and discussion of concepts. Provides additional instruction for students who need reinforcement.

Full details for ECON 1001 - Principles of Micro-Economics Supplement

Reviews lecture material presented in ECON 1120 lectures; provides problem-solving techniques, study tips, and additional problems to prepare for exams and problem sets; provides additional time for questions and discussion of concepts. Provides additional instruction for students who need reinforcement.

Full details for ECON 1002 - Principles of Macro-Economics Supplement

Explanation and evaluation of how the price system operates in determining what goods are produced, how goods are produced, who receives income, and how the price system is modified and influenced by private organizations and government policy.

Catalog Distribution: (SSC-AS) (SBA-AG)

Full details for ECON 1110 - Introductory Microeconomics

Analysis of aggregate economic activity in relation to the level, stability, and growth of national income. Topics may include the determination and effects of unemployment, inflation, balance of payments, deficits, and economic development, and how these may be influenced by monetary, fiscal, and other policies.

Catalog Distribution: (SSC-AS) (SBA-AG)

Full details for ECON 1120 - Introductory Macroeconomics

This course teaches students what they need to know in order to be excellent course assistants (CA's) in economics courses at Cornell. We will meet for an hour each week to talk about how students learn economics, and how best to help them learn. Students in this course will get concrete guidance on what to do as a CA, and we'll discuss the research behind this guidance. Students will be expected to do some reading outside class and either write a research paper on economic education or develop new teaching materials that can be incorporated into an economics course. Students will also facilitate small group activities in lecture courses (3 hours per week) and help other students in the Economics Support Center (2 hours per week).

Full details for ECON 2100 - Teaching and Learning Economics

Introduction to international economic principles and issues. Begins by surveying key topics such as the elements of comparative advantage, tariff and nontariff barriers, and multilateral institutions. The second part of the course treats selected topics in international finance, including exchange rates, balance of payments, and capital markets. Discusses current issues such as the effects of trade liberalization, trade and economic growth, and instability in international capital markets. Designed as a less technical introduction to concepts developed at a more advanced level in AEM 4300 and ECON 4510-ECON 4520.

Catalog Distribution: (SSC-AS) (SBA-AG)

Full details for ECON 2300 - International Trade and Finance

The pricing processes in a private enterprise economy are analyzed under varying competitive conditions, and their role in the allocation of resources and the functional distribution of national income is considered.

Catalog Distribution: (SSC-AS) (SBA-AG)

Full details for ECON 3030 - Intermediate Microeconomic Theory

Introduces the theory of national income and determination and economic growth in alternative models of the national economy. Examines the interaction and relation of these models to empirical aggregate economic data. Reviews national accounts, output and employment determination, price stability and economic growth, in the context of alternative government policy programs and the impact of globalization.

Catalog Distribution: (SSC-AS) (SBA-AG)

Full details for ECON 3040 - Intermediate Macroeconomic Theory

This course provides an introduction to probability and parametric inference. Topics include: random variables, standard distributions, the law of large numbers, the central limit theorem, likelihood-based estimation, sampling distributions and hypothesis testing.

Catalog Distribution: (SDS-AS, SMR-AS) (MQL-AG, OPHLS-AG)

Full details for ECON 3110 - Probability Models and Inference for the Social Sciences

Introduction to the theory and application of econometric techniques. Emphasis is on both development of techniques and applications of econometrics to economic questions. Topics include estimation and inference in bivariate and multiple regression models, instrumental variables, regression with qualitative information, heteroskedasticity, and serial correlation. Students are expected to apply techniques through regular empirical exercises with economic data.

Catalog Distribution: (SDS-AS, SSC-AS) (OPHLS-AG, SBA-AG)

Full details for ECON 3120 - Applied Econometrics

Introduction to the theory and application of econometric techniques. Emphasis is on foundations and development of econometric models, focusing on how a theoretical economic model can be placed into a statistical framework where data is used for the purposes of prediction/forecasting, measurement, and/or testing of economic theory. Topics include estimation and inference in bivariate and multiple regression models, instrumental variables, regression with qualitative information, heteroskedasticity, serial correlation.

Catalog Distribution: (SDS-AS, SSC-AS) (OPHLS-AG, SBA-AG)

Full details for ECON 3140 - Econometrics

This course will provide an overview of recent empirical research in political economy, which applies the toolbox of economic and econometric analysis to the study of politics. The focus will be on the politics of the policymaking process.  It will cover the following topics: (1) Voters' behavior; (2) Politicians' behavior; (3) Information and mass media; (4) Political distortions and capture; (5) Political institutions. The course will be based on the reading of research papers and the in-depth discussion of their implications for public policy.

Catalog Distribution: (SSC-AS) (SBA-AG)

Full details for ECON 3280 - Introduction to Political Economy for Public Policy

Examines topics in labor economics of particular relevance to individual managers and firms. Representative topics include recruitment, screening, and hiring strategies; compensation (including retirement pensions and other benefits); training, turnover, and the theory of human capital; incentive schemes and promotions; layoffs, downsizing, and buyouts; teamwork; and internal labor markets. Focuses on labor-related business problems using the analytic tools of economic theory and should appeal to students with strong quantitative skills who are contemplating careers in general business, consulting, and human resource management as well as in economics.

Catalog Distribution: (SSC-AS) (SBA-AG)

Full details for ECON 3430 - Compensation, Incentives, and Productivity

This course proposes a new and innovative approach to learning about economics. If you want to learn in a different manner, if you are attracted to visualizations in general, this course is for you. This course will challenge preconceptions about what economics is. The goal is to use visual arts to illustrate basic economic concepts that are general, and demonstrate how these tools can be used to analyze and understand a variety of human and social phenomena. The idea of using arts to teach a non-arts related topic stems from recent research in neurology suggesting that creative arts aid learning and memorizing. The course focuses on the core concepts and ideas in economics and is meant to be widely accessible.

Full details for ECON 3475 - Visualizing Economics: Introducing Basic Economic Concepts with Visual Arts

The goal of this course is to expand students' understanding of the economics of developing countries. We will address questions like: why do some countries grow quickly and others slowly? What factors prevent countries, households, and individuals from escaping the cycle of poverty? How do policymakers balance economic growth and environmental sustainability? Why don't financial markets work well in most developing countries, and do informal institutions fill the gap? How do we analyze the challenges facing small-scale farming households, and how do decisions by those households influence migration, labor markets, and the growth of industry? How do we evaluate policies and programs in order to understand what works for development? The approach in this course will be primarily microeconomic, although a basic understanding of macroeconomics is important for some topics. Emphasis will be on theory, real-world examples, and reading and interpreting research and policy papers.

Catalog Distribution: (SSC-AS) (SBA-AG)

Full details for ECON 3550 - Economics of Developing Countries

Standard economic theory assumes that individuals are rational decision-makers; however, that is often not the case in the real world. Behavioral economics uses findings from psychology to determine ways in which individuals are systematically irrational to improve upon existing models. The first part of this course reviews these theories, while the second part of the course focuses on how these findings have been used to design better education, health, and tax policies as well as many others.

Catalog Distribution: (SSC-AS) (SBA-AG)

Full details for ECON 3670 - Behavioral Economics and Public Policy

Risky health behaviors such as drug abuse, alcohol abuse, cigarette smoking, risky sex, poor diet, physical inactivity, and self-harm are responsible for hundreds of thousands of preventable deaths and impose billions of dollars in medical care costs each year in the United States. This course teaches the economic approach to studying risky health behaviors. The research literature on the economic causes and correlates of risky health behaviors will be studied. Numerous policies to modify risky health behaviors, such as the minimum legal drinking age and recreational marijuana laws, will be debated in class. Students will also participate in a policy wargame on the subject of taxes on sugar-sweetened beverages.

Catalog Distribution: (SSC-AS)

Full details for ECON 3711 - The Economics and Regulation of Risky Health Behaviors

Is the U.S. college system a great equalizer or a cause of growing inequality? Improved access to higher education has brought millions of Americans into the middle class, and yet rising selectivity has meant that a disproportionate share of the economic elite come from a few top colleges. This course will explore the three big parts of the college experience --- (1) admissions and the college-going decision; (2) education while in college; and (3) college completion and labor market entry --- and ask how each part contributes to inequality in economic outcomes. Lectures and readings will focus on simple economic theories of higher education as well as the empirical methods used to test these theories.

Catalog Distribution: (SCD-AS, SSC-AS) (D-AG, SBA-AG)

Full details for ECON 3770 - Inequality in U.S. Higher Education

Networks II builds on its prerequisite course and continues to examine how each of the computing, economic, sociological and natural worlds are connected and how the structure of these connections affects these worlds. In this course, we will construct mathematical models for and analyze networked settings, allowing us to both make predictions about behavior in such systems, as well as reason about how to design such systems to exhibit some desirable behavior. Throughout, we will draw on real-world examples such as social networks, peer-to-peer filesharing, Internet markets, and crowdsourcing, that illustrate these phenomena.

Full details for ECON 3825 - Networks II: Market Design

AEM 4500/ECON 3860 introduces students to the economics of renewable and nonrenewable natural resources. Topics covered include the valuation and use of land; water economics, management, and conservation; the extraction and management of nonrenewable resources such as minerals, rare earth elements, and energy resources; renewable and nonrenewable sources of energy; forest management; fishery economics; groundwater; natural resource markets, demand, and supply; and sustainability. Students will learn how to use dynamic models to analyze decision-making over time, and to solve dynamic optimization problems analytically and numerically. Students will also learn how to analyze and explain the intuition and logic behind the theory and concepts. Students will apply the methods, quantitative tools, and concepts to analyze natural resource issues at global and local levels; to introspectively reflect on their own lives and future aspirations; and to draw lessons and implications for leadership, management, and policy. A solid background in calculus is required.

Catalog Distribution: (SSC-AS) (SBA-AG)

Full details for ECON 3860 - Resource Economics

This class will focus on the role of the environment in the theory and practice of economics. It will make use of microeconomic analysis at the intermediate level and will incorporate real-world examples. It examines market failure, externalities, benefit-cost analysis, nonmarket valuation techniques, and cost-effective policy instruments.

Catalog Distribution: (SSC-AS) (SBA-AG)

Full details for ECON 3865 - Environmental Economics

Studies mathematical models of conflict and cooperation in situations of uncertainty (about nature and about decision makers).

Catalog Distribution: (SMR-AS, SSC-AS)

Full details for ECON 4020 - Game Theory I

A systematic treatment of the determinants of the money supply and the volume of credit. Economic analysis of credit markets and financial institutions in the United States.

Catalog Distribution: (SSC-AS) (SBA-AG)

Full details for ECON 4210 - Money and Credit

This course provides an introduction to state and local public finance. The course has two goals: first, to provide institutional detail about U.S. state and local governments and their policies, and, second, to use economic theory to analyze public policy issues that arise in the state and local government setting. The course is divided into eight parts. Parts I and II provide background by reviewing key theoretical concepts in public finance and public choice: Part I covers the normative economic theory of the role of government in a market economy and Part II covers some standard positive theories of policy-making. Part III introduces the theory of fiscal federalism, which seeks to provide guidance on the appropriate role of state and local governments. Parts IV and V discuss different ways in which the provision of state and local goods and services are financed: Part IV deals with non-tax sources of finance and Part V covers commonly used taxes. Part VI explains the budget process of state and local governments. Part VII describes how three of the most important state and local government responsibilities are organized: education, transportation, and health and welfare. Finally, Part VIII discusses state and local government policies towards residential and business development.

Catalog Distribution: (SSC-AS) (SBA-AG)

Full details for ECON 4270 - State and Local Public Finance

This course will provide an overview of recent empirical research in political economy, which applies the toolbox of economic and econometric analysis to the study of politics. It will cover the following topics: (1) Voters' behavior; (2) Politicians' behavior; (3) Information and mass media; (4) Political distortions and capture; (5) Political institutions. The course will be based on the reading of research papers and the in-depth discussion of their theories, methods, results, and implications.

Catalog Distribution: (SSC-AS) (SBA-AG)

Full details for ECON 4280 - Applied Political Economy

The course will cover foundations of modern theory of decision making under risk. The first part of the course will cover the functioning of financial markets with focus on asset pricing. The main part of the course will focus on how consumers perceive and evaluate risk, as well as issues arising from asymmetric information, such as adverse selection and moral hazard. The latter part of the course will discuss the functioning of various insurance markets and welfare implications of potential policy interventions.

Catalog Distribution: (SSC-AS) (SBA-AG)

Full details for ECON 4600 - Economics of Risk and Insurance: Decision Making Under Risk and Insurance Demand

This course takes a game theoretic and computational approach to the study of firms, markets, and competition. Topics include firms' pricing, product, and investment decisions in the face of competition. For each topic, the course covers theory and both analytical and computational approaches.

Catalog Distribution: (SSC-AS) (SBA-AG)

Full details for ECON 4620 - Industrial Organization: A Computational Approach

This course introduces students to behavioral economics, a subfield of economics that incorporates insights from psychology and other social sciences into economics. The course reviews some of the standard assumptions made in economics, and examines evidence on how human behavior systematically departs from these assumptions. The course then investigates alternative models of human decision making, and assesses to what extent these alternative models help improve economic analyses.

Catalog Distribution: (SSC-AS) (SBA-AG)

Full details for ECON 4660 - Behavioral Economics

The course will appeal to students who have strong quantitative skills and would like to see applications of economic theory to analyze issues prominent in major public debates. Currently, we offer a very limited number of advanced courses that require students to do independent research, discuss their ideas in teams, present their work, and write a research proposal.

Catalog Distribution: (SDS-AS, SSC-AS) (OPHLS-AG, SBA-AG)

Full details for ECON 4903 - Quantitative Analysis of Economic Data

This independent study course offers economics majors (i.e., undergraduates whose applications to affiliate with the economics major have been approved) an opportunity to reflect on concepts from economics as they were encountered and applied in a recent internship. Students write a short paper describing their work experience and how it connects to the educational objectives of the economics major.

Full details for ECON 4997 - Cross-Cultural Work Experiences

Independent study.

Full details for ECON 4999 - Independent Study in Economics

Topics in consumer and producer theory, equilibrium models and their application, externalities and public goods, intertemporal choice, simple dynamic models and resource depletion, choice under uncertainty.

Full details for ECON 6100 - Microeconomic Theory II

Topics in Non-Cooperative Game Theory.

Full details for ECON 6110 - Microeconomic Theory III

Covers the following topics: dynamic programming; stochastic growth; search models; cash-in-advance models; real business-cycle models; labor indivisibilities and lotteries; heterogeneous agents models; optimal fiscal and monetary policy; sustainable plans; and endogenous growth.

Full details for ECON 6140 - Macroeconomics II

A continuation of ECON 6190 covering statistics: estimation theory, least squares methods, method of maximum likelihood, generalized method of moments, theory of hypothesis testing, asymptotic test theory, and nonnested hypothesis testing; and econometrics: the general linear model, generalized least squares, specification tests, instrumental variables, dynamic regression models, linear simultaneous equation models, nonlinear models, and applications.

Full details for ECON 6200 - Econometrics II

This course is the second of a two-course sequence. Both PUBPOL 6090 and this course are, for the most part, targeted at students looking to do empirical research into the effects of some X on some Y. Both courses require students to complete problem sets that involve "hands-on" exercises – some based on real data and some using Monte Carlo simulations. The hope is that this "learning by doing" will reinforce what is taught in class. Usually, the first course covers core methods, specifically regression adjustment, matching and instrumental variables. This second course covers additional topics in matching (we will touch on machine learning methods in the process), regression discontinuity designs, panel data methods, and mediation analysis. 

Full details for ECON 6591 - Empirical Strategies for Policy Research II

Independent study.

Full details for ECON 6990 - Readings in Economics

This course explores links between urbanization and real estate markets. High downtown rents reflect the benefits of proximity to other companies and natural features like port facilities. High housing costs reflect proximity to jobs and the lure of urban amenities. At the same time, segregation and congestion are often exacerbated by urbanization, the costs of which are seen in inequality, crime, pollution, and traffic jams. Urban real estate markets are also affected by local government policy, including enforcement of property rights, zoning, tax and subsidy programs. Shrinking rust belt cities and work from home threaten to undermine urban real estate markets, while volatility and uncertainty contributes to mispricing. These and related ideas will be explored drawing on context from countries around the world.

Full details for ECON 7010 - Urban and Real Estate Economics

Full details for ECON 7115 - Job Search Models

The course introduces students to Bayesian time series methods. Students will learn how to make likelihood-based inference about unobserved quantities, e.g. model parameters, policy impacts or future outcomes, conditional on the observed data. Applications include structural vector autoregressions, state space models and linearized dynamic stochastic general equilibrium macro models. Student will become familiar with numerical posterior simulation techniques such as Gibbs sampling and the Metropolis-Hasting algorithm. The course is useful for any students interested in empirical work that involves time series and/or structural likelihood-based estimation.

Full details for ECON 7300 - Applied Bayesian Time Series Methods

This course focuses on firm dynamics, causes of size and productivity differences as well as patterns of growth, entry, and exit over the life cycle. It also studies how firms interact through production networks, the economic forces that shape these relationships, and the consequences for aggregate outcomes.

Full details for ECON 7325 - Firm Dynamics and Aggregate Productivity

Includes reading and discussion of selected topics in labor economics. Stresses applications of economic theory and econometrics to the labor market and human resource areas.

Full details for ECON 7430 - Seminar in Labor Economics II

Since the 1980s, American cities have exhibited increasingly divergent trends. This "Great Divergence" has had profound effects on local employment, income, political preferences, health outcomes, and intergenerational mobility. As more detailed data become available, recent research seeks to uncover the causes of this divergence and evaluate how policy interventions might mitigate its negative effects. Building on this research, this course explores recent advancements at the crossroads of labor and spatial economics. It begins by examining the growing disparities between cities and regions in terms of productivity, labor market opportunities, and amenities, in several countries. It then investigates the rationale behind place-based policies and their potential to stimulate local development. Finally, the course will provide students with essential tools and theories to study the sorting of workers and firms over space and to understand its implications for economic growth and inequality.

Full details for ECON 7455 - Local Labor Markets: Disparities and Remedies

This course is an extension of AEM 7620/ECON 7660 and will cover current microeconomic issues of developing countries including but not limited to factors influencing human capital accumulation (e.g. health, education), contracting and firm structure, credit and saving, and behavioral economics and development. Most lectures will begin with applied theory and then discuss leading papers on that topic. The course is also designed with a focus on empirical methods and testing theories with data. Finally, the course contains classes on how to prepare for field work in order to provide a foundation for many of the practical skills needed to move a project forward.

Full details for ECON 7661 - Microeconomics of International Development II

Research workshop featuring guest lecturers.

Full details for ECON 7841 - Econometrics Workshop

Research workshop featuring guest lecturers.

Full details for ECON 7842 - Microeconomic Theory Workshop

Research workshop featuring guest lecturers.

Full details for ECON 7843 - Industrial Organization Workshop

Research workshop featuring guests lecturers. Presentations of completed papers and work in progress by faculty members, advanced graduate students, and speakers from other universities. Focuses on the formulation, design, and execution of dissertations.

Full details for ECON 7845 - Workshop in Labor Economics

Research workshop featuring guest lecturers.

Full details for ECON 7846 - S.C. Tsiang Macroeconomics Workshop

Research workshop featuring guest lecturers.

Full details for ECON 7847 - Development Workshop

Research workshop featuring guest lecturers.

Full details for ECON 7848 - Public Economics Workshop

Research workshop featuring guest lecturers.

Full details for ECON 7849 - Behavioral Economics Workshop

Ph.D. students in the Field of Economics are required to take this year-long research seminar, and receive a grade of Satisfactory, in order to remain in good standing in the Ph.D. program. Students present and discuss each second-year paper, which must be completed before the semester opens and Economics 7850 meets for the first time. Students also present at least two additional papers or paper plans. These are intended to be part of the core of the student's thesis proposal, which must be given as part of the student's A Exam prior to the start of the fourth year of graduate study in the economics Ph.D. program. Economics 7851 ends with a mini-conference, attended by faculty and other Ph.D. students, in which each student makes a formal presentation in standard economics conference format, and each student discusses one of these presentations. Professional writing and presentation coaching is also provided.

Full details for ECON 7851 - Third Year Research Seminar II