Economics 349SC - Social Choice and Welfare

This class introduces students to the theory of social choice -- a branch of economic theory that tackles questions of "oughts." How should society choose among several alternatives? What rules constitute a fair method of collective decision-making? Among the topics we will cover are Arrow's and Sen's seminal impossibility theorems, concepts of freedom, individual rights, and opportunities. Throughout, we will make extensive use of examples, prioritizing intuition over mathematical formulation.

Prereq: ECON-211 and ECON-212.