The economic development of the United States provides an excellent starting point for an understanding of both this nation’s history and its current economic situation. We begin with the colonial period and the creation of the nation and end with the Civil War and the breakdown of the Union. Throughout we provide an economic reading of the events and try to explain the conflicts and resolutions in economic terms.

Requisite: ECON 111/111E. Limited to 30 students. Spring semester. Professor Barbezat. 

How to handle overenrollment: Random draw with a waiting list.

This is an introduction to financial markets and the economic fundamentals of investment decisions. The overarching course goal is to increase financial literacy and awareness of how financial and investment decisions are made. Students will gain an integrated perspective on how time, risk, return, and uncertainty are interconnected.

This course will examine the patterns, causes, and consequences of international trade. We will begin by exploring empirical data on international trade, addressing questions such as: How has trade evolved over time? Which countries exhibit trade deficits or surpluses? And which country pairs trade more than others? Moving forward, we will use classic models of international trade to discuss the determinants of trade patterns. Key questions we will address include: Why and how much do nations trade? What factors determine the composition of exported goods of a given country?

This course examines the determinants of and linkages between market structure, firm conduct, and industrial performance. Some of the questions that will be addressed include: Why do some markets have many sellers while others have only a few? How and why do different market structures give rise to different prices and outputs? In what ways can firms behave strategically so as to prevent entry or induce the exit of rival firms? Under what circumstances can collusion be successful? Why do firms price discriminate? Why do firms advertise?

The United States is in an unprecedented period of rising inequality. This course begins by examining the history of inequality in the U.S. since the start of the twentieth century. It then uses cutting-edge and detailed national data to document and explore the current state of inequality and intergenerational mobility in the U.S. We consider inequality by various metrics, such as race, gender, and geography, and in various outcomes, such as income, wealth, health, educational attainment, and incarceration.

This course introduces the field of behavioral economics, which incorporates insights from psychology into economics with the aim of improving human welfare. Behavioral economics studies how individuals actually make decisions, which may deviate from the way "rational actors" are modeled in terms of making decisions in classical economics. Motivated by non-fiction readings and academic articles, we will use behavioral economic frameworks to characterize this actual decision-making and to explore its consequences for markets and for policy.

Discussion for ECON 111. Requisite for all other courses in Economics.

Two 80-minute and one 50-minute lecture/discussion per week. Fall and spring semesters. The Department.

Discussion for ECON 111. Requisite for all other courses in Economics.

Two 80-minute and one 50-minute lecture/discussion per week. Fall and spring semesters. The Department.

Discussion for ECON 111. Requisite for all other courses in Economics.

Two 80-minute and one 50-minute lecture/discussion per week. Fall and spring semesters. The Department.

Discussion for ECON 111. Requisite for all other courses in Economics.

Two 80-minute and one 50-minute lecture/discussion per week. Fall and spring semesters. The Department.