Economic development is the study of the macro and micro dynamics that shape economic and social outcomes in low and middle-income countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America and transition economies. The outcomes we focus on in this course are human well-being, poverty, and inequalities as well as structural transformation, economic growth, sustainability, and the creation of decent jobs.

In this class, we will use the lens of economic analysis to examine how environmental problems arise and what can be done to resolve them. This will include an assessment of relevant environmental policies (e.g., carbon tax & cap-and-trade programs), how these policies function, and what impacts they have on people and the economy. Topics include market failures and externalities, pollution, climate change, management of renewable and nonrenewable resources, sustainability, biodiversity, and others.

A study of statistical methods applied to economic and social data. Measures of central tendency and dispersion, point and interval estimation, hypothesis testing, simple correlation, and simple and multiple regression analysis.

This course introduces students to the modal interdisciplinary approach of political economy, an approach that de-centers economics from a narrow focus on optimization and hype-rationality to a broader vision of how the behavior of homo sapiens acting as economic agents is shaped by social and psychological processes. Thus, the determinants of economic outcomes are similarly impacted by emotional and social context.

This course is an introduction to the economics of education. We will apply basic economic concepts and empirical methods to the analysis of education. We will examine the U.S. educational system from preschool to higher education both as an industry and from a labor economics perspective.

The course, while using traditional accounting techniques and methodology, will focus on the needs of external users of financial information. The emphasis is on learning how to read, interpret, and analyze financial information as a tool to guide investment decisions. Concepts rather than procedures are stressed and class time will be largely devoted to problem solutions and case discussions. A basic knowledge of arithmetic (+,-,*,/) and algebra is suggested.

This seminar develops a historical and theoretical analysis of issues and concerns arising from a Marxian specification of social and economic inequality. Using class as a lens for examining relationships between individuals, institutions, and society, the course examines the role of markets and the state in social and economic life, and the challenges of achieving class justice for all.

This course uses economic analysis to examine the legal system. Tools from economics have become the dominant paradigm for evaluating the legal system, creating new laws, and jurisprudence. We use microeconomic theory and game theory to analyze topics such as property rights, liability, privacy, crime and punishment, antitrust, and discrimination.

Many developing countries face significant economic challenges today: slow economic and productivity growth, premature de-industrialization, limited creation of decent jobs, large foreign debt burdens, growing climate change impacts, and high inequality. In this seminar, we analyze how the interactions between domestic economic dynamics and globalization (unfettered cross-border flows of trade, financial capital, foreign direct investment as well as the rise of China) have shaped economic development outcomes.