PhD Economic Analysis and Policy Courses
MGTECON 600. Microeconomic Analysis I
This course provides an introduction to the foundations of modern microeconomic theory. Topics include choice theory, with and without uncertainty, consumer and producer theory, dynamic choice and dynamic programming, social choice and efficiency, and fundamentals of general equilibrium.
MGTECON 601. Microeconomic Analysis II
This course studies the roles of information, incentives and strategic behavior in markets. The rudiments of game theory are developed and applied to selected topics regarding auctions, bargaining, and firms' competitive strategies; information economics; and contracting and market design.
MGTECON 602. Auctions, Bargaining, and Pricing
This course intensively studies the theory of auctions and the related literature in bargaining and pricing. Key papers in the early part of the course are Myerson and Satterthwaite on bargaining, Myerson on optimal auctions, and Milgrom and Weber's classic work. We then turn to markets in which complicated preferences and constraints, limitations on the use of cash, or variations in contract details among bidders decisively impair the performance of simple market rules. Emphasis is on Matching markets such as the National Resident Matching Program, asset auctions such as the spectrum auctions. The course also discusses literature on dynamic bargaining, starting with the classic Coase conjecture and reviewing some of the recent developments.
MGTECON 603. Econometric Methods I
The course covers basic probability and statistics. Topics covered in the course include random variables, distribution functions, functions of random variables, expectations, conditional probabilities and Bayes' law, convergence and limit laws, hypothesis testing, confidence intervals, linear regression and maximum likelihood estimation.
MGTECON 604. Econometric Methods II
This course presents a comprehensive treatment of econometric methods for linear models. Among the topics covered are: the classical linear regression analysis, linear simultaneous equations systems, panel data models, generalized method of moments.
MGTECON 605. Econometric Methods III
This course completes the first-year sequence in econometrics. The course initially develops the theoretical and practical aspects of maximum likelihood, quasi-maximum likelihood, GMM and non-linear estimators in greater detail. The instructor will then discuss how these methods are used in practice. Time permitting, we will briefly consider more advanced topics and applications, including: time series methods, nonparametric estimators and simulation estimators. Not taught in 2009-10.
MGTECON 606 Microeconomic Theory for Non-Economist PhDs
This course will be a first quarter PhD course in microeconomic theory, aimed at PhD students who do not plan to become professional economists. Relative to a course geared to economics PhDs the class will differ in two important ways. First, there will be almost no emphasis on proofs. Second, the topics covered will be broader than the standard set covered in Econ 202.
MGTECON 608. Multiperson Decision Theory
In this course students and faculty review and present recent research papers on basic theories and economic applications of decision theory, game theory and mechanism design. Applications include market design and analyses of incentives and strategic behavior in markets, and selected topics such as auctions, bargaining, contracting, and computation.
MGTECON 609. Applied Econometrics and Economic Research
The primary objective of this course is to prepare students to evaluate and produce research in empirical microeconomics. The emphasis will be on the overall process of conducting such research: from defining a clear research question, to collecting suitable data, to selecting and executing an appropriate mode of econometric analysis. Students will be expected to read and discuss papers covering a variety of applied topics. Methodological issues will be discussed in depth wherever they arise, and especially where they are central to understanding a paper's implications, but methodology will not be the central focus of the course.
MGTECON 610. Topics in Macroeconomics
This course covers various topics in macroeconomics and is designed to expose students to classic papers in the field as well as the latest research at the frontier. Both theoretical and empirical contributions will be discussed. The specific issues covered may include long-run economic growth, economic fluctuations, monetary economics, and macroeconomic policymaking.
MGTECON 611. Open Economy Macroeconomics
The goal of this course is to teach students how to use the tools of open economy macroeconomics to connect to the burgeoning literature on institutions in a way that helps them to frame interesting research questions in the area of stabilization, reform, and growth in developing countries. The growth rate of total factor productivity (TFP) plays an essential role in economic growth. In turn, two principal forces drive TFP growth: (1) changes in ideas (i.e. technological change) and (2) changes in institutions. This course will employ the tools of open economy macroeconomics to study the second of these two forces. Recent contributions in the literature focus on the impact of cross-country differences in initial institutions on long-run growth and development. Prominent examples of such institutional differences include the nature of the legal origins and property rights bequeathed to a country by its colonial masters. Not taught in 2009-10.
MGTECON 613. Game Theory
This course studies topics in non-cooperative game theory. Sample topics and results covered include: Modeling incomplete information (Mertens & Zamir existence of a universal type space), Learning (Blackwell's approachability and merging theorems), Reasoning and solutions (Aumann, Aumann and Brandenburger epistemic conditions for solution concepts) and more. Not taught in 2009-10.
MGTECON 615. Topics in Market Design
The goal of this course is to introduce students to current research topics and open issues related to the design and organization of markets. Topics may include: theoretical and empirical analysis of auctions and matching markets; information aggregation in prediction markets and other mechanisms; microstructure of financial markets; e-commerce and novel marketplaces. Not taught in 2009-10.
MGTECON 616. Topics in Game Theory
This is an advanced game theory course and requires a basic background in game theory or an advanced applied game theory course. The course covers foundational topics such as type spaces, modeling reasoning and rationality, game forms, solution refinements and more. A collection of additional topics will be covered independently via problem solving assignment in workshop style meetings with student presentations. Not taught in 2009-10.
MGTECON 629. Microeconomics Workshop
This workshop is a forum for presentation of current work and general discussion of research in microeconomic theory. Focus is on game-theoretic analyses but any methodology is welcomed, as are topics from related fields such as macroeconomics, experimental/behavioral economics, electronic commerce, computer science, law, political science, and psychology.
MGTECON 652. Personnel Economics
This workshop is a forum for presentation of current work and general discussion of research in microeconomic theory. Focus is on game-theoretic analyses but any methodology is welcomed, as are topics from related fields such as macroeconomics, experimental/behavioral economics, electronic commerce, computer science, law, political science, and psychology. Not taught in 2009-10.