41 - 50 of 136 results for: ECON

The relationship between microeconomic analysis and public policy making. How economic policy analysis is done and why political leaders regard it as useful but not definitive in making policy decisions. Economic rationales for policy interventions, methods of policy evaluation and the role of benefit-cost analysis, economic models of politics and their application to policy making, and the relationship of income distribution to policy choice. Theoretical foundations of policy making and analysis, and applications to program adoption and implementation. Prerequisite: ECON 50.

The historically contingent development of economic, social, and political behaviors at micro and macro levels. History's role in individual and organizational decision making. When can extraneous events have persisting effects upon public institutions, private organizations, and government agencies? Science and technology policy making; precedent-based judicial and administrative proceedings; and institutional reforms and regulatory initiatives illustrate positive feedback dynamics; self-organization and emergent properties in complex systems; conditions of lock-in to and escapes from sub-optimal equilibria in economic and social arrangements. Prerequisite: ECON 50, 51. Recommended: Completion of at least one upper level economics course.

Applications of microeconomic theory to Internet businesses: auctions, online transactions, entry barriers, valuation, pricing of facilities, policy for broadband communications, network economics, standards, economics of information. Prerequisites: 51 and one of 102B, 103, 104, 113, 135, 137, 140, 149, 157, or 160.

Design and consequences of laws, given alternative policy objectives. Welfarist approach to legal policy; deontological perspectives including Kant, Locke, Mill, and Rawls. Economic efficiency and agent rationality, law as mitigation of market and cognitive failures, effects of law on expectations and incentives, balancing costs of type I and type II legal errors. Empirical studies of law's effects. Applications: property, tort, contract, antitrust, discrimination, crime, legal procedure. Examples chiefly from U.S. law, but analytical tools of general applicability. Prerequisite: ECON 50.

Economic sources of environmental problems and alternative policies for dealing with them (technology standards, emissions taxes, and marketable pollution permits). Evaluation of policies addressing regional air pollution, global climate change, water allocation in the western U.S., and the use of renewable resources. Connections between population growth, economic output, environmental quality, and human welfare. Prerequisite: ECON 50.

Economic, political, and institutional frameworks for understanding the causes and potential solutions to environmental problems. Environmental policy formation, implementation and evaluation; environmental markets and taxes. Applications include: mitigating climate change, protecting biodiversity, managing fisheries, and maintaining water and air quality. Prerequisite: Econ 50 or consent of instuctor.

The interaction between firms and consumers in markets that fall outside the benchmark competitive model. How firms acquire and exploit market power. Game theory and information economics to analyze how firms interact strategically. Topics include monopoly, price discrimination, oligopoly, collusion and cartel behavior, anti-competitive practices, the role of information in markets, anti-trust policy, and e-commerce. Sources include theoretical models, real-world examples, and empirical papers. Prerequisite: 51.

The history, economics, and legal background of the institutions under which U.S. industry is subject to government control. Topics: economics and practice of public utility regulation in the communications, television, transportation, energy, and postal delivery sectors and health and safety regulation. Emphasis on the application of economic concepts in evaluating the performance and policies of government agencies. Antitrust law will be introduced and discussed where necessary. Prerequisite: 51or equivalent intermediate microeconomics course.

Mathematical introduction to game theory and its applications to economics. Topics: strategic and extensive form games, Nash equilibrium, subgame-perfect equilibrium, Bayesian equilibrium, and perfect Bayesian equilibrium. The theory is applied to repeated games, auctions, and bargaining. Examples from economics and political science. Prerequisites: 51 and course in calculus, or consent of instructor.