Economics
28 Hillhouse, 432.3575
www.econ.yale.edu/
M.A., M.Phil., Ph.D.
Chair
Christopher Udry (28 Hillhouse, 432.3571)
Director of Graduate Studies
Truman Bewley (30 Hillhouse, Rm 30, 432.3719, truman.bewley@yale.edu)
Professors
Joseph Altonji, Donald Andrews, Dirk Bergemann, Steven Berry, Truman Bewley, William Brainard (Emeritus), Donald Brown, Xiaohong Chen, Judith Chevalier (School of Management), Eduardo Engel, Robert Evenson, Ray Fair, John Geanakoplos, William Goetzmann (School of Management), Timothy Guinnane, Philip Haile, Koichi Hamada, Gerald Jaynes, Yuichi Kitamura, Alvin Klevorick, Richard Levin, Giovanni Maggi, Robert Mendelsohn (Forestry & Environmental Studies), Giuseppe Moscarini, Barry Nalebuff (School of Management), William Nordhaus, Joseph Peck (Emeritus), Peter Phillips, Benjamin Polak, Gustav Ranis (Emeritus), John Roemer (Political Science), Larry Samuelson, Herbert Scarf, T. Paul Schultz (Emeritus), Robert Shiller, Martin Shubik (Emeritus), Anthony Smith, T.N. Srinivasan, Christopher Udry
Associate Professor
Donato Gerardi
Assistant Professors
Konstantinos Arkolakis, Irene Brambilla, Björn Bruegemann, Eduardo Faingold, Justine Hastings, Dean Karlan, Patrick Kline, Fabian Lange, Taisuki Otsu, Kareen Rozen, Melissa Tartari, Ebonya Washington
Fields of Study
Fields include economic theory, including microeconomics, macroeconomics, mathematical economics; econometrics; economic history; labor economics; market organization; money and banking; financial economics; economics of the public sector; international trade and finance; economic development; demography; history of economic thought; comparative economic systems; political economy.
Special Admissions Requirements
The GRE General Test is required of all applicants to the program. Students whose native language is not English must take the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL).
Special Requirements for the PH.D. Degree
The following requirements must be satisfied in addition to those prescribed by the Graduate School.
- Prior to Registration for the Second Year. (a) Students must have taken for credit and passed at least six economics graduate courses. (b) Students must pass written comprehensive examinations in micro- and macroeconomics. These examinations, which are given in May and late August of each year, must be taken in the spring term of the first year. Each exam will be graded separately, and in the event of failure, students will retake only the part of the exam they did not pass. Students may take the comprehensive examination no more than two times.
- Prior to Registration for the Third Year. (a) Students must have met the two-Honors requirement specified by the Graduate School. (b) Students must have taken at least fourteen term courses in Economics and have received a grade of at least Pass– in each of them. With the permission of the director of graduate studies, courses in related fields and independent reading courses can be used to fulfill this requirement. Workshops may not be used to satisfy it. (c) Students must have received an average of at least High Pass in the courses they have taken. The admissibility of courses for this requirement is the same as for the fourteen-course requirement mentioned above.
- Admission to Candidacy. The Graduate School requires that students be admitted to candidacy prior to registration for the fourth year of study. Students are recommended to the Graduate School for admission to candidacy by the director of graduate studies after having completed department requirements (1) and (2) above, the Graduate School’s prospectus requirement, and the following additional requirements: (a) Students must have completed two one-term prospectus workshops. Prospectus workshops have the word “prospectus” in their title. (There are other workshops.) If students can find no workshop corresponding to their interests, they may substitute other workshops for this requirement. If students can find no workshop whatsoever in their areas of interest, they may substitute independent study guided by a faculty member, provided the independent study leads to a dissertation prospectus that is accepted. (b) Students must receive a grade of High Pass– or better in ECON 551b (Econometrics II) or 552b (Econometrics III). More advanced courses may be substituted for these with special permission of the director of graduate studies. (c) Students must receive a grade of Satisfactory on an applied econometrics paper, which is evaluated by the faculty adviser of the paper and another faculty member. In the paper, the student should (i) specify an economic model useful for the investigation of an interesting economic problem, (ii) select data and econometric methods appropriate to the question, (iii) conduct proper statistical analysis, and (iv) interpret the results in an intelligent way. (d) Students must complete with a grade of at least High Pass– a term of economic history, drawn from a list of courses approved by the director of graduate studies and economic history instructors. (e) Students must pass an oral examination.
- Submitting the Dissertation. A student’s dissertation research is guided by a committee of two Graduate School faculty members, at least one of whom must be a member of the Economics department. One of the committee members is designated as chair. When a first draft of the dissertation is completed, the director of graduate studies appoints, on request of the committee chair, a third reader.
Programs in Law and Economics
The Economics department participates in the J.D./M.A. and J.D./PH.D. programs, which are described under Policies and Regulations.
Master’s Degrees
M.Phil. The M.Phil. degree is awarded to students in the Ph.D. program upon completion of fourteen term courses, with at least two grades of Honors. In addition, students must satisfy the qualifying requirements in economic theory, econometrics, economic history, and two special fields, as well as the oral examination.
M.A. (en route to the Ph.D.). The M.A. degree is awarded upon completion of eight term courses with an average grade of High Pass, and satisfactory completion of one of the following: the comprehensive examination in economic theory, the course requirement in econometrics, or the course requirement in economic history.
The M.A. in International and Development Economics is described under International and Development Economics.
Program materials are available on our Web site: www.econ.yale.edu.
Courses
ECON 500a, General Economic Theory: Microeconomics. Truman Bewley, John Geanakoplos.
Introduction to optimization methods and partial equilibrium. Theories of utility and consumer behavior production and firm behavior. Introduction to uncertainty and the economics of information, and to noncompetitive market structures.
ECON 501b, General Economic Theory: Microeconomics. Dirk Bergemann, Larry Samuelson.
General equilibrium and welfare economics. Allocation involving time. Public sector economics. Uncertainty and the economics of information. Introduction to social choice.
ECON 510a, General Economic Theory: Macroeconomics. Eduardo Engel, Anthony Smith.
Analysis of short-run determination of aggregate employment, income, prices, and interest rates in closed and open economies. Stabilization policies.
ECON 511b, General Economic Theory: Macroeconomics. Eduardo Engel, Giuseppe Moscarini.
Theories of saving, investment, portfolio choice, and financial markets. Longer-run developments; economic growth, capital accumulation, income distribution.
ECON 520a, Advanced Microeconomic Theory I. Itzhak Gilboa, Kareen Rozen.
A formal introduction to game theory and information economics. Alternative noncooperative solution concepts are studied and applied to problems in oligopoly, bargaining, auctions, strategic social choice, and repeated games.
ECON 521b, Advanced Microeconomic Theory II. Dirk Bergemann, Donato Gerardi.
Contracts and the economics of organization. Topics may include dynamic contracts (both explicit and implicit), career concerns, hierarchies, Bayesian mechanism design, renegotiation, and corporate control.
ECON 522a and 523b, Topics in Game Theory. Donato Gerardi [F], Eduardo Faingold [Sp].
A forum for advanced students to examine critically recent papers in the literature and present their own work.
[ECON 524a, Behavioral Applied Theory.]
ECON 525a, Advanced Macroeconomics I. Eduardo Engel, Anthony Smith.
Aggregation, inventory models, externalities, spillovers, information, and adjustment. Time series models, expectations, models of financial markets, risk management, monetary policy, term structure of interest rates.
ECON 526b, Advanced Macroeconomics II. Giuseppe Moscarini, Jesus Fernandez-Villaverde.
Selected empirical topics.
ECON 527a, Behavioral and Institutional Economics. Robert Shiller.
Behavioral economics incorporates insights from other social sciences, such as psychology and sociology, into economic models, and attempts to explain anomalies that defy standard economic analysis. Institutional economics is the study of the evolution of economic organizations, laws, contracts, and customs as part of a historical and continuing process of economic development. Behavioral economics and institutional economics are naturally treated together, since so much of the logic and design of economic institutions has to do with complexities of human behavior. The course emphasizes two main topics—behavioral macroeconomics and behavioral finance—though references are made to other branches of economics as well. Because macroeconomics is a major part of this course, it is part of the graduate macroeconomics sequence (including also ECON 510a, 511b, 525a, and 526b). However, this course does not list these other courses as requirements. Also LAW 20083.
ECON 530a, Mathematical Economics I. Itzhak Gilboa, Herbert Scarf.
This is a first course in general equilibrium analysis of market economies. The focus of the course is Walrasian competition, monopolistic competition, and competition in markets with affective agents, i.e., affective competition. Topics include testable implications of these models, counterfactual analysis, and algorithms for solving calibrated models. The mathematical framework is Tame Topology and O-minimal Structures, where the Tarski-Seidenberg Theorem on Quantifier Elimination and Laskowski’s Theorem on the VC-Dimension of Definable Sets are the basis of our analysis.
ECON 531a/b, Mathematical Economics II. John Geanakoplos.
This course examines the foundations of money and finance from the perspective of general equilibrium with incomplete markets. The relevant mathematical tools from elementary stochastic processes to differential topology are developed in the course. Topics include asset pricing, variations of capital asset pricing model, the “Hahn paradox” on the value of flat money, default and bankruptcy, collateral equilibrium, market crashes, adverse selection and moral hazard with perfect competition, credit card equilibrium, and general equilibrium with asymmetric information.
[ECON 532au, General Equilibrium under Uncertainty.]
[ECON 533a and b, Workshop on Discrete Mathematics and Applications.]
ECON 535a and b, Prospectus Workshop in Mathematical Economics. Staff.
Workshop for students researching in mathematical economics to present and discuss work.
ECON 537a and 538b, Microeconomic Theory Workshop. Eduardo Faingold [F],Benjamin Polak [Sp].
Presentations by research scholars and participating students.
ECON 540a and 541b, Student Workshop in Macroeconomics. Eduardo Engel [F], Giuseppe Moscarini [Sp].
A course that gives third- and fourth-year students doing research in macroeconomics an opportunity to prepare their prospectuses and to present their dissertation work. Each student is required to make at least two presentations per term. For third-year students and beyond, at least one of the presentations in the first term should be a mock job talk.
ECON 542a and 543b, Macroeconomics Workshop. Eduardo Engel, Giuseppe Moscarini [F], Anthony Smith [Sp].
A forum for presentation and discussion of state-of-the-art research in macroeconomics. Presentations by research scholars and participating students of papers in closed economy and open economy macroeconomics and monetary economics.
ECON 544a, Economic Analysis. Cheryl Doss.
TTh 9–10.15
An introduction for International Relations students to more advanced concepts of micro- and macroeconomic analysis in an applied context. Different economies in different stages of development are used as illustrations of these concepts. Areas covered include employment, income, and interest rate determination as well as theories of consumption, investment, pricing, money, and production. Also INRL 560a.
ECON 545a, Microeconomics. Michael Boozer.
A survey of the main features of current economic analysis and of the application of the theory to a number of important economic questions, covering microeconomics and demand theory, the theory of the firm, and market structures. For IDE Students.
ECON 546b, Macroeconomics. Roc Armenter.
This course presents a basic framework to understand macroeconomic behavior and the effects of macroeconomic policies. Topics include consumption and investment, labor market, short-run income determinations, unemployment, inflation, growth, and the effects of monetary and fiscal policies. The emphasis is on the relation between the underlying assumptions of macroeconomic framework and policy implications derived from it. For IDE students.
ECON 550a, Econometrics I. Donald Andrews.
Probability: concepts and axiomatic development. Data: tools of descriptive statistics and data reduction. Random variables and probability distributions; univariate distributions (continuous and discrete); multivariate distributions; functions of random variables and transformations; the notion of statistical inference; sampling concepts and distributions; asymptotic theory; point and interval estimation; hypothesis testing.
ECON 551b, Econometrics II. Patrik Guggenberger.
Provides a basic knowledge of econometric theory, and an ability to carry out empirical work in economics. Topics include linear regression and extensions, including regression diagnostics, generalized least squares, statistical inference, dynamic models, instrumental variables and maximum likelihood procedures, simultaneous equations, nonlinear and qualitative-choice models. Examples from cross-section, time series, and panel data applications.
ECON 552b, Econometrics III. Yuichi Kitamura.
The treatment of the subject is rigorous, attentive to modern developments, and proceeds to research level in several areas. Linear models from core curriculum. Topics include linear estimation theory, multiple and multivariate regressions, Kruskal’s theorem and its applications, classical statistical testing by likelihood ratio, Lagrange multiplier and Wald procedures, bootstrap methods, specification tests, Stein-like estimation, instrumental variables, and an introduction to inferential methods in simultaneous stochastic equations.
ECON 553a, Econometrics IV: Time Series Econometrics. Staff.
A sequel to ECON 552, the course proceeds to research level in time series econometrics. Topics include an introduction to ergodic theory, Wold decomposition, spectral theory, martingales, martingale convergence theory, mixing processes, strong laws, and central limit theory for weak dependent sequences with applications to econometric models and model determination.
ECON 554b, Econometrics V. Xiaohong Chen.
The first half of this course is about nonlinear parametric models. Specification, estimation, and testing within the Likelihood and Generalized Method of Moments frameworks. First-order asymptotics for both smooth and non-smooth objective functions. Efficiency and robustness. A short account of high-order asymptotics for smooth problems. The second part is on nonparametric and semiparametric methods. Nonparametric estimation by kernels, series, splines, and other methods. Bias reduction and bandwidth selection. The course of dimensionality and additive models. Specification and estimation of semiparametric models. U-statistics and asymptotic properties. Efficiency and adaptation.
ECON 555b, Applied Econometrics II: Microeconometrics. Michael Boozer.
This course develops the concepts needed to approach empirical problems in microeconomics with econometrics. The focus is less on developing a catalogue of econometric methods than on developing a conceptual basis for understanding how data, econometric methodology, and assumptions combine to produce statistical inference.
[ECON 557b, Time Series Econometrics II: Unit Roots and Co-Integration.]
ECON 558a, Econometrics. Michael Boozer.
Application of statistical analysis to economic data. Basic probability theory, linear regression, specification and estimation of economic models, time series analysis, and forecasting. The computer is used. For IDE students.
ECON 561a, Computational Method for Economic Dynamics. Anthony Smith.
ECON 567a and 568b, Econometrics Workshop. Staff.
A forum for state-of-the-art research in econometrics. Its primary purpose is to disseminate the results and the technical machinery of ongoing research in theoretical and applied fields.
ECON 570a and 571b, Prospectus Workshop in Econometrics. Staff.
A course for third- and fourth-year students doing research in econometrics to prepare their prospectus and present dissertation work.
[ECON 580a, General Economic History: Western Europe.]
[ECON 581b, American Economic History.]
ECON 582a, General Economic History: Latin America. Alan Dye.
[ECON 583a, Topics in Economic History.]
ECON 588a and 589b, Economic History Workshop. Staff
A forum for discussion and criticism of research in progress. Presenters include graduate students, Yale faculty, and visitors. Topics concerned with long-run trends in economic organization are suitable for the seminar. Special emphasis given to the use of statistics and of economic theory in historical research.
ECON 600a, Industrial Organization I. Steven Berry.
Begins by locating the study of industrial organization within the broader research traditions of economics and related social sciences. Alternative theories of decision making, of organizational behavior, and of market evolution are sketched and contrasted with standard neoclassical theories. Then turns to a detailed examination of the determinants and consequences of industrial market structure.
ECON 601b, Industrial Organization II. Philip Haile, Justine Hastings.
Examination of alternative modes of public control of economic sectors with primary emphasis on antitrust and public utility regulation in the U.S. economy. Public policy issues in sectors of major detailed governmental involvement.
ECON 606a and 607b, Prospectus Workshop in Industrial Organization. Staff.
For third-year students in microeconomics, intended to guide students in the early stages of theoretical and empirical dissertation research. Emphasis on regular writing assignments and oral presentations.
ECON 608a and 609b, Industrial Organization Seminar. Staff.
For advanced graduate students in applied microeconomics, serving as a forum for presentation and discussion of work in progress of students, Yale faculty members, and invited speakers.
ECON 630a, Labor Economics. Patrick Kline.
Topics include static and dynamic approaches to demand, human capital and wage determination, wage income inequality, unemployment and minimum wages, matching and job turnover, immigration and international trade, unions, implicit contract theory, and efficiency wage hypothesis.
ECON 631b, Labor Economics. Melissa Tartari.
Topics include static and dynamic models of labor supply, human capital wage function estimation, firm-specific training, compensating wage differentials, discrimination, household production, bargaining models of household behavior, intergenerational transfers, and mobility.
ECON 638a and 639b, Labor and Population Workshop. Staff.
A forum primarily for graduate students to exposit their research plans and findings. Discussions encompass empirical microeconomic research relating to both high- and low-income countries.
ECON 640a/b, Prospectus Workshop in Labor Economics and Public Finance. Staff.
Workshop for students doing research in labor economics and public finance.
ECON 670a, Financial Economics I. Zhiwu Chen.
T 2.30–5.30
Current issues in theoretical financial economics are addressed through the study of current papers. Focuses on the development of the problem-solving skills essential for research in this area. Also MGMT 740a.
ECON 671b, Financial Economics II. Jonathan Ingersoll.
Current issues in theoretical financial economics are addressed through the study of current papers. Focuses on the development of the problem-solving skills essential for research in this area. Also MGMT 741b.
ECON 672a, Behavioral Finance. Nicholas Barberis.
Much of modern financial economics works with models in which agents are rational, in that they maximize expected utility and use Bayes’s law to update their beliefs. Behavioral finance is a large and active field that studies models in which some agents are less than fully rational. Such models have two building blocks: limits to arbitrage, which make it difficult for rational traders to undo the dislocations caused by less rational traders; and psychology, which catalogues the kinds of deviations from full rationality we might expect to see. We discuss these two topics, and then consider a number of applications: asset pricing (the aggregate stock market and the cross-section of average returns); individual trading behavior; and corporate finance (security issuance, corporate investment, and mergers). This is a research-oriented course aimed at Ph.D. students. Undergraduate students with outstanding academic records and prior experience of graduate courses may register with the instructor’s permission. Grades are based on a small number of referee reports and a final exam.
[ECON 680a, Public Finance I.]
ECON 681b, Public Finance II. Philippe DeDonder
Topics include theory of public goods, an introduction to preference revelation, the problem of externalities and their control, and the methodology of cost-benefit analysis and some applications.
ECON 702b, International Economics. Koichi Hamada.
International monetary theory and its implications for economic policy. Topics include mechanisms of adjustment in the balance of payments; fiscal, monetary, and exchange rate policy for internal and external balance; international movements of capital. For IDE students.
[ECON 709a, International Economics and Open Economy Macroeconomics.]
ECON 720a, International Trade I. Costa Arkolakis, Giovanni Maggi.
[ECON 721b, International Trade II.]
ECON 724b, International Finance. Gauti Eggertsson.
ECON 730a, Economic Development I. Christopher Udry.
Development theory at both aggregate and sectoral levels; analysis of growth, employment, poverty, and distribution of income in both closed and open developing economy contexts.
ECON 731b, Economic Development II. Mark Rosenzweig.
Analysis of development experiences since World War II. Planning and policy making across countries and time. Models of development, growth, foreign trade, and investment. Trade, capital, and technology flows and increasing interdependence. The political economy of policy making and policy reform.
ECON 732b, Economic Development IDE. Kei Otsuka.
Examines the models of classical and modern economists to explain the transition of developing economies into modern economic growth, as well as their relevance to income distribution, poverty alleviation, and human development. For IDE students.
[ECON 735bu, Economics of Agriculture.]
[ECON 736au, Economics of Technology.]
ECON 737bu, Economics of Natural Resources. Robert Mendelsohn.
Linking of abstract economic concepts to concrete policy and management decisions. Application of theoretical tools of economics to global warming, pollution control, fisheries, forestry, recreation, and mining.
ECON 738a or b, Workshop on Environmental and Natural Resources. William Nordhaus, Robert Mendelsohn.
ECON 749a and 750b, Trade and Development Workshop. Mark Rosenzweig, Christopher Udry.
A forum for graduate students and faculty with an interest in the economic problems of developing countries. Faculty, students, and a limited number of outside speakers discuss research in progress.
ECON 756a/b, Prospectus Workshop in Development. Staff.
Workshop for students doing research in development to present and discuss work.
[ECON 776bu, Economics of Population.]
[ECON 788a, Political Competition.]
[ECON 790b, Political Economy.]
[ECON 791a, Theories of Distributive Justice.]
ECON 802au, Economic Development of Japan. Fumiko Takeda.
Economic performance of Japan: historical development since Meiji Restoration, postwar reconstruction and rapid growth including the industrial policy, government policy, the political economy of U.S./Japan economic relations.
ECON 899a or b, Individual Reading and Research.
By arrangement with faculty.
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