Course Descriptions
IMPORTANT - Course prerequisites are cumulative. Although instructors may waive their prerequisites in rare cases, prerequisites unmet from earlier courses may prevent enrollment in later courses.
ECON 120 - AN INTRODUCTION TO POLITICAL ECONOMY
This course will first cover the ideas of Smith, Malthus, Ricado, Jevon, Keynes and issues associated with externalities and common property resources. Possible readings are: "Adam's Fallacy," "The Tragedy of the Commons," Coase, "The Problem of Social Cost," "Property Rules," "Liability Rules and Inalienability," "One View of the Cathedral."
ECON 211 - PRINCIPLES OF ECONOMICS I
Economics 211 provides an introduction to the basic nature of economics at the level of individual economic agents; primarily consumers and business firms. Topics covered include the analysis of supply and demand and market equilibria; household decisions regarding demands for consumption goods and supplies of labor and saving; and business decisions regarding the supply of outputs and demands for factor inputs such as labor and capital.
Particular emphasis is placed on the role of prices and markets in allocating resources, economic relationships between costs and productivity, alternative market structures including perfect competition, monopoly and various models of imperfect competition, the theory of labor markets and income distribution, and the economics of information. Additional topics include analyses of economic efficiency, externalities such as environmental pollution, and the provision of public goods.
Students (both majors and non-majors) enrolled at Rice who wish to transfer this course from another institution must pass a departmental qualifying examination. ECON 211 is a required course for economics and mathematical economic analysis majors.
ECON 250 - FOUNDATIONS OF PUBLIC SECTOR ECONOMICS
Prerequisite: ECON 211The prime focus of the course is upon the government budget including taxes, expenditures, debt finance as well as government-owned enterprises. Effects of the budget on income distribution, efficiency and economic growth are also considered.
ECON 340 - INTRODUCTION TO GAME THEORY
Game theory is a way of thinking about strategic situations. Ideas such as dominance, Nash equilibrium, evolutionary stability, backward induction, commitment, credibility, asymmetric information, adverse selection, and signaling are discussed and applied to games played in class and to examples drawn from economics, politics, the movies, and elsewhere. Some familiarity with the principles of microeconomics (e.g. ECON 211) is desirable, but not essential. No prior knowledge of game theory is assumed.
ECON 348 - ORGANIZATIONAL DESIGN
Prerequisites: ECON 211 or ECON 370An introduction to the analysis, design, and management of organizations with emphasis on incentives and information. Principles from economics, political science, and game theory will be applied to problems in project and team management, in organizational computing, and in allocating and pricing shared facilities. Cross-listed with POLI 348.
ECON 355 - FINANCIAL MARKETS
Prerequisite: ECON 211
An introduction to the micro-foundations of financial markets and instruments.
ECON 370 - MICROECONOMIC THEORY
Prerequisites: ECON 211 and MATH 101, or ECON 211 and MATH 111 and 112 Intermediate level analysis of markets, firms, households, income distribution, and general equilibrium. Required for economics and mathematical economic analysis majors.
ECON 375 - MACROECONOMIC THEORY
Prerequisite: ECON 370This course is designed to provide students with the economic and analytical tools to better understand the domestic and global economic environments, macroeconomic issues, such as inflation, unemployment, underdevelopment, and the alternative policy proposals suggested for solving these problems. Emphasis will be placed on business cycle behavior, stabilization policies, economic growth and international macroeconomic linkages.
ECON 382 - PROBABILITY AND STATISTICS
Prerequisite: MATH 102 Probability theory and the central concepts and methods of statistics. Topics include probability distributions, expectation, estimation, hypothesis testing, sampling distributions, linear models, basic ideas of statistical optionality. Cross listed with STAT 310.
ECON 400 - ECONOMETRICS
Prerequisites: ECON 382 /STAT 310 or STAT 381 and [ MATH 211 or MATH 355 or CAAM 335 ]Econometrics focuses initially on an analysis of unvariate linear models. Subsequent topics include ordinary and generalized least squares estimation, maximum likelihood estimation, analysis of variance, two step regression, constrained least squares, hypothesis testing and prediction. Course also offered as STAT 400.
ECON 403/404 - SENIOR INDEPENDENT RESEARCH
Economics 403/404 allows students to investigate in depth a topic of their own choosing under the direction of a faculty member. All requirements for the course are determined by the professor supervising the project.
ECON 415 - LABOR ECONOMICS
Prerequisites: ECON 370 and MATH 101 This course studies empirical evidence and theories relating to several features of labor markets. Topics covered may include fertility, health, criminal behavior, labor force participation, hours of work, education and training, geographical and interfirm labor mobility, static and dynamic labor demand, unions, discrimination, government intervention in labor markets, and "hedonic" equilibria in labor markets.
ECON 420 - INTERNATIONAL ECONOMICS
Prerequisite: ECON 370Study of the economic relationship between countries. The material covered includes trade theory, tariffs, and other trade restrictions; international finance; trade and development; and current policy issues.
ECON 421 - INTERNATIONAL FINANCE
Prerequisites: ECON 370 and 375 This course focuses on the analysis of foreign exchange and international financial markets. We explore theoretical links that exist between exchange rates, interest rates, aggregate production, and price under alternative exchange rate regimes. We supplement the theory by empirical evidence gained from the classical gold standard, the Bretton Woods era, and the European Monetary System.
The course starts out with some balance-of-payments accounting to lay the oundations for studying the link between international goods and capital flows and foreign exchange rates. In the second part, we focus on exchange rate risk. We explore hedging possibilities such as forward contracts, and foreign currency options and futures. The course concludes with an introduction to the pricing theory of these hedging instruments.
ECON 435 - INDUSTRIAL ORGANIZATION
Prerequisite: ECON 370 Analysis of the behavior of firms in imperfectly competitive markets. Core topics include monopoly, price discrimination, oligopoly, collusion, product choice decisions, mergers, entry deterrence, and research and development.
ECON 436 - ECONOMICS OF REGULATION
Prerequisite: ECON 370This course examines the conceptual basis for government regulation of business, as well as various theories of regulations that explain, in part, how government regulation has actually performed. It also traces the legal basis for regulation, discussed various regulatory institutions, and then focuses on specific areas of regulatory policy. These areas include: utilities, telecommunications, transportation, energy, the environment, consumer protection, and job safety. Depending on the semester, the course may focus on some specific area such as telecommunications or energy. Emphasis is placed on classroom discussions of various current regulatory issues.
ECON 437 - ENERGY ECONOMICS
Prerequisites: ECON 370 and 375 Discussion of key aspects in the supply and demand of energy. Topics include optimal extraction of depletable resources, transportation, storage, end-use and efficiency, and the relationship between economic activity, energy, and the environment.
ECON 438 - BUSINESS, LAW, AND ECONOMICS
Prerequisite: ECON 211This course covers the tools in law and economics which are used to characterize efficient laws in property, tort, contract, agency, and criminal law. The course will focus on applying the law and economic tools to actual cases.
ECON 439 - TORTS, PROPERTY, AND CONTRACTS
Prerequisite: ECON 370 The course will address the role of economics in understanding the legal system, in particular, understanding how the law allocates entitlements and risk in property, tort and contract law. This course is primarily intended for students who are considering attending law school and uses instruction methods appropriate for that goal. Students wishing to enroll in this course should submit a one-page statement to the instructor explaining their interest in the course.
ECON 440 - GAME THEORY AND ECONOMIC BEHAVIOR
Prerequisite: ECON 370Choice under uncertainty and Von Neumann Morgenstern utility; games in normal form: mixed strategies, Nash equilibrium (existence and stability); games in extensive form: backward induction and other equilibrium refinements; games with incomplete information: Bayesian Nash equilibrium, application to signaling, cooperative games: the coalition form, coalition information and core stability, applications to exchange and bilateral Groves mechanisms.
ECON 445 - MANAGERIAL ECONOMICS
Prerequisites: ECON 370 and MATH 101 or MATH 111
Students are expected to learn how to apply the tools they learned in Microeconomic Theory (Econ 370) to business problems. For instance, designing the optimal channels of distribution and compensation packages, and determining the profitability of an industry.
ECON 446 - APPLIED ECONOMETRICS
Prerequisites: ECON 211 and STAT 280 or ECON 382/STAT 310Applied econometrics methods; focus will be on the application of econometrics and complementary measurement methodologies to modeling, forecasting, and hypothesis testing. Applications will include firm decision-making testing for discrimination in the workplace, competition policy, portfolio management, and macroeconomic forecasting. Some knowledge of calculus is required.
ECON 447 - ADVANCED TOPICS IN ENERGY ECONOMICS
Prerequisites: ECON 437 and ECON 400 or 446
Recommended prerequisite: Economics 477
A more detailed development and analysis of topics in energy modeling. Topics include optimal extraction of depletable resources with uncertainty, energy demand by commodity and end-use sector, and the relationship between energy commodity prices. Graduate/Undergraduate Equivalency: ECON 547.
ECON 448 - CORPORATE FINANCE
Prerequisites: ECON 370 and [ACCO 305 or BUSI 305 ] and [ STAT 280 or ECON 382/STAT 310 ] Study of financial theory and its application to practical problems in corporations. Covers the valuation of stocks and bonds, investment decisions, financing decisions, corporate control and the interaction between investment and financing decisions.
ECON 449 - BASICS OF FINANCIAL ENGINEERING
Prerequisites: MATH 221 and MATH 222 and [ ECON 382/STAT 310 or ECON 400 ]This course covers the use of financial securities and derivatives to take or hedge financial risk positions. Most commonly used instruments, from simple forwards and futures to exotic options and swaptions are covered. The pricing of derivative securities will also be studied, but the emphasis will be on the mechanics and uses of financial engineering methods.
ECON 450 - WORLD ECONOMICS AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT
Prerequisite: ECON 370The course discusses economic growth, poverty, inequality, demographics, human capital, market failures, institutional failures, trade, religion and terrorism.
ECON 451 - THE POLITICAL ECONOMY OF LATIN AMERICA
Prerequisite: ECON 370 This course examines the economic development of selected countries of Latin America. The course covers a large number of areas typically surveyed in the field of development economics as well as how these issues are impacted by the political process.
The first part of the course focuses on the characteristics and problems of Latin American economies. These countries vary enormously with respect to their level of development, population density, ethnic and linguistic make-up, and historical experience. They share a record of uneven development, high rates of inequality,and chronic deficits in both government and foreign current accounts.
The second part of the course provides a critical analysis of the shifts in development policy from outward oriented policies in the late 19th and early 20th centuries to protectionist import substitution in the 1930s and early post war II years and then finally to the neo-liberal policies that are currently being pursued.
Students are divided into small groups each of which are assigned one or more countries. These groups are responsible for making short presentations on various aspects of their assigned countries. Close collaboration within groups is expected.
A major paper is required in which the student investigates some problem or policy of a country in considerable depth or undertakes a comparative study, examining differences in performance or policies among several countries.
ECON 452 - RELIGION, ETHICS, AND ECONOMICS
Prerequisite: ECON 211Review economics models of the formation of religious groups and ethical norms, as well as, the interactions of religious beliefs and ethical norms with economic incentives and legal systems. Also review recent debates on the role of ethics in corporate culture, especially in highly competitive industries and markets. Students will write term papers on topics of their choosing, subject to professor's approval.
ECON 455 - MONEY AND FINANCIAL MARKETS
Prerequisites: ECON 355 and 370 Micro-foundations of monetary, fiscal and financial theory.
ECON 461 - URBAN ECONOMICS
Prerequisite: ECON 370 Economics 461 is a course dealing with the nature and development of urban areas. The analytical sections of the course deal with the location of firms and households in an urban spatial context, the size distribution of urban areas, the theory of land rent, and optimal city size.
Various urban problems such as poverty, racial segregation and discrimination, and pollution and environmental quality are discussed. Other policy questions deal with congestion tolls and efficient highway investment, land use regulation, central city fiscal problems, and alternative educational policies.
ECON 477 - MATHEMATICAL STRUCTURE OF ECONOMIC THEORY
Prerequisites: ECON 370 and [ MATH 212 or MATH 221 ] and [ CAAM 335 or MATH 355 ]
The course goal is to make acquaintance with the optimization technique and other advanced tools used in modern economic theory. It concentrates on individual optimization. We start from the two person zero sum games, and discuss its connection to duality in linear programming. We proceed to study elements of topology, convexity and separation. The usage of separation and fixed point theorems to prove equilibrium existence is demonstrated. Next, calculus technique for constraint optimization is presented. The last part of the course is devoted to the principles of dynamic optimization (dynamic programming, calculus of variation and optimal control).
Mastering of technical skills, such as multivariable analysis and basic linear algebra, and interest in learning the logic behind mathematical statements are essential to succeed in the course. Also offered as Computational and Applied Mathematics 477.
ECON 479 - APPLIED GENERAL EQUILIBRIUM MODELING
Prerequisite: ECON 370 Students will learn the theory of general equilibrium modeling and the details of a basic model (constructed using Matlab), and then use the model to analyze the efficiency, equity, and transitional effects of various policy options. Tax reform will be the primary application; others may include social security, debt policy, environmental policy, and energy policy.
ECON 480 - ENVIRONMENTAL ECONOMICS
Prerequisite: ECON 370 The economic theories of externalities and common property resources are used to analyze environmental problems such as air and water pollution and wildlife conservation. Regulation, taxes and subsidies, transferable pollution rights and legal solutions to environmental problems are evaluated. Environmental and other aspects of energy sources will also be discussed. Crosslisted with ENST 480. Cross-list: ENST 480.
ECON 481 - HEALTH ECONOMICS
Prerequisites: ECON 370 and [ ECON 382/STAT 310 or ECON 400 or ECON 446 or STAT 280 ] Health economics applies the tools of economics to issues of the
organization, delivery, and financing of health care. The objectives of
this course are to:
(1) develop an understanding of the relevance of economic concepts to the health care sector,
(2) to describe the system of health care financing and delivery arrangements in the health care sector, and
(3) to impart an understanding of the role of economic factors in the development of public policy concerning health and health care.
ECON 482 - DISTRIBUTIVE JUSTICE
Prerequisite: ECON 370The microeconomic approach to fair division seeks to combine efficiency, fairness and incentive-compatibility in allocation problems involving trade and production. The course focuses on: the simple proportionality and equality principles; competitive trade and the No Envy test; the Stand Alone test and the cooperative game model; the Shapley value.
The welfarist model of collective utility functions captures competing theories of the social contract such as utilitarianism and egalitarianism. The social choice model of preference aggregation and voting rules formalizes democratic decision-making and uncovers some of its limits in the impossibility results of Arrow and Gibbard-Satterthwaite.
ECON 483 - PUBLIC FINANCE: TAX POLICY
Prerequisite: ECON 370
Economics 483 provides a description of the theory and practice of tax policy. The course begins with a discussion of alternative tax systems, including the current income tax as well as many of the consumption-based reform proposals currently under discussion, and theoretical methods of evaluating such alternative tax systems. The effects of taxes on individual labor supply, saving, human capital formation, and risk taking are analyzed, as are the effects of taxes on the investment decisions made by business firms. The theory of tax incidence is presented and applications using computational general equilibrium models are discussed. Recent theories of optimal taxation and optimal tax reform are described. The course concludes with a discussion of special topics, such as the tax treatment of the family, interactions between federal, state, and local government tax policies, the effects of local taxes with special emphasis on the property tax, the taxation of electronic commerce, and the estate tax.
ECON 484 - PUBLIC EXPENDITURE THEORY AND SOCIAL INSURANCE
Prerequisite: ECON 370 Public good theory including non-rival and congestible facilities, theory of local public goods including the economics of education. The problem of preference revelation and the fundamentals of benefit-cost analysis. Analysis of the effects of social security, old age retirement, and the role of government in financing healthcare - Medicare and Medicaid.
ECON 485/486 - CONTEMPORARY ECONOMIC ISSUES
The role of energy in the economy, including the history of markets for primary fuels, such as coal, oil, and natural gas. Energy demand in the long term, energy supply and resource pricing and emerging energy technologies. The theory of exhaustible resources. Energy prices and business cycles, energy taxation and other relevant policy and environmental issues. Not offered every year.
ECON 495 - SENIOR SEMINAR
Prerequisite: Permission of instructorSenior seminar is devoted to a comprehensive analysis of a specific economic topic. Topics covered vary from year to year. In many cases, a faculty member will structure the course around a current individual research project. Students are typically expected to present a paper in the course. Not offered every year.