This first course in economics provides the fundamental tools for exploration of the field. Microeconomics considers the decisions of households and firms about what to consume and what to produce, and the efficiency and equity of market outcomes. Supply and demand analysis is developed and applied. Policy issues include price controls, competition and monopoly, income inequality , and the role of government in market economies. Students who have AP or IB credit in economics, and who elect ECON 101, forfeit the AP or IB credit. ECON 101P is an alternative course open to students who have not fulfilled the Quantitative Reasoning (QR) component of the Quantitative Reasoning & Data Literacy requirement.
Units: 1
Max Enrollment: 30
Prerequisites: Fulfillment of the Quantitative Reasoning (QR) component of the Quantitative Reasoning & Data Literacy requirement.
Instructor: Staff
Distribution Requirements: SBA - Social and Behavioral Analysis
Typical Periods Offered: Spring; Fall
Semesters Offered this Academic Year: Fall; Spring
Notes:
This first course in economics provides the fundamental tools for exploration of the field. Microeconomics considers the decisions of households and firms about what to consume and what to produce, and the efficiency and equity of market outcomes. Supply and demand analysis is developed and applied. Policy issues include price controls, competition and monopoly, income inequality, and the role of government in market economies.
Econ 101P is open to (but is not limited to) students who do not meet the QR prerequisites for ECON 101 and is also appropriate for students who, because of their previous preparation in economics and mathematics, would benefit from additional academic support for their study of introductory economics. Additional class meeting slots will emphasize fluency with mathematical tools needed for success in economics. Students are normally expected to enroll concurrently in ECON 251H. Students who have AP or IB credit in Economics, and who elect ECON 101P, forfeit the AP or IB credit.
Units: 1
Max Enrollment: 30
Prerequisites: None. Enrollment is by permission of the instructor. First generation students and students with QR scores below 10 will be sent an explicit invitation to join. Concurrent enrollment in ECON 251H is expected but is not a requirement.
Instructor: Rothschild
Distribution Requirements: SBA - Social and Behavioral Analysis
Typical Periods Offered: Fall
Semesters Offered this Academic Year: Fall
Notes:
This course follows ECON 101 in continuing to build fundamental tools for exploration of the field. The course analyzes the aggregate dimensions of a market-based economy. Topics include the measurement of national income, economic growth, unemployment, inflation, business cycles, the balance of payments, and exchange rates. The impact of government monetary and fiscal policies is considered. Students who have AP or IB credit in economics and who elect ECON 102 forfeit the AP or IB credit. ECON 102P is an alternative course open to students who have not fulfilled the Quantitative Reasoning (QR) component of the Quantitative Reasoning & Data Literacy requirement.
Units: 1
Max Enrollment: 30
Prerequisites: ECON 101 or ECON 101P. Fulfillment of the Quantitative Reasoning (QR) component of the Quantitative Reasoning & Data Literacy requirement.
Instructor: Staff
Distribution Requirements: SBA - Social and Behavioral Analysis
Typical Periods Offered: Spring; Fall
Semesters Offered this Academic Year: Fall; Spring
Notes:
This course follows ECON 101 in continuing to build fundamental tools for exploration of the field. The course analyzes the aggregate dimensions of a market-based economy. Topics include the measurement of national income, economic growth, unemployment, inflation, business cycles, the balance of payments, and exchange rates. The impact of government monetary and fiscal policies is considered.
ECON 102P is open to (but is not limited to) students who do not meet the QR prerequisites for ECON 101 and is also appropriate for students who, because of their previous preparation in economics and mathematics, would benefit from additional academic support for their study of introductory economics. Additional class meeting slots will emphasize fluency with mathematical tools needed for success in economics. Students are normally expected to enroll concurrently in ECON 251H. Students who have AP or IB credit in economics, and who elect 102P, forfeit the AP or IB credit.
Units: 1
Max Enrollment: 30
Prerequisites: ECON 101 or ECON 101P. Enrollment is by permission of the instructor. First generation students and students with QR scores below 10 will be sent an explicit invitation to join. Concurrent enrollment in ECON 251H is expected but is not a requirement. Students who took ECON 101P will be given priority in admission to ECON 102P.
Instructor: Weerapana
Distribution Requirements: SBA - Social and Behavioral Analysis
Typical Periods Offered: Spring
Semesters Offered this Academic Year: Spring
Notes:
An introduction to the collection, analysis, interpretation, and presentation of quantitative data as used to understand problems in economics and sociology. Using examples drawn from these fields, this course focuses on basic concepts in probability and statistics, such as measures of central tendency and dispersion, hypothesis testing, and parameter estimation. Data analysis exercises are drawn from both academic and everyday applications.
Units: 1
Max Enrollment: 30
Crosslisted Courses: SOC 190
Prerequisites: ECON 101 or ECON 101P or one course in sociology. Fulfillment of the Quantitative Reasoning (QR) component of the Quantitative Reasoning & Data Literacy requirement. Not open to students who have taken or are taking STAT 160, STAT 218, PSYC 105 or PSYC 205.
Instructor: Giles, Levine, Swingle (Sociology)
Distribution Requirements: SBA - Social and Behavioral Analysis
Degree Requirements: DL - Data Literacy (Formerly QRF); DL - Data Literacy (Formerly QRDL)
Typical Periods Offered: Summer; Spring; Fall
Semesters Offered this Academic Year: Spring; Fall
Notes:
Intermediate microeconomic theory: analysis of the individual household, firm, industry, and market, and the social implications of resource allocation choices. Emphasis on application of theoretical methodology.
Units: 1
Max Enrollment: 25
Prerequisites: All of the following -- ECON 101 or ECON 101P, ECON 102 or ECON 102P, and one math course at the level of MATH 115 or higher. The math course must be taken at Wellesley.
Instructor: Abeberese, McKnight, Rothschild, Skeath
Distribution Requirements: SBA - Social and Behavioral Analysis
Typical Periods Offered: Spring; Fall
Semesters Offered this Academic Year: Fall; Spring
Notes:
Intermediate macroeconomic theory: analysis of fluctuations in aggregate income and growth and the balance of payments. Analysis of policies to control inflation and unemployment.
Units: 1
Max Enrollment: 25
Prerequisites: All of the following -- ECON 101 or ECON 101P, ECON 102 or ECON 102P, and one math course at the level of MATH 115 or higher. The math course must be taken at Wellesley.
Instructor: Hilt, Neumuller
Distribution Requirements: SBA - Social and Behavioral Analysis
Typical Periods Offered: Spring; Fall
Semesters Offered this Academic Year: Fall; Spring
Notes:
This course introduces students to the methods economists use to assess empirical relationships, primarily regression analysis. Issues examined include statistical significance, goodness-of-fit, dummy variables, and model assumptions. Includes an introduction to panel data models, instrumental variables, and randomized and natural experiments. Students learn to apply the concepts to data, read economic research, and write an empirical research paper.
Units: 1
Max Enrollment: 21
Prerequisites: All of the following -- ECON 101 or ECON 101P, ECON 102 or ECON 102P, and one math course at the level of MATH 115 or higher. The math course must be taken at Wellesley. One course in statistics (ECON 103, PSYC 105, PSYC 205, STAT 160, or STAT 218) is also required.
Instructor: Giles, McKnight, Park, Shastry
Distribution Requirements: SBA - Social and Behavioral Analysis
Degree Requirements: DL - Data Literacy (Formerly QRF); DL - Data Literacy (Formerly QRDL)
Typical Periods Offered: Spring; Fall
Semesters Offered this Academic Year: Spring; Fall
Notes: The Credit/Non Credit grading option is not available for this course. Letter graded only.
Economics is the only social science in which the Nobel prize is awarded, and the list of winners and citations showcases the evolution of the discipline and economic ideas with staying power. This course will use the Nobel Prize as a starting point for students to apply what they have learned in principles of economics courses by exploring how economists have framed, and answered, important empirical and theoretical questions in our field. Topics may include incentives and decision-making; poverty, inequality, and welfare concerns; market design, firm behavior, and competition; externalities; financial markets; economic growth and macroeconomic equilibrium; the application of empirical methods to social problems; and possible future prize-winning ideas.
Units: 1
Max Enrollment: 25
Prerequisites: ECON 101 or ECON 101P and ECON 102 or ECON 102P.
Instructor: Werkema
Distribution Requirements: SBA - Social and Behavioral Analysis
Typical Periods Offered: Fall
Semesters Offered this Academic Year: Fall
Notes:
This course introduces the study of macroeconomics in an open economy. Topics include basic features of foreign exchange markets, the structure of the balance of payments accounts, and the effectiveness of macroeconomic policy under fixed and flexible exchange rates and varying degrees of capital mobility. The course also examines the evolution of the international financial system, the role of the IMF, the creation of the European Monetary Union, and the recent financial crises in East Asia, Russia, and Brazil.
Units: 1
Max Enrollment: 25
Prerequisites: ECON 101 or ECON 101P and ECON 102 or ECON 102P.
Instructor: Weerapana
Distribution Requirements: SBA - Social and Behavioral Analysis
Typical Periods Offered: Fall
Semesters Offered this Academic Year: Fall
Notes:
More than half of all the goods and services produced in the world are traded across national boundaries. While economists agree that international trade is beneficial overall, allowing consumers to get more kinds of goods at lower prices, politicians and citizens often see trade as harmful to their interests. This course will examine the economic argument in favor of trade, explore the reasons why nations choose restrictive trade policies and even engage in trade wars, and analyze the consequences of those policies for economic well being. We will also consider the climate consequences of the movement of goods around the world. The course will make significant use of a case discussion format requiring class participation.
Units: 1
Max Enrollment: 25
Prerequisites: (ECON 101 or ECON 101P) and (ECON 102 or ECON 102P).
Instructor: Velenchik
Distribution Requirements: SBA - Social and Behavioral Analysis
Typical Periods Offered: Spring
Semesters Offered this Academic Year: Spring
Notes:
This course considers the role of taxation in the economy. The course studies how taxation affects economic efficiency, income distribution, capital formation, and microeconomic incentives. Major topics include the effects of the individual income tax, the corporate income tax, Social Security taxes, estate taxes, property taxes, green taxes, sales taxes, and the role of international tax incentives in a global economy.
Units: 1
Max Enrollment: 25
Prerequisites: ECON 101 or ECON 101P. ECON 102 or ECON 102P recommended.
Instructor: Rothschild
Distribution Requirements: SBA - Social and Behavioral Analysis
Semesters Offered this Academic Year: Fall
Notes:
This course is an introduction to the study of the key issues affecting economic development in low- and middle-income countries. We will use economic analysis to gain an understanding of these key issues and review policy options. Specific topics will include growth, population, health, education, gender equality, credit markets, trade and foreign aid.
Units: 1
Max Enrollment: 25
Prerequisites: Either ECON 101 or ECON 101P and either ECON 102 or ECON 102P. ECON 103 recommended.
Instructor: Abeberese
Distribution Requirements: SBA - Social and Behavioral Analysis
Typical Periods Offered: Fall and Spring
Semesters Offered this Academic Year: Spring
Notes:
Should you sell your house at an auction where the highest bidder gets the house, but only pays the second-highest bid? Should the U.S. government institute a policy of never negotiating with terrorists? The effects of decisions in such situations often depend on how others react to them. This course introduces some basic concepts and insights from the theory of games that can be used to understand any situation in which strategic decisions are made. The course will emphasize applications rather than formal theory. Extensive use is made of in-class experiments, examples, and cases drawn from business, economics, politics, movies, and current events.
Units: 1
Max Enrollment: 21
Crosslisted Courses: PEAC 222
Prerequisites: ECON 101 or ECON 101P. Open to Sophomores, Juniors, and Seniors.
Instructor: Skeath
Distribution Requirements: SBA - Social and Behavioral Analysis
Typical Periods Offered: Spring
Semesters Offered this Academic Year: Fall
Notes: Ann E. Maurer '51 Speaking Intensive Course.
Uses a microeconomic framework to analyze important questions in education policy about school finance, organization, efficiency, and equity. Is education a private good? What are the costs and benefits of expanded education for individuals, communities, and countries? What are the consequences of more widespread early childhood education and college attendance? What is the role of teachers, peers, and families in education? Does school choice promote student achievement? Applies concepts such as comparative statics, subsidies, externalities, perfect and imperfect competition, cost-benefit analysis, and welfare analysis to these and other questions. Each semester includes one or two policy discussions on contemporary issues in education.
Units: 1
Max Enrollment: 25
Crosslisted Courses: EDUC 226
Prerequisites: ECON 101 or ECON 101P. ECON 102 or ECON 102P and ECON 103 recommended.
Instructor: Werkema
Distribution Requirements: SBA - Social and Behavioral Analysis
Typical Periods Offered: Fall
Semesters Offered this Academic Year: Spring
Notes:
This course considers the economic aspects of resource and environmental issues. After examining the concepts of externalities, public goods, and common property resources, we will discuss how to measure the cost and benefits of environmental policy in order to estimate the socially optimal level of the environmental good. Applications of these tools will be made to air and water pollution, renewable and nonrenewable resources, and global climate. In addressing each of these problems we will compare various public policy responses such as regulation, marketable permits, and tax incentives.
Units: 1
Max Enrollment: 25
Crosslisted Courses: ES 228
Prerequisites: ECON 101 or ECON 101P.
Instructor: Keskin
Distribution Requirements: SBA - Social and Behavioral Analysis
Typical Periods Offered: Spring
Semesters Offered this Academic Year: Spring
Notes:
This course uses economic theory and empirical analysis to examine the lives of women and their role in the economy. We first discuss the economics of gender and note that the research on the economics of gender tends to fall into three areas: analyses of labor markets, analyses of policies and practices to address issues facing working women and their families, and analyses of the economic status of women across countries. After that introduction, we will discuss women's educational attainment and participation in the labor market, gender segregation and the gender pay gap, discrimination, division of labor within household, and work versus family-life balance. In the second segment we will review government and company policies, like affirmative action, aimed at issues faced by working women and families. The final section will examine international evidence on the economic status of women and their changing role in the world economy.
Units: 1
Max Enrollment: 25
Prerequisites: ECON 101 or ECON 101P and ECON 103, or permission of the instructor.
Instructor: Kerr
Distribution Requirements: SBA - Social and Behavioral Analysis
Typical Periods Offered: Fall
Semesters Offered this Academic Year: Not Offered
Notes:
This course explores the health care sector and health policy issues from an economic perspective. Topics to be discussed include the demand for health insurance, the supply of health care, health care costs, health outcomes and disparities, and the recent U.S. health care reform law. The course focuses primarily on the U.S., with some discussion of these issues in an international context.
Units: 1
Max Enrollment: 25
Prerequisites: ECON 101 or ECON 101P.
Instructor: Coile
Distribution Requirements: SBA - Social and Behavioral Analysis
Typical Periods Offered: Spring
Semesters Offered this Academic Year: Not Offered
Notes:
Pandemics like the COVID-19 crisis can exact a heavy toll in the loss of human life. Yet their consequences may also include job losses and business failures, volatility in stock and product markets, and (potentially permanent) changes to global supply chains, work, education, and cities. In this course, we examine pandemics through a microeconomic lens. Topics to be explored include the health costs of pandemics, the economics of vaccines, insuring individuals against pandemic-related risks, racial and socioeconomic disparities in pandemic impacts, the effects of pandemics on firms and markets, and government interventions to combat pandemics. In exploring these topics, we will use standard microeconomic tools including the supply and demand model, models of consumer and firm behavior, cost-benefit analysis, and the expected utility model. We will read current research on COVID-19 as well as research on earlier events like the 1918 influenza pandemic.
Units: 1
Max Enrollment: 25
Prerequisites: ECON 101 or ECON 101P. ECON 103 (or equivalent) recommended. Not open to students who have taken ECON 232 or ECON 332.
Instructor: Coile
Distribution Requirements: SBA - Social and Behavioral Analysis
Typical Periods Offered: Every other year
Semesters Offered this Academic Year: Not Offered
Notes:
The course is a survey of economic development in Latin America, with an emphasis on public policies aimed at reducing poverty and inequality. How can we define and measure development? How did Latin American governments pursue development over the 20th century and into the 21st? How does contemporary social and education policy contribute to the reduction of poverty and inequality? The course introduces students to policy evaluation, with a focus on understanding and writing about field experiments in Latin America.
Units: 1
Max Enrollment: 25
Crosslisted Courses: LAST 241
Prerequisites: ECON 101 or ECON 101P.
Instructor: McEwan
Distribution Requirements: SBA - Social and Behavioral Analysis
Typical Periods Offered: Fall
Semesters Offered this Academic Year: Fall
Notes:
Units: 1
Max Enrollment: 15
Prerequisites: Permission of the instructor.
Instructor:
Typical Periods Offered: Spring; Fall
Semesters Offered this Academic Year: Fall; Spring
Notes:
Units: 0.5
Max Enrollment: 15
Prerequisites: Permission of the instructor.
Instructor:
Typical Periods Offered: Spring; Fall
Semesters Offered this Academic Year: Fall; Spring
Notes: Mandatory Credit/Non Credit
This course is designed to deepen students' engagement with scholarship in Economics. Enrollment is by invitation only and will draw from students concurrently enrolled in the core required courses for the major or minor. The class will introduce students to current research in Economics, presented by different faculty members, and link that research to skills and concepts covered in core required courses. Students will gain a better understanding of the ways the tools they are learning in their courses can be applied to real world issues.
Units: 0.5
Max Enrollment: 20
Prerequisites: None. Enrollment is by invitation only.
Instructor: Rothschild, Weerapana
Distribution Requirements: SBA - Social and Behavioral Analysis
Typical Periods Offered: Spring; Fall
Semesters Offered this Academic Year: Fall; Spring
Notes: Mandatory Credit/Non Credit. The class meets once per week for 75 minutes. It earns 0.5 units and may be repeated once for additional credit.
Further development and application of the tools of analysis developed in ECON 201 (Intermediate Micro). Students will study advanced topics in consumer and producer theory, including strategic models of firm behavior in the presence of market power and many-good models of household behavior. Emphasis on mathematical manipulation of models and effective communication of advanced theoretical reasoning and results.
Units: 1
Max Enrollment: 20
Prerequisites: ECON 201. MATH 205 recommended.
Instructor: Skeath
Distribution Requirements: SBA - Social and Behavioral Analysis
Typical Periods Offered: Every other year; Fall
Semesters Offered this Academic Year: Fall
Notes:
In this course, students will learn about, and apply, mathematical techniques and econometric tools from doing macroeconomic analysis. In terms of mathematical preparation, students are expected to have a good knowledge of calculus and will be introduced to relevant topics in linear algebra, differential equations, and dynamic optimization. In terms of econometrics, students will learn about time-series econometrics and vector auto-regressions. Economic applications will include economic growth, search models of unemployment, New Keynesian models for macroeconomic policy evaluation, and dynamic stochastic general equilibrium models.
Units: 1
Max Enrollment: 25
Prerequisites: All of the following - ECON 201, ECON 202, ECON 203, MATH 205.
Instructor: Neumuller
Distribution Requirements: SBA - Social and Behavioral Analysis
Typical Periods Offered: Fall
Semesters Offered this Academic Year: Not Offered
Notes:
This course will develop students' understanding of causal inference in cutting-edge empirical research. Students will develop tools for their own work and enhance their ability to critically evaluate research in the social sciences. How should a researcher approach an empirical question? How should a policymaker evaluate the impact of a program? Topics include randomized experiments, instrumental variables, panel data, regression discontinuity designs and machine learning. Applications will emphasize research on the frontier of applied microeconomics.
Units: 1
Max Enrollment: 20
Prerequisites: Either ECON 203 or QR 260/STAT 260, and either ECON 201 or MATH 205.
Instructor: Park
Distribution Requirements: SBA - Social and Behavioral Analysis
Typical Periods Offered: Spring
Semesters Offered this Academic Year: Fall
Notes:
This course will use the insights of organization theory to analyze the development of the U.S. economy. The main topics to be examined will include: the evolution of the U.S. banking and financial system and the institutional changes underlying each phase of its development; the contractual foundations of business organizations and the choice between partnerships and the corporate form; the rise of big business and the great merger wave of the 1890s and the legal changes that made these developments possible; and the regulatory innovations of the Securities and Exchange Commission in the 1930s. The course will employ a variety of sophisticated theoretical and empirical methods in analyzing these developments and will present them in comparative international perspective.
Units: 1
Max Enrollment: 20
Prerequisites: ECON 201, ECON 202 and ECON 203.
Instructor: Hilt
Distribution Requirements: HS - Historical Studies; SBA - Social and Behavioral Analysis
Typical Periods Offered: Spring
Semesters Offered this Academic Year: Spring
Notes:
This course explores the reasons for government intervention in the economy and the responses of households and firms to the government's actions. Economic models and empirical research are used to analyze tax policies and spending programs. Topics include the effect of taxes on savings and labor supply, externalities and public goods, and social insurance programs such as social security and unemployment insurance.
Units: 1
Max Enrollment: 25
Prerequisites: ECON 201 and ECON 203.
Instructor: Giles
Distribution Requirements: SBA - Social and Behavioral Analysis
Typical Periods Offered: Fall
Semesters Offered this Academic Year: Fall
Notes:
This course examines the economic causes and consequences of international migration, both historically and in the present, with a focus on the U.S. experience. We explore changes in immigration law over time and the political debates surrounding immigration in the past and present. Topics include: the effect of immigrants on the wages of the native born; immigrants' use of welfare and other social services; and immigrants' involvement in crime and their treatment in the criminal justice system. In each case, students will discuss the popular perception, the theory, and the empirical evidence, with a focus on the public policy alternatives for dealing with each issue.
Units: 1
Max Enrollment: 20
Prerequisites: ECON 201 and ECON 203.
Instructor: Butcher
Distribution Requirements: SBA - Social and Behavioral Analysis
Typical Periods Offered: Fall
Semesters Offered this Academic Year: Fall
Notes:
This course examines the reasons for the integration across borders of the markets in goods and the factors of production, and the consequences of these trends. In the first part of the course we discuss the history of globalization. We then investigate the rationale and record of international trade, the immigration of labor, and global financial flows. We examine issues related to international public goods, and the need for collective solutions to such global problems as pandemics and pollution. We also investigate the records of international governmental organizations.
Units: 1
Max Enrollment: 20
Prerequisites: ECON 201.
Instructor: Joyce
Distribution Requirements: SBA - Social and Behavioral Analysis
Typical Periods Offered: Spring
Semesters Offered this Academic Year: Spring
Notes:
This course deals with economic activity in an open economy. Students learn basic concepts, including the balance of payments, exchange rates, and capital flows. The impact of government policies in open economies is analyzed. The last section examines financial crises and the role of the IMF.
Units: 1
Max Enrollment: 20
Prerequisites: ECON 201, ECON 202 and ECON 203.
Instructor: Joyce
Distribution Requirements: SBA - Social and Behavioral Analysis
Typical Periods Offered: Fall
Semesters Offered this Academic Year: Fall
Notes:
This course analyzes the causes and consequences of international trade. The theory of international trade and the effects of trade policy tools are developed in both perfect and imperfect competition, with reference to the empirical evidence. This framework serves as context for the consideration of several important issues: the effect of trade on income inequality, the relationship between trade and the environment, the importance the World Trade Organization, strategic trade policy, the role of trade in developing countries, and the effects of free trade agreements.
Units: 1
Max Enrollment: 20
Prerequisites: ECON 201 and ECON 203
Instructor: Abeberese
Distribution Requirements: SBA - Social and Behavioral Analysis
Typical Periods Offered: Fall
Semesters Offered this Academic Year: Fall
Notes:
This course uses economic analysis to evaluate important social policy issues in the United States, focusing on the role of government in shaping social policy and its impact on individuals. Does welfare make people work less or have more children? Why is the teenage birthrate so high, and how might it be lowered? How do fertility patterns respond to changes in abortion policy? Theoretical models and econometric evidence will be used to investigate these and other issues.
Units: 1
Max Enrollment: 20
Prerequisites: ECON 201 and ECON 203
Instructor: Levine
Distribution Requirements: SBA - Social and Behavioral Analysis
Typical Periods Offered: Spring
Semesters Offered this Academic Year: Not Offered
Notes:
This class introduces students to the research field of economic development. We will examine some of the big topics in economic development and how economists study them. For example, we will study key aspects of life for poor households in the developing world, such as fertility, education, and savings, through the lens of economic theory. We will consider interventions and policy options designed to improve outcomes and examine related empirical evidence. Students will study recent research in this area and, for the final project, propose a research project on a question of relevance in development economics.
Units: 1
Max Enrollment: 20
Prerequisites: ECON 201 and ECON 203.
Instructor: Shastry
Distribution Requirements: SBA - Social and Behavioral Analysis
Typical Periods Offered: Spring
Semesters Offered this Academic Year: Fall
Notes:
This course analyzes the major financial decisions facing firms from the perspective of a manager making choices about what investments to undertake, how to finance these projects, and how best to manage their risks. This course is particularly focused on the underlying economic models that are relevant for making these choices. Topics include capital budgeting, links between real and financial investments, optimal capital structure, dividend policy, and firm valuation. Additional topics may include corporate risk management, corporate governance, corporate restructuring, such as mergers and acquisitions, and start-up/entrepreneurial financing.
Units: 1
Max Enrollment: 20
Prerequisites: ECON 103/SOC 190 (or equivalent course) and ECON 201.
Instructor: Neumuller
Distribution Requirements: SBA - Social and Behavioral Analysis
Typical Periods Offered: Spring
Semesters Offered this Academic Year: Spring
Notes:
How do individuals and groups make decisions? The core of the course is traditional game theory: the formal study of the choices and outcomes that emerge in multiperson strategic settings. Game theoretic concepts such as Nash equilibrium, rationalizability, backwards induction, sequential equilibrium, and common knowledge are motivated by and critiqued using applications drawn from education policy, macroeconomic policy, business strategy, terrorism risk mitigation, and good old-fashioned parlor games.
Units: 1
Max Enrollment: 20
Prerequisites: ECON 201 and ECON 103. MATH 205 recommended.
Instructor: Rothschild
Distribution Requirements: SBA - Social and Behavioral Analysis
Typical Periods Offered: Spring
Semesters Offered this Academic Year: Spring
Notes:
This course provides a rigorous treatment of the fundamentals of finance. Topics include the valuation of distant cash flows, pricing financial instruments such as stocks, bonds and options, portfolio choice, and equilibrium theories of asset pricing. Where possible, modern academic research that relates to these topics will be introduced and discussed.
Units: 1
Max Enrollment: 20
Prerequisites: ECON 201 and ECON 203.
Instructor: Hilt
Distribution Requirements: SBA - Social and Behavioral Analysis
Typical Periods Offered: Fall
Semesters Offered this Academic Year: Fall
Notes:
Why do people give to charity? What can be done to convince more people to save money in retirement plans? This course explores these and other questions by introducing psychological phenomena into standard models of economics. Evidence from in-class experiments, real-world examples, and field and laboratory data is used to illustrate the ways in which actual behavior deviates from the classical assumptions of perfect rationality and narrow self-interest.
Units: 1
Max Enrollment: 20
Prerequisites: ECON 201 and ECON 203.
Instructor: Shurchkov
Distribution Requirements: SBA - Social and Behavioral Analysis
Typical Periods Offered: Fall and Spring
Semesters Offered this Academic Year: Spring; Fall
Notes:
The course uses microeconomy theory and statistical methods to analyze education policy. What are the private and social returns to investments in schooling, and why do so many students leave school early? What are promising approaches for attracting and motivating good teachers? How should scarce public resources be invested in the quality of public schools, and what role should the private sector play in education policy? Students will learn how to read and critique empirical research, with an emphasis on understanding experimental and quasi-experimental research designs. Students will refine their skills in empirical data analysis, including the replication of classic papers using primary data.
Units: 1
Max Enrollment: 20
Prerequisites: ECON 201 and ECON 203.
Instructor: McEwan
Distribution Requirements: SBA - Social and Behavioral Analysis
Typical Periods Offered: Spring
Semesters Offered this Academic Year: Spring
Notes:
This course uses an economic framework to explore the persistence of inequality in the U.S. The course will pay special attention to racial inequality. We will use economic theory to analyze the rules governing important societal institutions, like the criminal justice system, to understand their theoretical implications for inequality. After examining the theory, we will closely examine the empirical evidence that tests for discrimination in criminal procedures, school finance, residential choices, media coverage, labor market outcomes, and more.
Units: 1
Max Enrollment: 20
Prerequisites: ECON 201 and ECON 203.
Instructor: Park
Distribution Requirements: SBA - Social and Behavioral Analysis
Typical Periods Offered: Spring
Semesters Offered this Academic Year: Spring
Notes:
Poor sanitation, inadequate waste management, contaminated water supplies and exposure to indoor air pollution affect millions of people in developing countries and pose continuing risks to their health. The objective of this course is to provide students with a set of theoretical, econometric and practical skills to estimate the causal impact of environmental policies and programs with a particular focus on less-developed countries. Examples from the readings will explore the effect of laws, NGO programs or natural experiments on environmental quality and sustainability. Students will learn to critically analyze existing studies and to gauge how convincingly the research identifies a causal impact. Students will use these skills to develop an evaluation plan for a topic of their choice at the end of the term.
Units: 1
Max Enrollment: 20
Crosslisted Courses: ES 329
Prerequisites: ECON 201 and ECON 203.
Instructor: Keskin
Distribution Requirements: SBA - Social and Behavioral Analysis
Typical Periods Offered: Spring
Semesters Offered this Academic Year: Spring
Notes:
This course will introduce students to economics research and policy analysis related to decisions made in university settings by students, instructors and administrators. The course will emphasize practical, real-world applications of empirical methods to Wellesley College taken from published research. Potential topics include the determinants and consequences of course and major choice; peer and roommate effects on students’ learning; the effects of academic advising; and the impact of grading policies on student and faculty behavior. We plan to invite selected alumnae back to campus to discuss their research and their careers in public policy and data science. The course will require that students complete a project related to institutional research at Wellesley. These projects could include (1) analysis of an existing data set that has been gathered by a campus “client” such as, for example, the Office of Institutional Research, the Office of Residential Life, or Career Services; (2) working with a specific department, program or instructor to help them design and/or carry out a curricular or programmatic innovation and assess its effectiveness; (3) design a proposal for a prospective evaluation of a campus-wide policy (such as a randomized trial). This is an experimental team-taught course supported by ER&D.
Units: 1
Max Enrollment: 20
Prerequisites: ECON 201, ECON 203.
Instructor: McEwan, Weerapana
Distribution Requirements: SBA - Social and Behavioral Analysis
Typical Periods Offered: Every other year
Semesters Offered this Academic Year: Fall
Notes:
This course applies microeconomics to issues in health, medical care, and health insurance. Emphasis is placed on policy-relevant empirical research. Topics include the impact of health insurance on health, the interaction between health insurance and the labor market, the government's role in health care, the economics of medical provider reimbursement, and the effects of medical malpractice policy.
Units: 1
Max Enrollment: 20
Prerequisites: ECON 201 and ECON 203.
Instructor: McKnight
Distribution Requirements: SBA - Social and Behavioral Analysis
Typical Periods Offered: Spring
Semesters Offered this Academic Year: Spring
Notes:
How do practitioners—including policymakers, financial market participants, and economic forecasters—actually use the tools of macroeconomics? This course builds on Intermediate Macro and Econometrics to deepen your understanding of how the macroeconomy and macro policy really work. Key questions include: What challenges and puzzles are raised by recent macro developments? How are textbook macro models implemented empirically and how do they need to be extended to capture recent developments? How have/should monetary and fiscal policymakers respond given the (sometimes) inadequacy of models and other real-world complexities? Course assignments will include both a policy simulation and a macro forecasting exercise. Step beyond Econ 202 to develop a more sophisticated understanding of macroeconomics.
Units: 1
Max Enrollment: 20
Prerequisites: ECON 202 and ECON 203.
Instructor: Sichel
Distribution Requirements: SBA - Social and Behavioral Analysis
Typical Periods Offered: Fall
Semesters Offered this Academic Year: Not Offered
Notes:
Students will combine their knowledge of economics, including macro, micro, and econometrics, with their skills at exposition, in order to address current economic issues in a journalistic format. Students will conduct independent research to produce bi-weekly articles. Assignments may include coverage of economic lectures by well-known economists, book reviews, economic data releases, and recent journal articles. Students also may write an op-ed and a blog post. Class sessions will be organized as workshops devoted to critiquing the economic content of student work.
Units: 1
Max Enrollment: 12
Prerequisites: All of the following - ECON 201, ECON 202, ECON 203.
Instructor: Sichel
Distribution Requirements: SBA - Social and Behavioral Analysis
Other Categories: CSPW - Calderwood Seminar in Public Writing
Typical Periods Offered: Spring
Semesters Offered this Academic Year: Spring
Notes:
This course uses applied microeconomic theory to study the relationships between firm conduct, market structure, and industry performance. Topics include monopoly power and imperfect competition, price discrimination, product differentiation, firm entry/exit, advertising, and standard setting. The course will introduce the possibility that free markets may not produce the socially optimal set of products. Emphasis will be divided equally between the strategic implications of the models and the policy implications.
Units: 1
Max Enrollment: 20
Prerequisites: ECON 201
Instructor: Staff
Distribution Requirements: SBA - Social and Behavioral Analysis
Typical Periods Offered: Fall
Semesters Offered this Academic Year: Not Offered
Notes:
Units: 1
Max Enrollment: 15
Prerequisites: Permission of the instructor. Open to juniors and seniors.
Instructor:
Typical Periods Offered: Spring; Fall
Semesters Offered this Academic Year: Fall; Spring
Notes:
Units: 0.5
Max Enrollment: 25
Prerequisites: Permission of the instructor.
Instructor:
Typical Periods Offered: Fall and Spring
Semesters Offered this Academic Year: Fall; Spring
Notes: Mandatory Credit/Non Credit.
Units: 1
Max Enrollment: 15
Prerequisites: Permission of the department.
Instructor:
Typical Periods Offered: Spring; Fall
Semesters Offered this Academic Year: Spring; Fall
Notes: Students enroll in Senior Thesis Research (360) in the first semester and carry out independent work under the supervision of a faculty member. If sufficient progress is made, students may continue with Senior Thesis (370) in the second semester.
Units: 1
Max Enrollment: 25
Prerequisites: ECON 360 and permission of the department.
Instructor:
Typical Periods Offered: Spring; Fall
Semesters Offered this Academic Year: Fall; Spring
Notes: Students enroll in Senior Thesis Research (360) in the first semester and carry out independent work under the supervision of a faculty member. If sufficient progress is made, students may continue with Senior Thesis (370) in the second semester.
A seminar for senior economics majors engaged in independent research. Students will learn about the use of empirical techniques in economics, including the opportunity to engage with the research of prominent economists, who present their work at the Calderwood and Goldman seminars hosted by the department. Students will also present and discuss their own research at weekly meetings. Students may not accumulate more than 0.5 credit for this course.
Units: 0.5
Max Enrollment: 20
Prerequisites: Permission of the instructor required. Limited to Senior Economics majors doing independent research.
Instructor: Hilt
Distribution Requirements: SBA - Social and Behavioral Analysis
Typical Periods Offered: Fall
Semesters Offered this Academic Year: Fall
Notes: Mandatory Credit/Non Credit.