Program Structure and Course Descriptions
MA in Economics Non-Thesis Program is a one-year program consisting of 10 courses (30 credits) and a Project. Project Course is non-credit and evaluated as Satisfactory or Unsatisfactory. Students need to register for the Project Course in the Spring Term
Pre-Fall Term | |
ECON 500 Mathematical Foundations (non-credit) | |
Fall Term | SpringTerm |
ECON 501 | ECON 504 |
ECON 503 | ECON 508 |
ECON 507 | ECON 512 |
ECON 511 | Elective Course |
Elective Course | Elective Course |
ECON 594 – Project |
Required Courses:
ECON 500-Mathematical Foundations (non-credit, pre-fall Term 1st Year)
To facilitate a swift transition from undergraduate to graduate training, the mathematical foundation that all students should have before starting the MA courses is reviewed in a four-week long intensive Math Camp. Classes meet three days a week and there is an evaluation at the end of each week. Topics include: mathematical statements and proofs; functions; sequences and limits; continuity; differentiation; metric spaces; integration.
ECON 501 Mathematics for Economists
Covers selected topics in mathematics that are frequently used in the economic theory and its applications. Topics include: introduction to optimization theory (existence of a solution, alternative characterization of compactness, Weirestrass Theorem, convexity); convex sets, concave and quasi-concave functions; characterization of a solution, Lagrange and Kuhn-Tucker approaches; parametric continuity, correspondences and maximum theorem; parametric monotonicity, lattices, supermodularity; fixed point theorems.
ECON 503 Microeconomics I
Consumer theory; production theory; general equilibrium and welfare.
ECON 504 Microeconomics II
Choice under uncertainty; game theory; mechanism design; principal-agent models.
ECON 507 Macroeconomics I
Long-term economic growth; overlapping generations models; consumption, saving, and investment; real interest rates and asset prices; money and inflation.
ECON 508 Macroeconomics II
Classical and Keynesian theories of cyclical fluctuations; real business cycle theory; determination of employment and real wages; credit markets and financial stability; stabilization policy.
ECON 511 Econometrics I
Review of probability and statistics: random variables, univariate and joint probability distributions, expectations; bivariate normal; sampling distributions; introduction to asymptotic theory; estimation; inference. Linear regression: conditional expectation function; multiple regression; classical regression model, inference and applications.
ECON 512 Econometrics II
Departures from the standard assumptions: specification tests; a first look at time series; generalized regression; nonlinear regression; simultaneous equations, identification, instrumental variables. Extensions and applications: ML, GMM, VAR, GARCH, panel data.
ECON 594 Project
Term project conducted individually by the student under the guidance of a faculty member. Culminates in a written project report.
Elective Courses
ECON 510 Topics in Microeconomics
ECON 514 Advanced Game Theory
ECON 515 Advanced Mechanism Design
ECON 516 Advanced Law and Economics
ECON 517 International Trade
ECON 518 International Macroeconomics
ECON 519 Financial Economics I
ECON 520 Financial Economics II
ECON 521 Financial Economics III
ECON 522 Financial Economics IV
ECON 530 Experimental Economics
ECON 532 Economics of Information and Contracts
ECON 580 The Economics of Institutions