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Courses

This page contains content from the 2007–08 academic year. For current information, visit the Harvard Extension School website at www.extension.harvard.edu.

Economics

Related Courses

Related Subjects

ECON E-10a Principles of Economics

Fall term (10062) (Syllabus) (Printable version): Siddiq M. Abdullah, PhD, Professor of Management, Pine Manor College. Thursdays, 7:35-9:35 pm, Harvard Hall, Room 201. Optional sections to be arranged. Course tuition: noncredit $400, undergraduate credit $700.

The course deals with basic economic principles that help us understand the process of decision making by individuals and societies. We analyze the fundamental economic activities of production, distribution, exchange, and consumption at both the micro and macro level. Besides developing an understanding of the functioning of a free market system, we also critically examine the controversies that surround the use of public policies for the greater common good. Prerequisite: a working knowledge of elementary algebra and geometry. (4 credits)

Spring term (22004) (Website) (Printable version): Bruce D. Watson, MA, Associate in Economics, Harvard University and Visiting Instructor in Economics, Wellesley College. Wednesdays, 7:35-9:35 pm, Emerson Hall, Room 210. Optional sections to be arranged. Course tuition: noncredit and undergraduate credit $700. Online and on-campus options. See Distance Education. Lecture 1 video.

This course provides an introduction to current economic issues and to basic economic principles and methods. Economics is not primarily a set of answers, but rather a method of reasoning. By the end of the course, students are able to use the framework they have learned to form their own judgments about the major economic problems faced by the United States and other countries. Prerequisite: high school algebra recommended. (4 credits)

ECON E-1010 Microeconomic Theory (10782)
(Website) (Printable version)
Robert Neugeboren, PhD, Lecturer on Social Studies, Harvard University.
Course tuition: noncredit $400, undergraduate credit $700, graduate credit $1,625.
Fall term: Wednesdays, 7:35-9:35 pm, Sever Hall, Room 202. Required sections Tuesdays, 6:30-7:30 or 7:35-8:35 pm.

This course presents the basic analytical tools of microeconomics. We start by looking at the decision making of individual consumers and ask how these decisions can be optimized or improved. Next, we look at the ways firms make and coordinate their decisions under varying market structures, including perfect competition and monopoly. Then we look at strategic behavior in imperfectly competitive markets, making use of concepts from game theory such as Nash equilibrium. Finally, we take up topics including bargaining theory, information economics, environmental externalities, and public goods. Prerequisites: ECON E-10a, or the equivalent and MATH E-8 or satisfactory math placement test score required; MATH E-15 recommended. (4 credits)

ECON E-1012 Macroeconomic Theory (22243)
(Syllabus) (Printable version)
Hossein S. Kazemi, PhD, Associate Professor of Economics, Stonehill College.
Course tuition: noncredit $400, undergraduate credit $700, graduate credit $1,625.
Spring term: Thursdays, 7:35-9:35 pm, Sever Hall, Room 102. Required sections to be arranged.

This course provides an analysis of the economy in aggregate. It examines theories of national income determination, unemployment, inflation, business cycles (recession and depression), financial markets, and the global economy. Special attention is paid to central banking in the United States, around the globe, and the evolving debate over the role of the government in the economy, budget deficits, trade deficits, and the changing nature of work in America. Prerequisite: ECON E-10a, or the equivalent. (4 credits)

ECON E-1040 Strategy, Conflict, and Cooperation (21946)
(Website) (Printable version)
Robert Neugeboren, PhD, Lecturer on Social Studies, Harvard University.
Course tuition: noncredit $400, undergraduate credit $700, graduate credit $1,625.
Spring term: Wednesdays, 7:35-9:35 pm, Sever Hall, Room 102. Required sections Tuesdays, 6:30-7:30 or 7:35-8:35 pm.

This course is an introduction to the "strategic way of thinking" and a primer on the mathematical theory of games. Students learn about game theory through a combination of analytical techniques and a series of in-class and take-home exercises. Applications are drawn from economics and other social sciences. Topics include the prisoner's dilemma and the arms race, the minimax theorem, Nash equilibrium, bargaining, subgame perfection, and the evolution of cooperation. Prerequisite: MATH E-8, or satisfactory math placement test score. (4 credits)

ECON E-1297 International Economics (21181)
(Syllabus) (Printable version)
Siddiq M. Abdullah, PhD, Professor of Management, Pine Manor College.
Course tuition: noncredit $400, undergraduate credit $700, graduate credit $1,625.
Spring term: Tuesdays, 7:35-9:35 pm, Harvard Hall, Room 201. Optional sections to be arranged.

This course is an introduction to foreign trade and international finance theories. We empirically examine recent developments in the economies of the United States, Europe, and the Pacific region. Discussion topics include NAFTA, the European Union, WTO, economic reforms, and other contemporary institutional changes. Prerequisite: ECON E-10a, or the equivalent. (4 credits)

ECON E-1530d Money and Monetary Policy (12505)
(Syllabus) (Printable version)
Hossein S. Kazemi, PhD, Associate Professor of Economics, Stonehill College.
Course tuition: noncredit $400, undergraduate credit $700, graduate credit $1,625.
Fall term: Thursdays, 7:35-9:35 pm, Boylston Hall, Room 104. Required sections Thursdays, 6:30-7:30 pm.

This course examines money and monetary policy in both theoretical and applied fashion. The first part of the course is an analysis of the role of money, central banking, and monetary policy in the economy with a clear focus on how the Federal Reserve reacts to economic news and how its reaction affects financial markets, particularly fixed income and equity markets. The second part of the course starts with classical monetary theory and moves to modern quantity theory. Prerequisite: ECON E-1012, or the equivalent. (4 credits)

ECON E-1812 The US Labor Market (22769)
(Printable version)

Course tuition: noncredit and undergraduate credit $700, graduate credit $1,625.
Spring term: Required sections to be arranged.

*** ECON E-1812 has been CANCELED.***

Online and on-campus options. See Distance Education.

This course presents the tools employed in research on the operation of the labor market and then uses them to discuss issues such as the determinants of earnings differentials, the impact of various firm characteristics on labor-market outcomes, discrimination, and unemployment. Prerequisites: ECON E-1010 and E-1012, or the equivalent; some familiarity with statistics. (4 credits)

ECON E-1813 The Indebted Society (12937)
(Printable version)

Course tuition: noncredit and undergraduate credit $700, graduate credit $1,625.
Fall term: Optional sections to be arranged.

*** ECON E-1813 has been CANCELED.***

Online and on-campus options. See Distance Education.

In recent years, the US economy has entered an unprecedented era of dependence on debt by governments, corporations, and households. A massive debt overhang permeates our economy, casting a shadow over government, corporate, and household finance and shaping decision-making processes for all of these actors. This course examines both causes and effects of this penchant for debt, utilizing a multidisciplinary approach that draws from labor economics, public/corporate finance, law, public policy, and even sociology and psychology. Prerequisites: ECON E-1010 and E-1012, or the equivalent; some familiarity with statistics. (4 credits)

ECON E-2888a Science, Engineering, and US Economic Progress (12837)
(Website) (Printable version)
Richard B. Freeman, PhD, Herbert S. Ascherman Professor of Economics, Harvard University. Daniel L. Goroff, PhD, Vice President and Dean of the Faculty, Harvey Mudd College.
Course tuition: noncredit and undergraduate credit $350, graduate credit $815.
Fall term
Online only, beginning Oct. 2. See Distance Education.

This course focuses on the economics of science and engineering, with special attention to workforce and career issues. Topics include effects of globalization on the science and engineering workforce and on innovation; growth of team activities and networks in work; impact of career incentives on productivity; university policies; mobility between academe and industry; links between ideas and economic outputs. The recorded lectures are from the Harvard Faculty of Arts and Sciences course Economics 2888hf which meets every other week. Prerequisites: microeconomic theory required; a course in public policy recommended. ECON E-2888a is not a prerequisite for ECON E-2888b. Students must view sample online lectures before they register. (2 credits)

ECON E-2888b Science, Engineering, and US Economic Progress (22676)
(Website) (Printable version)
Richard B. Freeman, PhD, Herbert S. Ascherman Professor of Economics, Harvard University. Daniel L. Goroff, PhD, Vice President and Dean of the Faculty, Harvey Mudd College.
Course tuition: noncredit and undergraduate credit $350, graduate credit $815.
Spring term
Online only, beginning Feb. 12. See Distance Education. Lecture 1 video.

This course focuses on the economics of science and engineering, with special attention to workforce and career issues. Topics include effects of globalization on the science and engineering workforce and on innovation; growth of team activities and networks in work; impact of career incentives on productivity; university policies; mobility between academe and industry; and links between ideas and economic outputs. The recorded lectures are from the Harvard Faculty of Arts and Sciences course Economics 2888hf, which meets every other week. Prerequisites: microeconomic theory required; a course in public policy recommended. ECON E-2888a is not a prerequisite for ECON E-2888b. Students must view sample online lectures before they register. (2 credits)