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This page contains content from the 2008–09 academic year. For current information, visit the Harvard Extension School website at www.extension.harvard.edu.

Economics

ECON E-10a Principles of Economics

Fall term (10062) (Syllabus) (Printable version): Siddiq M. Abdullah, PhD, Professor of Management, Pine Manor College.
Tuesdays beginning Sept. 16, 7:35-9:35 pm, Harvard Hall, Room 201. Course tuition: noncredit $450, undergraduate credit $800.

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, Lecturer in Economics, Boston University and Visiting Instructor in Economics, Wellesley College.
Wednesdays beginning Jan. 28, 7:35-9:35 pm, Harvard Hall, Room 201. Optional sections to be arranged. Course tuition: noncredit and undergraduate credit $800. 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 $450, undergraduate credit $800, graduate credit $1,725.
Fall term: Wednesdays beginning Sept. 17, 7:35-9:35 pm, Sever Hall, Room 213. 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; MATH E-15 recommended. (4 credits)

ECON E-1012 Macroeconomic Theory (22243) (Website) (Printable version)
Hossein S. Kazemi, PhD, Associate Professor of Economics, Stonehill College.
Course tuition: noncredit $450, undergraduate credit $800, graduate credit $1,725.
Spring term: Thursdays beginning Jan. 29, 7:35-9:35 pm, Sever Hall, Room 210. Required sections Thursdays, 6:30-7:30 pm.

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 $450, undergraduate credit $800, graduate credit $1,725.
Spring term: Wednesdays beginning Jan. 28, 7:35-9:35 pm, Sever Hall, Room 103. 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 the equivalent. (4 credits)

ECON E-1297 International Economics (21181) (Website) (Printable version)
Siddiq M. Abdullah, PhD, Professor of Management, Pine Manor College.
Course tuition: noncredit $450, undergraduate credit $800, graduate credit $1,725.
Spring term: Thursdays beginning Jan. 29, 7:35-9:35 pm, Sever Hall, Room 202.

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 $450, undergraduate credit $800, graduate credit $1,725.
Fall term: Thursdays beginning Sept. 18, 7:35-9:35 pm, Sever Hall, Room 110. 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-1600 Economics of Business (23096) (Syllabus) (Printable version)
Robert E. Wayland, MA, President and CEO, Robert E. Wayland and Associates.
Course tuition: noncredit $450, undergraduate credit $800, graduate credit $1,725.
Spring term: Tuesdays beginning Jan. 27, 7:35-9:35 pm, Northwest Science Building, Room B101.

This course introduces economic concepts that can be applied to many management and executive tasks. These include the economic perspective on the nature, scale, and organization of the firm; the role of information and transaction costs in internal and external markets; principal-agent theory; contracting; and the firm's relationship to customers and suppliers. Prerequisite: ECON E-10a, or the equivalent. (4 credits)