In this course, we will think about real world phenomena through the lens of the state of the art macro models. These models are general equilibrium models build from explicit micro foundations. The course can be divided into several parts. The introduction will serve to motivate most of the rest of the course. In the second part of the course, we will learn to build dynamic general equilibrium macroeconomic models from microfoundations, i.e. from optimizing economic agents. Subsequently, we will use these models to study several real world phenomena. This will be the main part of the course. The phenomena, we will study are: (i) business cycles, (ii) economic growth, (iii) the role of (fiscal) policy, (iv) economic inequality.

This course introduces you to economic fundamentals like preferences, costs, demand and supply, perfect and imperfect competition, welfare, monopoly, oligopoly, and market failure. These fundamentals are critical to understanding how markets work, to design successful business strategies and policies that increase social welfare. The course will be enriched by testing the validity of some of these models using real-world data, including the application of the methodology to estimate causal effects of policy interventions in data (building on the content taught in the Quantitative Methods Course of the Master).

This is a graduate level introductory course in mathematical probability and statistics: its objective is to provide students with key conceptual tools that are necessary for additional training in econometrics and microeconomics. Beginning from basic axiomatic definitions of probability, the course introduces univariate and multivariate probability distributions, samples and statistics, concepts of estimation and inference, some key asymptotic results, and it concludes with an introduction to linear projections and regression, whose properties are emphasized in preparation for further coursework in econometrics.

This course is the second part of the applied macro sequence. We will study topics that currently interest economists and policy makers. We will study review articles on the topics and the related models and data analysis. One half of classes will consist of me covering the contents of the papers including the discussion of your questions. I encourage you to read the relevant papers in advance and to prepare a short question for each class. The other half of classes will consist of your presentations of papers and possibly other materials.

This is the second course in the microeconomics sequence and it builds heavily on the first course on microeconomics I. More specifically, the accent will be on a bit more rigours and more general treatment of monopoly, game theory and imperfect competition. Finally, (time permitting) we will study the basic ideas of asymmetric information, moral hazard and contracts. Some of the lecture materials will be presented by the students during the seminars. The structure of the course will be (roughly) equally divided between the lectures and student seminars and presentations. There will be also an exercise session per week. The objective of the sequence in general and of the course in particular is to i) provide students with firm knowledge of the basic microeconomic theory, ii) provide students with grasp of relevant (micro)economic concepts on intuitive and formal level and iii) equip students with tools and techniques allowing them to conduct their own independent research.

This is the introductory course in econometrics. The objective is to give students an opportunity to understand the econometric theory and explore various practical econometric applications, including data management. It builds on the material covered in Statistics and extends it into regression-type models. Students will make regular use of computers. We will use STATA and R (or another econometric packet) for certain problem sets. Some supplementary exercises – data management (using databases [MS Access], using spreadsheets [MS Excel], R or STATA will be prepared if needed. If required by students, optional computer sessions will be provided. As it is standard for introductory econometrics, the core of the course will deal with regression models and their variations. We will spend several lectures on testing linear and non-linear hypotheses, identification issues, and appropriate use of instrumental variable estimation. If time permits, we will cover additional topics like binary type models, bootstrapping, and introduction to time series and linear regression models with panel data.

This course is the first step in professional level writing in Economics in English. We focus on ways that writing in this broad genre differs from other types of writing. Students will practice their analytical writing skills in formal, post-graduate level English. There is an emphasis on academic integrity, and the types of grammatical structures and language used in a variety of professional texts in the field. The course includes lectures, peer input on the main tasks throughout development of the work, and individual consultations with the instructor. Extensive written feedback is given with a view to supporting future work.
The main tasks are an NGO-style position paper and presentation of the paper. The paper should be relevant to the student’s planned MA thesis and its text should be transferable to the Topic Request Submission. Students choose topics that reflect their personal interests in the field. The skills practiced on this course are designed to support student writing and speaking throughout their studies and beyond into real-world contexts.

This is a graduate-level course on selected approaches in so-called “structural” econometric estimation, with emphasis on methods originally devised in industrial organization, but applicable also in different fields. Following a review of some key econometric concepts and tools, the course overviews the main econometric approaches adopted in selected areas of industrial organization, such as the estimation of demand and production functions, and the analysis of strategic and social interactions.

The course will provide fundamental understanding of stylized labor supply and demand in their static and advanced versions, and models of wage determination. The course will combine theoretical concepts, empirical evidence and methodologies of empirical approaches including use of econometrics tools and data. Debates involving students about relevance for public policies and mechanism designs will be encouraged. The course has three major goals (i) to guide students through current theoretical and empirical understanding of major labor market issues, (ii) to promote student’s own empirical research on selected topics, (iii) to make students familiar with common research resources, standards and approaches in the field. Throughout the topics, empirical methodological approaches will be clarified (data and techniques econometric identification).

The course is based on selected and (mostly) recent empirical research papers focusing on particular aspects of the economic history of the United States, paying particular attention to the topics of internal and international migration, cities, innovation, and culture. Beyond providing students with an in-depth understanding of the research frontier in the field of US economic history, the course will focus on developing skills in developing, communicating, presenting, and evaluating research ideas and causal research designs in applied economics more broadly. This course is the first of a two-course sequence, and a pre-requisite for taking “Quantitative Economic History” (Ch. Ochsner) in the next spring semester.

The goal of this course is to expose you to the research frontier in applied microeconomic research in development economics, particular empirical and policy oriented research, and research that involves field experiments. After taking this course, you should be able to identify promising research questions, and know methodological challenges and best practices in this field.

This course is the second step in student’s ongoing practice of their professional communications skills in the broad field of economics. It includes written tasks, a negotiation, and presentations, and continues the collaborative features of Research Writing. Lectures, discussions, teamwork, and individual consultations with the instructor are aimed to continue to build student’s skills and confidence, and to provide useful take-aways for real-world endeavors. The skills practiced on this course are designed to support student writing and speaking throughout their studies and beyond into real-world contexts.

The main topics of the class are econometric approaches to the problem of sample selection and (individual) heterogeneity. While the methods apply more generally, the class will focus on methods to address the selection problem from the program evaluation literature and place particular emphasis on heterogeneity in randomized control trials in the second part of the course.

The course will provide fundamental understanding of stylized labor supply and demand in their static and advanced versions, and models of wage determination. The course will combine theoretical concepts, empirical evidence and methodologies of empirical approaches including use of econometrics tools and data. Debates involving students about relevance for public policies and mechanism designs will be encouraged. The course has three major goals (i) to guide students through current theoretical and empirical understanding of major labor market issues, (ii) to promote student’s own empirical research on selected topics, (iii) to make students familiar with common research resources, standards and approaches in the field. Throughout the topics, empirical methodological approaches will be clarified (data and techniques econometric identification).

The aim of this course is to bring students to the research frontier in the field of applied economic research with a special emphasis on quantitative economic history and long-run development. Students will get a broad overview of economic history based on notes provided by the instructor and a deep understanding of the recent literature in the respective fields. Thereby, students should become critical about empirical identification strategies and should learn how to frame and sell a story. We will mainly discuss empirical settings that apply concepts of causal inference following “Mostly Harmless Econometrics” by Angrist and Pischke (2010). The course also consists of Stata assignments in which students will challenge published papers with newly established methodological contributions in the econometric literature. At the end, students have to write their own short research proposal in the field of quantitative economic history.

This is a graduate-level topics course in Experimental Economics. The aim is to expose students to multiple potential research topics and related literature in Experimental economics. Basic background in Microeconomic theory is assumed. The course will discuss various experimental approaches, such as lab experiments, lab-in-field experiments, randomized control trials, and survey experiments. The focus will be on (i) experiments that test ideas from behavioral economics (social preferences, social norms, identity, time discounting and limited self-control, limited attention, etc.) and (ii) experiments that are primarily motivated by important economic and social issues (poverty, discrimination, inter-group conflicts). More broadly, the course aims to show the value of primary data collection in terms dealing with identification issues, testing competing theoretical predictions and more precise measurement.

The Master Thesis Seminar opens with a plenary session, and provides individualized support for students developing a Thesis. Peers and the instructor will offer feedback on the language and organization of the work via a collaborative framework. The instructor will also offer a series of individualized consultations in the final stages of the thesis.