Lilia is deciding whether to major in economics or philosophy the four core principles of economics

Departmental Office: 1022 International Affairs Building; 212-854-3680
http://www.columbia.edu/cu/economics/

Director of Undergraduate Studies: Dr. Susan Elmes, 1006 International Affairs Building; 212-854-9124;

Director of Departmental Honors Program: Dr. Susan Elmes, 1006 International Affairs Building; 212-854-9124;

Economics is the study of the ways in which society allocates its scarce resources among alternative uses and the consequences of these decisions. The areas of inquiry deal with a varied range of topics such as international trade, domestic and international financial systems, labor market analysis, and the study of less developed economies. Broadly speaking, the goal of an economics major is to train students to think analytically about social issues and, as such, provide a solid foundation for not only further study and careers in economics, but also for careers in law, public service, business, and related fields.

The Economics Department offers a general economics major in addition to five interdisciplinary majors structured to suit the interests and professional goals of a heterogeneous student body. All of these programs have different specific requirements but share the common structure of core theoretical courses that provide the foundation for higher-level elective courses culminating in a senior seminar. Students are urged to carefully look through the details of each of these programs and to contact an appropriate departmental adviser to discuss their particular interests.

Advanced Placement

Tests must be taken in both microeconomics and macroeconomics, with a score of 5 on one test and at least a 4 on the other. Provided that this is achieved, the department grants 4 credits for a score of 4 and 5 on the AP Economics exam along with exemption from ECON UN1105 Principles of Economics .

Advising

The Department of Economics offers a variety of advising resources to provide prospective and current undergraduate majors and concentrators with the information and support needed to successfully navigate through the program. These resources are described below.

Frequently Asked Questions

Please see: http://econ.columbia.edu/frequently-asked-questions-0

As a first step, students are encouraged to visit the department's FAQ page, which provides comprehensive information and answers to the most frequently asked questions about the departmental majors and requirements. This page also includes a section that answers specific questions of first-years, sophomores, and non-majors.

Graduate Student Advisers

For answers to the most common questions that students have about the majors, the department has graduate student advisers, who are available by e-mail at , or during weekly office hours to meet with students.

Students should direct all questions and concerns about their major to the graduate student advisers either in person or via e-mail. The graduate student advisers can discuss major requirements, scheduling, and major course selection, as well as review student checklists and discuss progress in the major. Occasionally, graduate student advisers may refer a student to someone else in the department (such as the director of undergraduate studies) or in the student's school for additional advising.

Contact information and office hours for the graduate student advisers are posted on the Advisers page of the departmental website in the week prior to the beginning of the semester. Students considering one of the interdepartmental majors should speak to both a graduate student adviser from the Economics Department and the adviser from the other department early in the sophomore year.

Faculty Advisers

Faculty advisers are available to discuss students' academic and career goals, both in terms of the undergraduate career and post-graduate degrees and research. Students wishing to discuss these types of substantive topics may request a faculty adviser by completing the form available on the Advisers page of the departmental website and depositing it in the mailbox of the director of undergraduate studies in the department's main office, 1022 International Affairs Building.

The department does its best to match students with faculty members that share similar academic interests. While faculty advisers do not discuss major requirements—that is the role of the graduate student advisers—they do provide guidance in course selection as it relates to meeting a student's intellectual goals and interests, as well as advise on career and research options. It is recommended that students who plan on attending a Ph.D. program in economics or are interested in pursuing economics research after graduation request a faculty adviser.

On-Line Information

Students can access useful information on-line, including: a comprehensive FAQ page; requirement changes to the major and concentration; sample programs and checklists; faculty office hours, contact information and fields of specialization; adviser information; teaching assistant information; research assistant opportunities; list of tutors; and Columbia-Barnard Economics Society information.

Departmental Honors

Economics majors and economics joint majors who wish to be considered for departmental honors in economics must:

1. Have at least a 3.7 GPA in their major courses;
2. Take ECON GU4999 Senior Honors Thesis (a one-year course);
3. Receive at least a grade of A- in ECON GU4999 Senior Honors Thesis.

Students must consult and obtain the approval of the departmental undergraduate director in order to be admitted to the workshop. Please note that ECON GU4999 Senior Honors Thesis may be taken to fulfill the seminar requirement for the economics major and all economics joint majors. Students who wish to write a senior thesis (ECON GU4999 Senior Honors Thesis) must have completed the core major requirements . Normally no more than 10% of graduating majors receive departmental honors in a given academic year. Please see the Honors Prizes page on the department's website for more information.

Undergraduate Prizes

All prize recipients are announced at the end of the spring semester each academic year.

Established in 1980, this prize is awarded annually to a Columbia College graduating student who majored or concentrated in economics and plans on continuing his or her studies in an economics Ph.D. program within the two years following his or her graduation.

Awarded to General Studies students for excellence in the study of Economics.

Established in 1997, this prize is awarded annually to two students (Columbia College or General Studies) majoring in economics: one for the best honors thesis paper, and the other for the best economics seminar paper.

Parker Prize for Summer Research

The department provides financial support for five Columbia College underclassmen who take unpaid summer internships that focus on research.

Checklists and Requirement information are available on the Department website.

Course List

Economics Core Courses

All of the core courses must be completed no later than the spring semester of the student’s junior year and must be taken at Columbia. Students who take any core course during the fall semester of their senior year must obtain written permission from the department's director of undergraduate studies. Unless otherwise specified below, all students must complete the following core courses:

Prerequisites

Course prerequisites are strictly enforced. Prerequisites must be taken before the course, not after or concurrently.

Economics courses taken before the completion of any of its prerequisites, even with instructor approval, are not counted toward the major, concentration, or interdepartmental majors. Exemptions from a prerequisite requirement may only be made, in writing, by the department's director of undergraduate studies. Credits from a course taken prior to the completion of its prerequisites are not counted towards the major requirements. As a consequence, students are required to complete additional, specific courses in economics at the direction of the director of undergraduate studies.

The prerequisites for required courses are as follows:

It is strongly recommended that students take ECON UN3412 Introduction To Econometrics in the semester immediately following the completion of the statistics course.

Grading

No course with a grade of D or lower, including calculus and statistics courses, can count toward the major, concentration, or interdepartmental majors. Economics core courses with a grade of D or F must be retaken and completed with a grade of C- or better.

Students who receive a grade of D or F in a core course are permitted to take a higher-level elective course that has that core course as a prerequisite, so long as it is taken concurrently with the retaking of that core course. For example, if a student fails ECON UN3211 Intermediate Microeconomics, the student must retake it and, in the same semester, may enroll in an elective course for which it is a prerequisite, provided that all other prerequisites for the elective have been completed. The same rule applies to the required math and statistics courses. For example, if a student fails MATH UN1201 Calculus III , the student may retake calculus III concurrently with Intermediate Microeconomics. Students who must retake any core economics or math course may not retake it concurrently with a senior seminar; the economics core courses ECON UN3211 Intermediate Microeconomics , ECON UN3213 Intermediate Macroeconomics , and ECON UN3412 Introduction To Econometrics must be successfully completed before a student may enroll in a seminar.

A grade of W is not equivalent to a grade of D or F; it does not qualify a student to retake the course concurrently with a higher level course that lists the course as a prerequisite. Students who receive a grade of W in a core course must complete the course with a grade of C- or better before taking a course that lists it as a prerequisite.

Only ECON UN1105 Principles of Economics may be taken for a grade of Pass/D/Fail, and the student must receive a grade of P for it to count towards the requirements for the major, concentration, or interdepartmental majors.

Economics Electives

Only those courses identified in the Economics Department listings in this Bulletin may be taken for elective credit. All 3000-level or higher electives offered by the Economics Department have ECON UN3211 Intermediate Microeconomics and ECON UN3213 Intermediate Macroeconomics as prerequisites. However, some electives have additional prerequisites and students should ensure that all prerequisites have been completed (see the table of prerequisites printed above). Seminars do not count as electives.

Seminars

Seminars can be taken only after all of the required core courses in economics have been successfully completed. Students may not take or re-take ECON UN3211 Intermediate Microeconomics, ECON UN3213 Intermediate Macroeconomics, or ECON UN3412 Introduction To Econometrics concurrently with any senior seminar. Seminars do not count as electives. Each seminar is limited to sixteen students, with priority given to seniors. For ECPS GU4921 Seminar In Political Economy and ECPH GU4950 Economics and Philosophy Seminar, priority is given to economics–political science and economics-philosophy majors, respectively.

For seminar registration details, read the information posted on the department's Senior Seminar Registration page: http://econ.columbia.edu/senior-seminars-registration.

Mathematics

Students must consult with the Mathematics Department for the appropriate placement in the calculus sequence. Students must complete one of the following sequences:

In addition:

1. Students who receive a grade of D or F in MATH UN1201 Calculus III or MATH UN1205 must retake the course, but may enroll in ECON UN3211 Intermediate Microeconomics.
2. Students who receive a grade of D or F in MATH UN1207 Honors Mathematics A may either retake the course, or take MATH UN1201 Calculus III or MATH UN1205, and enroll in ECON UN3211 Intermediate Microeconomics concurrently.

Statistics

Unless otherwise specified below, all students must take STAT UN1201 Calculus-Based Introduction to Statistics, or a higher level course, such as STAT GU4204 Statistical Inference, or STAT GU4001.

Barnard Courses

A limited number of Barnard economics electives may count toward the major, concentration, and interdepartmental majors. Students should pay careful attention to the limit of Barnard electives indicated in their program requirements. Please see the Transfer Credit section below for information on the number of Barnard electives that may be taken to fulfill major requirements. In addition, students may receive credit for the major, concentration, and interdepartmental majors only for those Barnard economics courses listed in this Bulletin. However, students may not receive credit for two courses whose content overlaps. Barnard and Columbia economics electives with overlapping content include but are not limited to:

Students should always first consult with econ-advising to confirm that the Barnard elective they wish to take does not overlap with a Columbia elective that they have already taken or plan to take.  Students may not take the Barnard core economics, math, statistics, or seminar courses for credit towards the completion of major requirements.

School of Professional Studies Courses

The Department of Economics does not accept any of the courses offered through the School of Professional Studies for credit towards the economics major, concentration, or interdepartmental majors with the exception of the courses offered by the Economics Department during the summer session at Columbia.

Other Department and School Courses

Please note that with the exception of the above Barnard courses and the specific courses listed below for the financial economics major, no other courses offered through the different departments and schools at Columbia count toward the economics majors or concentration.

Transfer Credits

Students are required to take a minimum number of courses in the Columbia Economics Department. For all majors and interdepartmental majors, students must complete a minimum of five lecture courses in the Columbia department.  Students may fulfill their remaining requirements for economics lecture courses through AP (or IB or GCE) credits, Barnard electives, transfer courses, and study abroad courses (the latter two are subject to the approval of the Economics Department). The following table summarizes the new rules:
 

1. Lecture courses do not include seminars, which must be taken in the Columbia Economics Department. The lecture course counts are counts of economics courses only and do not include math, statistics, or courses in other departments;
2. At least two of the three 3000-level economics core courses must be taken in the department and no corresponding Barnard courses are accepted. ECON UN3025 Financial Economics and ECON UN3265 MONEY AND BANKING are counted as departmental courses regardless of the instructor;
3. Outside courses include AP (or IB or GCE) credits, transfer credits, Barnard 2000- and 3000-level elective courses and transfer credits from other universities. In the case where two or more courses taken outside of Columbia are used as the equivalent of ECON UN1105 Principles of Economics, those courses are counted as one transfer course.

Approval of transfer credits to fulfill economics requirements must be obtained in writing from the Department of Economics (see the departmental website or speak with your advising dean for information regarding applications for transfer credit). Approval is granted only for courses that are considered to be comparable to those offered at Columbia.

Summer courses taken at other institutions must be approved in writing by the department's transfer credit adviser before the course is taken. The department does not accept transfer credits for any 3000 level core courses taken during a summer session outside of Columbia University.  Summer courses taken from the department of economics at Columbia University do not need approval.

Guidelines and instructions on how to request transfer credit approval can be found in the Transfer Credit Information page of the departmental website.

Major in Economics

Please read Guidelines for all for Economics Majors, Concentrators, and Interdepartmental Majors above.

The economics major requires a minimum of 35 points in economics, 6 points in mathematics, and 3 points in statistics, for a total of at least 44 points as follows:

Concentration in Economics

Please read Guidelines for all for Economics Majors, Concentrators, and Interdepartmental Majors above.

The economics concentration requires a minimum of 25 points in economics, 6 points in mathematics, and 3 points in statistics, for a total of at least 34 points as follows:

Major in Financial Economics

Please read Guidelines for all for Economics Majors, Concentrators, and Interdepartmental Majors above.

The Department of Economics offers the major in financial economics, which provides an academic framework to explore the role of financial markets and intermediaries in the allocation (and misallocation) of capital. Among the topics studied in financial economics are financial markets, banks and other financial intermediaries, asset valuation, portfolio allocation, regulation and corporate governance.

The financial economics major requires 26 points in economics, 6 points in mathematics, 3 points in statistics, 3 points in business, and 12 points from a list of selected courses for a total minimum of 50 points as follows:

Major in Economics-Mathematics

Please read Guidelines for all for Economics Majors, Concentrators, and Interdepartmental Majors above.

The major in economics and mathematics provides students with a grounding in economic theory comparable to that provided by the general economics major and exposes students to rigorous and extensive training in mathematics. The program is recommended for any student planning to do graduate work in economics.

The Department of Economics has graduate student advisers with whom students may consult on economics requirements. The Department of Mathematics has an assigned adviser with whom students may consult on mathematics requirements. The economics adviser can only advise on economics requirements; the mathematics adviser can only advise on mathematics requirements.

The economics-mathematics major requires a total of 52 or 56 points (depending on mathematics sequence) : 29 points in economics and 23-27 points in mathematics and statistics as follows:

NOTE:

Major in Economics-Philosophy

Please read Guidelines for all for Economics Majors, Concentrators, and Interdepartmental Majors above.

Economics-philosophy is an interdisciplinary major that introduces students to basic methodologies of economics and philosophy and stresses areas of particular concern to both, e.g. rationality and decision making, justice and efficiency, freedom and collective choice, logic of empirical theories and testing. Many issues are dealt with historically. Classic texts of Plato, Kant, Mill, Marx, and Smith are reviewed.

The Department of Economics has graduate student advisers with whom students may consult on economics requirements. The Department of Philosophy has an assigned adviser with whom students may consult on philosophy requirements. The economics adviser can only advise on economics requirements; the philosophy adviser can only advise on philosophy requirements.

The economics-philosophy major requires a total minimum of 54 points: 25 points in economics, 16 points in philosophy, 6 points in mathematics, 3 points in statistics, and 4 points in the interdisciplinary seminar as follows:

Students who declared before Spring 2014:  The requirements for this program were modified in 2014. Students who declared this program before Spring 2014 should contact the director of undergraduate studies for the department in order to confirm their options for major requirements.

Major in Economics–Political Science

Please read Guidelines for all for Economics Majors, Concentrators, and Interdepartmental Majors above.

Political economy is an interdisciplinary major that introduces students to the methodologies of economics and political science and stresses areas of particular concern to both. This program is particularly beneficial to students planning to do graduate work in schools of public policy and international affairs.

The Department of Economics has graduate student advisers with whom students may consult on economics requirements. The Department of Political Science has an assigned adviser with whom students may consult on political science requirements. The economics adviser can only advise on economics requirements; the political science adviser can only advise on political science requirements.

The economics–political science major requires a total of 59 points: 22 points in economics, 17 points in political science, 6 points in mathematics, 6 points in statistical methods, 4 points in a political science seminar, and 4 points in the interdisciplinary seminar as follows.

The political science courses are grouped into four areas, i.e. subfields: (1) American Politics, (2) Comparative Politics, (3) International Relations, and (4) Political Theory. For the political science part of the major, students are required to select one area as a major subfield and one as a minor subfield. The corresponding introductory courses in both subfields must be taken, plus two electives in the major subfield, and one in the minor subfield.

Major in Economics-Statistics

Please read Guidelines for all for Economics Majors, Concentrators, and Interdepartmental Majors above.

The major in economics-statistics provides students with a grounding in economic theory comparable to that provided by the general economics major, but also exposes students to a significantly more rigorous and extensive statistics training than is provided by the general major. This program is recommended for students with strong quantitative skills and for those contemplating graduate studies in economics.

The Department of Economics has graduate student advisers with whom students may consult on economics requirements. The Department of Statistics has an assigned adviser with whom students may consult on statistics requirements. The economics adviser can only advise on economics requirements; the statistics adviser can only advise on statistics requirements.

The economics-statistics major requires a total of 59 points: 29 in economics, 15 points in statistics, 12 points in mathematics, 3 points in computer science as follows:

Students who declared before Spring 2014:  The requirements for this program were modified in 2014. Students who declared this program before Spring 2014 should contact the director of undergraduate studies for the department in order to confirm their options for major requirements. 

ECON UN1105 Principles of Economics. 4 points.

Corequisites: ECON UN1155

How a market economy determines the relative prices of goods, factors of production, and the allocation of resources and the circumstances under which it does it efficiently. Why such an economy has fluctuations and how they may becontrolled.

ECON UN1155 PRINCIPLES OF ECONOMICS-DISC. 0.00 points.

Required Discussion section for ECON UN1105 Principles of Economics

ECON UN2029 FED Challenge Workshop. 1 point.

Prerequisites: (ECON UN1105)

The workshop prepares students to compete in the annual College Fed Challenge sponsored by the Federal Reserve. Topics covered include macroeconomic and financial conditions, monetary policy, financial stability and the Federal Reserve System.

ECON UN2105 The American Economy. 3 points.

Prerequisites: ECON UN1105

The course surveys issues of interest in the American economy, including economic measurement, well-being and income distribution, business cycles and recession, the labor and housing markets, saving and wealth, fiscal policy, banking and finance, and topics in central banking. We study historical issues, institutions, measurement, current performance and recent research.

ECON UN2257 Global Economy. 3 points.

Prerequisites: ECON UN1105

Covers five areas within the general field of international economics: (i) microeconomic issues of why countries trade, how the gains from trade are distributed, and protectionism; (ii) macroeconomic issues such as exchange rates, balance of payments and open economy macroeconomic adjustment, (iii) the role of international institutions (World Bank, IMF, etc); (iv) economic development and (v) economies in transition.

ECON UN3025 Financial Economics. 3 points.

Prerequisites: ECON UN3211 and ECON UN3213 and STAT UN1201

Institutional nature and economic function of financial markets. Emphasis on both domestic and international markets (debt, stock, foreign exchange, eurobond, eurocurrency, futures, options, and others). Principles of security pricing and portfolio management; the Capital Asset Pricing Model and the Efficient Markets Hypothesis.

ECON UN3211 Intermediate Microeconomics. 4 points.

Prerequisites: ECON UN1105 and MATH UN1101 and (MATH UN1201 or MATH UN1207)

The determination of the relative prices of goods and factors of production and the allocation of resources.

ECON UN3212 Discussion Section Intermediate Economics. 0 points.

Required Discussion section for ECON UN3211 intermediate Economics.

ECON UN3213 Intermediate Macroeconomics. 4 points.

Prerequisites: (MATH UN1101 or MATH UN1207) and ECON UN1105 or the equivalent.
Corequisites: MATH UN1201

This course covers the determination of output, employment, inflation and interest rates. Topics include economic growth, business cycles, monetary and fiscal policy, consumption and savings and national income accounting.  

ECON UN3214 INTER MACROECONOMICS-DISC. 0.00 points.

Discussion section for ECON UN3213 Intermediate Macro. Student must register for a section

ECON UN3265 MONEY AND BANKING. 3.00 points.

Prerequisites: ECON UN3211 and ECON UN3213 or the equivalent. Introduction to the principles of money and banking. The intermediary institutions of the American economy and their historical developments, current issues in monetary and financial reform

ECON UN3412 Introduction To Econometrics. 4 points.

Prerequisites: (ECON UN3211 or ECON UN3213) and (MATH UN1201 or MATH UN1207) and STAT UN1201

Modern econometric methods; the general linear statistical model and its extensions; simultaneous equations and the identification problem; time series problems; forecasting methods; extensive practice with the analysis of different types of data.

ECON UN3413 INTRO TO ECONOMETRICS-DIS. 0.00 points.

Required discussion section for ECON UN3412: Intro to Econometrics

ECON UN3901 Economics of Education. 3 points.

Prerequisites: (ECON UN3211 and ECON UN3213 and ECON UN3412)
Course objective: This course has two objectives: (1) To develop students' skills in research and writing. Specifically, participants will work on: formulating a research question, placing it in the context of an existing literature and/or policy area, and using economic and econometric tools to address it in writing. Specifically, in the first part of the class, readings, problem sets, and a midterm exam will build skills in these areas. In the second part, students will come up with a research question, and address it in a research proposal/report. While all the applications will be on the economics of education, these skills will be useful in students' subsequent careers,regardless of the area of economics they focus on. (2) To provide an introduction to key issues in the economics of education. Specifically, education is a signicant industryevery person entering this course will have already spent years in this industry as a customer, as a worker, as an input, or all of the above. The course will address questions like: What does economics have to say about how this industry is organized and what determines its output? Why do individuals invest in education? What determines the behavior, productivity, and reputation of rms in the industry? What role should government and public policy (if any) play in its operation?

ECON UN3952 Seminar in Macroeconomics and Formation of Expectations. 3 points.

Prerequisites: ECON UN3211 and ECON UN3213 and ECON UN3412

This course has two main objectives:

To provide an introduction to selected topics and survey evidence in macroeconomics, with a focus on the expectation formation process of economic agents. We will start by going through some canonical models that are widely used for economic and policy analysis to understand the role of expectations in the decision making of households and firms. We will then go through a series of survey data and relate the empirical evidence to the theoretical predictions of those canonical models

ECON UN3981 Applied Econometrics. 3 points.

Prerequisites: ECON UN3211 and ECON UN3213 and ECON UN3412

The objective of this course is to develop students' research skills and to learn the process of writing an original research paper. The skills and process include the ability to identify a problem and state in a concise manner, literature review, data collection, model formulation and estimation, evaluation of the problem and writing up the findings in a format of a research paper. An immediate and more specific goal is to prepare students to tackle a senior thesis project.

Towards this goal, this course will review or introduce the most widely used econometric techniques for empirical research. These include multiple regressions, probit and logit models, instrumental variables methods, panel data methods, regression discontinuity designs. This course will also introduce some time series methods such as vector autoregressive process, cointegration analysis, financial time series, and modeling of volatilities. Students will need to practice these methods with a computer software package (R or STATA) and with actual economic data sets.

ECON GU4020 Economics of Uncertainty and Information. 3 points.

Prerequisites: ECON UN3211 and ECON UN3213 and STAT UN1201

Topics include behavior uncertainty, expected utility hypothesis, insurance, portfolio choice, principle agent problems, screening and signaling, and information theories of financial intermediation.

ECON GU4211 Advanced Microeconomics. 4 points.

Prerequisites: ECON UN3211 and ECON UN3213 and MATH UN2010 Students must register for required discussion section.
Corequisites: MATH UN2500,MATH GU4061

The course provides a rigorous introduction to microeconomics. Topics will vary with the instructor but will include consumer theory, producer theory, general equilibrium and welfare, social choice theory, game theory and information economics. This course is strongly recommended for students considering graduate work in economics.  Discussion section required.

ECON GU4212 Discussion Section Advanced Microeconomics. 0 points.

Prerequisites: ECON UN3211 and ECON UN3213 and MATH UN2010 Students must register for lecture course ECON GU4211
Corequisites: MATH UN2500
MATH GU4061

Required discussion section for ECON GU4211 Advanced Microeconomics. The course provides a rigorous introduction to microeconomics. Topics will vary with the instructor but will include consumer theory, producer theory, general equilibrium and welfare, social choice theory, game theory and information economics. This course is strongly recommended for students considering graduate work in economics. Discussion section required.

ECON GU4213 Advanced Macroeconomics. 4 points.

Prerequisites: ECON UN3211 and ECON UN3213 and ECON UN3412 and MATH UN2010 Required discussion section ECON GU4214

An introduction to the dynamic models used in the study of modern macroeconomics. Applications of the models will include theoretical issues such as optimal lifetime consumption decisions and policy issues such as inflation targeting. This course is strongly recommended for students considering graduate work in economics.

ECON GU4228 Urban Economics. 3 points.

Prerequisites: ECON UN3211 and ECON UN3213

Congestion and other games, and the pricing of transit services. Location theory and land rents. Segregation and discrimination. The fiscal structure of American cities. Zoning and the taking issue. Abandonment and city-owned property. Economic development, abatements, subsidies, and eminent domain. Crime, deadweight losses, and the allocation of police services.

ECON GU4230 Economics of New York City. 3 points.

Prerequisites: ECON UN3211 and ECON UN3213 and STAT UN1201

This course takes New York as our laboratory. Economics is about individual choice subject to constraints and the ways that choices sum up to something often much more than the parts. The fundamental feature of any city is the combination of those forces that bring people together and those that push them apart. Thus both physical and social space will be central to our discussions. The underlying theoretical and empirical analysis will touch on spatial aspects of urban economics, regional, and even international economics. We will aim to see these features in New York City taken as a whole, as well as in specific neighborhoods of the city. We will match these theoretical and empirical analyses with readings that reflect close observation of specific subjects. The close observation is meant to inspire you to probe deeply into a topic in order that the tools and approaches of economics may illuminate these issues in a fresh way.

ECON GU4235 HISTORICAL FOUNDATIONS OF MODERN ECONOMICS: Adam Smith to J M Keynes. 3 points.

Not offered during 2022-23 academic year.

Prerequisites: ECON UN3211 and ECON UN3213

A survey of some of the major intellectual developments that  have created the discipline of economics.  Particular attention to the works of Adam Smith, Alfred Marshall, Irving Fisher, and J. M. Keynes.

ECON GU4251 Industrial Organization. 3 points.

Prerequisites: ECON UN3211 and ECON UN3213

The study of industrial behavior based on game-theoretic oligopoly models. Topics include pricing models, strategic aspects of business practice, vertical integration, and technological innovation.

ECON GU4260 Market Design. 3 points.

Prerequisites: ECON UN3211 and ECON UN3213 and STAT UN1201

This course uses modern microeconomic tools for understanding markets for indivisible resources and exploring ways to improve their design in terms of stability, efficiency and incentives. Lessons of market design will be applied to developing internet platforms for intermediating exchanges, for auctions to allocate sponsored search advertising, to allocate property rights such as public lands, radio spectrums, fishing rights, for assigning students to public schools, and for developing efficient kidney exchanges for transplantation.

ECON GU4280 CORPORATE FINANCE. 3.00 points.

Prerequisites: ECON UN3211 and ECON UN3213 and STAT UN1201
Prerequisites: ECON UN3211 and ECON UN3213 and STAT UN1201 An introduction to the economics principles underlying the financial decisions of firms. The topics covered include bond and stock valuations, capital budgeting, dividend policy, market efficiency, risk valuation, and risk management. For information regarding REGISTRATION for this course, go to: http://econ.columbia.edu/registration-information

ECON GU4301 ECONOMIC GROWTH ＆ DEVELOPMNT I. 3.00 points.

Prerequisites: ECON UN3211 and ECON UN3213
Prerequisites: ECON UN3211 and ECON UN3213. Economic development is a complex and multifaceted process. Once considered a goal in itself, more recently it has become to be viewed as the fundamental means to world poverty alleviation. Today, about half of the world population still lives on less than $2 /day. Why? What does it mean to be poor? What are the forces that prevent so many people from enjoying a higher standard of living? The course opens on some fundamental macroeconomic models of economic growth and the recent debate on the geographical or institutional nature of the ultimate causes of growth or arrested development. Then we will move into the most recent microeconomic literature that sheds light on the lives of the poor and on the forces - in particular the market distortions and the market failures - that keep billions in poverty. Among others, we will discuss interesting topics like nutrition and health, the cultural origins of corruption, the effect of global warming, and the design of effective anti-poverty programs

ECON GU4321 Economic Development. 3 points.

Prerequisites: ECON UN3211 and ECON UN3213

Historical comparative examination of the economic development problems of the less developed countries; the roles of social institutions and human resource development; the functions of urbanization, rural development, and international trade.

ECON GU4325 Economic Organization and Development of Japan. 3 points.

CC/GS/SEAS: Partial Fulfillment of Global Core Requirement

Prerequisites: ECON UN3211 and ECON UN3213

The growth and structural changes of the post-World War II economy; its historical roots; interactions with cultural, social, and political institutions; economic relations with the rest of the world.

ECON GU4370 Political Economy. 3 points.

Prerequisites: ECON UN3211 and ECON UN3213 and STAT UN1201 or POLS 4710 for those who declared prior to Spring 2014.

The objective of this course is to develop understanding of how political institutions and behavior shape economic outcomes, and vice versa. Starting from the micro level study of political behavior, we will build up to analyze the internal workings of institutions and ultimately macro level economic and political outcomes. During the course we will cover the following topics

• Limits and potential of markets

• Public goods provision

• Voting

• Redistribution

ECON GU4400 Labor Economics. 3 points.

Prerequisites: ECON UN3211 and ECON UN3213

The labor force and labor markets, educational and man power training, unions and collective bargaining, mobility and immobility, sex and race discrimination, unemployment.

ECON GU4412 Advanced Econometrics. 4 points.

Prerequisites: ECON UN3211 and ECON UN3213 and ECON UN3412 and MATH UN2010 Students must register for required discussion section.

The linear regression model will be presented in matrix form and basic asymptotic theory will be introduced. The course will also introduce students to basic time series methods for forecasting and analyzing economic data. Students will be expected to apply the tools to real data.

ECON GU4413 Econometrics of Time Series and Forecasting. 3 points.

Prerequisites: ECON UN3211 and ECON UN3213 and ECON UN3412
Corequisites: MATH UN2010

This course focuses on the application of econometric methods to time series data; such data is common in the testing of macro and financial economics models. It will focus on the application of these methods to data problems in macro and finance.

ECON GU4415 Game Theory. 3 points.

Prerequisites: ECON UN3211 and ECON UN3213

Introduction to the systematic treatment of game theory and its applications in economic analysis.

ECON GU4438 Economics of Race in the U.S.. 3 points.

Prerequisites: ECON UN3211 and ECON UN3213 ECON GU4400 is strongly recommended.

What differences does race make in the U.S. economy? Why does it make these differences? Are these differences things we should be concerned about? If so, what should be done? The course examines labor markets, housing markets, capital markets, crime, education, and the links among these markets. Both empirical and theoretical contributions are studied.

ECON GU4465 Public Economics. 3 points.

Prerequisites: ECON UN3211 and ECON UN3213

Types of market failures and rationales for government intervention in the economy. Benefit-cost analysis and the theory of public goods. Positive and normative aspects of taxation. The U.S. tax structure.

ECON GU4480 Gender and Applied Economics. 3 points.

Prerequisites: ECON UN3211 and ECON UN3213

This course studies gender gaps, their extent, determinants and consequences. The focus will be on the allocation of rights in different cultures and over time, why women's rights have typically been more limited and why most societies have traditionally favored males in the allocation of resources.

ECON GU4500 International Trade. 3 points.

Prerequisites: ECON UN3211 and ECON UN3213

The theory of international trade, comparative advantage and the factor endowments explanation of trade, analysis of the theory and practice of commercial policy, economic integration. International mobility of capital and labor; the North-South debate.

ECON GU4505 International Macroeconomics. 3 points.

Prerequisites: ECON UN3211 and ECON UN3213

Introduction to monetary problems in international trade. Topics include macroeconomics of the open economy under fixed and flexible exchange rates, international adjustment under the gold standard, monetary problems of the interwar period, the Breton Woods agreement, transition to flexible exchange rates, planned reforms of the international monetary system and the Eurocurrency markets.

ECON GU4526 Transition Reforms, Globalization and Financial Crisis. 3 points.

Not offered during 2022-23 academic year.

Prerequisites: ECON UN3211 and UN3213.

Covers reform issues in transition economies such as price liberalization, currency reform, asset privatization, macroeconomic stabilization, trade liberalization and exchange rate policies, and foreign resource flows with suitable examples from the experience of the transition economies of Russia, the post-Soviet states, East-central Europe, China and Vietnam.

ECON GU4615 Law and Economics. 3 points.

Not offered during 2022-23 academic year.

Prerequisites: ECON UN3211 and UN3213.

The course is intended to provide an economic framework for understanding the law and legal institutions. Topics covered include property law, contract theory and torts.

ECON GU4625 Economics of the Environment. 3 points.

Not offered during 2022-23 academic year.

Prerequisites: ECON UN3211 and UN3213.

Microeconomics is used to study who has an incentive to protect the environment. Government's possible and actual role in protecting the environment is explored. How do technological change, economic development, and free trade affect the environment? Emphasis on hypothesis testing and quantitative analysis of real-world policy issues.

ECON GU4630 Climate Finance. 3.00 points.

In lieu of the failure of legislatures to pass comprehensive carbon taxes, there is growing pressure on the financial system to address the risks of global warming. One set of pressures is to account for the heightened physical risks due to extreme weather events and potential climate tipping points. Another set of pressures are to find approaches to incentivize corporations to meet the goals set out in the Paris Treaty of 2015. These approaches include (1) mandates or restrictions to only hold companies with decarbonization plans, (2) development of negative emissions technologies such as direct-air capture and (3) promotion of natural capital markets that can be used to offset carbon emissions. Moreover, financial markets also provide crucial information on expectations and plans of economic agents regarding climate change. This course will cover both models and empirical methodologies that are necessary to assess the role of the financial system in addressing global warming

ECON GU4700 Financial Crises. 3 points.

Prerequisites: ECON UN3211 and ECON UN3213 and STAT UN1201

This course uses economic theory and empirical evidence to study the causes of financial crises and the effectiveness of policy responses to these crises. Particular attention will be given to some of the major economic and financial crises in the past century and to the crisis that began in August 2007.

ECON GU4710 FINANCE AND THE REAL ECONOMY. 3.00 points.

Prerequisites: (ECON UN3211) and (ECON UN3213) and (STAT UN1201)
Prerequisites: (ECON UN3211) and (ECON UN3213) and (STAT UN1201) This course uses economic theory and empirical evidence to study the links between financial markets and the real economy. We will consider questions such as: What is the welfare role of finance? How do financial markets affect consumers and firms? How do shocks to the financial system transmit to the real economy? How do financial markets impact inequality?

ECON GU4750 Globalization and Its Risks. 3 points.

Prerequisites: ECON UN3211 and ECON UN3213

The world is being transformed by dramatic increases in flows of people, goods and services across nations. Globalization has the potential for enormous gains but is also associated to serious risks. The gains are related to international commerce where the industrial countries dominate, while the risks involve the global environment, poverty and the satisfaction of basic needs that affect in great measure the developing nations. Both are linked to a historical division of the world into the North and the South-the industrial and the developing nations. Key to future evolution are (1) the creation of new markets that trade privately produced public goods, such as knowledge and greenhouse gas emissions, as in the Kyoto Protocol; (2) the updating of the Breton Woods Institutions, including the creation of a Knowledge Bank and an International Bank for Environmental Settlements.

ECON GU4840 BEHAVIORAL ECONOMICS. 3.00 points.

Prerequisites: ECON UN3211 and ECON UN3213
Prerequisites: ECON UN3211 and ECON UN3213 Within economics, the standard model of behavior is that of a perfectly rational, self interested utility maximizer with unlimited cognitive resources. In many cases, this provides a good approximation to the types of behavior that economists are interested in. However, over the past 30 years, experimental and behavioral economists have documented ways in which the standard model is not just wrong, but is wrong in ways that are important for economic outcomes. Understanding these behaviors, and their implications, is one of the most exciting areas of current economic inquiry. The aim of this course is to provide a grounding in the main areas of study within behavioral economics, including temptation and self control, fairness and reciprocity, reference dependence, bounded rationality and choice under risk and uncertainty. For each area we will study three things: 1. The evidence that indicates that the standard economic model is missing some important behavior 2. The models that have been developed to capture these behaviors 3. Applications of these models to (for example) finance, labor and development economics As well as the standard lectures, homework assignments, exams and so on, you will be asked to participate in economic experiments, the data from which will be used to illustrate some of the principals in the course. There will also be a certain small degree of classroom ‘flipping’, with a portion of many lectures given over to group problem solving. Finally, an integral part of the course will be a research proposal that you must complete by the end of the course, outlining a novel piece of research that you would be interested in doing

ECON GU4850 Cognitive Mechanisms and Economic Behavior. 3 points.

Prerequisites: ECON UN3211 and ECON UN3213 and STAT UN1201

Standard economic theory seeks to explain human behavior (especially in "economic" settings, such as markets) in terms of rational choice, which means that the choices that are made can be predicted on the basis of what would best serve some coherent objective, under an objectively correct understanding of the predictable consequences of alternative actions. Observed behavior often seems difficult to reconcile with a strong form of this theory, even if incentives clearly have some influence on behavior; and the course will discuss empirical evidence (both from laboratory experiments and observations "in the field") for some well-established "anomalies." But beyond simply cataloguing anomalies for the standard theory, the course will consider the extent to which departures from a strong version of rational choice theory can be understood as reflecting cognitive processes that are also evident in other domains such as sensory perception; examples from visual perception will receive particular attention. And in addition to describing what is known about how the underlying mechanisms work (something that is understood in more detail in sensory contexts than in the case of value-based decision making), the course will consider the extent to which such mechanisms --- while "suboptimal" from a normative standpoint that treats perfect knowledge of one's situation as costless and automatic --- might actually represent efficient uses of the limited information and bounded information-processing resources available to actual people (or other organisms). Thus the course will consider both ways in which the realism of economic analysis may be improved by taking into account cognitive processes, and ways in which understanding of cognitive processes might be advanced by considering the "economic" problem of efficient use of limited (cognitive) resources.

ECON GU4860 Behavioral Finance. 3 points.

Prerequisites: ECON UN3211 and ECON UN3213 and ECON UN3412

Neoclassical finance theory seeks to explain financial market valuations and fluctuations in terms of investors having rational expectations and being able to trade without costs. Under these assumptions, markets are efficient in that stocks and other assets are always priced just right. The efficient markets hypothesis (EMH) has had an enormous influence over the past 50 years on the financial industry, from pricing to financial innovations, and on policy makers, from how markets are regulated to how monetary policy is set. But there was very little in prevailing EMH models to suggest the instabilities associated with the Financial Crisis of 2008 and indeed with earlier crises in financial market history. This course seeks to develop a set of tools to build a more robust model of financial markets that can account for a wider range of outcomes. It is based on an ongoing research agenda loosely dubbed “Behavioral Finance”, which seeks to incorporate more realistic assumptions concerning human rationality and market imperfections into finance models. Broadly, we show in this course that limitations of human rationality can lead to bubbles and busts such as the Internet Bubble of the mid-1990s and the Housing Bubble of the mid-2000s; that imperfections of markets — such as the difficulty of short-selling assets — can cause financial markets to undergo sudden and unpredictable crashes; and that agency problems or the problems of institutions can create instabilities in the financial system as recently occurred during the 2008 Financial Crisis. These instabilities in turn can have feedback effects to the performance of the real economy in the form of corporate investments.

ECON GU4911 MICROECONOMICS SEMINAR. 4.00 points.

Prerequisites: ECON UN3211 and ECON UN3213 and ECON UN3412 Registration information is posted on the department's Seminar Sign-up webpage.
Prerequisites: ECON UN3211 and ECON UN3213 and ECON UN3412 Selected topics in microeconomics

ECON GU4913 MACROECONOMICS SEMINAR. 4.00 points.

Prerequisites: ECON UN3211 and ECON UN3213 and ECON UN3412 Registration information is posted on the department's Seminar Sign-up webpage.
Prerequisites: ECON UN3211 and ECON UN3213 and ECON UN3412 Registration information is posted on the departments Seminar Sign-up webpage. Selected topics in macroeconomics. Selected topics will be posted on the departments webpage

ECON GU4918 Seminar In Econometrics. 4 points.

Prerequisites: ECON UN3211 and ECON UN3213 and ECON UN3412 and sign-up in the department's office. Registration information is posted on the department's Seminar Sign-up webpage.

Analyzing data in a more in-depth fashion than in ECON UN3412. Additional estimation techniques include limited dependent variable and simultaneous equation models. Go to the department's undergraduate Seminar Description webpage for a detailed description.

ECON GU4996 Research Course. 1-2 points.

May NOT be used as an elective.

Prerequisites: the director of undergraduate studies' permission.

Provides students with the experience of participating in the research process by matching them to a faculty mentor who will put them to work on one of his or her current research projects. A list of available research positions is distributed each semester on the major listserv.

ECON GU4998 SUPERVISED INDEPENDENT STUDY. 1.00-4.00 points.

Prerequisites: the director of undergraduate studies permission

ECON GU4999 Senior Honors Thesis. 6 points.

3 points per semester.

Prerequisites: ECON UN3211 and ECON UN3213 and ECON UN3412 and the director of the departmental honors program's permission. Students must have a minimum GPA of 3.7 in all required major courses, including calculus and statistics, prior to enrollment.

The honors thesis seminar is a year-long course, beginning in the fall semester and ending in the spring semester. Students who have been approved to enter the workshop will be registered for both semesters by the department during the first two weeks of classes; 3 points are earned per semester. This workshop may only be taken by students applying for departmental honors, and it also fulfills the economics seminar requirement for the economics major and all joint majors. Students must see the director during mid-semester registration in the spring to discuss their proposed thesis topic, at which time they will be matched with appropriate faculty who will act as their thesis adviser. Students will meet their adviser over the course of the year at mutually agreed upon times. A rough draft of the thesis will be due during the first week of February in the spring semester, and the final draft will be due three weeks before the last day of classes. Please note that for those joint majors that require two seminars, one in economics and one in the other discipline (i.e., Political Science), the economics senior honors thesis seminar only fulfills the economics seminar requirement.

Note: Barnard economic core courses (ECON BC1003, ECON BC1007, ECON BC2411, ECON BC3018, ECON BC3033, ECON BC3035) and seminars do not count towards the Columbia economics major and concentration.