Courses

HON 329/ES 329: Foundations of Economic Exchange

Catalog Description:   
Prerequisites: None
Classical and neoclassical theory of economic exchange. Philosophical critiques and commendations of market exchange. Human nature as self-regarding in market exchange and other-regarding in social exchange. Property right systems in economic exchange. 3 credits.

Course Objectives:
From the perspectives of two forms of rational orders, constructivist and ecological, this course will study the foundations of economic exchange.  We will examine the extent to which reason and the deliberate action of a constructivist order and the undesigned principles of norms and traditions in an ecological order can inform our understanding of impersonal exchange in markets and personal social exchange with friends, neighbors, and family.

ES 441/541: Experimental Economics 1

Catalog Description: 
Prerequisites: None
A course designed to engage the student as an economic actor in a wide variety of environments. The economies we will study will be ones in which students will participate and generate the data that will then be the subject of examination in the classroom. We will explore how these studies parallel important questions in the at large economy today. Special topics include Pit Markets, Trust, Double Auctions, Asset Markets and Price Bubbles, Information Cascades, and Prediction Markets.

Course Objectives:
To show the applicability of experiments to important economic questions and to foster in the students mind a fundamentally scientific approach to settling questions of economic debate.

Catalog Description: 
Prerequisites: Experimental Economics I
Designed for Masters students to learn how experimental methods can be used to inform economic research and practice. Students expected to have working understanding of basic economic concepts and multivariate calculus. 3 credits.

Course Objectives:
Students take this course with two objectives: (1) to understand experimental economics well enough to be critical consumers of the experimental economics literature and (2) to be able to do original research in experimental economics.

ES 430/530: Computational Economics

Catalog Description:
This course will introduce students to the computational tools required to understand electronic exchange systems and implement economic experiments. Students will be required to become familiar with numerical analysis, computer simulation and programming of experiments.

Course Objectives:
After taking this course students should be able to (1) Use computational methods in solving economic exchange problems, (2) Implement an electronic exchange systems.

ES 451/551: Economic System Design I

Catalog Description:
This course will introduce you to the analytical and engineering principles used in developing exchange systems. Students will be required to become familiar with the literature on applied mechanism design and understand the behavioral aspects of auction systems, matching, assignment and transportation problems. In addition, students will be introduced to methods for testbedding systems using experimental economics. 3 credits.

Course Objectives:
After taking this course students should have an understanding of (1) The information and incentive constraints that affect the design of allocation mechanisms, (2) The design principles required to develop allocation mechanisms for complex systems and (3) The literature and practice of mechanism design.

ES 452/552: Economic System Design II

Catalog Description:
This course is intended to involve students in designing specific allocation mechanisms for specific problems. Students will be required to design and develop a mechanism to a specific allocation problem. Students must develop an analytical model, literature review and testbed for their mechanism.

Course Objectives:
After taking this course students should have a complete model of a solution to a specific allocation problem. This includes a full description of the problem and related literature review, a set of instructions and testbed. This will become a foundation of doing research in systems design.

ES 453/553: Economic System Design III

Catalog Description:
Students will be required to synthesize their knowledge of Economic Systems Design and Experimental Economics and apply it to a real world problem. 3 credits.

Course Objectives:
Students must demonstrate an in depth knowledge of an existing economic exchange environment; provide at least one viable alternative arrangement for reorganizing the current exchange institution or resource allocation mechanism; test the original and alternative mechanisms in a controlled laboratory environment; and present results in a professional manner with both oral and written reports.