Current Teaching
Recent Course Syllabi
PhD: Economics 752, Public Economics
This course considers a set of issues related to the government’s role in the economy, focusing on government redistribution and social insurance. Major topics covered include the optimal design of government redistribution programs; theoretical and empirical analyses of major US government transfer programs, including cash programs, in-kind programs, and tax credits; the optimal design of social insurance programs; and theoretical and empirical analyses of major US social insurance programs, including unemployment insurance and disability insurance. The course material will be presented in such a way to help prepare students to write dissertation-appropriate papers in the field of public economics.
Undergraduate: Economics 454, Public Finance and Public Policy
The role of the public sector in a market economy constitutes the over-arching topic of this course. Emphasis lies on analyzing government expenditure programs and the microeconomics of tax policy.
Undergraduate: Economics 326, Intermediate Microeconomic Analysis
Analysis of economic decision-making by individuals and firms, the resulting market outcomes, and applications to real-world problems. Emphasis on analytical logic and theoretical rigor. Topics covered include consumer preferences and utility maximization, perfect competition and market power, uncertainty and risk, externalities, and asymmetric information.