Economics

This course introduces the basic tools of game theory and its applications to business choices. The course covers normal form and extensive form games, games of perfect and imperfect/incomplete information, and introduces equilibrium concepts such as Nash equilibrium, subgame-perfect equilibrium and perfect Bayesian equilibrium. It also looks at repeated games and the theory of reputation.

This course provides an introduction to the statistical and econometric theory underlying surveys and counterfactual policy evaluations, which have long played a prominent role in democracies' political life. Doing so, it sharpens critical appraisal of the very many surveys and policy evaluations that are to be found in public discourse. This class uses mathematical notation and proofs: students should be motivated to engage with mathematically formalized material.

This course examines environmental issues with the aid of economic theory. Topics include sustainability of economies; pollution as an externality; approaches to dealing with pollution in different countries; methods of valuing the environment and environmental damage; effect on future generations; environmental amenity as a public good; and the environment and economic development.

This course, relying on economic frameworks, explores historical and contemporary Indigenous populations and these peoples’ participation in and marginalization from the contemporary Australian economy and society. Incorporating First Peoples ' diverse perspectives, we consider contemporary First Nations’ and other Indigenous peoples’ economic activities in an historical context. Students have the opportunity to develop insight into First Nations perspectives on economic development, wellbeing and prosperity. We explore First Peoples' innovative responses to contemporary challenges borne of the ongoing impacts of colonization and systemic bias. Topics change each year, and include the continuities of First Peoples’ practices in resource management and communal sustenance; innovative engagements with the settler and global economy; demographic and population change; land, water and sea rights; human capital development; income and wealth; participation in the labor market; and, entrepreneurship. 

This course has two main objectives. The first is to provide introduction to some of the central themes and periods in economic history, ranging from the neolithic agricultural revolution in the Middle East to worldwide economic growth in the 20th and 21st centuries. The second is to introduce some of the main analytical debates in the field. The course provides a broad sense of the major epochs and revolutions in economic history, and demonstrates how economic theory and statistical evidence can help us to understand the real world. It also indicates some of the potential pitfalls, as well as advantages, of explaining the past through the lens of social science.

Discrimination, crime, marriage, fertility, education, or religion are all examples of key parts of our societies. The behavior of people and the design of institutions in these social contexts have major consequences for society (including policy and the economy as a whole). Economists claim that the economic approach is useful in explaining human behavior and social interactions in such settings and hence helps to better understand the functioning of societies. This in turn helps to design policies helping to achieve societal goals. This course analyzes different social phenomena through the lens of economists. It trains students to understand and analyze a wide range of social phenomena from an economic point of view and to investigate and interpret these issues empirically. In particular, students are given a thorough understanding of how social phenomena can be analyzed from an economic perspective and they get an introduction to econometric tools with which empirical claims about causality can be established. PREREQUISITES: Basic understanding of economic theory and quantitative methods, an advanced level of English.

CIEE supports qualified students who wish to pursue an academically rigorous independent research project while abroad. In order to enroll, students must submit a research proposal including a clearly defined research topic,
explanation of research plans, description of preparation in the planned area of study, list of resources, tentative outline of a final paper, and suggested schedule of progress. Students complete a total of 100-120 hours of
research and meet regularly with an advisor to complete an academically rigorous, ethically sound, and culturally appropriate research project and final research paper. Approval for participation in Directed Independent Research
must be obtained from CIEE and the student's home institution prior to arrival on the program.

Where do the current beliefs - theories, doctrines, postulates and attitudes - of modern economics come from? If current theories and doctrines have a definite historical beginning, what schools of thought did they supplant? Are there alternative or dissident views which subsisted alongside mainstream economics in the twentieth century - and if so, what are they and where did they originate from? This course seeks to answer these questions, as well as others. It provides an overview of the development of economic ideas from the seventeenth to the twentieth century, combined with a more intensive focus on the thought of certain key figures in that history. The particular topics covered include: the formation of economics to 1776; Adam Smith; classical economics from Smith to J.S. Mill; the rise of marginalist economics; John Maynard Keynes; and orthodox and heterodox currents in twentieth century economics.

This course introduces the highly dynamic economic transformation of the city of Berlin since the fall of the Iron Curtain. The course examines how Berlin has tried to turn its weakness (i.e., lack of financial capital) into a strength (i.e., wealth of cultural capital) by focusing heavily on "creative industries," tourism, and its world-famous club and art scenes. This course studies the transformation in all its economic and cultural ramifications: from the vibrant start-up culture and precarious employment patterns to the city's rapid growth and discontent with gentrification.