Economics

This course is an introduction to labor economics. The course objective is to understand how labor markets operate and how they are affected by institutions and labor market policies. Both empirical evidence and standard theory are covered. The course highlights the effects on efficiency and the redistributive properties of institutions operating in imperfect labor markets, subject to market failures. This provides three reasons for the existence of institutions: i) remedying market failures, ii) achieving some redistribution, and iii) remedying potential negative side effects of other institutions. The course consists of 14 key lectures. The first lecture set up the stage by introducing workers’ labor supply, firms' labor demand, the labor market equilibrium and the institutional wedges. Lecture 2 through 14 deal with specific institutions and have the same setup: a description of the institution, some cross-country comparisons, theory in perfect and imperfect labor markets, empirical evidence on the effects of this institution, interactions with other institutions, and policy issues. The four lecture topics are: overview; minimum wages; unions and collective bargaining; antidiscrimination legislation; regulation of working hours; early retirement plans; family policies; education and training; migration policies; employment protection legislation; regulations on self-employment; unemployment benefits and active labor market policies; health related labor policies; and payroll taxes.

This course examines international financial economics using a mixture of modern economic theory and empirical analysis. The inter-temporal model of the current account is examined to enable the analysis of the effects of economic policies on international trade and global financial markets. Theory and evidence for international asset positions will also be examined. Models of exchange rate and interest rate determination will be introduced and their empirical performance will be assessed. Topics covered will include sovereign debt, currency crises and the home bias portfolio puzzle.

This course examines the practical aspects of macroeconomics that are essential in understanding the functioning of global economies, with a specific focus on issues related to the monetary systems around the world and the relevance of the interest rate in the flow of funds around the world.

This course provides an introduction to econometrics, which involves using data and statistical methods to estimate economic relationships, test economic theory, and predict the impact of policy. Topics covered include probability and statistics, single linear regression, multiple linear regression, non-linear regression, model internal and external validity, field and natural experiments, and time series models. Econometric methodology and application will be motivated and illustrated through applications to economics, accounting, finance, marketing, and management.

This course introduces students to the study and history of these economic inequalities. It is a detailed survey of the key evidence on inequality, both contemporary and historical, and the sources and methods used to measure it. Students learn how to critically interrogate the quality of inferences from such evidence. They explore the dimensions of inequality along historical, contemporary, spatial, ethnic, and gender lines, drawing on research in economic history, economic geography, and sociology. 

This course the fundamental skill of designing and developing a relational database. It covers applying data modelling to solve business problems, and organizing data with minimum redundancy and dependency. This course is intended to get students started with structured query language (SQL).
 

The course introduces development economics as well as applied problems in the field of development, and development strategies. It covers both conventional theory of development and economic growth and alternative strategies for sustainable development. Topics covered include resource mobilization, agricultural and industrial development, globalization, sustainable development and institutions, and the political economy of development. The discussion is both theoretical and applied with extensive use made of country and regional case studies. The course focuses on developmental challenges confronting South Africa and the rest of Africa. Assessment: coursework (50%) and a final exam (50%).

This course explores the dynamic nature of economic decisions. Topics include: stylized facts on macroeconomic variables over the business cycle; consumption-leisure decision; credit markets; real business cycles; government policy in the overlapping-generations models; unemployment.