(The title of each course links to a recent class syllabus to provide more detailed information. Class numbers below are the new system numbers.)

ECON 345/554 Urban Economics

This course will analyze issues of spatial economics, including why cities are formed, patterns of residential and business location, models of housing market segregation, business location, and urban population “explosions” in developing countries. The course begins with an overview of the monocentric city model, explaining patterns of population density, commuting, and housing values. This course is the paired with Econ 146/246, a follow-on course that explores social issues and agglomeration economies in more detail. In contrast, this course will emphasize real estate and financial aspects of the housing market. A second major theme of this course will be the economy of Durham, and the underlying residential and commercial patterns. Class Blog, Reading List

ECON 390/590 African Economic Development

This course will seek to provide students with a realistic picture of African economies and societies today, emphasizing their heterogeneity and accomplishments, as well as focusing on reasons for continued widespread poverty throughout the continent. The course develops behavioral models that can be used to explain and predict household, market, and government behaviors and outcomes. Students are expected to quickly acquire basic stylized facts and economic models, and then analyze one of the many data sets now available.

ECON 601 Microeconomic Theory

This course provides an overview of microeconomic theory at the beginning graduate level, though it also may be accessible to advanced undergraduates. The class focuses on the theory of consumer choice, demand, uncertainty, competitive and imperfectly competitive firms, factor markets, producer theory, and on general equilibrium.

ECON 605 Advanced Microeconomic Theory

This course provides an overview of major theoretical contributions using microeconomic theory along with an introduction to dynamic optimization. The course is intended to give participants a sense of different fields in microeconomics – labor, health, industrial organization, international trade, economic development, urban economics, and more. In the process, students will gain an appreciation of modeling approaches. Class blog

ECON 757 Economics of Health

This is a graduate level course in the Economics of Health. The emphasis will be on acquiring a set of tools and a framework within which to organize empirical analysis. In this course, we will focus on decisions made by household members and the market for health insurance. The course will also have relevance for students interested in broader empirical microeconomic research.