Teaching

This course introduces students to real-world scenarios where markets do not deliver efficient outcomes — those situations are rather the norm, not the exception. We explore how market participants cope with market failure through contractual or other arrangements, and how government intervention can (or cannot) help. The course also covers the basics of game theory, which is a tool in the economist's toolbox that can help us think about strategic behavior. It has wide applications in all branches of economics, as well as other disciplines such as political science, biology, and psychology.

The aim of this course is to familiarize students with some of the techniques used in the analysis of contemporary microeconomic theory, to foster their understanding of the purpose of theoretical models, as well as their ability to use those models to analyze a problem and draw correct inferences. In doing so, the course deepens students' understanding of the economics of contracts and asymmetric information. By the end of the course, students will have gained an understanding of economic theory as an essential part of the scientific approach in economics, and have a sense of how to construct a basic theoretic model. They should also have developed a sound analytical knowledge about what constraints informational asymmetries place on the efficiency and profitability of economic transactions in both market and non-market environments, and how institutional responses can help address these problems.

A graduate-level exploration into the study of non-market political choice, also known as "public choice" or "political economics". Students learn about the basic models economists use to describe political choice, and how they can be applied to better understand government behaviour and characteristics. Applications to specific policies such as income redistribution, provision of public services, and education or health care are discussed. The course is divided into two parts: the first consists of lectures developing the key theoretical insights from the literature on policy determination in the political process; in the second, students present original research papers with empirical work and applications.