- Fall 2025
ECON 064. Economics of Crime and Justice
This course surveys topics in crime and justice in the US context, with a focus on thinking critically about economic theory and empirical evidence. We will review relevant economic theories and common empirical methods used to identify causal effects. We’ll discuss a wide range of crime-related topics, including measuring crime, policing, the court system, incarceration, firearms, employment, education, media, and health. Students will consider trade-offs to different approaches to crime prevention and harm reduction through an economic lens.
Professor Emma Rackstraw. Prerequisite: ECON 001.
- Spring 2025
ECON 006/POLS 006: Great Issues in Public Policy
Our current political, social, and economic moment has brought a number of crucial public policy questions to center stage. In this course, we seek to engage critically with some of the biggest public policy challenges of our time - including reproductive rights, immigration, artificial intelligence, affordable housing, climate change, global conflict, the future of democracy, and more. The course is based primarily on the fields of economics, political science, and policy analysis, and how theories and frameworks from these fields inform how we might think about and tackle specific issues. Crucially, this course strives to bring a diversity of perspectives to bear on the selected topics (through discussions, readings, guest speakers, etc.), and students should expect their personal views on these issues to be critiqued and challenged. The broader goal of the course is to help students see policy issues in nuanced ways, so we can better understand other points of view, engage in more civil discourse, and more effectively advocate for our preferred policy positions in an increasingly polarized society.
Professor Syon Bhanot and Professor Dominic Tierney. Prerequisite: ECON 001.
New Economics Courses
New for Spring 2026
ECON 027. Macroeconomic Policy Evaluation
What are the macroeconomic effects of changes in tax rates? How can we analyze news such as the monthly “jobs report”? This course uses theoretical and empirical macroeconomic models to analyze policy questions and understand macroeconomic news in the U.S. It builds on and reviews concepts from intermediate macroeconomic and econometrics and introduces extensions as needed. The goal is to apply these models to analyze policy topics such as fiscal multipliers, fiscal consolidation, or structural reforms, as well as select macroeconomic news releases. The course focuses on a positive analysis of the main economic forces, but also discusses welfare effects. Students explore applications independently through computer exercises and class projects.
Professor Thorsten Drautzburg. Prerequisite: ECON 021, ECON 031 or its equivalent.
ECON 034. Data Science for Economists
The course introduces students to basic practices and tools that will enhance your ability to conduct empirical research and analysis in microeconomics in a data-rich world. By the end of the course, students will be proficient in various data management, visualization and quantitative techniques necessary to efficiently conduct independent economic research. The course format is “hands-on” and students will conduct most of their work on their personal computers using python and VSCode. No prior experience with the software or methods is required or presumed. The skills you learn may be applied to other languages and programming (such as in R and Stata).
Professor Aleks Michuda. Prerequisite: ECON 031 or its equivalent.
