JOHN S. AKIN, Chair
John S. Akin (1) Health Economics, Public Finance, Human Resources
Gary A. Biglaiser (63) Microeconomic Theory, Industrial Organization
Stanley W. Black (53) International Monetary Theory
David M. Blau (61) Labor Economics
Patrick J. Conway (56) Economic Development, International Economics
William A. Darity Jr. (54) Economic Development, Monetary Theory
Alfred J. Field Jr. (6) Economic Development, International Economics
Richard T. Froyen (7) Macroeconomics, Monetary Policy
Eric Ghysels (86) Econometrics
David K. Guilkey (39) Econometrics
Claudio Mezzetti (71) Microeconomic Theory
Thomas A. Mroz (68) Labor Economics
James L. Murphy (21) Econometrics
Eric Renault (90) Econometrics
Paul W. Rhode (69) Economic History
Steven S. Rosefielde (26) Comparative Economic Systems
Michael K. Salemi (38) Macroeconomics, Monetary Economics
John F. Stewart (36) Industrial Organization
Helen V. Tauchen (40) Applied Microeconomics
Donna B. Gilleskie (81) Health Economics, Econometrics
William R. Parke (65) Econometrics
Koleman S. Strumpf (74) Public Finance
Boone A. Turchi (31) Demography
Sandra Campo (91) Applied Industrial Organization, Microeconomics
Neville Francis (52) Macroeconomics, Time Series
Thomas Geraghty (88) Economic History
Oksana Leukhina (57) Macroeconomics
Sergio Parreiras (89) Game Theory, Microeconomics
Xiaodong Wu (87) International Economics
James J. Anton
Richard E. Bilsborrow
Ralph T. Byrns
Peter A. Coclanis
Jennifer S. Conrad
Edward G. Norton
Barry M. Popkin
Frank A. Sloan
Scott A. Baker
Robert A. Connolly
Sally C. Stearns
Rachel A. Willis
Dennis R. Appleyard
Arthur Benavie
James W. Friedman
A. Ronald Gallant
James C. Ingram
David McFarland
Thomas J. Orsagh
Ralph W. Pfouts
Vincent J. Tarascio
Roger Waud
James A. Wilde
The graduate program in the Department of Economics prepares students for teaching and research careers in the fields of econometrics, economic history, financial econometrics, health economics, international trade and development, labor economics, microeconomic theory/industrial organization, and monetary and open economy macroeconomics. During the first year of the program, students concentrate on the core areas of econometrics, macroeconomics, and microeconomics. Later, each student chooses two fields of specialization within those mentioned. The department's objective is to provide students both with broad training in theory and econometrics and with specialization in the major and minor fields.
A number of students supplement their study in economics at UNC-Chapel Hill with work in finance, statistics, mathematics, biostatistics, urban and regional studies, computer science, and operations research, along with courses at Duke University and North Carolina State University. Strong offerings in these and other related areas enhance the overall graduate training offered to students.
The focus of the graduate program in economics is on the doctorate offerings. Most of the students in the master's program have already been admitted to a PhD or professional program at UNC-Chapel Hill.
The master's degrees require ECON 710, 720, and 700, one course in econometrics (ECON 771 or 870), two courses in a major field, three electives, and a research course (ECON 992 for the MS degree). Courses are to be selected in consultation with, and with the approval of, the director of graduate studies and the faculty in the major field. A master of science student writes a research paper under the direction of the faculty advisor. Also, all candidates must pass a written exam in the major field, with the thesis or paper advisor responsible for the examination. The Graduate School Handbook describes the general requirements for the master's examinations and for the theses or papers.
Course Requirements. A doctoral candidate must complete fifteen PhD level courses plus two semesters of the doctoral dissertation course (ECON 994). Unless otherwise specified by the faculty in the major field, at least twelve of the fifteen courses must be from the Economics Department. All courses must be approved by the director of graduate studies.
Courses in the Fundamentals of Economics. The following seven courses or their equivalents are required: ECON 710, 711, 720, 721, 700, 770, and one additional econometrics course.
Courses in the Major and Minor Fields within Economics. Each student selects a major and a minor field from among the following fields within economics:
At least three courses in the major field and two courses in the minor field are required. One of the courses in the major field is usually a seminar course.
Courses in Supporting Fields. The remaining courses are supporting courses chosen by the student in consultation with the director of graduate studies and other faculty. The supporting courses may be within the major or minor field or in areas that complement the major and minor fields.
Foreign Languages-Research Skill. Additionally, a student must demonstrate competence in one foreign language or fulfill a research skill requirement. Courses satisfying the research skills requirement are usually in econometrics, quantitative methods, mathematics, statistics, or computer science.
Doctoral Exams and Dissertation. Students must pass qualifying exams in macroeconomics, microeconomics, and the major field. The faculty in each field determines whether the major field qualifier is a four-hour written exam or a paper. The qualifiers are given in August and January of each academic year; major field papers are due during the week of written exams. The three-hour macroeconomics and microeconomics qualifying exams are first taken in August of the second year and the major field qualifier in August of the third year. The exams are also given in early January. Students have two chances to pass each of the exams and may petition the Appeals Committee for permission to take an exam for the third time.
The Graduate School Handbook describes the requirements for the doctoral oral exam, doctoral dissertation, and final oral defense of the dissertation. The doctoral oral exam includes an evaluation of the thesis prospectus.
The general regulations of The Graduate School apply to students receiving graduate degrees in economics from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Fellowships and Assistantships. The department offers several fellowships and a number of research and teaching assistantships. All applicants to the PhD program are considered for financial support, and most students enrolled in the PhD program receive a stipend, tuition assistance, and health insurance from departmental or other University sources. Detailed information regarding the fellowships, assistantships, and instructorships may be obtained from the director of graduate studies in economics, or at www.unc.edu/depts/econ.
Graduate standing in economics or permission of the director of graduate studies in economics is required for all courses numbered 700 or higher.
700 [210] BASIC QUANTITATIVE TECHNIQUES (3). Topics from linear algebra, calculus, linear and nonlinear programming, and the theory of difference and differential equations with applications to economics. Fall. Mezzetti.
706 [207] GENERAL ECONOMIC THEORY (3). Prerequisite, graduate standing in a department other than economics. Theory of demand, production, market structures and economic welfare, national income accounts and theory of national income determination, unemployment, inflation. (Not regularly offered.)
710 [200] ADVANCED MICROECONOMIC THEORY I (3). Prerequisites or corequisites, ECON 410 and 700 or equivalent. Consumer and producer theory, expected utility, perfect competition and monopoly, introduction to general equilibrium and welfare economics. Fall. Tauchen.
711 [201] ADVANCED MICROECONOMIC THEORY II (3). Prerequisite, ECON 710 or equivalent. General equilibrium and welfare economics, game theory and oligopoly, information economics. Spring. Biglaiser, Mezzetti.
720 [202] ADVANCED MACROECONOMIC THEORY I (3). Prerequisite, ECON 420 or equivalent. Keynesian and classical equilibrium models; the neo-Keynesian synthesis; monetarist and other alternative analytic frameworks. Fall. Froyen, Salemi.
721 [203] ADVANCED MACROECONOMIC THEORY II (3). Prerequisite, ECON 720 or equivalent. Growth models, general equilibrium approach to monetary theory; input-output; disequilibrium theory; extensions of Keynesian and classical models. Spring. Salemi, Francis.
770 [271] INTRODUCTION TO ECONOMETRIC THEORY (3). Probability theory, expectation, conditional expectation, modes of convergence, limit and interchange theorems, and the asymptotics of maximum likelihood, generalized method of moments, and efficient method of moments. Fall. Parke.
771 [272] ECONOMETRICS (3). Prerequisite, ECON 770 or equivalent. One semester coverage of basic econometrics. Topics include: regression under ideal and nonideal conditions; special models, including simultaneous equations models; and applications and econometric computer programs. Spring. Guilkey, Mroz.
799 EXPERIMENTAL (1-3).
806 [311] SEMINAR IN TEACHING METHODS IN ECONOMICS (3). Prerequisite, doctoral candidacy in economics or permission of the instructor. Covers skills in lecturing, encouraging student participation and active learning, writing exams, planning and evaluating courses. Students design and teach a module that includes class discussion and hands-on learning. Fall or spring.
810 [221] GAME THEORY I (3). Prerequisite, ECON 710, 711, or permission of the instructor. Non-cooperative games in strategic and extensive form, with perfect and imperfect information. Other topics from: information economics, mechanism design, auctions, repeated games, bargaining, bounded rationality, learning, evolutionary games, cooperative games. Fall and spring. Biglaiser, Mezzetti.
811 [225] GAME THEORY II (3). Prerequisite, ECON 810 or permission of the instructor. This course is a continuation of ECON 810. Topics covered will be chosen from those listed, but not covered in ECON 810. Fall and spring. Biglaiser, Mezzetti, Parreiras.
820 [281] MONETARY THEORY (3). Examination of theory and evidence on money demand, money supply, and portfolio analysis. Barter versus monetary economics, portfolio school, monetarism, monetary theories of interest rate determination. Fall. Black, Froyen, Salemi.
821 [282] MONETARY POLICY (3). Prerequisite, ECON 720 or permission of the instructor. Optimal policy under uncertainty, financial intermediation and monetary control, channels of monetary influence, monetary policy and inflation, rules versus authority. (Not regularly offered.)
830 [235] GENERAL ECONOMIC HISTORY (3). Preindustrial societies, early stages in industrial growth, and growth of the world economy in the nineteenth century. Fall or spring. Geraghty, Rhode.
831 [236] MODERN ECONOMIC HISTORY (3). Prerequisite, ECON 830 or permission of the instructor. Economic change in modern Western societies. Comparative study of growth in Europe and North America. Fall or spring. Geraghty, Rhode.
840 [240] ADVANCED PUBLIC FINANCE: EXPENDITURE (3). Analysis of market failure and reasons for public spending, cost-benefit analysis and program budgeting, public decision making, redistribution and fiscal equity, intergovernmental transfers. Spring. Strumpf.
841 [241] ADVANCED PUBLIC FINANCE: REVENUES (3). Prerequisite, ECON 840 or permission of the instructor. Criteria for judging tax structures, incidence and impact of taxation, user charges and debt finance, intergovernmental coordination, and macroeconomic effects. Fall. Strumpf.
845 [245] ADVANCED BUSINESS ORGANIZATION AND SOCIAL CONTROL (3). Prerequisite, permission of the instructor. Extensive readings in the literature are required. Emphasis is placed upon the role of economic analysis in dealing with problems in this field. (Not regularly offered.)
846 [248] ECONOMIC REGULATION OF INDUSTRY (3). Economic regulation in theory and practice. Principles of optimal regulation are developed, and regulatory performance in various industries is appraised. Fall or spring. Biglaiser.
850 [250] HEALTH ECONOMICS (3). Prerequisites, ECON 710 and 771 or permission of the instructor. Measurement and modeling of the demand for medical care, the demand for and supply of health insurance, and the incorporation of health, medical care, and health insurance in determining both short and long run labor supply. Fall or spring. Akin, Gilleskie.
851 [255] HEALTH ECONOMICS FOR DEVELOPING COUNTRIES (3). Prerequisites, ECON 710 and 771 or permission. Major topics are: how health and development are related, the demand for health services, cost-benefit and cost-effectiveness analysis, and methods for financing health care in developing, resource-constrained nations. Fall or spring. Akin.
855 [265] ECONOMICS AND POPULATION (3). Prerequisite, graduate standing in economics or permission of the instructor. Analysis of economic-demographic interrelationships including: population and economic development; population, environmental decay, and zero population growth; models of fertility, migration, and spatial organization; population policy. Spring. Turchi.
860 [261] THEORY OF INTERNATIONAL TRADE (3). Prerequisite, graduate standing in economics or permission of the instructor. The theory of international values; comparative advantage and the gains from trade; commercial policy. Fall or spring. Conway, Field, Wu.
861 [262] INTERNATIONAL MONETARY ECONOMICS (3). Prerequisite, graduate standing in economics or permission of the instructor. Analysis of the international monetary system; exchange rates; the process of adjustment in the balance of payments. Fall or spring. Black, Conway.
865 [263] ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT: THEORY AND POLICY (3). Prerequisite, permission of the instructor. Intensive study of the development processes and problems of the less developed countries, with emphasis on theories of growth and development, internal and external policies, and planning strategies. Fall or spring. Conway, Darity, Field.
866 [264] SELECTED TOPICS IN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND DEVELOPMENT PLANNING (3). Prerequisite, ECON 865 or equivalent. Examination of various topics in economic progress of the less developed countries, with special emphasis on the role of international issues.
867 [267] COMPARATIVE ECONOMIC SYSTEMS (3). This course focuses on alternative theories of United States capitalism, French indicative planning, Yugoslavian worker-managed market socialism, Soviet central planning, and the Chinese worker-controlled decentralized planning model. (Not regularly offered.)
868 [253] SOCIALIST ECONOMIC THOUGHT IN HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE (3).
870 [273] ADVANCED ECONOMETRICS (3). Prerequisites, ECON 770, ECON 771, and MATH 547. ECON 870 constitutes a one-semester treatment of the fundamental theory of econometrics. Topics covered include asymptotic distribution theory, linear and nonlinear models, specification testing techniques, and simultaneous equations models. Fall. Campo, Guilkey, Parke, Renault.
871 [274] TIME SERIES ECONOMETRICS (3). Prerequisite, ECON 870. Covers stationary univariate and multivariate time series models, spectral analysis methods, nonstationary models with time trends, unit roots and cointegration, and special topics such as conditional volatility, the Kalman filter and changes of regime. Spring. Ghysels, Parke, Renault.
872 [275] NONLINEAR ECONOMETRIC METHODS (3). Prerequisite, ECON 870. Density estimation, nonparametric regression, neural nets, nonlinear regression, generalized method of moments, seminonparametric time series, estimating stochastic differential equations and nonlinear latent variables.
873 [276] CROSS SECTIONAL ECONOMETRICS (3). Prerequisite, ECON 870. Maximum likelihood methods for limited dependent variables. Longitudinal data models and methods. Hazard models. Multivariate models with limited dependent variables. Fall or spring. Guilkey, Mroz.
875 [386] INTRODUCTION TO EMPIRICAL FINANCE (BUSI 886) (3). Corequisite or prerequisite, ECON 771. This course provides an introduction to the econometric techniques commonly applied to empirical issues in finance. Fall or spring. Ghysels.
876 [388] ADVANCED TOPICS IN EMPIRICAL FINANCE (3). Corequisites or prerequisites, ECON/BUSI 875 and ECON 871. This course will cover a selected list of current empirical research topics in finance and related econometric methods. Fall or spring. Ghysels.
880 [291] LABOR ECONOMICS I (3). Prerequisite, ECON 710 or permission of the instructor. An analysis of the short- and long-run aspects of supply and demand of labor, including empirical analysis of the labor force behavior of males, females, blacks, and whites. Topics include the microeconomic effects of marriage, fertility, and mobility on labor supply, as well as the macroeconomic effects of unemployment on inflation. Fall or spring. Blau, Mroz.
881 [294] LABOR ECONOMICS II (3). Life cycle analysis of supply and demand for labor as a determinant of individual wages. Topics include an analysis of discrimination, union power, and governmental manpower policies on the distribution of earnings across the population. Fall or spring. Blau, Mroz.
890 [399] SEMINAR. Prerequisite, permission of the instructor. Individual research in a special field under direction of a member of the department. Fall and spring. Staff.
892 RESEARCH (1-3).
896 INDEPENDENT STUDY (1-3).
899 EXPERIMENTAL (1-3).
911 [300] SEMINAR IN MICROECONOMIC THEORY I (3). This course introduces students to the literature and research methods used in microeconomic theory. May be repeated for credit. Fall or spring. Biglaiser, Mezzetti, Parreiras.
920 [381] SEMINAR IN MONETARY ECONOMICS (3). Prerequisite, permission of the instructor. Advanced study of theoretical and applied topics in monetary economics. Fall or spring. Froyen, Salemi.
921 [301] SEMINAR IN MACROECONOMIC THEORY II (3). Graduate students examine current issues and literature with the purpose of initiating research projects in macroeconomics, monetary theory, and international finance. May be repeated for credit. Fall or spring. Black, Froyen, Salemi.
931 [335] SEMINAR IN ECONOMIC HISTORY (3). The course introduces students to current problems and techniques of study and research in economic history. May be repeated for credit. Fall or spring. Geraghty, Rhode.
951 [355] RESEARCH IN HEALTH ECONOMICS (3). The course allows graduate students to become familiar with current issues and research topics in health economics. May be repeated for credit. Fall or spring. Akin, Gilleskie.
956 [341] RESEARCH IN PUBLIC FINANCE (3). This course introduces students to the literature and research methods used in applied microeconomics including public finance. May be repeated for credit. Fall or spring. Stewart, Strumpf, Tauchen, Turchi.
958 [365] SEMINAR IN POPULATION (3). Prerequisite, graduate standing in economics. For advanced population students, this course addresses the newest and most advanced economic demography literature. (Not regularly offered.)
960 [361] SEMINAR IN INTERNATIONAL ECONOMICS (3). Prerequisites, ECON 860 and 861 or equivalent. A directed reading and research course. Fall or spring. Black, Conway, Wu.
966 [363] SEMINAR IN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT (3). This course is an introduction to the literature and research methods of economic development and transition economies. May be repeated for credit. Fall or spring. Conway, Darity, Field, Wu, Rosefielde.
968 [396] SEMINAR IN SOVIET ECONOMICS (3). Prerequisite, permission of the instructor. Studies of selected problems of the Soviet economy and related aspects of Soviet economic thought. Seminar members are expected to present reports on assigned research topics. (Not regularly offered.)
971 [371] RESEARCH IN ECONOMETRICS (93). The course introduces students to theoretical and applied research topics in econometrics. May be repeated for credit. Fall or spring. Campo, Ghysels, Guilkey, Mroz, Murphy, Parke.
981 [391] SEMINAR IN LABOR (3). The course introduces students to research topics in labor economics. May be repeated for credit. Fall or spring. Blau, Mroz.
985 [375] SEMINAR IN APPLIED MICROECONOMICS (3). Prerequisite, permission of the instructor. This course offers advanced graduate students the opportunity to begin to develop independent research in applied microeconomic fields. Fall or spring. Staff.
990 SPECIAL TOPICS (1-3).
992 [392] MASTER'S PAPER (3). Fall and spring. Staff.
993 [393] MASTER'S THESIS (3). Fall and spring. Staff.
994 [394] DOCTORAL DISSERTATION (3). Fall and spring. Staff.