INAF U6060x International Energy Systems & Business Structures 3 pts.Not offered in 2012-2013. Policy makers cannot be effective without a thorough understanding of what is to be influenced, guided, or regulated. The purpose of this introductory core course in the International Energy Management and Policy track is to provide you with that understanding. It is a foundational course upon which you will build your understanding of the energy industry as you progress with your matriculation. The course covers conventional and alternative sources of energy and the business structures through which these sources of energy are transformed to electricity, fuels, chemicals, plastics, and a wide variety of other substances and materials that play a vital role in the functioning of modern society. SIPA: EPD. SIPA: E&E- IEMP. SIPA: E&E- Environment Policy. SIPA: PEPM.

INAF U6069y Applied Political Economy of Policymaking Not offered in 2012-2013. The module will take a hands-on approach to the design, communication and political implementation of economic policies. Issues will include designing policy reforms; agenda-setting; choosing the timing of policy initiatives; big-bang versus gradual reforms; the use of research, expert committees and blue-ribbon commissions; agenda-setting and coalition-building; attaining and maintaining the credibility of policies and policymakers; announcing and communicating policy initiatives; the role of the ideology and beliefs of voters; and relationships with the media. With some academic literature as background, we will focus on the challenges of real-life policy reforms and the lessons they offer. Several examples will be taken from recent Latin American experiences with policy reform. SIPA: IFEP- Economic Policy. SIPA: PEPM.

PEPM U4612x Microeconomics & Public Policy 3 pts. Open to PEPM Students Only To design and manage successful economic policy professionals need a sophisticated command of modern microeconomics. This course strengthens and extends understanding of microeconomic theory, and gives practice applying it. We study the relationship between market structure and market performance, exploring conditions under which policy intervention can improve market performance, and when it can be counter-productive. Both distributional and efficiency aspects of intervention are stressed. An introduction to formal strategic analysis is included, along with its application in the modern theory of auctions. SIPA: PEPM.

PEPM U4613y International Trade 3 pts. Non-PEPM Students Must Receive Instructor Approval The first section will cover the fundamental analytical models of international trade, including most of the important concepts and theories which will be at the core of the rest of the course. The following section will focus on more realistic assumptions that consider breakdowns of the classical models, such as imperfect competition, economies of scale, dumping, and factor movements, among others. This will provide a much better understanding of the relevant trade flows observed in reality. Finally, a more empirical section will analyze the instruments of trade policy available to governments to induce changes in trade flows. We will evaluate the effects of such policies on welfare, employment, income distribution and prices, as well as alternative negotiated solutions, such as preferential trade agreements. SIPA: PEPM.

PEPM U4614x Macroeconomic Policy Management 3 pts. Open to PEPM Students Only The course starts with a review of exchange rates over the long and short run and with a discussion of the real effects of nominal exchange rate fluctuations, deviations from interest rate parities, and the role of expectations in determining exchange rate dynamics. The course proceeds with the study of the international allocation of capital flows, the dynamics of external wealth, and global imbalances. The course continues with the analysis of exchange rate regimes, the rationale for their adoption and abandonment, and the implications for fiscal and monetary policies of floating and fixed exchange rates depending on the degree of openness in international financial markets. The course deals with the macroeconomics of the public sector budget and the links between money, inflation, and the budget. Topics discussed include: the sensitivity of the public-sector budget to external and domestic macroeconomic variables, along with the concept of sustainable fiscal deficits; the economic consequences of devaluations (actual and anticipated), including the discussion of contractionary devaluations; the causes and consequences of capital flows and their sudden stop; the time consistency of economic policies and the inflationary effects of various institutional arrangements between monetary and fiscal authorities. The course also surveys monetary policy transmission mechanisms and the choice of nominal anchors, with particular reference to inflation targeting and interest-on-reserves regimes. The course closes with a review of stylized facts concerning policies for economic growth, with particular focus on international trade liberalization and financial sector development. A general and pragmatic framework for prioritizing growth policies is introduced with applications to country case studies. SIPA: PEPM.

PEPM U6223x Accounting and Finance 3 pts. Open to PEPM Students Only Accounting and Finance covers the basic concepts of accounting and financial management used in decision making. The accounting portion of the course focuses on the role of accounting as an information system and decision tool. An accounting project then applies these concepts to the financial statements of either a publicly-traded corporation, a public enterprise (i.e., Federal Reserve, World Bank�), or the US government. The finance portion of the course presents basic corporate finance concepts on valuation and decision analysis. Students are given a brief introduction to financial markets, selected financial products and the theory and rudiments of bond pricing. A finance project reinforces the basic bond concepts with a detailed analysis of a bond offering. SIPA: PEPM.

PEPM U6440y Macroeconometrics The course aims to analyzedynamic, multivariate interactions in evolutionary and non-stationary processes. The course first considers stationary univariate time-series processes and then extendthe analysis to non-stationary processes and multivariate processes. The course covers a review of linear dynamic time-series models and focus on the concept of cointegration, asmany applications lend themselves to dynamic systems of equilibrium-correction relations.In the final analysis, the course is aimed at presenting a certain number ofeconometric techniques the mastery of which is becoming increasingly inevitable inprofessional circles. SIPA: PEPM.

PEPM U6610x Econometric Techniques for Policy Managers 3 pts. Open to PEPM Students OnlyNot offered in 2012-2013. Provides a discussion of how policy managers can assess the validity of technical studies in economics. By providing a survey of applied statistical methods, also allows students to carry out their own data analysis. Econometric techniques discussed include both time series and cross-sectional analysis, such as: linear and multiple regression, specification tests, forecasting, limited dependent variable models and logistic regression. SIPA: PEPM.

PEPM U8147x Development Economics 3 pts. Open to PEPM Students Only Describes the history and current situation of the level and distribution of global income. Analyses the theory of economic growth and the empirical evidence on the factors influencing growth, including physical and human capital accumulation, technical change and population growth. Explores the effects of trade, foreign direct investment, natural resources, geography, and public sector institutions on economic growth and distribution of income. Examines how financial development and exchange rate regimes affect the prospects for economic growth. SIPA: PEPM.

PEPM U8148y Political Economy of Development 3 pts. Open to PEPM Students Only Examines the ways in which economic and political dynamics interact in shaping development outcomes, particularly, how political interests, agents, and institutions influence economic policy choices. Examines the development strategies that developing countries have adopted and their political underpinnings. Explores why seemingly inefficient institutions and policies often survive and under what conditions structural reform typically occurs. Analyzes the concept of governance in theory and practice, focusing on topics that have dominated contemporary debates, such as corruption, managing ethnic divisions, legal systems, and creating robust systems of property rights. Considers how states may attempt to cope with the myriad challenges presented by globalization, particularly, how they can best manage their relationships with external actors. SIPA: PEPM.