We have organized the newsletter to begin with course information, then registration and advising details, and finally useful information on communications – such as the economics blog and Facebook page -- at the end of the newsletter.
Econ 70a, American Fiscal Policy: This course will focus on the theory and implementation of fiscal policy. We are going to study the present by examining the past. The ordering of topics will be dictated by the experience of the United
States between 1775 and 1880. Topics will include the fiscal features of our constitution, the financing of major wars, the financing of large infrastructure projects such as the trans-Continental railroads, and the state debt crises of the
1840s and the 1870s. We will examine the economic theory behind various decisions, the political and institutional constraints that distorted those decisions, and the eventual outcome of those decisions.
This course was developed by Professor George Hall and Nobel Prize winning economist, Tom Sargent, dur ing Professor Hall’s sabbatical year at NYU.
Professor Hall is looking forward to teaching the course at Brandeis!
Undergraduate students are also eligible to take other graduate-level courses
(courses numbered 200 and above). However, graduate students are given priority to enroll in these courses, and undergraduate students cannot preregister. Students wishing to enroll in a graduate course should attend the course from the beginning of the semester and ask permission from the instructor to enroll. All students must have taken the appropriate prerequisites for the course.
If there is an equivalent undergraduate course that is being given that semester
(for example, Financial Economics, 171a, is the undergraduate equivalent for
Financial Theory, Fin 201a), then undergraduates must enroll in the 100-level course, with the exception of students who are enrolled in the BA/MA program.

Students should check with the Undergraduate Advising Head as to whether the graduate course counts as an economics elective (some of the business courses do not count), and if it counts, whether they would receive credit for a lower-level or an upper-level elective.
Ph.D. courses.
Juniors and seniors who have already completed Econ 80a, 82b, and 83a, and have a strong math background (minimum of multivariate calculus and linear algebra) may wish to consider enrolling in a Ph.D. course. These are highly mathematical courses intended for first-year Ph.D. students but are also good choices for advanced undergraduate students planning to apply to a Ph.D. program. Strong performance in a Ph.D. course increases the chance of acceptance to a selective Ph.D. program.
Please note that first-year Ph.D. courses are offered in alternate years; consequently, the first-year Ph.D. courses are being offered next academic year
(2014-2015). A set of second year courses
– mostly field courses and advanced econometric courses – will be offered this year.
To learn more about taking a Ph.D. course, contact Professor Blake LeBaron
( blebaron@brandeis.edu
) or me ( kgraddy@brandeis.edu
).
Registration opened on Thursday, January 9 th and will continue until Monday,
January 27th. A list of all spring Economics classes with links to syllabi for most courses is posted on the economics website .
If a spring course you hope to take is closed, please attend the first classes, keep up with the work and contact Leslie Yancich ( lesliey@brandeis.edu
) to be put on the waitlist. In most cases, seniors will be given priority over juniors, and juniors over sophomores. Please remember, adding a course late does not excuse you from completing all required work.
Any student who is on the wait list and cannot be accommodated this term will receive priority in the same course the next time it is offered; for all of our core courses, that will be next semester.
Students who have questions about spring courses or academic requirements for the econ major and minor should contact Professor Redenius
(redenius@brandeis.edu), the Undergraduate Advising Head (UAH), or Leslie
Yancich, our Department Coordinator for Economics.
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Professor Redenius and Professor Coiner have prepared a detailed advising memo that answers many of the basic questions you may have about your academic program. Please take time to read it before meeting with your advisor or our Undergraduate Advising Head, Prof. Redenius. Important information about recent changes in departmental requirements appears later in this newsletter.
Let us take this opportunity to highlight several critical requirements, some of which are relatively recent, that are important for current and potential majors.
Please consult your advisor or Prof. Redenius if you are not sure how these requirements affect you.
Enforcement of the calculus requirement . Every student must satisfy a calculus requirement before enrolling in Econ 80a, 82b, or 83a, or 184b.
Specifically, students must establish competence in calculus in any one of three ways: completion of Math 10a (or equivalent course) with a grade of C- or better; scoring at least 4 on the AP Mathematics AB test, or at least 3 on the AP
Mathematics BC test; or passing a placement exam the Econ Department administers at the beginning of the semester. Email Leslie Yancich
( lesliey@brandeis.edu
) as soon as possible if you plan to take the placement exam or you can access the sign-up sheet here . The exam is scheduled for
Friday, January 17 th , 2:00 – 4:00pm , in Sachar 101 (Chancellor Suite) in the
IBS building. For those of you wishing to get a head start or practice run in, a sample of the exam can be found here .
If, in one way or another, you have satisfied the basic calculus requirement but are nevertheless concerned that you have forgotten critical aspects of your training, again, please check in with Prof. Redenius to discuss ways in which you might review and strengthen your skills, or for useful higher-level mathematics courses.
Changes to the introductory sequence for majors and minors. Students entering in Fall 2012 and after will be required to take the new introductory sequence of Econ10a, Introduction to Microeconomics and Econ 20a,
Introduction to Macroeconomics. Students who entered prior to Fall 2012 still fall under the previous introductory requirements of Econ 2a and Econ 28b
(previously Econ 8b – The Global Economy); however, if these students have yet to take any introductory courses they are encouraged to opt to take the Econ
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10a/Econ 20a sequence. Econ 28b will be offered as a lower-level elective for those students taking the new sequence. Students entering prior to Fall 2012 can also petition to have Econ 20a counted as a lower-level elective for their major or minor only if they have taken this course before taking Econ 82b.
Students will not get credit for the beginning-level course (Econ 20a) if they have already taken the intermediate level course (Econ 82b).
Departmental Workshops : The economics department will be sponsoring workshops for STATA and Bloomberg training. Keep an eye out for the signup sheets as space is limited! We also hope to offer a SAS workshop this spring.
As usual, our UDRs (see the section below on this year’s UDRs) are planning an ambitious agenda.
Look for the “Life After Brandeis” event featuring recent alumni sharing their job experiences and advice with students! All dates and times are to be announced.
Be sure to check the department’s economics blog! You can find it here: http://blogs.brandeis.edu/economics/ .
We will be posting information on department events, faculty news and even some student submitted articles.
Interested in submitting a post? Please email it to Leslie Yancich at lesliey@brandeis.edu
if you would like your submission to be considered for publishing on this site.
“Like” us on Facebook! Look for updates and events by following us on our
Facebook page and spread the word around about current happenings here in the economics department.
We h ope that “Spring!” will be a productive, satisfying, and enjoyable semester for our students. We especially urge our senior majors to take full advantage of the course offerings in the economics department before leaving campus in May.
If you have any questions about the department, please stop by or e-mail.
Good luck in the coming term!
Professor Katy Graddy,
Chair, Department of Economics kgraddy@brandeis.edu
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