Economics

Programs of graduate study in economics are offered in the following fields of specialization:

• Comparative Economic Systems;
• Econometrics;
• Economic Development;
• Economic History;
• Growth and Distribution;
• Industrial Organization;
• International Economics;
• Labor Economics;
• Macroeconomic Theory;
• Marxian Economic Theory;
• Microeconomic Theory;
• Political Economy.

All candidates for the M.A. are required to complete 36 graduate credits subject to the following restrictions: 12 credits must be earned in the 700 to 800 series; candidates must take one semester each of Macroeconomics, Political Economy, Economic History, and Mathematical Methods, plus two semesters of Microeconomics and Econometrics; 21 of the credits must be taken within the Department of Economics. The candidate must earn grades of B- or better in the required courses, and maintain a 3.000 average overall.

• 503 Advanced Microeconomic Theory.Detailed examination of selected topics: consumer behavior, production, capital, income distribution, market structure, general equilibrium, game theory and coalition formation. Not available for Ph.D. credit. Prerequisite: ECON 203.
• 504 Advanced Macroeconomic Theory. Comparison of major schools of macroeconomic thought and their application to current economic trends and policy debates. Not available for Ph.D. credit. Prerequisite: ECON 204.
• 505 Advanced Marxian Economics. Marxian conceptual framework developed and applied to study of social formations and to further elaboration of Marxian value theory. Not available for Ph.D. credit. Prerequisite: ECON 305.
• 511 Money and Banking. Advanced examination of development and operation of United States monetary and banking systems. Problems of achieving full employment and price stability through monetary controls. Not available for Ph.D. credit. Prerequisites: ECON 103 and 104.
• 515 Economic Theories of the State. Connections between public issues: inflation, ecological deterioration, regional and class inequalities, budget crises, and historically evolving relations between governmental and economic institutions. Not available for Ph.D. credit. Prerequisites: ECON 203, 204, and 305.
• 531 Structure of American Industry. Market competition and economic development in American industries. Social effectiveness of industry analyzed through measures of industrial structure; and market performance. Not available for Ph.D. credit. Prerequisite: ECON 103.
• 567 Latin American Economic Development. Economic systems of Latin America. Emphasizing structural problems of export-oriented economics and historical comparisons of development strategies. Prerequisite: ECON 366. Not available for Ph.D. credit.
• 582 Urban Economics. Current urban problems, their causes, and alternatives for their solution. Urban public finance, location theory, land use, housing, transportation, and the environment. Prerequisite: ECON 103. Not available for Ph.D. credit.
• 597D The Practice of Development Policy and International Cooperation. This course exposes students to the practice of development policy and international cooperation and how they affect policy design and implementation in developing countries.  It discusses the role of academic thinking and operational experience in guiding development policy and cooperation, effectiveness,and limitations; and discusses agenda setting processes in global strategies, the role played by key stakeholders in the North and South, and the implicit and explicit rules of division of power and leadership.  The instructor draws on both the literature and his own experience in development policy.  This course is ideal for students considering advanced studies in economic development, development studies, and international relations, as well as those interested in a career in development policy. Open to Seniors, Juniors and Graduate students only. Prerequisite: Econ 203, Econ 204, Res Econ 202.(Econ 366 or Econ 367 highly recommended). Graduate students who do not meet the prerequisite must be enrolled by the GPD's office.
• 601 Microeconomic Theory. Theory of the consumer, firm, industry, and their interactions. One semester terminal course. Prerequisite: ECON 203. Not available for Ph.D. credit.
• 605 Macroeconomic Theory. Systematic development of static and dynamic theories of aggregative economic behavior and their applications. One semester terminal course. Prerequisite: ECON 204. Not available for Ph.D. credit.
• 691 Seminar in Economic Issues. Topics may vary from year to year. Not available for Ph.D. credit.
• 699 Master’s Thesis. Credit, 6-9.
• 700 Microeconomics of Coordination and Conflict. Introduces microeconomic concepts relevant to the coordination of social interactions with particular attention to conflict, cooperation, collective action, competition, and coordination failures.
• 701 Microeconomic Theory. Systematic development of theory of the consumer, firm, and industry, and their interactions through markets. Prerequisite: ECON 203.
• 702 Game Theory. Addresses contemporary issues in game theory and the microfoundations of economic institutions. 
• 703 Introduction to Economic History. Introduction to economic history. Topics: transition from feudalism to capitalism in Europe; slavery and the southern U.S. economy; rise of large-scale firms; depression and instability in the 20th century. Prerequisite: Economics graduate student status or consent of instructor.
• 705 Macroeconomic Theory. Systematic survey of theories of aggregate economic behavior that have had widespread influence in the economics discipline. Keynesian, neoclassical, New Classical, and New Keynesian approaches considered. Introduction to models of economic growth, unemployment, and inflation dynamics. Prerequisite: ECON 204 and ECON 751 or equivalent preparation in mathematical methods.
• 706 Advanced Macroeconomic Theory. Focus on economic methodology. Analysis of assumptions and analytical methods of major theories. Keynes, Minsky, Marx, and Schumpeter studied. Application to topics of current interest. Examples: financialization of nonfinancial firms, competition in global markets, financial market crises, structure and performance of US and global economy.
• 707 History of Economic Thought. Alternative concepts of economics and radically different economic theories have always contested for hegemony within economics. Examines pre-classical, classical, Marxian, neo-classical, and Keynesian theories to stress their differences and conflicts.
• 708 Political Economy I. Marxian theory. Topics include historical materialism, class, value and surplus value, the labor process, and accumulation and crisis. Additional topics vary with instructor.
• 709 Political Economy II. Institutionalist and feminist approaches to political economy with consideration of links to Marxian political economy. Consideration of some 19th- and early 20th-century thinkers, including Charlotte Perkins Gilman, Thorstein Veblen, and John R. Commons, but focus on more recent literature on topics such as patriarchal property rights, household decision making, the impact of social norms, incentive-enhancing preferences, collective rent-seeking, racial and ethnic coalitions, collective management of the commons, worker-owned enterprises, community-based and state-subsidized cooperatives, and regulatory capture.
• 710 Political Economy III. Advanced topics in political economy. Can be taken more than one time. Prerequisite: ECON 708 or equivalent.
• 711 Money, Credit and Financial Markets
• Considers a range of questions in which financial structures play a central role, including monetary theory and financial regulation; the politics of central bank policy; the theory of saving and investment; and development banking and public credit allocation policies.
• 712 Monetary and Fiscal Policy. Analytical treatment of effects of government and central bank policies intended to achieve price stabilization and economic growth. Prerequisite: ECON 511 or consent of instructor.
• 713, 714 Public Finance. Theory of public goods and nonmarket allocation. Normative models of public expenditure and taxation. Integration of equity and efficiency considerations in evaluation of tax expenditure programs. Prerequisite: ECON 701 or consent of instructor.
• 721 International Finance. Analysis of the political economy of foreign exchange markets, adjustment mechanisms, speculation, capital flows, transfer problems and relationship between balance of payments correctives and domestic policy goals. Prerequisite: ECON 705 or consent of instructor.
• 722 International Trade Theory. The theory and practice of international trade, winners and losers from liberalization, mainstream and heterodox theories of trade and development, trade policy, the impact of trade agreements on growth and distribution.
• 731 Industrial Organization. Theories of firm and market organization, cooperation and competition. Empirical analysis of changes in firm and market structure in historical and contemporary industries worldwide. Prerequisite: ECON 701 or consent of instructor.
• 732 Industrial Regulation. Public policies toward monopoly power. Survey of literature on antitrust, regulation, and deregulation. Reviews lending techniques and cases. Prerequisite: ECON 203 or consent of instructor.
• 741 Collective Bargaining. Legal background of collective bargaining, process, subject matter, and problems involved. Individual case problems. Prerequisite: ECON 330.
• 743 Wage Theory and Wage Relationships. Theoretical and institutional study of theories of wages and wage structure. Prerequisite: ECON 330.
• 746 Comparative Labor Movements. Labor movements in various countries; analysis of their similarities and differences. Prerequisite: ECON 330.
• 747 Manpower Development. Critical examination of current manpower and problems. Quantity and quality of manpower resources, problems of labor employment and mobility. Adjustment policies and research tools reviewed. Prerequisite: ECON 330.
• 751 Mathematical Methods for Economists. Develops mathematical skills required in macroeconomics, microeconomics, econometrics, and most fields of applied economics. Includes optimization techniques and dynamics.
• 752 Econometrics. Application of modern statistical methods to micro- and macroeconomic theory formulated in mathematical terms. Prerequisite: ECON 751 or equivalent.
• 753 Applied Econometrics. Examines econometric techniques by observing how practitioners have utilized econometrics as a tool for analyzing substantive questions.
• 763 History of Capitalist Development in Europe and the World Economy. The Atlantic economy and slave trade. Development of capitalism in Britain, France, Germany, Russia. Industrialization and its consequences. Center and periphery in the world economy, trade, the gold standard, foreign investment and imperialism, migration, changing industrial leadership among nations.
• 764 United States Economic History. Evolution of the U.S. economy from colonial times, including slavery, the development of capitalism, large corporations, trade unions, the Great Depression, and the changing role of the state.
• 765 Economic Development: Structural Problems. Concept of economic development and structural changes needed in underdeveloped countries to permit development. Prerequisite: 15 hours of economics.
• 766 Economic Development: Policy Issues. Policy decisions involved in efforts of underdeveloped countries to induce development. Prerequisite: ECON 765.
• 773 Comparative Economic Systems. Theory and practice of alternative economic systems, markets and economic planning, economic performance under different economic systems.
• 781, 782 Labor Economics. Theoretical and empirical analysis of labor market issues primarily using tools developed in microeconomics and econometrics. First semester: a general survey of neoclassical, institutionalist, and Marxian theories and empirical work on wage determination. Second semester: an intensive analysis of selected topics. Prerequisites for 781: ECON 701 and RES-ECON 702 or consent of instructor. Prerequisite for 782: ECON 781 or consent of instructor.
• 785, 786 Political Economy of Capitalism. Mutual interaction of social relations of production, forces of production, and class. Roles of the state, surplus and capital accumulation, imperialism, sexism, racism in development and maintenance of capitalist system.
• 791 Seminar in Economic Issues. Topics may vary from year to year.
• 796 Special Studies in Economics. Credit, 2-9 each semester.
• 797A Special Topics — Labor Markets, Distribution, and Macroeconomic Activity. Focuses on mass unemployment, examining the classic work of Marx, Keynes, and Kalecki, the contemporary Marxian and Keynesian contributions, the unemployment/inflation trade-off, including the “natural rate of unemployment” and NAIRU literature. Empirical examples taken from advanced and developing economies.
• 797B Special Topics — Communism, Capitalism and the USSR. Present forms of capitalism and communism, including private, state, market, and democratic. Focus on the rise and fall of the U.S.S.R. to illustrate these different forms within one society. Prerequisite: ECON 709 or consent of instructor.
• 797G Special Topics — General Equilibrium and Welfare Analysis. Analysis of Walrasian general equilibrium, including its existence, uniqueness, stability and optimality properties. Imperfect competition, the role of money capital, and the assumption of fixed-factor supplies also considered. Prerequisite: ECON 701.
• 797D Special Topics — Theoretical Institutional Economics. For advanced students wishing to pursue research and reading in the analysis of institutions, their consequences and their evolution including the distribution of property rights, systems of economic governance, the evolution of preferences, and the economics of communities.
• 797EV Special Topics — Political Economy of the Environment. Application of political economy to management of natural resources and environmental quality. Topics include distribution, valuation, property rights, globalization, and selected policy issues.
• 797F Special Topics — Advanced Marxian Economics
• Extends value and surplus value theory to study industrial, merchant and financial enterprises, state, households, globalization, and socialism and communism. Examines interactions among such enterprises, households, and state.
• 797K Special Topics — Modeling Growth and Distribution. Formal models of growth and distribution from a variety of perspectives. Basic growth models of a one-sector closed economy extended to include cyclical fluctuations, financial issues, and spatial and sectoral disaggregation.
• 797L Special Topics — Open Economy Macroeconomics. Examines linkages between growth, distribution, real exchange rates, prices, interest rates, development, and related macroeconomic phenomena. Studies the political economy of trade and investment liberalization using mainstream and heterodox models. Develops the tools required to analyze issues in an open economy context.
• 797N Special Topics — Macroeconomic Theory III. Formal macroeconomic models within a broadly behavioral and structuralist tradition, including Keynesian and neo-Marxian theories. Topics include unemployment, business cycles, money and finance, and economic growth.
• 797S Dissertation Workshop. This course aims at facilitating the transition for coursework to dissertation. Participants should have finished (almost all of) their coursework and have tentative ideas about the direction of their research. The workshop offers an opportunity to present, discuss, and develop these ideas. The goal of this course is to have a rough first draft of a prospectus at the end of the workshop.
• 797T The Political Economy of Agrarian Change. Political economy of rural change as societies transform from pre-industrial forms to industrial.  Topics include mode of production debates, creation of wage labor, rural class configurations, gender in transition, transition and accumulation, and agricultural class relations worldwide in the context of globalization.
• 797X African Economic Development. This course offers a survey of key structural and policy issues in African economic development. It is intended to provide both a retrospective and prospective view of African economies, taking into account domestic, regional and global dimensions. The themes covered include: growth and structural transformation; human development, poverty and inequality; financing Africa's development; capital flight from Africa; conflicts and policies for post-conflict recovery; gender and development; African factor markets.
• 801 Economic Theory Workshop
• 802 History and Development Workshop
• 803 Labor Economics Workshop
• 804 Political Economy Workshop
• 851, 852 Seminar in Quantitative Economics. For advanced students with interest in econometrics. Lectures on advanced topics, and discussion of econometric and other empirical studies by members of the seminar. Prerequisite: ECON 753 or consent of instructor. Credit, 3 each semester.
• 891, 892 Seminar in Economic Theory. Development of models of economic processes; emphasis on analysis in depth. Topics may vary from year to year. Credit, 3 each semester.

• A completed Application Form.
• A $75 application fee. This fee cannot be waived or deferred.
• International Student Sponsor Statement is required of all international students.
• One official transcript from all colleges/universities attended, undergraduate and graduate, where (nine) 9 or more credits were taken are required. If they are not mailed directly from the college/university, they should be enclosed in sealed envelopes signed by the college/university.  If the official transcripts and/or degree certificate(s) are not in English, notarized English language translations in duplicate must accompany them. Do not list colleges/universities where (eight) 8 or fewer credits were taken.
• Letters of recommendation (academic references) from two (2) professors or instructors who have taught you in courses in the field you are applying to here. After submission of the electronic application, we will send an email to each referee giving them instructions on how to electronically deliver the recommendation to the Graduate School. All recommendations will be considered confidential unless the applicant doesn't waive his/her right of access.
• Scores from the following standard examinations:
  • GRE (Graduate Record Examination)-General Test required by nearly all graduate programs - (refer to Degrees and Programs Offered)
  • GRE SUBJECT TEST (not a universal requirement-refer to the Programspage for those programs requiring a Subject Test)
  • GMAT (Graduate Management Admissions Test)-for graduate applicants to Management, Hospitality & Tourism Management, and Sport Management


  • English Language Test: Either TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language), or IELTS (International English Language Testing System)-only the academic version of test is accepted, or PTE Academic (Pearson Test of English)

Scholarships

The University does not award student funding of any kind unless this is explicitly stated in writing by the graduate department to which the applicant has applied. Assistance in the form of a teaching or research assistantship is becoming increasingly limited. Tuition scholarships and fellowships are few and are not usually awarded during the first year of attendance, before the student has an academic performance record at the University itself. All applicants should plan on being self-financed, without recourse to part-time employment at the University, at least through the first academic year, unless they have specifically been offered some form of assistance by the department.

 Recommendations from the student's academic program play an important part in determining who will be awarded these waivers of tuition, and competition for the tuition scholarships is great. Those incoming graduate students who have not received any other type of financial assistance and who are interested in applying for a tuition waiver should contact their department directly. Applicants should be aware that the competition for new student tuition waivers is intense. Very few waivers are granted to new students and the few that are granted, are based only on departmental recommendations.

Graduate Assistantships


The University offers a number of teaching and research assistantships in the instructional and research programs of various departments. Stipends vary greatly from as little as $5,000 for a half assistantship to $16,000 for a full assistantship for the calendar year. International applicants who are awarded assistantships, and who have no supplemental means of support, must make sure that the assistantship is adequate to meet their minimum financial needs, refer to Estimate of Expenses. Graduate assistants are not required to pay tuition charges provided their stipend is $5,000 or higher ($ 2,500 is the minimum for a one semester waiver of tuition and most fees). Assistantships are awarded for a maximum of one academic year at a time. A graduate assistantship is not a scholarship, and a full assistantship requires a work contribution by the student averaging 20 hours per week, and Federal and State income taxes will be withheld from earnings.

Research Assistantships


A number of research assistantships, with no teaching duties, are available to qualified graduate students in various departments. Funds are provided by either private industry, the U.S. Government (especially in agriculture, engineering, and the sciences), or by the University itself.

Teaching Assistantships


Many departments offer teaching assistantships to qualified, enrolled graduate students. International applicants are eligible for these assistantships. Since teaching assistantships involve instruction, all incoming students who have been awarded a teaching assistantship and whose native language is not English must demonstrate oral English proficiency, either by passing the Test of Spoken English administered by the Educational Testing Service (ETS) before their arrival on campus at their own expense or by passing the SPEAK test upon arrival at no cost to the student. In order to pass the TSE or SPEAK test, students must score 50 or above.

University Fellowships


These Fellowships are awarded to graduate students on a very competitive basis and are intended to help superior students pursue graduate study without a work requirement and obtain a degree in the minimum possible time. They are normally awarded only after a graduate student has completed two semesters at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. A University Fellowship is for only one year. A tuition waiver accompanies a University Fellowship, and no service is required.