Curriculum

Where do prices come from? Understanding consumer behavior and firm decision-making is central to answering this fundamental economic question. In this first-term course, you will learn to construct economic models and use them to analyze consumer behavior, firms’ production processes and choices, and the degree of market competition. You will observe how these elements work together to determine what products are available in the marketplace and the prices that are charged. 

This course prepares graduate students to be literate in macroeconomic topics. The course focuses on the business cycle and long-run growth. You will explore modern macroeconomic central forces, mechanisms, and frictions driving business cycles, and examine the microeconomic forces that underpin macroeconomic outcomes and shape fiscal and monetary policy. As the culmination of the class, you will apply the analytical methods and conclusions covered to make policy recommendations.  

This course offers a comprehensive overview of data management, exploration, and analysis. The coursework is designed to serve as a bridge between economic theory, statistics/econometrics, and practical work, emphasizing hands-on experience with data analysis. The course uses actual individual- and aggregate-level data, with particular attention paid to the United States and Florida economies. The individual-level data (microdata) comes from the American Community Survey (ACS), the Residential Energy Consumption Survey (RECS), the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID), as well as other very large and rich datasets. The aggregate-level data is from federal agencies, such as the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), and the Federal Reserve Economic Data (FRED). At the end of this course, you will know how to access and use real-world data to perform business and economic analyses. 

This course explores how firms and individuals make strategic decisions in competitive and cooperative settings. Using insights from game theory and industrial organization, students will examine topics such as pricing strategies, market entry, competition, collusion and regulation. The emphasis will be on developing intuition and applying concepts to real-world industries rather than on complex mathematics. By the end of the course, students will have a strong understanding of strategic interactions in markets and the tools to analyze firm behavior in different competitive environments. 

Understanding the forces that shape the global economy and developing critical skills for careers in finance, policy analysis, and international business are essential in today’s world. In this course, you will use real-world data and case studies to analyze pressing global issues such as currency fluctuations, debt crises, and trade imbalances. The course explores the economic impact of major events like the 2008 financial crisis and recent shifts in exchange rate policies, applying rigorous mathematical models and empirical analysis. You will enjoy hands-on experience working with economic data to solve complex problems, preparing you for careers in industries such as banking, consulting, and government. 

Extracting meaningful insights from data is a valuable skill in today’s data-driven economy. This course introduces core econometric methods used in industries like finance, consulting, and tech. You’ll learn how to build regression models, detect causality, test hypotheses and interpret real-world data to guide business and policy decisions. Through practical applications—such as evaluating the effectiveness of marketing campaigns or predicting market trends—you’ll gain the skills employers seek in data-driven roles. This course provides the foundation to confidently analyze and communicate data insights. 

This course presents methodologies and concepts used in modern cost-benefit analyses. The course will cover discounting, opportunity costs, social welfare functions, externalities, moral hazard, developmental effects, exploratory data analysis, and causal inference. You will observe these issues using real-world case studies. These case studies address several pressing issues in environmental regulation, housing policy, health policy, and tax policy. While the course has a strong public policy emphasis, the tools developed will prepare you for analytical roles in business, government, or the non-profit sector. 

This course equips you with essential machine learning (ML) skills using Python, focusing on real-world applications in economics and business. By working with economic and financial data, you will master predictive modeling, feature selection, and algorithm evaluation. The course highlights ML’s growing impact in finance, marketing, and policy analysis. From detecting market trends to analyzing policy effects on industries, you will gain in-demand skills for roles such as data analyst, economist, or business strategist. 

Building on the fundamentals of Econometrics 1, this hands-on, project-based course dives deeper into advanced econometric techniques used in top industries. You’ll explore topics like time series analysis, instrumental variables, and panel data methods—essential tools for forecasting market trends, pricing optimization, and impact evaluation. Real-world case studies from finance, healthcare, and tech will challenge you to develop data-driven solutions to complex problems. By the end of the course, you’ll have the expertise to conduct high-level econometric analysis, a valuable asset in any data-focused career.