A Brief Description of MA Courses
COMPULSORY COURSES:
EC 401: Macroeconomics
This course introduces students to the basic concepts of macroeconomics. The aim is to equip the students with various theories of income determination, money supply and price-wage relationships. Some relevant policy issues are covered as well.
EC 402: Microeconomics
This course covers (in varying degrees of depth) all the essential topics in Microeconomic Theory. The aim is to expose the Masters students to enough formal training in Micro Theory so that they are well equipped to pursue subsequent studies in different specialized areas of interest.
EC 403: Trade, Finance and Development
This course is designed to provide students with a basic introduction to important theories of international trade, balance of payments adjustment and capital flows. It deals with the historical evolution of trade and finance patterns, the important international institutions and major processes in the current international economy and the issues of policy concern for developing countries such as India.
EC 404: Introduction to Statistics and Econometrics
The course introduces students to statistical methods leading up to an introduction to econometric methods. Topics covered are: Probability Theory, Estimation and Inference in Univariate and Multivariate Probability Models, Asymptotic Theory, Simple Linear Regression Models and Applications.
EC 405: Political Economy of Development
This course introduces the student to the history of the international division of labour under colonialism, which resulted in the capitalist industrialization of Europe and North America on the one hand and in the specialization of third world countries as primary producers on the other. It sets the stage for a discussion of early industrialization in independent India.
EC 406: Indian Economic Problems
This course develops the macroeconomics of the Indian economy in its dirigiste and "liberal" phases and examines the reasons for the transition from the one to the other. The analysis is located within a framework of political economy. The course covers the evolving monetary, fiscal, balance of payments policies, the performance of the economy and its particular sectors, trends in employment and poverty.
EC 407: Mathematical Methods in Economics
This course is designed to equip students with some essential mathematical tools. The aim is to enable students to follow simple economic problems relating to optimization and dynamical systems.
EC 408: Problems of Accumulation
This course deals with the alternative approaches adopted in discussing accumulation in a capitalist economy, beginning from the period of Classical Political Economy and ending in the modern theories of endogenous growth. The course offers to the student, in the context of a discussion on growth theory, an exposure to the diverse and contending schools of thought which have evolved with the development of the subject.
OPTIONAL COURSES:
EP 406: Classical Theories of Value and Distribution
This approach of classical political economy and Marx to the determination of commodity prices is altogether different from that which came into vogue following the Jevonian revolution. This approach, developed through the writings of Smith, Ricardo, Marx and more recently Sraffa, is the subject matter of this course.
EP 407: General Equilibrium Analysis
The course covers general equilibrium under exchange and production. Theory of the core is discussed. In addition, non-Walrasian equilibria, fundamental theorems of welfare economics, Arrow's impossibility theorem are also covered. Finally, examples of market failures are analysed.
EP 501: Evolution of the Indian Economy
Starting with a broad discussion of the potentialities of growth in the economy of pre-colonial India, the historical roots of underdevelopment of the Indian economy are studied with emphasis on the impact of colonial rule.
EP-502: Analysis of Indian Economy (with special reference to Sectoral Problems)
The course covers the dynamics of sectoral growth and inter-sectoral relationships; theory and Indian experience from 1947 to the present.
EP-503: Analysis of Indian Economy (with special reference to Resource Mobilization)
Beginning with some theoretical foundations in macroeconomics of a capitalist economy, the course considers the post Independence Indian experience with resource mobilization and financing of economic development. It would discuss the major economic issues and debates relevant to the Indian Economy both before and after 1991.
EP 504: Problems and Techniques of Planning
The course begins with an introduction to the problem of planning and considers the necessity of state intervention. Planning theory (Ramsey, Dobb, Kalecki) as well as models used in the Indian planning exercises (Mahalanobis – Feldman) are analysed. Critiques of planning are also discussed.
EP 509: Production Conditions in Indian Agriculture
Alternative theoretical approaches to analysing agrarian questions are discussed in this course, with particular reference to alternative interpretations of observed empirical trends.
EP 514: Structure and Growth of Indian Industries
The course begins with the theory necessary to analyse Indian industrial performance. This is used to analyse the structure and performance of Indian industry since independence.
EP 516: Foreign Trade, Aid and Investment Policies
Part one of this course deals with the advanced theories of foreign trade and aid. It also covers theories of foreign investment. Analysis of contemporary trade and investment patterns in the world economy with special reference to developing countries forms the second part of the course.
EP-519: Econometric Methods I
The course will cover estimation and inference in the multivariate regression framework. Two estimation approaches – method of moments and maximum likelihood – are emphasized.
EP-520: Econometric Methods II
The second course in Econometrics introduces students to estimation of multi-equation models and limited dependent variable models. In addition, some topics of current interest, such as the estimation of demand systems and production functions, will also be covered.
EP 521: Banking and Monetary Institutions
This is a course on the theory of money and finance. Three basic approaches to monetary theory, viz., classical, Keynesian, and monetarist, are distinguished and discussed. The literature on financial fragility and debt-deflation is introduced.
EP 524: Public Finance
This course analyses the role of government in a capitalist economy both from the point of view of development and market failure. It emphasises the problems of Indian Public Finance and introduces the ideas of Normative Public Finance to the students.
EP 526: Labour Economics
The formation of labour markets and the development of theory from the mercantilists to turnover models and labour market segmentation form the subject matter of this course. Aspects of employment and wage determination in India in recent years are also discussed.
EP 529: Social Choice I
The course consists of the following topics: (i) Elementary logic, (ii) Calculus of binary relations, (iii) Arrow's impossibility theorem and related propositions, (iv) Method of majority decision, (v) Theories of justice, and (vi) Strategic aspects of voting.
EP-532: Theory of Industrial Organisation
The course consists of the following topics: Non-cooperative Game Theory and Nash Equilibria with Refinements, Duopoly and Oligopoly theory – Bertrand and Cournot Equilibria, Entry deterrence, Limit Pricing, Horizontal and Vertical Differentiation, Dynamic Games and their applications.
EP 533 Resource Economics
The course covers the following topics: Material balance approach of resource and environmental analysis. Theory of renewable resources. Common property resources. Theory of resource regulation and cases of resource management and policy. Theory of exhaustible resources. Environmental management in a dynamic context. Theory of population in the context of sustainable development. Poverty, institutions and resource management. Trade, globalization and resource use policies.
EP 534: Game Theory with Applications to Economics
In this course the basic tools of non- cooperative game theory - Nash equilibrium, subgame perfect, Bayesian Nash and Perfect Baysian equilibrium - are covered exhaustively with examples. Some rudiments of cooperative games are also done.
EP 536: Law and Economics
The course provides an introduction to the subject of law and economics in which laws and legal rules and procedures are analyzed from the perspective of economic efficiency. The focus of the course is on economic analysis of laws and doctrines relating to property, contracts and torts. The important topics covered in the course, among others, include the Coase Theorem, liability rules and the various damage measures.
EC 537: Economics of Health
The course focuses on analyses of issues relating to production and consumption of health care. Behaviour of the agents is analysed with issues of efficiency and equity in mind. The features of the market for health services are discussed with emphasis placed on the characteristics which make this market different from the markets for other goods and services.
EC 538: Financial Structures and Economic Development
The course examines the disparate processes of evolution of financial systems in the US, Germany and Japan, and the implications of alternative financial structures for growth, inclusion and stability. This provides the basis for an assessment of the financial structures and policies adopted by late-industrializing countries and the consequences of financial liberalization in these contexts.
EC 540: Database on Indian Economy
The course aims to expose students to the database on different aspects of Indian economy. The course will help them understand how to use data to examine the theoretical issues that they are exposed to in basic macro-economic courses and empirical issues they are exposed to in the courses on Indian economy.
EC 541: Issues in the Contemporary International Economy
The course takes up issues of current interest in the world economy and examines them both theoretically and empirically. The emphasis is on issues of contemporary relevance, rather than on historical evolution or purely theoretical debates.
EC 542: Experimental Methods in Economics
This course trains students to conduct laboratory and field experiments in Economics. It introduces the MA student to the different techniques used to conduct laboratory and field experiments that observe the behaviour of economic agents. Some statistical/econometric analysis and certain theoretical topics of interest to behavioural economists such as Other Regarding Preferences, Cumulative Prospect Theory and Evolution of Institutions and Norms are covered.
EC 543: Auction Theory with Its Applications
The aim of the course is to introduce the modern game theoretic literature on auctions. A large part of the course deals with theoretical models. Some basic knowledge of game theory and a willingness to deal with technical issues are the main prerequisites for this course.
EC 544: Environmental Economics
The course provides a comprehensive introduction to the economic analysis of issues involving the environment. The broad topics covered in the course include: Basic concepts arising from interlinkages between the economy and the natural environment. Valuation of environmental services and cost-benefit analysis. Theory of environmental regulation. Environmental resource base as natural capital, common property resource management and resource accounting. Economic development and environmental degradation. Global issues and the environment.
EC 545: Globalization and Development
This course analyzes the implications and consequences of globalization for development in the contemporary world economy. Such an analysis of globalization requires integrating elements from different aspects of economic theory to understand realities, making it different from conventional area specific courses. It questions the orthodox prescription that globalization and markets are the road to development in the twenty-first century, to develop a heterodox perspective based on an understanding of theory and a study of experience.
