Professional and Lifelong Learning

Course description

This course builds on insights from microeconomic theory and explores ways to apply them to a wide range of important public policy issues, as well as to business and personal decision making. During the course, we also identify and evaluate possible solutions and raise additional questions for the future. Policy issues considered may include improving public education, the appropriate role of digital currencies in the economy, how to ensure retirement security for workers, how to integrate climate change into economic decision making, what changes we might make to healthcare policy in light of the pandemic, whether and how to regulate technology and social media, how to reduce crime and improve efficiency in policing, and how to make tax policy more fair and efficient. Student explore these issues and choose a specific topic or question and write an in-depth paper examining the application of microeconomics to their issue.