Online courses directory (841)

This course focuses on the specification and estimation of the linear regression model. The course departs from the standard Gauss-Markov assumptions to include heteroskedasticity, serial correlation, and errors in variables. Advanced topics include generalized least squares, instrumental variables, nonlinear regression, and limited dependent variable models. Economic applications are discussed throughout the course.

14.454 is an introduction to current macroeconomic concerns with particular emphasis on medium-run economic fluctuations, economic crises, and the role of asset markets. Topics include the explanation of high chronic unemployment in some nations, the source of modern liquidity crises, the origin and end of speculative bubbles, and the factors that lead to substantial periods of economic stagnation.

Videos on finance and macroeconomics. Introduction to interest. Interest (part 2). Introduction to Present Value. Present Value 2. Present Value 3. Present Value 4 (and discounted cash flow). Introduction to Balance Sheets. More on balance sheets and equity. Home equity loans. Renting vs. Buying a home. Renting vs. buying a home (part 2). Renting vs. Buying (detailed analysis). The housing price conundrum. Housing price conundrum (part 2). Housing Price Conundrum (part 3). Housing Conundrum (part 4). What it means to buy a company's stock. Bonds vs. Stocks. Shorting Stock. Shorting Stock 2. Is short selling bad?. Chapter 7:Bankruptcy Liquidation. Chapter 11: Bankruptcy Restructuring. Return on capital. Credit Default Swaps (CDS) Intro. Mortgage Back Security Overview. Collateralized Debt Obligation Overview. Mortgage-Backed Securities I. Mortgage-backed securities II. Mortgage-backed securities III. Collateralized Debt Obligation (CDO). Introduction to the yield curve. Introduction to compound interest and e. Compound Interest and e (part 2). Compound Interest and e (part 3). Compound Interest and e (part 4). Bailout 1: Liquidity vs. Solvency. Bailout 2: Book Value. Bailout 3: Book value vs. market value. Bailout 4: Mark-to-model vs. mark-to-market. Bailout 5: Paying off the debt. Bailout 6: Getting an equity infusion. Bailout 7: Bank goes into bankruptcy. Bailout 8: Systemic Risk. Bailout 9: Paulson's Plan. Bailout 10: Moral Hazard. Credit Default Swaps. Credit Default Swaps 2. Investment vs. Consumption 1. Investment vs. Consumption 2. Bailout 11: Why these CDOs could be worth nothing. Bailout 12: Lone Star Transaction. Bailout 13: Does the bailout have a chance of working?. Wealth Destruction 1. Wealth Destruction 2. Bailout 14: Possible Solution. Bailout 15: More on the solution. Banking 1. Banking 2: A bank's income statement. Banking 3: Fractional Reserve Banking. Banking 4: Multiplier effect and the money supply. Personal Bankruptcy: Chapters 7 and 13. Introduction to Compound Interest. The Rule of 72 for Compound Interest. Annual Percentage Rate (APR) and Effective APR. Introduction to Bonds. Relationship between bond prices and interest rates. Introduction to Mortgage Loans. Traditional IRAs. Roth IRAs. 401(k)s. Payday Loans. Institutional Roles in Issuing and Processing Credit Cards. Ponzi Schemes. Currency Exchange Introduction. Currency Effect on Trade. Currency Effect on Trade Review. Pegging the Yuan. Chinese Central Bank Buying Treasuries. American-Chinese Debt Loop. Debt Loops Rationale and Effects. American Call Options. Basic Shorting. American Put Options. Call Option as Leverage. Put vs. Short and Leverage. Call Payoff Diagram. Put Payoff Diagram. Long Straddle. Put as Insurance. Put-Call Parity. Put Writer Payoff Diagrams. Call Writer Payoff Diagram. Arbitrage Basics. Put-Call Parity Arbitrage I. Put-Call Parity Arbitrage II. Put-Call Parity Clarification. Actual Option Quotes. Option Expiration and Price. Forward Contract Introduction. Futures Introduction. Motivation for the Futures Exchange. Futures Margin Mechanics. Verifying Hedge with Futures Margin Mechanics. Futures and Forward Curves. Contango from Trader Perspective. Severe Contango Generally Bearish. Backwardation Bullish or Bearish. Futures Curves II. Contango. Backwardation. Contango and Backwardation Review. Upper Bound on Forward Settlement Price. Lower Bound on Forward Settlement Price. Arbitraging Futures Contract. Arbitraging Futures Contracts II. Cash Accounting. Accrual Basis of Accounting. Comparing Accrual and Cash Accounting. Balance Sheet and Income Statement Relationship. Basic Cash Flow Statement. Doing the example with Accounts Payable growing. Expensing a Truck leads to inconsistent performance. Depreciating the truck. Depreciation in Cash Flow. Amortization and Depreciation. Basic Capital Structure Differences. Market Capitalization. Market Value of Assets. LIBOR. Fair Value Accounting. Tax Deductions Introduction. Alternative Minimum Tax. Term Life Insurance and Death Probability. Back of Envelope Office Space Conundrum. Corporations and Limited Liability. Is Limited Liability or Double Taxation Fair. Open-Ended Mutual Fund (Part 1). Open-End Mutual Fund Redemptions. Closed-End Mutual Funds. Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs). Hedge Funds Intro. Hedge Fund Structure and Fees. Are Hedge Funds Bad?. Hedge Funds, Venture Capital, and Private Equity. Treasury Bond Prices and Yields. Annual Interest Varying with Debt Maturity. The Yield Curve. Fed Open Market Operations. Quantitative Easing. More on Quantitative Easing (and Credit Easing). Hedge Fund Strategies - Long Short 1. Hedge Fund Strategies - Long Short 2. Hedge Fund Strategies - Merger Arbitrage 1. Stock Dilution. Acquisitions with Shares. Price Behavior After Announced Acquisition. Simple Merger Arb with Share Acquisition. Basic Leveraged Buyout (LBO). Corporate Debt versus Traditional Mortgages. AMT Overview. Open market operations and Quantitative Easing Overview. Another Quantitative Easing Video. US and Japanese Quantitative Easing. Term and Whole Life Insurance Policies 2. Term and Whole Life Insurance Policies. Estate Tax Introduction. Human Capital. Risk and Reward Introduction. Futures Fair Value in the Pre-Market. What is Inflation. Inflation Data. Moderate Inflation in a Good Economy. Stagflation. Real and Nominal Return. Calculating Real Return in Last Year Dollars. Relation Between Nominal and Real Returns and Inflation. Use Cases for Credit Default Swaps. Financial Weapons of Mass Destruction. Deflation. Velocity of Money Rather than Quantity Driving Prices. Deflation Despite Increases in Money Supply. Deflationary Spiral. Hyperinflation. Estate Tax Basics. Term and Whole Life. Open-Ended Mutual Funds. Unemployment Rate Primer (v2). Time Value of Money. Mortgage Interest Rates. Inflation Overview. Basics of US Income Tax Rate Schedule. Carry Trade Basics. Interpreting Futures Fair Value in the PreMarket. Interest Rate Swap 1. Interest Rate Swap 2. Transfer Pricing and Tax Havens.

This course focuses on recent developments in contract theory. Topics include: advanced models of moral hazard, adverse selection, mechanism design and incomplete contracts with applications to theory of the firm, organizational design, and financial structure.

Professor Blanchard will discuss shocks, labor markets and unemployment, and dynamic stochastic general equilibrium models (DSGE models). Professor Lorenzoni will cover demand shocks, macroeconomic effects of news (with or without nominal rigidities), investment with credit constraints, and liquidity with its aggregate effects.

This course addresses the evolution of the modern capitalist economy and evaluates its current structure and performance. Various paradigms of economics are contrasted and compared (neoclassical, Marxist, socioeconomic, and neocorporate) in order to understand how modern capitalism has been shaped and how it functions in today's economy. The course stresses general analytic reasoning and problem formulation rather than specific analytic techniques. Readings include classics in economic thought as well as contemporary analyses.

This course emphasizes dynamic models of growth and development. Topics covered include: migration, modernization, and technological change; static and dynamic models of political economy; the dynamics of income distribution and institutional change; firm structure in developing countries; development, transparency, and functioning of financial markets; privatization; and banks and credit market institutions in emerging markets.

At MIT, this course was team taught by Prof. Robert Townsend, who taught for the first half of the semester, and Prof. Abhijit Banerjee, who taught during the second half. On OCW we are only including materials associated with sessions one through 13, which comprise the first half of the class.

Topics include productivity effects of health, private and social returns to education, education quality, education policy and market equilibrium, gender discrimination, public finance, decision making within families, firms and contracts, technology, labor and migration, land, and the markets for credit and savings.

The unifying theme of this course is best captured by the title of our main reference book: "Recursive Methods in Economic Dynamics". We start by covering deterministic and stochastic dynamic optimization using dynamic programming analysis. We then study the properties of the resulting dynamic systems. Finally, we will go over a recursive method for repeated games that has proven useful in contract theory and macroeconomics. We shall stress applications and examples of all these techniques throughout the course.

This half semester class will present an introduction to macroeconomic modeling, particularly economic growth. It will focus both on models of economic growth and their empirical applications, and try to shed light on the mechanics of economic growth, technological change and sources of income and growth differences across countries.

This course uses theoretical models and empirical studies to help understand the economics behind various internet businesses. We will begin with a discussion of relevant topics from industrial organization (IO) including monopoly pricing, price discrimination, product differentiation, and barriers to entry. The main part of the course will be a discussion of a number of online businesses. In the context of those businesses, we will discuss extensions and applications of the ideas from the first section of the course.

This course will guide students through the process of forming economic hypotheses, gathering the appropriate data, analyzing them, and effectively communicating their results.

This course explores the theoretical and empirical perspectives on individual and industrial demand for energy, energy supply, energy markets, and public policies affecting energy markets. It discusses aspects of the oil, natural gas, electricity, and nuclear power sectors and examines energy tax, price regulation, deregulation, energy efficiency and policies for controlling emission.

This course provides a rigorous treatment of non-cooperative solution concepts in game theory, including rationalizability and Nash, sequential, and stable equilibria. It covers topics such as epistemic foundations, higher order beliefs, bargaining, repeated games, reputation, supermodular games, and global games. It also introduces cooperative solution concepts—Nash bargaining solution, core, Shapley value—and develops corresponding non-cooperative foundations.

This course integrates psychological insights into economic models of behavior. It discusses the limitations of standard economic models and surveys the ways in which psychological experiments have been used to learn about preferences, cognition, and behavior. Topics include: trust, vengeance, fairness, impatience, impulsivity, bounded rationality, learning, reinforcement, classical conditioning, loss-aversion, over-confidence, self-serving biases, cognitive dissonance, altruism, subjective well-being, and hedonic adaptation. Economic concepts such as equilibrium, rational choice, utility maximization, Bayesian beliefs, game theory, and behavior under uncertainty are discussed in light of these phenomena.

This course explores the theory behind and evidence on regulatory, tax, and other government responses to problems of market failure. Special emphasis is given to developing and implementing tools to evaluate environmental policies. Other topics include cost-benefit analysis, measurement of the benefits of non-market goods and costs of regulations, and the evaluation of the impact of regulations in areas such as financial markets, workplace health and safety, consumer product safety, and other contexts.

This course explores the proper role of government in the regulation of the environment. It will help students develop the tools to estimate the costs and benefits of environmental regulations. These tools will be used to evaluate a series of current policy questions, including: Should air and water pollution regulations be tightened or loosened? What are the costs of climate change in the U.S. and abroad? Is there a "Race to the Bottom" in environmental regulation? What is "sustainable development"? How do environmental problems differ in developing countries? Are we running out of oil and other natural resources? Should we be more energy efficient? To gain real world experience, the course is scheduled to include a visit to the MIT cogeneration plant. We will also do an in-class simulation of an air pollution emissions market.

This course explores the foundations of policy making in developing countries. The goal is to spell out various policy options and to quantify the trade-offs between them. We will study the different facets of human development: education, health, gender, the family, land relations, risk, informal and formal norms and institutions. This is an empirical class. For each topic, we will study several concrete examples chosen from around the world. While studying each of these topics, we will ask: What determines the decisions of poor households in developing countries? What constraints are they subject to? Is there a scope for policy (by government, international organizations, or non-governmental organizations (NGOs))? What policies have been tried out? Have they been successful?

The objective of this course is to introduce you to the role of government in markets where competitive equilibria “fail.” In this course we will emphasize the importance of market structure and industrial performance, including the strategic interaction of firms. We will examine the behavior of individual markets in some detail, focusing on cost analysis, the determinants of market demand, investment behavior, market power, and the implications of government regulatory behavior. The course will be broken into three parts. In the first part, we will review firm behavior and the theory of the market. Here, we will discuss perfectly competitive markets (our “benchmark”), efficiency, market structure, strategic competition, and productivity. Once the foundations of the market are well understood, we will then move on to the second part of the course, where we will study “economic” regulation. Here, we will look at the behavior of natural monopolies and regulatory options for dealing with them. And in the third part of the course, we will study “social” regulation—focusing on environmental, health, and safety regulation.

This course uses the tools of macroeconomics to study various macroeconomic policy problems in-depth. The problems range from economic growth in the long run, to government finances in the intermediate run, and economic stability in the short run. Many economic models used today are surveyed.