Introduction to Education Economics

Georgetown University, upcoming in spring 2022, ECON 209, syllabus (PDF)

This course provides an overview of the economics of education. The material concerns three general areas: 1) a description of the types of models economists use to describe education, 2) empirical findings on who gets and education and the returns to one, and 3) discussion of education policy. Students will be introduced to economics journal articles and will learn how to interpret them at an accessible level.

Note: The material for this course is largely similar to ECON-409 (below) but will be taught at a more introductory level and will not require a pre-existing knowledge of calculus and econometrics.

The Economics of Vice and Virtue

Georgetown University, spring 2022, ECON-232, syllabus (PDF)

This course surveys various issues economists have studied in areas that were not traditionally thought of as a realm of economics (or that don’t neatly fit economic theory). Topics include the economics of drug addiction, religion, crime, the music industry, and tulips (as in the Tulip Mania). We will discuss research on these sorts of topics with particular attention paid to how economists develop formal mathematical models to understand complex social issues. Class time will be split between lectures and discussion sections.

Acknowledgement: The inspiration for this course is a similar one I enjoyed as an undergraduate, taught by Simon Bowmaker at NYU.

The Economics of Education

Georgetown University, fall 2021, ECON-409, syllabus (PDF)

This course surveys various ways in which economists look at education. Broadly, the material can be broken down into three overlapping topics: 1) technical items such as economic models of human capital, 2) empirical findings on who gets an education and the returns to one, and 3) education policy. There will be a focus on learning how to read, understand, and interpret economics journal articles.

Prior Courses