Economics Track

The following courses have been pre-approved by the Columbia Department of Economics:

Microeconomics: Organizational Theory and Markets (3000-level elective)

The purpose of this course is to analyze organizations, based on the tools of extended microeconomics. Like other fields of application of economics, such as labor economics or public economics, the economics of organizations (Organizational economics) experienced sustained development from the 1970s, which led, as Gibbons and Roberts note, to a progressive, though still imperfect, individualization. The economics of organizations implies, according to these authors, “the use of economic analysis and its methods to understand the existence, nature, design and performance of organizations.” The economic analysis of organizations is carried out in comparison with the markets and it relates, beyond the firm, to organizational forms of great diversity (unions, social movements, agencies, schools, etc.). The approach adopted is to offer as wide a range as possible of the tools available to economists today to understand the workings of production and exchange in contemporary economies. The main objective of this course is to make students aware of the complexity and diversity of these workings in order to offer a relevant and coherent analysis. 

European Economics and Policies (2000-level elective)

The theoretical approach of this course intertwines the institutional political economy of European integration and the literature on the diversity of capitalisms.  It covers the history of European integration since 1950, an analysis of European monetary policy and the economic architecture of the Eurozone, the roots of the Eurozone crisis, and policy responses to the crisis.

Other courses may be available, and all courses are subject to final approval by the Columbia Department of Economics.

Language

Students have the option of taking a course in French language (schedules available a few weeks before the semester starts).

• Attendance and participation are mandatory
• Each student is allowed one unjustified absence for the entire length of the course, with the exception of religious holidays. Faculty members and the program Director must be informed of these absences in advance. 
• Medical absences must be justified by a dated medical certificate from a French doctor.
• Each absence beyond the authorized threshold will lower the final grade by 1 point (i.e.: with one unjustified absence a 16 becomes a 15, etc.)
• In addition to attendance students should plan on being punctual. Please note that 3 tardies (10 minutes late or more) are equivalent to 1 full absence
• Assignments handed in late without the authorization of the instructor will be penalized
• In addition to punctuality and motivation, students should do their best to be engaged critics and scholars, by participating actively in class, producing original work, and having pleasure in reading, writing and thinking
• No eating in class
• No cell phones in class
• No laptops or other electronic devices (unless ODS accommodation has been authorized)
• Leaving the classroom once class has begun is considered very impolite in France

The intellectual venture in which we are all engaged requires of faculty and students alike the highest level of personal and academic integrity. As members of an academic community, each one of us bears the responsibility to participate in scholarly discourse and research in a manner characterized by intellectual honesty and scholarly integrity. Scholarship, by its very nature, is an iterative process, with ideas and insights building one upon the other. Collaborative scholarship requires the study of other scholars’ work, the free discussion of such work, and the explicit acknowledgement of those ideas in any work that inform our own. This exchange of ideas relies upon a mutual trust that sources, opinions, facts, and insights will be properly noted and carefully credited. In practical terms, this means that, as students,

• you must be responsible for the full citations of others’ ideas in your research papers/ projects
• you must be scrupulously honest when taking your examinations
• you must always submit your own work and not that of another student, scholar, or internet agent

Students needing academic adjustments or accommodations because of a documented disability should contact the Program Director before the start of classes.