NewCourses Fall2015
PRINCIPLES OF ECONOMICS (ECON 100)
Introduction to the basic concepts of microeconomics
and macroeconomics.
MATHEMATICAL ECONOMICS (ECON 308)
Emphasizes logical clarity and mathematical rigor in
Economics, along with the ability to follow and
construct mathematical proofs.
BEHAVIORAL ECONOMICS (ECON 210)
Examines behavioral economics, which seeks to insert
more behavioral realism into economic theory.
ECONOMIC FORECASTING (ECON 418)
Application of econometric techniques to problems in
macroeconomics and financial economics.
INTERNATIONAL ECONOMICS & FINANCE (ECON 422)
Studies the economic relationships among countries.
COMING NEXT SPRING
GAME THEORY, ECON MAJORS (ECON 300)
Advanced level analysis of topics in microeconomics
designed for students in the ECON major.
GAME THEORY, MTEC MAJORS (ECON 305)
Advanced level analysis of topics in microeconomics,
focusing on mathematical modeling and designed for
students in the MTEC major.
WORLD ECONOMIC HISTORY (ECON 365)
Study and analysis of world economy focusing on the
economic expansion of Western countries between the
14th and 21st centuries.
RESEARCH IN ECONOMETRICS (ECON 497)
Capstone course for MTEC majors whose primary
interest is in econometrics.
HONORS
PROGRAM
UPDATE
BILLY ROGERS
Class of 2015
HONORS PROGRAM IN ECONOMICS (ECON 498/499)
Investment Banking Analyst
PROFESSOR ROBIN SICKLES
J.P. Morgan
The Economics Department is now offering a
two-semester Honors Program structured to provide students with advanced research skills. The
program will be supervised by Professor Robin
Sickles who will meet with all students during the
semester, lead discussions, make assignments,
guide research, observe and critique presentations,
and grade final papers – in some cases with input
from other faculty members who are also providing
guidance and supervision for individual student
research projects. To enter the Honors Program,
students must have a GPA > 3.67 in all courses
taken toward fulfilling their departmental requirements, must have completed all of the new core
requirements (some exceptions will be granted this
year; see Professor Sickles), must have completed
the 400-level course or courses most closely related to their area of research, and must receive the
approval of the instructor.
Students who matriculated before 2015 are eligible
for the old honors program, but cannot enroll in
ECON 498/499 unless they switch to either the new
ECON or the new MTEC program. Please consult
our website for further details.
Have you met Professor Cunha?
New faculty member brings
pathbreaking research to Rice
Flávio Cunha, Associate Professor of Economics
Research Interests: Labor Economics, Economics of Education,
Health Economics, Economic Development and Growth, Policy
Evaluation
Professor Cunha received his PhD from the
University of Chicago in 2007 and taught at the
University of Pennsylvania before joining the
economics faculty at Rice. His areas of expertise
are labor economics with special emphasis on
human capital formation. He was recently awarded the Econometric Society’s Frisch Medal for
“Estimating the Technology of Cognitive and
Noncognitive Skill Formation,” a paper published
in Econometrica that he wrote with Professor James Heckman and
Professor Susanne M. Schennach.
How did you first get interested in economics?
My first job was at a bank when I was thirteen years old. I really enjoyed
my job and so this fact made me interested in acquiring a better
understanding about finance and banking.
What drew you to study human capital as an area of research?
Human capital plays an important role in determining long-run economic
growth and it also affects inequality and poverty. So, it is an important
policy issue. Scientifically speaking, it is an area in economics where you
RICE ECON
GRADUATE
RICE ECON asked Billy
how he is doing and if he
had any tips for current
students. His response:
An investment bank like J.P. Morgan advises
companies on financial issues including mergers & acquisitions and capital markets activity
like issuing stock or bonds. As an analyst, my
role can vary from day to day, but I’m generally
responsible for working on financial models in
Excel or putting together presentations. The
job can be demanding and stressful, but the
amount of responsibility analysts are given
makes it a valuable learning experience, even
if it can feel like drinking from a firehose sometimes. My advice to current students would be
to get a subscription to the Wall Street Journal
(only $1/week for students) and read it as much
as possible. What you will learn about economics and business will complement your classwork and help you figure out what interests you
and what you want to do after graduation.
can work on theory, you can analyze existing or collect new data, and
combine theory to data.
In layman’s terms, tell us about your current research and the impact
you hope it achieves.
My current research aims to understand why certain families invest so little
in their children, especially when they are young. It has been known for 20
years now that the amount of words that disadvantaged children hear in
the first three years of their lives is about half of what middle-class children
hear, and this affects their development and school readiness. The puzzling
part is that families don’t have to pay to talk to their children, so this is not
explained by differences in income, so the typical types of tools economists
would use (for example, change prices or income), will probably not work in
this case. My current research aims to document how much of the difference
in investments is due to difference in parental beliefs about