Andrew Sweeting
Professor of Economics at the University of Maryland & Chair of the Department of Economics
University of Maryland
ELMS login (only for Maryland students)
Econ 625: Ph.D. Computational Economics
Covers the specification, computation, estimation and interpretation of “structural” models that are widely used in applied microeconomics. The focus is on how to use these models in practice, and students solve and estimate models in weekly problem sets. We discuss their limitations, as well as why they can be extremely useful. The course is also part of the Industrial Organization sequence and, for the most part, we focus on models that originated in IO. However, we look at non-IO applications, drawn from marketing, health, political economy, environmental economics, urban and labor, based on class interest.
Typical enrollment: 15-20, including Ph.D. students from the Smith School of Business and AREC.
Econ 460: Undergraduate Industrial Organization
Introduces core concepts in theoretical Industrial Organization and examines empirical evidence that supports or contradicts these models. Topics include the pricing and marketing strategies individual firms can use to increase profits; the design of auctions and online platforms; the effects of interactions between firms and problems that can arise if they coordinate on anti-competitive strategies; issues that arise when consumers behave sub-optimally (e.g., in consumer credit markets); and public policy responses to firm behavior, including antitrust laws and regulation, and sub-optimal consumer behavior. Students solve weekly problem sets, and also do class presentations on empirical papers.
Typical enrollment: 30-40 junior and senior Economics majors
Duke University
Ph.D. Modules: Demand Models, Entry Models
Undergraduate Econometrics (core course for Economics majors), How Markets Work (an upper level undergraduate and Masters course that I created, in which students use econometrics in problem sets)
Northwestern University
Ph.D. Industrial Organization (covering entry models/discrete choice games, vertical relationships, advertising, search, R&D) Undergraduate Industrial Organization