Field Exams
Field exams are normally taken in the summer after the second year of study and are held the two weeks prior to the start of instruction for the Fall and Spring semesters. The fields of Finance and Development are conducted by Haas and Ag Econ respectively and are scheduled at alternate times which are usually announced in the field courses.
In order to fulfill the field requirement students must earn a grade of "Good" or better on one of the exams and a grade of not less than "Pass" on the other. It is department policy that students be prepared in at least one applied field to avoid narrow specialization at this stage of their careers.
An alternative field such as Education and Economics, Health Economics, Resource Economics, Urban and Regional Economics or City and Regional Planning, offered by another department or designed by the student, if approved by the Graduate Committee Chair, may be substituted for one of the fields listed below.
For the 2009-2010 academic year, field exams will be held on January 11, 13, 15, 2010. The sign up sheet for January fields will be posted on the board across from 508-1 Evans (the Main Office) from November 1st until November 21st. Copies of past exams will be available November 1st.
August field exams will be held on August 16, 18, 20, 2010. The sign up sheet for August fields will be posted on the board across from 508-1 Evans (the Main Office) from April 19th until May 7th. Copies of past exams will be available April 19th.
Signing up for a field exam is a commitment by the student not to be taken lightly. Only real emergencies justify canceling an exam. If a cancellation is necessary, inform the Economics Graduate Office in writing no later than a week before the exam.
(While it is not required that students take the field courses in order to take the field exam, it is highly recommended. Students considering taking a field exam without having taken the courses suggested in preparation should consult with an advisor.)Advanced Economic Theory
Courses: 206, 207A, 207B , 209A, 209B, 219A, 234A
(207B is not offered every year)
Faculty: Ahn, Anderson, Goldman, Hermalin, Kariv, Koszegi,
Morgan, Rabin, Shannon, Szeidl
The Advanced Economic Theory field exam is typically composed of sections corresponding to which of these courses had been taught the previous year. Students are required to answer at least two sections, with students able to choose based on what they have taken.
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Comparative Economics
Courses: 260A, 260B, 260C
Faculty: Qian, Roland, Tyson
This new field that has evolved from the study of transition economies analyzes the institutions of the market economy in a comparative perspective. One analyzes the difference of common law and civil law systems, the difference between bank-oriented versus stock-market oriented systems, the difference between political systems (dictatorship and democracy, different forms of democracy such as presidential and parliamentary regimes, the impact of different electoral rules, ...), the impact of different cultures leading to different social norms. One analyzes also the evolution of institutions and the dynamics of institutional change: how does change from less to more efficient institutional change happen? How may such change be blocked for prolonged periods of time? How should reform programs be designed to overcome political constraints in institutional change?
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Development Economics
Courses: 270A, 270B, 270C
Faculty: Bardhan, de Janvry, Finan, Ligon, Magruder Miguel, Sadoulet
Development Economics is the study of economic issues in the less developed countries of Africa, Asia, and Latin America. The three graduate field courses (270A, 270B, 270C) cover both theoretical and empirical aspects of development. The field is exceptionally broad, encompassing the study of: macroeconomic growth, productivity, and technological change; the microeconomic decisions of individuals, households, and firms in poor countries; the measurement of poverty and inequality; human resource investments; and institutional, political economy, and public policy issues in less developed countries. The Development field exam is conducted by the Ag Econ department and the dates of the exam are announced in the field courses.
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Econometrics
Courses: 241A, 241B
Faculty: Graham, Jansson, Nekipelov, Powell, Pouzo
The Econometrics field is covered by two courses, Econ 241A and 241B, which focus on such theoretical topics as approximating distributions for estimators and test statistics and modeling particular features of data generating processes. 241A emphasizes cross-sectional applications whereas 241B studies time series methods.
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Economic Demography
Courses: 275A, DEMOG 210
Faculty: R. Lee, Wachter
Economic Demography studies the economic causes and consequences of demographic behavior and population growth and structure, at both the micro and macro levels. Topics receiving recent research and policy attention include the rapid change in marriage, divorce and the family in recent decades; population aging and its implications for Social Security and Medicare; retirement behavior; the economic consequences of immigration for the receiving country, including the effect on the earnings of natives, the wage-assimilation of immigrant workers, and whether immigration eases fiscal pressures or makes them worse; population and economic development issues; the economics of health related behaviors and mortality; the role of population change in economic history; and economics of the household. There is some overlap with topics covered in labor economics, public finance, and economic development. The requirement for the field is Economic Demography, cross-listed as Economics/Demography c275A, offered every Spring and Demography 210, Demographic Methods: Rates and Structures, offered every Fall term.
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Economic History
Courses: 210B, 210C, 299 (Independent Study)
Faculty: Eichengreen, DeLong, deVries, Olney, C. Romer
Economic history is the study of the economy in the past. The field seeks to understand how the economy functioned in different eras and to explain why key economic events, such as the Great Depression and the Industrial Revolution, occurred. Because one of the most fundamental economic developments over time has been improvements in the standard of living, economic history inevitably tends to focus on the sources of economic growth. It also investigates the economic causes and consequences of historical events and institutions, such as war, colonization, and slavery. Economic historians use a variety of research techniques, ranging from narrative analysis of archival records to empirical studies of large microeconomic datasets, to analyze these issues.
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Economics of Institutions
Courses: 206A, 224, BA 279A
Faculty: Hermalin, Morgan, Spiller, Williamson
The field of institutions studies the way in which institutions affect the operation of markets and economies and the way economics affects the design and function of institutions. It is both an empirical and theoretical field, which overlaps with industrial organization in economics and aspects of sociology, social psychology, law, political science, and the business fields of strategy and organization. Consequently, institutions has one of the broadest "tool kits," utilzing tools from the new institutional economics, transactions cost economics, game theory, and contract theory for theoretical analysis and a variety of econometric and experimental methods for empirical analysis. Required courses for the field: Econ 206 and Econ 224. For the field exam, students can answer questions drawn from two of the three courses, Econ 206, Econ 224, and BA 279A.
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Finance
Courses: BA 239A, 239B, 239C, 239D
Faculty: Anderson, Craine, Szeidl, and Faculty of the Haas Business School Finance Group
The Finance field exam is a subset of the exam given to Ph.D. students in the Finance program in the Haas Business School, so it is given at the same time as the Haas exam. Economics students are required to answer questions based on the four Ph.D. classes in Finance listed above.
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Financial Economics
Courses: ECON 234A, ECON 234C, ECON 290C, BA239A, BA239B, BA239C, BA239D
Faculty: Anderson, Craine, Malmendier, Szeidl
The field of Financial Economics studies the economic function of financial markets. Among its topics are classical asset pricing and factor models, dynamic equilibrium asset pricing, household finance, risk-sharing and consumption smoothing, market microstructure, behavioral finance, corporate finance (agency problems, executive compensation, corporate investment decisions, mergers & acquisitions, capital structure choices including IPOs, SEOs, dividends, and repurchases), law and finance, empirical puzzles in financial economics and proposed solutions. Econ 234A covers asset pricing theory in discrete time, with special emphasis on the relationship between consumption and finance. Econ 234C covers theoretical and empirical research on financial decision-making in firms. To complete the field exam, students need to answer questions drawn from these two classes. Students may choose to substitute one of BA 239A, BA 239B, BA 239C or BA 239D for one of these two classes if approved in advance by the instructors of Econ 234A and Econ 234C.
Industrial Organization
Courses: 220A, 220B, 220C
Faculty: Edlin, Gilbert, Hall, Hermalin, Katz, Keeler, Scotchmer, Shapiro
Industrial Organization studies the behavior and performance of firms in imperfectly competitive markets. Three graduate courses (220A, 220B, and 220C) cover theoretical, empirical and regulation components of the field. Econ 220A covers theoretical studies of market structure and performance, emphasizing modern tools of game theory. Econ 220B covers regulation and antitrust policy, and 220C covers empirical methods in industrial organization: the use of econometric analysis and data both for descriptive purposes and to test the predictions of economic theories. Applications include demand estimation, analyzing price and quantity competition, and dynamic models of industry structure.
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International Economics
Courses: 280A (Required), 280B, 280C
Faculty: Bardhan, Eichengreen, Gourinchas, Obstfeld
International Economics focuses on the causes and consequences of trade among national economies. The "real" side of the subject, covered in Economics 280A, centers on the determinants of commodity trade flows, the aggregate gains from trade and the effects on income distribution, the role and political economy of commercial policy, and linkages between trade and economic development. The "monetary" side of International Economics, covered in Economics 280B and 280C, studies international borrowing and lending, international financial markets, the roles of currencies, exchange rates, and macroeconomic policies in world trade, and macroeconomic policy interactions among sovereign governments.
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Labor Economics
Courses: 250A, 250B, 250C
Faculty: Brown, Card, Kline, Moretti, Reich
Labor Economics is the study of individual and firm behavior, including labor market outcomes, education, income support programs, and many other topics in empirical microeconomics. The three graduate field courses (250A, 250B, 250C) cover the main theoretical structures and empirical methods used in the field.
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Law and Economics
Courses: TBD
Faculty: TBD
TBD
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Macroeconomics
Courses: 236A, 236B, 236C
(Two of which are offered every year)
Faculty: Akerlof, Craine, DeLong, Hsieh, Jones, Obstfeld,
C. Romer, D. Romer, Yellen
Macroeconomics is the study of issues related to the economy as a whole. Among its topics are long-run economic growth, differences in average incomes across countries, business cycles, inflation, unemployment, and monetary and fiscal policy. Macroeconomists use a wide range of theoretical and empirical tools to address those topics, including calibration and simulation, formal econometrics, and studies of historical evidence. Macroeconomists at Berkeley have recently used these tools to study the optimal rate of inflation, the term structure of interest rates, causes and consequences of the recent speedup in productivity growth, how individual consumption is determined, why some countries are so much richer than others, why health spending as a share of GDP is rising so rapidly, and how monetary policy affects output and inflation.
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Mathematical Economics
Courses: 207A, 207B, 209A, 209B
Faculty: Ahn, Anderson, Goldman, Kariv, Shannon
The Mathematical Economics field exam is typically composed of sections corresponding to which of these courses had been taught the previous year. Students are required to answer at least two sections, with students able to choose based on what they have taken.
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Political Economics
Courses: 215A, 215B, 299 (Independent Study)
Faculty: Finan, Miguel, R. Powell, Roland
Political Economics studies political institutions using economic tools. Models of political institutions use mostly game theoretic tools. Political economics goes beyond traditional welfare economics by analyzing how economic policy is decided rather than how it should be decided. It goes beyond simplistic visions of public choice by viewing government not as a homogenous political agent but rather as institutions within which different political and economic agents interact. Political institutions and constitutions provide rules of the game which allow to define in a non arbitrary way extensive form games and the role of various political agents. Economic policy equilibria are then derived for various political institutions, allowing to understand the role of particular electoral rules, legislative procedures, budgetary rules and others. One studies the effect of political institutions on the size of government, the composition of public goods, the political business cycle, etc.. A more recent empirical literature has started to test various theories of the effect of political institutions.
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Psychology and Economics
Courses: 219A, 219B
Faculty: Akerlof, DellaVigna, Kariv, Koszegi, Malmendier, Rabin
Psychology and Economics applies findings from psychology and other social sciences to economics. The focus of the field is on improving our understanding of economic decisions studied also in fields such as labor economics, public economics, industrial organization, finance, and development. The emphasis, therefore, is not on psychology per se, but rather on its economic implications. Examples of topics in the field include: (i) present-biased preferences, with applications to consumption and savings/borrowing and procrastination; (ii) reference-dependent preferences, with applications to labor supply and behavior toward risk; (iii) social preferences, with applications to charitable contributions and worker compensation and workplace relations; (iv) non-rational beliefs, with applications to managerial behavior and financial decisions; and (v) limited attention, with applications to consumption, political, and financial choices. Students in the field should be familiar with both modeling techniques and empirical methods. Given the importance of applications, students are expected to choose an applied field (i.e. not theory or econometrics) as a second field.
Public Finance
Courses: 230A, 230B
Faculty: Auerbach, Quigley, Saez
Public Finance is the study of taxation, public expenditures and public choice, and the effects of public policy on the behavior of households and firms. The two field courses, 230A and 230B, cover the theory of taxation and public expenditures at the federal, state and local levels, and consider in greater detail the institutional aspects of important taxes, such as individual and corporate income taxes, and important public expenditures, such as education, retirement and health care.