Overview of Course Structure, Prerequisites, Text, Readings
Overall Course Structure: This
class provides an
introduction to the theories and policies that have become central to
the study
of population economics. The aim
of
the course is to introduce students to the exciting and evolving field
of population economics. By the end of this class
you should have a solid understanding of many (not all!) of its
important
concepts, theories, and empirical foundations. Throughout the course we
focus on the micro foundations of the big macro picture and combine
economic theory and data analysis. While I will on occasion
discuss case
studies, a thorough empirical history of demographic developments is not
the central focus of the course.
The first part of the class tries to provide a background on the
key elements of population economics. Here we discuss the major
theories of economic demography, divided into the traditional subfields of mortality, fertility and migration.
The second part of the class delves into selected topics in depth. These may include
data structure, migration,
labor markets, epidemics, and so on.
Course Prerequisites:
Population Economics will be taught assuming a complete and thorough
understanding of the material contained in: Intermediate
Microeconomics, Intermediate Macroeconomics, Econometrics, and, of
course, the pre-requisites to these three classes. There are NO pre-requisite overrides. These
prerequisites are taken seriously and you are expected to have mastered
the material covered in these courses before taking this course. If you
have not, please drop this class immediately. It is strongly suggested
that you review the material at the beginning of this course.
Text and other Readings: There is no text to purchase. Material for the course is online and free. Some of the readings for the class
are at an elementary level, while others are at a much more difficult level. My suggestion is that you download all the material at the beginning
of the class as links change and networks go down at inconvenient
times. Often my treatment of topics will be different from that of the
readings. The readings should be viewed as complements to the lectures,
not as substitutes.