Using Economic Models to Understand Education Systems
EDU A205
Subject & Catalog Number
Course Information
Description
*Lottery-based Enrollment* This course introduces students to fundamental principles of microeconomics with a focus on questions relevant to education. The main goal is to train students to appreciate the power of precise and analytical thinking through the lens of economic models of human behavior. Given that these models have powerful implications for policy choices, emphasis will also be placed on the limits and strengths of such analytic thinking. Examples of policy problems are drawn from early childhood education, elementary and secondary education, and post-secondary education in a variety of countries. The course has at least two secondary goals, including: 1) helping participants link the implications of economic models to empirical observations and 2) linking models covered in the course to recent research when appropriate. A structured sequence of readings and problem sets are required of all students. Class activities will be interactive and will require prior engagement with the readings and, at times, video lectures. The course is an introduction to the principles of microeconomics with a focus on education; thus, students who have had intermediate microeconomics should not take this course. Students should be proficient at reading graphs and be competent in algebra.
Enrollment is limited and will be determined via the centralized HGSE course lottery. Interested students must follow the lottery protocols shared by the Office of the Registrar to be considered.
Available for Harvard Cross Registration
Use microeconomics to analyze a wide range of questions in the field of education. Develop an understanding of how scientific models are built and applied in policy environments.
This course is designed for students whose career interests involve education management and policy. A microeconomic perspective is valuable to a wide range of problems and decisions faced by schools and districts, governments, and nonprofit and for-profit organizations. Thinking through models, becoming conscious of the link between models and the outcomes they produce, is a general skill that will also prove useful.
problem sets
