Experience with common statistical packages. Emphasis on recent experiences in East Asia, Latin America and formerly socialist countries. The issues considered include the effects of taxation on consumer welfare, consumption, labor, capital, production, growth. Effects of the taxes discussed in course 259A and sophisticated tools used in the face of these and other distortions with regard to measurement of benefits, costs, and the discount rate. Topics include risky choice and intertemporal choice theory, asset pricing models, efficient market hypotheses, market institutions, and derivative securities.
Course is taught by guest alumni lecturers.
May be taken once to meet course requirements for the master s degree. The material covered must be different from that of the thesis topic. May be repeated for credit. The T.A. assists and is supervised by the academic staff member in charge of a regular course of instruction.