Courses for Certificate Program in Institutional Social Sciences

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Certificate Program Courses for Ph.D. Students
New Institutional Social Sciences I and II must be taken prior to any other courses listed below. For a listing of times of classes offered this summer, Click here. These classes are offered through University College. For more information, go to Information on Certificate Program

L11 5291 New Institutional Social Sciences I: Economics
This course will survey the methodology, the theory and the empirical work in New Institutional Economics. There will be four components: A brief review of the strengths and limitations of neoclassical economics; an examination of the role of institutions-rules of the game-as an extension of neoclassical economics; an analysis of how we measure institutions with particular focus on the literature of transaction costs. In addition, all students will prepare written abstracts and questions on articles reviewed in class and make a presentation on their own research. Prerequisite: At least second year graduate level. University College students require the approval of the Assistant Dean for Graduate Programs (935-6700).

L32 5042 New Institutional Social Sciences II: Politics
The purpose of this course is to provide an introduction at the Ph.D. level to New Institutional Social Sciences. We will follow closely two texts: Political Bargaining: Theory Process and Practice by Gideon Doron and Itai Sened and Douglass C. North's Institutions, Institutional Change and Economic Performance. Each of these books proposes a different theory of institutions and a different theory of institutional change. The purpose of this course is to explore these theories and suggest them as a rather humble starting point for future study of institutions and institutional change. Prerequisite: At least second year graduate level. University College students require the approval of the Assistant Dean for Graduate Programs (935-6700).

L48 544 Fundamentals of Sociocultural Anthropology
This course provides an introduction to anthropology at the graduate level for nonspecialists in sociocultural anthropology. Topics include the relationship between ecological systems and social and economic institutions; language and culture; gender roles and family systems; social change and conflict; and the connection between culture and political and economic development. This class is required for students affiliated with CNISS. University College students require the approval of the Assistant Dean for Graduate Programs (935-6700).

L32 577 Financial Globalization: Market Failures and State Institutions
This seminar begins by examining economic and political market failure in global and domestic financial arenas. We define market failures as sub-optimal collective outcomes that are produced by the aggregation of individual choices embedded in social contexts. We then investigate the role of political institutional arrangmements in mitigating or exacerbating such failures. University College students require the approval of the Assistant Dean for Graduate Programs (935-6700).

L32 5013 Justice and Legitimacy or other approved 500 level Ph.D. course
Under what conditions should people obey the law? Under what conditions does the state have the right to coerce citizens to obey the law? Are these the same questions, or are there cases, for example, in which a state has a right to coerce obedience, even if the citizen should not obey the law? These are the questions of Justice and Legitimacy and we will approach them from thematic and historical perspectives. We begin with a statement of Justice in Plato's Republic, followed by its counterpoint in the Social Contract theory of Hobbes Locke, to set up two very different answers to these questions, illustrating the theoretical tension between Justice and Legitimacy. We end with contemporary engagements on this problem including the work of John Rawls, his critics and other contemporary social choice theorists. Prerequisite: At least second year graduate level. University College students require the approval of the Assistant Dean for Graduate Programs (935-6700).

L11 5292 Legal Framework for Economic Growth or other approved 500 level Ph.D. course
This course, an advanced version of Theory of Property Rights (Econ 458), will focus on the law's role in economic growth. It will cover various aspects of the law and economy, ranging from constitutional issues, to commercial law, to various regulatory regimes. Although the primary focus will be on the law, the course will also integrate economic and political analyis. Prerequisite: At least second year graduate level. University College students require the approval of the Assistant Dean for Graduate Programs (935-6700).