Regulatory economics is one of the traditional fields in economics. Regulatory economics includes both the health effects from certain occupations and the effect of inflation on electricity prices as part of its field of study. Many of these regulations are administered by state government, e.g. gas and electricity prices, telephone prices, cable-TV.
This program will provide needed training for professionals (especially attorneys, engineers, and accountants) employed by the New York State Public Service Commission and other agencies (e.g., the Office of Energy, Department of Environmental Conservation). The courses initiated by the program will serve also as an additional specialization available to students in the Economics M.A. program; M.A. students specializing in other fields of Economics will have the opportunity to broaden their expertise by qualifying for the Certificate as well as the M.A. degree. The same opportunity holds, of course, for other graduate students (e.g., those in Public Administration and the School of Business).
Program of Study
The program requires four specific courses in Economics:
- Eco 500 Microeconomic Analysis (3): Emphasizes examples from specific regulatory situations;
- Eco 520 Economic Statistics (3): Introduction to empirical analysis in economics;
- Eco 580 Special Topics in Regulatory Economics (1-3): Integration of basic tools of economic analysis with institutional frameworks of regulation through a case-study approach; conducted on a seminar (workshop) basis;
- Eco 670 Economics of Regulation and Anti-Trust (3): Development of microeconomic analytical tools, but introduces the institutional frameworks within which practical issues in regulation must be handled. Much of the material in Alfred Kahn's classic Economics of Regulation will be covered.
