#  Ec 1818 : Economics of Discontinuous Change 

 





 Semester:   Spring 

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 Year offered:  2021 

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 Link: [Course Website](https://canvas.harvard.edu/courses/64057) 

 

 

 

 COURSE DESCRIPTION:  
Explores discontinuous changes in the economic position of groups and countries and presents mathematical and computer simulation models designed to illuminate the theme that economic and social lives are changed by sudden sharp shocks that generate positive feedback loops rather than the normal workings of markets that equilibrate through negative feedbacks. Will include effects of the Covid19 pandemic on the economy, Great Depression and 2008 collapse of Wall Street, growth/decline of trade unions which occurs in spurts, and such patterns as segregation of groups, power laws in income inequality growth/decline in social pathologies in neighborhoods, and Malthusian concerns about the environment. Models include nonlinear simulations, neural networks, finite automata, evolutionary stable strategies, and agent-based simulations with attention on getting evidence on key parameters from diverse empirics, from big data to case studies.