Juergen Bracht (Ph.D. Economics, University of Pittsburgh, U.S.A.)

Email: Juergen Bracht

Undergraduate Dissertation Topic #1 - International Economics

Discuss what a country of your choice should do to deal with changes in the global markets including possibly, but not necessarily limited to, the emergence of China and India as major economies, the telecommunications revolution and the internet. Identify the biggest threats and opportunities facing your country. This is meant to be done in the style of a consulting report for the European Commission. You will need to demonstrate mastery of theory that was discussed in a course in international economics.

Essential question: What policies might help to improve the economic outcome for your country?
Theories: The theories probably come from material discussed in the course.
Data: The data are for you to find.

Undergraduate Dissertation Topic #2 - Economics and Philosophy

"Rawls-type arguments play an important role in the debate over economic and social policy. In fact, inheritance is one of those areas in which differing notions of fairness translate directly into different policy conclusions. Explain Rawls’ theory. Describe reasonable policy conclusions. What’s right?"

You will need to demonstrate mastery of Rawls' theory of justice as fairness.

Reference:

John Rawls, A Theory of Justice, 1971

You will find a good introduction to Rawls' theory in a popular economics textbook:

Principles of Economics Mankiw

You will find a lot of information on inheritance tax on the internet:

Inheritance tax in the United Kingdom (Wikipedia), Inheritance tax (Wikipedia)

You might be entertained by a short biography of a lively person, a pamphlet and an interview: A philosopher at an English university offers his take on fair play in the game of life. The Philosophers' Magazine has an interview on the philosopher's tinkering with Rawls: The Good, the Right, and the Seemly.

Undergraduate Dissertation Topic #3 - History of Economics

"Is a market economy the only natural economy?"

Reference:

George Akerlof, 1970, The Market for Lemons: Quality Uncertainty and the Market Mechanism, Quarterly Journal of Economics, 84, 488-500
Kenneth Arrow, 1974, Essays in the Theory of Risk-Bearing, Amsterdam, North-Holland
Ronald H. Coase, 1937, The Nature of the Firm, Economica 4, 386-405
Ronald H. Coase, 1960, The Problem of Social Cost, Journal of Law and Economics 3, 1-44
Michael Rotschild and Joseph E. Stiglitz, 1976, Equilibrium in Competitive Insurance Markets: An Essay on the Economics of Imperfect Information", Quarterly Journal of Economics 90, 629-650
Georg Simmel, Philosophie der Geldes, Leipzig: Duncker & Humblot, 1900, 2nd edn 1907 – Volltext bei DigBib.Org Faksimiles vom Seminar für Wirtschafts- und Sozialgeschichte, Uni Köln [The Philosophy of Money]
Michael E. Spence, 1973, Job Market Signaling, Quarterly Journal of Economics 87, 355-374
George J. Stigler, 1961, The Economics of Information, Journal of Political Economy
William Vickrey, 1961, Counterspeculation, Auctions, and Sealed Tenders, Journal of Finance 16, 8-37
Oliver E. Williamson, 1985, The Economic Institutions of Captitalism, New York, Free Press
Oliver E. Williamson, 2000, The New Institutional Economics: Taking Stock, Looking Ahead, Journal of Economic Literature 38, 595-613
Robert B. Wilson, 1977, A Bidding Model of Perfect Competition, Review of Economic Studies 44, 511-518

Undergraduate Dissertation Topic #4 - Loss Aversion and the Housing Market

Read Loss Aversion and the Housing Market - Aplia Econ Blog post, a good start.

Reference:

Loss Aversion And Seller Behavior: Evidence From The Housing Market, David Genesove, Christopher Mayer, The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 116, 2001, 1233-1260