Primary Instructor
Environmental Economics, Spring 2024 (to be taught)
This course introduces undergraduates to Environmental Economics, weaving foundational microeconomic principles with pressing environmental concerns like air pollution, global climate change, and forest management. Dive deep into the interaction between the natural world and human economy, emphasizing entropy laws and ecosystem-services. Explore challenges of externalities, public-good attributes, and non-tradability, leading to market failures and their impact on social welfare. As a writing-emphasis course, students will hone their analytical and articulation skills around these intricate topics.
Experimental Economics, Fall 2022, Fall 2023 [syllabus]
Experimental economics is the application of experimental methods to study economic questions. Economic experiments replicate real-word incentives in a controlled manner and may be conducted in the laboratory, the field or even over the internet. The objective of this course is to test the validity of economic theories, analyze deviations from theoretical predictions and identify patterns of behavior useful to build new theories. Further, we will review the popular behavioral results obtained in the literature so far.
Econometrics, Fall 2023 [syllabus]
This course covers the statistical tools needed to understand empirical economic research and to plan and execute independent research projects. Topics include statistical inference, ordinary least squares regression, generalized least squares, instrumental variables, simultaneous equations models, and limited dependent variable models.
Research Paper, Spring 2023 [syllabus]
This course will help you write well-researched, organized, and correctly documented research papers. You will learn how to find, evaluate, and document sources as well as incorporate information from research into your writing while following the principles of academic honesty. Throughout the course, you will expand your academic vocabulary and writing fluency, accuracy, and effectiveness.
Principles of Macroeconomics, Fall 2022 [syllabus]
This course examines how a country’s economy works. We examine factors that affect the overall price level, the labor market, production, and interest rates, and develop a model to explain these fluctuations. We will examine the role that money plays on these important variables and explore how polices by the government and central bank attempt to reduce their fluctuations. We will examine the role of government, and its spending and tax decisions. Finally, we explore economic trade theories in detail, examining how economies are tied together globally, how the economies and policies of one country affect other countries, and determine the effects of trade policy.
Intermediate Macroeconomics, Fall 2019, Summer 2020, 2021, Spring 2022, Spring 2023 [syllabus]
In this course, we focus on building abilities to understand macroeconomic cycles and anticipate possible policy actions and their impacts. As part of this broad goal, we develop understanding of several key macroeconomic models (such as IS-LM model, Aggregate Demand and Supply analysis and Solow Growth model). These support students’ understanding of outcomes for key macroeconomic variables (such as GDP output/income, unemployment, inflation, interest rates, exchange rates and trade volume). In addition, we address key macroeconomic policy actions, and look at implications of these various policy actions, in the short run and longer run. Students gain better understanding of how macroeconomic outcomes relate to their lives. After completion of this course, students are able to: (1) Think critically in utilizing an economic framework to explain the behavior of the world economy; (2) Utilize macroeconomic models such as IS-LM, Aggregate Supply and Demand, and the Solow Growth model. Within these frameworks, we focus on both short and long run behaviors; (3) Read and interpret macroeconomic indicators such as output, inflation, unemployment, interest rates, exchange rates, and trade volume; (4) Demonstrate an understanding of the implications of various fiscal and monetary policies and its effects on the broader economy.
In addition to coursework, I assign a project for Intermediate Macroeconomics that helps students think about some real-world applications of macroeconomic theory. Here are the ones I have assigned in the past.
Fix the National Debt - Think about trade-offs tied to budget cuts and tax changes from the perspective of the entire macroeconomy. For more information, visit CRFB's website.
Coronavirus and the Macroeconomy - Analyze potential "down the road" impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and provide a critique of policies targeted to address the health crisis.
Asset Price Bubble and The Financial Crisis - Analyze plausible causes of 2008 recession and its impacts on the global macroeconomy.
Teaching Evaluations [ECON 313]
Average effectiveness rating (most recent): 4.75/5
"Vasudha was really helpful in my understanding in the course and she knows economics at a very high level. She was always responsive to my emails and provided regular announcements that helped me stay on track."
"One of the best teachers I have had here. She does a great job in class and uses great real word examples top further the points she raises in class. She has clear and concise notes and does a great job in the classroom."
"Dealing with the adversity of switching to the online learning model, professor Chopra made it very seamless, and did a great job maintaining a normal class experience. She managed time, due dates, and organization very well."
"I thought she was a very good instructor and I liked that she spent time writing down and explaining concepts, than just depending on the slides."
"I had to drop out of this class in a previous semester because of the professor. Taking it this semester, I have learned more in this from my professor this time than I did my first week in the previous time. Great job."
"Professor Vasudha is everything I aspire to be in life. She made economics fun and interesting. She gave us real life examples of almost every topic that we discussed. She also gave us insight to India's economy as well as the U.S.'s which I found really cool. Professor Vasudha is very bright and a natural teacher."
"She is an excellent teacher, and is constantly bending over backwards to help us learn. I could not ask for a better professor."
"The teaching style was nothing short of amazing. She had wonderful time-management skills, and was easy to get in touch with. She did a good job at communicating and expressing what she wanted for assignments and projects."
Graduate Teaching Assistant
ECON 201: Introductory Economics, Fall 2020, Spring 2018, Fall 2017
ECON 513: Macroeconomics I, Fall 2019, Spring 2019, Fall 2018
Average effectiveness rating: 4.75/5
To view details of teaching evaluations (as an instructor and a TA), please click here.