yale economics senior essay

John Geanakoplos

Yale University James Tobin Professor of Economics

Home » Undergraduate Senior Essays Advised

Contact Information

Academic Office: 30 Hillhouse Ave., Room 21 Office Phone: (203) 432-3397 Office Fax: (203) 432-6167 Office Hours: By appointment only [email protected]

Senior Administrative Assistant: Kerry DeDomenico [email protected] 30 Hillhouse Ave., Room 36 Phone: (203) 432-3703 Fax: (203) 432-5164

Mailing Address: Department of Economics Yale University Box 208281 New Haven, CT 06520-8281

Undergraduate Senior Essays Advised

Jesse Wang (2017)

William Gong (2015)

William Feldman (2014)

David Kastelman (2013)

Mo Gong (2013)

Daniel Ni (2012)

James Warwick Alexander (2009) Ellington Senior Essay Prize***

Daniel Graves (2009)

Adam Clark Joseph (2007)

Gregory Phelan (2007)

Steven Shadman (2006) Meltzer Senior Essay Prize*

Guatam Gururaj (2005)

Eric Weese (2005)

Paul Krikorian (2003), Meltzer Senior Essay Prize*

Eric Schneider (2003)

Charles Wolrich (2003)

David Goldberg (2002)

Fadi Kanaan (2002)

Ronald Tam, (2002), Meltzer Senior Essay Prize*

Clarissa Chng (2001)

Jan Szilagyi, (2001), Dickerman Senior Essay Prize**

Samuel Ieong (2000)

Jared Samet, (2000), Meltzer Senior Essay Prize*

James Gutierrez (1999)

Justin Bergner (1998)

Michael Donovan (1998)

Robert Kinderman (1998)

Erik Lin (1998)

Andreas Schultz (1998), Dickerman Senior Essay Prize**

Raymond Rivera (1997)

Nikolai Stoytchev (1996)

The Dickerman Prize (*) is awarded to the best senior essay in economics each year and the

Meltzer Prize (**) is awarded to the second best essay each year out of approximately 150 majors. The Ellington Prize is awarded to the best senior economics essay involving financial economics.

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Yale College Programs of Study 2024–2025

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Economics (ECON)

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* ECON 002b, Social Issues in America   Rebecca Toseland

This seminar investigates how data and economics can be used to understand and solve some of the most pressing contemporary social issues in the United States. Topics include equality of opportunity, education, health, climate change, criminal justice, and discrimination. In the context of these topics, the course provides an introduction to some basic economic concepts and data analysis techniques. No prior knowledge of economics or statistics is assumed.  Enrollment limited to first-year students.   SO TTh 1pm-2:15pm

* ECON 108a, Quantitative Foundations of Microeconomics   Tolga Koker

Introductory microeconomics with a special emphasis on quantitative methods and examples. Intended for students with limited or no experience with calculus. Enrollment limited.  May not be taken after ECON 110 or 115 .   QR , SO F 9:25am-10:15am, TTh 11:35am-12:50pm

* ECON 110a or b, An Introduction to Microeconomic Analysis   Staff

Similar to ECON 115 , but taught as a lecture discussion with limited enrollment. Enrollment limited to first-years and sophomores.  May not be taken after ECON 108 or 115 .   QR , SO HTBA

* ECON 111a, An Introduction to Macroeconomic Analysis   Staff

Similar to ECON 116 , but taught as a lecture discussion with limited enrollment. Enrollment limited to first-years and sophomores.  May not be taken after ECON 116 . Prerequisite: ECON 108 , 110 , or 115.   SO MW 2:30pm-3:45pm

ECON 115a, Introductory Microeconomics   Staff

An introduction to the basic tools of microeconomics to provide a rigorous framework for understanding how individuals, firms, markets, and governments allocate scarce resources. The design and evaluation of public policy. May not be taken after ECON 108 or 110 .    QR , SO   0 Course cr HTBA

ECON 116a, Introductory Macroeconomics   Staff

This course is an introduction to macroeconomics. We begin by asking why some countries produce so much more output than others. We investigate the role of savings and investment, research and development, and the economic institutions that determine them. We then ask what determines output, unemployment, inflation, and interest rates over time, why they fluctuate over time, and how policymakers affect them. May not be taken after ECON 111 . Prerequisite: ECON 108 , 110 , or 115.    SO   0 Course cr HTBA

ECON 117a or b, Introduction to Data Analysis and Econometrics   Staff

Introduction to data analysis from the beginning of the econometrics sequence; exposure to modern empirical economics; and development of credible economic analysis. This course emphasizes working directly and early with data, through such economic examples as studies of environmental/natural resource economics, intergenerational mobility, discrimination, and finance. Topics include: probability, statistics, and sampling; selection, causation and causal inference; regression and model specification; and machine learning and big data. Prerequisites: ECON 108 , 110 , 115 , or equivalent and familiarity with single variable calculus. Students who have taken ECON 131 may not receive major credit for this course.   QR , SO   0 Course cr HTBA

ECON 121a, Intermediate Microeconomics   Staff

The theory of resource allocation and its applications. Topics include the theory of choice, consumer and firm behavior, production, price determination in different market structures, welfare, and market failure. After introductory microeconomics and completion of Math 112 or higher. Elementary techniques from multivariate calculus are introduced and applied, but prior knowledge is not assumed. May not be taken after ECON 125 .   QR , SO   0 Course cr HTBA

ECON 122a, Intermediate Macroeconomics   Staff

Contemporary theories of employment, finance, money, business fluctuations, and economic growth. Their implications for monetary and fiscal policy. Emphasis on empirical studies, financial and monetary crises, and recent policies and problems. After two terms of introductory economics and completion of the Math 112 or higher.   QR , SO   0 Course cr HTBA

ECON 123a, Intermediate Data Analysis and Econometrics   Costas Meghir

Comprehensive and theoretical examination of econometrics, with further exploration of topics covered in ECON 117 . A term research project addresses a research question chosen by the student, and involves the application of learned methods to a relevant data set. Prerequisites: ECON 108 , 110 , 115 , or equivalent; ECON 117 ; and familiarity with single variable calculus.   QR , SO   0 Course cr TTh 1pm-2:15pm

ECON 125a, Microeconomic Theory   Ryota Iijima

Similar to ECON 121 but with a more intensive treatment of consumer and producer theory, and covering additional topics including choice under uncertainty, game theory, contracting under hidden actions or hidden information, externalities and public goods, and general equilibrium theory. Recommended for students considering graduate study in economics. After introductory economics, and MATH 118 or 120 or equivalent. May not be taken after ECON 121 .   QR , SO   0 Course cr TTh 9am-10:15am

* ECON 126b, Macroeconomic Theory   Joel Flynn

Similar to ECON 122 but with a more intensive treatment of the mathematical foundations of macroeconomic modeling, and with rigorous study of additional topics. Recommended for students considering graduate study in economics. After two terms of introductory economics, and MATH 118 or 120 or equivalent.    QR , SO   0 Course cr MW 1pm-2:15pm

ECON 135a, Introduction to Probability and Statistics   Yusuke Narita

Foundations of mathematical statistics: probability theory, distribution theory, parameter estimation, hypothesis testing, regression, and computer programming. Recommended for students considering graduate study in economics. Prerequisites: Introductory microeconomics and MATH 118 or MATH 120 and MATH 222 ; or MATH 120 and MATH 225 .   QR , SO   0 Course cr MW 4pm-5:15pm

ECON 136b, Econometrics   Ed Vytlacil

Continuation of ECON 135 with a focus on econometric theory and practice: problems that arise from the specification, estimation, and interpretation of models of economic behavior. Topics include classical regression and simultaneous equations models; panel data; and limited dependent variables. Recommended for students considering graduate study in economics. Prerequisites: After ECON 135 or STAT 241 and 242. May not be taken concurrently with STAT 242.    QR , SO   0 Course cr TTh 2:30pm-3:45pm

ECON 159a / GLBL 159a, Game Theory   Benjamin Polak

An introduction to game theory and strategic thinking. Ideas such as dominance, backward induction, Nash equilibrium, evolutionary stability, commitment, credibility, asymmetric information, adverse selection, and signaling are applied to games played in class and to examples drawn from economics, politics, the movies, and elsewhere. After introductory microeconomics. No prior knowledge of game theory assumed.   QR , SO   0 Course cr TTh 11:35am-12:50pm

ECON 160b / GLBL 383b, Games and Information   Benjamin Polak and Jidong Zhou

This is designed to be a "second" game theory course. We build on the learnings from introductory game theory courses like ECON 159 / GLBL 159 , MGT 822 or the SOM core. The course aims to introduce important ideas and tools from game theory, and use them to answer questions in social sciences, law, and business.  For instance, how does information get sold and used to persuade? How do we think about the efficiency and equity of allocations? How do sellers decide the best format for an auction to sell a good? Does requiring unanimous verdicts guarantee that the innocent will not be convicted? What causes bank runs? When do we see price wars? The underlying ideas will include games of incomplete information, mechanism design, common knowledge and high-order reasoning, and repeated games.   Prerequisite: Any introductory game theory course, e.g., ECON/ GLBL 159 , MGT 822 or Game Theory in the SOM Core.   SO   RP   0 Course cr TTh 1pm-2:15pm

ECON 170a, Health Economics and Public Policy   Howard Forman

Application of economic principles to the study of the U.S. health care system. Emphasis on basic principles about the structure of the U.S. system, current problems, proposed solutions, and the context of health policy making and politics. After introductory microeconomics.   SO TTh 2:30pm-3:45pm

ECON 171b / AFAM 146b / EDST 271b, Urban Inequalities and Educational Inequality   Gerald Jaynes

Analysis of contemporary policy problems related to academic under performance in lower income urban schools and the concomitant achievement gaps among various racial and ethnic groups in United States K-12 education. Historical review of opportunity inequalities and policy solutions proposed to ameliorate differences in achievement and job readiness. Students benefit from practical experience and interdisciplinary methods, including a lab component with time spent in a New Haven high school.  Prerequisites: Any course offered by Education Studies, or one course in history or any social science, either: Anthropology, Economics, Political Science, Psychology, Sociology.  EDST 110 is preferred, although not required.   SO TTh 10:30am-11:20am

ECON 182a / HIST 135a, American Economic History   Staff

The growth of the American economy since 1790, both as a unique historical record and as an illustration of factors in the process of economic development. The American experience viewed in the context of its European background and patterns of industrialization overseas. After introductory microeconomics.   WR , SO   0 Course cr HTBA

* ECON 209a / EP&E 313a, Economic Analysis of Law   Robin Landis

This course is intended to provide an introduction to the economic analysis of law. We examine the economic rationale(s) underlying various legal doctrines of both common law and statutory law, as well as the economic consequences of different legal doctrines. Previous coursework in economics, while helpful, is not a prerequisite for the course.   SO T 3:30pm-5:20pm

ECON 210b / EDST 201b, Economics of Education   Daniela Morar

Application of basic economic concepts and empirical methods to the analysis of education. Topics include the economic return to secondary and postsecondary education, the quality of elementary and secondary education, the market for teachers, inequality in education attainment, and school choice. Prerequisites: ECON 108 , 110 , or 115. A prior course in statistics or econometrics is helpful but not required.   SO TTh 11:35am-12:50pm

ECON 251a, Financial Economics   Ben Matthies

Introduction to the economic analysis of investment decisions and financial markets. Topics include time discounting, portfolio choice, equilibrium pricing, arbitrage, market efficiency, equity valuation, fixed-income securities, derivative pricing, and financial intermediation. Prerequisite: Introductory microeconomics.   QR , SO   0 Course cr TTh 1pm-2:15pm

ECON 265a, History of Economic Thought   Staff

The objective of this course is to give an overview of how economic analysis has developed, and an introduction to the varied ways in which some of the great economists of the past have gone about studying how the economy functions. We discuss the relevance of their theories to public policy and the role of the state, and consider the roles of pre-analytic vision, improvements in analytical technique, and external events (such as the Great Depression or Global Financial Crisis) in the development of economic analysis. Prerequisites: ECON 115 and ECON 116 .   SO MW 2:30pm-3:45pm

ECON 326b, Fundamentals of Economic Development   Kaivan Munshi

The objective of this course is to examine some of the fundamental forces that shape the process of economic development. This course is divided into three sections: (i) Market Failure: with an analysis of credit, labor, and insurance markets in developing countries. (ii) Social Response: how community networks emerge in response to market failure. We study the positive and negative consequences of this community involvement for growth and development; in the short-run and the long-run. We also provide economic foundations for the emergence of social norms and identity, as well as the dynamic inefficiencies that they can generate with economic development. (iii) Biological Response: how biological adaptation to economic conditions in the pre-modern economy can have negative consequences for nutritional status and health in developing economies. Apart from providing a particular perspective on development, an additional objective of this course demonstrates the use of economic theory in informing empirical research. Prerequisites: Intermediate Microeconomics, Introductory Econometrics and Data Analysis. Students are expected to be familiar with calculus, basic microeconomics, and basic econometrics.   SO MW 9am-10:15am

ECON 339b, Advanced Competition Economics and Policy   Fiona Scott Morton

Limits that antitrust laws, as applied and interpreted by agencies, courts, and competitors, place on firm behavior. Economic theories underlying antitrust enforcement. Whether legal rules restricting competitive behavior increase social welfare and how they affect managerial choices. The evidence and reasoning advanced in key antitrust cases; how outcomes may affect social welfare and firm strategies. Goals and procedures of US and EU antitrust agencies.     SO MW 8:30am-9:50am

ECON 350a, Mathematical Economics: General Equilibrium Theory   John Geanakoplos

An introduction to general equilibrium theory and its application to finance and the theory of money. Recommended for students considering graduate study in economics, or a career in quantitative finance. Prerequisites: After MATH 118 or 120 , and intermediate microeconomics.   QR , SO   0 Course cr MW 11:35am-12:50pm

ECON 361b, Corporate Finance   Christopher Clayton

Financial management from inside the corporation or operating entity. Topics include capital budgeting and valuation, optimal capital structure, initial public offerings, mergers, and corporate restructuring. Cases and problem sets provide applications. Prerequisites: intermediate microeconomics and econometrics.   0 Course cr MW 2:30pm-3:45pm

ECON 363a, The Global Financial Crisis   Andrew Metrick and Timothy Geithner

Comprehensive survey of the causes, events, policy responses, and aftermath of the global financial crisis of 2007-09. Study of the dynamics of financial crises in a modern economy. Prerequisite: Successful completion of a course in introductory economics.   SO TTh 1pm-2:20pm

ECON 365a or b / CPSC 365a or b, Algorithms   Staff

Paradigms for algorithmic problem solving: greedy algorithms, divide and conquer, dynamic programming, and network flow. NP completeness and approximation algorithms for NP-complete problems. Algorithms for problems from economics, scheduling, network design and navigation, geometry, biology, and optimization. Provides algorithmic background essential to further study of computer science. Only one of CPSC 365 or CPSC 366 may be taken for credit. Prerequisites: CPSC 202 or MATH 244 , CPSC 223 .   QR HTBA

ECON 375b / GLBL 219b, Monetary Policy   William English

Introduction to modern macroeconomic models and how to use the models to examine some of the key issues that have faced monetary policymakers during and after the global financial crisis of 2008–2009. Prerequisites: Intermediate level macroeconomics ( ECON 122 or 126 ) and introductory econometrics.   WR , SO   0 Course cr TTh 1pm-2:15pm

* ECON 407a / GLBL 310a, International Finance   Ana Fieler

A study of the implications of increasing integration of the world economy, through international trade, multinational production, and financial markets.  Topics include foreign exchange markets, capital flows, trade and current account imbalances, coordination of monetary and fiscal policy in a global economy, financial crises and their links to sovereign debt crises and currency devaluations.  Prerequisite: intermediate macroeconomics or equivalent.   SO   0 Course cr MW 9am-10:15am

ECON 409b, Firms, Markets, and Competition   Philip Haile

Analysis of imperfectly competitive markets, focusing on the interactions among firm behavior, market structure, and market outcomes. Topics include oligopoly, collusion, predation, firm entry, advertising, and price discrimination as well as public policy implications of market behavior. After intermediate microeconomics or equivalent.   QR , SO MW 9am-10:15am

* ECON 411b, Economics of Uncertainty and Information   Soenje Reiche

Individual and collective choice in the presence of uncertainty and asymmetric information. Implications of such decision making for economic phenomena. Basic analytical tools for studying decisions under uncertainty. Asset markets, adverse selection, screening, signaling, moral hazard, incomplete contracts, bilateral trade with asymmetric information, and mechanism design. Prerequisites: intermediate microeconomics and econometrics.   SO   0 Course cr MW 4pm-5:15pm

* ECON 412a, International Environmental Economics   Samuel Kortum

Introduction to international and environmental economics and to research that combines the two fields. Methods for designing and analyzing environmental policy when economic activity and pollution cross political borders. Effects of market openness on the environment and on environmental regulation; international economics and climate change. Prerequisites: intermediate microeconomics and econometrics.   SO MW 1pm-2:15pm

ECON 419a, Financial Time Series Econometrics   Xi Chen

This is an advanced course covers basic univariate and multivariate models and methods used to analyze financial and economic time series data and panel time series data. Topics include: classic linear models; serial dependence, autocorrelation in error variances (ARCH, GARCH); methods that allow for nonlinearity, tail dependence, comovements, conditional value at risk, fat-tails, nonstationarity; vector autoregressive models; factor models; Markov switching, latent factors, measurement errors, stochastic volatility; empirical asset pricing models. The aim of the course is to help students write their senior essays and start their own research in economics and finance. Prerequisites: ECON 117 and 123 , or ECON 135 and 136 .   SO TTh 1pm-2:15pm

ECON 424a / GLBL 308a, Central Banking   William English

Introduction to the different roles and responsibilities of modern central banks, including the operation of payments systems, monetary policy, supervision and regulation, and financial stability. Discussion of different ways to structure central banks to best manage their responsibilities. Prerequisites: Intermediate Microeconomics, Intermediate Macroeconomics, and Introductory Econometrics.   SO   0 Course cr MW 1pm-2:15pm

ECON 425a / CPSC 455a, Economics and Computation   Yang Cai

A mathematically rigorous investigation of the interplay of economic theory and computer science, with an emphasis on the relationship of incentive-compatibility and algorithmic efficiency. Our main focus is on algorithmic tools in mechanism design, algorithms and complexity theory for learning and computing Nash and market equilibria, and the price of anarchy. Case studies in Web search auctions, wireless spectrum auctions, matching markets, and network routing, and social networks. Prerequisite: CPSC 365 or permission of the instructor. Familiarity with basic microeconomic theory is helpful but not required.   QR MW 2:30pm-3:45pm

* ECON 426a / EP&E 286a, Discrimination in Law, Theory, and Practice   Gerald Jaynes

How law and economic theory define and conceptualize economic discrimination; whether economic models adequately describe behaviors of discriminators as documented in court cases and government hearings; the extent to which economic theory and econometric techniques aid our understanding of actual marketplace discrimination. This course was formerly listed as ECON 475. Prerequisites: introductory microeconomics and at least one additional course in Economics, African American Studies, Ethnicity, Race, and Migration, or Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies. TTh 2:30pm-3:45pm

ECON 431a / AMTH 431a / S&DS 431a, Optimization and Computation   Zhuoran Yang

This course is designed for students in Statistics & Data Science who need to know about optimization and the essentials of numerical algorithm design and analysis. It is an introduction to more advanced courses in optimization. The overarching goal of the course is teach students how to design algorithms for Machine Learning and Data Analysis (in their own research). This course is not open to students who have taken S&DS 430 .  Prerequisites: Knowledge of linear algebra, multivariate calculus, and probability. Linear Algebra, by MATH 222 , 223 or 230 or 231 ; Graph Theory, by MATH 244 or CPSC 365 or 366 ; and comfort with proof-based exposition and problem sets, such as is gained from MATH 230 and 231 , or CPSC 366 . TTh 1pm-2:15pm

ECON 433a, The Economics of Space   Costas Arkolakis

The aim of this course is to analyze the ways that geography determines economic outcomes. We discuss and analyze data on regional economic activity and how economic shocks propagate in space. We pair those data with simple models where geography plays a crucial role in the determination of economic activity and discuss how changes in this geography lead some regions to grow and economic outcomes to diverge. Various policies that affect the spatial allocation of economic activity, such as infrastructure investment, local taxes, and transfers, are analyzed Prerequisites: MATH 118 , 120 , or permission of instructor.   SO   0 Course cr MW 11:35am-12:50pm

* ECON 434a, Labor Economics: Inequality and Social Mobility   Orazio Attanasio

The objective of this advanced course is to study various aspects of inequality and social mobility and to understand their trends over time and their drivers. Although we briefly study some international comparisons, the focus of the course is inequality in the US and, to a less extent, the UK. We consider inequalities among different countries only tangentially. Prerequisites: ECON 121 and Econometrics.   SO TTh 9am-10:15am

ECON 436b, Personal Finance   James Choi

How much should I be saving at age 35? How much of my portfolio should be invested in stocks at age 50? Which mortgage should I choose, and when should I refinance it? How much can I afford to spend per year in retirement? This course covers prescriptive models of personal saving, asset allocation, borrowing, and spending. The course is designed to answer questions facing anybody who manages their own money or is a manager in an organization that is trying to help clients manage their money.   Prerequisites: Intermediate microeconomics and one semester of econometrics. Students should be comfortable with informal mathematical and statistical reasoning and problem-solving.   SO HTBA

ECON 438a, Applied Econometrics: Politics, Sports, Microeconomics   Ray Fair

This course has an applied econometrics focus. Topics include voting behavior, betting markets, and various issues in sports. The aim of the course is to help students prepare original empirical research using econometric tools and to read empirical papers in economics and other social sciences. Students write three empirical papers. The first can be an extension of an existing article, where some of the results are duplicated and then extended. The second is similar to the first with no example provided. The third is an original paper within the range of topics covered in the course, where data are collected and analyzed using relevant econometric techniques. Prerequisites: Two econometrics or statistics courses, one of which has to be ECON 117 . Ideally, ECON 123 should also have been taken, but it is not an absolute requirement. ECON 135 and ECON 136 are substitutes for ECON 117 and ECON 123 . Special permission from the instructor is needed if ECON 117 or ECON 136 has not been taken. Also required is introductory microeconomics.   SO MW 1pm-2:15pm

* ECON 444a, Market Inefficiencies and the Limits of Arbitrage   Michael J Pascutti

The role of hedge funds in the United States financial markets and hedge fund behavior; understanding what hedge funds do, why they exist, and how they are different from other investment vehicles. Study of investment strategies that provide opportunity and risk for investors and study of academic papers analyzing (risky) arbitrage strategies. Prerequisite: intermediate microeconomics and econometrics.   SO   0 Course cr MW 11:35am-12:50pm

* ECON 445b, The U.S. Banking System   Michael J Pascutti

The special functions of banks in the U.S. economy. The benefits but fragile nature of the banking system. Prerequisites: intermediate macroeconomics, microeconomics, and econometrics.   SO MW 11:35am-12:50pm

* ECON 449a / EP&E 244a / PLSC 374a, The Economic Analysis of Conflict   Gerard Padro

In this course we apply microeconomic techniques, theoretical and empirical, to the analysis of internal violent conflict, including civil wars, terrorism and insurgencies, its causes and consequences. Topics include forced migration, ethnic conflict, long-term consequences of war and individual choices to participate in violence. Readings comprise frontier research papers and students will learn to critically engage with cutting-edge research designs. Prerequisites: Intermediate econometrics   SO W 9:25am-11:15am

* ECON 450b, Investment Analysis   Alex Hetherington and Chivetta Amelia

This seminar seeks to introduce the world of investment management to students, across a range of investment strategies from public stocks to private equity and real estate. The instructors, both senior members of the Yale Investment Office, the department that manages the University's $41 billion endowment, guide class discussion in response to assigned reading and guest speaker visits. The distinguished guest speakers, including world-renowned hedge fund managers, venture capital luminaries and Yale's chief investment manager Matthew Mendelsohn '07 are at the heart of the course. These speakers join the seminar for a discussion of how their firms approach the investment landscape and how they seek to achieve market-beating returns. Students are asked to engage with and analyze the speaker's investment strategy and to think about the strategy from the perspective of an institutional investor like Yale.  Registration requires instructor permission.   SO M 3:30pm-5:20pm

* ECON 455a, Economic Models of New Technology   Evangelia Chalioti

Analysis of firms’ incentives to innovate, focusing on the effects of market power on the intensity of innovative activity. Topics include strategic investment in innovation, patent races, the diffusion of knowledge, intellectual property (IP) protection systems, IP licensing, research joint ventures, litigation, venture capital, and conflicts between IP rights and antitrust regulation. Prerequisite: Intermediate Microeconomics or equivalent: Econ 121 or Econ 125   SO W 3:30pm-5:20pm

* ECON 456a, Private Equity Investing   Staff

A case-oriented study of principal issues and investment types found in substantial private equity portfolios. Discussion of enterprise valuation, value creation, business economics, negotiation, and legal structure, based on primary source materials and original cases. Prerequisite: ECON 251 or ECON 252 or ECON 255 .   SO TTh 2:30pm-3:45pm

* ECON 463b / BENG 403b, The Economics and Science of Medicine   Gregory Raskin and Yashodhara Dash

This multidisciplinary class is an exploration of the background of today’s bestselling medicines, their huge commercial impact, and the companies that created them. It focuses on the most compelling aspects of drug development and company formation in the context of topical issues like cancer treatment, gene editing, stem cell therapy, the opioid epidemic, and drug pricing controversies. Prerequisite: Introductory or intermediate microeconomics, introductory or intermediate Biology, Molecular Biology, Chemistry or Biomedical Engineering.   SO Th 3:30pm-5:20pm

* ECON 467a / GLBL 307a, Economic Evolution of the Latin American and Caribbean Countries   Ernesto Zedillo

Economic evolution and prospects of the Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) countries. Topics include the period from independence to the 1930s; import substitution and industrialization to the early 1980s; the debt crisis and the "lost decade"; reform and disappointment in the late 1980s and the 1990s; exploration of selected episodes in particular countries; and speculations about the future. Prerequisities: intermediate microeconomics and macroeconomics.   SO M 9:25am-11:15am

* ECON 468b, Institutions and Incentives in Economic Development   Mark Rosenzweig

Assessment of alternative policies and programs designed to promote economic development; examination of fundamental problems of underdeveloped areas and consideration of how and whether such programs resolve them. The roles of indigenous institutions in low-income countries in alleviating problems of underdevelopment. Prerequisites: intermediate microeconomics and econometrics.   SO W 1:30pm-3:20pm

* ECON 471b / EP&E 297b, Topics in Cooperative Game Theory   Pradeep Dubey

The theory and applications of cooperative games. Topics include matching, bargaining, cost allocation, market games, voting games, and games on networks. Prerequisite: intermediate microeconomics. F 9:25am-11:15am

* ECON 472a, Economics of Artificial Intelligence and Innovation   Evangelia Chalioti

This course studies the economics of innovation and the effects of artificial intelligence on different industries. Topics include economics of the intellectual property (IP) protection system; strategic choices in innovation and competition; patent races; measurement and big data; the sharing and digitalized economy; collective intelligence and decisions; online auctions; venture capital; legal and social infrastructure. Prerequisites: Intermediate Microeconomics or equivalent: Econ 121 or Econ 125   SO M 3:30pm-5:20pm

* ECON 478b, The Economics of Internet Markets   Charles Hodgson

Study of online markets with a focus on ongoing policy debates. Students learn about the workings of online markets by studying economic models of platform markets, consumer search, and advertising auctions. Students apply these frameworks to discussions about the regulation of the internet, including net neutrality, privacy, online media bias, and the monopoly power of "big tech." Readings draw from theoretical and empirical academic studies as well as the popular press. Prerequisites: Intermediate microeconomics and econometrics.   SO Th 1:30pm-3:20pm

* ECON 491a and ECON 492b, The Senior Essay   Staff

Senior essays are an opportunity for students to engage in independent, original economic research. Essays are not reviews of the literature, rather each should be an examination of a hypothesis using the tools of economics. In particular, the essay must contain original research and/or analysis. They can be theoretical, empirical or computational. The senior essays that receive A's and are awarded prizes are typically those that use economics tools (and, where appropriate, data) to offer fresh insights on questions.  Students enrolling in this one-term course need to find an advisor. There are no page requirements or formatting requirements. Generally, essays run about 30 pages. Advice regarding bibliographies, graphs, etc. should be given by your advisor.  For further information, including relevant dates and deadlines, please see economics.yale.edu/undergraduate/senior-essay. HTBA

* ECON 498a and ECON 499b, Directed Reading   Giovanni Maggi

Junior and senior economics majors desiring a directed reading course in special topics in economics not covered in other graduate or undergraduate courses may elect this course, not more than once, with written permission of the director of undergraduate studies and of the instructor. The instructor meets with the student regularly, typically for an hour a week, and the student writes a paper or a series of short essays. Junior and senior majors may take this course for a letter grade, but it does not meet the requirement for a department seminar. The application form may be found here: https://economics.yale.edu/undergraduate/forms-documents HTBA

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Program on Ethics, Politics and Economics

Senior essay library, reconstructing the historical case for nondomestic citation: the reconstruction and the supreme court’s consideration of foreign and international law, regulating biosimilars in the united states: applying lessons from the hatch-waxman act to follow-on biologics, rights of residency ramon gonzalez, segregation on the sound: healing racial injustice in fairfield county through real school integration, since i've been loving you: patriotism, coercion, and respect, the costs of complexity: federalism and unequal democracy in the american welfare state, the environmental kuznets curve in malaysia: analysis and implications, the ideology of imperialism american principles and mission at the turn of the 20th century samuel asher, the incentives for racial profiling in the practice of community peacekeeping, the law’s treatment of workplace discrimination on the basis of reproductive capacity.

Computer Science and Economics

Senior essays.

• Using Deep Q-Learning to Play Two-Player Yahtzee Author: Max Yuan
• An Empirical Analysis of Decentralized Exchanges Author: Iris Wu
• Analyzing Robustness of Modern Multimodal Transformer Architecture Author: John Wahlig
• Missing Record: Dropped and Added References in NBER Working Paper Series 2000-2009 Author: Hongyi Shen
• Investigating Legitimate Companies' Use of Combosquatting-Like Domains Author: Frankie She
• A Transkribus-Trained ML Tool for Historical Italian Manuscripts Author: Kylen Wei Bao
• Gold Futures in Flux: Assessing the impact of unexpected FOMC decisions Author: Neel Malhotra

Spring 2023

• Modeling Games with Uncertainty and Third-Party Selection Case Study - NCAA I March Madness Author: Theo Lauriette
• Do Sportsbooks Follow Bayesian Updating? Author: Nalin Khanna
• Solving the Optimal Strategy for Simplified Single-Player Qwixx Author: Surtaz Khan
• A Decentralized Need for Speed: An Empirical Investigation into Transaction Latency and Construction of Predictive Machine Learning Models for Blockchain Author: Megha Joshi
• Developing a Web Framework to Visualize Fictitious Play’s Convergence to Nash Equilibrium, Study Duality Gap Statistics, and Examine Validity of Karlin’s Conjecture Author: Adhya Sharma
• Building A Predictive Model For The NBA Draft Author: Adil Gondal
• Battleship: Examining Edge and Adjacency Ship Placements and Target Selections Author: Michelle Goh
• Using NOAA Tide Data to Estimate Flood Damages Along the Atlantic Coast Author: Joshua Eberhardt
• Satellite Remote Sensing and U-Net for Predicting Population Density in Kenya Author: Danielle J. Daley
• Innova-Sim: Modeling Firm Competition in Innovation as a Multi-Stage Game with Agent-Based Simulation Author: Teckhua Chiang
• Baseball Roster Management Dashboard: Constructing a Website for MLB Roster Visualization and Predictive Analytics Display Author: Ben Sibul
• Online Learning Algorithms on Embedded Systems: An Investigation using the Matching Pennies Game Author: James Zhao
• Prospects of Substituting Local Land Finance Revenue with Property Tax in China Author: Lawrence Wang
• Trading on Social Impact Author: Sam Tobin
• Cribbage Counterfactual Regret Minimization Author: Mykyta Solonko
• An econometric analysis of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Caribbean tourism industry Author: Andrei Pascu
• Using Trees to Price Mortgages and Other Interest Rate Derivatives Author: Petru Neagu
• Q-Learning in Repeated Price Competition: Analyzing Convergence & Equilibrium Outcomes Author: Matthew Byung Hyun Nam
• Money See, Money Do: Quantifying the Tendency for a Manager in a Network to Copy and Originate Investment Ideas Author: Daniel Lu
• Applying Multi-Agent Reinforcement Learning to Candidate/Employer Job Matching and Salary Negotiations Author: Alexander Chen
• Machine Learning to Identify Predictors of Lapses in a Beginners’ Exercise Program for Adults with Type 1 Diabetes Author: Rajat Doshi

Spring 2022

• AlphaHearts Zero: Implementing AlphaZero techniques for Imperfect Information Trick-Taking Games Author: Andrew Wei
• COVID-19 and the U.S. Meatpacking Industry Author: Colman Seery
• Effects of Weather on COVID-19 and an Instrumental Variable Strategy to Address Endogeneity Author: Alden Ming Yang Tan
• Discrete Time Hedging in Frictional Markets: An Enhanced Rainbow Deep-Q Learning Approach Author: Arrunava Moondra
• Analysis of Hybrid Deep Learning Agent for Gomoku Author: Jason Kim
• An Analysis of Lithium-Ion Battery and Fuel Cell Powered Vehicles Author: Lillie Ketterson
• The Value of High School Mathematics: Measuring the Effects of Access and Exposure of Secondary Mathematics on Later Life Outcomes Author: Haron Adbaru
• Web Application for Medical Diagnostics Author: Kenny Wang

Spring 2021

• Optimal Auctions, an eBay experiment Author: Markos Gazepis
• AlphaConnect Four: Combining Deep Neural Networks and Tree Search to Play Connect Four Author: Hunter Contos
• Computing Optimal Strategies in Card Sharks Author: Brooke Alviar
• Improving Competition Complexity Bounds in Multi-Item Auctions Author: Amar Patel

Spring 2020

• Implementation & Analysis of Online Learning Algorithms Author: Musab Javed

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Harold J. Berman, 89, Who Altered Beliefs About Origins of Western Law, Dies

By Douglas Martin

• Nov. 18, 2007

Harold J. Berman, a scholar whose expertise in Russian law took him to a Soviet courtroom to fight for royalties owed Arthur Conan Doyle, and whose forceful scholarship altered thinking about Western law’s origins, died on Nov. 13 in Brooklyn. He was 89.

His daughter Jean Berman announced his death.

Mr. Berman wrote 25 books and more than 400 articles on subjects as diverse as Russian culture and comparative legal history. They were published in over 20 languages.

He taught for 37 years at Harvard Law School, where he was the Ames professor of law. He then taught for two decades at Emory University School of Law as the Robert W. Woodruff professor.

Mr. Berman relished unexplored intellectual geography. When he decided to study Soviet law as a World War II Army veteran at Yale Law School, there was no one to teach it. So he taught himself, starting with the Russian language.

The language training served him well in Moscow in 1958, in the first case he ever argued. Representing the estate of Arthur Conan Doyle, creator of Sherlock Holmes, he sought to extract royalties from the Soviet state on millions of Conan Doyle books sold in the Soviet Union. Winning in a Moscow city court, he later lost the case on appeal to a higher Russian Federation court.

At the time, he was a professor at Harvard Law School, one of the first Yale graduates to have that title. His research there questioned whether the commonly understood underpinnings of Western law were too narrow. Inspired by Eugen Rosenstock-Huessy, who taught him at Dartmouth as an undergraduate, Mr. Berman saw Western history as a river whose course was repeatedly changed by transforming revolutions. But Mr. Berman added important wrinkles: the importance of law as an independent historical force in its own right — not just a reflection of other forces like economics — and an emphasis on the link between religious tradition and law.

His most influential work was “Law and Revolution” (1983), which rejected the old idea that modern legal systems began in the 16th century. He argued that the 11th-century rise of papal authority with its own canon law jump-started modern law.

The journal Constitutional Commentary said in 2005 that the book had become “the standard point of departure for work in the field.” The American Political Science Review said, “This may be the most important book on law in our generation.”

In 2004, Mr. Berman published “Law and Revolution II: The Impact of the Protestant Reformation on the Western Legal Tradition.” This explored how the 16th-century German Reformation and the 17th-century English Revolution gave birth to a new civil order apart from religion. Soon, marriage certificates came from civil agencies, and church law governed only churches.

Mr. Berman often left the ivory tower. In 2005, he joined the religious broadcaster Pat Robertson in writing a brief to defend the Ten Commandments monument on the grounds of the Texas Capitol. He called the commandments a foundation of Texas law, and noted that the Declaration of Independence invoked God.

Harold Joseph Berman was born on Feb. 13, 1918, in Hartford. Under a theory he enunciated in 2006 for The Fulton County Daily Report, an Atlanta legal and business newspaper, he said that he, like all children, had been a law student from a young age.

“A child says, ‘It’s my toy.’ That’s property law,” he said. “A child says, ‘You promised me.’ That’s contract law. A child says, ‘He hit me first.’ That’s criminal law. A child says, ‘Daddy said I could.’ That’s constitutional law.”

Mr. Berman graduated from Dartmouth, where he was editor in chief of the college newspaper. He studied legal history at the London School of Economics and earned a master’s degree in history from Yale.

After a year at Yale Law School, he was drafted into the Army and later awarded a Bronze Star for his work as a cryptographer. After finishing at Yale, he taught at Stanford for a year and joined Harvard in 1948.

In the 1950s, even when McCarthyism reigned, Mr. Berman often visited the Soviet Union to study and teach. He was a frequently cited source of news about changes in Soviet law in the 1950s, when Communist leaders were liberalizing government and society after Stalin’s death.

His stays were so long that he enrolled his children in Soviet schools. His wife, the former Ruth Carol Harlow, started Moscow’s first P.T.A.

In addition to his wife, of 66 years, Mr. Berman is survived by his sons Stephen, of Ashland, Ore., and John, of São Paulo, Brazil; his daughters Jean Berman of Brooklyn, and Susanna Omac of Temecula, Calif., seven grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.

Mr. Berman had planned a third volume in his Law and Revolution series, and was even planning a fourth. Speaking to the Fulton County newspaper, he was philosophical about the prospects of finishing.

“It’s up to God — if he wants to read it or not,” he said.

Scott Ritter Extra

The Tragic Death of a Traitor

Part one: origins.

Alexei Navalny, a Russian political opposition figure whose popularity in the West far exceeded his support in Russia, died while incarcerated in a Russian prison. He was serving a combined 30-and-a-half-year sentence for fraud and political extremism, charges that Navalny and his supporters claim were little more than trumped up accusations designed to silence a man who had emerged in recent years as the most vocal Russian critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

According to a statement released by the Russian Federal Penitentiary Service, “On February 16, 2024, in penal colony number 3, convict Alexei Navalny felt unwell after a walk, almost immediately losing consciousness. The medical staff of the institution arrived immediately, and an ambulance team was called. All necessary resuscitation measures were carried out, which did not yield positive results. Doctors of the ambulance stated the death of the convict. The causes of death are being established.”

Alexei Navalny was 47 at the time of his death. He left behind his wife, Yulia, and two children.

Navalny was serving out his sentence at the IK-3 prison colony in Kharp, a settlement in the Yamal-Nenets autonomous district some 2,000 kilometers northeast of Moscow, one of the most remote prisons in Russia with a reputation for austerity and—according to inmates who had served time there—brutality.

Scott Ritter will discuss this article on Ep. 136 of Ask the Inspector .

Navalny’s death has been widely condemned in the West, with President Joe Biden weighing in with a lengthy statement issued from the White House’s Roosevelt Room. Navalny, Biden said, “bravely stood up to the corruption, the violence and…all the bad things that the Putin government was doing. In response, Putin had him poisoned. He had him arrested. He had him prosecuted for fabricated crimes. He sentenced him to prison. He was held in isolation. Even all that didn’t stop him from calling out Putin’s lies.”

Biden noted that “Even in prison he [Navalny] was a powerful voice for the truth, which is kind of amazing when you think about it. And he could have lived safely in exile after the assassination attempt on him in 2020, which nearly killed him, I might add. And -- but he -- he was traveling outside the country at the time. Instead, he returned to Russia. He returned to Russia knowing he’d likely be imprisoned or even killed if he continued his work, but he did it anyway because he believed so deeply in his country, in Russia.”

Biden cast the blame for Navalny’s death squarely at the feet of Russian President Vladimir Putin. “Make no mistake. Putin is responsible for Navalny’s death. Putin is responsible. What has happened to Navalny is yet more proof of Putin’s brutality. No one should be fooled, not in Russia, not at home, not anywhere in the world.” Navalny, Biden said, “was so many things that Putin was not. He was brave. He was principled. He was dedicated to building a Russia where the rule of law existed and of where it applied to everybody. Navalny believed in that Russia, that Russia. He knew it was a cause worth fighting for, and obviously even dying for.”

Navalny’s wife, Yulia Navalnaya, addressed his death before the Munich Security Conference, with Vice President Kamala Harris and Secretary of State Antony Blinken in attendance. “I want Putin and his entire surrounding…Putin’s friends, his government [to] know – that they will have to pay for what they’ve done with our country, with my family, and my husband. And that day will come very soon," she declared, adding that “Vladimir Putin must be held accountable for all the horrors they are doing to my country, to our country – to Russia.”

Similar outpourings of grief and support have emerged from the leaders and media of nations that have historically been aligned against Russia. Navalny, it seems, has been able to rally more support to his cause in death than he could while alive.

Navalny has been elevated into near mythical status as the idealized symbol of “Russian democracy.”

But the truth is far different.

Navalny was born on June 4, 1976. His father was a career Soviet Army officer. According to Navalny’s mother, her son was radicalized by listening to the conversations her husband had with other Soviet officers about the deteriorating conditions in the Soviet Union. Navalny earned a law degree from People’s Friendship University in Moscow in 1998, before earning his master’s in economics from State Finance Academy in 2001. While studying, Navalny became involved in politics, joining the liberal opposition association, Yabloko, in 1999.

Yabloko (which means “apple” in Russian) began its life 1993 as a voting bloc in the Russian Duma that viewed itself as the political opposition to Russian President Boris Yeltsin. In 1995 Yabloko became an association of political parties which continued to oppose Yeltsin’s presidency—indeed, in May 1999 (the year Navalny joined) the Yabloko association voted in favor of the impeachment of Yeltsin (ironically, given its future political orientation, the bloc also voted, in August 1999, in favor of the selection of Vladimir Putin as Prime Minister.) Navalny went on to cut his political teeth as a local organizer at a time when life in Russia had hit nearly rock bottom—the decade of the 1990’s was marked by massive deterioration in Russian living conditions, and corruption marked nearly every aspect of Russian political, economic, and social existence. In December 2001, Yabloko applied for and was given permission to register as a political party.

Navalny’s political maturation came at a time when Russian democratic institutions were almost exclusively organized and funded by western institutions. The US State Department, for example, conducted what it called the “democracy assistance program,” whose mission was “to capitalize on the historic opportunity to build democracy in place of a centralized Communist system” by creating and nurturing “the full range of democratic institutions, processes, and values” so that the “responsiveness and effectiveness of the Russian government” would be increased. The program provided financial and managerial support to “prodemocracy political activists and political parties, proreform trade unions, court systems, legal academies, officials throughout the government, and members of the media.” US-funded political party development programs in Russia were implemented through the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) and United States Agency for International Development (USAID) grants to the National Democratic Institute (NDI) and the International Republican Institute (IRI).

In 2005, Navalny started working with another political activist, Maria Gaidar (the daughter of former Prime Minister Yegor Gaidar, and a member of the Union of Right Forces political party) to form a coalition known as the Democratic Alternative, or DA. In a statement made to US government officials in 2005, Maria Gaidar admitted that most of her funding came from the NED, although she did not publicize this fact out of fear of the political and legal consequences of being openly affiliated with the United States. Another recipient of NED funding was Gary Kasparov, the former chess champion-turned-political activist, who in 2005 formed the United Civil Front, an organization dedicated to dismantling the current electoral system in Russia so that new leadership could be elected to the Duma and presidency in the 2007-2008 election cycle.

The 2007–2008 time frame was critical. Russian President Vladimir Putin, who was appointed President by Boris Yeltsin on New Years Eve 1999, and elected President in March 2000, was coming to the end of his second term as President. The Russian Constitution only permitted two consecutive terms as President, so Putin was unable to run for reelection. However, Putin and his United Russia Party had come up with a solution—if the United Russia Party could hold on to its majority in the Russian Duma, then Putin would be appointed as Prime Minister. The current Prime Minister, Dmitri Medvedev, would then run for president.

This scheme, however, opened the door in the minds of the Russian political opposition (and their western masters) for sweeping political change. If United Russia could be denied its Duma majority, then Putin would not be able to serve as Prime Minister. And a United Russia defeat in the Duma elections in December 2007 could pave the way for a similar defeat in the presidential election in March 2008. For Kasparov, Gaidar, Navalny, and other leaders of the opposition, this was an opportunity to bring an end to what they viewed as the autocratic rule of Vladimir Putin.

The promoters of “democratic reform” (i.e., regime change) in the State Department likewise believed this to be a unique opportunity for change. Already, US-funded “color revolutions” had swept aside autocratic governments in Serbia, Ukraine, and Georgia. The hope was that a similar “revolution” could be organized in Russia. One of the key elements for making this happen was making sure that the opposition groups received the funding necessary to enable their training and organization. In addition to the NED and its two affiliates, the NDI and IRI, money was dispatched to various NGOs and Russian individuals covertly, using the CIA and British Secret Intelligence Service (SIS).

The CIA was also involved in identifying, grooming, recruiting and managing Russian political dissidents who could help implement the American regime change strategy which targeted Putin and his United Russia Party for the 2007-2008 election cycle. One such dissident was a Russian journalist named Yevgenia Albats.

Albats graduated from Moscow State University in 1980 with a degree in journalism. She was the recipient of an Alfred Friendly fellowship which saw her assigned to the Chicago Tribune as a visiting journalist in 1990. Albats spent 1993 at Harvard University after winning a prestigious Nieman Fellowship, where she spent two semesters “auditing classes with some of the university’s greatest thinkers, participating in Nieman events and collaborating with peers.”

The CIA’s Directorate of Operations, responsible for clandestine intelligence collection, operates what is known as the National Resources Division (NRD). The NRD is responsible for the CIA’s human intelligence collection activities inside the United States. The NRD has two major programs. The first involves the voluntary debriefing of US citizens—primarily businessmen—who travel to destinations of interest that the CIA might otherwise have difficulty gaining access to.

The second involves the assessment and development of foreigners on US soil—students, visiting professors, businessmen, etc.—for possible recruitment by the CIA. NRD maintains relationships with major universities—such as Harvard—that host prestigious fellowships and conferences capable of attracting up and rising foreign talent. Albats had been placed on the CIA’s radar through her Alfred Friendly fellowship. While at Harvard there is little doubt that she was further groomed—perhaps without her being cognizant that it was happening.

Albats was to return to Cambridge in 2000, where she studied for her PhD. One of her areas of specialty was what she called “grassroots organizations.” Albats spent the 2003-2004 academic year teaching at Yale University, where she became familiar with the Maurice R. Greenberg World Fellows Program, a four-month, full-time residential program based out of Yale’s International Leadership Center and housed within the Jackson School of Global Affairs. The Program runs annually from mid-August to mid-December and brings together up and rising leaders from around the world—in short, the perfect targets for assessment and grooming by the NRD case officers.

Her thesis advisor at Harvard was Timothy Colton, a professor of government and Russian studies. Colton specialized in the intricacies of Russian elections. The year Albats arrived at Harvard, Colton published a book,  Transitional Citizens: Voters and What Influences Them in the New Russia , and while Albats was preparing her thesis, Colton, together with Michael McFaul, a Stanford professor who had helped bring Boris Yeltsin to power in the 1990’s (and who would go on to serve as President Barack Obama’s principle Russian expert, first in the National Security Council, and later as the US Ambassador to Russia), collaborated on a second book, Popular Choice and Managed Democracy: The Russian Elections of 1999 and 2000 .

Working with Colton, whose research had been heavily subsidized by the Department of State through the National Council for Eurasian and East European Research, Albats focused on ways to exploit nationalism in Russia from an electoral perspective. She differentiated between what she termed imperial nationalism and ethnic nationalism, with imperial nationalism being the purview of the state and as such something to be opposed. Ethnic nationalism, on the other hand, wasn’t deemed by Albats to be dangerous, especially in a politically unstructured society such as Russia, where there was a natural tendency to unite on an ethnic basis.

Albats returned to Russia in 2004, after successfully defending her PhD thesis in political science. One of the first things Albats did was to turn her Moscow apartment into a political science parlor where she gathered young activists together for the purpose of organizing them into politically viable entities capable of impacting the upcoming Russian elections in 2007-2008.

One of these young activists she attracted was Alexei Navalny.

The Albats-run political parlor sessions, which began in 2004, helped bring Navalny together with Maria Gaidar, and led to the creation of the Democratic Alternative organization, as well as Gary Kasparov (another member of the Albats parlor scene) and his United Civil Front movement. One of the goals of the parlor was to try and find a way to recreate in Russia the kind of youth movement that was created in 2004 in Ukraine that helped bring about the so-called Orange Revolution that prevented Viktor Yanukovich from becoming president. This movement, Pora, played an essential role in mobilizing opposition to Yanukovich. Albats and her team of aspiring political scientists conceived a Russian equivalent, which was called Oborona, or “defense.” The hope of Albats, Gaidar, Kasparov, and Navalny was that Oborona could serve as the impetus for the mobilization of the Russian youth to oust Vladimir Putin from power.

As Albats worked to organize political dissent in Russia, the foundation of western support upon which Russian political opposition was built, namely the funding provided by non-governmental organizations (NGO’s) such as the NED, was exposed as being little more than a vehicle for the channeling of illicit foreign intelligence services. In the winter of 2005-2006, the Russian Federal Security Service, or FSB, broke up a sophisticated ring run out of the British Embassy involving a so-called “spy rock”—a sophisticated digital communications platform disguised as a rock—which enabled British spies to communicate with their Russian agents without ever having to meet with them.

The Russian agent would pass near the rock and, using a hand-held communication device like a Blackberry, download an electronic message onto a server contained inside the rock. The British spies would then approach the rock and, using the same kind of device, upload the message to their own device. The scheme was discovered when a British spy, unable to retrieve the message, approached the rock and gave it a few kicks to see if the system would work. This attracted the attention of the FSB officers following him, which led to the rock being seized and evaluated. One Russian citizen, said to be employed by a sensitive military industrial facility, was arrested.

But the most surprising aspect of the data retrieved from the “spy rock” was the fact that at least one of the British spies was using the device to transmit information about how various NGOs could access covert funds being provided by the British government. Persons from the NGOs in question, who had been issued similar devices to those used by their British masters, would download these instructions from the “rock.” Based upon the intelligence gathered from the captured server, the FSB was able to inform the Russian leadership about the specific NGOs involved in these illicit transactions. All in all, 12 Russian NGOs—including the Committee Against Torture, the Center for Development of Democracy, the Eurasia Foundation, and the Moscow Helsinki Group—were identified as receiving the illicit funds, which were administered as part of the British Foreign Office’s Global Opportunities Fund.

In the aftermath of the “spy rock” scandal, the Russian government moved to create a new law on NGOs that imposed harsh conditions on the registration and operation of NGOs, effectively banning any NGO involved in politics from receiving foreign funding. While the NGOs impacted by this new law, which took effect in April 2006, denied any wrongdoing, they acknowledged that the impact of the law would be to stifle dissent before the 2007 Duma elections and the 2008 presidential race.

Despite the crackdown on the British-affiliated NGOs, the Albats-run “political parlor” continued to aggressively try to coalesce a viable opposition effort in Russia. Egged on by Albats and her theories about the political potential of ethnic nationalism, in 2007 Navalny co-founded the democratic nationalist National Russian Liberation Movement, an umbrella organization which attracted far-right, ultranationalist movements. The ideology of these groups is perhaps best explained by Navalny’s efforts in coopting them to his cause. Navalny made two videos during this time as a means of introducing the new party to a larger Russian public. The first video had Navalny comparing Muslims in Russia to pests and ended with Navalny shooting a Muslim with a handgun, then declaring that pistols were to Muslims like flyswatters and slippers were to flies and cockroaches. The second video had Navalny comparing interethnic conflict to dental cavities, implying that the only solution was extraction.

Navalny was kicked out of Yabloko in the summer of 2007, his affiliation with far-right wing Russian nationalism a bridge too far for the neo-liberal political party. But before his falling out, Navalny was able to make an impression on his underwriters. In March 2007 Navalny participated in the so-called “Dissenter’s March,” walking side-by-side with one of the major organizers of the protest, Gary Kasparov.

In the aftermath of the Russian crackdown on foreign funding for NGOs, Kasparov had turned to a network of Russian oligarchs operating out of London, where they colluded with the British Secret Intelligence Service to fund political opposition in Russia. The leader of this effort was the Russian oligarch Boris Berezovsky, who had founded a non-profit organization, the International Foundation for Civil Liberties, which served as a front to accomplish Berezovsky’s publicly stated mission of bringing down Putin “by force” or by bloodless revolution. Berezovsky was assisted in this venture by a number of Russian oligarchs, including Mikhail Khodorkovsky, the oil tycoon who was imprisoned on corruption charges in 2005, but whose foundation, Open Russia, continued to provide funding to Russian political opposition groups such as Kasparov’s United Civil Front; the Governor of Saint Petersburg at the time, Valentina Matviyenko, singled out Berezovsky and Khodorkovsky as the source of the money used to put on the “Dissenter’s March.”

Gary Kasparov likewise noted that the bulk of the media support for the march was provided by Yevgenia Albats through her “Echo of Saint Petersburg” broadcasts.

Albats’ influence on Navalny was discernable. Later, when explaining why he had embraced right-wing nationalism, Navalny’s response sounded like it could have been lifted from Albats’ Harvard doctoral thesis. “My idea is that you have to communicate with nationalists and educate them,” Navalny said. “Many Russian nationalists have no clear ideology. What they have is a sense of general injustice to which they respond with aggression against people with a different skin color or eyes of a different shape. I think it’s extremely important to explain to them that beating up migrants is not the solution to the problem of illegal immigration; the solution is a return to competitive elections that would allow us to get rid of the thieves and crooks who are getting rich off of illegal immigration.”

Despite the direction provided by the State Department and CIA through proxies (witting or unwitting) such as Albats, and the covert funding provided via the British intelligence services, the goal of generating a Russian “Color Revolution” that could sweep Vladimir Putin and his United Russia Party from power failed. United Russia dominated the 2007 Duma elections, winning 65% of the vote and securing 315 of 450 seats; in March 2008, Dmitri Medvedev won the presidential race, securing 71.25% of the vote. Medvedev then followed up on his promise to appoint Vladimir Putin as Prime Minister.

The 2007-2008 election cycle represented a devastating defeat for the political opponents of Vladimir Putin and their western supporters. For Navalny, however, it was liberating—he had grown weary of the constant infighting and jostling for power within the ranks of Russia’s political opposition. Instead, Navalny began to pour himself into his new passion—"shareholder activism.” In 2008, Navalny bought 300,000 rubles worth of stock in five Russian oil and gas companies with the goal of becoming an activist shareholder. He founded the Minority Shareholders Association, through which he used his status as a shareholder to push for transparency regarding the financial assets of these companies, as required by law.

Navalny began attending shareholders meetings of some of the wealthiest companies, demanding answers to uncomfortable questions he was able to formulate by reviewing company paperwork legally available to shareholders. One of his first targets was SurgutNeftGas, or Surgut oil and gas company. Navalny had purchased $2,000 in stock and used his status as a minority shareholder to crash a meeting of shareholders in the Siberian city of Surgut. When the shareholders were asked if there were any questions, Navalny took the microphone and proceeded to ask the senior management of the company about the small size of their dividends and the opaque nature of the company’s ownership. His questions made the management uncomfortable and drew applause from many of the 300 shareholders in attendance.

Navalny was riding on the coattails of the newly minted president, Dmitri Medvedev, and his stated goal of stamping out corruption. In addition to SurgutNeftGas, Navalny had placed his sights on such giants as Gazprom and Rosneft, and in doing so was peripherally attacking Medvedev, the former chairman of Gazprom, and Vladmir Putin, whose close associate, Igor Sechin, served as both chairman of Rosneft and deputy Prime Minister.

Navalny wrote about his various campaigns online, through his LiveJournal blog. Hundreds of thousands of Russians followed his work, and the comments were mostly favorable (although several subscribers questioned Navalny’s motives, accusing him of running an extortion racket designed to make money, a charge Navalny dismissed without denying.)

By tying his anti-corruption campaign in with the anti-corruption platform of Medvedev, Navalny not only shielded himself from direct retaliation, but was able to attract the attention—and support—of the Russian mainstream. Sergei Guriev, the Dean of Moscow’s New Economic School, and his deputy, Alexei Sitnikov, began supporting Navalny’s work.

The main problem for Navalny, however, was income. He had yet to master the art of online fundraising, and he wasn’t yet established as one of the designated political opposition for whom western financing would be made available. In December 2008, an offer came in from Nikita Belykh, the Governor of Kirov, which, given his dire financial situation, he could not refuse.

Nikita Belykh, a native of the Perm Region, had served in local government in multiple capacities, including Deputy Governor, up until May 2005, when he was elected as the leader of the Union of Right Forces, a leading opposition party, succeeding Boris Nemtsov, a noted critic of President Vladimir Putin. Belykh assumed the role of opposition leader, and in October 2005 helped form a coalition with the Yabloko Party, known as the Yabloko-United Democrats, to run in the Moscow City Duma elections, held on December 4, 2005. While the coalition won 11% of the vote and was able to be represented in the Moscow City Duma and became one of only three parties (along with United Russia and the Communist Party) to enter the new Moscow legislature, it was not to prove lasting; plans to merge with Yabloko were shelved in late 2006.

The Union of Right Forces, like all opposition parties, was demoralized by the results of the 2007-2008 election cycle. Following the presidential election, in March 2008, the president-elect, Dmitri Medvedev, reached out to Belykh and offered him the post of Governor of the Kirov Region. Belykh, to the surprise of nearly everyone, accepted the job. His former political allies, like Maria Gaidar and Alexei Navalny, condemned Belykh for what they viewed as a betrayal—while they continued to struggle against the deeply entrenched pro-Putin apparatchiks who governed Russia, Belykh had jumped ship, and was now part of the establishment they so despised.

Back in Moscow, Alexei Navalny and Maria Gaidar were trapped in a political post-apocalyptic nightmare. Money had dried up along with their political fortunes, and no one was in the mood for renewed political mischief. While Belykh had departed the Moscow political scene, he was still a friend. On November 18, 2008, Belykh reached out to Navalny to see if he was interested in serving as a volunteer consultant, advising the new governor on ways to enhance the transparency of the Kirov Region’s property management.

Navalny accepted.

(Maria Gaidar likewise followed Navalny to the Kirov Region, accepting an appointment in February 2009 as a deputy Governor.)

The capital of the Kirov Region is the city of Kirov, located some 560 miles northeast of Moscow. While Kirov is known for its heavy industry, the Kirov region is also a leading producer of lumber. In 2007, the Kirov Region undertook a reorganization of the region’s timber industry, consolidating control over thirty-six timber mills under a single roof, a State unitary enterprise known as Kirovles. One of the problems confronting Kirovles was curtailing the practice of selling lumber for cash undertaken by many of the timber mills. The managers of the timber mills made a pretty profit, but this money was not registered as income for Kirovles, and as such the enterprise was operating at a deficit.

One of Navalny’s first projects was to meet with the director of Kirovles. During this meeting, Navalny suggested that the best way to stop the unauthorized direct sale of timber by the managers of the timber mills would be for Kirovles to work with an intermediary timber trading company that would be responsible for finding clients for the timber produced by Kirovles. It just so happened that Navalny had coordinated with a friend, Petr Ofitserov, who had formed a timber trading company, the Vyatskaya Forest Company, or VLK, for this purpose. On April 15, 2009, Kirovles signed the first of several contracts for the purchase of timber from Kirovles by VLK worth, in their aggregate, around 330,000 Euros. VLK was then responsible for selling this timber to customers and would collect a commission of 7% for these sales.

In July, Navalny undertook an audit of Kirovles. As a part of the audit, Belykh set up a working group for the purpose of restructuring Kirovles. Navalny was appointed the head of this working group. Based upon the findings of the audit, on August 17 the director of Kirovles was suspended from his position for mismanagement.

On September 1, Kirovles terminated its contracts with VLK.

Navalny finished his work in Kirov on September 11, 2009, and returned to Moscow.

For the better part of the next year, Alexei Navalny focused on his work with the Minority Shareholders Association, which he publicly chronicled through his LiveJournal blog. Navalny was still a relatively unknown person in Russia, but his David versus Goliath approach toward uncovering corruption was starting to attract the attention of government officials and political junkies alike. Some people accused Navalny, through his shareholder activism, of simply running a giant grift, exposing corruption to extort payouts from the targeted entities. Others questioned how he was able to pay for all of his work, suggesting that he was being underwritten by entities who did not have the best interests of the Russian government in mind.

Others worried about his security. Navalny spoke about this aspect of his life with a journalist in the winter of 2009, noting that his fears revolved around being arrested “or in the worst-case scenario with someone quietly having me killed.”

Before he had left Kirov, Alexei Navalny met with Maria Gaidar to discuss his future. Gaidar had been a part of the political science parlor run by Yevgenia Albats, and shared the opinion expressed by Albats and Gary Kasparov that Navalny had potential as an activist but lacked the kind of political refinement needed to break out on the national stage. Gaidar was aware of the Yale World Fellows Program, and strongly encouraged Navalny to apply.

Back in Moscow, Navalny took Gaidar’s suggestion to heart. Navalny consulted with Sergey Guriev, the Dean of the New Economic School, who agreed to nominate Navalny for the fellowship. Guriev wrote a recommendation, and turned to Yevgenia Albats and Gary Kasparov, who likewise agreed to write recommendations for Navalny. Albats turned to her Yale connections, and put Navalny in touch with Oleg Tsyvinsky, a Yale economics professor, who helped guide Navalny through the application process. Navalny was put in touch with Maxim Trudolyubov, an editor with the well-regarded Vedomosti business daily and an alumni of the Yale World Fellow Program, Class of 2009. Trudolyubov used his connections to have Vedomosti name Navalny its “Private Individual of the Year” for 2009, helping firm up his resumé.

The Yale World Fellows program requires that its applicants be “five and twenty-five years into their professional careers, with demonstrated and significant accomplishments at a regional, national, or international level.” Alexei Navalny’s “job description” at Yale was “Founder, Minority Shareholders Association,” a position he had held for less than a year at the time of his application. Navalny was also listed as being the “co-founder of the Democratic Alternative movement.” Left unsaid was that while he was, in fact, a co-founder of this movement in 2005, he did so in the capacity of a member of the Yabloko Party, which kicked Navalny out in 2007 because of his links to right-wing nationalists.

On April 28, 2010, Alexei Navalny made the following announcement in his LiveJournal blog:

“Girls and Boys, I was lucky enough to get into the Yale World fellows program at Yale University. It was not easy, the competition was something like 1000 people for 15 places. Therefore, I will spend the second half of 2010 in the city of New Haven, Connecticut.”

Navalny laid out his expectations from this experience. “I want to seriously expand the tools of our work and learn/understand how to use all sorts of laws on foreign corruption, US/EU anti-money laundering legislation, exchange rules, etc. against Effective Managers [EM]. We must be able to destroy EM where they will not be protected by greedy swindlers from the General Prosecutors Office and Russian courts. Therefore,” Navalny concluded, “our activities will only expand…soon we will hit EM in all time zones and jurisdictions.”

In early August, Navalny, his wife Yulia, and their two children left Moscow for New Haven. There, a new world order beckoned that would forever change, and eventually cost, Navalny’s life.

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Home — Essay Samples — Geography & Travel — Travel and Tourism Industry — The History of Moscow City

The History of Moscow City

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Published: Feb 12, 2019

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