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Algorithms, Data, and Market Design

In fall 2022, Cowles launched a new program to support interdisciplinary research that combines economics with computer science and data science.

The Cowles Research Program in Algorithms, Data, and Market Design supports faculty and graduate students working at the intersection of economics, computer science, and data science. Research areas include game theory, algorithmic design, and causal inference. The Cowles Foundation provides support for workshops and seminars, postdoc positions, and short term and long term visiting faculty.

Launched in fall 2022, the Program in Algorithms, Data, and Market Design builds on momentum from other initiatives in the Economics Department and across campus at Yale. These include the Digital Economy Project recently launched by the Tobin Center for Economic Policy, the Thurman Arnold Project at the Yale School of Management, and the Information Society Project at the Yale Law School.

Seminars and Conferences

As part of its mission to push the frontiers of research at the intersection of economics, computer science, and data science, the Program in Algorithms, Data, and Market Design hosts conferences and events with leading scholars in these fields. In February 2023, over 60 top economists gathered at a conference on Regulating the Digital Economy, organized in collaboration with the Tobin Center for Economic Policy and the Toulouse School of Economics. At a time when nations are preparing to act against the potential harms presented by digital platforms, researchers worked to set an ambitious agenda to help advance our understanding and provide practical insights for policy.

For more information about events and conferences, see the Cowles Conferences and Workshops page.

Graduate Teaching and Research

While there is no formal graduate teaching sequence for this program, we do offer several thematic courses. Building on the success of the popular joint major in economics and computer science, which Yale started offering in 2020, the initiative will support three new undergraduate economics courses: Economics of Artificial Intelligence and Innovation (Econ 472), Economics of Blockchains (Econ 451a/Econ 451b), and Economics and Computation (Econ 425). The Graduate Program in Economics also offers Computational Methods in Economics (ECON 561).

For detailed field descriptions, please see the Department’s PhD Program Page.