Economics
Note: This page contains all of the regular courses taught by this department. Not all courses are offered every year. Check the searchable schedule to see which courses are being offered in the upcoming semester.
ECON 101 Principles of Microeconomics
Credit: 0.5 QR
This course studies issues of economic choice, economic efficiency, and social welfare. The course presents theories of consumer and producer behavior and shows how these theories can be used to predict the consequences of individual, business, and government actions. Topics covered include opportunity cost, the gains from trade, supply and demand analysis, and price controls; consumer choice; production and cost; product pricing, market structure, monopoly power, and government regulation; resource conservation, and pollution. This course is required of students who major in economics.
ECON 102 Principles of Macroeconomics
Credit: 0.5 QR
This course studies national economic performance. Building upon the microeconomic theories of consumer and producer behavior developed in ECON 101, the course introduces models that focus on the questions of unemployment, inflation, and growth. Topics covered include measurement of national income and inflation, macroeconomic models, saving and investment, money and banking, fiscal and monetary policy, and international trade and finance. This course is required of students who major in economics.
ECON 201 Microeconomic Theory
Credit: 0.5 QR
Microeconomics is an intensive study of the fundamental logic of economic behavior primarily within the context of a market economy. The course develops a systematic analysis of consumer and producer behavior, linked together through the principles of exchange and market structure. The resulting explanation of product prices and factor rewards is used to evaluate and analyze economic efficiency and the distribution of welfare under alternative economic policies and conditions.
ECON 202 Macroeconomic Theory
Credit: 0.5 QR
This course is a theoretical and applied study of the level of national income and employment. The performance of the economy, in terms of prices, interest rates, unemployment rates, international trade relations, business cycles, and the long-run growth of income, has significant effects on our standards of living. Diverse schools of thought exist, distinguished by theoretical concepts, priorities in performance goals, and empirical evidence. The course considers these approaches and also emphasizes the microeconomic foundations of macroeconomic theory. Government is active in the management of both domestic and international aspects of the macroeconomy, and the course considers current public-policy issues.
ECON 205 Empirical Economics
Credit: 0.5 QR
Students learn how to express economic concepts in quantitative terms, perform basic statistical measures and tests of hypotheses using a spreadsheet program, and interpret quantitative presentations of information. Students learn how the economics literature presents research by studying examples from journal articles. Students also study the choice of appropriate methods for analyzing empirical economic research questions. Topics include the scientific method, applications of statistical concepts in economics, measurement of economic concepts, and the use of mathematical models, graphs, and data sources.
ECON 331 Economics of Development
Credit: 0.5 QR
Students examine the economic conditions and problems of developing economies. Alternative theories of economic development are studied, as are strategies for achieving development goals. Specific topics include the meaning of development; historical and theoretical perspectives; income distribution; agriculture, population, and human resources; industrialization, employment and technology; urbanization and migration; foreign trade, investment, and aid; and government planning.
Instructor: An
ECON 335 Economics of Immigration
Credit: 0.5
This course examines the impact of immigration on the U.S. economy, focusing on why people choose to come here and what impact they have on labor markets, product markets, income inequality, the nature of cities, and government budgets. The goals of the course are (1) to develop the analytical tools used by economists to understand the economic effects of immigration, (2) to examine the empirical evidence on these effects, and (3) to assess the political economy and potential economic and political consequences of U.S. immigration policy choices. The course will also examine the impact of immigration on the countries that people leave.
Instructor: Harrington
ECON 336 Environmental Economics
Credit: 0.5 QR
This course uses economic analysis to better understand the nature of environmental issues such as pollution and the allocation of natural resources. The course also examines the economic rationale behind policies aimed at improving the quality of the environment and altering our use of natural resources. The relative strengths of alternative policies will be discussed using a series of case studies focusing on actual policies aimed at correcting environmental problems.
Instructor: Corrigan
ECON 337 Portfolio Allocation and Asset Pricing
Credit: 0.5
This course examines the optimal allocation of an individual's wealth among risky financial assets and the related question of the pricing of these risky assets. After a consideration of various measures of risk and return, modern portfolio theory is used to derive the capital asset pricing model. The empirical performance of the capital asset pricing model will be analyzed and alternative asset pricing models will be discussed. Throughout the course, equity shares will be used as a particular application. (The pricing of fixed income assets is left to ECON 343 Money and Financial Markets.) The remainder of the course is spent on derivative assets, most importantly futures and options. Time permitting, options will be treated in some detail, concluding with a discussion of the Black-Scholes option pricing model. While completing assignments, students will make fairly heavy use of a spreadsheet program such as Excel.
Instructor: Melick
ECON 338 International Trade
Credit: 0.5
This course focuses on the basics of international trade--theories of international trade, the instruments of trade policies, their impact on welfare and employment, factor movements, and economic integration. While emphasis is placed on developing and empirically testing theories, we also discuss major trade-related issues such as the economic effects of globalization, the role of the World Trade Organization, labor and immigration issues, foreign direct investment, and outsourcing.
ECON 339 International Finance and Open-Economy Macroeconomics
Credit: 0.5 QR
This course examines the determination of national incomes, price levels, interest rates, and exchange rates using open-economy macroeconomic models. The course begins with an intensive study of balance of payments accounting and the foreign exchange market, followed by a consideration of the law of one price, purchasing power parity, and uncovered and covered interest parity. The second half of the course will be spent deriving several open-economy macroeconomic models and using these models to discuss important international financial policy issues. These discussions will highlight the interaction of domestic policymakers with important international financial institutions such as the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, and the Bank for International Settlements.
ECON 342 Economics of Regulation
Credit: 0.5 QR
This course will examine government regulation of the behavior of individuals, firms, industries, and markets. The first half of the course will focus on the economic regulation (and deregulation) of industries and occupations. Examples of government-imposed restrictions on prices, quantities, and the freedom to enter and exit industries and occupations will be drawn from medical services, funeral services, and entertainment industries. The second half of the course will focus on various types of social regulations, focusing on health and safety regulations. Throughout the course, we will explore the economic rationales for the regulations and evaluate their effects upon economic efficiency.
Instructor: Harrington
ECON 343 Money and Financial Markets
Credit: 0.5 QR
This course examines U.S. money and financial markets, and their interaction with and influence on prices, real output, employment, and international trade. After an extensive discussion of fixed income pricing and the term structure, the class will consider the operations of financial institutions and the Federal Reserve System. The implementation of monetary policy and its effect on domestic and foreign financial markets, real output, and foreign trade will also be examined. In addition, alternative domestic and international monetary arrangements will be considered. While completing assignments, students will make fairly heavy use of a spreadsheet program such as Excel.
ECON 344 Labor Economics
Credit: 0.5 QR
This course provides an introduction to the economic analysis of labor markets. Topics include: the determinants of labor demand and labor supply; the theory of compensating wage differentials; formation of human capital; discrimination in the work place; public policy toward the work place; and the determinants of earnings inequality.
ECON 346 Industrial Organization
Credit: 0.5 QR
This course provides an introduction to industrial organization, a field that focuses on how firms, interacting through markets, attempt to exploit opportunities for profit. We examine the standard models of perfect and imperfect competition, emphasizing the strategic behavior of the interacting firms. Topics include pricing models, strategic aspects of business practice, vertical integration, and technological change.
ECON 347 Economics of the Public Sector
Credit: 0.5 QR
This course is a study of the public sector in the U.S. economy, featuring government provision of public goods, redistribution of income, and taxation. Students consider the theory that justifies government intervention in a market economy, as well as the reasons for government's tendency to create economic inefficiencies. Specific expenditure programs such as defense, health care, education, social insurance, and welfare are studied, as well as specific taxes.
Instructor: Corrigan
ECON 355 Business Cycles
Credit: 0.5
This course explores the patterns of change of the national economy, through business cycle expansions and recessions, and their effects on employment and income. Data on U.S. and worldwide economies will be analyzed to identify regular behavior that characterizes a macroeconomic business cycle. Economic theories will be offered that specify different initial causes of the cycle, some of which are endogenous while others are outside influences such as government policy or technological change. Theories also suggest how the cause is able to generate the full cycle that affects the macroeconomy. The Great Depression of the 1920s and 1930s will be considered as an extreme example. Recent and current cycles will be considered to understand their causes and characteristics.
Instructor: Keeler
ECON 357 Economics with Calculus
Credit: 0.5 QR
This course introduces students to the tools of derivative and integral calculus used in microeconomics and macroeconomics. These tools include Lagrange Multiplier methods for unconstrained and constrained optimization, Kuhn-Tucker conditions for nonlinear programming, and Hamiltonian functions for problems of dynamic optimization. The course will emphasize the application of the tools of calculus rather than the underlying calculus theory. Therefore, students taking the course are expected to be familiar with derivative and integral calculus, as well as with the main principles of icro- and macroeconomics. Prerequisites for the course are ECON 101, ECON 102, MATH 111, and MATH 112, or permission of the instructor. Offered every other year.
Instructor: An
ECON 373 Economic Growth
Credit: 0.5 QR
This seminar examines the sources, process, and implications of sustained growth of incomes. Adam Smith's Wealth of Nations was an early analysis of how economies grew richer, and the field has developed to explain why there are differences in standards of living across countries. We will consider several theories of the process of economic growth, and balance that with empirical evidence on performance of current theory. We will analyze how population growth, technological change, investment in physical and human capital, government policy, and the quality of institutions affect growth. Discussion on the implications of economic growth for globalization, environmental conditions, and income inequality will figure in our evaluation of the effects of economic growth. This course counts as an Economics Department seminar. Prerequisites: ECON 101 and ECON 102.
ECON 375 Introduction to Econometrics
Credit: 0.5 QR
This seminar studies the empirical testing of economic models. The seminar's focus will vary depending on the instructor. Possible topics include instrumental variable analysis, time series analysis, panel data analysis, or limited dependent variables. Each student will undertake and report on a research project. This course counts as an Economics Department seminar.Prerequisites: a semester of college statistics; ECON 101, ECON 102, and ECON 205; or permission of the instructor.
ECON 378 Economics of Women and Work
Credit: 0.5
This seminar examines the role of women in the labor market and how that role has changed over time. This examination involves a comparison of women and men with respect to labor supply (for both market and nonmarket work), wage rates, occupational choices, and unemployment levels. The seminar evaluates economic models that attempt to explain these differences between labor market outcomes for men and women. Finally, the seminar examines some public policy proposals that are aimed at remedying gender differences in work opportunities and pay. Each student will write and present a seminar paper. This course counts as an Economics Department seminar.Prerequisites: ECON 101 and ECON 102, or permission of the instructor.
Instructor: Krynski
ECON 382 Economics of Education
Credit: 0.5 QR
This seminar uses economic theory and empirical analysis to examine both the role of education in the economy and current educational policy debates. The seminar will review the basic theory of investments in education (human capital theory) and investigate the empirical problem of disentangling the impact of education on earnings from the impact of innate ability as well as the association between education and individual earnings and reasons why that relationship has changed over time. The seminar will also examine the role of early childhood education, the main approaches to K-12 school reform, and the issues of cost and access to higher education. Each student will write and present a seminar paper. This course counts as an Economics Department seminar. Prerequisites: ECON 101 and ECON 102, or permission of the instructor.
Instructor: Krynski
ECON 383 American Economic History
Credit: 0.5
This seminar examines the American past with special emphasis on issues such as the influence of the Constitution on economic growth, welfare, and income distribution; the economics of slavery and the post-emancipation plight of blacks in the economy; and twentieth-century economic policy, with special emphasis on the Great Depression. Each student will write and present a seminar paper. This course counts as an Economics Department seminar. Prerequisites: ECON 101 and ECON 102, or permission of the instructor.
ECON 385 Sports Economics
Credit: 0.5
This seminar will explore professional and amateur sports from an economic perspective. Aside from recreational and entertainment appeal, the sporting world provides a wealth of applications to several fields in economics. For example, this course will cover topics in industrial organization (antitrust and franchising), public finance (stadium financing), and labor economics (labor market discrimination), among others. This will give students an opportunity to apply theory covered in the core courses of the economics major to explain developments in the world of sports. The course will consist of lectures, readings, class discussions, and assessments including indvidual research papers and class presentations. This course counts as an Economics Department seminar. Prerequisites: ECON 201 and ECON 205 or 375, or permission of the instructor. Offered every other year.
Instructor: Treber
ECON 386 Economics of Health
Credit: 0.5
This seminar examines the economic aspects of the production, distribution, and organization of health-care services. Topics include measuring output; structure of markets; demand for, supply of, and pricing of services; and financing mechanisms and their impact on the relevant markets. Analysis will also focus on government policy toward health care and public health, its impact upon institutions and resource allocation, and major policy alternatives. Each student will write and present a seminar paper. This course counts as an Economics Department seminar. Prerequisites: ECON 101 and ECON 102, or permission of the instructor.
ECON 393 Individual Study
Credit: 0.5
This course is for students who wish to do advanced work beyond regular courses or to study subjects not included in course offerings.
ECON 397 Junior Honors Seminar
Credit: 0.5 QR
This seminar is for juniors who are candidates for honors in economics. Students undertake a series of research projects, write papers, and discuss the results of their research with fellow students. This course counts as an Economics Department seminar. Prerequisites: junior standing and permission of instructor.
ECON 440 Capstone Seminar in Public Policy
Credit: 0.5
This seminar brings together a political scientist and an economist to consider how these disciplines approach the study of public policy. The course will concentrate on applying both of the disciplines to the study of a selection of public policies ranging from poverty to budget deficits or globalization. We will explore the substantive issues and the process of governmental policymaking in specific policy domains. How is policy made? What should the policy be? The work of scholars in each discipline will be studied to better understand the differences in approaches and to consider the potential for combining them. What does political science contribute to the study of economic policymaking? What can the tools and perspective of economics contribute to the study of a topic like welfare reform or global warming? This seminar is required for students completing the Public Policy Concentration, and it is open to other seniors. Prerequisites: ECON 101, ECON 102, and one course in American politics, or permission of instructor.This course is also listed as PSCI 440.
ECON 493 Individual Study
Credit: 0.25-0.5
This course is for students who wish to do advanced work beyond regular courses or to study subjects not included in course offerings.
ECON 497 Senior Honors Seminar
Credit: 0.5 QR
This seminar is for seniors who are candidates for honors in economics. Students undertake a series of research projects, write papers, and discuss the results of their research with fellow students. This course counts as an Economics Department seminar. Prerequisites: Junior Honors Seminar, senior standing, and permission of instructor.