Economics Course Descriptions

Prerequisite: none. Introduction to the theory of markets, including consumer and producer choice and how they interact to determine prices and resource allocations. Applications include price controls, production, market structures, environmental economics, governmental regulation of the economy, labor and capital markets, and international exchange.

Prerequisite: Economics 101. Covers current debates on the workings of the aggregate economy, including unemployment, inflation, economic growth, the national debt, financial markets, money and the banking system, and international trade.

Open only to students with freshman standing. Topics and prerequisites vary; consult the Course Atlas.

Prerequisites: Economics 101 and Mathematics 111 or 119. Theories of the household and of the business firm and their implications for the demand and supply of final products and productive factors and for the distribution of income.

Prerequisites: Economics 101, 112, and Mathematics 111 or 119. Determination of national income, employment, and the price level; business fluctuations; and international monetary issues.

Prerequisite: Economics 101. Introduction to the role of various financial markets in an economy. Topics include the stock market, bonds, futures, options, and other derivative assets.

Prerequisites: Economics 101 and Mathematics 111 or consent of the instructor. Methods of collection, classification, analysis, and interpretation of economic data; measures of central tendency and dispersion; probability; estimation; hypothesis testing; regression analysis.

Prerequisite: Economics 220. An introduction to empirical tools and software used in the development and testing of economic models. Emphasis is on the application of these tools to policy issues.

Prerequisite: Economics 101. An introduction to international trade, capital flows, and finance. Topics include the impact of public policy decisions concerning protectionism, balance of payments, and foreign exchange markets on economic activities.

Scheduled as needed. Variable credit; maximum credit, eight hours. Prerequisites: Economics 101 and/or 112 or consent of the instructor. An introduction to selected topics in economics. May be repeated for credit when topic varies.

Prerequisites: Economics 101 and 112, or consent of the instructor. Development of economic doctrine and economic analysis from the mercantilism to the modern period; emphasis placed upon writers whose ideas dominated the outlook of their times or exercised a major influence on the development of economic analysis.

Applies microeconomic theory to both market and non-market phenomena, including crime, sports, family, and sexuality. Explores facts and trends, theoretical and empirical studies, and the role of public policy. (May be taught as a post-freshman writing requirement)

Prerequisite: Economics 101. Economic analysis and public policy. Discussion of selected issues such as the economics of discrimination, environment, medical care, cultural arts, education, and social responsibility of business.

This course covers the new and growing field of experimental economics. The term experimental economics refers to the use of the laboratory for the purpose of studying specific research questions in economics. Experiments in economics are similar in spirit to those in psychology, physics, chemistry, or biology.

This course is intended to provide an introduction to the application of psychological insights into economic models of behavior. This course will discuss the limitations of traditional economic models and will present models that are psychologically more realistic.

Prerequisite: Economics 101. Contemporary public policy toward collective bargaining. The process of collective bargaining and administration of labor agreements, including organizing, grievance procedures, and arbitration.

Prerequisites: Economics 101 and 112, or consent of the instructor. Government implementation, regulation, and control of business enterprises, excluding banks and insurance companies.

(Same as History 351.) Topics related to economic change outside the United States or in which the U.S. is only one area of comparison. Slave trade, global economies, economic thought, colonialism, or comparative economic systems.

(Same as History 352.) Economic development in the nineteenth century and the spread of a world economy; economic consequences of the world wars; economic aspects of socialism and fascism; economic nationalism and internationalism in the twentieth century.

(Same as History 355.) Prerequisites: Economics 101 and 112. Economic history of the American South from the colonial era to the present. Topics include the development of the antebellum economy, Reconstruction, and the twentieth-century resurgence of the Southern economy. (Satisfies post-freshman writing requirement).

(Same as History 356.) Fall 2003, alternate years. Prerequisites: Economics 101 and 112. Examines the post-1800 development of industrial America. Topics covered include the rise of manufacturing, banking, the labor movement, agriculture, and foreign trade. Special attention is paid to the role of the government sector in the economy.

Comparative analysis of alternative economics systems as practiced by various countries, with close attention to the mechanisms

Prerequisites: Economics 101 and 112. Introduction to theory of economic growth. The nature of economic development; factors influencing capital formation and technological advance; role of government in promoting development; relationship of international trade to growth; international economic policies.

Analysis of the evolution of economic development and underdevelopment in Latin America; and application of development paradigms to country-specific examples.

Prerequisite: Economics 101. Introduction to the economics of natural resources and the environment. The course will focus on major resource and environmental problems and their economic solutions.

This course is designed to provide students the opportunity to explore issues in economic development viewed from the perspective of sub-Saharan Africa from the impact of slavery and colonialism to the modern era of globalization. (May be taught as a post-freshman writing requirement.)

An introduction to the application of the theories and principles of microeconomics to issues in health care. Increase understanding of microeconomic theory and the basic structure of health care delivery and health care financing in the United States and other countries.

This course exams the role of the government in health and health insurance. We will examine the theoretical reasons for government intervention in health and health insurance, the related empirical evidence, how government has intervened, and the effects. (May be taught as post-freshman writing requirement)

Selected topics in Economics. May be repeated for credit when topic varies.

Scheduled as needed. Variable credit; maximum credit, eight hours. Prerequisites: Economics 101 and 112 or consent of the instructor. An in-depth examination of selected topics in economics. May be repeated for credit when topic varies.

Credit, up to sixteen semester hours. Prerequisite: nomination by department. Intensive examination of the policy making process in Washington, particularly as it relates to economic policy. Students must apply early in the semester preceding the one in which they intend to participate.

Up to four semester hours credit. Prerequisites: Economics 101 and 112 or consent of the instructor. For approval, a topic must be selected that is not included in a course to be offered before the student would normally graduate; a faculty adviser from among the full-time faculty must agree to supervise the study program, and a written description of the program must be submitted to and approved by the director of undergraduate studies in the semester preceding the one in which the student intends to participate.

Prerequisites: Economics 201 and 212 or equivalent. Applies economic analysis and methods to business problems, using elementary level linear programming, input/output analysis, and game theory. Traditional topics in managerial economics, such as cost and demand analysis, capital budgeting, and cost-benefit analysis.

Prerequisites: Economics 201 and 212 or equivalent. Applies economic analysis and methods to business problems, using elementary level linear programming, input/output analysis, and game theory. Traditional topics in managerial economics, such as cost and demand analysis, capital budgeting, and cost-benefit analysis.

Prerequisites: Economics 201 and either Economics 220 or consent of the instructor. The competitiveness of markets related to observable firm and product characteristics. Market competition related to measures of performance, such as profitability, R&D spending, advertising, and growth. Applications to antitrust law.

Prerequisites: Economics 201 and 212. The course covers the microeconomic foundations of macroeconomics, the theoretical and empirical analysis of general equilibrium, and optimal monetary and fiscal policies. (Satisfies post-freshman writing requirement).

Prerequisites: Economics 201 and 212. Economics of money, credit, and banking with emphasis on factors influencing the quantity of money and effects on employment, output, and prices. Economic analysis of financial markets, financial institutions, monetary policy, and inflation.

Prerequisites: Economics 101, 112, and 220, or consent of the instructor. Introduction to construction and testing of econometric models; analysis and critique of general linear regression model; simultaneous equations models; computer program for regression analysis; applications.

Prerequisites: Economics 101, 112, and 220 or consent of the instructor. Introduction to the basic methods of economic forecasting; seasonality; regression analysis; Box-Jenkins methods; non-stationarity; applications. (May be taught as a post-freshman writing requirement

(Same as Mathematics 425.) Prerequisites: Economics 201, 212, Mathematics 112, or consent of the instructor. Introduction to the use of calculus in economic analysis; comparative static problem and optimization theory; consideration of the mathematical techniques used in game theory.

Prerequisite: Economics 201. Describes and analyzes the functioning of labor markets, the supply and demand for labor, and the determination of wages and employment. The effects of unions, institutions, and discrimination on labor markets are also considered.

Prerequisite: Economics 201. Theory of comparative advantage; the impact of trade on welfare and income distribution; economic analysis of trade barriers; and the analysis of international movement of labor and capital.

Prerequisites: Economics 201 and 212. Analysis of the international financial system and its effect on macroeconomic policies. Determination of exchange rates and their impact on the trade balance. International monetary institutions and proposals for reform.

Prerequisites: Economics 112 and 201, or consent of the instructor. Principles of government finance at the national, state, and local levels. Effects of taxes, public debt policy, and government expenditures on both individual citizens and the economy as a whole.

Prerequisites: Economics 112 and 201, or consent of the instructor. Principles of government finance at the national, state, and local levels. Effects of taxes, public debt policy, and government expenditures on both individual citizens and the economy as a whole.

Prerequisite: Economics 201. Economic rationale of regulation. Traditional regulation of monopoly and recent advances in regulatory techniques. Regulation of structurally competitive industries and occupations. Environmental, safety, and health regulation. Current issues in regulation-protectionism, rent-seeking, deregulation, and cost-benefit analysis.

Prerequisite: Economics 201. Economic analysis of property rights, contracts, torts, and other aspects of the legal system. Legal rules will be viewed as mechanisms for allocating resources, and the efficiency of alternative legal rules is analyzed.

Prerequisite: Economics 201. Economic analysis of political decision making and collective action. Surveys theories of aggregating individual preferences through various property-rights and organizational structures to produce collective-choice equilibria and disequilibria, rent seeking; and constitutional construction. (Satisfies post-freshman writing requirement).

Prerequisite: Economics 201 or consent of the instructor. Economic analysis of the urban environment covering such topics as the theories of location, land use, housing, segregation, transportation, local government, and poverty. (Satisfies post-freshman writing requirement).

Prerequisite: Economics 201 or consent of the instructor. The spatial structure of urban real estate and housing markets; government housing and land-use controls; problems of urban transportation and environmental quality; local taxation and public expenditure.

Prerequisites: Economics 201 or 212 and Economics 220. Two credit hours usually taken on an S/U basis. Open to economics majors and minors only; permission required. Majors need to obtain permission from their economics advisers. Economics minors obtain permission from the director of undergraduate studies.

Prerequisites: Econ 201, 212 and 420 or 422. The objective of the course is to introduce the students to the elements of grant writing both in theory and practice. Selection of topic, matching topics with funding, searching funding for research topics are emphasized. Students complete draft proposals possibly resulting in grant proposals.

Prerequisite: Economics 201 or consent of the instructor. Principles of location theory, including land as a factor of production, transfer costs, and areal markets and supply sources; measurement of regional economic activity; regional economic fluctuations; regional economic growth; and regional problems.

Prerequisite: Economics 201 or consent of the instructor. This course develops the theory of resource and environmental economics and applies it to analyze real-world policy issues. It covers the economics of exhaustible and renewable resources and discusses how economic approaches can be used to control externalities and pollution.

This course is designed to provide students with an introduction to the field of neuroeconomics. Upon completion of the course, students will have a basic understanding of the tools used to study the neurobiology of decision making.

Advanced topics in Economics. May be repeated for credit when topic varies.

This course develops a conceptual framework for understanding games played in business and in life. The ultimate goal of this course is to enhance the students¿ ability to think strategically in interactive situations.

Scheduled as needed. Variable credit; maximum credit: eight hours. Prerequisite: Economics majors who have completed all specifically required courses for the major, or consent of the instructor. Preparation of exercises and reports based on current problems of economic policy; requires use of interpretation and analysis previously acquired in other economics and allied courses. May be repeated for credit when topic varies.

By invitation only. (Economics 201, 212, and 220 recommended). For seniors majoring in economics who have exhibited exceptional interest and competence in their field. Significant economic issues selected by the department each year and not covered in the regular curriculum; topics in theory, including areas of controversy; significant books; faculty research topics.

By invitation only. Preparation of honors research project under supervision of faculty member. Students meet periodically to discuss their projects with other honors candidates and faculty members. (Satisfies post-freshman writing requirement).

Prerequisites: Economics 201 or 212. Directed, intensive study using intermediate theory on a topic not covered in a course to be offered before a student would normally graduate. Students must receive departmental permission from the director of undergraduate studies in the semester preceding the one in which the student intends to participate.