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NOTE: Not all the courses listed below are taught in any one semester or year. Please check the schedule to find out which classes are offered in current or upcoming semesters.
101
Principles of Economics I
An introduction to the economic way of
thinking that includes both micro and macroeconomic topics. We begin with an
analysis of how market supply and demand help allocate resources and then talk
about market power, market failures, and the role of government regulation. We
then explore the determination of gross domestic product, the problems of
unemployment and inflation, and macroeconomic policy
making. Professors Ashenmiller, Moore, Romley, Secondi, Wandschneider, Whitney
102 Principles
of Economics II
A continuation of Economics 101 that
completes the coverage of economic principles by incorporating the development
of more sophisticated analytical tools. Microeconomics topics include
production costs, the behavior of firms under different market structures
(competition, monopoly, and oligopoly), taxation and income distribution, and
input markets. Macroeconomics topics include the Keynesian model of output
determination, the monetary system, and the effects of fiscal and monetary
policies. Prerequisite: Economics 101. Professors Chiou, Lopez,
Romley, Slavov,
Secondi
197 Business
Internship
Internship in a business or management
setting. May not be repeated for credit. Prerequisite: permission of
instructor. 2 units Staff
233 Accounting and
Financial Analysis
Accounting principles and
practices. Recording financial data, assets, liabilities, owner equity, income
and expenses, preparing and analyzing financial statements.
Staff
250 Intermediate
Microeconomic Theory
Intermediate theory of market
systems, modern theories of demand and production, interaction of consumers and
firms under various market conditions: competitive, monopolistic, oligopolistic.
Price determination, resource allocation, and income distribution through market
forces; public policy evaluation and welfare economics. Should be completed
before the end of the sophomore year. Prerequisites: Economics 102 and
Mathematics 110 or
equivalent. May be taken after Economics 251. Professors Chiou, Moore,
Romley, Slavov, Whitney
251 Intermediate
Macroeconomic Theory
A study of the factors which
influence and are involved with the national economy. Aggregate analysis as
applied to problems of national income accounting and determination, inflation,
unemployment, modern economic growth, and the influence of the money supply.
Prerequisites: Economics 102 and Mathematics 110 or equivalent. May be taken before Economics
250.
Professors McIntyre, Secondi, Wandschneider
272 Applied
Econometrics
The use of regression and
correlation to test economic hypotheses. Emphasis will be on the use and
interpretation of single equation regression techniques rather than on their
derivation. Prerequisites: Economics 102; Mathematics 110 or equivalent; Mathematics
146 or 150 or equivalent; one additional Economics course; and familiarity with computers. Professors
Chiou, Slavov, Studenmund
297 Independent
Study
Application of modern research
methods to current problems in economics and related fields. Prerequisite:
permission of instructor. 2 units Staff
301 Environmental
Economics and Policy
The impact of economic activity on
the environment and the theory and practice of environmental economic
policy. Problems of pollution and waste disposal. Conservation of
resources and limits to economic growth. Direct controls versus market controls
in the design of environmental economic policy. Prerequisite: Economics
250. Professor
Ashenmiller
302 Industrial
Organization
A study of firms and industries in the U.S. economy. Topics
include the acquisition and use of market
power by firms, strategic behavior of firms in oligopoly markets, and
antitrust policy. The
course will approach topics from both theoretical and applied perspectives.
Prerequisite: Economics 250. Professor
Chiou
305
Game Theory
This course is an introduction to the study of
strategic interaction using the tools of game theory. The focus of the course is
on developing a set of analytical techniques, with the goal of understanding and
using game theoretic models in economics. The first part of the course
introduces the basic framework and tools of game theory. The second part of the
course covers a number of economic (and some non-economic) applications of game
theory; specific topics may include auctions, bargaining, voting, and market
competition. Prerequisites: Economics 101 and Math 110 or equivalent.
Professor Slavov
306 Advanced
Econometrics
An examination of the tools of
quantitative analysis used by professional economists.
Topics covered include advanced uses of the
F-test, advanced specification tests, distributed lags, dynamic time-series
models, nonstationarity, logit, simultaneous equations, errors in the
variables, forecasting, and, if we have time, simulation.
Taught on an independent study basis. Prerequisites: Economics 250, 251 and
272.
Professor Studenmund
307 Economics of
Information
This course focuses
on the economic implications of asymmetric information, which exist when one
party in a relationship is better informed than another. For example, the seller
of a used car has better information about the car’s quality than the buyer; the
owner of a firm cannot perfectly monitor the effort levels of employees.
Asymmetric information represents an important deviation from the perfectly
competitive model, and can give rise to inefficient outcomes. Applications that
will be covered include corporate governance, labor markets, auctions, and
public decision making. Concepts will be covered in a mathematically rigorous
way, drawing heavily on background from Calculus I and Economics 250.
Prerequisite: Economics 250. Note:
Students may not take both Economics 307 and Professor Slavov's section of
Economics 495.
Professor Slavov
308 Public Finance
An
investigation of the economic principles of "market failure" and government
involvement in the economy, especially the efficiency and income
redistribution effects of major U.S. tax/expenditure policies. We
will develop a theoretical structure with which to analyze the microeconomic
functions of government, and then apply this structure to analyze and
evaluate current government policies in the areas of social security, health
care, welfare reform, the environment, education, and especially the design
and reform of the federal tax system.
Prerequisite: Economics 250. Professors Moore, Slavov
311 International
Economics
Economic activity in a global context.
The course first covers the causes and consequences of international trade,
with a consideration of both national welfare and income distribution issues.
Coverage then turns to trade policy in theory and practice, with a focus on
the current global trading environment under the World Trade Organization. The
course finishes by examining international investment and debt issues,
including the role played by the International Monetary Fund during global
financial crises. Prerequisite: Economics
102. Professors McIntyre, Wandschneider, Whitney
312
International Finance
The theory and
analysis of foreign exchange markets, macroeconomic policy making in an open
economy setting, international investment flows and international financial
institutions. The course also examines the international monetary system
over the past century and looks at innovations in global financial
institutions. Prerequisite: Economics 251.
Note:
Students may not take both Economics 312 and Professor McIntyre's section of
Economics 495.
Professor McIntyre
314 Economic
Institutions in Historical Perspective
This course
examines the historical development and the role of institutions underlying
market economies. It discusses the many forms in which institutions i.e.
social norms, laws and regulations, affect economic behavior and
performance. Based on examples from U.S. and European economic history,
topics will include contract enforcement, trading institutions, political
institutions, financial institutions, property rights in land and
environmental resources, regulation of labor and capital markets, and the
origin and development of one of the most important economic
institutions—the firm. We will pay particular attention to institutions that
emerged as response to market failures and to the changing nature of
economic institutions over time.
Prerequisites: Economics 101. Professor Wandschneider
315 Economics of
Financial Markets
An empirical and analytical study
of financial markets. Topics covered will include net present value
calculations, the capital asset pricing model, financial derivatives, the
efficient market theory, the term structure of interest rates, and banking.
Prerequisite: Economics 250. Staff
316 European Economic
History
An analysis of
the main economic forces in European history over the last 500 years. Topics
covered will include the economics of the Renaissance, the Industrial
Revolution, the Depression, and the formation of the European Economic Union.
Prerequisite: Economics 101. Staff
317 United States Economic
History
This course builds on students’ earlier work in economics
by using basic theoretical insights to understand the process of economic
development in the U.S. Topics
covered will include the colonial economy, the rise of the second industrial
nation, the economics of slavery, the evolution of financial institutions in the
U.S., the Great Depression and the American role in the evolution of the
post-war international economy.
Prerequisite: Economics 102. Staff
319
Law and Economics
Economic
analysis of the law and legal institutions, including contracts, torts,
property, and criminal law. Applications include intellectual property rights,
product liability, capital punishment, and environmental law. Prerequisite:
Economics 250. Note:
Students may not take both Economics 319 and Professor Whitney's section of
Economics 495. Professor Whitney
320 Economic
Development
Theoretical and empirical analysis
of the process of economic development in Less Developed Countries. After
examining several theories of growth and development we will discuss inequality
and poverty, the effects of population growth and rural-urban migration, saving
and financial markets, international trade, foreign aid and foreign borrowing,
agriculture, and the role of the Government. Case studies will be drawn from the
development experiences of Asian, Latin American, and African economies.
Prerequisite: Economics 101.
Professor Secondi
324 Economics of
Immigration
This course examines the economic causes and
consequences of immigration. The focus of the course will be on the United
States' experience. However, we will also examine aspects of other
international migrations. The course will focus on the economic reasons that
motivate people to migrate to other parts of the world, the labor market and
fiscal impacts of immigration on sending and receiving countries, and the
economic consequences of U.S. immigration policy choices. Prerequisite: Economics 101.
Professor Lopez
325 Labor
Economics
The goal of
Labor Economics is to enable you to use economic analysis and reasoning to
understand wage and employment determination in U.S. labor markets. This
course will expose you to current theoretical and empirical debates within
the discipline. We will cover such topics as labor force participation,
labor demand unemployment, labor mobility, wage structure, labor unions,
human capital investments (education and training), internal labor markets,
and labor market discrimination. Relevant public policy issues such as the
minimum wage, living wage ordinances, compensating wage differentials,
immigration policy, affirmative action, income inequality, and welfare
programs also will be addressed in this course. Prerequisite: Economics
250.
Professor Lopez
326 Economics of
Human Resource Management
Incentives and resource allocation
are central issues in economic analysis. We will use economic analysis to
approach such traditional human resource management issues as 1) structuring
compensation to motivate workers to high levels of productivity, 2) providing
training of workers, 3) hiring and recruitment, 4) structuring fringe benefits
(such as stock options and pensions) to provide appropriate incentives, and 5)
using teams of workers (among many others). In order to add realism to,
and applications for, the analysis, the course will use numerous real-world
mini-cases and several more formal case studies. Students will be
evaluated based on the quality of their written work, problem sets, exams, and
presentations/discussion, and there will also be a variety of class formats
used, from traditional lecture to group work/teams. Prerequisite: Economics 102. Note:
Students may not take both Economics 326 and Professor Moore's section of
Economics 495. Professor Moore
328 Economics of
Race and Gender
An examination of the historical
and contemporary economic positions of women and minorities. Topics include the
economics of slavery, racial and sexual discrimination, labor market
segmentation, wage differentials, labor force participation, red-lining, and
income inequality. Relevant public policy issues such as affirmative action and
welfare also will be addressed. Prerequisite: Economics 101. Professor
Lopez
350 Managerial
Economics
The application of economic theory
and analytical tools to business and management decision making. Topics to be
covered will include examples from a variety of fields, including pricing, new
products, acquisitions, marketing, human resources, and production. The course
will include a number of case studies with required student presentations.
Prerequisite: Economics 250. Professor Studenmund
361 Topics in
Macroeconomic Theory and Policy
This course
examines issues in macroeconomics beyond those typically addressed at the
intermediate level with a strong emphasis on macroeconomic policy. Specific
topics include intertemporal choice in macroeconomics, inflation targeting and
the risk management approach to monetary policy, international
macroeconomics, recent advances in the study of the aggregate labor market, real
business cycle models, government debt and the intertemporal government budget
constraint, and time series macroeconomics.
Prerequisite: Economics 251. Professor McIntyre
395 Topics in
Economics:
Fall 2007 and Fall 2008: Health
Economics
This course examines the economics of
health care. We will describe the U.S. health-care system and emphasize
contemporary policy issues. Specific topics include the demand for health,
medical care and insurance; socio-economic patterns in health-related behaviors
and outcomes; physician and hospital services; private and public financing of
care; regulation of the health-care marketplace; and medical innovation.
Prerequisites: Economics 101 and 102. Professor
Romley
397 Independent
Study
Advanced independent research in
economics. Prerequisites: Economics 250 and 251 or permission of
instructor. 2 or 4 units
Staff
490 Economics
Proseminar
Advanced work in selected topics.
Serves as an option to Economics 495 for partial fulfillment of the
comprehensive examination for Economics majors.
Prerequisite: senior economics major status. Staff
495 Senior Seminar
An intensive application of
economic analysis to issues chosen by the instructor in consultation with
students during the course. The course emphasizes the development of analytical,
writing, team-work and presentation skills and is meant to be an opportunity for
students to apply their economic training to specific topics. Complete
descriptions of the seminars offered in a given year will be mailed out to
students prior to the Spring registration. Required of all senior economics and
economics for business and management majors as partial fulfillment of the
comprehensive examination. Prerequisite: senior status. Professors
McIntyre, Moore, Slavov, Whitney
498 Honors Seminar
An
introduction to research methods in economics. Students taking this seminar are
also expected to develop a topic for their honors thesis. Prerequisites: senior
status and permission of the department. 1
unit Professor Slavov
499 Honors Thesis
Independent research with one-on-one
faculty mentoring. Prerequisites: senior status and permission of the
department. Staff