Prerequisites

Course Credits

4.00

Description

Introduction to the organization and operation of a market economy with a focus on how it allocates scarce resources; development of the economic way of thinking. The analysis of the theory of consumer demand and the profit-maximizing behavior of firms; examination of pricing and output decisions of firms under conditions of competition and imperfect competition in a global marketplace. Analysis of markets for labor and capital. Policy issues include price ceilings and floors, trade barriers, competition and monopoly. Required of all majors in Economics. Normally offered every semester.

Term Offered

Course Types

Social Science,BSJ SOCIAL SCIENCE

Prerequisites

Course Credits

4.00

Description

This course provides an analysis of relationships among variables such as inflation, employment, economic growth, national income, and the supply of money. Heavy emphasis is placed on the role of government in setting both fiscal and monetary policy goals to achieve a stable economy. Balance of trade and exchange rates are examined to help provide an understanding of the global economy. Required of all majors and minors in Economics. Normally offered every semester.

Term Offered

Course Types

Social Science,BSJ SOCIAL SCIENCE

Prerequisites

Course Credits

4.00

Description

This course looks at economic inequality, with a particular focus on those in the United States who have low or no incomes - the poor. Measures inequality, identifies the poor, and considers a variety of explanations for poverty. Evaluates the purposes and effects of a range of public policies that might help alleviate poverty. Since race and gender play prominent roles in discussions of poverty, this course also considers issues pertaining to race and gender discrimination, and so examines the economics of both poverty and of discrimination. Cultural Diversity A.

Term Offered

Course Types

Cultural Diversity Opt A,Social Science,BSJ SOCIAL SCIENCE

Prerequisites

Course Credits

4.00

Description

Identifies the environmental effects of economic activity, including polluted water and air, noise, and radiation, and values their costs and benefits. Analyzes mechanisms, including taxes and permits, for achieving a socially preferable level of pollution. Traces role played by institutions, including common ownership, in affecting environmental decay. Resource depletion (of oil, forests, and fisheries) and appropriate policy responses.

Term Offered

Course Types

Social Science,BSJ SOCIAL SCIENCE

Prerequisites

Course Credits

4.00

Description

Why do so many countries remain so poor? Why have some (e.g. the Asian "tigers") grown so rapidly? Why have most of the countries of Eastern Europe and the Former Soviet Union been slow to ignite economic growth? These questions are addressed by looking at domestic factors (government policies, resource endowments) as well as the international environment (mobile investors, international financial institutions). Asks what economic choices these countries face now. Normally offered yearly. Cultural Diversity B

Term Offered

Course Types

Cultural Diversity Opt B,Social Science,Asian Studies,BSJ SOCIAL SCIENCE

Prerequisites

Course Credits

4.00

Description

The study of how economic and human activity is distributed across space, the reasons for these spatial distributions, and the processes that change the spatial organization of economic activity over time. Topics include: maps, map projections, and geographic information systems; population geography; the organization and location of cities, towns and villages; transportation and communication policy; industrial location; the geography of world trade; and geographic features of economic development. The course takes a global perspective, and draws on cases and examples from all over the world. Cultural Diversity B

Term Offered

Course Types

Cultural Diversity Opt B,Social Science,BSJ SOCIAL SCIENCE

Prerequisites

EC 101 and EC 102

Course Credits

4.00

Description

Theory of consumer behavior and demand. Theory of production and costs of production. Theory of the firm, and price and output decisions in different market structures, i.e., under perfect competition, monopoly, monopolistic competition and oligopoly. Decisions relating to pricing and employment of various inputs (labor and capital) under perfectly competitive, and less than perfectly competitive, resource markets. Required of all majors in Economics. Normally offered every semester.

Term Offered

Course Types

Social Science,BSJ SOCIAL SCIENCE

Prerequisites

EC-101 and EC-102

Course Credits

4.00

Description

This course covers the neoclassical and Keynesian models of aggregate economic activity. Coverage of the measurement of economic variables, such as aggregate income, the inflation rate, and the unemployment rate. Examines the behavior of the economy under conditions of price flexibility in the long run and price rigidity in the short run under rational and adaptive expectations. Analysis of the effect of changes in taxes and government expenditures, monetary policy and deficits on the economy. Coverage of the sources of economic growth. Required of all majors in Economics. Normally offered every semester.

Term Offered

Course Types

Social Science,BSJ SOCIAL SCIENCE

Prerequisites

Course Credits

4.00

Description

Presents the leading contemporary schools of economic thought as the outcome of theoretical and philosophical controversies that began with the ancient Greeks and that continue today. The course covers the major contributors to economic thought, including Aristotle, Aquinas, the mercantilists, and the contributors to the 18th-century enlightenment, notably Adam Smith and David Hume. Going forward, it considers Marx, the neoclassical school of Jevons, Menger and Walras and the Keynesian school, along with some of the more modern schools such as behaviorism, institutionalism and cognitive economics. The contributions of the economists and philosophers studied in the course are considered in context of the times in which they wrote and lived. Students will acquire a grasp of the principal tenets of contemporary economic theory as well as an understanding of the historical origins of the disputes that still divide economists on major theoretical and philosophic issues.

Term Offered

Course Types

Social Science,BSJ SOCIAL SCIENCE

Prerequisites

Take EC-101;

Course Credits

4.00

Description

This course applies economic analysis to identify the origins, consequences, and policy implications of problems related to renewable and non-renewable natural resources, with particular attention to energy. Resources considered include forests, fisheries, water, minerals, and land. Energy resources covered include oil, gas, coal, nuclear, and alternatives (wind, solar, biomass, hydrogen, etc.), as well as electricity. Concepts examined include externalities, learning-by-doing, peak-load pricing, regulation, sustainability, cost-benefit analysis, and the commons problem.

Term Offered

Course Types

BSJ SOCIAL SCIENCE,Social Science

Prerequisites

Ec 101, Ec 102, and Math 134, Math 146, or Math 161.

Course Credits

4.00

Description

This course introduces the mathematical basis of economic theory. Emphasis is placed on the mathematical tools that have been developed for various applications in microeconomic and macroeconomic analysis. The techniques of comparative-statics analysis are developed. Univariate and multivariate calculus are then presented in the context of unconstrained and constrained optimization. The course concludes by introducing the foundations of discrete-time and continuous-time dynamic optimization.

Term Offered

Course Types

Social Science,BSJ SOCIAL SCIENCE

Prerequisites

EC 101 and EC 102

Course Credits

4.00

Description

The theory of tax policy and tax structure. The effects on economic behavior (including labor supply, saving, risk-taking and investment, charitable giving, and growth) of different taxes (income, sales, value-added, inheritance, wealth, property). Tax equity, efficiency and incidence, in the United States and in comparative perspective. Additional topics include modeling state taxes; social security and pensions; and tax compensation. Normally offered yearly.

Term Offered

Course Types

Social Science,BSJ SOCIAL SCIENCE

Prerequisites

EC 101 and EC 102

Course Credits

4.00

Description

This course examines regulation and analyzes the structure, conduct, and performance of American industry. Monopoly and strategic behavior in oligopoly and monopolistic competition are considered. U.S. antitrust law and the effect of regulatory laws on industrial performance are explored. Regulatory practices, rate setting, deregulation, public-enterprise pricing, and issues in privatization are examined, with an emphasis on case studies and policy analysis. Normally offered every other year.

Term Offered

Course Types

Social Science,BSJ SOCIAL SCIENCE

Prerequisites

EC 101 and EC 102

Course Credits

4.00

Description

This course examines theories of international trade. The policy implications of each theory are explored and the effect of trade on the welfare of the nation is examined. Also the development of trade blocs and the the political economy of trade are studied. Normally offered every year.

Term Offered

Course Types

Social Science,Asian Studies,BSJ SOCIAL SCIENCE

Prerequisites

EC-101 and EC-102

Course Credits

4.00

Description

This course considers the degree to which it is possible to explain, predict, and guide political decision through the application of economic analysis. The course is organized around two competing visions of public choice: (1) a traditional "organic" approach that sees the core problem for public choice as requiring the maximization of social welfare and (2) a newer "contractual" approach that sees that problem as requiring attention to the institutional framework within which political decisions are made. Topics to be considered include the Arrow paradox and other problems in aggregating individual choices, rent-seeking, the "Leviathan" hypothesis, and non- market demand-revealing methods.

Term Offered

Course Types

Social Science,BSJ SOCIAL SCIENCE

Prerequisites

EC 101 and EC 102

Course Credits

4.00

Description

The balance of payments and foreign exchange markets and instruments, and the determination of exchange rates. Balance-of-payments adjustments under alternative exchange-rate systems, international liquidity, international economics policy and open economy macroeconomics.

Term Offered

Course Types

Social Science,BSJ SOCIAL SCIENCE

Prerequisites

EC 101 and EC 102

Course Credits

4.00

Description

An economic analysis of the European Union, the history of European monetary and economic integration. and the creation of the Euro. A survey of the development and evolution of key European policies, such competition, industry, agriculture, environment, regional, etc. A discussion of economic implications of the enlargement of the European Union, as well as its trade realtions with the U.S. and other countries within the context of the World Trade Organization.

Term Offered

Course Types

Social Science,BSJ SOCIAL SCIENCE

Prerequisites

STATS 350 or permission of instructor

Course Credits

4.00

Description

A brief review of statistical methods, including probability theory, estimation, and hypothesis testing. This background is used in the construction, estimation, and testing of econometric models. The consequences of a misspecified model, where the assumptions of a classical regression model are violated, are studied and the appropriate remedial measures are suggested. Other topics include dummy variables, binary choice models, and autoregressive models. Emphasis is on applied aspects of econometric modeling. There is extensive use of statistical software for data analyses. Normally offered every year.

Term Offered

Course Types

Social Science,BSJ SOCIAL SCIENCE

Prerequisites

EC 101 and EC 102

Course Credits

4.00

Description

This course introduces students to the foundations of game theory using applications from economics and everyday decision-making. The course examines the common strategic elements of interactions between consumers and producers, governments and citizens, politicians and their constituencies, countries and their trading partners, and various other participants in social relationships. The course provides a theoretical framework for modeling strategic interaction, beginning with the development of the concept of a Nash equilibrium, reputation, signaling, collective-action problems, and voting procedures and strategies. Normally offered every other year.

Term Offered

Course Types

Quantitative Reasoning

Prerequisites

EC 101, EC 102

Course Credits

4.00

Description

This course examines the role of depository institutions and the Federal Reserve system in determining the supply of money.The course also explains the financial environment and the role of monetary policy decisions on changes in price, interest rates, money, and economic activity. The course provides the student with both theoretical and applied analysis. Prerequisites: EC 101, EC 102.

Term Offered

Course Types

Social Science,BSJ SOCIAL SCIENCE

Prerequisites

Senior Standing; Or permission of Undergraduate Director.

Course Credits

4.00

Description

This is a required course for all students majoring in economics, to be taken in the spring semester of their senior year. Students are required to develop an economic thesis project in consultation with the professor for the course and to present it to the class.

Term Offered

Course Types

BSJ SOCIAL SCIENCE,Social Science

Prerequisites

Instructor's consent required

Course Credits

4.00

Description

Approximately 12 hours per week working in a position designed to give the student responsibility and a learning opportunity in economics. Interested students should consult the instructor in advance.

Term Offered

Course Types

Social Science,BSJ SOCIAL SCIENCE

Prerequisites

Instructor's consent required

Course Credits

4.00

Description

This course examines the concept of economic competitiveness among nations and states and its usefulness to policymakers seeking to improve economic conditions. The emphasis will be on state-based economic competitiveness. We will read the current literature on economic growth and competitiveness and explore the current controversy surrounding the shortcomings of business climate indices. Special attention will be given to Beacon Hill Institute's index which attempts to identify the states with the sets of policies that sustain long-term economic growth and sustainable high incomes for citizens. The student will apply a stress test to the BHI index identifying its strengths and weaknesses. To learn how the index is used by professionals, the student will also compare the index against similar measures and interview at least two practitioners on how their states apply the index. The student will meet regularly with her advisor and submit a research paper and a professional memorandum advising BHI on how best to improve the index.

Term Offered

Course Types

Expanded Classroom Requirement

Prerequisites

An indpendent study form must be submitted to the CAS Dean's Office.

Course Credits

1.00- 5.00

Description

Independent study in economics

Term Offered

Course Types

Social Science,BSJ SOCIAL SCIENCE

Prerequisites

Honors Section Only : GPA of 3.3 or higher required.

Course Credits

4.00

Description

Introduction to the organization and operation of a market economy with a focus on how it allocates scarce resources; the analysis of consumer demand and profit maximizing behavior of business; examination of pricing and output decisions under conditions of competition, monopoly and imperfect competition. Analysis of markets for labor and capital. Policy issues include price ceilings and floors, competition and monopoly. Normally offered every semester.

Term Offered

Course Types

Social Science,BSJ SOCIAL SCIENCE

Prerequisites

Course Credits

4.00

Description

The measurement of economic growth; introduction to the theory of determination of national income and the price level; unemployment and inflation; theories on economic growth and the role of labor and capital in economic growth; functioning and impact of the monetary system; analysis of monetary and fiscal policies for economic stabilization; international transactions and their influence on the domestic economy. Prerequisites: GPA of 3.2 or higher. Normally offered every year.

Term Offered

Course Types

Social Science,BSJ SOCIAL SCIENCE