| Economics |
ECON 401 - Principles of Economics (Macro)
Credits:
4.00
Basic functions of the United States economy viewed as a
whole; policies designed to affect its performance.
Economic scarcity, supply and demand, the causes of
unemployment and inflation, the nature of money and
monetary policy, the impact of government taxation and
spending, the federal debt, and international money
matters. No credit for students who have had ECN 411.
ECON 401H - Honors/Principles of Economics (Macro)
Credits:
4.00
See description for ECON 401.
ECON 402 - Principles of Economics (Micro)
Credits:
4.00
Functions of the component units of the economy and their
interrelations. Units of analysis are the individual
consumer, the firm, and the industry. Theory of consumer
demand and elasticity, supply and costs of production,
theory of the firm under conditions of perfect and
imperfect competition, demand for and allocation of
economic resources, general equilibrium, and basic
principles and institutions of international trade. Not
open to students who have had EREC 411. No credit for
students who have had ECN 412.
ECON 402H - Honors/Principles of Economics (Micro)
Credits:
4.00
See description for ECON 402. Writing intensive.
ECON 515 - Economic History of the United States
Credits:
4.00
U.S. economy from colonial times to the present. Models of
economic development applied to the U.S. How social,
political, technological, and cultural factors shape
economy; development and influence of economic
institutions. Prereq: ECON 401 or 402;/or permission.
ECON 605 - Intermediate Microeconomic Analysis
Credits:
4.00
Analysis of supply and demand. Determination of prices,
production, and the distribution of income in
noncompetitive situations and in the purely competitive
model. General equilibrium. Prereq: ECON 402.
ECON 605W - Intermediate Microeconomic Analysis
Credits:
4.00
See description for ECON 605. Writing intensive.
ECON 607 - Ecological Economics
Credits:
4.00
Analysis of efficiency, equity, and growth issues in the
economy and their links to environmental quality and
natural resources availability. Case studies of global
warming, world hunger, etc. Prereq: ECON 401 and 402.
Writing intensive.
ECON 611 - Intermediate Macroeconomic Analysis
Credits:
4.00
Macroeconomic measurement, theory, and public policy
determination. Prereq: ECON 401 and 402.
ECON 615 - History of Economic Thought
Credits:
4.00
Examination and critical appraisal of the work of major
economists, including the work of contemporary economists,
and major schools of economists, particularly with
reference to the applicability of their theories to current
economic problems. Prereq: ECON 401 and 402. Writing
intensive.
ECON 635 - Money and Banking
Credits:
4.00
Study of interest rates, financial markets, financial
institutions, monetary institutions, the supply of money,
the demand for money, monetary theory, and monetary policy.
Prereq: ECON 401 and 402.
ECON 641 - Public Economics
Credits:
4.00
Alternative prescriptions and explanations concerning the
role of government in contemporary market economies.
General principles of public expenditure analysis. Selected
case studies of public spending programs, e.g., welfare,
defense, education. Analysis of various federal, state, and
local taxes. Prereq: ECON 401; 605;/ or permission.
ECON 642 - Health Economics
Credits:
4.00
Theoretical and empirical analysis of the U.S. health care
delivery sector. Topics include health insurance markets
and their effects on patient demand, uninsured populations
and their access to health care services, breakdowns in the
principal/agent relationship between patient and providers,
competition in the medical sector, technology,
pharmaceuticals and the scope and effect of government
involvement in the delivery of health care. Prereq: ECON
402. (Also listed as HMP 642.)
ECON 645 - International Economics
Credits:
4.00
Covers both international trade theory and open-economy
macroeconomics. Some of the major issues include whether
free trade is always preferred to restricted trade, the
controversy over industrial policy and how best to
structure the international financial system. Students gain
an understanding of topics including currency exchange rate
movements, macroeconomic adjustment mechanisms and trade
policy, among others. Prereq: ECON 401 and 402.
ECON 651 - Governmental Regulation of Business
Credits:
4.00
Mergers, competition, monopoly, and the regulated
industries. Prereq: ECON 402.
ECON 653 - Law and Economics
Credits:
4.00
Introduces the field of Law and Economics. Focuses on the
legal system and the economic consequences of property,
contract, tort, criminal law and mediation. Prereq: ECON
402. Writing intensive.
ECON 656 - Labor Economics
Credits:
4.00
Functioning of labor markets from theoretical and policy
perspectives. Labor demand and supply, wages and
employment. Welfare programs, human capital, discrimination
in the labor market, unions, wage differentials. Prereq:
ECON 401; ECON 402; ECON 605 recommended.
ECON 658 - Organizational Economics and Architecture
Credits:
4.00
Focuses on issues surrounding the need for coordination in
an economy based on the division of labor. The role and
function of the market, firm, and other coordinating
mechanisms such as the Internet are analyzed in order to
understand the role they play in facilitating economic
activity. Prereq: ECON 402. Writing intensive.
ECON 668 - Economic Development
Credits:
4.00
Theories of development/underdevelopment. Trade, growth,
and self-reliance. The role of agriculture (land tenure,
food crisis, Green Revolution). World Bank policy,
industrialization strategies. Role of the state. Prereq:
ECON 401; ECON 402;/or permission. Writing intensive.
ECON 669 - Women and Economic Development
Credits:
4.00
Examines the position, roles, and contributions of women
in economic development as interpreted though different
discourses (feminisms, modernity, post modernity) and in
theoretical conceptualizations (neoclassical
integrationist, liberal feminism, class and gender,
feminist ecology). Applied analyses on Africa, South Asia
and Latin America. Prereq: permission. Writing intensive.
ECON #670 - Economics of Energy
Credits:
4.00
The availability and use of inanimate energy resources and
their relation to economic activity. Investigates energy
demand, energy supply, the relation of energy to economic
growth, and energy policy. Prereq: ECON 605 or permission.
ECON 680 - Economics of Electronic Commerce
Credits:
4.00
Introduces the new opportunities and challenges posed by
the transformation of the Internet into an electronic
marketplace. Focus on electronic commerce: the creation and
exchange of value between economic agents in an open
digital marketplace.
ECON 685 - Study Abroad
Credits:
1.00 to 16.00
Open to students studying abroad in the discipline as
approved by the economics program director. Cr/F.
ECON 686 - Study Abroad
Credits:
1.00 to 16.00
Open to students studying abroad in the discipline as
approved by the economics program director. Cr/F.
ECON 695 - Independent Study
Credits:
2.00 to 12.00
Individual research projects that are student designed.
Initial sponsorship of an economics faculty member must be
obtained, and approval of WSBE adviser and dean. For
juniors and seniors in high standing. Up to 4 credits may
be used as a major elective.
ECON 695W - Independent Study
Credits:
2.00 to 12.00
See description for ECON 695. Writing intensive.
ECON 696 - Supervised Student Teaching Experience
Credits:
1.00 to 8.00
Participants are expected to perform such functions as
leading discussion groups, assisting faculty in
undergraduate courses that they have successfully
completed, or working as peer advisers in the advising
center. Enrollment is limited to juniors and seniors who
have above-average G.P.A.s. Reflective final paper is
required. Prereq: permission of instructor, department
chair, and director of undergraduate programs. No more than
4 credits may be earned as a teaching assistant in any one
course. May be repeated to a maximum of 8 credits. Cr/F.
ECON 698 - Topics
Credits:
4.00
Special topics. May be repeated. Prereq: permission.
Writing intensive.
ECON 707 - Economic Growth and Environmental Quality
Credits:
4.00
Analysis of the interrelationships among economic growth,
technological change, population increase, natural
resource use, and environmental quality. Application of
alternative theoretical approaches drawn from the social
and natural sciences. Focus on specific environmental
problems, e.g., affluence and waste disposal problems, and
loss of biodiversity. Prereq: ECON 605; 611;/or permission.
ECON 725 - Mathematical Economics
Credits:
4.00
Principal mathematical techniques and their application in
economics. Topics covered: matrix algebra, derivatives,
unconstrained and constrained optimization, linear and
nonlinear programming, game theory, elements of integral
calculus. Prereq: permission.
ECON 726 - Introduction to Econometrics
Credits:
4.00
Introduces regression techniques as used in economics and
management; estimation and statistical inference in the
context of the general linear model; discussion of problems
encountered and their solutions; extensions of the general
linear model. Prereq: DS 420 or equivalent.
ECON 736 - Seminar in Monetary Theory and Policy
Credits:
4.00
Contemporary developments in monetary theory and the
evaluation of policy measures. Prereq: ECON 635. Writing
intensive.
ECON #741 - Introduction to Public Policy
Credits:
4.00
Explores the basic issues of public sector economics and
emphasizes the use of economic theory in predicting the
effects of public policy on individual behavior and the
overall economy. Specific topics include market failures,
collective decision making, cost/benefit analysis, and an
evaluation of tax and transfer programs. Writing intensive.
ECON 746 - International Finance
Credits:
4.00
International monetary mechanism; balance of payments,
international investment, exchange rates, adjustment
systems, international liquidity, foreign aid,
multinational corporations. Prereq: ECON 611; ECON 645.
Writing intensive.
ECON 747 - Multinational Enterprises
Credits:
4.00
Internationalization of economies. Growth and implications
of multinational corporations at the level of systems.
Theories of imperialism, international unity/rivalry;
theories of direct investment, exercise of influence and
conflict, technology transfer, bargaining with host
country; effects on U.S. economy. Prereq: permission.
ECON #756 - Labor Economics
Credits:
4.00
Recent developments in labor market analysis and public
policies related to contemporary labor issues. Labor
supply, the structure and stratification of labor markets,
economic discrimination, unemployment and poverty,
inflation, and wage-price controls. Prereq: ECON 656.
ECON #768 - Seminar in Economic Development
Credits:
4.00
Advanced reading seminar. Topics include methodologies
underlying economic development theory, industrialization
and post-import substitution, state capitalist development,
stabilization policies, appropriate technologies, the
capital goods sector, agricultural modernization schemes,
and attempts at transition to socialism. Prereq: permission.
ECON 775 - Applied Research Skills for Economists
Credits:
4.00
Capstone course for students enrolled in B.S. in
economics. Uses analytical and problem-solving skills plus
data-analysis and computer skills from earlier classes to
study and analyze the U.S. economy, sector by sector.
Topics will include time-series and simultaneous-equations
models. Research paper combines theory and data-analysis
skills. Prereq: ECON 605, 611, 726; MATH 424A or
equivalent. Writing intensive.
ECON 795 - Internship
Credits:
1.00 to 16.00
On-the-job skill development through fieldwork in an
organization (business, industry, health, public service,
etc.). Normally, supervision is provided by a qualified
individual in the organization, with frequent consultation
by a faculty sponsor. Written report required. Internships
may be part or full time, with course credits assigned
accordingly. May not be used as a major elective. Cr/F.
ECON 798 - Economic Problems
Credits:
2.00 or 4.00
Special topics; may be repeated. Prereq: permission of
adviser and instructor. Writing intensive.
ECON 799 - Honors Thesis
Credits:
4.00 to 8.00
Supervised research leading to the completion of an honors
thesis; required for graduation from the honors program in
economics. Prereq: permission of director of undergraduate
programs and department chair. Writing intensive.