2017-18 Course Catalog
Courses primarily for:
Courses Primarily for First-Year and Sophomore Students
ECON 100 – Introduction to Problem Solving in Economics
Essential tools for being a successful economics student, including interpreting tables, solving algebraic equations, graphing equations, and approaching unfamiliar problems. Preview of economic topics, especially in the context of current events. Open only to students in the Summer Bridge Program.
ECON 101 – First Year Seminar
Topics vary.
ECON 201 – Introduction to Macroeconomics
Scarcity and choice; elements of demand and supply, determinants of aggregate output, employment, inflation, growth, and international balance of payments. Prerequisite: basic algebra and graphing.
ECON 202 – Introduction to Microeconomics
Consumers' and producers' influence on structure of output and prices and distribution of income. Social efficiency in resource allocation. Government impact on allocative efficiency and distributive equity. Prerequisite: 201.
ECON 249 – Business Strategy
Firms’ choices of prices, capacity, location, quality, variety, investment and product innovation when navigating complex economic environments shaped by government policy and inter-firm rivalries. Prerequisites: 202; MATH 220. (Majors and Minors should not take this course, but should take 349 instead.)
ECON 281 – Introduction to Applied Econometrics
Estimation and analysis of a variety of empirical econometric models. Descriptive statistics, univariate regression, multiple regression, simultaneous equations, and forecasting. Prerequisite: 201, 202, MATH 220, STAT 210 or higher level statistics class. All other substitutions (including AP Statistics) must be cleared through the Director of Undergraduate Studies for Economics.
ECON 310-1 – Microeconomics I
Consumer behavior and the theory of demand; production, cost, supply functions; choices under uncertainty, insurance; competitive equilibrium; subsidies, taxes, price controls; monopoly and monopsony. Prerequisites: 201, 202, MATH 220.
ECON 310-2 – Microeconomics II
Price discrimination and public utility pricing; monopolistic competition, oligopoly, duopoly models; game theory; factor demands; general equilibrium theory and welfare economics; information theory; externalities and public goods. Prerequisite: 310-1.
ECON 311 – Macroeconomics
Macroeconomics and monetary policy. Behavior of economy as a whole. Income, inflation, unemployment, and growth; consumption, investment, and rate of interest; monetary and fiscal policy. Prerequisites: 201, 202, MATH 220.
STAT 210 – Introductory Statistics for the Social Sciences
Introduction to basic concepts and methods of statistics and probability. Methods of data collection, descriptive statistics, probability, estimation, sampling distributions, confidence intervals, hypothesis testing. May not receive credit for both 202 and 210. Prerequisite: strong background in high school algebra (calculus is not required).
Courses Primarily for Juniors and Seniors
ECON 307 – Economics of Medical Care
Effects of medical care on health; health insurance, public and private demand for medical care, and the market for medical care; regulation of hospitals and physicians; roles of nonprofit and for-profit organizations; technological change. Pre-requisites: 281, 310-1,2.
ECON 308 – Money and Banking
Nature of money and bank credit. Development, functions, and operation of monetary standards and credit systems. Banking and credit policies; price levels. Interrelationships of domestic and foreign monetary systems. Prerequisites: 281, 310-1, 311.
ECON 309 – Elements of Public Finance
Theory and practice of public finance. Welfare aspects of taxation and public expenditure decisions. Budgeting, public investment, external costs and benefits, and public debt. Prerequisites: 281, 310-1,2.
ECON 315 – Topics in Economic History
Topics vary and may cover the economic history of a particular country or region, or a specific issue in economic history. May be taken twice for credit with different topics. Prerequisites: 281, 310-1, 311.
ECON 316 – Advanced Topics in Macroeconomics
Topics may include growth, business cycles, unemployment and search, monetary economics, macroeconomic policy, inter-temporal choice, general equilibrium. Prerequisites: 281, 310-1, 310-2, 311, Math 224 & 230.
ECON 318 – History of Economic Thought
Development of economic thought from the advent of the mercantilists to the formation of current schools of economics. Prerequisites: 281, 310-1,2, 311.
ECON 323-1 – Economic History of the United States Before 1865
Economic development of the United States with emphasis on changing structure and performance of the economy: Colonial period to 1865. Pre-requisites: 281, 310-1, 311.
ECON 323-2 – Economic History of the United States After 1865
Economic development of the United States with emphasis on changing structure and performance of the economy: 1865 to the present. Pre-requisites: 281, 310-1, 311.
ECON 324 – Western Economic History
Western European developments, 1750 to the present: demographic, technical, social, and economic change. Prerequisites: 281, 310-1, 311.
ECON 325 – Economic Growth and Development
Macroeconomic aspects of long-term patterns of economic development. The effects of investment, education, population, and technological change on economic growth. Pre-requisites: 281, 310-1,2, 311.
ECON 326 – The Economics of Developing Countries
Structure, performance, and problems of developing economies. Topics may include land use, labor, migration, credit, insurance, and famine. Prerequisites: 281, 310-1,2.
ECON 327 – Economic Development in Africa
Economic change in sub-Saharan Africa, emphasizing current issues and policies in their historical contexts. Agriculture and rural development, industrialization, and international economic relations. Prerequisites: 281, 310-1,2, 326.
ECON 329 – Experimental Economics
Students will learn about, participate in, and potentially design experiments in order to gain insight into economic theories about decision-making, games, and markets. Prerequisites: 281, 310-1,2.
ECON 330 – Behavioral Economics
Understanding of how humans make choices in economic situations. the incorporation of psychology and/or sociology into economics. Topics may include perceptions, judgment, biases, and social pressure. Prerequisites: 281, 310-1,2.
ECON 331 – Economics of Risk and Uncertainty
Models of decision making under uncertainty. Use of these models to understand economic phenomena such as investment in financial assets, insurance, contracting, and auctions. Prerequisites: 281, 310-1, 310-2, Math 300 or equivalent.
ECON 335 – Political Economics
Social choice theory. Voting theory. The analysis of political motivations and policy outcomes. Application of formal theory to contemporary and historical public policy decisions. Prerequisites: 281, 310-1, 310-2.
ECON 336 – Analytic Methods for Public Policy Analysis
Formulation of objectives, structuring decision problems, choices under uncertainty, interactive decisions, and the impact of organizational structure on project outcomes. Prerequisites: 281, 310-1,2.
ECON 337 – Economics of State and Local Governments
Economic functions and financing of state and local governments in theory and practice; costs and demands for local public services; role of government finance in urban and regional growth. Prerequisites: 281, 310-1,2.
ECON 339 – Labor Economics
Survey of economic problems growing out of employment relationships; theories and processes of wage and employment determination, income distribution, and the role of trade unions and issues of economic security. Prerequisites: 281, 310-1,2, 311.
ECON 340 – Economics of the Family
Application of microeconomic theory to the analysis of family issues: marriage, cohabitation, the decision to have children, divorce, credit and insurance, and legacies. Prerequisites: 281, 310-1,2.
ECON 341 – Economics of Education
The economic analysis of education. Topics include returns to schooling, education and economic growth, education production functions, school financing, vouchers, charter schools, and accountability. Prerequisites: 281, 310-1,2.
ECON 342 – Economics of Gender
Analysis of gender differences in employment, earnings and division of labor in the household. Family, labor market, discrimination, segregation, historical and international conditions, and antidiscrimination legislation. Prerequisites: 281, 310-1,2.
ECON 349 – Industrial Economics
Price and efficiency performance of American industries representative of various types of market structures and practices. Prerequisites: 281, 310-1,2.
ECON 350 – Monopoly, Competition, and Public Policy
Present public policy and unsettled issues with respect to structure and practices of industrial markets; concentration, vertical integration, and forms and effectiveness of competition. Prerequisites: 281, 310-1,2.
ECON 351 – Law and Economics
The impact of judicial decisions and statutory enactments on economic behavior, including corporate law, antitrust and regulation statutes and the way this affects markets. Prerequisites: 281, 310-1,2.
ECON 354 – Issues in Urban and Regional Economics
Factors affecting the spatial distribution of economic activity. Applications of economic analysis to problems of urban areas such as housing markets, zoning restrictions, and racial patterns of employment and housing. Prerequisites: 281, 310-1,2.
ECON 355 – Transportation Economics and Public Policy
The demand for alternative modes by passengers and shippers. Cost of providing transportation, competition, regulation, optimal pricing, subsidies, congestion pricing, and urban transit. Prerequisites: 281, 310-1,2.
ECON 359 – Economics of Nonprofit Organizations
The economic rationale for the non-profit sector in a mixed economy. Topics include the objectives and behavior of non-profit organizations, competition with commercial firms, volunteerism, and charitable donation. Prerequisites: 281, 310-1,2.
ECON 360-1 – Foundations of Corporate Finance Theory
How corporations allocate resources over time as facilitated by capital markets. Theory of asset evaluation, economic analysis of uncertainty, and capital budgeting and capital structure decisions. Prerequisites: 281, 310-1, 311. (Should not be taken by students who have taken IEMS 326 or KELLG_FE 310 or BUS_INST 304. Course was numbered 360-0 prior to Winter Quarter 2014)
ECON 360-2 – Investments
The range of financial instruments available to investors. Optimal portfolio strategies in bonds and stocks from the perspective of individual and institutional investors. Prerequisites: 360-1 (Should not be taken by students who have taken KELLG_FE 312.)
ECON 361 – International Trade
International and inter-regional trade. Factors influencing trade in goods and services between areas. Reasons for and effects of impediments to trade, such as transport costs, tariffs, quotas, and voluntary export restrictions. Prerequisites: 281, 310-1,2; 311.
ECON 362 – International Finance
Determination of exchange rates, balance of payments, and international asset flows and prices; international transmission of macroeconomic disturbances. Prerequisites: 281, 310-1, 311.
ECON 370 – Environmental and Natural Resource Economics
Externalities and the role of property rights, pollution, waste disposal, common property problems, renewable resource management, nonrenewable resource use and depletion, recyclable resources, water allocation, and management of public lands. Prerequisites: 281, 310-1,2. Students may not receive credit for both Econ 370 and Econ 372 or 373.
ECON 371 – Economics of Energy
Analysis of the functioning and regulation of electricity, oil and natural gas markets. Includes discussion of competition and environmental concerns. Pre-requisites: 281, 310-1,2.
ECON 372 – Environmental Economics
Economic analysis of scarcity and incentives explaining environmental issues such as pollution and climate change. Modeling and evaluation of public policy. Pre-requisites: 281, 310-1,2. Students may not receive credit for both Econ 370 and Econ 372.
ECON 373 – Natural Resource Economics
Evaluation of economics models and public policy concerning natural resources such as farming, fisheries, forests, minerals, ores and fossil fuels. Pre-requisites: 281, 310-1,2. Students may not receive credit for both Econ 370 and Econ 373.
ECON 380-1 – Game Theory
Non-cooperative game theory, with applications to industrial organization, auctions, and theories of the firm. Prerequisites: 310-1,2; MATH 224 & 230. (Should not be taken by students who have completed MMSS 211-2.)
ECON 380-2 – Game Theory
Cooperative and noncooperative game theory and decision making under uncertainty. Prerequisite: 380-1 or consent of instructor.
ECON 381-1 – Econometrics
Probability and distribution theory, statistical inference, simple and multiple regression, specification error and multicollinearity, heteroskedasticity and serial correlation, measurement error, dummy variables. Prerequisite: 310-1 (281, 310-2, 311 recommended); Math 230, 234, 240 and 314 (or equivalent).
ECON 381-2 – Econometrics
Hypothesis testing, estimation with deficit data, distributed lags, panel data, simultaneous equation systems, limited dependent variables. Prerequisite: 381-1 (310-2, 311 recommended).
ECON 383 – Applied Econometrics
Methods for using actual data together with modern software to build, assess critically, and interpret econometric models of real world phenomena and policy issues. Prerequisites: 281, 310-1.
ECON 398 – Senior Seminar
For students of superior ability. Original research on a topic of interest to the student, culminating in a senior thesis. By department invitation only. Grade of K given in 398-1. Prerequisites: 281; 310-1,2; 311; MATH 224 & 230; at least four 300-level economics electives.
ECON 399 – Independent Study
Advanced work through reading, research, and discussion to build on economics coursework taken by the student. Project to be decided by mutual agreement with a faculty member.
Courses Primarily for Graduate Students
ECON 401 – Mathematical Methods of Economic Theory
Linear algebra and multivariate calculus, emphasizing results used in graduate-level economic theory courses.
ECON 410 – Microeconomics
Modern theory of consumer behavior and of the firm; competitive equilibrium; game theory; informational asymmetries in markets. (Required sequence.)
ECON 411 – Macroeconomics
Aggregative economic theory of consumption, investment, money, interest, price level, economic growth, and fluctuations. (Required sequence.)
ECON 412 – Economic Theory and Methods
Methodological aspects of modern economic theory. Problems in economic decision making, strategic interaction, and welfare economics.
ECON 414 – Economics of Information
Asymmetric information in markets and organizations. Topics include search, signaling, bidding, rational expectations, moral hazard, principal-agent problems, and contract-mechanism design.
ECON 415 – Advanced Microeconomics
Current topics in microeconomic theory; emphasis on mathematical formulations and techniques.
ECON 416 – Advanced Macroeconomics
Recent contributions to macroeconomics. Topics may include determinants of aggregate demand and supply; models of economic growth; money supply; interest rates; capital markets; and level of prices and outputs.
ECON 420-1 – Advanced Topics in American Economic History
New research techniques and results. Economic analysis of historical problems, particularly developments in the post-cliometric era.
ECON 420-2 – Advanced Topics in European Economic History
Application of economic theory and other quantitative techniques to studies of European economic evolution.
ECON 425 – Theory of Economic Development
Theories of economic development and growth. Includes both the macroeconomic aspects of long-term patterns of economic growth and the micro-economic structure, performance, and problems of developing economies.
ECON 430 – Monetary Theory and Policy
Advanced issues in national and international monetary theory and policy. (Courses on these topics are also taught as 416-1,2,3 and 460-1,2,3.)
ECON 436 – Theory and Practice of Public Finance
The design and effects of government spending and tax programs. Theoretical and empirical aspects of government spending and taxes are analyzed, primarily in the United States.
ECON 440 – Economics of the Labor Market
Theoretical and empirical study of the structure and functions of labor markets.
ECON 450 – Industrial Organization and Prices
Theoretical and empirical analysis of basic influences on industrial markets, their economic organization, practices and price formation, and related public policy issues.
ECON 460 – International Economics
Analytical tools for understanding international and interregional economic relations. International trade policy. Relationship of theory to specific problems.
ECON 480 – Introduction to Econometrics
Nonparametric and linear regression, identification, principles of statistical inference, extremum estimators, asymptotic statistical theory, time series analysis, discrete response analysis, structural microeconometrics. (Required sequence.)
ECON 481 – Econometrics
Advanced theory of identification, estimation, and statistical inference. Includes partial identification of probability distributions, the bootstrap, refinements of asymptotic theory, and semi- and nonparametric structural microeconometrics.
ECON 482 – Applied Econometrics: Time-Series Methods
Topics include univariate ARIMA modeling, vector auto-regressions, autoregressive conditional heteroskedasticity, generalized method of moments, and nonstationary time series.
ECON 483 – Applied Econometrics: Cross-Section Methods
Methods used to analyze large cross-section and panel data sets with emphasis on applications. Analysis of covariance, fixed effects and random effects models, simultaneous equations and qualitative variables, and duration models.
ECON 498 – Advanced Topics in Economics
Topics vary with the field of specialization of visiting or regular faculty.
ECON 499 – Independent Study
Permission of instructor and department required. May be repeated for credit.
ECON 501 – Graduate Student Seminar
Student presentations of research papers. Primarily aimed at third year students.
ECON 515 – Research Seminar in Economic Theory
Open to graduate students with research interests in economic theory.
ECON 520 – Research Seminar in Economic History
Open to graduate students with research interests in economic history.
ECON 530 – Research Seminar in Macroeconomics
Open to graduate students with research interests in macroeconomics.
ECON 535 – Research Seminar in Applied Microeconomics
Open to graduate students with research interests in labor, public finance, health care, education and development economics.
ECON 536 – Research Seminar in Public Finance
Open to graduate students with research interests in public finance.
ECON 540 – Research Seminar in Labor Economics
Open to graduate students with research interests in labor economics.
ECON 550 – Research Seminar in Industrial Organization
Open to graduate students with research interests in industrial organization.
ECON 560 – Research Seminar in Development and Trade Economics
Open to graduate students with research interests in international economics and economic development.
ECON 580 – Research Seminar in Econometrics
Open to graduate students with research interests in econometrics.