DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMICS

An introduction to economics with emphasis on macroeconomics. Topics include: scarcity and choice, elements of supply and demand, inflation, unemployment, recessions, booms, fiscal and monetary policy, international balance of payments, and budget deficits.  Prerequisite: basic algebra and graphing.

An introductory course on the fundamentals of microeconomics.  The behavior of individuals and firms in deciding on prices and allocation of scarce resources.  Topics include: consumer preferences, costs of production, equilibrium prices and output, different market types, potential market failures, and the role of government interventions and public policy.  Prerequisite: ECON 201-0.

The role of money, banking, and financial markets in the modern economy. Topics include: function and history of money, financial flows, evolving nature of banks and their regulation, monetary policy, modern central bank practices, effect of monetary policy on economic outcomes, and the response to financial crises. Prerequisites: ECON 281-0, ECON 310-1, ECON 311-0.

A more mathematically formal and rigorous treatment of the core concepts of microeconomics introduced in ECON 202-0.  Topics include: consumer behavior and the theory of demand, costs of production and the nature of equilibrium in competitive and monopolistic markets. Prerequisites: ECON 201-0, ECON 202-0, MATH 220-1.

A more mathematically formal and rigorous treatment of the core concepts of macroeconomics introduced in ECON 201-0.  Topics include: aggregate consumption, inflation, unemployment, growth, international balances between countries, and the role of monetary and fiscal policy. Prerequisites: ECON 201-0, ECON 202-0, MATH 220-1.

Economic development of the United States with emphasis on changing structure and performance of the economy: Colonial period to 1865. Prerequisites: ECON 281-0, ECON 310-1, ECON 311-0.

Macroeconomic aspects of long-term patterns of economic development, and the examination of differences in the income levels and growth performances across countries. The role of investment, education, population, and technological change in economic growth. Prerequisites: ECON 281-0, ECON 310-1, ECON 310-2, ECON 311-0.

Economists have found it useful to relax the traditional assumptions of an economy in equilibrium populated by agents who are perfectly rational.  Complexity economics is one alternative approach that assumes that markets may not be in equilibrium and that the people in the economy may not perfectly understand their environment.  They face fundamental uncertainty in their decision-making. Prerequisites: ECON 281-0, ECON 310-1, ECON 310-2, ECON 311-0.

The theory and empirical analysis of employment relationships.  Topics include: decision to participate in the labor market, tradeoff between labor and leisure, demand for labor by firms, matching of workers and jobs, role and effect of trade unions, minimum wage legislation, labor mobility, and human capital acquisition, Prerequisites: ECON 281-0, ECON 310-1, ECON 310-2, ECON 311-0.

Analysis of the issues and tradeoffs involved in forming a portfolio of financial instruments from the perspectives of individual and institutional investors. Prerequisites: ECON 360-1 or equivalent (Should not be taken by students who have taken KELLG_FE 312-0.)

Economic analysis of scarcity and incentives explaining environmental issues such as pollution and climate change. Modeling and evaluation of public policy. Prerequisites: ECON 281-0, ECON 310-1, ECON 310-2.

Second part of the upper-level econometrics sequence.  The course introduces additional econometrics tools beyond those introduced in ECON 381-1.  The course also explores the empirical application of these tools, and how to evaluate critically econometric and statistical methods used in policy analysis.  Prerequisite: ECON 381-1, (ECON 310-2, ECON 311-0 recommended).

Theoretical treatment of the behavior of consumers and firms.  Topics include: uncertainty, monotone comparative statics, competitive equilibrium, matching, game theory, informational asymmetries, and mechanism design (Required sequence.)

Methodological aspects of modern economic theory. Problems in economic decision making, strategic interaction, and welfare economics.

Theoretical and empirical study of economic behavior and institutions in developing countries.

Theoretical and empirical analysis of the behavior of firms, the structure of markets and related public policy issues.

Nonparametric and linear regression, identification, principles of statistical inference, extremum estimators, asymptotic statistical theory, discrete response analysis, and and structural microeconometrics. (Required sequence.)

Student presentations of research papers. Primarily aimed at third year students.

Open to graduate students with research interests in economic history.

Open to graduate students with research interests in macroeconomics.

Open to graduate students with research interests in industrial organization.

A mathematical introduction to probability theory and statistical methods, including properties of probability distributions, sampling distributions, estimation, confidence intervals, and hypothesis testing. STAT 210-0 is primarily intended for economics majors. May not receive credit for both STAT 202-0 and STAT 210-0. Prerequisite: strong background in high school algebra (calculus is not required).