Economics (EC)
101. INTRODUCTION TO ECONOMIC PROBLEMS AND POLICIES
3 cr. No prerequisite. Survey of selected current socio economic
issues and problems: market structure, costs and competition, international
trade, environmental concerns, economic growth, financial panics, inflation,
and unemployment. Use of fundamental economic concepts and basic tools
of economic analysis. This course cannot be used as part of an economics
major, the business core for business majors, or the business minor.
201-202. PRINCIPLES OF ECONOMICS I, II 3 cr. each Economic
principles and problems. 201: the nature of economics and its method,
the economic problem, demand and supply analysis, costs of production,
market structures, product and resource pricing, and international trade.
202: economic goals, facts of the American economy, national income
accounting, international finance, theories of income determination,
economic growth and instability, money and banking, monetary and fiscal
policy, the public debt, and selected economic problems. Algebra is
used throughout both courses.
205-206. BUSINESS AND ECONOMIC STATISTICS I, II 3 cr. each
Prerequisites: BI 106 and MT 133-134, 135; or consent of chair. 205:
elements of statistical analysis, descriptive statistics, probability
distributions, sampling, sampling distributions, statistical inference,
and hypothesis testing. 206: chi square analysis, analysis of variance,
correlation, bivariate and multivariate regression analysis, time series,
and index numbers. Some student assignments will utilize the computer.
299. SPECIAL TOPICS 1-3 cr. Specialized focus in selected
areas of economics.
301. MICROECONOMICS 3 cr. Prerequisites: EC 201-202,
MT 133-134 or 135 or consent of chair. Detailed analysis of the behavior
of consuming and producing units, determination of prices and outputs
through the market, resource allocation and distribution. Problems of
decision making and planning.
302. MACROECONOMICS 3 cr. Prerequisites: EC 201-202,
MT 133-134 or 135 or consent of chair. Theories of the determination
of the level of national economic activity: output, income, employment,
and its relationship to economic growth, stability and the price level.
Particular emphasis on the components of aggregate demand and aggregate
supply.
304. HISTORY OF ECONOMIC THOUGHT 3 cr. Prerequisite:
EC 201-202. Survey of economic thought covering leading economists from
the mercantilist period to mid 20th century; emphasis on continuities
and discontinuities in the stream of thought and links to contemporary
theory; methodological, theoretical, and policy controversies.
311. MONEY AND BANKING 3 cr. Prerequisites: EC 201-202.
Money and credit; historical and institutional development of the United
States financial system; monetary theory; and policies of financial
regulators.
312. ECONOMICS OF THE PUBLIC SECTOR 3 cr. Prerequisites:
EC 201-202. Theory and practice of public expenditures, taxation, including
personal and corporate income, property and sales taxes; shifting and
incidence; public debt; federal, state and local government fiscal problems.
315. ENVIRONMENTAL ECONOMICS 3 cr. Prerequisites: EC
201-202. Designed to acquaint students with analytical tools of environmental
economics, including cost benefit analysis, user charges, rationing
of scarce resources, investment allocation criteria, and public expenditure
criteria.
321. LABOR AND HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT 3 cr. Prerequisites:
EC 201-202. Examines the organization, functioning, and outcomes of
labor markets; the decisions of prospective and present labor market
participants; and public policies which relate to the employment and
payment of labor resources. Typical topics include: determination of
wages, prices, profits; individual human capital acquisition and labor
supply decisions; labor unions and collective bargaining; labor law
and public policy; contemporary issues such as discrimination, immigration,
and health.
331. INDUSTRIAL ORGANIZATION AND PUBLIC POLICIES 3 cr.
Prerequisites: EC 201-202. Theoretical, empirical, and policy analysis
of the structure, conduct, and performance of major American industries.
Analysis of antitrust legislation and its effects on industry competitiveness
and performance.
342. INTERNATIONAL ECONOMICS 3 cr. Prerequisites: EC
201-202. International trade theory, commercial policy, and economic
interdependence. Exchange rates and the foreign exchange market, the
balance of payments, parity conditions, and the international monetary
system.
343. ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT 3 cr. Prerequisites: EC 201-202.
Theoretical and policy issues in economic growth and development with
emphasis on specific country policies and experience; alternative development
paths; problems of development planning; policies for achieving growth
and development in emerging countries; and conditions necessary for
continued growth in advanced countries.
345. ECONOMIC HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES (HS 345) 3 cr. Prerequisites:
EC 201-202. Growth of the U.S. economy from colonial times to post World
War II period. Development of transportation, commerce, labor, agriculture,
industry, money and banking; economic and political issues and the increasing
role of government in the economy.
352. COMPARATIVE ECONOMIC SYSTEMS 3 cr. Prerequisites:
EC 201-202. Examines the major economic systems of the world, in both
theory and practice. Focuses on a general understanding of how economic
systems work and how economic theory interacts with government policy,
history, and culture to explain economic performance in capitalist regulated
markets, socialist regulated markets, socialist centrally planned economies,
transitional economies, and other emerging economic systems.
361. URBAN AND REGIONAL ECONOMICS 3 cr. Prerequisites:
EC 201-202. Application of the analytical techniques of economic theory
to particular urban and regional problems. Economic rationale of cities,
urban and regional growth and development, classical location theory,
analysis of urban markets, and policy approaches to both urban and regional
problems.
405. SEMINAR IN ECONOMICS 3 cr. Prerequisites: EC 201-202,
and/or as announced. Contemporary issues in economics not covered in
depth in other departmental courses. Specific topic, method of presentation,
and student requirement designated by the seminar leader. Examples might
include, but are not limited to: the portfolio approach to exchange
rates and the balance of payments; alternatives to standard international
trade models; causes and consequences of income and wealth inequalities.
409. MATHEMATICAL ECONOMICS 3 cr. Prerequisites: EC
201-202; MT 133-134 or 135 or consent of chair. Economic theory from
a mathematical perspective. Partial and general equilibrium input output
analysis, macroeconomic models, and the optimizing behavior of firms
and individuals using matrix algebra and calculus.
410. ECONOMETRICS 3 cr. Prerequisites: EC 201-202;
205-206 or consent of the chair. Recommended: EC 301 and/or 302 and
409. Building econometric models, understanding different econometric
methods, estimating models using computer packages.
451. ECONOMICS FOR MANAGERS 3 cr. Prerequisites: EC
201-202 and 205-206, or consent of chair. Application of price theory,
the theory of the firm, optimization techniques, statistical estimation
and decision theory to selected practical problems faced by the manager.
Topics include demand analysis and estimation, cost and production analysis,
pricing problems, investment and capital budgeting, and government regulation
of business.
498. INDEPENDENT STUDY 1 3 cr. Prerequisites: economics
major; upper division status; 3.0 average in economics; consent of chair
and instructor. Research project supervised by a member of the department
willing to act as advisor. The student selects an aspect of economics,
establishes goals, and develops a plan of study. Plan must be approved
by chair and filed with dean’s office. Consult chair for the departmental
guidelines established for such study.
499. SPECIAL TOPICS IN ECONOMICS 3 cr. Prerequisites:
economics major; senior standing or consent of chair. Integrative senior
seminar for all economics majors. A faculty supervised research project
is required.
