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Economics Course Descriptions

  • ECON 150. Special Topics
    Credits: 4. Recent offerings include both standard fields of economics, interdisciplinary fields (e.g., Methods of Social Research, offered jointly with the Department of Sociology and Anthropology; Economic History of the United States, offered jointly with the Department of History), and other topics of interest to the faculty (e.g., Democracy at Work; Women, Children and Economic Policy). Prerequisites: will vary depending on the design of the course. May also be offered at 250, 350 and 450 levels.
  • ECON 221. Macroeconomic Principles: “Global Vision: the U.S. in the World Economy”
    Credits: 4. The study of aggregate supply and demand; national income and fiscal policy; the banking system and monetary policy; economic fluctuations and growth—all viewed from a global systems perspective. Applied topics include: unemployment, inflation, gross domestic product, interest rates, economic forecasting, the Federal Reserve system, technological change, productivity, business cycles, foreign exchange markets, the balance of international payments and others, depending on current developments in the economy. Fulfills social science requirement.
  • ECON 222. Microeconomic Principles: Public Policy
    Credits: 4. The study of economics; supply and demand; consumer behavior; firms, production and cost; perfect competition, monopoly and other market types; income distribution; all explained with the goal of understanding economic problems and evaluating public policy to solve these problems. Applications to agriculture, energy, environment, poverty, economic development, discrimination, natural resources, taxes, regulation, sports and other special topics, depending on the semester. May be taken independently of ECON 221. Fulfills social science and social justice/environmental responsibility requirements.
  • ECON 260. Independent Study
    Credits: 1-4. Independent research or directed study on a topic of interest to the student. Credit depends on the quality and quantity of work agreed upon in advance; generally, for example, one credit would be earned for an acceptable 20-page paper. Prerequisite: consent of the department. May also be offered at 360 and 460 levels.
  • ECON 290. Internship
    Credits: 1-4. May also be offered at the 390 level.
  • ECON 301. Research Methods
    Credits: 4. The course focuses on the key areas of quantitative research methods including the scientific method, selection of research design, data collection and sampling, questionnaire design, data analysis and interpretation and ethical issues in research design. Class assignments and projects enable students to develop their proficiency in using descriptive and inferential statistics to analyze and interpret data. Prerequisite: ECON 222 or instructor permission.
  • ECON 302. Economic History of the United States (HIST 302)
    Credits: 4. Examines key issues in economic history in the United States, including the emergence and spread of market institutions, the changing nature and conditions of work through different periods, the rise of big business and impact of industrial capitalism and the methods and outcomes of those who resisted these changes. Short research projects and a semester-long paper provide opportunities to engage in historical research. Prerequisite: ECON 222 or instructor permission. Alternate years.
  • ECON 333. Money and Capital Markets (BUS 333)
    Credits: 4. Explores how the financial and world money systems operate in a global economy, the evolution of financial markets and institutions, the role that theories of money play in current economic events and in the policy efforts of the Federal Reserve and other central banks with respect to the rate of inflation, real economic activity, unemployment rates, current prices and international flows of commodities and capital. Prerequisite: ECON 221.
  • ECON 335. Comparative Economic Systems: “The Rise and Fall of the Soviet Empire”
    Credits: 4. Historical analysis of the rise and decline of socialist-type economies (especially the former USSR, but cases for student research include Eastern Europe, China, Cuba, etc.) and the challenges of transition and integration into the world capitalist system. In this seminar-style course, students select a particular country other than Russia for in-depth semester-long research. Prerequisite: ECON 221, ECON 222, or consent of the instructor. Alternate years.
  • ECON 336. Economic and Social Development: “‘Beneath’ the United States”
    Credits: 4. U.S. policy-makers frequently view Latin America and the Caribbean as “beneath” the United States. This seminar-style course adopts a radically different perspective: from within Latin America looking outwards. Prerequisite: ECON 221, ECON 222, or consent of the instructor. Fulfills intercultural requirement. Alternate years.
  • ECON 342. Poverty, Power and Policy
    Credits: 4. Is government merely a necessary evil or can it be an effective force to improve the lives of its citizens? This course examines the role and performance of government programs in economy, raising significant social and economic issues such as wealth distribution, poverty, taxation and economic fairness. Prerequisite: ECON 222 or instructor permission. Fulfills social justice/environmental responsibility requirement. Alternate years.
  • ECON 344. Environmental and Resource Economics
    Credits: 4. Is economic growth necessary to provide the prosperity needed to pay for environmental restoration or does such growth create environmental problems we can never undo? The course uses economic theory, ecological concepts and systems approaches to examine current management practices of our renewable and nonrenewable resources. Prerequisite: ECON 222 or consent of the instructor. Fulfills social justice/environmental responsibility requirement. Alternate years.
  • ECON 432. International Economics: “‘Beside’ the United States”
    Credits: 4. Systematic approach to international economic relations; theories of international trade and finance; impact of national governments and multinational institutions on movements of commodities, people, direct investment, portfolio flows and foreign exchange markets; and application of international economic theory to current problems of the world economic order. Prerequisite: ECON 221, 222, or instructor permission. Alternate years.
  • ECON 441. Labor Economics
    Credits: 4. Alternative approaches to labor-market theory and policy: perfect competition, segmentation and dual labor-market hypotheses. Income distribution; unions and collective bargaining; and discrimination and poverty macroeconomics of the labor market. Prerequisite: ECON 222 or instructor permission.
  • ECON 470. Senior Thesis
    Credits: 1-4. Research and oral presentation of an in-depth study, usually building from research done in other upper-level economics courses. For students of exceptional motivation and ability. Prerequisite: consent of the department prior to the middle of the second semester of the student’s junior year.
  • ECON 490. Departmental Honors
    Credits: 4.