ECON 190S – Principles of Economics
4 semester hours
Ankrom, Jeff, Frost, Marcia, Gwinn, Lawrence, Tiffany, Frederick, and Wishart, David
Prerequisites: Students must have attained the math placement level 22 to enroll.
An introduction to basic principles of economics. Topics covered include supply and demand, marginal analysis, competition, profit maximization, aggregate demand and supply, the level of employment, inflation, fiscal policy, monetary policy, and international trade. Lecture/discussion format.
Econ 240 – American Economic History
4 semester hours
Frost, Marcia
Prerequisites: ECON 190.
This course is primarily an exploration of the economic development of what is now the United States from pre-history into the 20th century. We will survey the “new economic history” that has been researched and written over the past four decades. Among the topics and issues we will examine are: economic growth in the long run and over the business cycle, including the pace, composition and proximate cause; human inputs and outcomes, including population growth, immigration, labor force and per capita income; and institutions, including money, government regulation & provision of goods and services, business and slavery. Lecture/discussion format. Writing intensive.
ECON 260C – East Asian Economies
4 semester hours
Gwinn, Lawrence
Prerequisites: ECON 190.
Study of specific problems and institutions of the East Asian economies. Topics include international trade and development practices as well as fiscal and monetary policies in the region. Writing Intensive.
ECON 301 – Money and Banking
4 semester hours
Ankrom, Jeff
Prerequisites: ECON 190 and MATH 120.
The course is meant to impart a basic understanding of money and financial institutions and their impact on the working of the economy. This will be accomplished by examining the following topics.
1. The role and functions of financial intermediaries.
2. The role of government in financial markets.
3. Central banks, monetary policy and the creation of money.
4. Pricing of financial assets, and risk/return models.
5. Models of interest rate determination and theories of the term structure of interest rates.
6. Mortgage and securitized asset markets.
7. Options and futures markets.
The course will have a lecture/discussion format and will involve regular reading of the Wall Street Journal. Exams, quizzes, and class discussion problems, form the basis for the course grade.
ECON 311 – Intermediate Macroeconomic Theory
4 semester hours
Gwinn, Lawrence
Prerequisites: ECON 190 and MATH 120 or its equivalent.
This course builds on the ideas presented in ECON 190 and develops in greater detail models that analyze the national economy, with an emphasis on the distinction between short-run and long-run equilibrium, and on the various schools of thought. We discuss problems inherent in fiscal and monetary stabilization policy and their relationship to unemployment, inflation, and economic growth. A good understanding of algebra is necessary.
ECON 370 – Mathematics for Economists
4 semester hours
Tiffany, Frederick
Prerequisites: ECON 310 and MATH 131 or 201. ECON 311 recommended.
The purpose of this course is to integrate the student’s understanding of mathematics and economics. We will review some basic calculus and learn some additional techniques of calculus (in particular the Lagrange method for constrained optimization) and, perhaps, linear algebra and use these to develop formal economic models. Many of the models will be familiar, e.g. consumer utility maximization, firm cost minimization and profit maximization. But they will be specified in the more formal terms that are used by practicing economists. The key insight for students will be to see how the math and economics they have learned fit together.
The course will be lecture-discussion format. Assessment will be through two or three in class exams, a comprehensive final exam, and collected homework problems. The syllabus will be somewhat flexible to adjust to students’ particular interests.
ECON 390 – Advanced Topics: Law and Economics
4 semester hours
Wishart, David
Prerequisites: ECON 310 or Permission of Instructor.
In the past, the connection between the field of economics and law has been limited to a few areas including regulation of monopolies, taxation, and the calculation of damages. However, in the past 25 years, a new field has emerged that closely connects economic analysis and legal analysis in some core areas of both the private law (property, contracts, and torts) and the public law (civil procedure and criminal law procedure, constitutional law, bankruptcy, securities regulation, and more. This course is an introduction to the scholarship associated with an economic analysis of the law. The course will be lecture/discussion in format. Grades will be based on two midterm exams, a final exam, and problem sets.
ECON 391 – Advanced Economic Theory
4 semester hours
Ankrom, Jeff and Tiffany, Frederick
Prerequisites: ECON 310 and 311, MGT 210, MATH 131 or 201.
This course broadens and deepens understanding of intermediate economic theory through the coverage of a series of advanced topics in both microeconomic and macroeconomic theory. The microeconomic portion of the course focuses on game theory and its use in economics while the macroeconomic portion is devoted to developing a market-clearing macroeconomic model and contrasting it with traditional Keynesian models. The course assumes basic knowledge of both calculus and probability. Lecture/discussion format.
