DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMICS
Economics
Spring 2010 Course Descriptions
ECON 190S – Principles of Economics
4 semester hours
Frost, Marcia, Gwinn, Lawrence 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 205 - Macroeconomic Stabilization Policy
2 semester hours
Gwinn, Lawrence
Prerequisite: Economics 190S
Macroeconomic Stabilization Policy is a two-semester hour course building on the fundamentals learned in Economics 190. The course is intended to elevate the understanding of economics, financial economics, and management majors to a level that allows them to understand the macroeconomic environment in which institutions operate and to easily transition to upper level economics courses that employ macroeconomic analysis. Economics 205 also covers the relationship between foreign exchange rate systems and the domestic economy. The course will be of interest to any student desiring further study of how central banks and governments respond to the problems of inflation and unemployment using monetary and fiscal policy.
ECON 290 – Topics – The Economy of China
4 semester hours
Frost, Marcia
This course is designed to introduce China’s economy, the fastest growing and soon to become the second largest in the world, and the innumerable challenges it faces of both economic transition from command to free markets and economic development. Topics will include the historical evolution of the economy during the 20th & 21st centuries, the rural-urban and provincial divides between the have and have-nots, patterns of growth and development in the countryside and cities, living standards and human capital, international trades and foreign investment, environment and sustainable growth. Writing intensive. A CLAC option is available; see Foreign Languages for more information.
ECON 301 – Financial Markets and Institutions
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.
The course will have a lecture/discussion format and will involve regular reading of the Wall Street Journal. Exams, quizzes, and class discussion 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 315 – Labor Economics
4 semester hours
Frost, Marcia
Labor Economics explores the determinants of the supply of and demand for labor, wages and working conditions, and the productivity of labor. It is concerned with both the microeconomic decision-making of individuals, households, and firms, and the macroeconomic outcomes of their decisions. The course will also explore the institutional framework of contemporary labor markets, including discrimination and affirmative action, government regulation, and unions. Lecture/discussion format. This course has an optional service-learning component.
ECON 330 – International Trade and Finance
4 semester hours
Gwinn, Lawrence
Prerequisites: ECON 190 and MATH 120 (or Math Placement Level 25)
International Trade and Finance is a study of the principles governing the effect of international trade on nations’ welfare as well as on domestic income, unemployment, and prices. Topics include the pattern of exports and imports, the process by which countries gain from international trade and how those gains result in a redistribution of welfare within countries, and the pitfalls associated with tariffs and other trade restrictions. The effect of exchange rate systems on national economics and on the international market for assets receives particular attention.
ECON 365 – Law and Economics
4 semester hours
Wishart, David
Prerequisites: ECON 310 or permission of instructor
Law and Economics is a relatively new field that has emerged in the last 20 to 30 years. Prior to that, legal issues entered into economic analysis in only a few areas such as antitrust law, regulation of business, and tax policies. More recently, economists have begun to use their tools of analysis to explore areas such as property law, contract law, torts, as well as criminal law and procedure. The legal system is an institution. Institutions determine the incentives that people face. Economics has much to say about how people respond to incentives. A primary concern for those who work in the field of law and economics is to discover how legal rules should be established (or changed) in ways that structure incentives to promote economic efficiency. Clearly, law and economics is a field where microeconomic theory can be applied to good effect. Well explore the variety of ways that law and economic analysis can be used together to promote efficiency. Lecture/discussion format.
ECON 400 – Senior Seminar in Economics
4 semester hours
Wishart, David
Prerequisites: ECON 280 or 310, ECON 301 or 311, ECON 300, MATH 131 or 201, and senior standing.
This capstone course for both the Economics and Financial Economics majors requires students to synthesize their knowledge of economics by applying rigorous economic analysis to contemporary policy issues or historical questions of interest. Depending on instructor and student preferences, the course may take different forms: A series of short papers and student presentations based on current issues in economics and political economy as reported in the news media, such as The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, and The Economist, a semester-long research project culminating in a thesis, or the course could emerge as a hybrid with some students opting for shorter papers and others a major project. It is possible that work can be accomplished in groups of two or three students. In any event, students will be expected to apply economic theory and use econometrics to examine economic questions. Grades will be based on the quality of papers, presentations, and class participation. Seminar format. Writing intensive.
