Economics Course Descriptions

Explores the market mechanism, with a detailed examination of supply and demand and applications to monopoly power, externalities, resource markets, and instruments of social action. Prerequisite: MGT 123 or any 100-level or higher mathematics course. Liberal Arts Core/University Requirements Designation: SS-1. (3)

This course examines the measurement and determination of aggregate levels of income and output, employment, and prices. The role of the central bank and the impact of government spending and taxation are examined as well. Prerequisite: MGT 123 or any 100-level or higher mathematics course. Liberal Arts Core/University Requirements Designation: SS-1. (3)

This course examines the functions of various financial instruments, the markets in which they trade, and the financial institutions that support them. Students will master the basics of time value of money, valuation of financial instruments, and risk management techniques. Students will also explore the impact of the financial sector on the real economy by discovering how the financial sector supports economic activity and describing how the absence of critical financial elements can undermine economic growth. Finally, students will identify the mechanisms through which financial crises reverberate through the real economy. Prerequisite: a grade of C- or better in ECO 210 or ECO 211. (3)

This course explores the application of economic analysis to issues of natural resources and the environment. Topics include environmental externalities, environmental cost-benefit analysis, common property resources, alternative pollution control measures, climate change, and the relationship between environmental quality and economic growth. Prerequisite: ECO 210 or ECO 211 with a grade of C- or better. Liberal Arts Core/University Requirements Designation: SS-2. (3)

This course uses microeconomic principles to explore the decisions of owners and business managers in the sports industry. Topics include players’ salaries and union contract negotiations, ticket sales, the market for broadcast rights, and stadium financing. The course also examines the economics of collegiate sports and the expanding international markets in broadcast rights, athletes’ contracts, and team paraphernalia. Prerequisite: ECO 210 with a grade of C- or better or permission of the instructor. Liberal Arts Core/University Requirements Designation: DSINQ, SS-2. (3)

This course surveys the American economic condition from colonial days to the present. Economic developments within the United States are placed in the context of social and demographic changes, technological developments, fiscal and regulatory policies, and world events. Linkages between broad economic trends and individual businesses will be explored by juxtaposing key historical macroeconomic developments with the history of industries chosen by the students. (3)

This course focuses on the following topics: basic theory of consumer behavior; production and costs; partial equilibrium analysis of pricing in competitive and monopolistic markets; general equilibrium; welfare; and externalities. Knowledge of basic concepts is assumed, and new tools are developed to analyze individual decision making under constraints. Students will learn to solve and analyze consumer and firm maximization problems, imperfect competition models, and game theory fundamentals. Most of the topics will include theoretical derivations as well as real-life applications. This course is recommended for students planning to apply to graduate school in economics, accounting, or finance. Prerequisite: ECO 210 with a minimum grade of C-. Liberal Arts Core/University Requirements Designation: SS-2. (3)

Macroeconomics is the study of aggregate economic activity. This course provides a comprehensive overview of macroeconomics. Students will study how economists model macroeconomic relationships and the theoretical debate over the nature of these relationships. The central ideas of macroeconomics are useful in understanding long-run economic growth and short-term economic fluctuations. In addition, students will learn about two main macroeconomic policy tools of the government — fiscal and monetary policy. Building on the theory of modern macroeconomics, this course evaluates the possibilities and limitations of government policy in dealing with business cycles, inflation, unemployment, and growth. Prerequisite: ECO 211 with a minimum grade C-. Liberal Arts Core/University Requirements Designation: SS-2. (3)

This course provides an application of microeconomics. Topics include estimation of demand, production and cost functions, and optimal pricing and output decisions under various market structures. Prerequisite: ECO 210. Liberal Arts Core/University Requirements Designation: DSINQ. (3)

This course provides an analysis of the American banking system, monetary theories, and monetary policies with an emphasis on the economic importance of the Federal Reserve System. Prerequisite: ECO 211. Liberal Arts Core/University Requirements Designation: SS-2. (3)

This course covers the statistical tools needed to understand empirical economic research and to plan and execute independent research projects. Topics include statistical inference, regression, generalized least squares, dummy variables, instrumental variables, simultaneous equations models, and evaluation of government policies and programs. Prerequisites: ECO 210, ECO 211, and MA 132 or MA 218 with a minimum grade of C- in each course. (3)

What are the lives of the poor like? Will poor countries remain poor? What is poverty like in the United States? What factors contribute to poverty? What leads to prosperity? What policies might help? This course explores why extreme poverty, child mortality, poor health, low levels of education, gender inequality, environmental degradation, high fertility, and child labor are pervasive in the developing world and why poverty remains persistent in the United States. Prerequisite: ECO 210, ECO 211, or permission of the instructor. Liberal Arts Core/University Requirements Designation: GP, SS-2. (3)

Whoever said that crime never pays? Should tobacco companies be liable for smokers’ health care costs? This course identifies how to design legal rules that provide the greatest good to the greatest number. Students will use the principles of law and economics to better understand intellectual property, tobacco litigation, employment discrimination, automobile accident law, land use regulation, nuisance law, contract law, and criminal law. Prerequisite: ECO 210. Liberal Arts Core/University Requirements Designation: SS-2. (3)

How do limitations in the ability to think and know affect economic decision making? Are people really as rational as economists often assume them to be? Behavioral economics studies how cognitive limitations, biases, social influence, uncertainty, and emotions affect individuals’ economic decision making. A brief overview of how economists use experimental methods in laboratory environments to study experimental economics will be covered, and the implications of behavioral economics on policy will be explored. Prerequisite: ECO 210 or permission of the instructor. Liberal Arts Core/University Requirements Designation: SS-2. (3)

This course provides an exploration of the theories of the regulation of economic activity, its application, and its implications. Topics will include why and how the government regulates some type of economic activity (antitrust, industrial, and social policies) and how to economically design and asses the regulation policy. Prerequisite: ECO 210. (3)

A selected group of substantive macroeconomic theories and issues will be explored in-depth, using a variety of current sources and the various tools of macroeconomic analysis. Prerequisites: ECO 210, ECO 211, and EN 102. Liberal Arts Core/University Requirements Designation: DSINQ, WI, SS-2. (3)

Students in this course will conduct collaborative research (scholarly work leading to new knowledge) under the direction of a faculty member. Prerequisite: application and approval of department chair. Liberal Arts Core/University Requirements Designation: EXP. (1-6)

This course provides an overview of research methods and academic writing skills useful for economics, including probability, statistics, econometric analysis, academic writing, and library and journal research. Prerequisites: MA 132 or above and ECO 210, ECO 211, or permission of the instructor. Liberal Arts Core/University Requirements Designation: DSINQ, WI. (3)

The senior seminar is an opportunity for assisted, self-directed study of a topic of interest. The study will culminate in a paper and oral presentation. Prerequisite: 12 credits in economics courses numbered above 300. (3)

This course provides an introduction to the theory of international trade and finance with an emphasis on exchange markets, trade policies, factor movements, and the interrelationship of the domestic and international economy. Prerequisites: ECO 210 and ECO 211. Liberal Arts Core/University Requirements Designation: GP. (3)

Senior students may register for field experience in cooperating Washington metropolitan area firms or organizations. The internship is monitored by the School of Business and Technology director of internships in the Center for Career Development and a representative of the cooperating company. Prerequisites: permission of School of Business and Technology director of internships in the Center for Career Development; minimum of nine (9) credits in 300/400-level economics courses; minimum of 90 credits in the program with a cumulative GPA of 2.0 or better; and a cumulative GPA of 2.0 or better in all economics courses. Liberal Arts Core/University Requirements Designation: EXP. (3)