Undergraduate Economics
Undergraduate Economics
2024 Fall Term
Disclaimer
- This course listing is informational and does not guarantee availability for registration.
- Please click through to view the class schedule to see sections offered for your selected term.
- Sections may be full or not open for registration. Please use WINS if you wish to register for a course.
PRINCIPLES OF MICROECONOMICS
ECON 201
This course introduces microeconomic analysis and its application. Students examine how consumers and firms make decisions when facing scarce resources, as well as how those decisions affect market outcomes, such as prices and output. Students utilize models to understand supply and demand, theories of individual behavior and the firm, competition and monopoly and the distribution of income in society. Conventional grade basis only if this course is required in the College of Business and Economics for major.
PRINCIPLES OF MACROECONOMICS
ECON 202
This course introduces macroeconomic analysis and its application. Students study the economy as-a-whole, analyzing and interpreting macroeconomic data on national income, unemployment, inflation, interest rates and exchange rates. Basic models are utilized to understand recessions, recoveries and changes in macroeconomic data. Students use this understanding to evaluate taxes and government spending (fiscal) and interest rate (monetary) policies, as well as to identify their impacts on society. Conventional grade basis only if this course is required in the College of Business and Economics for major.
BUSINESS STATISTICS
ECON 245
This course introduces methods for utilizing data to answer questions of business, economic, social and policy interest. Students examine and interpret graphical and numerical methods of summarizing data, as well as apply probability concepts, theoretical probability distributions, sampling methods and sampling distributions. Students also calculate sample statistics, estimate population parameters, construct confidence intervals, formulate hypothesis tests and perform simple regression analysis. The skills and techniques covered allow students to effectively utilize data in the decision-making process.
INTERMEDIATE MICROECONOMIC ANALYSIS
ECON 301
This is an intermediate level course in microeconomic theory and its application. Students utilize economic models to understand consumer and firm behavior under different market structures using price-based partial and general-equilibrium analysis. Students model consumer preferences and decision-making, as well as the pricing of products and factors of production by firms. In addition, students analyze changes in the distribution of income in society resulting from government intervention and market structure.
INTERMEDIATE MACROECONOMIC ANALYSIS
ECON 302
This is an intermediate level course in macroeconomic theory and its application. Students analyze fluctuations in national income, output, worker productivity, economic growth, employment, inflation, interest rates and exchange rates using economic models. Students also examine the goods, financial and labor markets, as well as the role of the government and central banks in maintaining a strong and vibrant economy in both the short- and long-run. Throughout, students analyze the efficacy of fiscal and monetary policies, and the effects of macroeconomic events and shocks on economic activity.
ECONOMETRICS
ECON 345
This is an intermediate level course in statistical regression techniques widely used across a variety of careers. Students utilize numerical and graphical descriptive methods to explore, analyze and interpret data. Students employ simple and multiple regression to perform causal inference and quantify important relationships in business, economic, social and policy contexts. Applications to real world data using modern statistical software and developing skills needed to understand empirical work are emphasized.
MONEY AND BANKING
ECON 354
This course focuses on financial markets, monetary policy and central banking. Students are introduced to topics such as money, securities, exchange rates, interest rates and the basics of asset pricing through present value calculations. Students utilize economic models to understand the behavior of bond, stock and foreign exchange markets. Students examine the Federal Reserve, determinants of the money supply process, operations and goals of monetary policy and alternative monetary policy frameworks. Finally, students evaluate contemporary issues on monetary policy, including those faced by policymakers, using economic models to understand and illustrate these issues.
PUBLIC FINANCE
ECON 356
This course analyzes the role of the public sector in the U.S. economy. Students evaluate different government policies by employing modern theoretical and empirical tools. Students examine policies involving healthcare, education, taxation, social insurance and business.
GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT IN THE WORLD ECONOMY
ECON 360
This course analyzes the role of geographical endowments, culture, institutions and history on economic growth and contemporary economic performance. Students explore questions such as why some countries are rich while others are poor, why some societies developed more quickly than others and why Europe conquered the Americas instead of the other way around. Students also investigate the lives of the world's poor, the constraints they face and the choices they make by examining issues in developing countries such as foreign aid, food access and hunger, health, education, fertility decisions, credit and insurance.
BUSINESS CYCLES
ECON 402
This course examines the historical context and theoretical foundations of the expansion and contraction of the U.S. economy. Students explore questions such as why the Roaring '20s were followed by a decade of breadlines and high unemployment, how century-old financial institutions nearly collapsed during the Great Recession and how events such as these impact the broader macroeconomy. Students evaluate the design of macroeconomic policy and its influence on the business cycle. Students develop analytical skills and gain hands-on empirical experience analyzing these issues using data.
HISTORY OF ECONOMIC THOUGHT
ECON 404
This course focuses on the development of economic thought from the middle ages to the present. Students explore the ideas, influence and historical context of individual economic thinkers, as well as examine the primary schools of thought including classical, neoclassical, socialist, institutional and Keynesian.
INTERNATIONAL FINANCE
ECON 406
This course introduces monetary interactions between countries. Students examine topics including exchange rates, prices, interest rates and balance of payments accounting. Students use economic models to understand spot and forward foreign exchange, international financial markets and international banking, exchange rate systems and the role of central banks as well as open-economy macroeconomics and the international monetary system in the context of current policy issues.
URBAN ECONOMICS, ISSUES, AND POLICY
ECON 438
This course analyzes the role of cities as fundamental drivers of human progress and innovation. Using data, students examine the key costs and benefits of density and urbanization with a central focus on how those costs and benefits interact with contemporary issues and policy. Students examine innovation, productivity, housing, transportation, crime, externalities and public policy as it relates to these topics.
ECONOMICS SENIOR CAPSTONE
ECON 489
The Economics Capstone is a course for seniors soon to graduate with an Economics degree. Students will reflect on their previous education and demonstrate proficiency in program learning objectives. Student work will center on the production of a substantial high-quality thesis on a student-chosen topic of economic interest.
INDEPENDENT STUDY
ECON 498
Study of a selected topic or topics under the direction of a faculty member. Repeatable.