The course listing represents a sampling of courses taught by the faculty in this department in the 2009-10 academic year. To select courses for Fall 2009, see the catalog listing; similarly, for Spring 2010 refer to the relevant catalog.
ECON-101 - Principles of Economics
Offered: First Semester, Second SemesterCredit Hours: 3 hours
This course introduces the student to the economic problems of unemployment, inflation, the distribution of income and wealth, and the allocation of resources. The basic tools of analysis for studying these problems are developed and the role of public policy in securing economic objectives is explored. The course is designed to serve as a foundation for further work in economics and as a desirable complement to study in history, politics and sociology.
ECON-102 - Principles of Economics
Offered: First Semester, Second SemesterCredit Hours: 3 hours
This course is equivalent to ECON 101. It covers the same substantive material but introduces students to the application of mathematical tools in economics.
Prerequisite: MATH 133.
ECON-120 - Economic Constraints, Strategic Realities, and an Arab-Israeli Peace
Offered: First Semester, Second ModuleCredit Hours: 1 Hour
New Course Added 06.16.09 Discussion of the Arab-Israeli conflict and the attempts that have been made to resolve it incorporating economic and strategic considerations. This course meets November 1-4 at the following times: Sunday, Nov. 1 3-5 pm and again that day 7:30-10:00 pm. Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday at 7:00-9:30 pm.
ECON-209 - Economic Development
Offered: Second SemesterCredit Hours: 3 hours
A survey or problems that have constrained economic progress of developing economies and the newly industrializing economies of Eastern Europe. A review of economic policy experiences. The course considers the general issue of poverty and income distribution within and between countries. Topics include: population growth; agriculture and land reform; migration; education; environmental decay; privatization strategies; and transition to a market oriented economy.
Prerequisite: Econ 101
ECON-211 - Money, the Financial System and the Economy
Offered: Second SemesterCredit Hours: 3 hours
The course deals with the linkages between financial markets, financial institutions, monetary policy and the economy. Topics will include the function of money in the economy, the determination of interest rates and exchange rates, the origin and evolution of financial intermediation, and the role of the financial system in the transmission of monetary policy.
Prerequisite: ECON 101.
ECON-219 - Labor-Management Relations
Offered: First SemesterCredit Hours: 3 hours
An introduction to the problems of labor economics and industrial relations, primarily in the United States. Emphasis is placed on the growth of the labor force, wages, the increased importance of white-collar employment, the goals of labor and management, collective bargaining and major issues of public policy.
Prerequisite: ECON 101.
ECON-227 - International Trade and Finance
Offered: Second SemesterCredit Hours: 3 hours
An introduction to international economics with an emphasis on the economic analysis of international transactions, financial interdependence, and current trade conflicts, as well as discussions of the historical development and contemporary role of international institutions.
Pre-requisite: ECON 101 or equivalent.
ECON-231 - Environmental Economics
Offered: First SemesterCredit Hours: 3 hours
The course is an introduction to the theory and practice of environmental economics. Emphasis is placed on understanding how the basic tools of economic analysis are used to identify sources of environmental problems, value environmental resources, and design environmental policy within the framework of a market based economic system.
Prerequisite: ECON 101.
ECON-242 - Panics, Crashes & Wars: Financial Evolution in US Economic History
Offered: First Semester, 2010-2011Credit Hours: 3 hours
This course examines United States economic history from the colonial period to the present, focusing on the evolution of the financial and monetary system in response to bank panics, stock market crashes, and wars. The course will show how economic analysis can provide a deeper understanding of these events. We will also study general economic trends and the key developments that are important for understanding contemporary economic issues, such as the recent sub-prime credit crisis.
Prerequisite: ECON 101
ECON-251 - Intermediate Macroeconomics
Offered: First Semester, Second SemesterCredit Hours: 3 hours
This course provides a detailed overview of the basic macroeconomic theories used to analyze aggregate spending and production, economic growth and business cycles. Theories covered in the class will be applied to examples drawn from current events and contemporary policy debates.
Prerequisites: ECON 101 and sophomore standing or a 200-level course in economics.
ECON-253 - Intermediate Microeconomics
Offered: First Semester, Second SemesterCredit Hours: 3 hours
Intermediate price, distribution and welfare theory, with special attention to the relation of theory to decision making by households and by business firms in markets characterized by varying degrees of competition and concentration.
Prerequisites: ECON 101 and sophomore standing or a 200-level course in economics, MATH 133
ECON-255 - Introduction to Econometrics
Offered: First Semester, Second SemesterCredit Hours: 4 hours
This is an introduction to the application of statistical methods to the estimation of economic models and the testing of economic hypotheses using non-experimental data. The central statistical tool is multivariate regression analysis. Topics covered include: the Gauss-Markov theorem, testing hypotheses, and correcting for heteroskedasticity, autocorrelation and simultaneous equation bias. In the weekly computer lab sessions econometric estimation software (Eviews) is used to analyze real-world data.
Prerequisites: MATH 113, MATH 133, both ECON 251 and ECON 253, or consent of instructor.
ECON-313 - Games and Strategy in Economics
Offered: Second Semester, 2010-11Credit Hours: 3 hours
This course is an introduction to the use of non-cooperative game theory in economic analysis. The course will cover both static and dynamic games with both complete and incomplete information. Applications will be drawn from many fields of economics, including: industrial organization, labor economics, corporate finance, macroeconomics, international trade, and public choice.
Prerequisites: ECON 253 and MATH 133, or consent of instructor.
ECON-317 - Industrial Organization
Offered: First SemesterCredit Hours: 3 hours
Analysis of the modern theory and empirical evidence about the organization of firms and industries, why firms and industries take on particular forms, and what is the impact of that organization on performance. Specific topics include mergers and acquisitions, strategic pricing policies, advertising, joint ventures, research and development, and antitrust and governmental regulation.
Prerequisites: ECON 253 and MATH 133.
ECON-320 - Labor Economics
Offered: Second SemesterCredit Hours: 3 hours
The labor market and its relation to the economy as a whole. Emphasis on wage theory, the economic impact of trade unionism, unemployment, education, discrimination and major issues of public policy.
Prerequisite: ECON 253 or consent of instructor.
ECON-321 - Poverty and Affluence
Offered: Second Semester, 2010-2011Credit Hours: 3 hours
This course describes alternative theories of the functional distribution of income and examines the empirical evidence. It emphasizes the determinants of the personal distributioof income, and presents measures of income inequality to understand the causes and consequences of inequality. Factors of inequality such as schooling, labor force behavior, and discrimination are considered separately. It presents a thorough discussion and analysis of the roles of state-federal income maintenance programs to assist the poor, including the effects of the 1996 United States. welfare reforms. The distribution of personal wealth is also examined. Includes limited discussion of income equalities across countries.
Prerequisites: ECON 253 and MATH 133.
ECON-326 - International Trade
Offered: First Semester, 2010-2011Credit Hours: 3 hours
This course offers the advanced theory of international trade, focusing on the factors which determine trade patterns, the gains from trade, and the domestic and international distribution of the gains from trade. Trade restrictions in the form of tariffs and quotas will be analyzed as well to understand how government policies can alter both trade flows and the distribution of gains from trade.
Prerequisites: ECON 253 and MATH 133 or equivalent.
ECON-327 - International Finance
Offered: Second SemesterCredit Hours: 3 hours
Advanced theory of international finance which covers exchange rate determination, the differences between fixed and flexible exchange rate regimes, official currency market intervention, and empirical tests of exchange rate theory. In addition, the course will offer an introduction to dynamic theories of international borrowing, lending and direct investment.
Prerequisites: ECON 251 and MATH 133. Note: Taught in alternate years.
ECON-331 - Natural Resource Economics
Offered: Second SemesterCredit Hours: 3 hours
This course applies microeconomic analysis to the allocation and management of natural resources and the environment. Economic modeling is used to analyze the optimal use of resources such as land, water fisheries, forests, and fossil fuels. In addition, the economic aspects of policies related to urban sprawl, water conservation, biodiversity, and renewable resource use will be explored.
Prerequisites: ECON 253 and MATH 133. ENVS 231 recommended.
ECON-343 - Financial Intermediation and Monetary Policy
Offered: Second Semester, 2010-2011Credit Hours: 3 Hours
The course begins by examining the primary role of commercial banks in financial intermediation and investigates the increasing importance of other markets and institutions in the intermediation process. The course also describes the key roles of central banks -- providing liquidity to financial markets and performing their monetary policy functions. The course builds upon the institutional material to allow a concentrated analysis of the financial crisis of 2008.
Prerequisite: ECON 251
ECON-351 - Macroeconomic Theory
Offered: First SemesterCredit Hours: 3 Hours
Building on the basic theory introduced in ECON 251, this course provides a more rigorous development of macroeconomic theories pertaining to long-run growth and business cycles. The roles of monetary and fiscal policies, and their macroeconomic effects, will receive special attention.
Prerequisites: ECON 251, ECON 253, and MATH 133. ECON 255 is also recommended.
ECON-353 - Microeconomic Theory
Offered: Second Semester, 2010-2011Credit Hours: 3 hours
The course serves as a survey of microeconomic theory at a level consistent with a first-year graduate course. Topics include: the dual approach to consumer and producer theory, general equilibrium analysis, and welfare economics.
Prerequisites: ECON 253, MATH 231, and MATH 232, or consent of instructor required
ECON-355 - Advanced Econometrics
Offered: First Semester, 2010-2011Credit Hours: 3 hours
The course will cover advanced topics in econometrics as a sequel to ECON 255. Topics will include: linear algebraic analysis of the classic linear regression model; logit and probit analysis of binary dependent variables; and panel data estimation. Participants will apply each of these techniques to economic data using a variety of computer software.
Prerequisites: ECON 255.
ECON-412 - Health Economics: The Economics of Medical Malpractice
Offered: Fall SemesterCredit Hours: 3 Hours
New Course Added 06.16.09 This course deals with the theory, empirical evidence and policy alternatives as they apply to medical malpractice using both the theoretical and empirical techniques of economics. Neither the diagnosis of the problems nor the solutions can rely on economic analysis alone, so the subject is inherently interdisciplinary. The readings and guest lectures will draw heavily on insurance, medicine, law and ethics. The course will be taught simultaneously at Duke University and Oberlin College.
Econ 253.
ECON-431 - Seminar: Topics in Water Resource Economics
Offered: Second SemesterCredit Hours: 3 hours
The seminar will cover issues related to the economics of water use, focusing on theory and policy implications.
Prerequisites: ECON 253 and ECON 255 or consent of instructor. ECON/ENVS 231 or 331 recommended. Note: Taught in alternate years.
ECON-438 - Seminar: Market Failure in Financial Markets
Offered: First SemesterCredit Hours: 3 Hours
The seminar will examine the theoretical framework used by economist to understand many financial phenomena such as credit rationing, bank runs and panics, and solvency problems. Market failure, a situation where market equilibria fail to be Pareto optimal, often occurs when asymmetric information, market power, externalities, and/or public goods are present. Market failure explains why financial intermediaries exist and provides an economically defensible justification for financial markets regulation.
ECON 253 (Intermediate Microeconomics) is required. ECON 211 (Money, the Financial System and the Economy) and/or ECON 313 (Games and Strategy in Economics) are also highly recommended.
ECON-441 - Seminar: Economics of Labor and Welfare Policy
Offered: First SemesterCredit Hours: 3 hours
Critical analysis of current policy issues, taken from journal literature, on the economic effects on wages of unions, discrimination, and schooling; examines recent changes in welfare policies and the effects on poverty.
ECON-452 - Seminar on Financial Crises in the United States
Offered: Second SemesterCredit Hours: 3 hours
Banking crises in the United States triggered legislative responses that shaped the regulatory structure of the financial system. This course will examine the major financial crises focusing on the underlying causes, the apparent mechanisms, and the regulatory remedies. The lessons from historical crises will be applied to recent financial events like the Panic of 2007 and the regulatory response to them.
Prerequisites: ECON 101, ECON 211. Recommended: ECON 251 and ECON 253.
ECON-491 - Honors Program
Offered: First Semester, Second SemesterCredit Hours: 1-7 hours
This program is open by departmental invitation near the end of the junior year to major students whose general and departmental records indicate their ability to carry the program and the likelihood that they will profit from it. The program extends through the senior year and involves the independent preparation of a thesis, defense of the thesis, active participation with other Honors students and the department staff in a weekly seminar meeting during the second semester, and both written and oral examinations by an outside examiner.
ECON-901 - Economics of European Integration
Offered: SummerCredit Hours: 4 Hours
The aim of the course is to provide a deeper understanding of the vicissitudes of European co-operation and integration. Topics dealt with are: the history of the EU, the economic theory of custom unions and common markets, the international market program, economic and monetary union in the EU, its agricultural policy and external economic relations.
ECON-902 - International Management
Offered: SummerCredit Hours: 4 Hours
This course will focus on the (strategic) management of international firms, organizations acting in foreign markets. It will consider the development of strategies with respect to choice of products and markets competitive behavior which orients components of internationalization and its evolution and the focus driving the dynamics of competition in international markets. It will also study the requirements resulting from the globalization of industries and markets and national responsiveness and the possible strategic reactions, as well as the necessary conditions for their implementation.
ECON-903 - Intercultural Communication
Offered: SummerCredit Hours: 3 Hours
Thir course is designed to make you aware of the variety of cultural values in today's world and help you compare your own cultural background with that of various European cultures. The course reveals how organizational cultures can be managed effectively and outlines ways of learning intercultural communication.
ECON-904 - European Culture: History and Art
Offered: SummerCredit Hours: 3 Hours
This course will address cultural and political developments that have marked 19th and 20th-century Europe. Most lectures will focus on highlights of European cultural history and artifacts will be used to illustrate the wide variety of social, cultural and political developments that have influenced European history. Topics include cathedrals as political statements, the Enlightenment, the French revolution, Romanticism, and Nazi propaganda.
ECON-905 - Law and Politics: Current Topics in the European Union
Offered: SummerCredit Hours: 3 Hours
The course will give an introduction to the process of the European integration. The course will start with the history of the EU leading up to current topics. Secondly, an introduction into the law of the European Commission and the EU will be given: internal market, the four freedoms, the EMU, and the enlargement of the EU. Thirdly, the links between the EU and the member states will be examined.
ECON-995 - Private Reading
Offered: First Semester, Second SemesterCredit Hours: 0.5-3 hours
Signed permission of the instructor required.
To register for a private reading: obtain a private reading card from the Office of the Registrar; complete the card; obtain the required signatures of the faculty member and department chair; and return the card to the Office of the Registrar.
