First Year
Sophomore Year
Junior and Senior Years
Graduate School Preparation
A strong foundation in Mathematics and Statistics is a prerequisite for advanced study in economics. For any graduate work in economics, 50:640:121, 122, 221 Unified Calculus I, II, & III are strongly recommended. Linear Algebra (50:640:250) and Mathematical Theory of Statistics I & II (50:960:481 & 482) will all prove helpful for graduate econometrics. Mathematical Economics (50:220:391) is also valuable preparation for graduate work in economics.
Students seeking the distinction of graduating with "Honors in Economics" and the experience of intense investigation of a particular topic in economics may do so in the honors program. Eligibility for such a project is judged by the student's qualifications and availability of an appropriate supervising professor. The supervisor works individually with the student over a three-term sequence, 50:220:396-495-496, during the student's last three terms before graduation. Total credits earned are determined by the department according to the nature of the project; a grade is not given until completion of the three-term sequence and department approval of an honors thesis embodying the project.
NOTE WELL: 50:220:105 may be substituted for 220:102, 50:220:106 may be substituted for 220:103, 50:220:223 may be substituted for 220:203, 50:220:324 may be substituted for 220:204
Enrollment in 50:220:491 Independent Study Projects in Economics requires prior approval by the department and the participating faculty member. All independent study projects require at least the same rigors of training, instruction, research, and grading as do other upper-division economics courses. To enroll in 50:220:491, students must have completed nearly all of the course requirements for the major in economics and have achieved a grade-point average in economics of at least 3.0. A student is limited to enrollment in only one independent study project within the economics department each term and a maximum of two during the degree program.
50:220:102. Microeconomic Principles (R) (3) Economic systems; supply, demand, and role of the market; consumer behavior and utility; firm behavior, cost, and profit; competitive and monopolistic markets for products and inputs; government regulation of markets.
50:220:103. Macroeconomic Principles (R) (3) National income and how it is determined; consumption, investment, and government spending; the monetary system; control of inflation and unemployment; international exchange; alternative economic systems.
50:220:203. Intermediate Economic Theory: Microeconomics (3) Prerequisites: 50:220:105, 106; 50:640:129, 130. Roles of supply and demand under varying degrees of market competition in determining price and output of goods, factor inputs, and their prices; emphasis on the social implication of these market conditions.
50:220:204. Intermediate Economic Theory: Macroeconomics (3) Prerequisites: 50:220:105, 106; 50:640:129, 130. Role of consumption, savings, investment, government monetary and fiscal policies, and international economic relations in affecting national income, employment, the price level, and economic growth.
50:220:301. Money and Banking (3) (Formerly 50:220:202) Prerequisites: 50:220:102, 103 . Theories of money and their applications; structure and historical development of U.S. monetary and banking institutions; current problems of monetary management.
50:220:303. Consumer Economics (3) Prerequisite: 50:220:102. Analysis of problems facing individuals and households as savers, investors, and spenders. Analysis of the legal and economic framework of consumer protection legislation. "Consumerism" as an economic force.
50:220:308. Introductory Managerial Economics (3) Prerequisite: 50:220:102. Application of economic analysis to practical managerial decision making. Course demonstrates the use of contemporary economic tools and techniques in actual managerial problems relevant to market demand and supply, revenue, costs, profits, optimal pricing, capital budgeting, and product line analysis.
50:220:310. American Economic History (3) Prerequisite: 50:220:102. Analysis of such selected factors as population, government, capital accumulation, and technology, contributing to development of economic life and institutions in the U.S.
50:220:313. Economics of Labor (3) Prerequisite: 50:220:102. Study of wages and employment, the history of labor movements, and effects of unionism and minimum wage laws on prices, wages, and income. Marginal productivity theory is applied to wage-employment analysis.
50:220:316. Economics of Health and Health Care (3) Prerequisite: 50:220:102 or 103 or permission of instructor. Course is designed to apply economic analysis to the health care sector and health status, such as demand for health and for medical care, health insurance experiment, demand for health insurance, market for physicians' and nurses' services, market for hospital services, pharmaceutical industry, delivery of health care, methods of payment, and government regulation.
50:220:317. Economics of Health Education and Health Promotion (R) (3) This class will introduce economics of health behavior and health education, human service professions, and health care fields to the concepts and principles underlying the factors that affect a variety of health behaviors. Theory-based analysis of interpersonal, group, and community factors that influence health behavior will be discussed. Health behavior includes actions or activites undertaken for the purpose of promoting, preserving, restoring wellness, and actions and activities that endanger wellness or cause illness. We understand how to use economics of health behavior and health education as economic tools in health promotion and disease prevention programs in schools, at home, in health care settings, and in other community settings.
50:220:320. Inflation, Unemployment, and Public Policy (3) Prerequisites: 50:220:102, 103. Causes and consequences of inflation, unemployment, and the inflation-unemployment trade-off. Assessment of stabilization policies: wage-price controls, wage indexation, Keynesian measures, and other alternatives.
50:220:322. Econometrics (3) Prerequisites: 50:220:102 or 103, 50:640:121 or 130, 50:960:283. An introduction to model building and testing, measurement problems, and the application of statistical methods in economics, business, and related social sciences.
50:220:325. Financial Institutions (3) Prerequisites: 50:220:102, 103. Role of banks, insurance companies, investment companies, finance companies, pension funds, credit unions, and such institutions in financial markets, and their impact on how the economic and financial systems function. Lending and borrowing activities, investment portfolio policy, and regulatory environment of each type of financial intermediary examined.
50:220:329. Economics of International Finance (3) Prerequisites: 50:220:102, 103. Examines the specific factors of demand and supply that determine exchange rates under the current flexible exchange rate system. Spot and forward markets, purchasing power parity, and interest rate parity considered. Discusses fixed versus flexible exchange rates. Analysis of recent changes in the dollar and other key currencies.
50:220:330. Urban Economics (3) (Formerly 50:220:354) Prerequisite: 50:220:102. Analysis of the economic forces leading to the existence, growth, and decline of cities and of the factors affecting land use within a city. The provision of local public services, local taxes, and the size of local governments. The economic analysis of urban problems: housing, poverty, transportation, and land use.
50:220:331. International Economics (3) (Formerly 50:220:345) Prerequisites: 50:220:102, 103. A study of the fundamentals of international economics. Analyzes comparative advantage of trade, free and restriction on trade, tariff and quota, international resource flow, foreign exchange markets, foreign exchange rates and risks, balance of payments, inter-national operation of the U.S. economy, and government policies affecting the development and structure of the world economy.
50:220:332. Environmental Economics (3) Prerequisite: 50:220:102. Effects of man on quality of air, water, and ground resources; application of microeconomic analysis to problems created by deterioration of these resources.
50:220:333. Comparative Economic Systems (3) Prerequisites: 50:220:102, 103. Comparison of decentralized capitalist market systems, socialist market-oriented systems, and "command" or centralized models such as in the former Soviet Union. Variation in these systems such as in the U.S., U.K., Sweden, and Japan for capitalist systems; Hungary, Poland, Yugoslavia, and China for socialist systems; and socialistic countries such as India.
50:220:339. Economic Development (3) (Formerly: 50:220:314) Prerequisites: 50:220:102, 103. Economic and social problems of developing countries: poverty, low savings, inadequate investments, unemployment, inflation, and the transfer of technology, and such social problems as education, health, and administration. Examines development theories models and notes interdependence between developing economies and developed countries, particularly with respect to trade, capital and labor movements, and the transfer of technology.
50:220:366. Special Topics on Contemporary Economic Issues (3) Prerequisite: 50:220:102 or 103 or permission of instructor. An analysis of some of the outstanding contemporary economic problems. Issues chosen are those of pressing importance which cannot be dealt with in sufficient depth in a traditional survey course. The topic will be announced each year in the Schedule of Classes.
50:220:371. Transportation Economics (3) Prerequisite: 50:220:102. Analysis of the principal problems of rail, highway, water, air, and pipeline transportation. Emphasizes problems of regulation, planning, mass interurban transportation, and pollution.
50:220:391. Mathematical Economics (3) Prerequisites: 50:220:102, 103; 50:640:129, 130. Offers operational methods and analytical tools for understanding almost all branches of economic science: microeconomics, macro- economics, welfare economics, international trade, labor, urban and public economics. Optimization principles, decision-making processes, comparative evaluations of alternative policies, program algorithms, and inventory control analyses clearly spelled out in mathematical fashion. Basic algebra and calculus initially reviewed, and the practical uses of those branches of mathematics shown in the enunciation of economic methods and models.
50:220:392. Business Cycles and Forecasting (3) Prerequisites: 50:220:102, 103. Nature of economic fluctuations and major patterns of cyclical behaviors. Major theories of business cycles which explain factors determining cyclical fluctuations and economic growth in the economy. Methods of forecasting business and economic activity presented in relation to empirical studies of the U.S.
50:220:396. Honors Program in Economics (BA) See 50:220:495-496 below.
50:220:397. Industrial Economics: Structure, Conduct, Performance (3) Prerequisite: 50:220:102. Examines the principles of economics of industrial organization and their application to selected industries in the U.S. and abroad. Studies issues such as concentration, economies of scale, entry barriers, product differentiation, innovations, merger activity, firm turnover, and the patent system.
50:220:398. Economics of Business Regulation (3) (Formerly 50:220:471, 50:220:397) Prerequisites: 50:220:102, 103. Examines various dimensions of social control of business. While emphasis is placed on antitrust regulation, careful attention is also given to public utility regulation, public enterprises, safety, health, environmental, and other regulatory issues of concern to the public.
50:220:399. Economics of Multinational Corporations (3) Prerequisite: 50:220:102. How multinational corporations make decisions as to where and how to invest for profit-risk factors in various circumstances, relevant government regulations, institutions the corporations have to deal with and how, cultural and environmental factors, political risks. Effects of currency and capital transfers and the influence of the corporation on the political and social environment of the countries involved.
50:220:442. Public Finance (3) (Formerly 50:220:349) Prerequisites: 50:220:102, 103. Analysis of spending patterns and sources of revenue of different levels of the public economy; intergovernmental relations; emphasis on fiscal policy including debt management. Decision-making techniques on choosing government projects. Incidence and allocative effect of taxes.
50:220:451. Survey of Economic Thought (3) Prerequisites: 50:220:102, 103. Examines the development of economic thought to its present state, with emphasis on present-day shapers of economic thought and analysis, linking historical economic ideas to current issues.
50:220:472. Law and Economics (3) (Formerly 50:220:395) Prerequisite: 50:220:102. The application of basic economic concepts and analyses to the law and legal processes. How economics can be used to study issues in tort, criminal, contract, property, and negligence matters. Examines economic implications of the law pertaining to racial discrimi- nation, environmental protection, and other standard corporate regulatory provisions.
50:220:491. Independent Study Projects in Economics (1-3) Prerequisites: Normally the courses in economic principles, statistics, computer sciences, and mathematics should have been completed. Permission of instructor. Credits for the work may vary from 1 to 3; a limit of 6 credits toward the degree is set for independent studies. This course is coded by faculty member; thus, when registering, the student should make certain that the forms will contain 220:491-X, where X means the relevant individual faculty member's code for this purpose. Individual study under supervision of a member of the eco- nomics faculty. Requires research term paper of a level at least comparable to a regular course term paper. Student should obtain agreement from a faculty member to supervise the research project before registering.
50:220:492. Economics Major Seminar (3) Prerequisites: All other courses specifically required for the economics major. Designed to integrate course materials, introduce recent philosophies and techniques in economics, and apply them to selected problems. Reading and research reports required. Topics vary from year to year.
50:220:495-496. Honors Program in Economics (BA,BA) (Formerly 64:220:497) To enter program, student must submit a written proposal for departmental approval before registration. Credits awarded only on satisfactory completion of three-term sequence. See 50:220:396 above. A program of readings and guided research in a topic proposed by the student, culminating in an honors thesis presented to departmental faculty for approval.
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