Course Information

Economics (ECON) courses satisfy Area 2 of the Breadth of Study Requirements, with the exception of 57, which satisfies Area 5, and 117, which may not be used for the requirement.

51. Principles: Macroeconomics. Mr. Chincarini, Mr. De Pace, Mr. Hueckel, Mr. Kuehlwein, Ms. Novarro. A first course on modern market economies. Emphasizes the determination of national income, fluctuations and growth; the monetary system; the problems of inflation and unemployment; and international trade. Each semester.

52. Principles: Microeconomics. Mr. Cutter, Mr. Likens, Mr. Jurewitz, Mr. Lozano, Ms. Novarro. Second principles course on basic tools of market and price theory and their applications to the operations of firms, the consumption and work choices of individuals, the effects of government taxes and policies, and market efficiency and market failure. Prerequisite: 51. Each semester.

57. Economic Statistics. Mr. Marks, Mr. Slavov, Mr. Smith. Introduction to the statistical tools used by economists. Topics include probability theory, statistical estimation, hypothesis testing and linear regression analysis. Letter grade only. Each semester.

59. Introduction to Empirical Methods Economics. Mr. Lozano. To be announced.

101. Macroeconomic Theory. Mr. Hueckel, Mr. Steinberger. Study of the economy in the aggregate.  Measurement and determinates of national income and employment, money supply, price level, trade flows, and exchange rates.  Operation of government fiscal and monetary policies and implications for output growth, interest rates, exchange rates, and inflation rates in the short- and long-run.  Prerequisites:  51 and 52 and Math 30.  Each semester.

102. Microeconomic Theory. Mr. Marks, Ms. Novarro. Theories of consumer behavior, demand, production, costs, the firm, market organization, resource use and income distribution in a modern market economy.  Prerequisites: 51 and 52, and MATH 30. Each semester.

107. Applied Regression Analysis. Mr. Cutter. Introduction to multiple regression analysis and its application in economics. Design and implementation of empirical research. Interpretation and analysis of results. Computer assignments and research project. Prerequisites: 51 or 101, 52 or 102, and 57. Each semester.

116. Race in the U.S. Economy. Ms. Conrad. To be announced.

117. Managerial Accounting and Financial Analysis. Mr. Bergevin. Examines the role of accounting information in decision making. Course focuses on developing student ability to critically analyze financial statements and related documents. It also addresses the policies and procedures that compose the accounting information system. Each spring.    

118. Economic History of Europe. Mr. Hueckel. The Industrial Revolution in western Europe: economic transformation and the effect on the standard of living from the 18^th century with emphasis on the contributions of science and technological advance, trade, population and institutional change, and government policy.  Prerequisite: 51. Spring 2011; offered alternate years.

119. U.S. Economic History. Mr. Hueckel. History through the eyes of the economist.  Surveys the historical development of U.S. economic institutions and policy from colonial times with particular emphasis on the application of economic theory to deepen our understanding of historical  events and to draw lessons applicable to questions of contemporary policy interest. Prerequisite: 51. Spring 2009; offered alternate years.

120A. Economics Through its History: Mercantilism to Marx. Mr. Hueckel.  Development of economic theory from the 17th century to 1870 with particular attention devoted to the mercantilists, the physiocrats, Adam Smith, David Ricardo, T.R. Malthus, J.S. Mill, and Karl Marx.  Readings are drawn from the original works and evaluated in light of modern theory. Prerequisites: 51 and 52. Fall 2009; offered alternate years.

120B. History of Economic Analysis: Marx to the Moderns. Mr. Hueckel.  Traces the development of economic analysis from Marx’s labor theory of value through the introduction of marginal analysis to the theories of money, interest, and prices on the eve of Keynes’s General Theory.  Readings drawn from the original works and modern commentaries.  Prerequisites: Econ 51 and 52.  Econ 120a is not a prerequisite for Econ 120b. Fall 2010; offered alternate years.

121. The Economics of Gender and the Family. Ms. Conrad. Analysis of the factors contributing to the economic circumstances of women and men in modern market economies, especially the United States. Trends in labor-force participation, occupational choice and the economic determinants of earnings, household income and poverty. Prerequisites: 52 or 102.  Spring 2010, offered alternate years.

122. Poverty and Income Distribution. Mr. Steinberger. Analysis of factors contributing to poverty and income inequality, primarily within the United States. Impact of government transfers and taxes, labor market discrimination and economic growth. Focus on empirical tools for evaluation of policies to alleviate poverty, including welfare, workfare, education and job training.  Prerequisites: 51 and either 52 or 102 Spring 2010; offered alternate years.

123. International Economics. Mr. Marks, Mr. Slavov. The principles and theories of international trade and finance. Topics include trade policy, macroeconomic stabilization, regional integration and the international monetary system. Prerequisites: 51 and 52. Each semester.

125. Natural Resource Economics and Policy. Mr. Jurewitz.  Positive and normative economic analysis of natural resources and the institutions governing their uses.  Economic theory of non-renewable and renewable resources.  Topics will include:  tragedy of the commons, mineral depletion, recycling, water allocation, fisheries, agriculture, forestry, land use policies, valuation of ecosystem services, international resource treaties, biodiversity and species extinction, wilderness and habitat preservation, population economics, and economic growth and sustainability.  Letter grade only.  Prerequisite: 52. Spring 2010; offered alternate years.

126. Economic Development. Mr. Andrabi. Study of economic development in low-income countries. Development thinking on role of market vs. the state. Interaction of civil, political and economic spheres; quantification of social and economic aspects of development; incidence of poverty; industrialization; agricultural transformation; land, labor and credit allocation in rural environments; the household as an allocation mechanism; and environmental challenges of development. Prerequisites: 51 and 52. Fall 2009; offered alternate years.

127. Environmental Economics. Mr. Cutter. Positive and normative issues involving the optimal regulation of pollution. Analysis of environmental laws and policies and the institutions that implement these policies.  Examination of incentive-based pollution control policies such as cap and trade and pollution taxes.  Consideration of economic and ecological approaches towards sustainability.  Prerequisites: 52 or 102. Each fall.

128. Energy Economics and Policy. Mr. Jurewitz. The economics of the major sectors of the energy industry: oil, coal, natural gas, electricity, nuclear power, etc. Emphasis on industry structure, production technologies, regulation and public-policy issues. Prerequisites: 52 or 102. Spring 2011; offered alternate years.

129. Health Economics. Ms.O'Leary. Policy issues such as demand for medical care services, especially as a function of insurance; the demand for insurance and issues of selection; reimbursement policies of Medicare and other payers toward health plans, hospitals, and physicians; effects of health maintenance organizations and managed care; malpractice and tort reform; the quality of medical care; preventive health care; universal coverage. Prerequisite: 52. Fall 2009; offered each year.

150. Industrial Organization. Mr. Likens. Techniques for analyzing industries and competitors. Organizing and operating the modern corporation. Pricing strategies: price discrimination, tie-in sales and non-linear pricing. Strategic behavior: predation and collusion; vertical integration and vertical restrictions; mergers and acquisitions. Information, advertising and disclosure. Decision making over time: product durability, patents and technological change. Antitrust and regulation. Prerequisite: 102. Each fall.

151. Labor Economics. Mr. Steinberger. Human resources and business strategies toward employees. Occupational choice, investing in human capital. Household decision making: balancing family, work, home production and leisure. Migration and immigration. Pay and productivity: setting wages within the firm. Gender, race and ethnicity in the labor market. Public policy toward the workplace. The role of trade unions. Prerequisites: 57, 101 and 102.  Next offered 2010-2011; offered alternate years.

152. Money, Banking and Financial Markets. Mr. Hueckel. The structure of financial markets and their role in facilitating the efficient allocation of capital. Valuation and role of securities, particularly bonds and related derivatives. Consideration of the nature and purpose of bank regulations and analysis of central bank policy and its consequences for national income, prices and international trade and financial flows. Prerequisites: 52 or 102, and 101. Each spring..

153. Urban and Regional Economics. Mr. Lozano. The structure and function of cities as economic entities. Land use, rent gradients, transportation, housing, education, crime, provision of local government services, the Tiebout hypothesis and urban redevelopment. Prerequisite: 102. Spring2011; offered alternate years.

154. Game Theory for Economists. Mr. Andrabi. Introduces the main tools of noncooperative game theory as used in current economics literature. Topics include formalities of modeling competitive situations, various solution concepts such as Nash equilibrium and its refinements, signaling games, repeated games under different informational environments, bargaining models, issues of cooperation and reputation. Applications from economics, politics, law, corporate and business strategy. Prerequisites: 57 and 102. Fall 2009; offered each year.

155. Law and Economics. Mr. Marks. Economic analysis of legal institutions and the common law: property, contacts and torts. Prerequisite: 102. Fall2010, offered alternate years.

156. Security Valuation and Portfolio Theory. Mr. Smith. Selection and valuation of financial assets, particularly corporate stocks. Financial markets and the economy, efficient-markets hypotheses, security-valuation models, decision making under uncertainty, portfolio selection and capital-asset pricing. Open to senior Economics majors only. Lecture and discussion. Prerequisites: 101 and 102. Letter grade only Fall 2009; each year.

157. Corporate Finance. Mr. Chincarini. Examines the financing decisions of firms and explores links between finance and business. Topics include corporate governance, agency issues, net present value analysis, risk, cost of capital, dividend policy, capital structure, market efficiency, takeovers, and mergers and acquisitions. Prerequisites: 57 and 102. 87 recommended. Each fall.

158. Quantitative Investment Management. Mr. Chincarini. Study of quantitative equity portfolio management (QEPM). Builds on seminal work in financial theory and includes discussion of the differences between QEPM and traditional qualitative analysis, the relationship between QEPM and market efficiency, the use of futures and options to create leveraged market-neutral portfolios, and the use of Bayesian methods to handle non-quantitative data. Prerequisites: 57 and 156. Letter grade only. Spring 2010; offered alternate years.

159. Economics of the Public Sector. Ms. Brown. The microeconomic rationale for government activity in a market economy and the economic effects of such activity. Market failure and the tools of normative analysis; income redistribution, design of major federal expenditure programs such as Social Security, medical insurance, and welfare; the design, incidence and behavioral consequences of tax policy; collective decision making and the theory of public choice. Prerequisite: 102. Fall 2010; offered alternate years.

161. Advanced Macroeconomic Analysis. Mr. Kuehlwein. Selected issues in macroeconomic theory, empirical analysis and policy. Models of secular and cyclical trends. Consumer and investment theories and monetary phenomena. Policy analysis of inflation, unemployment and growth. Lecture, discussion, some student presentations and several short papers. Prerequisites: 57, 101 and 102. Spring 2011; offered alternate years.

162. Advanced Microeconomic Analysis. Mr. Marks. Selected topics in modern microeconomic theory, including constrained optimization, decision making under uncertainty, market failures under imperfect information and their remedies, and strategic behavior. Prerequisites: 57 and 102. Spring 2010; offered alternate years.

163. International Macroeconomic Policy and Monetary Institutions. Mr. Slavov. Intertemporal approach to the current account. Global savings imbalances. International portfolio diversification. Imperfections in global financial markets: moral hazard, financing constraints, financial fragility. Goods prices and exchange rates. Currency unions. Recent international financial crises. The international monetary system and institutions. Prerequisites: 101, 102, and 107 (or 167).Fall 2009; offered alternate years.

164. Technology and Growth. Mr. Kuehlwein. A close examination of growth theory, focusing on technological innovation in developed countries. Endogenous growth models, the role of international factors, culture, institutions, industrial structure, education, population growth, and policy in promoting innovation and growth. Theory, historical evidence, and statistical analysis. Prerequisites: Econ 107 or 167; 101; and 102.  Spring 2010; offered alternate years.

167. Econometrics. Mr. De Pace. Introduction to the theory and practice of econometrics. Application of statistical inference, probability theory, matrix algebra and calculus to multiple-regression analysis. Lecture, computer workshop, problem sets, term project, student presentations and critiques. Prerequisites: 57, 101 and 102; MATH 60. Each semester.

168. Financial Decision Making. Mr. Smith.  A computer based simulation of financial intermediation in the modern economy.  Class divided into teams that analyze financial data and make weekly financial decisions.  Prerequisites: 156.   Spring 2010; offered alternate years.

190. Senior Seminar. Mr. Andrabi, Mr. Likens, Mr. Smith, Mr. Steinberger. Analysis of selected problems in economics. Required for graduation. Full course credit. Prerequisite: 101, 102 and either 107 or 167 must be completed in advance of participating in the Senior Seminar. Each spring.

195. Senior Activity. Staff. Comprised of two parts: (1) the Major Field Achievement Test in Economics; and (2) regular participation in the departmental colloquium. Required for graduation. No credit. Each spring. (December graduates enroll fall semester.)

99/199. Reading and Research. Staff. Supervised advanced study in selected fields of economics. Open to qualified seniors with permission of instructor. Prerequisite: permission of instructor. 99, lower-level; 199, advanced work. Course or half-course. May be repeated. Each semester. (Summer Reading and Research taken as 98/198.)