Economics

ECON 1501    Economics in Action    3 s.h.

An introduction to the United States' economic system and institutions through the examination of current economic problems. Not applicable for a major or minor in economics. Credit will not be given for 1501 if a student has already received credit for ECON 2610 or its equivalent.
Gen Ed: Social Science.

ECON 1502    Panic and Prosperity, United States Economic Policy Since the Great Depression    3 s.h.

Examines the crises and successes of the American economy since 1929, and how the economic policies of different presidential administrations affected the lives of U.S. citizens. Not applicable towards a major or minor in economics.
Gen Ed: Social Science.

ECON 1503    Rich and Poor: Diversity and Disparity in the United States Workplace    3 s.h.

Examines how labor markets determine the distribution of income and the dramatic changes in the composition of the American labor force. Explores such issues as the widening gap between low and upper income groups, the characteristics of the poor, affirmative action, the glass ceiling, the mommy track, and family-friendly working environments. Not applicable towards a major or minor in economics.
Gen Ed: Domestic Diversity, Social Science, Social and Personal Awareness.

ECON 1504    Economics of Aging    3 s.h.

An introduction to the economic consequences of an aging population and the economic status of the aged. Topics include income adequacy in old age, retirement decisions, retirement income planning, social security income, employer-sponsored pensions, and financing health care. Not applicable toward a major or minor in economics.
Prereq.: ECON 1501 or GERO 1501.

ECON 1505    Introduction to Personal Financial Literacy    3 s.h.

An introduction to personal financial planning. Topics covered include budgeting, the use of credit, taxes, savings accounts, investment strategies, insurance, buying a home, career planning, and retirement planning. Students will gain the knowledge and resources to be better prepared for their financial future.
Gen Ed: Well Being, Social and Personal Awareness.

ECON 2610    Principles 1: Microeconomics    3 s.h.

Introduction to the theory of markets, including the behavior of consumers and the conduct of private and public business enterprise. Effects of monopoly and competition on private and social welfare. The role of government in promoting the economic welfare of consumers, workers, and minorities.
Prereq.: Level 20 or higher on the math placement exam.
Gen Ed: Social Science.

ECON 2630    Principles 2: Macroeconomics    3 s.h.

Studies of growth, inflation, and unemployment at the national level and the performance of the U.S. economy in the global setting. The impacts of national economic policies on individual and social welfare. An extensive discussion and evaluation of the U.S. banking system and its effects on individuals and businesses.
Prereq.: ECON 2610.
Gen Ed: Social Science.

ECON 2631    Introductory Macroeconomics for Education Majors    3 s.h.

Measurement of the national economy's performance (growth, inflation, and unemployment), the banking system, the impact of government on macroeconomic performance, and international macroeconomics. Principles of personal finance, including budgeting, the use of credit, and financial planning are also discussed. Open only to education majors. Credit will not be given for both ECON 2630 and ECON 2631.
Prereq.: FOUN 1501 and ECON 2610.

ECON 3701    Money and Banking    3 s.h.

Organization and operation of commercial banking in the United States; central banking under the Federal Reserve System; basic theory. Monetary policy as a determinant of national income.
Prereq.: ECON 2630.

ECON 3702    Public Finance    3 s.h.

The development and present status of public finance; federal, state and local expenditures and taxation; theories of tax incidence, axioms of taxation, theories in justification and government spending; tax reform. Study of the techniques of fiscal policy with emphasis on its role as a determinant of the level of national income.
Prereq.: ECON 2610.

ECON 3703    Behavioral Economics    3 s.h.

Uses insights from economics and psychology to explain why normally rational people make poor choices in their lives, be it in terms of money, health, education or long-term happiness. This introductory course explores the sources of poor economic choices and examines ways to improve them.
Prereq.: ECON 2610 or PSYC 1560.

ECON 3704    Emerging Economies in Asia    3 s.h.

Introduction to emerging economies in Asia, mainly in East Asia and India where the economies in recent decades have generally performed well compared with the rest of the world. Focus is on the development strategies and policies of the region’s major economies with an aim in contrasting their experience with the industrialized nations in the West.
Prereq.: ECON 1501, ECON 2610, or ASST 1550.

ECON 3705    Environmental and Resource Economics    3 s.h.

Application of economic theory to environmental problems, analysis of policy alternatives for pollution abatement, and the conservation of exhaustible resources. Determination of efficient management of local and national pollution levels, including air, water, and toxic substances. Possible economic consequences associated with global warming.
Prereq.: ECON 1501 or ECON 2610.

ECON 3710    Intermediate Microeconomic Theory    3 s.h.

A systematic analysis of the theory of demand and the theory of the firm: production input and output choices, and some basic concepts of linear programming. An intensive analysis of the theory of the firm: competitive pricing, monopoly pricing, pricing in imperfect competition; and the theory of rent, profits, interest and wages.
Prereq.: ECON 2610, and either MATH 1552, MATH 1570, or MATH 1571; For Actuarial Science minors, the prerequisite is either MATH 1571 or MATH 1572.

ECON 3712    Intermediate Macroeconomic Theory    3 s.h.

The construction of national income and production accounts and the basic determinant of income, output, and employment. Determination of the level of employment, interest, and money through the classical versus Keynesian aggregate economics.
Prereq.: ECON 2630 and either MATH 1552, MATH 1570, or MATH 1571; For Actuarial Science minors, the prerequisite is either MATH 1571 or MATH 1572.

ECON 3720    Comparative Economic Systems    3 s.h.

An examination of the recent world-wide trend toward free market economy, giving particular attention to basic processes such as resource allocation and product distribution. Frequent references are made to the failure of Socialism in the USSR and the new approach in Russia, Eastern Europe and China toward market economies.
Prereq.: ECON 1501 or ECON 2630.

ECON 3724    Public Budgeting    3 s.h.

Study of the politics, theories, and techniques of public budgeting. Includes the process of budget preparation, adoption and execution. Topics include debt management and capital budgets. (This course is cross-listed with POL 3724.).
Prereq.: POL 3720.

ECON 3740    Sports Economics    3 s.h.

Economic analysis of individual, team, and league sports. This course focuses not only on the market structure and industrial organization of sports leagues, but also addresses the public finance issues of municipal stadium construction and the labor issues involved with free agency and salary caps.
Prereq.: ECON 2610.

ECON 3788    Statistics for Business and Economics 1    3 s.h.

Introduction to statistical methods in data analysis and forecasting. Topics include descriptive statistics, probability, sampling and sampling distributions, and hypothesis testing. Practical application of statistical procedures is incorporated into regularly scheduled computer workshops. Credit will not be given for ECON 3788 if a student has already received credit for ECON 3790 or its equivalent.
Prereq.: MATH 1510.

ECON 3789    Statistics for Business and Economics 2    3 s.h.

This course builds on concepts introduced in ECON 3788. Specific topics include hypothesis testing, regression analysis, ANOVA and time series analysis. Practical application of statistical procedures is incorporated into regularly scheduled computer workshops. Credit will not be given for ECON 3789 if a student has already received credit for ECON 3790 or its equivalent. 3 s.h.
Prereq.: ECON 3788.

ECON 4810    Managerial Economics    3 s.h.

An application of economic analysis to business problems. Emphasis upon executive decisions for the allocation of resources.
Prereq.: ECON 2610.

ECON 4855    Health Economics    3 s.h.

Application of basic principles to the study of the health care industry. Topics include the supply and demand of medical care, the effects of private and public insurance on the health care industry, trends in health care costs, public policies to equalize access to medical care and the dilemma caused by the improvement in life-sustaining technology.
Prereq.: ECON 2610.

ECON 4860    Selected Topics in Economics    3 s.h.

Advanced study of selected topics in economic analysis and issues in economic policy. May be repeated once with different topic.
Prereq.: ECON 2610 and ECON 2630.

ECON 4870    Economics Internship    3 s.h.

The practical application of economic knowledge and statistical skills in the workplace. Students assist professionals in various kinds of industrial, financial, and public service organizations.
Prereq.: By permit only, minimum GPA 2.5.

ECON 4880    Analysis of Economic Problems    3 s.h.

The application and extension of the student's skills in economic analysis and statistical techniques to economic issues. The course covers sources of data, exploratory data techniques, matching of data and statistical tests, interpretation and presentation of the results. Students demonstrate their command of research techniques by the completion of a research paper and oral presentation. Topics to be determined.
Prereq.: ECON 3710, ECON 3712, and ECON 3790; or ECON 3788 and ECON 3789; or ECON 3788 and BUS 3700.
Gen Ed: Capstone.

ECON 4898    Graduate Study in Selected Economic Topics    3 s.h.

For undergraduates taking courses in the MA in Economics program for credit towards an undergraduate degree. Credit earned cannot be later applied to a graduate degree. The student must meet the criteria for undergraduate students taking graduate coursework listed in the Graduate Bulletin. May be repeated with different graduate courses.
Prereq.: A minimum of 20 hours of coursework in economics at the 2600 level and above, permission of the chair, junior standing.

ECON 4899    Individual Study in Economics    1-4 s.h.

Individual study of a topic, area, or problem requiring in-depth reading, and a written project. May be repeated once with a different topic, area, or problem.
Prereq.: Junior or senior standing, by permit only.

ECON 5801    Economics of Industrial Organization    3 s.h.

A systematic analysis of the structure, conduct, and performance of American industry. A quantitative analysis plus a comprehensive review of theoretical models of the market, firm behavior, and performance.
Prereq.: ECON 2610.

ECON 5806    History of Economic Thought    3 s.h.

Designed to provide students with an understanding of the development of economic ideas to include: Mercantilism, Physiocrats, the English Classical School, Utilitarianism, early Social Thought, Karl Marx, the German Historical School, Institutionalists and the Keynesian School.
Prereq.: ECON 2630.

ECON 5809    Current Problems in Money, Banking, and Financial Markets    3 s.h.

The financial market system, including money and capital markets. Current problems associated with trends in theory and practice. Theories of the interest rate and monetarism.
Prereq.: ECON 3701 or consent of instructor.

ECON 5811    International Trade    3 s.h.

Theories of international trade and specialization; free trade vs. protectionism; tariff and non-tariff barriers to international trade; international balance of payments and its components; the role of multinational enterprises in contemporary trade pattern; regional economic integrations and world trade; U.S. commercial policies.
Prereq.: ECON 2630.

ECON 5812    International Finance    3 s.h.

Theories of foreign exchange and capital movements, international payments, analysis of spot and forward foreign exchange markets, foreign exchange market arbitrage, speculation, and risk hedging. The Bretton Woods agreement and the contemporary international monetary system. The rise of international organizations and multinational enterprises in the international economy.
Prereq.: ECON 2630.

ECON 5822    Urban and Regional Economics    3 s.h.

Economic analysis of the problems of urbanized areas and the causes of the growth or decline in economic activity in small-area economics. Topics include benefit-cost analysis, economic base analysis, input-output applications, and the theory of location and agglomeration.
Prereq.: ECON 2610.

ECON 5824    Applied Time Series Analysis of Economic and Business Data    3 s.h.

An in-depth analysis of time series models and their applications to problems in economics and business. Emphasis on forecasting. Extensive use of standard computer programs.
Prereq.: ECON 2610 and STAT 4817 or ECON 3790 or (ECON 3788 and ECON 3789) or (ECON 3788 and BUS 3700).

ECON 5831    Labor Markets and the Economics of Unions    3 s.h.

Economic theory and analysis of labor as an input in the resource market; principles, labor problems, public policy; theories of the development of the labor movement; economic objectives of trade unions; problems in public control.
Prereq.: ECON 2610.

ECON 5843    Economics of Poverty, Transfers and Discrimination    3 s.h.

Examines the measurement and causes of poverty, trends in the distribution of income, and antipoverty programs and their effectiveness. Discussions of theories of discrimination, difficulties in measuring the impact of discrimination, and policies designed to reduce discrimination.
Prereq.: ECON 2610.

ECON 5850    Introduction to Game Theory    3 s.h.

Topics include (not limited to) Nash equilibrium, pure/mixed strategy, static/dynamic games, repeated games and coordination, perfect/incomplete information, etc.
Prereq.: ECON 2610.

ECON 5853    Applied Econometrics    3 s.h.

The practice of econometrics with emphasis on model construction, estimation, and interpretation of results. Applications in the private and public sectors involve the use of computers and economic software.
Prereq.: ECON 2630 and ECON 3788.

ECON 5856    Topics in Quantitative Economics    3 s.h.

Application of different tools of mathematical economics, computational economics, and econometrics in conjunction with economic theory to model economic problems of firms, consumers, financial institutions, and public sectors. Specific content of the course will vary with the instructor. May be repeated once with a different topic.
Prereq.: ECON 3788.

ECON 5861    SAS Programming for Data Analysis    3 s.h.

An introduction to SAS programming for data analytics. Topics include using SAS for data processing, manipulation, visualization, reporting, and statistical analysis. The objective is for students to develop statistical computing skills for problem solving and decision making. Cross-listed: STAT 5811.
Prereq.: STAT 2601 or STAT 3717 or STAT 3743 or ECON 3790, or ECON 3788 and ECON 3789, or ECON 3788 and BUS 3700.