Courses: Economics (ECON)College: Liberal Arts and Social Sciences

Any TCCN equivalents are indicated in square brackets [ ].

ECON 2301: Global Economic Concepts
Cr. 3. (3-0). Prerequisite: MATH 1310 or equivalent or consent of instructor. Credit may not be earned in both ECON 2301 and 2305. Not intended for business administration majors. Economics majors/minors who earn at least a B+ in ECON 2301 may petition to substitute 2301 for 2305. Nontechnical introduction to microeconomic and macroeconomic concepts emphasizing global economy.

ECON 2304: Microeconomic Principles
[TCCN—ECON 2302]
Cr. 3. (3-0). Prerequisite: MATH 1310 or equivalent or consent of instructor. Individual consumer and firm behavior, supply and demand and the market determination or prices, production, and income. Includes government price ceilings, monopoly and antitrust, market failures and environmental pollution.

ECON 2305: Macroeconomic Principles
[TCCN—ECON 2301]
Cr. 3. (3-0). Prerequisite: MATH 1310 or equivalent or consent of instructor. Credit may not be earned in both ECON 2301 and 2305. Economics majors/minors with at least a B+ in ECON 2301 may petition to substitute 2301 for 2305. Aggregate economy, inflation, recession, and economic policy. Economic growth, business cycle theory, and international trade.

ECON 2370: Introduction to Statistics and Data Analysis
Cr. 3. (3-0). Prerequisite: completion of MATH 1310 or equivalent or consent of instructor. Introduction to descriptive statistics, probability models, statistical inference, and hypothesis testing. Introduction to real world statistics for any behavioral science student, including economics, demography, political science or psychology.

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Effective through end of Summer 2013:
ECON 3301: Economics and the Social Order
Cr. 3. (3-0). Prerequisites: 15 semester hours of social science and history or consent of instructor. Cultural, social, and political dimensions of economic activity and the impact of economic change on the social order.

ECON 3332: Intermediate Microeconomic Theory
Cr. 3. (3-0). Prerequisite: general quantitative training, which can be ECON 2304, or consent of instructor. Rigorous introduction to resource allocation in a market economy including consumer behavior, firm behavior, supply and demand, efficiency and the determination of prices. Includes economics of taxation, network externalities, impact of uncertainty on economic behavior and implications of cooperative behavior among firms.

ECON 3334: Intermediate Macroeconomic Theory
Cr. 3. (3-0). Prerequisite: general quantitative training, which can be ECON 2305, or consent of instructor. Rigorous introduction to the determination of aggregate output, employment, the price level and income. Includes effects of inflation, causes of business cycles determination of economic growth, impacts of monetary policy and effects of government taxation, spending and the national debt.

ECON 3340: Comparative Economic Systems (formerly 4379)
Cr. 3. (3-0). Prerequisite: ECON 2301 or ECON 2304 or ECON 3332 or consent of instructor. The role and impacts of alternative allocation systems, including markets, socialization and central planning. Structure and performance of historical and contemporary economic systems, with implications for the emerging world economy.

ECON 3341: Russian and Soviet Economic Development and Transformation (formerly 4386)
Cr. 3. (3-0). Prerequisite: junior standing. Evolution, structure and performance of the economy during the Soviet period after 1991. Transformation of the former Soviet Union to a market economy, including the role of the international community and the alternative paths taken by various republics.

ECON 3344: History of Economic Doctrines (formerly 4337)
Cr. 3. (3-0). Prerequisite: ECON 2301 or ECON 2304 or consent of instructor. Development of economic thought and the intellectual and historical framework within which economic ideas have grown. Among the thinkers that are emphasized are Smith, Ricardo, Marx, Malthus, Marshall, Say, Turgot and Keynes.

ECON 3347: Capital Market Economics
Cr. 3. (3-0). Prerequisites:ECON 2304, 2305, and 2370, MATH 1314 or 1431 or consent of instructor. Financial assets in the context of time, uncertainty, options, and information. Time value of money, market efficiency, risk, asset pricing, derivatives, firm capital structure, market microstructure, and quantitative financial modeling.

ECON 3350: American Economic Growth (formerly 4381)
Cr. 3. (3-0). Prerequisite: ECON 2301 or 2304 or consent of instructor. Applications of economic analysis to American economic history and how that history has shaped modern economic institutions, including the experience of the Colonies, the American Revolution, Industrialization, the Civil War and the Great Depression.

ECON 3351: Economics of Development (formerly 4383)
Cr. 3. (3-0). Prerequisite: ECON 2301 or 2304 or consent of instructor. Nature, causes and possible solutions to problems in underdeveloped economies. Analysis of economic, political and human implications of economic growth, including the influence of the international aid community and the consequences of world trade.

ECON 3353: Economic Development of Africa (formerly 4388)
Cr. 3. (3-0). Prerequisite: ECON 2304 or consent of instructor. Economic and social problems of raising standards of living in Africa. Discussion issues include economic growth, growth and the environment, income disparities, the role of trade and foreign investment and the accompanying political and social changes.

ECON 3355: Economic Development of Asia
Cr. 3. (3-0). Prerequisite: ECON 2304 or consent of instructor. Economic and social problems of raising standards of living in Asia. Economic growth, environment, income disparities, role of trade and foreign investment and related political and social changes.

ECON 3358: Economic Development of Latin America
Cr. 3. (3-0). Prerequisite: ECON 2304 or consent of instructor. Dependence of Latin American countries on natural resources and agricultural products, import substitution industrialization, debt and financial crises, subsequent adjustments and structural reforms.

ECON 3363: Environmental Economics
Cr. 3. (3-0). Prerequisites: ECON 2304 or 3332 or consent of instructor. Analyses of environmental quality and environmental regulation. Measurement of costs and benefits of potential solutions. Comparison of real world solutions, tried and untried, to theoretically preferred solutions and to current U.S. environmental policy.

ECON 3365: Labor Economics
Cr. 3. (3-0). Prerequisite: ECON 2304 or 3332 or consent of instructor. Introduction to economic theory, data and policy issues in labor economics. Labor market effects of minimum wage laws, mandatory employee benefits, technological change, international trade and immigration. Effects of income replacement programs, rise in female labor supply, rise in income inequality, decline in manufacturing and the decline of unions.

ECON 3368: Economics of Health Care
Cr. 3. (3-0). Prerequisite: ECON 2304 or 3332 or consent of instructor. Determinants of supply and demand for health care, including the regulatory environment and government policy. Medical insurance, behavior of patients and medical professionals, methods of health finance, medical liability, government programs and regulation of health care industry.

ECON 3371: Economics of Money and Banking
Cr. 3. (3-0). Prerequisite: ECON 2305 or 3334 or consent of instructor. Analysis of how the banking system and monetary policy determine the money supply and interest rates. U.S. Federal Reserve Bank, unemployment, inflation, stock and bond markets and interest rates.

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Effective through end of Summer 2013:
ECON 3372: International Economic Policy and Institutions
Cr. 3. (3-0). Prerequisites: ECON 2304 and 2305, or consent of instructor. Empirical analysis of international trade theory and currency systems: principles that govern world trade and capital investment, analysis of free floating, fixed and managed-floating exchange rate systems, the history of international finance and financial crises.

ECON 3377: Economics of Public Finance
Cr. 3. (3-0). Prerequisite: ECON 2304 or 3332 or consent of instructor. Effects of economic incentives on voters, government officials, economy and markets. Analysis of situations where private markets fail to be efficient. Applications to government policies at federal and local levels, including welfare, insurance, health care, policing, roads and Social Security. Analysis of tax system and interaction among federal, state, and local governments.

ECON 3385: Economics of Energy
Cr. 3. (3-0). Prerequisite: ECON 2304 or 3332 or consent of instructor. National and international energy markets in various forms, including oil, natural gas and alternative energy sources. Pricing, distribution and allocation and U.S. and international regulation of industry.

ECON 3386: Economics of Project Evaluation
Cr. 3. (3-0). Prerequisite: ECON 2304 or 3332 or consent of instructor. Economic viability analysis of private and public sector investment projects, including sensitivity analysis. Special emphasis on measurement of costs, benefit determination and social versus private discounting.

ECON 3399: Senior Honors Thesis
Cr. 3. (3-0). Prerequisite: approval of chair.

ECON 4198: Independent Study
Cr. 1 per semester. Prerequisite: approval of department chair.

ECON 4298: Independent Study
Cr. 2 per semester. Prerequisite: approval of department chair.

ECON 4321: Economic Analysis of U.S. Legal System
Cr. 3. (3-0). Prerequisite: junior standing. Economic implications of law and the legal system, including common law, constitutional law, and administrative law. Property torts, contracts and criminal law.

ECON 4331: Economics of Gender
Cr. 3. (3-0). Prerequisite: ECON 3332 or consent of instructor. Gender gap in market work and market pay and the role of household specialization and discrimination. Female labor force participation in the U.S. and the influence of industrial structure, technology, marriage, and fertility on a women's decision to engage in market work.

ECON 4335: Economic Growth Theory
Cr. 3. (3-0). Prerequisites: ECON 3332 and 3334, or consent of instructor. Theory and empirics of economic growth with emphasis on international comparisons of performance of income and productivity. Technology, population dynamics, government policy, culture, income inequality, international trade, democracy, and the rule of law.

ECON 4349: Introduction to Game Theory
Cr. 3. (3-0). Prerequisites: ECON 2370 and ECON 3332. Introduction to the theory of games and solution methods. Real world situations as games, predicting outcomes using game theory techniques. Bargaining, oligopoly, auctions, coordination, and provision of public goods.

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Effective through end of Summer 2013:
ECON 4350: Economics and Decision Theory
Cr. 3. (3-0). Prerequisites: ECON 3332 and three hours of statistics or consent of instructor. Analysis of the process of rational choice and related decision costs. Comparison of rational choice processes, other decision mechanisms and people's actual behavior in economic contexts with reference to contemporary theory and experimental evidence.

ECON 4360: Introduction to Mathematical Economics
Cr. 3. (3-0). Prerequisites: MATH 1314 or MATH 1431 and ECON 3332. Develop algebra and calculus based techniques for analyzing economic decisions. Solve constrained optimization problems for consumer choice and for determination of optimal input levels for production by firms. Elements of game theory and dynamic economic decision making.

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ECON 4362: Computational Economics
Cr. 3. (3-0). Prerequisites: ECON 3332 or ECON 3334 and MATH 1431 or MATH 1314 or consent of instructor. Applications of computers to analyze and simulate economic models. Standard programming languages and mathematics are used to analyze nonlinear optimization, chaos theory, economic behavior simulations, and economic applications of optimal control theory. Use of Internet as a resource.

ECON 4364: Introduction to Experimental Economics
Cr. 3. (3-0). Prerequisites: ECON 2370 and ECON 3332. Use of experimental methods for testing economic theories. Survey of important results from experiments, the elements of good experimental design, and related statistical methodology. Includes the behavior of markets, bargaining situations, auctions, and public good dilemmas.

ECON 4365: Introduction To Econometrics
Cr. 3. (3-0). Prerequisites: ECON 2370 and ECON 3332 or ECON 3334. Regression analysis applied to economic problems, including extensions for nonstandard situations. Topics include generalized least squares, model specification, qualitative variables, instrumental variables, and time series models.

ECON 4368: International Monetary Economics
Cr. 3. (3-0). Prerequisite: ECON 3334 or consent of instructor. Exchange rate determination, the balance of payments, the international flow of capital and its impact on economies, alternative exchange rate systems, government management of international financial environment and European, Latin America and Asian exchange rate crises.

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ECON 4369: Regional Economics
Cr. 3. (3-0). Prerequisite: ECON 3334 or consent of instructor. Regional income growth, measurement and effectiveness of locationally targeted government growth policies, convergence of incomes between regions, causes of industrial diversity and determination of population size of a region within a broader context.

ECON 4370: International Trade (formerly 3389)
Cr. 3. (3-0). Prerequisite: ECON 3332 or consent of instructor. Causes of international trade and its effect on national economies. Consequences of trade barriers and trade policies in different economic environments, including reaction to national monopolistic practices. International transmission of investment, labor and technology.

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ECON 4371: Monetary Economics
Cr. 3. (3-0). Prerequisite: ECON 3334 or consent of instructor. Dynamic models of the demand for money and other assets; applications to theories of government finance and banking.

ECON 4372: Economics of Education
Cr. 3. (3-0). Prerequisite: ECON 3332 or consent of instructor. The roles of technology and globalization in the requirement for an educated work force. Effects of education policies on meeting the need for skilled workers, including the roles of school resources, teachers, and peers.

ECON 4375: Market Regulations
Cr. 3. (3-0). Prerequisite: ECON 3332 or consent of instructor. Regulation of markets by competition and by governmental agencies. Antitrust laws and their enforcement to support competition, the structuring of competition in specific regulated industries, and regulation of pollution and other market failures.

ECON 4376: Industrial Organization (formerly 3376)
Cr. 3. (3-0). Prerequisite: ECON 3332 or consent of instructor. Behavior of firms individually and in market settings. Strategies of competitive and cooperative behaviors, firm decisions in regulated environments and the likely effects of deregulation.

ECON 4377: Urban Economics
Cr. 3. (3-0). Prerequisite: ECON 3332 or consent of instructor. Analysis of the American city's economic structure; its causes, location of residential and production activities, income disparities and implications for urban development and how the public sector affects the urban economy.

ECON 4389: Topics in Contemporary Economics
Cr. 3. (3-0). Prerequisite: ECON 2301 or 2304 or consent of instructor. A survey of contemporary economic theory and problems.

ECON 4390: Economics Internship
Cr. 3. (3-0). Prerequisites: ECON 3332 and 3334 and consent of instructor. Work with practicing economists in selected private industry, federal, state and local government offices. Correlated readings. May be repeated once for credit. Only three hours may apply toward the ECON major requirements.

ECON 4391: Economics and the Real World
Cr. 3. (3-0). Prerequisite: ECON 3332 or consent of instructor; recommended for seniors. Application of economic analysis to contemporary issues and current social policy. Topics rotate weekly. Recent topics include the age of limits, global warming, government land use control, gun control, and the economics of crime.

ECON 4398: Independent Study
Cr. 3 per semester. Prerequisite: approval of department chair.

ECON 4399: Senior Honors Thesis
Cr. 3. (3-0). Prerequisites: ECON 3399 and approval of department chair.

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Catalog Publish Date: August 22, 2012
This Page Last Updated: April 11, 2013