Economics

T. Liu, Chairperson 

Economics studies how to resolve the conflicts between unlimited desires for higher living standards and limited resources to satisfy these desires. Because virtually all social, political, and economic problems can be traced to these conflicts, the study of economics is important for intelligent citizenship. It is especially important for students interested in careers in business, government, law, and a variety of other professions. Students are encouraged to visit the department Web site for further information about careers in economics and related disciplines.

The three options within the economics major ─ the business option, the financial analyst option, and the liberal arts option ─ accommodate a variety of student interests and career paths. The business and financial analyst options are designed primarily for students planning to pursue careers in business. Accordingly, these two options require the completion of 39 credit hours of business core courses in addition to the required economics courses. The financial analyst option is tailored for business students who want to pursue a career as a Charter Financial Analyst. 

Economics liberal arts major option provides fundamental and essential knowledge in economics. Students in this option may choose general economics or one of two concentration areas: economics and law or financial economics. General economics is designed for students who are interested in learning more about economics or want to pursue careers as economists. The economics and law concentration offers excellent preparation for law school and is especially valuable for pre-law students. The double major in economics and political science is also useful for pre-law students. The financial economics concentration is particularly suitable for students interested in economics and finance and want to pursue an advanced degree in economics and business. This concentration is a good fit for double major in either economics and actuarial science or economics and mathematical sciences. Because the three areas in the liberal arts option are designed for students pursuing liberal arts degrees, students are not required to take all of the business core courses. 

The department strongly recommends that all economics majors take at least one course in calculus. 

The department also offers an interdepartmental major in mathematical economics. For information on this major, see Interdepartmental Programs. 

A minor in economics is available to business and all other majors. Students in the Social Studies Teaching Major may also select economics as a licensing area. 

MAJOR IN ECONOMICS, BUSINESS OPTION, 63 hours

MAJOR IN ECONOMICS, FINANCIAL ANALYST OPTION, 66 hours 

MAJOR IN ECONOMICS, LIBERAL ARTS OPTION, 30-37 hours

MINOR IN ECONOMICS, 18 hours

TEACHER EDUCATION

TEACHING MAJOR IN SOCIAL STUDIES, 54 hours

ECONOMICS (ECON)

116 Survey of Economic Ideas (3)
The important conclusions of economics are surveyed and applied to topics chosen by the instructor. Especially valuable to students with no high school background in economics. Not applicable to a major or minor in economics. Core Transfer Library: Behavioral Sciences/Humanities (ISH 1040) 
    Not open to students who have credit in ECON 201 or 202. 

201 Elementary Microeconomics (3)
A study of why people specialize as producers and exchange what they produce with others. Includes analysis of how market structure affects prices. Discusses the issue of whether self-interested economic behavior promotes or hinders society. Core Transfer Library: Behavioral Sciences/Humanities (ISH 1042) 

202 Elementary Macroeconomics (3)
Survey of the major explanations for fluctuations in general business conditions. Focuses on how the private sector’s economic behavior is affected by various governmental policies and institutions. Core Transfer Library: Behavioral Sciences/Humanities (ISH 1041) 
    Prerequisite: ECON 201. 

221 Business Statistics (3)
Introduction to various statistical and probabilistic concepts and techniques with application to business problems including random variables and probability distributions, measures of central tendency and dispersion, testing of hypotheses, simple linear regression, and correlation. 
    Prerequisite: C  or better grade in MATH 111, or a passing grade (D- or better) in MATH 132, 161, 162, 165, or 166.

247 Economics and Statistics in the Media (3)
Provides communications and journalism majors with skills in applying and intuitively understanding statistical and economic concepts. Students will be expected to use these concepts in developing news and feature stories. 

279 Economic and Political Problems of Emerging Nations (3)
A survey of historical and contemporary problems of the less-developed nations. Conditions contributing to economic, political, and social change. Problems of economic development policies and programs within the institutional structure. Internal and external pressures that influence patterns of development. 
    Not open to students who have credit in POLS 281. 

299X Experimental/Developmental Topics (1-6)
Topics relevant to the discipline. Course titles will be announced before each semester. 
    A total of 6 hours of credit may be earned. 

301 Intermediate Microeconomics (3)
An investigation of the ways in which economic units direct resources into production. Involves analyses of product pricing, output determination, resource pricing, and employment in various market structures. Includes graphical and, in some instances, simple algebraic analyses. 
    Prerequisite: ECON 201, 202. 

302 Intermediate Macroeconomics (3)
Analyzes national income as a measure of economic activity. Emphasizes the determination of national income, employment, and price level and the rate of growth of the economic system. Includes examination of the theories of consumption and investment spending, interaction between money and national income, and implications of alternative models for public policy. Includes graphical and, in some instances, simple algebraic analyses. 
    Prerequisite: ECON 201, 202. 

309 American Economic History/Development from Origins to the Civil War (3)
An economic history of America from its origins through the Civil War; topics vary, but the subjects usually covered include demography, various forms of labor institutions including slavery, colonialism, the impact of revolution and independence, developments in transport, industry and agriculture, environmental issues, and impacts of war and trade. 
    Prerequisite: ECON 116 or 201. 

310 American Economic History/Development from the Civil War to the Present (3)
An economic history of America since the Civil War; subjects usually include: the post-Civil War South, money and banking, the Great Depression and the New Deal, urbanization, diseases, demographics, the environment and ecology, developments in transport, industry and agriculture, labor, and the impact of conflicts. 
    Prerequisite: ECON 116 or 201. 

311 Environmental Economics (3)
Application of economic analysis to pollution, natural resource usage, and sustainability. “Sustainability” expands the concepts of economic growth and optimization to include a balanced set of goals that include environmental carrying capacity, social and intergenerational equity, and community values. 
    Prerequisite: ECON 116 or 201 or permission of the instructor.  

331 Labor Economics (3)
Students learn how labor is allocated under various institutional settings. Topics include: slavery, labor unions, discrimination, compensating wage differentials, comparable worth, household labor supply decisions, social security, the earned income tax credit, welfare minimum wage laws, immigration, and the differing consequences of allocating labor under communism, socialism, and capitalism. 
    Prerequisite: ECON 116 or 201. 

332 Labor Relations and Law (3)
Study of collective bargaining, the joint determination by employers and employees (through their representatives) of the problems of the employment relationship—encompassing both the negotiation and administration of the labor agreement with primary emphasis upon the rules governing these processes. 
    Prerequisite: ECON 201, 202; or permission of the department chairperson. 

345 The Economics of Government Budgets (3)
Analysis of economic theory behind alternative methods of financing government budgets and debt management. Emphasizes economic consequences of budgets by examining incidence, shifting, and incentives regarding provision of public services and alleviation of economic insecurity. 
    Prerequisite: ECON 201. 

346 Economic Analysis of Legal Issues (3)
Applies microeconomic analysis to legal issues such as property rights, crime, contracts, and liability rules. Strengthens the ability to engage in economic reasoning by demonstrating its applicability to law and economics. 
    Prerequisite: ECON 201. 

348 Health Economics (3)
Examines how institutions and incentives affect the health care choices people make. Topics include the demand and supply of medical care, the effects of health insurance, professional licensing, pharmaceutical regulations, and government involvement in health care. 

351 International Economics (3)
Examines international trade, finance, and commercial policy. 
    Prerequisite: ECON 201. 

369 Internship in Economics (1-6)
Under a program approved and supervised by the Department of Economics, economics majors or minors work full-time for one semester as economics interns for private or public organizations. Periodic written reports of job experiences are required. 
    Prerequisite: ECON 301 or 302; permission of the department chairperson. 
    A total of 6 hours of credit may be earned. 
    Open only to economics majors or minors and second-semester junior or senior standing. 

370 Industrial Organization (3)
Monopolistic, oligopolistic, and competitive market structures. Unsettled issues concerning structure and conduct of industry; concentration, vertical integration, and problems of economic regulation by the government. 
    Prerequisite: ECON 201. 

380 Economic Growth (3)
An analysis of the causes, mechanisms, and patterns of economic growth. Compares and analyzes growth rates of various countries. 
    Prerequisite: ECON 201, 202. 

381 Economics for Teachers: Content Issues and Pedagogy (3)
Pre-service teachers explore content and pedagogy issues related to teaching high school economics. Economic content is given by the national and state standards. Explore pre- and post-tests of student mastery of the standards. Explore economic concepts and pedagogies in lesson plans used with students. 
    Prerequisite: ECON 201, 202. 

390 Honors Colloquium in Economics (1-3)
Exploration of selected issues, themes, problems, or interpretations with emphasis on individualized study and reporting. 
    Restricted to honors students; others by permission of the department chairperson. 
    A total of 3 hours of credit may be earned. 

416 History of Economic Doctrines (3)
The history of how humankind has looked at its economic life, surveys the changing ways economists have rationalized, articulated, and criticized economic organization from biblical times to the present. The successive reformulations place a major emphasis on the economic doctrines of the recent past and the present. 
    Prerequisite: ECON 201, 202. 

421 Mathematical Economics (3)
Use of mathematics in the development of selected economic theories. Survey of input-output analysis and examination of the application of linear programming and the theory of games to selected economic problems. 
    Prerequisite: ECON 201, 202; MATH 132 or its equivalent. 

424 Introduction to Econometrics (3)
Applies statistical methods to economics. Emphasizes constructing, estimating, and testing economic models. Topics include multiple regression analysis and advanced regression techniques, including the specific problems that arise in applying these to economic and financial data, time series analysis, and forecasting. 
    Prerequisite: ECON 201, 202, 221 or its equivalent.

441 The Theory of Monetary Policy (3)
A theoretical presentation of how the board of governors of the Federal Reserve System modifies the economic climate within which the institutions of the nation operate and of the problems of government finance as they relate to the board’s goal of general economic stability. 
    Prerequisite: ECON 201, 202. 

461 Comparative Economic Systems (3)
Historical and comparative study of economic theories and systems. 
    Prerequisite: ECON 201, 202. 

485 Urban Economics (3)
The systematic economic structure of cities and the component parts of that structure. Attention is given to the ways in which the economic structure of cities and regions obstructs or facilitates the attainment of the goals of the community. 
    Prerequisite: ECON 201. 

492 Readings and Directed Study in Economics (1-3)
Students will pursue their interests in specialized economics subjects under the direction of a member of the economics staff. Subjects studied will differ from or be studied in greater depth than subjects treated in other economics courses. 
    Prerequisite: 6 hours of credit in economics. 
    A total of 6 hours of credit may be earned, but no more than 3 in any one semester or term. 

495 Seminar in Economics (1-3)
Topics center on economic problems and issues of special interest to students and instructor. Permits in-depth studies of topics not formally treated in other courses, thereby exposing interested students to a wider variety of economic problem-solving situations. 
    Prerequisite: ECON 201, 202; permission of the department chairperson. 
    A total of 6 hours of credit may be earned, but no more than 3 in any one semester or term.