2015-2016 University Catalog archived
Economics (ECON)
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Knowledge of mathematics is vital for students planning to pursue graduate study in economics. Students headed for graduate school are urged to seek the advice of members of the economics faculty in shaping their courses of study. Majors in economics who intend to pursue a Master of Business Administration degree or seek employment in the financial sector are advised to take courses in accounting. Economics majors interested in the consulting field should acquire strong computer skills and excellent writing skills, the latter through additional courses in English or journalism. Advanced study of a foreign language is essential for students interested in international career opportunities. Economics majors are encouraged to study abroad.
Honors: An Honors Program in economics is offered for qualified students; see department head for more information.
Department Head: Michael A. Anderson
Faculty
First date is the year in which the faculty member began service as regular faculty at the University. Second date is the year of appointment to the present rank.
Michael A. Anderson, Ph.D.—(1990)-2000
Robert E. Sadler Jr. Professor of Economics
Ph.D., University of Wisconsin
Niels-Hugo Blunch, Ph.D.—(2006)-2012
Associate Professor of Economics
Ph.D., George Washington University
James F. Casey, Ph.D.—(1998)-2007
Associate Professor of Economics
Ph.D., North Carolina State University
Martin H. Davies, Ph.D.—(2009)-2009
Assistant Professor of Economics
Ph.D., Oxford University
Timothy M. Diette, Ph.D.—(2004)-2013
Harry E. and Mary Jayne W. Redenbaugh Term Associate Professor of Economics
Ph.D., University of North Carolina
Arthur H. Goldsmith, Ph.D.—(1990)-1996
Jackson T. Stephens Professor of Economics
Ph.D., University of Illinois
Peter Grajzl, Ph.D.—(2009)-2013
Associate Professor of Economics
Ph.D., University of Maryland
A. Joseph Guse, Ph.D.—(2005)-2012
Associate Professor of Economics
Ph.D., University of Wisconsin
Christopher M. Handy, Ph.D.—(2013)-2015
Assistant Professor of Economics
Ph.D., Cornell University
Linda M. Hooks, Ph.D.—(1993)-2005
Professor of Economics
Ph.D., University of California, Los Angeles
James R. Kahn, Ph.D.—(2000)-2000
John F. Hendon Professor of Economics
Ph.D., University of Maryland
Carl Paul Kaiser, Ph.D.—(1979)-1991
Professor of Economics
Ph.D., Washington University
Larry C. Peppers, Ph.D.—(1986)-1986
Professor of Economics
Ph.D., Vanderbilt University
Katharine L. Shester, Ph.D.—(2011)-2011
Assistant Professor of Economics
Ph.D., Vanderbilt University
Shikha Basnet Silwal, Ph.D.—(2012)-2012
Assistant Professor of Economics
Ph.D., University of Pittsburgh
Michael J. Smitka, Ph.D.—(1986)-2000
Professor of Economics
Ph.D., Yale University
Major
ECON 101 - Principles of Microeconomics
FDR: SS1
Credits: 3
Survey of economic principles and problems with emphasis on analysis of consumer behavior, firm behavior, market outcomes, market structure, and microeconomic policy. The first half of a two-term survey of economics. Should be followed by ECON 102. Staff. Planned Offering: Fall, Winter
ECON 102 - Principles of Macroeconomics
FDR: SS1
Credits: 3
Prerequisite: ECON 101. Continuation of survey begun in ECON 101, with emphasis on performance of the aggregate economy. Analysis of unemployment, inflation, growth, and monetary and fiscal policies. Staff. Planned Offering: Fall, Winter
ECON 136 - Caste at the Intersection of Economy, Religion, and Law
(REL 136) FDR: SS4
Credits: 4
Social stratification touches every aspect of life, and South Asia’s traditional caste structure is a special case: this highly complex, strictly-adhered-to system has been religiously legitimized and criticized over a 3,000-year history, and is nowadays seen as being at odds with the modern world. Yet it remains a crucial factor in social identity, economic roles, legal status, and religious practice. This course offers a 360-degree survey of caste both historically and in practice today in Nepal. The course addresses four themes, respectively providing for each a combination of historical background, social scientific analysis of the modern situation, and direct field experience for the students. Silwal, Lubin. Planned Offering: Spring 2015.
ECON 186 - Land in Lakota Culture, Economics, and History
(SOAN 186) FDR: SS4
Credits: 4
Additional fee. A review of the history of Lakota land from 1851 to present and its importance to Lakota cultural identity, political sovereignty, and economic development. We examine specific federal policies including the treaties of 1851 and 1868, the extermination of the buffalo herds, the confiscation of the Black Hills, the creation of the reservation system, and the Dawes Act among others. Students spend nine days off-campus to participate in workshops at the Center for American Indian Research and Native Studies and to visit sites in and around the Pine Ridge Reservation, the Rosebud reservation, and the Black Hills. Guse, Markowitz. Planned Offering: Spring
ECON 195 - Special Topics in Economics for Non- Majors
FDR: SS1
Credits: 3
This course is offered, without prerequisite, and typically for first-year students on various topics in economics. The course emphasis changes from term to term and is announced prior to registration. Staff. Planned Offering: Offered when interest is expressed and departmental resources permit.
ECON 203 - Econometrics
Credits: 3
Prerequisite or corequisite: INTR 201. Prerequisite: INTR 202 or permission of instructor or department head. Explorations of regression models that relate a response variable to one or more predictor variables. The course begins with a review of the simple bivariate model used in INTR 202, and moves on to multivariate models. Underlying model assumptions and consequences are discussed. Advanced topics include non-linear regression and forecasting. Examples in each class are drawn from a number of disciplines. The course emphasizes the use of data and student-directed research. Anderson, Blunch. Planned Offering: Fall, Winter
ECON 210 - Microeconomic Theory
Credits: 3
Prerequisites: ECON 101 and MATH 101. Contemporary theory relating to consumer behavior, the firm’s optimizing behavior, the nature of competition in various types of markets and market equilibrium over time. Recommended for economics majors not later than their junior year. Guse. Planned Offering: Fall, Winter
ECON 211 - Macroeconomic Theory
Credits: 3
Prerequisites: ECON 101 and 102, or instructor consent. This course develops the classical macroeconomic framework and uses this to explore the causes and consequences of economic growth, inflation, output, and employment. This same exercise is conducted using alternative theoretical frameworks, including those associated with Keynes, Monetarists, and New Classical thinkers. Emphasis is placed on investigating the impact and effectiveness of monetary and fiscal policy under each of the theoretical paradigms or schools of thought developed. Davies, Goldsmith, Hooks. Planned Offering: Fall, Winter
ECON 215 - Money and Banking
Credits: 3
Prerequisites: ECON 101 and 102 and junior or senior standing, or instructor consent. A study of the fundamental principles of money, credit, and banking in the United States. Emphasis is on modern conditions and problems, with particular attention to the validity of monetary and banking theory in the present domestic and international situation. Hooks. Planned Offering: Fall, Winter
ECON 220 - Mathematical Economics
Credits: 3
Prerequisites: ECON 101, 102, and MATH 221. An introduction to fundamental mathematical methods of economic analysis with a variety of applications from both microeconomics and macroeconomics. Topics covered include theory and applications of linear algebra, multivariable calculus, static optimization, and comparative statics. The course is highly recommended for anyone planning to undertake graduate studies in economics or a closely related field. Grajzl. Planned Offering: Fall or Winter
ECON 221 - Experimental Economics
Credits: 3
Prerequisites: ECON 101 and 102. This course explores the use of laboratory methods to study economic behavior. Topics include the design of experiments, laboratory techniques to test theories, financial incentives, and analysis of experimental data. Experimental economics emphasizes applications in a variety of topics: games, bargaining, auctions, market price competition, market failures, voting, contributions to public goods, lottery choice decisions, and the design of electronic markets for financial assets. Guse. Planned Offering: Offered when interest is expressed and departmental resources permit
ECON 224 - American Economic History
Credits: 3
Prerequisites: ECON 101 and 102. This course applies economic analysis to topics in American history and aspects of the development of the American economy. Typically, two or three aspects are chosen for intensive study; coverage varies from year to year. Possible topics include the economics of slavery; the coming of the railroads; the rise of the industrial corporation, boom and bust in the 19th century; innovation and technology; and the triumph of central banking. Shester. Planned Offering: Offered when interest is expressed and departmental resources permit
ECON 225 - Industrial Revolutions
Credits: 3
Prerequisite: ECON 101. In the 18th century, the pace of long-run economic growth accelerated; in the end, for the first time in human history, social and economic change became visible within an individual’s lifetime. What are the roles of technical change and population growth in this transformation? Why did England industrialize first, and not China, which had a clear lead in technology in 1600? What is the impact of modern economic growth on society? Insights gleaned from Smith, Malthus, and Marx are applied to country and sectoral case studies; 19th-century novels trace the contemporary perception of social change; and class participation in iron smelting makes concrete the magnitude of technical change. Students are expected to present a major research project to the class. Smitka. Planned Offering: Winter 2012 and alternate years.
ECON 226 - Socioeconomic Themes in Literature and Film
Credits: 3
Prerequisite: ECON 101. The causes and consequences of socioeconomic developments are explored using literature and film as texts. Insights are gained by applying fundamental economic concepts to the situations depicted in the literature and film. Viewing socioeconomic issues through the prism of literature and film offers a rich understanding of the human experience, the essence of a liberal arts education. The course is writing intensive, with essays assigned for each film and each novel. Discussion is centered on development and analysis of the socioeconomic themes portrayed in the films and literature. Goldsmith. Planned Offering: Winter
ECON 229 - Urban Economics
Credits: 3
Prerequisite: ECON 101. A study of the economics of cities. Students discuss why cities exist, what determines city growth, and how firms make city location decisions. We then shift our focus to within-city location decisions, and we discuss land-use patterns, housing, and neighborhoods. Our discussion of housing and neighborhoods focus on a number of issues related to urban poverty, including the effects of segregation and housing policies on the poor. Shester. Planned Offering: Winter
ECON 230 - Labor Economics
Credits: 3
Prerequisites: ECON 101 and 102. The mechanisms and institutions which govern the allocation of labor in the American economy. The composition, quantity, and quality of the labor force; the functioning of labor markets and labor market policy; and wage determination and the distribution of income. Kaiser. Planned Offering: Fall or Winter
ECON 231 - Economics of Race and Ethnicity
Credits: 3
Prerequisite: ECON 101. The purpose of this writing-intensive and interdisciplinary seminar is to enhance understanding of the link between race and ethnicity and economic outcomes. Participants explore a number of topics through assigned reading and classroom discussion, including: What are race and ethnicity, economic theories of discrimination, social-psychological insight about stereotyping, legacy impacts on social-economic status, affirmative action, wealth disparities between racial/ethnic groups, the role of communities in shaping economic and social well-being, concepts of identity, the connection between skin shade and economic outcomes, the contribution of assimilation and English language proficiency to the economic outcomes of immigrant Latino workers, the racial/ethnic composition of schools and academic achievement. The course fosters the development and use of critical thinking, effective writing, and oral presentation skills. Goldsmith. Planned Offering: Offered when interest is expressed and departmental resources permit
ECON 232 - African-American Human Capital Development: Challenges and Opportunities
Credits: 4
Prerequisite: ECON 101. The course analyzes policies and institutions in the U.S. that influence African-Americans in their development of human capital. Examples of topics explored include early child development, K-12 education, postsecondary education, wealth, job training programs, housing segregation, and access to quality health care. Diette. Planned Offering: Spring 2012 and alternate years
ECON 233 - Colorism
Credits: 4
Prerequisite: ECON 101. Colorism is the allocation of privilege and disadvantage according to the lightness or darkness of one’s skin. The practices of colorism tend to favor lighter skin over darker skin, although in rare cases the opposite practice also occurs. Colorism is present both within and among racial groups, a testament to its role as something related to but different than race. Colorism is enacted among racial groups in various contexts, from preferences in classroom settings and hiring decisions to patterns in sentencing. This course draws on analytical structures and insights from the social sciences – especially economics, sociology, anthropology, and psychology – as well as material from the humanities to explore the socio-economic consequences. The investigation is global in perspective and makes use of film and music in to enrich insights gained from course readings and classroom discussion. The course fosters the development and use of critical thinking, effective writing, and oral presentation skills while exploring the colorism. Goldsmith. Planned Offering: Spring
ECON 234 - Urban Education: Poverty, Ethnicity and Policy
Credits: 4
Prerequisite: ECON 101 and instructor consent. Not open to students with credit for EDUC 369. Students explore the determinants of education achievement and attainment in urban education through three weeks of fieldwork in schools in the Richmond area (Monday through Thursday each week) and seminar meetings in Lexington. Students observe and work to understand critical components of teaching and learning in the urban classroom. The readings and experience challenge students to consider factors including early childhood development, the role of the family, school finance, teachers, and curriculum. The students then evaluate the current policy proposals for school reform in the United States such as teacher merit pay, charter schools, and student accountability. In addition, students develop and present their own policy proposal for improving public schools. Housing is provided through alumni in Richmond. Diette. Planned Offering: Spring 2012 and alternate years.
ECON 235 - The Economics of Social Issues
Credits: 3
Prerequisite: ECON 101, and POV 101 or 103 during initial registration. This seminar is based on readings that set out hypotheses developed by economists and other social scientists regarding the causes and consequences of a wide range of social problems. Evidence examining the validity of these hypotheses is scrutinized and evaluated. The course is writing intensive and interdisciplinary since readings are drawn from a wide variety of fields. Topics discussed include, but are not limited to, poverty, education, health, crime, race, ethnicity, immigration, and fiscal matters. Goldsmith. Planned Offering: Winter
ECON 236 - Economics of Education
Credits: 3
Prerequisite: ECON 101 and POV 101 or EDUC 200 during initial registration; then only ECON 101. Investigation of the role of education on outcomes for both nations and individuals. Understanding of the factors in the education production function. Emphasis on the challenges of pre-K-12 education in the United States; secondary coverage of postsecondary education. Analysis of the effect of existing policies and potential reforms on the achievement and opportunities available to poor and minority students. Diette. Planned Offering: Fall or Winter
ECON 237 - Health Economics
Credits: 3
Prerequisite: ECON 101. An overview of the determinants of health using standard microeconomic models to analyze individual behavior, markets, institutions, and policies that influence health and health care. The primary focus of the course is the United States but also includes comparisons to health systems in other developed countries and very limited coverage of developing countries. Particular emphasis is given to challenges faced by disadvantaged groups. The course includes an optional service-learning component with placements involving health issues and/or health care services in Rockbridge County. Diette. Planned Offering: Winter
ECON 238 - Poverty and Inequality in the United States
Credits: 3
Prerequisites: ECON 101. This course takes an economic approach toward investigating recent trends in poverty and inequality in the U.S., focusing on evaluating alternative explanations for who becomes (or remains) poor in this country. Factors considered in this investigation include labor-market trends, educational opportunities, family background, racial discrimination, and neighborhood effects. Aspects of public policy designed to alleviate poverty are discussed, as well as its failures and successes. Handy. Planned Offering: Offered when interest is expressed and departmental resources permit
ECON 243 - Economics of Business Strategy
Credits: 3
Prerequisite: ECON 101. A survey of the structure and performance of industry, from entry and exit of new technologies and products, to economies of scale and scope in mature industries, to how firms are organized and what they “make” versus “buy.” As metrics, we focus on what such behavior implies consumers and for corporate strategy. Students develop an industry case study as a term project. Smitka. Planned Offering: Fall or Winter
ECON 244 - The Auto Industry: Economics, Society, Culture
Credits: 4
Prerequisite: ECON 101 and instructor consent. Additional fee. This course investigates the automobile industry from an interdisciplinary perspective, including a visit to factories and R&D facilities in Detroit. Why did GM file bankruptcy? Why do we have 600-plus new passenger vehicles available in the US – isn’t such diversity wasteful? How and why has the automobile shifted the rhythm of daily life, including the growth of suburbs and decline of cities? What of safety and the environment – electric vehicles? The course also considers cars themselves, the subject of two Tom Wolfe stories in The Kandy-Kolored Tangerine-Flake Streamline Baby. Smitka. Planned Offering: Spring 2014 and alternate years
ECON 248 - Economic Analysis of Law
Credits: 3
Prerequisites: ECON 101 and 102. Analysis of substantive and procedural legal rules through the application of neoclassical economic theory. Emphasis is on the Chicago school of Posner, Coase, et al. and their critics, stressing efficient allocation rather than income distribution. Topics include property rights and their use to attempt to internalize externalities, the efficiency of contracts and their role in allocating risk, optimal liability rules and sanctions in torts, and the efficient amount of crime. Marco. Planned Offering: Fall or Winter
ECON 250 - Public Finance
Credits: 3
Prerequisites: ECON 101 and 102. Public choices and the public economy. An inquiry into how the references of individuals and groups are translated into public sector economic activity. The nature of public activity and public choice institutions. The question of social balance. The effects of government expenditures and taxes on the economic behavior of individuals and firms. Guse. Planned Offering: Offered when interest is expressed and departmental resources permit
ECON 255 - Environmental and Natural Resource Economics
Credits: 3
Prerequisite: ECON 101. Economics and environmental studies majors/minors will have priority during the initial registration. The course serves as an introduction to environmental and natural resource economics. Economic principles are used to evaluate public and private decision making involving the management and use of environmental and natural resources. Aspects pertaining to fisheries, forests, species diversity, agriculture, and various policies to reduce air, water and toxic pollution will be discussed. Lectures, reading assignments, discussions and exams will emphasize the use of microeconomic analysis for managing and dealing with environmental and natural resource problems and issues. Casey, Kahn. Planned Offering: Winter
ECON 259 - Supervised Study Abroad: The Environment and Economic Development in Amazonas
Credits: 4
Prerequisite: ECON 101 or ENV 110. Spring Term Abroad course. Amazonas is a huge Brazilian state of 1.5 million sq. kilometers which retains 94 percent of its original forest cover. This course examines the importance of the forest for economic development in both the formal and informal sectors of the economy, and how policies can be develop to promote both environmental protection and an increase in the quality life in both the urban and rural areas of Amazonas. The learning objectives of this course integrate those of the economics and environmental studies majors. Students are asked to use economic tools in an interdisciplinary context to understand the relationships among economic behavior, ecosystems and policy choices. Writing assignments focus on these relationships and look towards the development of executive summary writing skills. Kahn. Planned Offering: Spring 2012 and alternate years
ECON 270 - International Trade
Credits: 3
Prerequisites: ECON 101 and 102. Specialization of production, the gains from trade, and their distribution, nationally and internationally. Theory of tariffs. Commercial policy from the mercantilist era to the present. The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). Transnational economic integration: the European Community and other regional blocs. Anderson, Davies. Planned Offering: Fall or Winter
ECON 271 - International Finance
Credits: 3
Prerequisites: ECON 101 and 102. International monetary arrangements, balance-of-payments adjustment processes, and the mutual dependence of macroeconomic variables and policies in trading nations. The International Monetary Fund (IMF), international investment, and the World Bank. International cooperation for economic stability. Anderson, Davies. Planned Offering: Fall or Winter
ECON 272 - Japan’s Modern Economy
Credits: 3
Prerequisites: ECON 101 and 102. Analysis of the contemporary Japanese economy, including the comparative structure of its economy; the macroeconomics of the late 1980s “bubble economy” and subsequent growth; the changing role of women and its impact on fertility; and the future of an economy facing population decline and the fiscal burden of a rapidly aging population. Texts include works by sociologists and political scientists to emphasize the need to integrate the impact of policy and social structures on economic behavior. Smitka. Planned Offering: Fall or Winter
ECON 274 - China’s Modern Economy
Credits: 3
Prerequisites: Normally, ECON 101 and 102. Only ECON 101 for Winter 2015. Economic analysis of the Chinese economy in the 20th century. Comparisons of pre- and post-revolutionary periods. Performance and policies of Taiwan and mainland China. Issues include the population problem, industrialization, provision of public health and education, alleviation of poverty and inequality. Microeconomic emphasis. Smitka. Planned Offering: Fall or Winter
ECON 275 - Comparative Labor Markets
Credits: 3
Prerequisites: ECON 101 and 102. A comparative examination of labor markets and institutions in a set of advanced capitalist countries. Study and analysis address the roles played by institutions in explaining cross-national differences in labor-market outcomes, including employment, unemployment, labor force participation, mobility, and income distribution. The course also considers the likelihood of convergence of institutional arrangements across countries. Kaiser. Planned Offering: Winter
ECON 276 - Health Economics in Developing Countries
Credits: 3
Prerequisites: ECON 101. A survey of the major issues of health economics. with a focus on developing countries. Economic modeling of health-related issues, supply and demand of health, cost-benefit and cost-effectiveness analysis, health goals, and policy alternatives. The relationship between health and education, including for example the links between maternal education and child health and child health and child schooling. Health and the labor market, including for example the relationship between adult health and labor-market outcomes and child labor and child health. Epidemiology: HIV/AIDS and worms in Sub-Saharan Africa. Selected case studies. Blunch. Planned Offering: Winter, 2016
ECON 280 - Development Economics
Credits: 3
Prerequisites: ECON 101 and 102. A survey of the major issues of development economics. Economic structure of low-income countries and primary causes for their limited economic growth. Economic goals and policy alternatives. Role of developed countries in the development of poor countries. Selected case studies. Casey, Blunch. Planned Offering: Fall or Winter
ECON 281 - Institutions and Economic Performance
Credits: 3
Prerequisite: ECON 101. Institutions such as laws, the political system, and cultural norms embed all social activity. They structure economic, political, and social interaction and as such play a central role in facilitating (or hindering) economic development. This course’s objective is to explore from a broad perspective how institutions affect economic performance, what the determinants of institutions are, and how institutions evolve. We will study examples from the existing capitalist economies, the developing and transition countries, as well as the more distant history. Because the study of institutions is necessarily an interdisciplinary endeavor, the course combines the approach of economics with the insights from law, political science, history, and sociology. Grajzl. Planned Offering: Fall or Winter
ECON 282 - Economic Governance & Institutional Design
Credits: 4
Prerequisite: Instructor consent. Spurred by developmental disasters in the third world, turbulent post-socialist transition, and challenges of globalization, the structure and functioning of economic, political, legal, and social institutions supporting a market economy has become a central topic for economists and policy-makers across the globe. What are appropriate market-oriented institutions and how can societies acquire them? Can good economic governance be engineered top down, through foreign aid? What institutional solutions ensure sound economic governance in a globally interdependent world? This course adopts an economic approach and embraces interdisciplinary analysis to provide an in-depth inquiry into fundamental issues of institutional design, and its impact on economic governance and behavior. Grajzl. Planned Offering: Spring 2013 and alternate years
ECON 288 - Supervised Study Abroad
Credits: 4
Prerequisites: ECON 101 and 102, instructor consent, and other prerequisites as specified by the instructor(s). For advanced students, the course covers a topic of current interest for which foreign travel provides a unique opportunity for significantly greater understanding. Emphasis and location changes from year to year and is announced each year, well in advance of registration. Likely destinations are Europe, Latin America, Africa, or Asia. This course may not be repeated. Planned Offering: Spring
ECON 295 - Special Topics in Economics
Credits: 3
Prerequisites: Normally ECON 101 and 102 but may vary with topic. Course emphasis and prerequisites change from term to term and are announced prior to preregistration. May be repeated for degree credit if the topics are different. A maximum of nine credits chosen from all special topics in economics courses may be used, with permission of the department head, toward requirements for the economics major.
Winter 2016, ECON 295-01: Economics of War and Peace (3). Prerequisite: ECON 101. The focus of the course is to develop a theoretical understanding of how human interaction can be modeled to study both peaceful and violent outcomes. We cover topics ranging from civil wars and genocide to international terrorism. While standard economics assumes that transactions take place in a peaceful environment, conflict violates this standard, so we also study the effects of conflict on the macroeconomy and on individual health and education attainment. Readings are drawn from theoretical and empirical literature from a wide range of disciplines and outlets rather than a textbook focusing on the use of economic principles to systematically study peaceful and violent outcomes. Silwal.
Fall 2015, ECON 295A-01: Women in the Economy (3). This course explores how economic theory and analysis can be applied to examine the multiple roles that women play in our society. In particular, we examine linkages and changes in women’s human capital, marriage, fertility, family structure, and occupation and labor supply decisions in the post-World War II era, and investigate the magnitude and causes of the gender wage gap. Students assess how much of the gender wage gap can be explained by education and occupational choice, and how much appears to be due to discrimination. We also learn about (and try to explain) the differences in the gender wage gap for women with and without children, and explore how the legalization of the birth control pill has influenced the marriage, fertility, family structure, educational, and occupational decisions of women. Shester. Fall 2015
Planned Offering: Offered when interest is expressed and departmental resources permit.
ECON 302 - Game Theory
Prerequisites: MATH 101 or equivalent and ECON 210. This course abandons the assumptions of perfect competition. Buyers and sellers may be few; information may be privately held; property rights may poorly enforced; externalities abound and uncertainty is the rule. Game theory is a general framework for analyzing the messy world of strategic interactions. Standard solution concepts such as Nash Equilibrium, subgame perfection, and Bayesian equilibrium are introduced in the context of a broad array of microeconomic topics. These include auctions, bargaining, oligopoly, labor market signaling, public finance and insurance. Class time combines lectures, problem-solving workshops, and classroom experiments. Guse. Planned Offering: Spring 2013 and alternate years
ECON 303 - Topics in Econometrics
Credits: 3
Prerequisites: ECON 101, 102, and 203. Further explorations of regression models, building on the material from ECON 203. The course begins with a review of the OLS model and continues to alternative models, answering questions such as: How do we proceed if the dependent variable is categorical, rather than continuous (as in the OLS model)? How might we proceed if one or more of the Classical Assumptions are violated? Underlying model assumptions and consequences are discussed. Possible topics include models for categorical outcomes, 2SLS/IV, matching methods, quantile regression, time-series analysis, and panel data models. The course emphasizes the use of data and student-directed research. Anderson, Blunch. Planned Offering: Offered when interest is expressed and departmental resources permit
ECON 304 - Health: A Social Science Exploration
Credits: 4
Prerequisite: ECON 203. Much of the work done by consulting companies, banks, insurance companies, think tanks, non-governmental organizations, government agencies, etc., is based on applied statistical and econometric analysis. This course helps prepare students for careers in these environments using a hands-on approach and emphasizing the use of data and student-directed research in the specific context of health-related issues. Example of these issues include obesity, vaccinations, pre- and post natal care, contraceptive use, or child mortality; possible determinants include poverty, education, or distance to the nearest health clinic or hospital. An interdisciplinary perspective is highlighted, as is the use and importance of quantitative analysis for public policy. Blunch. Planned Offering: Offered when interest is expressed and faculty resources permit.
ECON 318 - Gold, Silver, and Oil: Monetary Policy in the 1970s
Credits: 4
Prerequisite: ECON 215. An examination of monetary theory and monetary policy in the U.S. in the 1970s, with a focus on selected events, including the closing of the gold window, the oil crisis, and the appointment of Volker to the Federal Reserve. Includes economic, historical, cultural, and journalistic views. Seminar class requires daily reading and written reviews, as well as active participation. Hooks. Planned Offering: Spring, 2011
ECON 319 - The Great Recession: An Oxford Tutorial
Credits: 4
This course provides fundamental insight into the causes and consequences of the Great Recession through the lens of the theory and application of international finance. Students gain an understanding of international interactions through trade in goods and assets, government policy, and the transmission of shocks: specifically of the fundamental determinants of the balance of payments and exchange rates; the theory and evidence relating to exchange rate behavior and to alternative exchange rate arrangements; the international context within which domestic macroeconomic policy is designed and conducted; international macroeconomic linkages; and the importance of international macroeconomic policy coordination.
Davies. Planned Offering: Spring 2013 and alternate years
ECON 340 - Innovation and Patents
Credits: 4
Prerequisite: INTR 202. Studying innovation and technological change is extremely important in economics. This course examines the innovation process paying special attention to the role played by patents and patent law. After a brief introduction to patent law and the justification for patent rights, we study issues such as the financial return to patenting, the strategic use of patents in business, knowledge spillovers, and ways in which patents may deter innovation (patent trolls, patent thickets, and the tragedy of the “anti-commons”). A significant part of the course involves hands-on work with patent and financial data using Stata. Marco. Planned Offering: Spring 2012 and alternate years
ECON 356 - Economics of the Environment in Developing Countries
Credits: 3
Prerequisites: ECON 101 and 102, and either ECON 255 or 280. This course focuses on the unique characteristics of the relationship between the environment and the economy in developing nations. Differences in economic structure, political structure, culture, social organization and ecosystem dynamics are emphasized as alternative policies for environmental and resource management are analyzed. Kahn, Casey. Planned Offering: Winter
ECON 395 - Special Topics in Economics
Credits: 3
Prerequisite: At least one course from among ECON 203, 210, or 211. Course emphasis and prerequisites change from term to term and will be announced prior to preregistration. May be repeated for degree credit if the topics are different. A maximum of nine credits chosen from all special topics in economics courses may be used, with permission of the department head, toward requirements for the economics major. Staff. Planned Offering: Offered when interest is expressed and departmental resources permit.
ECON 398 - Topical Research Seminar in Economics
Credits: 3
Prerequisites: ECON 203, 210, and 211 and major standing. Students work through the original literature in a given field within the discipline of economics. Emphasis is on critical understanding of that literature. Required written work and class discussion focus on summarizing and reviewing articles, gaining insight into the current economic knowledge documented in that literature, and identifying research questions implied by that literature. Based upon this review, students write a detailed proposal of an independent research project after which they carry out the project and write a paper documenting their research. Those students who choose to continue in ECON 399 have the opportunity to develop their proposals into complete research papers. Planned Offering: Fall, Winter
ECON 399 - Advanced Research Seminar in Economics
Credits: 3
Required for Honors in Economics. Prerequisite: ECON 398 and major standing. This capstone course builds upon the foundations developed in ECON 398. The central element is a major independent research project. This project is carried out with continual mentoring by a faculty member. Students document their research in a formal paper and offer an oral presentation summarizing their research results. Staff. Planned Offering: Winter
ECON 401 - Directed Individual Study
Credits: 1
Prerequisites: Six credits in economics courses numbered 200 or above, either a cumulative grade-point average of 3.000 or 3.000 in all economics courses, and instructor consent. The objective is to permit students to follow a course of directed study in some field of economics not presented in other courses, or to emphasize a particular field of interest. May be repeated for degree credit with permission for different topics. Staff.
ECON 402 - Directed Individual Study
Credits: 2
Prerequisites: Six credits in economics courses numbered 200 or above, either a cumulative grade-point average of 3.000 or 3.000 in all economics courses, and instructor consent. The objective is to permit students to follow a course of directed study in some field of economics not presented in other courses, or to emphasize a particular field of interest. May be repeated for degree credit with permission for different topics. Staff.
ECON 403 - Directed Individual Study
Credits: 3
Prerequisites: Six credits in economics courses numbered 200 or above, either a cumulative grade-point average of 3.000 or 3.000 in all economics courses, and instructor consent. The objective is to permit students to follow a course of directed study in some field of economics not presented in other courses, or to emphasize a particular field of interest. May be repeated for degree credit with permission for different topics. Staff.
ECON 406 - Directed Individual Study
Credits: 6
Prerequisites: Six credits in economics courses numbered 200 or above, either a cumulative grade-point average of 3.000 or of 3.000 in all economics courses, and permission of the instructor. The objective is to permit students to follow a course of directed study in some field of economics not presented in other courses, or to emphasize a particular field of interest. May be repeated for degree credit with permission for different topics. Staff.
ECON 493 - Honors Thesis
Credits: 3-3
This course is required of Honors candidates in addition to the 21 credits in economics (courses numbered 200 and above) required of all economics majors. Planned Offering: Fall-Winter
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