Economics Courses

ECON 001. Principles of Economics I. 3 crs. Introduction to macroeconomic analysis and its application to the American economic system. Includes such major topics as the economic role of government, the banking system, the determination and measurement of national income, economic growth, and elements of monetary and fiscal policies.

ECON 002. Principles of Economics II. 3 crs. Continuation of Principles I. Considers the problem of scarcity and allocation of resources in a free enterprise economy, with special emphasis on the pricing behavior of business firms and households.

ECON 132. Political Economy. 3 crs. Examination of the links between economic and political processes, along with an extension of economic theory beyond its traditional boundaries in order to consider the various political processes through which economic processes are either altered or transformed.

ECON 170. Intermediate Microeconomic Theory. 3 crs. Study of the price system in a market-oriented economy, with special emphasis given to theories relating to the consumer and firm behavior. Prerequisite: ECON 002 and MATH-026..

ECON 171. Intermediate Macroeconomic Theory. 3 crs. Builds upon the material covered in ECON 001 and examines in greater depth the tools of macroeconomic analysis and how they may be used to analyze the interaction between such macroeconomic variables as private consumption, private investment, public spending, money supply, inflation, and unemployment. Prerequisite: ECON 001; MATH-026.

ECON 172. Industrial Relations. 3 crs. General course in labor problems which examines the basic character of the problems involved in the determination and administration of wages. Prerequisite:ECON 002.

ECON 175. History of Economic Thought. 3 crs. Survey of the history of economic thinking from ancient Graeco-Roman economics to the classical school, including criticism and the consequences of their influence upon the evolution of neoclassical doctrines and the development of present economic thought. Prerequisite: ECON 001.

ECON 177. Growth of the American Economy. 3 crs. Concerns the process of economic growth from the colonial period to the present day, stressing the interrelationships of changes in various sectors. Prerequisites: ECON 001 and ECON 002.

ECON 180. Statistics I. 3 crs. Examines basic statistical methods and their use for economics and business, including averages, measures of dispersion, testing hypotheses, elementary probability theory, index number, time series analysis, and simple correlation, with emphasis placed on descriptive statistics.

ECON 181. Statistics II. 3 crs. Shifts emphasis from descriptive statistics to inferential statistics; emphasizes application of modern statistical techniques and decision theory to realistic economic and business problems. Prerequisite: ECON 180.

ECON 182. Mathematics for Economics. 4 crs. Includes calculus, matrix algebra, and maximization problems, with applications for economics problem solving. Prerequisite: MATH-006.

ECON 183. Mathematical Economics. 3 crs. Mathematical exposition of the basic theories of economic behavior. Prerequisite: ECON 182 or MATH-026.

ECON 184. Introduction to Quantitative Economics. 3 crs. Introduction to econometric theory and techniques. First part of the course deals with theory of the two-variable regression model and technical practices of its application. Extension to a three-variable model illustrated and analyzed. Special topics such as use of lagged and dummy variable, and problems such as multicollinearity, autocorrelation, and hetero-skedasticity are considered. Prerequisites: ECON 181, ECON 183, and MATH-026.

ECON 185. Labor Economics. 3 crs. Analysis of institutions concerned with utilization of human resources; the growth, organization, and objectives of management and trade unions; and major labor issues and problems, including those connected with collective bargaining. Prerequisites: ECON 001 and ECON 002.

ECON 186. Economic Development in Africa. 3 crs. Survey of economic issues in Africa, including an analysis of the transition to a market economy; the development of trade, industry, and agriculture; and the theory and policy of economic development and planning. Prerequisite: ECON 194.

ECON 187. Comparative Economic Systems. 3 crs. Presents the theories, programs, and practices of the principal economic systems, with special reference to countries that are heavily dependent on market mechanisms and to countries that rely strongly upon central command. Prereqs: ECON 001 and ECON 002.

ECON 188. The Economics of Black Community Development. 3 crs. Economic analysis of the problem of rapid technological change under the condition of oligopolistic pricing and the effects upon the well-being of the labor force, with particular reference to the black community. Special attention is given to the problem of economic and financial reorganization of the ghetto economy, together with the problem of shifting to labor-using capital expansion to create employment and raise real income in the black-owned sector. Prerequisites: ECON 001 and ECON 002.

ECON 189. Industrial Organization. 3 crs. Examines the organization of American industry under various states of the market, including antitrust cases. Prerequisites: ECON 170 and ECON 171.

ECON 190. Public Finance. 3 crs. Designed to acquaint students with the role of the government (federal, state, and local) in the economy. Fundamentally aims to equip students with the prevailing theories and practices of fiscal institutions in our economy, with emphasis on their allocation, distribution, and stabilization functions. Prerequisite: ECON 001.

ECON 191. International Economics. 3 crs. Discusses such topics as national specialization and international exchange, the significance of international trade to various countries, financial problems, economic development, and common markets. Prerequisites: ECON 001 and ECON 002.

ECON 192. International Commercial Policy. 3 crs. Examines the problems of free trade and protectionism and their changes through history. Prerequisite: ECON 191.

ECON 193. The Economics of Decision Making. 3 crs. Concerns decision making in a complex industrial model, the negotiated market model, and the centralized model. The following questions are considered in the different models: Who makes the decisions? For whom and toward what goals are these decisions made? What is the structure of the decision-making hierarchy? How are decisions made? What variables are manipulated in the execution of decisions? Prerequisites: ECON 170 and ECON 171.

ECON 194. Theory of Economic Development. 3 crs. Treats the theories, models, and patterns of economic development of advanced and less developed economies and analyzes the economic and noneconomic variables that influence economic development, including some historical theories and approaches to economic development. Prerequisites: ECON 001 and ECON 002.

ECON 195. Money and Banking. 3 crs. Introduction to the study of money, credit, interest rates, and banking, both within and outside of the FRS, with major emphasis on the structure and operations of commercial banks and activities of the FRS. Prerequisite: ECON 001.

ECON 196. Monetary Analysis. 3 crs. Designed to acquaint the student with the principles of monetary theory and this application to the economy; examines the theory of money supply and demand and its effects on macroeconomic models. Prerequisites: ECON 195 and ECON 171.

ECON 197. Economic Problems of Western Europe. 3 crs. Analysis of the development of the economies of Western Europe with special reference to the period following World War II. Prerequisite: ECON 001.

ECON 199. Introduction to Urban Economics. 3 crs. Analysis of the special economic problems of urban regions, e.g., growth and development, a hierarchy within a system of urban regions, housing, transportation, urban poverty, and local public finance. Emphasis is on the economics of the spatial order within and among urban regions. Prerequisites: ECON 001 and ECON 002.

ECON 200. Seminar for economics majors.  Provides juniors and seniors with hands-on computer experience in problem solving and data generation.

Honors Courses in Economics

Economics ECON 084, 085. Directed Readings for Sophomores. (1 hr. each semester.) Prerequisite: cumulative GPA of 3.2

Economics ECON 088, 089. Directed Readings for Juniors. (1 hr. each semester.) Prerequisite: cumulative GPA of 3.2

Economics ECON 092, 093. Senior Departmental Honors. (3 hrs. each semester.) Prerequisite: cumulative GPA of 3.2