Economics (ECN)
Associate Professors Choksy and Mueller; Assistant Professor Cunningham.
The Economics Program prepares students majoring and minoring in economics for successful completion of graduate degree programs. All students will find it valuable as they prepare for citizenship in a democratic society.
Economics graduates find a variety of professional opportunities in government and the private sector; graduate degrees qualify others for jobs with the federal government, financial institutions and research organizations. Many enter specialized positions in business and in college teaching.
Major Requirements
Thirty-six credits including ECN 201, 202, 301, 311 and 312. The Graduate Record Advanced Examination or the Major Field Achievement Test is required for the comprehensive evaluation.
Minor Requirements
Twenty-four credits which must include Economics 201 and 202, plus 16 additional credits in student-selected classes.
| ECN 180. | Readings in Economics | |
|---|---|---|
| 1-4 credits | ||
| Permission | ||
| Selected readings of classic economic works in student interest area. Not counted toward Economics Major or Minor. | ||
| ECN 201. | Principles of Macroeconomics (SO-2) | |
| 4 credits | ||
| Introductory survey of macroeconomic theory and national policy. Supply and demand analysis and solutions to basic economic problem of scarcity in the American economy. Examines relationship between national income and its determinants with emphasis on role of fiscal and monetary policies in stabilizing national economic performance. | ||
| ECN 202. | Principles of Microeconomics (SO-2) | |
| 4 credits | ||
| Introductory survey of microeconomic theory. Principles of consumer demand; production, exchange and distribution in capitalist economies; labor and resource markets; international trade and exchange rate theory and policy. | ||
| ECN *301. | Intermediate Microeconomics | |
| 4 credits | ||
| ECN 201 and 202 | ||
| Price mechanism and elasticity concepts. Theories of consumer behavior and producer behavior. Pricing in product and resource markets. General equilibrium theory. | ||
| ECN *311-*312. | Intermediate Macroeconomics | |
 |
4 credits | |
| ECN 201 and 202 | ||
| Models of national income determination. The monetary system and the relationship between money and financial markets. Monetary theory and policy. Explanations of inflation and unemployment. Business cycles and economic growth theory. ECN 311 prerequisite to 312. (312 is a Quill 2 course) | ||
| ECN *317. | Econometrics | |
| 4 credits | ||
| MTH 116 | ||
| Survey of standard forecasting techniques in business and economics. Introduces the use of econometric models with emphasis on multiple regression, simulation modeling and time-series analysis. Special attention to applying forecasting techniques to real-world data. | ||
| ECN *320. | Money and Capital Markets | |
|
4 credits | |
| ECN 201 and 202 | ||
| Analysis of money and capital market instruments and financial market interrelationships. Investigates role of financial intermediaries as both suppliers and users of credit. Emphasizes influences of monetary policy and regulations on functioning of U.S. and world credit markets. | ||
| ECN *321. | Public Finance (SO-2) | |
|
4 credits | |
| ECN 201 and 202 | ||
| The economics of government. Revenue and expenditure policies of federal, state and local governments in theory and practice; tax shifting and incidence. Study of current fiscal and related public policy issues. | ||
| ECN *326. | Economic Systems and Development (SO-2) | |
 |
4 credits | |
| ECN 201 and 202 | ||
| Processes of development and the role of systems in these processes with selected case studies. | ||
| ECN *331. | International Trade | |
|
4 credits | |
| ECN 202 | ||
| Examines the exchange across international borders of goods, services and factors, and the impacts of this trade on domestic and global economies both in theory and practice. Theories of trade are compared and contrasted to both empirical studies and histories of trade. Topics include free trade, commercial policy, barriers to trade, foreign investment, imperialism and political economy of trade. | ||
| ECN *332. | International Finance | |
| 4 credits | ||
| ECN 201 and 202 | ||
| Examine the principles and practical aspects of international finance. Theories of exchange rate determination are compared and contrasted. Topics include, but are not limited to: comparative advantage, arbitrage, international macroeconomics, foreign exchange issues, global money and capital markets, exchange rate forecasting and interest rate swaps. | ||
| ECN *339. | History of Economic Thought (SO-2) | |
|
4 credits | |
| ECN 201 and 202 | ||
| Historical development of economic ideas, paradigms and ideologies: Mercantilist, Physiocrat, Classical, Marxian, Neo-Classical, Institutionalist and Keynesian. | ||
| ECN *340. | Economics and the Natural World | |
| 4 credits | ||
| ECN 202 | ||
| Survey of both theories and practices of the economics of natural resources and the environment. Topics include: notions of value and property, externalities, renewable and nonrenewable resources, willingness-to-pay arguments, cost-benefit analysis, natural resource policy, hazardous waste, environmental policy, sustainable development, and environmental racism and classism. | ||
| ECN *345. | Labor Economics | |
|
4 credits | |
| ECN 202 | ||
| This course is a survey of the field of labor economics. Topics include the theory of allocation of time, life cycle theory, labor supply, theory of the firm, labor demand, wage determination, human capital theory, occupational wage differentials, and theories of labor market discrimination. | ||
| ECN *355. | Globalization in Latin America | |
|
4 credits | |
| ECN 201 and Permission | ||
| Students spend the Spring Term in a Latin American nation living with a local family, improving their Spanish skills, participating in a two week service-learning project, attending seminar presentations by resident scholars, and studying the socioeconomic impacts of trade and globalization in the country being visited. | ||
| ECN *360. | General Economic History | |
|
4 credits | |
| ECN 201 and 202 | ||
| Survey of major forms of economic systems from paleolithic times to present: Stone Age economy, Ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia and Mesoamerica, Classical Greece and Rome, feudal and manorial Europe, mercantile and industrial Europe and America. Economic institutions of reciprocity, redistribution and market. | ||
| ECN *365. | The Economics of Poverty and Discrimination | |
|
4 credits | |
| ECN 202 | ||
| An applied microeconomics class that analyzes the causes and extent of poverty and discrimination in the U.S. Topics include income inequality; the extent, composition, and causes of poverty in the U.S.; income maintenance programs; welfare; welfare reform; theories of discrimination; types of discrimination; equal opportunity policies; and affirmative action. | ||
| ECN *370. | Regional Economics | |
|
4 credits | |
| ECN 201 and 202 | ||
| Industrial/agricultural location and human migration theories and cases. Economic bases for land-use patterns, central places, regional/urban structure. Examination of urban problems. Regional and urban growth models. Business feasibility studies and public cost-benefit analysis. | ||
| ECN *380. | Special Topics in Economics | |
| 4 credits | ||
| ECN 201 and 202 | ||
| Selected topics in economics announced in advance. May be taken more than once for credit if topics are different. | ||
| ECN *385. | Practicum | |
| 4 credits | ||
| Junior Standing or Permission | ||
| ECN *416. | Mathematical Economics | |
| 4 credits | ||
| ECN 201-202; MTH 113 or 121 | ||
| Formal application of mathematical tools to micro- and macroeconomic analysis; algebra, sets, matrix algebra, differential and integral calculus, ordinary and partial differential equations, and finite difference equations. | ||
| ECN *499. | Independent Study | |
|
4 credits | |
| Permission | ||
| Under supervision, student formulates project topic, conducts research and prepares a properly documented paper presenting conclusions and support. | ||
| ECN *500. | Senior Thesis | |
|
4 credits | |
| Permission | ||