Course Information

51. Principles: Macroeconomics. Ms. Akbulut, Mr. Chincarini, Mr. Hueckel, Mr. Kuehlwein, Mr. Slavov, Mr. Wykoff. A first course on modern market economies. Emphasizes the determination of national income, fluctuations, and growth; the monetary system; the problems of inflation and unemployment; and international trade. Each semester.

52. Principles: Microeconomics. Ms. Akbulut, Mr. Efremidze, Mr. Likens. Second principles course on basic tools of market and price theory and their applications to the operations of firms, the consumption and work choices of individuals, and the effects of government taxes and policies. Prerequisite: Economics 51. Each semester.

57. Economic Statistics. Mr. Lozano, Mr. Smith. Introduction to the statistical tools used by economists. Topics include probability theory, statistical estimation, hypothesis testing, and simple regression analysis. Lecture, discussion, problem sets, and computer applications. Letter grade only. Each semester.

59. Introduction to Empirical Methods Economics. Mr. Lozano.  Course exposes students to work efficiently with economic data.  The topics covered include how to display data effectively, programming techniques, basic algorithm construction, and understanding the data generating process with its implications to economic analysis.  Students are encouraged to take this course concurrently with Econ 57.  Each semester.

101. Macroeconomic Theory. Mr. Hueckel,  Mr. Kuehlwein, Mr. Steinberger. Assessment of aggregate behavior of consumers, business, government, and the foreign sector, to understand unemployment, inflation, and the objectives of balanced growth in an open economy. The role of money according to Keynesians, Monetarists, Neoclassicists, and others. Lectures, discussion, and paper. Prerequisite: 51,  or permission of instructor and MATH 30. Each semester.

102. Microeconomic Theory.   Ms. Akbulut, Ms. Brown. Theories of consumer behavior, demand, production, costs, the firm, market organization, resource use, and income distribution in a modern market economy. Prerequisites 51 or 52 or permission of instructor and Math 30. Each semester.

107. Applied Regression Analysis. Mr. Wykoff, Staff. Introduction to multiple regression analysis and its application in economics. Design and implementation of empirical research. Interpretation and analysis of results. Lecture, discussion, computer assignments, research project. Prerequisites: 51 52 and 57. Each semester.

117. Managerial Accounting and Financial Analysis.  Mr. Bergevin.  Examines the role of accounting information in decision making.  Course focuses on developing student ability to critically analyze financial statements and related documents.  Also addresses the policies and procedures that compose the accounting information system.  Each Spring.

118. Economic History of Europe. Mr. Hueckel. Economic and historical analysis of European industrialization, emphasizing the roles of economic forces, technology, population change, institutional and social adjustments, and government policy in the development process. Prerequisite: 51.  Next offered 2008-09.

119. U.S. Economic History. Mr. Hueckel. History through the eyes of the economist.  A survey of development of U.S. economic institutions and policy from colonial times with particular emphasis on the application of economic theory to deepen our understanding of historical movements and to draw lessons applicable to questions of contemporary policy interest.  Prerequisites: 51 and 52.  Next offered 2008-09.

120A. History of Economic Analysis: Mercantilism to Marx. Mr. Hueckel. The development of theories of value and economic growth from the 17th century to 1870 with particular attention devoted to the mercantilists, the physiocrats, David Hume, Adam Smith, David Ricardo, T. R. Malthus, J. S. Mill and Karl Marx.  Readings are drawn from the original works and evaluated in light of modern theory.  Prerequisites: 51 or 52. Fall 2007, offered alternate years. 

120B. History of Economic Analysis:  Marx to the Moderns.  Mr. Hueckel.  Traces the development of economic analysis from Marx's labor theory of value through the introduction of marginal analysis to the theories of money, interest and prices on the eve of Keyne's General Theory.  Readings drawn from the original works and modern commentaries.  Prerequisites:  51 and 52.  Next offered 2008-2009; offered alternate years.

121. The Economics of Gender and the Family. Ms. Brown. Analyses of the factors contributing to the economic circumstances of women in modern market economies, especially the United States. Trends in labor-force participation, occupational choice, and the economic determinants of earnings, household income, and poverty. Prerequisites: 52 or 102.Fall 2007; offered alternate years.

122. Poverty and Income Distribution. Mr. Steinberger.  Analysis of factors contributing to poverty and income inequality, primarily within the United States. Impact of government transfers and taxes, labor markets discrimination, and economic growth. Evaluation of policies to alleviate poverty, including welfare, workfare, education, and job training. Prerequisites: 51 and 52 or 102. Spring 2008; offered alternate years.

123. International Economics. Mr. Andrabi,  Mr. Slavov. The principles and theories of international trade and finance. Topics include trade, policy, macroeconomic stabilization, regional integration, and the international monetary system. Prerequisites: 51 and 52. Each semester.

 126. Economic Development. Mr. Andrabi. A study of the processes and problems of economic development in low-income countries. Evolution of developmental thinking on the role of market vs. state. Topics include interaction of civil, political, and economic spheres; quantification of social and economic aspects of development; incidence of poverty; industrialization; agricultural transformation; land, labor and credit allocation in rural environments; the household as an allocation mechanism; and environmental challenges of development. Lecture, discussion, exams, take-home class projects. Prerequisites: 51 and 52. Spring 2008.

127. Environmental and Natural Resource Policy. Mr. Jurewitz. Positive and normative issues involving the use and abuse of air, water, energy, minerals, wildlife, and other environmental assets. Theory and applications. Lecture, discussion, paper. Prerequisite: 52 or 102. Spring 2008; offered alternate years.

128. Energy, Economics, and Policy. Mr. Jurewitz. The economics of the major sectors of the energy industry: oil, coal, natural gas, electricity, nuclear power, etc. Emphasis on industry structure, production technologies, regulation, and public-policy issues. Prerequisite: 52 or 102. Next offered 2008-09; offered alternate years.

135. Money, Banking, and Financial Markets. Mr. Hueckel. The structure of financial markets and of their role in facilitating the efficient allocation of capital.  Valuation and role of securities, particularly bonds and related derivatives. Consideration of the nature and purpose of band regulations and analysis of central bank policy and its consequences for national income, prices, and international trade and financial flows.  Prerequisites: 52 or 102, and 101. Spring 2008

150. Industrial Organization. Mr. Likens. A study of competition and monopoly in the context of economics and the law. The market strategy and internal organization of firms; industry structure, conduct, and performance; antitrust laws; and public policy toward business. Lecture, discussion, paper. Prerequisite:  102. Fall 2007.

151. Labor Economics. Mr. Steinberger. Strategic management of the firm's human resources; business strategies toward employees.  The individual's decision to participate in the labor force, occupational choice, investing in human capital.  Household decision making: balancing family, work, home production and leisure.  Migration and immigration.  Pay and productivity: setting wages within the firm.  Gender, race, and ethnicity in the labor market.  Public policy toward the workplace.  The role of trade unions.  Prerequisites: 57, 101, and 102.  Offered 2008-09; offered alternate years.

153. Urban and Regional Economics. Mr. Lozano. The structure and function of cities as economic entities. Land use, rent gradients, transportation, housing, education, crime, provision of local-government services, the Tiebout hypothesis, and urban redevelopment. Prerequisite:  102. Offered 2008-09. Offered alternate years.

154. Game Theory for Economists. Mr. Andrabi. Introduces the main tools of noncooperative game theory as used in current economics literature. Topics include formalities of modeling competitive situations, various solution concepts such as Nash equilibrium and its refinements, signaling games, repeated games under different informational environments, bargaining models, issues of cooperation and reputation. Applications from economics, politics, law, corporate and business strategy. Lecture, discussion, problem sets, exams. Prerequisites:  57 and 102. Fall 2007.

155. Economics and Law. Mr. Marks. Economic analysis of the law and legal institutions: property, contracts, torts, and criminal law. Applications include environmental issues, intellectual property, product liability, corruption, and capital punishment. Prerequisite: 102. Next offered 2008-09.

156. Security Valuation and Portfolio Theory. Mr. Smith. The selection and valuation of financial assets, particularly corporate stocks. Financial markets and the economy, efficient-markets hypotheses, security-valuation models, decision making under uncertainty, portfolio selection, and capital-asset pricing. Open to senior Economics majors only.  Lecture and discussion.  Prerequisite: 101, and 102.  Letter grade only. Fall 2007.

157. Corporate Finance. Mr. Chincarini.  Examines the financing decisions of firms and explores links between finance and business.  Topics include corporate governance, agency issues, net present value analysis, risk, cost of capital, dividend policy, capital structure, market efficiency, takeovers, and mergers and acquisitions.  The classes will be divided equally between lectures and case-study discussions.   Prerequisites: Economics 57, and 102. 86 recommended. Fall 2007.

158.  Quantitative Investment Management.  Mr. Chincarini.  The understanding and application of quantitative equity portfolio management (QEPM).   This course builds on seminal work in financial theory, like the CAPM and APT, and includes discussion of the differences between QEPM and traditional qualitative analysis, the relationship  between QEPM and market efficiency, the use of futures and options to create leveraged market-neutral portfolios, and the use of Bayesian methods to handle non-quantitative data.  The course involves application of the concepts to real-world data.  Lecture and research project.  Prerequisites: 57 and 156.  Letter grade only. Spring 2008.

 159. Economics of the Public Sector. Ms. Brown. The microeconomic rationale for government activity in a market economy and the economic effects of such activity. Market failure and the tools of normative analysis; income redistribution, design of expenditure programs; the design, incidence, and behavioral consequences of tax policy; collective decision making and the theory of public choice. Prerequisite: 102. Next offered 2008-09; offered alternate years.

160. Freedom, Markets and Well-Being. Ms. Brown.  Our society embraces commitments both to safeguarding basic liberties and to facilitating the pursuit of happiness.  This course takes up a range of views concerning the appropriate role of the market in such a society.  I then focuses upon the challenges involved in bringing these arguments to bear on issues of public policy.  Prerequisites:  Economics 102 and one course in each of philosophy and politics. Fall 2007.

161. Advanced Macroeconomic Analysis. Mr. Wykoff. Selected issues in macroeconomic theory, empirical analysis, and policy. Models of secular and cyclical trends. Consumer theories, investment theories, and monetary phenomena. Policy analysis of inflation, unemployment, and growth. Development of open-economy models. Lecture and discussion, some student presentations, several short papers. Prerequisites: Economics 57, 101, and 102. Offered 2008-09; offered alternate years.

162. Advanced Microeconomic Analysis. Mr. Lozano. Selected topics in modern microeconomic theory, including constrained optimization, decision making under uncertainty, strategic behavior, and theories of collective choice. Lecture, discussion, papers. Prerequisites: Economics 57 and 102. Spring 2008; offered alternate years.

163. International Macroeconomic Policy and Monetary Institutions.  Mr. Slavov. Intertemporal approach to the current account.  Global savings imbalances. International portfolio diversification.  Imperfections in global financial markets: moral hazard, financing constraints, financial fragility.  Goods prices and exchange rates.  Currency unions.  Recent international financial crises.  The international monetary system and institutions.  Lecture, discussion, problem sets and short papers.  Prerequisites: 57, 101, and 102.  Spring 2008, offered alternate years.

164. Technology and Growth.  Mr. Kuehlwein.  A close examination of growth theory, focusing on technological innovation in developed countries.  Endogenous growth models, the role of international factory, culture, institutions, industrial structure, education, population growth, and policy in promoting innovation and growth.  Theory, historical evidence, and statistical analysis.  Lecture, discussion, problem sets, student presentations, and research paper. Prerequisites: Econ 57, 101, and 102.  Spring 2008.  Offered alternate years.

167. Econometrics. Mr. Wykoff.  Introduction to the theory and practice of econometrics. Application of statistical inference, probability theory, matrix algebra, calculus, and APL to multiple-regression analysis. Lecture, computer workshop, problem sets, term project. Prerequisites: 57, 58, 101, and 102;   and Mathematics 60 or the equivalent. Fall 2007.

168. Financial Decision Making.  Mr. Smith.  A computer based simulation of financial intermediation in the modern economy.  Class divided into teams that analyze financial data and make weekly financial decision. Prerequisites:  Econ 156. Each Spring.

190. Senior Seminar. Mr. Andrabi, Mr. Likens, Mr. Smith, Mr. Steinberger. Analysis of selected problems in economics. Required for graduation. Full course credit.  Prerequisite: Economics 101, 102, and either 107 or 167 must be completed in advance of participating in the Senior Seminar.  Each spring.

195. Senior Activity. Staff. Comprised of two parts: (1) Major Field Achievement Test in Economics; and (2) regular participation in the departmental colloquium. Required for graduation. No credit. Each semester.

99/199. Directed Reading and Research. Staff. Supervised advanced study in selected fields of economics. Open to qualified seniors with permission of instructor. 99, lower-level; 199, advanced work. Course or half-course. May be repeated. Each semester. (Summer Reading and Research taken as 98/198.)