CRN

93096

Distribution

A/E

Course No.

ECON 101 A                             Q Course

Title

Introduction to Microeconomics

Professor

Andrew Pearlman

Schedule

Wed Fr          3:00 pm -4:20 pm         OLIN 203

Cross-listed: Environmental Studies

An examination of the logic of constrained choice, with a focus on the economic behavior of individuals and organizations.  The mechanics of the price system are analyzed in terms of demand (utility) and supply (cost). The characteristics of alternative market structures, from pure competition to monopoly, are derived and evaluated. The conditions under which markets allocate resources efficiently are worked out, and several causes of market failure are examined. Simple graphical and mathematical methods (high-school level of difficulty) are developed, their use reinforced by a variety of applications. Questions of microeconomic analysis and policy raised by current events are debated. Econ. 101 and 102 may be taken in either order.

 

CRN

93097

Distribution

A/E

Course No.

ECON 101 B                            Q Course

Title

Introduction to Microeconomics

Professor

Tsu-Yu Tsao

Schedule

Tu Th            3:00 pm -4:20 pm         OLIN 202

Cross-listed: Environmental Studies

An examination of the logic of constrained choice, with a focus on the economic behavior of individuals and organizations.  The mechanics of the price system are analyzed in terms of demand (utility) and supply (cost). The characteristics of alternative market structures, from pure competition to monopoly, are derived and evaluated. The conditions under which markets allocate resources efficiently are worked out, and several causes of market failure are examined. Simple graphical and mathematical methods (high-school level of difficulty) are developed, their use reinforced by a variety of applications. Questions of microeconomic analysis and policy raised by current events are debated. Econ. 101 and 102 may be taken in either order.

 

CRN

93098

Distribution

A/E

Course No.

ECON 102 A

Title

Introduction to Macroeconomics

Professor

Tamar Khitarishvili

Schedule

Wed Fr          8:30 am -9:50 am         ALBEE 106

This course begins with an examination of the aggregate behavior of modern economies: the factors leading to economic growth, explanations of booms and recessions, unemployment, interest rates, inflation, and budget deficits or surpluses.  We will also analyze the government’s ability (or inability) to use monetary and fiscal policies to achieve economic goals such as full employment and price stability.  Throughout the course, we will debate whether the government should use monetary and fiscal policy to try to “fine tune” the economy and what the likely effects of such government involvement are.  ECON 101 and 102 may be taken in either order.

 

CRN

93099

Distribution

A/E

Course No.

ECON 102 B

Title

Introduction to Macroeconomics

Professor

Tamar Khitarishvili

Schedule

Wed Fr          1:30 pm -2:50 pm         OLIN 204

This course begins with an examination of the aggregate behavior of modern economies: the factors leading to economic growth, explanations of booms and recessions, unemployment, interest rates, inflation, and budget deficits or surpluses.  We will also analyze the government’s ability (or inability) to use monetary and fiscal policies to achieve economic goals such as full employment and price stability.  Throughout the course, we will debate whether the government should use monetary and fiscal policy to try to “fine tune” the economy and what the likely effects of such government involvement are.  ECON 101 and 102 may be taken in either order.

 

CRN

93039

Distribution

A

Course No.

ECON 115

Title

Economic Dimensions of World Issues

Professor

Sanjaya DeSilva

Schedule

Mon Wed       3:00 pm -4:20 pm         OLIN 202

Cross-listed:  Human Rights

This introductory course uses simple economic concepts to examine global and international issues of current and enduring interest. (Public issues in the U.S. are addressed in the fall semester companion course ECON 110). The aim of this course is to help students with little or no economics background to understand the economic dimensions of important social and political issues of the world. Topics will be drawn from a pool that includes the WTO and trade liberalization; European integration; regionalism (NAFTA, FTAA etc.); global warming, deforestation and other environmental issues; the role of multinational corporations and multilateral agencies such as the World Bank and IMF; the AIDS crisis in Africa; poverty and hunger; inequality within and between nations; the debt and currency crises of Latin America and East Asia; the recent economic stagnation of Japan; the transition from planning to markets in Eastern Europe and former Soviet Republics. The discussion of each topic will begin with a general review using materials from the popular media. This will be followed by a more detailed economic analysis using micro and macro economic concepts. Relevant theoretical models and principles will be introduced during the discussion. In addition to short essays, class presentations and team projects, students will be asked to maintain a weekly journal of relevant current events that are covered in the international media.

 

CRN

93040

Distribution

C/E

Course No.

ECON 200

Title

Money and Banking

Professor

Dimitri Papadimitriou

Schedule

Mon Wed       11:30 am - 12:50 pm     OLIN 202

An examination of the role of money and financial intermediaries in determining aggregate economic activity. Interactions of savers, investors, and regulatory authorities in domestic and international capital markets are analyzed, and the linkage between the financial system and the real economy traced. The functions of central banks, commercial banks, securities dealers, investment banks, and other intermediaries are covered in detail. The debate over the goals, tools, indicators, and effectiveness of monetary policy is considered in the light of current national and international economic problems.

 

CRN

93166

Distribution

A/E

Course No.

ECON 201

Title

Intermediate Microeconomics

Professor

Tsu-Yu Tsao

Schedule

Tu             10:00 am – 11:20 am         OLIN 310

Th               9:00 am – 11:20 am         OLIN 310

A further development of principles and analytical methods begun in Intro to Microeconomics: demand, supply, and the workings of the price system. The positive and normative characteristics of alternative market structures – perfect competition, monopolistic competition, oligopoly, pure monopoly, and in resource markets, monopsony – are studies in depth. Market forces are examined in the context of social and political institutions that shape, and are shaped by, market outcomes. The alleged “trade-off” between equity and efficiency is debated in the context of a variety of applications.

Prerequisite: Introduction to Microeconomics

 

CRN

93041

Distribution

A/C

Course No.

ECON 210

Title

History of Economic Thought

Professor

Kris Feder

Schedule

Tu Th            3:00 pm -4:20 pm         OLIN 205

The early history of the yet-young science of economics: Petty, Locke, Hume, and the age of mercantilism; the Physiocrats of 18th century France, inventors of the first circular-flow analysis of the macroeconomy; the revolutionary work of philosopher Adam Smith in 1776; and the century of classical political economy that followed him in the English-speaking world: Thomas Malthus, David Ricardo, John Stuart Mill, and others who studied the virtues and vices of the market system and debated the great questions of the relations of land, labor and capital. At its maturity, the classical school gave rise to two very different attacks on existing politico-economic institutions:  in continental Europe, the socialist critique of Karl Marx; and in the United States and England, the Lockean critique of Henry George. This course focuses on the classical period to the late 19th century, when classical political economy gave way to the "marginal revolution," which, applying the mathematical insights of calculus to economic questions, focused more on subjective choice and perhaps less on political issues and institutions.   Prerequisite: One economics course.

 

CRN

93042

Distribution

A/E

Course No.

ECON 229                                  Q Course

Title

Statistics

Professor

Andrew Pearlman

Schedule

Tu Fr             11:30 am - 12:50 pm     ALBEE 106

Cross-listed: Environmental Studies

The first of a two-course series designed to examine empirical economics, and a prerequisite for Economics 329, Econometrics. Basic concepts of statistics, probability, probability distributions, random variables, correlation, and simple regression are introduced; the techniques of statistical inference hypothesis testing are developed. Numerous examples and computer-based exercises are included. Prerequisite: Economics 101 or 102.

 

CRN

93043

Distribution

C

Course No.

ECON 280

Title

Economics  of Health and Social Insurance

Professor

Andrew Pearlman

Schedule

Tu Th            1:30 pm -2:50 pm         OLIN 310

Sixty percent of U.S. federal government spending is on health, welfare, and retirement/disability insurance.  What are the economic reasons for and against government intervention in these areas?  What are the various programs designed to accomplish, and what behavioral incentives do they actually create?  How well do these programs achieve their aims?  Medicaid, Medicare, welfare, and Social Security have all undergone sweeping changes in recent years, with more on the horizon. This course examines major social programs from an economist's perspective.  We will develop theoretical models of individual behavior and market failure, and apply these models to U.S. policies as well as to other countries. The semester will be structured as three separate modules covering each of the three major topics.

Prerequisite: Introduction to Microeconomics.      

 

CRN

93483

Distribution

A

Course No.

ECON 301

Title

Topics in Microeconomics

Professor

Kris Feder

Schedule

Fri   9:30 am – 11:50 am   OLIN 306

An analysis of theories of price determination and allocation of resources by the market; factor prices, income distribution, and poverty; effects of monopoly and imperfect competition; problems of the consumer society, public goods, and social welfare.

 

CRN

93044

Distribution

A/E

Course No.

ECON 323

Title

Topics in International Trade and Finance

Professor

Sanjaya DeSilva

Schedule

Mon Wed       10:00 am - 11:20 am     OLIN 204

An examination of advanced topics in international economics using theory and empirical evidence. Recent theoretical advances in understanding trade under imperfect competition, strategic trade, political economy of trade policy and international policy coordination are discussed. Classical, neoclassical and modern theories are used to analyze important policy issues such as the effect of trade on economic growth and income distribution, international movements of labor and capital, trade between unequal partners, crises in emerging markets, preferential trade agreements and imbalances in agricultural trade. 

Prerequisites: Introduction to Microeconomics & Introduction to Macroeconomics

 

CRN

93045

Distribution

A/E

Course No.

ECON 352

Title

Seminar in Law and Economics

Professor

Tsu-Yu Tsao

Schedule

Mon               1:30 pm -3:50 pm         ASP 302

Cross listed:  Human Rights

The economic approach focuses on the choices people make in the context of given opportunities and constraints, and on how they respond to changes in incentives.  This course applies economic principles to study the incentive effects that legal sanctions have on human behavior.  In addition to making scientific predictions with regard to individual responses, we evaluate the welfare implications of the law on the grounds of efficiency and equity.  Four areas of law are analyzed: property law, contracts, torts, and the concept of crime and punishment. Time permitting, we also address legal issues associated with racial discrimination, sex and marriage, surrogate motherhood, or prostitution.  Algebra and graphs are used intensively as analytical tools. 

Prerequisite: Introduction to Microeconomics and at least one additional course in microeconomic theory or applications.

 

CRN

93046

 

 

Course No.

ECON CONF

Title

Senior Conference

Professor

Economics Faculty

Schedule

Alternate Mon  5:00 pm –6:20 pm        ALBEE 102

Students writing Senior Projects in Economics will be required to attend the Senior Conference, which will meet not more than one evening every two weeks throughout the fall and spring terms. Not for credit.