91915

FIN / ECON 190  Accounting

James Andrew Felkerson

M . W .  .

3:10 -4:30 pm

HEG 102

SSCI

This course surveys financial and managerial accounting. The concepts and methods of financial accounting following generally accepted accounting principles and the effects of alternative principles on the measurement of periodic income and financial status are covered. Recent changes in accounting methods such as those stimulated by manufacturing advances are examined, as are concerns about ethical standards. This is a required course in the Economics and Finance Program and is a prerequisite for Econ 391, Corporate Finance. The course does not earn academic credit towards the BA degree.   Class size: 15

 

91916

FIN / ECON 291  Foundations of Finance

and Investments

James Andrew Felkerson

. . W .  F

11:50 -1:10 pm

HEG 102

SSCI

This course explores the foundations of the pricing of financial instruments and the structure and organization of financial markets. Methods will be developed to analyze and measure financial performance, price stocks and bonds, evaluate portfolios and understand financial derivatives as these relate to financial data.  Additional topics include the investment decision-making process; trading practices; risk assessment and diversification.  This course involves a substantial amount of statistical analysis and calculation, but no prior knowledge of statistics is required.  Class size: 22

 

91638

ECON 100 A  Principles of Economics

Pavlina Tcherneva

. T . Th .

1:30 -2:50 pm

HEG 204

SSCI

Cross-listed:  Economics & Finance, Global & Int’l Studies    This course is a one-semester introduction to the essential ideas of economic analysis. The microeconomics component of the course develops the basic model of consumer and firm behavior, including demand and supply, in the context of an idealized competitive market and examines several ways in which the real world deviates from this model—including monopoly and other forms of imperfect competition; information problems; minimum wages and other price controls; taxes; and government regulation. The macroeconomics component studies 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 – and the government’s ability (or inability) to use monetary and fiscal policies to achieve economic goals such as full employment and price stability. This course replaces the two-semester introductory microeconomics and macroeconomics sequence and is the foundational course in the economics curriculum. Prerequisite: passing score on Part I of the Mathematics Diagnostic.  Class size: 25

 

91642

ECON 100 B  Principles of Economics

Pavlina Tcherneva

. T . Th .

3:10 -4:30 pm

RKC 101

SSCI

See above.  Class size: 22

 

91645

ECON 100 C  Principles of Economics

James Andrew Felkerson

. . W . F

10:10 - 11:30 am

OLIN 205

SSCI

See above.  Class size: 22

 

91910

ECON 100 D  Principles of Economics

James Green-Armytage

M . W . .

1:30 – 2:50 pm

OLIN 204

SSCI

See above.  Class size: 22

 

91644

ECON 200   Money and Banking

Pavlina Tcherneva

. T . Th .

10:10 - 11:30 am

OLIN 205

SSCI

Cross-listed:  Economics & Finance,  Global & Int’l Studies     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. Prerequisite:  ECON 100 or ECON 102.  Class size: 20

 

91646

ECON 201   Intermediate Microeconomics

Aniruddha Mitra

. T . Th .

8:30 -9:50 am

OLIN 201

SSCI

Cross-listed: Economics and Finance   Microeconomics is the study of how individual economic units (households and firms) interact to determine outcomes (allocation of goods and services) in a market setting. In this course, we attempt to achieve the following three objectives: (1) Understand all the concepts covered in Introduction to Microeconomics in terms of mathematics; (2) Study advanced topics such as choice under uncertainty and information asymmetry that have traditionally relied on mathematics for illustration of ideas; and (3) Learn how to use mathematics to conduct in-depth economic analysis. In order to meet the last objective, we will devote most of the weekly “lab” sessions toward problem solving. During the lab sessions, students are expected to take turns explaining how to solve a particular problem to the rest of the class. A firm grasp of the materials covered in this course is essential to reading economics journal articles and pursuing advanced studies in economics.   Prerequisites: Calculus I and ECON 100.   Class size: 22

 

91652

ECON 390   Contemporary Developments

in Finance

Dimitri Papadimitriou

. T . . .

1:30 -3:50 pm

ALBEE 106

SSCI

Cross-listed:  Economics & Finance The seminar will contrast the academic analysis of financial economics with the coverage it receives in the newspapers and on the nightly newscast. The stories on the news are almost always connected with people, whether we observe them shouting bids in a trading floor or talking on two phones simultaneously. Financial markets are dominated by people behaving in many different ways. Yet traditional finance theories concentrate on efficient markets, predictable prices that are determined by the concepts of present value, rates of return and analysis and pricing of computable risks. Human behavior has neither a place in the theory nor a need to be studied. This prevailing view has recently been challenged by the new paradigm of behavioral finance that considers the many anomalies of "rational" behavior and "efficiency" of markets. The new paradigm concerns itself with economic decision-making and investor psychology, and specifically with questions relating to how and why people exhibit a mixture of rational and irrational behavior. The seminar will examine the influence of economic psychology in the decision-making process of various agents as well as in the market's dynamics. Several guest lecturers will also offer their informed views in the development of contemporary finance.  Class size: 15