|
11216 |
ECON 101A Introduction to Microeconomics |
Sanjaya DeSilva |
. T . Th . |
1:00 -2:20 pm |
OLIN 205 |
SSCI |
Cross-listed: Economics & Finance, Environmental &
Urban Studies; GIS; Social Policy This course covers the essential ideas of economic
analysis. Students will learn how economists explain human behavior as we seek
to satisfy our needs and wants. The first part of the course develops models of
consumer and firm behavior, including demand and supply, in the context of an
idealized competitive market. From there we analyze 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. Along the way we will explore public
policy problems such as pricing the environment, winners and losers from
international trade, health care costs and insurance, and the high price of
textbooks. Econ 101 and 102 may be taken in either order. Prerequisite: MATH 110
|
11396 |
ECON 101B Introduction to Microeconomics |
Roxana Julia |
M . W . . |
12:00 -1:20 pm |
OLIN 309 |
SSCI |
See above.
|
11218 |
ECON 102A Introduction to Macroeconomics |
Andrew Pearlman |
. T . Th . |
2:30 -3:50 pm |
HEG 102 |
SSCI |
Cross-listed: Economics and
Finance, Environmental & Urban Studies; Social Policy; GIS This course begins with the examination of the aggregate
behavior of modern economies: the factors leading to economic growth,
explanations of booms and recessions, unemployment, interest rates, inflation,
budget deficits or surpluses, and international trade. 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 government should use monetary and fiscal
policy tools to try to ‘fine tune’ the economy and what the likely effects of
such government involvement are. We will analyze these issues using current
domestic and international examples. Econ 101 and 102 may be taken in either
order. Pre- or co- requisite: ARC 150,
if recommended
|
11219 |
ECON 102B Introduction to Macroeconomics |
Alex Chung |
. . W . F |
12:00 – 1:20 pm |
ALBEE 106 |
SSCI |
See above.
|
11397 |
ECON 102C Introduction to Macroeconomics |
Tamar Khitarishvili |
M . W . . |
1:30 -2:50 pm |
OLIN 101 |
SSCI |
See above.
|
11398 |
ECON 130 Economics of Globalized Food Systems |
Roxana Julia |
M . W . . |
3:00 -4:20 pm |
RKC 101 |
SSCI |
Cross-listed: Environmental and Urban
Studies, Global and International Studies, Science Technology and Society The world
food system is arguably in crisis: a reversal in the downward trend that food
prices have shown in the past, increased environmental degradation of the
agricultural resource base, and a rise of food deficits and malnutrition in the
global South - along with an increase of surpluses of the industrial North -
are indicators that the system is at a vulnerable state. This course will make
use of basic economic concepts to critically analyze the driving forces behind
these trends: namely changes in the composition and size of the global food
demand, increases in energy prices and in the demand for bio-fuels, changes in
urbanization patterns, climate change, and perhaps most importantly, the
establishment of agricultural development and trade
policies that have shaped the ways of production and consumption – and
associated livelihoods – along with the global
relations of exchange. The course will also address economic issues related to
agricultural trade liberalization policies and the developments of WTO
negotiations, on the implications of structural reform programs implemented in
the less developed world, and on the role of agri-food corporations on the
current state of the problem. This is an introductory course, designed
for students with no prior coursework in economics. The economic concepts
required to analyze the topics covered will be explained in class. Development
of economic intuition using case
studies and news articles drawn from the present time.
|
11220 |
ECON 200 Money and Banking |
Alex Chung |
. T . Th . |
10:30 - 11:50 am |
HEG 106 |
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 102
|
11221 |
ECON 202 Intermediate Macroeconomics |
Tamar Khitarishvili |
M . W . . |
9:00 - 10:20 am |
ALBEE 106 |
SSCI |
Cross-listed: Global & Int’l Studies, Social Policy
This course is the continuation of the introductory macroeconomics
course. In it, students will get acquainted with main models that
macroeconomists use to analyze the way economies behave. The course starts by
looking at the models that explain long run economic growth. We then focus our
attention on investigating economic theories that explain short run business
cycles, the periods of recessions and booms that occur on a regular basis. An
important part of the course is to investigate the role of governments in
affecting the long run and short run economic prospects of their countries. We
apply the acquired theoretical knowledge to a range of current economic issues,
including budget deficits and national debt, international trade, and the role
of institutions. Prerequisite: ECON 101 and ECON 102, MATH 110, ARC 150 if
recommended.
|
11562 |
ECON 206 Economics from the Ground Up |
Kris Feder |
. T . Th . |
10:30 -11:50 am |
ALBEE 106 |
SSCI |
Cross-listed: Environmental & Urban Studies Most
introductory microeconomics courses begin by characterizing the processes and
outcomes of complex markets involving exchanges of goods and money among
millions of “agents” (households and firms), which are implicitly assumed to
obey established social conventions and governmental directives. This course
develops economic principles from the ground up through successive extensions
of a simple intuitive model. Following
the standard conception of economics as the study of constrained choice, we
first explore the economizing behavior of a single individual, acting alone,
who struggles to survive by employing available resources to produce food and shelter.
This model of production with no exchange reveals the meaning and practical
significance of core concepts such as: Income, wealth, and utility; opportunity
cost; labor and wages; capital and interest; land and rent; risk, profit and
loss; competition; the equimarginal principle of optimization. We then build
complexity and realism into the model, introducing cooperation and exchange
among persons. We analyze markets, prices, property rights, externalities,
public goods, money and credit, and the economic functions of government.
Throughout the course, the human economy is understood as embedded in local and
global ecosystems. Thought experiments are
supplemented
with an historical survey of actual economies, from hunter-gatherer societies
to agricultural subsistence economies to contemporary industrial systems. Prerequisite: Competence
in algebra and pre-calculus is required.
|
11222 |
ECON 229 Statistics |
Andrew Pearlman |
. T . Th . |
9:00 - 10:20 am |
ALBEE 106 |
MATC |
|
|
|
LAB: |
M . . . . |
4:30 -6:20 pm |
HDRANX 106 |
MATC |
Cross-listed:
Economics & Finance, Environmental
Studies, Global & Int’l Policy, Social Policy 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, ARC 150 if recommended.
|
11400 |
ECON 244 Economics of Climate Change |
Roxana Julia |
. . W . F |
10:30 - 11:50 am |
ALBEE 106 |
SSCI |
Cross-listed: Environmental and Urban
Studies, Global and International Studies, Climate change is arguably the
biggest global environmental issue we shall have to face over this century.
Rising temperatures, changes in hydrological cycles, and subsequent pressures
on ecosystems’ health pose a threat to the well-being of humans and other
species. The economics of climate change attempts to offer insights on the
design and implementation of policies aimed at mitigating the potential impacts
of a warming climate. It also aims at understanding the prospects of adaptive
measures and, given the strong correlation between fossil fuel combustion and
climate change, also deals with the evaluation of alternative energy policies.
In this course we will examine these roles that economics play. Starting with
an introduction to the scientific basis of climate change and the likely and
less-likely impacts that we may foresee, we will discuss how basic concepts of
environmental and ecological economics apply to the climate change problem.
Critical discussions of current domestic and international policy initiatives -
and of economic models used in the evaluation of them - will constitute an
important component
of the course. Prerequisite: Econ
101
|
11224 |
ECON 265 Community Based Development |
Sanjaya DeSilva |
. T . Th . |
4:00 -5:20 pm |
OLIN 205 |
SSCI/DIFF |
Cross-listed: Asian Studies; Environmental Studies; Global & Int’l Studies; Human Rights; Science, Technology & Society This course critically examines the concept and
practice of community-based (or community-led) development as an alternative to
the widely studied top-down theories and policies of development. We begin by asking whether the end goals of
“development” are universal outcomes such as income, or outcomes that vary with
the values of individuals or communities. Conceptualizations of well being in
Buddhist and Gandhian thinking will be considered to highlight the
cross-cultural differences in what constitutes a “good life”. We will develop a
broader definition of development as economic, social and political empowerment
that allows an individual or a community to achieve whatever it is that they
value and desire. We will then examine several grassroots development movements
that have focused on empowerment. Two examples are the micro-credit movement
that began with the Grameen Bank of Bangladesh and the Sarvodaya Shramadana
Movement of Sri Lanka. We will also attempt to relate the concept of
community-based development to the neoclassical paradigm of economics. We will
critically examine the impact of market expansion and the consequent erosion of
informal exchange relations from the perspective of community empowerment.
Several innovative ideas such as fair trade, eco-tourism and micro-credit that
attempt to combine community empowerment with market expansion will be studied.
Throughout the course, the relationship of community-based development with
ecological sustainability and political decentralization will be highlighted. Prerequisites:
Econ 101 or permission of instructor.
|
11225 |
ECON 291 Foundations of Finance and Investments |
Tsu-Yu Tsao |
M . W . . |
3:00 -4:20 pm |
ALBEE 106 |
SSCI |
Cross-listed: Economics & Finance 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.
|
11226 |
ECON 325 Open-Economy Macroeconomics &
International Finance |
Tamar Khitarishvili |
. . . Th . |
1:30 -3:50 pm |
ALBEE 106 |
SSCI |
Cross-listed:
GISP This course analyzes the variables that
characterize open economies, including the balance of payments, foreign
exchange regimes and international capital movements, among others. Careful
attention is paid to the relationship between them and to the impact of
macroeconomic policies on these variables. Also covered is the history of the
international monetary system. Prerequisites:
Econ 101 and Econ 102.
|
11227 |
ECON 330 Geoclassical Economics |
Kris Feder |
. . . . F |
1:30 -3:50 pm |
ALBEE 106 |
SSCI |
Cross-listed: Environmental & Urban
Studies Geoclassical economics focuses on the role of
property institutions in shaping political and economic life, and offers a
systematic way of organizing our understanding of our relationships to each
other and to the earth. It has much in common with the young field of
ecological economics, but its research agenda reaches more broadly into diverse
aspects of economic theory. As a practical social philosophy, geoclassical thought
has roots in ancient Arabic and Hebrew traditions. As an analytical system, it
emerged during the 17th through the 19th centuries in the political economy of
John Locke, François Quesnay, Adam Smith, David Ricardo, John Stuart Mill, and
Henry George (whose 1879 Progress and Poverty, which inspired a
worldwide political movement, remains its bestknown text). This seminar reviews
the literature of geoclassical economics, emphasizing the ongoing research of
Gaffney, Tideman, Vickrey, Stiglitz, Foldvary, Hudson, and others. Exploring
discrepancies between geoclassical and neoclassical postulates, we ask whether
the geoclassical paradigm constitutes a consistent body of theory. We also
examine applications to both contemporary and enduring social problems, including:
·
the “Great Recession” of 2008 and the 18-year
land cycle
·
financial instability
·
growing inequality in the distribution of
income and wealth
·
the global crisis of debt and dependency
·
chronic government budget deficits, despite
heavy tax burdens
·
dominance of special interests over the
democratic process
·
ecological destruction
·
urban blight and urban sprawl
·
territorial disputes
Prerequisites: MATH 141; ECON 101 and ECON 102, or EUS 206 and EUS 242.