15402

ECON 100 A Principles of Economics

Olivier Giovannoni

. T . Th .

1:30pm-2:50pm

HEG 204

SSCI

Cross-listed: Economics & Finance; Environmental & Urban Studies ; 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: 22

15403

ECON 100 B Principles of Economics

James Green-Armytage

M . W . .

3:10pm-4:30pm

OLIN 205

SSCI

See above. Class size: 22

15401

ECON 100 C Principles of Economics

Andy Felkerson

. T . Th .

11:50am-1:10pm

ALBEE 106

SSCI

See above. Class size: 22

15405

ECON 203 Game Theory

Aniruddha Mitra

. T . Th .

8:30am-9:50am

OLIN 205

SSCI

Cross-listed: Economics and Finance, Environmental and Urban Studies, Global and Int’l Studies, Political Studies Game Theory is the study of how rational actors behave when they know that their actions hold consequences not just for themselves but for others as well and they are, in turn, affected by the actions taken by others. While the discipline has come to be regarded as a core area of economics, its applicability extends far beyond the analysis of economic behavior. The object of this course is to introduce you to the basics of game theory, emphasizing its generality as an analytical paradigm for social science. We shall, therefore, focus on a wide variety of applications taken from economics, political science, and the study of the environment. Prerequisite: Econ 100 or Econ 101. Class size: 22

15409

ECON 229 Introduction to Econometrics

Sanjaya DeSilva

M . W . .

11:50am-1:10pm

ALBEE 106

MATC

Cross-listed: Economics & Finance; Environmental & Urban Studies; Global & Int’l Studies This is the first of a two-course sequence designed to explore the tools economists use to summarize and interpret data. The first half of the course introduces the concepts of random variables, probability distributions, sampling, descriptive statistics and statistical inference. The second half of the course focuses on simple and multiple regression analysis. The emphasis is on acquiring a practical knowledge of econometric methods (theoretical foundations and advanced techniques are covered in Econ 329); students will learn how to organize and analyze data using Excel and STATA, how to read and interpret published empirical research, and how to carry out an empirical research project. This course fulfills the statistical methods requirement for the economics major. Prerequisite: Economics 100 and Pre-calculus. Class size: 22

15538

ECON 317 INDUSTRIAL ORGANIZATION

Aniruddha Mitra

. T . Th .

1:30pm-2:50pm

HEG 201

SSCI

Cross-listed: Economics & Finance Industrial organization is the study of how industries function and how firms interact within an industry. While this is part of the general agenda of microeconomics, industrial organization distinguishes itself by its emphasis on the study of firm behavior in imperfectly competitive markets. The primary objective of this course is to investigate how firms acquire market power or the ability to influence the price of their product; the strategic behavior of firms that possess market power; and the effect of policy intervention in such industries. Prerequisite: Economics 201 Class size: 15

15413

ECON / FIN 391 Corporate Finance

Andy Felkerson

. . W . F

10:10am- 11:30am

OLIN 101

SSCI

Cross-listed: Economics and Finance Capital is a scarce resource. Access to capital and its efficient use are critical to business success. This course discusses how capital can be raised and allocated within corporations to the advantage of corporate shareholders. Topics include: allocation of capital for investments, measurement of the opportunity cost of capital, capital structure, cash-distribution policy, corporate restructuring, and long-term financing. At the end of course, you will know how to value a company. On the way the topics we shall cover those that are important to all managers whether or not they specialize in finance: (1) procedures for analyzing companies’ financial data to determine how efficiently they have been run; (2) methods for projecting funding needs based on principles of good working capital management; (3) rules for choosing the maximal safe, or optimal, level of debt in the structure of capital used for funding company operations; (4) figuring the costs of the various types of funds that a company uses and its weighted average cost of capital; and (5) combining all the foregoing into a methodology, to wit, discounting free cash flows and adding salvage value, for establishing a company’s value or price.

Class size: 15