Economics: Course Descriptions
ECON 100. Introduction to Economics. 3
cr. Survey economic concepts and contemporary economic issues. The role
of business, households, and government. Analysis of demand and supply,
income distribution, unemployment, inflation, and business cycles. May
not substitute 100 for ECON 110 or 111 to satisfy business
administration, economics, and accounting major or minor requirements.
ECON 110. Principles of Macroeconomics.
3 cr. Concepts of scarcity and cost; supply and demand; government in
the economy; organization and functions of businesses and cooperatives;
measurement and determination of national income; unemployment and
inflation; money, banking, and financial markets; international trade
and finance. Prereq: MATH 100 or equiv. GDR: SS1
ECON 111. Principles of Microeconomics. 3
cr. Theory of producer and consumer behavior; pricing and output in
competitive vs. monopoly markets; pricing and employment of labor and
other resources; problems of government intervention in markets. Prereq:
110. GDR: SS1
ECON 272. Personal Finance. 3
cr. Economics for the consumer, the art of consumer decision making,
issues affecting consumer spending, saving, and investing; the role of
cooperatives and other institutions concerned with consumer welfare. May
not earn credit in both 272 and HD 372.
ECON 299. Special Work. Premajors in economics may arrange for independent study with cons chair. Credit based on scope of project.
ECON 310. Introductory Econometrics. 3
cr. Fundamentals of Probability and Mathematical Statistics. Hypothesis
testing. Simple and multiple regression analysis. Dummy variables, and
Basics of Time Series Analysis focusing on applications in Economics.
Prereq: 110, 111; MATH 109, 111, or 120; MATH 355
ECON 311. Public Economics. 3
cr. Analysis of government actions and their impact on both efficiency
and equity aspects of the economy. Topics include government actions to
address market failure, social insurance, public assistance, and
taxation. Prereq: 111.
ECON 315. Business and Government. 3
cr. Role of government regulation vs. free markets. How government
regulates business activity: anti-trust, economic regulations, social
regulations, developing regulatory activities. Economic impact of govt
regulation. Prereq: 111.
ECON 324. Health Economics. 3
cr. Apply microeconomic theory to analyze behavior of health and health
care markets. Includes supply and demand of health care services,
private health insurance markets, government provision of health care
services and health insurance, and health care policy. Prereq: 111 or
cons instr.
ECON 328. Poverty, Welfare, Social Insurance. 3
cr. Poverty in the United States; income maintenance programs including
social security, unemployment insurance, worker's compensation, pension
plans, and social assistance; health insurance. Prereq: 110 or cons
instr. May not earn credit in both ECON 328 and SOC 328.
ECON 330. Evolution of American Enterprise. 3
cr. Evolution of business systems and development of American economy;
historical transformation of firms, markets, and government;
institutional sources of economic growth. Prereq: 111.
ECON 340. Industrial Organization.
3 cr. Structure and performance of markets; strategic behavior of
firms; price discrimination, product differentiation, advertising, entry
deterrence, and research and development. Prereq: 111.
ECON 342. Ecological Economics. 3
cr. Interactions and integration of economic and ecological systems.
Resource use, disposal, and sustainability. Historical trends and
forecasts of the relationship between economic and ecological outcomes.
Policy design with a focus on steady-state growth distributive justice,
and efficiency. Prereq ECON 111 or NRES 372. GDR: EL
ECON 345. Labor Economics. 3
cr. Examine state of modern labor market, theory of worker supply and
demand, wage determination in competitive markets, internal labor
markets and labor market segmentation, trade unions, discrimination,
human capital accumulation as well as public policy related to these
topics. Prereq: 111.
ECON 346. Collective Bargaining.
3 cr. History and legal framework of collective bargaining; contextual
influences on bargaining process; union organization, negotiating
strategies, and goals; management organization and bargaining
strategies; content of collective bargaining; bargaining process in
public and private employment; dispute resolution procedures; current
topics. Prereq: 110.
ECON 347. Sports Economics. 3
cr. Uses the sports industry to illustrate topics from a variety of
fields in economics. Examines pricing decisions, cooperative behavior,
and league formation; models of pay determination, contract incentives,
and unions; and stadium financing and community effects. Prereq 111.
ECON 350. Microeconomic Theory.
3 cr. Analytical tools for under-standing demand, production and cost,
impact of market structure on firms' behavior, pricing of resources, and
economic welfare. Analysis of public policies. Prereq: 111 and MATH
109, 111, or 120.
ECON 360. Money and Financial Markets. 3
cr. Depository institutions; central banking and money creation; price
level analysis; interest level determination; interest rate theory;
money and capital markets. Prereq: 110 and ACCT 210.
ECON 361. Macroeconomic Theory.
3 cr. Determination of levels of national income, output, employment,
and prices; national income accounting; theory and measurement of
aggregate consumption and investment; government stabilization policy.
Prereq: 111.
ECON 362. Economic Development. 3
cr. Problems of measuring economic growth; lessons from the past
economic growth of today's industrialized countries and middle-income
economies; problems of poverty, inequality, unemployment, and
deficiencies in food, clothing, housing, education and health of people
in less-developed countries. Prereq: 111.
ECON 365. International Economics.
3 cr. Foreign trade, theory and measurement of export and import
patterns; foreign exchange markets, balance of payments, tariffs, and
the contemporary international monetary system. Prereq: 111; or NRES 372
for international resource management minors.
ECON 370. Managerial Economics. 3
cr. Economic analysis of business decision making using regression
analysis and forecasting tools; mathematical analysis of production
decisions, cost minimization, pricing strategies, consumer demand, and
market environment. Prereq: 111, MATH 109, and 355 or equiv.
ECON 374. Regional Economic Growth.
3 cr. Factors that promote and/or hinder regional economic and business
growth. Geographical distribution of resources and spatial ordering of
industrial and commercial activities. Patterns of trade among regional
and urban areas; regional business cycles. Patterns of land use and
values in regions and urban areas. Prereq: 111.
ECON 390. Special Topics in Economics. 1-3 cr. Subtitle will designate topic. May repeat for credit with different subtitles. Prereq: Cons instr.
ECON 420. Economics of Organization. 3
cr. Apply microeconomic and game theoretic principles to analyze
business institutions and practices. Examine economic theories of the
firm and alternative contractual relationships. Vertical integration
(make-or-buy decision), corporate owner-ship, multiproduct firm,
relational contracting, franchising. Evaluate economic theories with
economic experiments. Prereq: 111 and cons instr.
ECON 460. Economics and Management of Technological Change.
3 cr. Read, present papers and discuss history of technological change,
economic/social determinants of direction and rate of change, effects
of change on economic structure/growth, and on behavior of firms. Also,
technology problems faced by policy makers and firm managers. Prereq:
111 and 2nd sem jr or sr st.
ECON 490. Advanced Topics in Economics. 1-3 cr. Subtitle will designate topic. May repeat for credit with different subtitles. Prereq: Sr st; cons instr.
ECON 493. Internship in China. 3
cr. Supervised training work program in cooperating agency or business
in China plus lectures in English. Prereq: Economics major/minor or cons
intern dir. GDR: NW
ECON 497. Internship in Economics.
Cr arranged. Supervised training work program in a cooperating agency
or business. Credit set by chair and econ faculty member. Prereq: Cons
chair.
ECON 498. International Internship.
1-12 cr. Supervised training work program in an international agency or
business located outside the U.S. Credit set by chair and econ faculty.
Prereq: Cons chair.
ECON 499/699. Special Work.
Upperclass or graduate students may arrange for independent study with
cons chair. Credit based on scope of the project. Prereq: Cons chair.
ECON 717. Economic Education for Elementary and Secondary Teachers. 3 cr. Introduction to basic
economic principles and issues; identify resources for economic
instruction at elementary and secondary levels; design
lessons/activities for integrating economic education across the
curriculum; open to experienced, certified teachers. May not earn credit
in both ECON 717 and EDUC 717.
ECON 725. Economics and Environmental Issues. 1
cr. Role of economics principles in analysis of environmental issues;
competitive markets, externalities, environmental regulations, economic
incentives, pollution reduction, energy efficiency, waste disposal,
population change, and economic development; teaching strategies and
instructional materials to integrate economics and environmental
education. Prereq: Certified elementary and secondary teachers only.
ECON 756. Current Economic Problems: Subtitle. 3
cr. Nature and causes of selected economic problems; evaluation of
policy responses with respect to accepted social goals and values.
Subtitle will designate topic. May repeat for credit under different
subtitles.
Economics Latent Courses: Not offered recently. See full course description in indicated (xx-xx) catalog.
367 Comparative Economic Systems, 3 cr, (03-05)
440 Monetary and Credit Policies, 3 cr, (95-97)
454 Applied Economics, 3 cr, (89-91)
481 History of Economic Thought, 3 cr, (95-97)
495 Senior Honors Thesis, 3 cr, (01-03)
515 Business and Government, 3 cr
756 Current Economic Problems, 3 cr, (91-93)