Catalog 2021-2022

ECO - Economics

ECO 204 Principles of Microeconomics

An economic analysis of the interactions between households, businesses and the government regarding the allocation of goods, services and resources. Topics include the theory of consumer behavior, production and cost determination, and resource pricing.

Credit Hours: 4
(SS)

Prerequisites

MAT 150 competency recommended (all COB majors are required to take MAT 225).

ECO 205 Principles of Macroeconomics

An introduction to aggregate economic analysis; use of the aggregate demand/aggregate supply model for the determination of output, employment and prices; use of the production possibilities curve analysis to illustrate opportunity cost and to show gains from trade applying the concept of comparative advantage; structure and functions of the Federal Reserve System; and conduct of monetary policy.

Credit Hours: 4
(SS)

Prerequisites

MAT 150 competency recommended (all COB majors are required to take MAT 225).

ECO 300 Labor Economics

Labor economics examines the organization, functioning and outcomes of labor markets; the decisions of prospective and present labor market participants; and the public policies relating to the employment and payment of labor resources.

Credit Hours: 4
(SS)

Prerequisites

ECO 204 and ECO 205.

ECO 310 Environmental Economics and Management

The course teaches students to use economic concepts to critically evaluate social, political and business decisions regarding environmental resource use, environmental regulation and environmental degradation. Students will gain insight into how to respond as business decision-makers to environmental regulations and to increased global competition for scarce resources.

Credit Hours: 4
(SS)

Prerequisites

ECO 204.

ECO 315 International Economic Development

This course is designed to provide students with an introduction and overview of development economics. The course will focus on the economies of countries other than the United States, explore the interaction between the developed and the less-developed economies of the world, and examine international trade and environmental issues in developing countries.

Credit Hours: 4
(IG) (NW) (SS)

Prerequisites

ECO 204 and ECO 205.

ECO 320 Intermediate Microeconomics

This course analyzes consumer choice theory; the theory of production; competitive, oligopolistic and monopolistic market structures; and behavioral economics.

Credit Hours: 4
(SS)

Prerequisites

ECO 204, ECO 205 and MAT 225 (or equivalent).

ECO 321 Intermediate Macroeconomic Analysis

This course is designed to analyze the domestic and international impacts of public policy on GDP, employment, inflation, the trade deficit and budget surplus, the international flow of capital, foreign exchange rate variations and international competitiveness.

Credit Hours: 4
(SS)

Prerequisites

ECO 204, ECO 205 and MAT 225 (or equivalent).

ECO 340 Game Theory

Game theory is the study of behavior in the context of strategic interdependence. It is critical to understanding behavior and outcomes when an individual's welfare depends on both their own choices and the choices of others. This course introduces the core concepts of game theory, including modeling strategic interdependence, dominant, dominated, and rationalizable strategies, best replies, Nash equilibria in pure, continuous and mixed strategies, repeated games, extensive-form games and subgame perfection, imperfect and asymmetric information, auctions, voting, bargaining, mechanism design, and evolutionary game theory. Applications include topics in economics, business, politics, sports, and life.

Credit Hours: 4
(SS)

Prerequisites

ECO 204, MAT 225 (or equivalent), and QMB 210 (or equivalent).

ECO 355 Economic History

This course will guide students to better understand historical events by utilizing their knowledge of economic methods. We will analytically apply economic theory and other mathematical methods to the study of history. The goal will be to understand why major changes in our socioeconomic environment have taken place over the passage of human history. For example, we will learn why certain civilizations conquered others, why certain regions are wealthier than others, and we will study the determinants of human prosperity in order to be able to understand how we have become so rich relative to our ancestors.  
Credit Hours: 4
(SS)

Prerequisites

ECO 204 and ECO 205

ECO 360 Health Economics

This course provides the core microeconomic theories needed to understand the health care markets in both the developed and developing world. Topics will include basic microeconomic models, demand for health care, supply of health care, insurance markets, and country-specific health care systems. The content of this course will help you evaluate health policy debates from an economic framework and interpret empirical evidence in health economics. 
Credit Hours: 4

Prerequisites

ECO 204

ECO 420 Public Choice and the Economics of Politics

Public Choice is the study of the economics of politics using applied microeconomics. It examines decision making within democratic political structures. The course examines the economics of voting, bureaucracy, political economy, and constitutional design, from the perspective of private individuals, elected officials, and special interest groups. The tools of the course are used to analyze contemporary policy issues including voting rights, political entrepreneurship, foreign aid/intervention, and taxation policy. Students are required to undertake individualized research projects, applying the core materials from the course to their own areas of interest.

Credit Hours: 4
(SS) (W)

Prerequisites

ECO 320.

ECO 421 Mathematical Economics

The purpose of this course is to learn modeling techniques and apply them to current issues in modern economic research. Students will learn how to specify economic problems in terms of a mathematical model, solve them and interpret the results. Computational software programs are used in the course to solve these models and plot the results.

Credit Hours: 4
(SS)

Prerequisites

MAT 225 (or equivalent) and ECO 320 or ECO 321.

ECO 430 International Economics and Finance

This course covers the core concepts of international trade and international finance. The first half of the semester is devoted to international trade, including the basis for trade, gains from trade, trade policy and factor mobility. The second half of the semester is dedicated to international macroeconomics-finance, including balance of payments, foreign exchange rates and international capital flows. There will be a continual focus on current events throughout the semester.

Credit Hours: 4
(IG) (SS)

Prerequisites

ECO 320 or ECO 321.

ECO 432 Economics of Emerging Markets

This course will examine major economic and financial issues related to emerging markets, with a particular emphasis on the BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India and China). The following topics will be considered: economic liberalization programs undertaken by emerging markets in recent decades, growth drivers in the emerging markets, financial sector challenges facing key emerging markets, and monetary policy challenges faced by emerging markets.

Credit Hours: 4
(IG) (SS)

Prerequisites

ECO 321.

ECO 435 Forecasting

To learn the theory and practice of economic and business forecasting.  Students begin with an in depth analysis of relevant statistical tools and regression techniques.  Students apply these tools to develop forecasting models of data that contain trends and seasonality.  ARIMA models are developed to study cyclical behavior.  By the end of the course, students are able to combine these tools to build forecasts of data that contain trends, seasonality, and cyclical behavior.  Throughout the course, the software program E-views is used to create forecasts of real world examples from business and economics.
Credit Hours: 4
(SS)

Prerequisites

ECO 320 and ECO 321.

ECO 442 Monetary Economics

This course will provide an advanced treatment of key topics in the field of monetary economics.  The course aims to instill in students a deep understanding of the economic role of money and banking.  Models of money demand (Baumol-Tobin model, etc.), along with a thorough analysis of factors influencing money supply, will be considered.  Structural aspects of major central banks will be discussed, and, sophisticated insights into domestic and international monetary policy transmission mechanisms will be highlighted.  Economic modeling of currency crises will be discussed.  Key aspects of the international monetary system will be stressed as well.
Credit Hours: 4
(SS)

Prerequisites

ECO 321.

ECO 460 Econometrics

The course introduces basic econometric techniques that are of value to economics and business majors. The emphasis will be on understanding the linear regression model, including some key extensions and relevant applications. Besides basic fundamentals of regression analysis, the course will cover panel data models, instrumental variables, causality, time series and forecasting. Students will be required to undertake a forecasting exercise as part of the requirements for completion of the course.

Credit Hours: 4
(SS)

Prerequisites

Either ECO 320 or ECO 321, and MAT 225 (or equivalent).

Corequisites

BAC 100.

ECO 461 Seminar in Economics

This course is designed to provide upper-level economics majors with a broad overview of key topics in economics. Areas of emphasis include U.S. and global economic conditions, monetary policy, economic growth and international economics. This is an applications course, relating the theoretical framework of economics to real-world economic developments. Students who successfully complete the course will have a good grasp of some of the fundamental economic issues and developments currently affecting the U.S. and global economies.

Credit Hours: 4
(SS)

Prerequisites

ECO 321.

ECO 490 Economics Internship

This internship exposes the student to a real-life learning experience. Students are hired by an organization for the specific objective of gaining work experience in that organization. The paid or unpaid internship should be relevant to the student's major, and is worked out between the organization and the student. May not be used to satisfy major requirements. Approval of the department chair required.

Credit Hours: 1-8
(SS)

Prerequisites

Junior or senior standing, ECO 320 and a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.75 or a 3.0 in COB courses.

ECO 495 Special Topics in Economics

A course offered at the discretion of the economics department. Subject may focus on a topic of current interest in the field, training in a specific area of the field, or a topic that is of interest to a particular group of students.

Credit Hours: 4
(SS)

Prerequisites

To be specified at time of offering.

ECO 499 Independent Study in Economics

A readings or independent study course taken for variable credit.

Credit Hours: 1-4

Prerequisites

Minimum 3.0 GPA and consent of the department chair and associate dean.

ECO 500 Foundational Economics for Managers

For graduate students only. This is an introductory course in macroeconomics and microeconomics for graduate business students. It studies inflation, unemployment and growth. It develops the theory of how markets work, with special attention to how prices are set in different market structures. Topics include opportunity cost; comparative advantage; supply, demand and prices; elasticity; production and cost; aggregate demand and aggregate supply; monetary and fiscal policy; and trade and exchange rates.

Credit Hours: 4

ECO 605 Economics of Global Inequality and Poverty

For graduate students only. This course covers current topics in income inequality and poverty within both developed and developing countries. For both inequality and poverty, students will study the various methods of economic measurement and identify recent dynamic trends. Empirical evidence will be used to scrutinize and explore current theoretical arguments aimed at explaining the trends. The course will analyze contemporary policies at both the country level and within global institutions (IMF, World Bank, bilateral aid programs) aimed at alleviating poverty and lessening inequality, and examine the linkages among inequality, poverty, growth, education technology and globalization.

Credit Hours: 4

Prerequisites

ECO 500.

ECO 610 Environmental Economics and Management

For graduate students only. The course teaches students to use economic concepts to critically evaluate social, political and business decisions regarding environmental resource use, environmental regulation and environmental degradation. Students will gain insight into how to respond, as business decision-makers, to environmental regulations and to increased global competition for scarce resources.

Credit Hours: 4

Prerequisites

ECO 500 or permission of instructor.

ECO 611 Econometrics

This course provides a survey of econometric methods useful for solving problems within business analytics. By combining econometric techniques with real-world data, students learn to model relevant microeconomic and macroeconomic phenomena ranging from a firms sales forecast and cost function to economy-wide consumption and unemployment. Inferences from the models and their implications on business decisions are drawn from model testing. Each week begins with a Power Point lecture and short reading, which are then followed by on-line labs using data to address real-world problems with econometric software. Students are assessed through quizzes, labs, homework and two exams. 
Credit Hours: 4

Prerequisites

ECO 500. For graduate students only.

ECO 622 Global Macroeconomy

For graduate students only. This course introduces students to the global economic environment within which all modern business firms operate. The external factors considered, which directly or indirectly impact business decision-making and operations, include: domestic and foreign interest rates, exchange rate policies, foreign investment, overseas economic conditions, and international trade and capital flows. A primary objective of the course is to introduce students to major contemporary economic issues that are of international significance.

Credit Hours: 4

Prerequisites

ECO 500.

ECO 632 Economics of Emerging Markets

For graduate students only. The course will examine major economic and financial issues related to emerging markets, with a particular emphasis on the BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India and China). The following topics will be considered: Economic liberalization program undertaken by emerging markets in recent decades; Growth drivers in the emerging markets; Financial sector challenges facing key emerging markets; and, monetary policy challenges faced by emerging markets.

Credit Hours: 4

Prerequisites

ECO 500.

ECO 640 The Economics of Organizations

For graduate students only. The Economics of Organizations uses the business-related tenets of economics to generate a modern, consistent, formal framework for strategic decision-making. After introducing intermediate microeconomic theory, the course uses economic intuition to address cost issues ranging from outsourcing to the addition of new product lines, agency issues from explicit contract theory to the multi-task principle and team production, and imperfect competition issues ranging from Bertrand pricing to the assessment of Cournot strategic interactions. The international dimension is integrated throughout the course in establishing the competitive organizational form for the firm given the market in which it competes.

Credit Hours: 4

Prerequisites

ECO 500, MKT 500.

ECO 689 Contemporary Global Economic Issues

The course aims to provide business students with a broad overview of key topics in international macroeconomics and finance. The following aspects will be emphasized in the course: drivers of long-term economic growth and development; challenges posed by natural resource abundance; international business cycle fluctuations; cross-border interdependence and spillover; causes and consequences of global imbalances; and key aspects of international finance -  exchange rates, currency crises, and global monetary system. This course will emphasize applications - usage of basic frameworks of economics to analyze and understand real economic developments.

Credit Hours: 4

ECO 695 Special Topics in Economics

A course offered at the discretion of the ECO department. Subject may focus on a topic of current interest in the field, training in a specific area of the field, or a topic that is of interest to a particular group of students.

Credit Hours: 4

Prerequisites

To be specified at time of offering.

ECO 699 Independent Study in Economics

For graduate students only. Contemporary topics in economics.

Credit Hours: 1-4

Prerequisites

Minimum 3.5 GPA and written permission of the department chair.