Department of Economics
Courses Offered
| ECN 1011 | Introductory Economics (Micro) | 3 credits |
By analyzing the behavior of buyers and sellers in product and factor markets, this course explains how a market economy determines how scarce resources are allocated to the production and distribution of various goods and services. Supply-and-demand models are used to explain the determination of the prices of products and of factor inputs, and the consequences of government controls and of different types of market structures on prices, wages, and economic efficiency are analyzed.
| ECN 1021 | Introductory Economics (Macro) | 3 credits |
Theoretical models of the economy as a whole, show what determines the level of national output, employment, and prices, and how these might be stabilized by the proper fiscal and monetary policies. The course also looks at the mechanism by which our money supply changes, and considers the benefits and problems associated with international trade. Topics covered include the measurement of GDP, inflation and unemployment; Keynesian and Classical theories of output and price determination; the Federal Reserve System; the federal budget and the national debt; and the balance of payments. ECN 1011 not prerequisite for ECN 1021.
| ECN 2011 | Economic Statistics | 3 credits |
This course covers classical statistics, both descriptive techniques and modern methods of statistical inference. Descriptive measures of central tendency (averages) and dispersion are covered. The concept of a random variable and its probability distribution is emphasized as the foundation for the subsequent inferential problems of estimation and hypothesis testing. Correlation and regression analysis are also introduced. Special descriptive topics include index numbers and time-series analysis. Prerequisite: GER mathematics requirement.
| ECN 2021 | International Economics | 3 credits |
This course investigates two principal subject areas: the causes and effects of trade and barriers to trade; and the financial aspects to international economic activity. The latter include the balance of payments, exchange rates, and the international monetary system. Prerequisite: ECN 1011 or 1021.
| ECN 2041 | Economics of Labor | 3 credits |
This course concentrates on the analysis of the major contemporary issues concerning labor relations and labor unions; in particular: unemployment, wage-price relations, the settlement of disputes, minimum-wage legislation, wage differentials and discrimination, and competition from imports. Discussion is not confined to the purely economic dimensions of these topics. The course includes descriptive material on the development and present structure of the labor union movement in this country and on the more interesting and significant features of labor-management relations in selected foreign countries. Prerequisite: ECN 1011.
| ECN 2071 | Government Finance | 3 credits |
This course examines the nature of government spending, the decision-making process, and trends. It describes and evaluates several kinds of taxation and proposals for reform. It utilizes microeconomics to investigate tax incidence and the welfare effects of taxation. Prerequisite: ECN 1011.
| ECN 2081 | Modern Economic Systems | 3 credits |
This course examines the nature of economic systems such as the market economy, the centrally planned economy and market socialism. It includes an assessment of how these systems have changed over time and compares the performance of each with respect to various economic indicators (such as GNP, employment, health care, etc.).
| ECN 2091 | Economic Development | 3 credits |
This course focuses on the economic growth and development of the Third World; conditions that are conducive to growth are explored and the transformation that results from growth is studied. Also addressed is the development impact on trade, poverty, industrialization, etc.
| ECN 2101 | Macroeconomic Theory | 3 credits |
This course examines a complete model of the economy to show the forces that determine the rate of unemployment, the rate of inflation, the rate of growth, and the international financial position of an economy. This model is used to show the logic of, and the limitations of, monetary, fiscal, and other stabilization policies. Prerequisite: ECN 1021.
| ECN 2111 | Microeconomic Theory | 3 credits |
This course presents an analysis of the behavior of households as buyers of output and suppliers of inputs, an analysis of firms as suppliers of output and buyers of inputs, and a study of their interaction in markets that determines the prices and quantities of outputs and inputs. Applications of analytical tools are demonstrated. Prerequisite: ECN 1011.
| ECN 2121 | Evolution of Economics | 3 credits |
The origin and development of the dominant ideas of modern economics investigated by study of a succession of major economists who shared in its making; the place of Economics in the history of ideas.
| ECN 2131 | U.S. Economic History | 3 credits |
Economic principles are used in an informal manner to assist in the interpretation of the history of U.S. economic development from colonial times to the recent past. Sociocultural factors are also noted as they relate to U.S. economic history.
| ECN 2141 | Monetary Economics | 3 credits |
The course analyzes the nature and functions of money to show its influence on GNP, the price level, unemployment, and the allocation of resources. Commercial banking and other financial institutions will be studied, as well as central banking and aspects of international finance. Prerequisite: ECN 1021.
| ECN 2151 | Economics of Multinational Enterprises | 3 credits |
This course will examine theories of foreign direct investment, initial investment strategies and organizational structure of multinational companies and their impact on the economies of both the host and home countries. It will also include the study of U.S. and host country policies toward multinationals and the business problems of firms operating in a foreign environment.
| ECN 2161 | Econometrics | 3 credits |
Basic principles of econometrics beginning with the classical linear regression model and the method of least squares. Special problems arising from the violation of classical assumptions, and statistical procedures for dealing with them, are covered. Identification and estimation problems are also studied, as well as forecasting with single-equation regression and simultaneous system of equations. Modern time-series models are evaluated, with numerous forecasting illustrations from economics and business. Prerequisite: ECN 2011.
| ECN 2171 | Seminar in Economics | 3 credits |
The process of developing and executing a research project according to the standards of modern economic science is the subject of this seminar. Attention is also given to the use of the computer as a research tool.
| ECN 2201 | Nationalism and Economy | 3 credits |
An interdisciplinary study of the relationship between nationalism and economics. Topics include economics and the rise of nationalism in 20th century Europe; nationalism and economics in the Austro-Hungarian and Ottoman empires; Hitler and German nationalism; nationalism and Europe's colonies after World War II; nationalism in the post-communist world; and the breakup of the Soviet Union, Czechoslovakia, and Yugoslavia.
| ECN 2211 | The Economics of Transition | 3 credits |
This course will consider from the point of view of economics the various aspects to be found during a transition.
| ECN 2221 | African Economies | 3 credits |
Africa is a continent of contrasts. It contains poverty, illiteracy, civil wars, AIDS, corruption, dictatorships and famine. It also contains wealth, inter-ethnic harmony, modern cities, food exports, democracy and skilled workers. It has the highest concentration of diamonds in the world and the largest number of refugees. The poorest country in the world is in Africa (Ethiopia) and the world's highest rate of economic growth is also found in an African country (Botswana). In this course we will try to answer the question, "What accounts for such differences across Africa?"
| ECN 2291 | Consumer Economics | 3 credits |
Development of strategies to improve personal financial management. These strategies will be specifically related to life cycle or family development stages. Topics covered include budgeting, consumer information and protection, and decision-making with respect to borrowing, housing, insurance, pensions and, especially, investment in financial assets such as stocks and bonds. Not open to those who have already received credit for FIN 1571.
| ECN 2501 (THE 2501) | Ethical Values and the Marketplace | 3 credits |
The course will identify and explore tensions between the free market and Catholic Social Thought (CST). We will trace theological and ethical evaluations of usury and private property to establish a framework for ethical assessment of contemporary socioeconomic issues. We will examine basic economic concepts (value and rationality), commodification, and economic justice. We will apply this theory through service learning and current public policy issues such as globalization, living/minimum wage, death and dying, and selling body organs and babies.
| ECN 2621 | Managerial Economics | 3 credits |
This course presents those parts of microeconomic analysis which are useful to those making decisions about price, output, sales promotion, capital investment, etc. It also presents useful techniques from other disciplines.
| ECN 2631 | Industrial Organization | 3 credits |
Applications of microeconomic theories to public policies affecting structure and performance of markets and behavior of firms. Antitrust and other aspects of government regulation. Prerequisite: ECN 1011.
| ECN 2661 | The Economics of Health Care | 3 credits |
The course focuses upon the efficiency problems of the health care delivery system in the United States. The emphasis is on demand and supply conditions as they relate separately to physicians' services and to hospitals, and on the special role of third parties, including government and private insurance carriers. The prospects for a comprehensive national health insurance program are evaluated. Other topics include the economic effects of licensing and other regulatory aspects of the health care industry, including the powers of the American Medical Association and the Food and Drug Administration and the economic aspects of malpractice.
| ECN 2671 | Asian Economies | 3 credits |
This course will encompass a theoretical and empirical approach to the study of the economies of Asia. First, the nature of the various economies will be assessed by the observation of some indicators of economic and social development. Then, theories will be explored that attempt to explain the differences in the economies and their growth patterns. This theoretical section will entail the study of international and indigenous characteristics of Asian countries. The aim of the course is to convey to students the changes in the world distribution of economic power and in the international division of labor as it involves the Asian countries, and the implications of these trends.
| ECN 2681 | Economics of Poverty and Income Distribution | 3 credits |
This course covers various theories regarding the existence and severity of poverty in the United States, as well as the policies for addressing the problems associated with those theories. This problem is discussed in the broader context of theories of income distribution including the marginal productivity approach of neoclassical theory, labor market segmentation, discrimination theories, and class theory alternatives.
| ECN 2691 | Economics of Migration and Immigration | 3 credits |
In this course, population movements are analyzed from the economics perspective. With respect to voluntary migration, we study both the macro issues (namely, the economic consequences of the loss and gain of population; the effect of globalization on labor markets) as well as the micro issues (such as who migrates and why). We study the different kinds of migrations that occur and the conditions that cause them to predominate. In the study of involuntary migration, we focus on the economic pressures used to force relocation. We also study the options open to displaced peoples, including encampments, repatriation, integration and third country asylum. Finally, we ask what happens to the economies of host countries when they are inundated with foreign migrants. Given that at this time, the majority of the annual migrants go to just four host countries: United States, Germany, Canada, and Australia, it is imperative to understand the effect of migration on their economies and the concerns that underlie immigration policy.
| ECN 2831 | Mathematical Economies | 3 credits |
The mathematical tools and applications which are now fundamental to an understanding of much of the journal literature and the graduate theory courses in Economics. Topics include differential and integral calculus, with the emphasis on application in economics; difference equations and differential equations; theory and elementary operations of matrix algebra; and introduction to linear programming. Prerequisites: ECN 1011-1021, GER mathematics requirement.
| ECN 2941 | Directed Readings in Economics | 3 credits |
Selected topics will be investigated in depth under the direction of a tutor. Written reports are required.
| ECN 2953, 2963 | Honors Readings and Research in Economics | 6 credits |
Taken in senior year under the direction of a thesis mentor.
Top of page