BSU Catalog Home | Economics Program | All-University Courses and Descriptions

Economics (ECON)

College-Program Codes: 7-24. Check with department for semester when these courses are offered. Read each course description for prerequisites.

2100 MACROECONOMICS AND THE BUSINESS CYCLE (3 credits) Develops macroeconomic concepts to explore the determination of aggregate output, employment, and the price level in modern mixed economies. The interaction between the financial sector and commodity markets and the potential of monetary and fiscal policy to guide the course of the macro economy are also explored. Prerequisite: ECON 2000 or consent of instructor. Liberal Education Area IV

2200 METHODS OF ECONOMIC ANALYSIS (3 credits) Explores tools and methods of economic reasoning. Emphasizes the historical development of the discipline as well as the quantitative tools used in modern economic theory. Prerequisite: ECON 2100 or consent of instructor.

2925 PEOPLE AND THE ENVIRONMENT: ECONOMIC PERSPECTIVE (3 credits) This course is a module linked to the interdisciplinary environmental issues course, People and the Environment. It is an integrative study of the natural, social, value-based, and citizen-action contexts for environmental awareness. The disciplinary component surveys economic approaches to and institutional settings for environmental decision making, including our behaviors as consumers and producers. Interdisciplinary perspectives are evaluated in light of different concepts of social well being, including economic efficiency, equity, and sustainability. Liberal Education Area VII

3000 MICROECONOMICS FOR DECISION MAKING (4 credits) Develops and applies economic theory in the decision making of profit oriented enterprises. Effects of market structure on consumers and firms, measure and meaning of costs in the long and short runs and application of marginal reasoning by producers and consumers are considered. Prerequisites: ECON 2000 and BUAD 2231 or consent of instructor.

3010 PUBLIC ECONOMICS (3 credits) Examines the rationale of public provision of selected goods and services and compares alternative tax structures in terms of their effects on the rest of the economy and their capacity for financing government expenditures. The effects of the political process on taxes and spending and selected topics in intergovernmental fiscal relations are also considered. Prerequisites: ECON 2000 and ECON 2100.

3040/ENVR 3040 ENVIRONMENTAL ECONOMICS (3 credits) Examines environmental problems as consequence of market's failure to accurately value environmental resources. Alternative private and public policies are examined in terms of their effectiveness in improving the efficiency and equity with which water, air and other resources are allocated. Prerequisite: ECON 2000 or consent of instructor.

3050 INTERNATIONAL TRADE AND FACTOR MOVEMENTS (2 credits) Studies determinants of trade flows and factor movements and their effects on the economies involved. Motives and effects of government policies to restrict economic exchange are considered. Prerequisite: ECON 2000 or consent of instructor.

3070 LABOR ECONOMICS (3 credits) Analyzes structure and operation of labor markets as a background to exploring issues and topics related to collective bargaining and public policy. The impact of technological and institutional change on labor markets is considered. Prerequisite: ECON 2000 or consent of instructor.

3100 THEORY OF THE MACROECONOMIC ENVIRONMENT (4 credits) Examines the determination of aggregate economic variables including employment, the price level and GDP. The sources of instability and the potential for policy to limit fluctuations are considered. Prerequisites: ECON 2000 and ECON 2100 or consent of instructor.

3150 ECONOMICS OF INTERNATIONAL FINANCE (2 credits) Considers the operation of foreign exchange markets, the determinants of exchange rates, the structure of the balance of payments and alternative adjustment mechanisms. Emphasizes interaction between external factors and the domestic economy. Prerequisite: ECON 2100 or consent of instructor.

3200 ECONOMICS OF THE FINANCIAL SECTOR (3 credits) Looks at the operation of intermediaries and securities markets to allocate financial capital and price financial assets. The role of the central bank and related agencies in guiding the financial sector and influencing the macroeconomy are considered. Prerequisites: ECON 2000 and ECON 2100 or consent of instructor.

3210 PUBLIC POLICY AND THE BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT (3 credits) Considers the use of public policy to improve business conduct and performance. Market structure analysis provides a framework to explore anti-trust, the regulation of industry and selected policies to influence international competition. Prerequisite: ECON 2000 or consent of instructor.

3220 REGIONAL ECONOMICS AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT POLICY (2 credits) Economic analysis of economic and spatial structures of localities and regions provides background for examining selected policy issues faced by local governments. Prerequisite: ECON 2000 or consent of instructor.

3230 BENEFIT/COST ANALYSIS (2 credits) Reviews the economic theory used in developing benefit/cost studies as tools for evaluating public and non-profit investment projects. Conventions and practices employed by selected agencies will be examined. Prerequisite: ECON 2000 or consent of instructor.

3300 QUANTITATIVE METHODS (3 credits) Standard techniques of quantitative analysis in economic theory. Use of mathematical tools including differential and integral calculus as well as matrix algebra are used to solve economic problems. Prerequisite: ECON 2200 or consent of instructor.

3450 COMPARATIVE ECONOMIC SYSTEMS (3 credits) Develops a framework to compare features and performance of alternative economic systems. An historical approach to theory and practice is used to explore the impact of institutional features on performance. Interplay between economic and political/social institutions are considered. Prerequisites: ECON 2000 and ECON 2100 or consent of instructor.

3460 EMERGENCE AND DEVELOPMENT OF WESTERN CAPITALISM (3 credits) Examines the origins of capitalism in Europe as it emerged from the Middle Ages and looks at the interaction of institutional and technological change on the system's evolution, culminating with the Industrial Revolution. Prerequisites: ECON 2000 and ECON 2100 or consent of instructor.

3470 THE NATURE OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT (3 credits) Examines the challenges posed by development in the context of the contemporary global economy. Both theoretic and case studies perspectives are developed. Prerequisites: ECON 2000 and ECON 2100 or consent of instructor.

3700 CURRENT ECONOMIC TOPICS (1-2 credits) Customized course providing in-depth investigation of a current issue of theory or policy. Content, credit, and prerequisites may vary.

4300 ECONOMETRICS (3 credits) Use of regression analysis to test hypotheses and predict behavior of economic variables. Problems of time series and cross sectional data are considered. Course focuses on identifying and specifying causal relations. Prerequisites: MATH 2610 or BUAD 2231, and ECON 3100 or consent of instructor.

4920 DIRECTED GROUP STUDY: CAPSTONE EXPERIENCE I (4 credits) Investigates advanced topics in micro and macro alternating years. Students are responsible for considerable out-of-class research and in-class presentations. Note: An appropriate internship may substitute for ECON 4920 and ECON 4921 in the major with department's permission. Prerequisites: ECON 2200, ECON 3000, and ECON 3100, or consent of instructor.

4921 CAPSTONE EXPERIENCE II (3 credits) Continuation and final presentation of exploration begun in ECON 4920. May be taken concurrently. Prerequisite: ECON 4920.