Class Schedules

Accounting is the language of business. One of the objectives of this course is to learn that "language." The emphasis will be on understanding financial statements both for profit and non-profit organizations. International accounting, ethics and investment decisions are also covered. This course is designed for students who desire an understanding of the elements of accounting as a component of a liberal arts education as well as for those who would like to study further in accounting or business. This course counts as a Group B elective.

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Course Materials

This course will combine a theoretical background with hands-on experience that will permit a student to begin their career-long development of their leadership talent. The traditional model of a great leader was one that was tough, visionary and determined. Today scholars of leadership have argued that a great leader is self-aware, motivated, empathetic and skilled socially. Which model is right? Are there factors common to all great leaders? We will learn from Aristotle, Winston Churchill, Steve Jobs, Ernest Shackelton's ill-fated trip to the South Pole, and the latest scholarly research. Extensive use will be made of case studies from the Harvard MBA program and guest speakers. This course counts as a Group B elective.

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Course Materials

A one-semester introduction to the basic tools of micro- and macroeconomic analysis. Microeconomics deals with consumers, firms, markets and income distribution. Macroeconomics deals with national income, employment, inflation and money. This course counts as a Group E elective.

General Education Requirements:
Quantitative Thinking Q3

Distribution Requirements:
Social science

Course Materials

A one-semester introduction to the basic tools of micro- and macroeconomic analysis. Microeconomics deals with consumers, firms, markets and income distribution. Macroeconomics deals with national income, employment, inflation and money. This course counts as a Group E elective.

General Education Requirements:
Quantitative Thinking Q3

Distribution Requirements:
Social science

Course Materials

A one-semester introduction to the basic tools of micro- and macroeconomic analysis. Microeconomics deals with consumers, firms, markets and income distribution. Macroeconomics deals with national income, employment, inflation and money. This course counts as a Group E elective.

General Education Requirements:
Quantitative Thinking Q3

Distribution Requirements:
Social science

Course Materials

A one-semester introduction to the basic tools of micro- and macroeconomic analysis. Microeconomics deals with consumers, firms, markets and income distribution. Macroeconomics deals with national income, employment, inflation and money. This course counts as a Group E elective.

General Education Requirements:
Quantitative Thinking Q3

Distribution Requirements:
Social science

Course Materials

In 2015, the Census Bureau reported nearly 2.6 million Black or African-American owned businesses in the U.S., up from 1.9 million or 34.5 percent in 2007. In the same year, American Express reported African American women as the fastest growing demographic of entrepreneurs, experiencing 322 percent growth between 1997 and 2015. Currently, Black or African American owned businesses have a sizeable footprint in the nation’s economy generating $150 billion in annual revenue and supporting 3.56 million jobs. Entrepreneurship for African Americans wasn’t always encouraged. After the Civil War, freed slaves were legally prohibited from obtaining business licenses to commodify skills (e.g. blacksmithing, horse training, cooking, etc.) learned during their enslavement. In addition to policies barring African Americans from bringing their services and products to the marketplace, racial violence in African American towns and neighborhoods followed destroying their centers of commerce. This course is largely designed to introduce students to entrepreneurship in the African American community from the time the first West Africans arrived in the U.S. as slaves to today. Students will learn key institutions and systems’ impact on African American entrepreneurship within the African American community, and in the U.S. Some of the specific topics covered include Civil War, emancipation, Jim Crow segregation, racial violence, the Great Migration, economic revolutions, political and social movements, and hip-hop culture. Ultimately, students should gain an understanding the historical importance of African American entrepreneurship and why the future success of the U.S. economy rests on its expansion. Counts as Group B elective for the economics major.

General Education Requirements:
U.S. Identities and Differences

Distribution Requirements:
Social science

Course Materials

This course explores the theoretical foundations and empirical realities of international trade flows, commercial policies (tariffs, quotas, etc.) and international finance. The course emphasizes the welfare implications of international trade and commercial policies and links these to discussion of disputes over international trade agreements. The international finance portion of the course covers the foreign exchange market, balance of payments analysis and an introduction to open economy macroeconomics. Recommended for students majoring in international studies. This course counts as a Group E elective. Prerequisite(s): ECON 119. C- or higher required for all prerequisites.

General Education Requirements:
Internationalism

Distribution Requirements:
Social science

Course Materials

This course examines the workings of economic systems from the perspective of the incentives facing the firm and consumer. The course provides an introduction to the economics of information and organization which is used to evaluate resource allocation under the specific institutional environment of different economic systems. Our understanding of the incentive system is then used to evaluate the overall economic system. The focus of the course is primarily on the U.S. economy, Japan and the former Soviet Union/Russia. As time permits the course may examine China, Germany and Central Europe. This course counts as a Group E elective. Prerequisite(s): ECON 119. C- or higher required for all prerequisites.

General Education Requirements:
Writing WA

Distribution Requirements:
Social science

Course Materials

This course presents a broad overview of world economic history. It uses concepts and models developed in Principles of Economics to explore how the interplay between geography, institutions, and technology has influenced material living standards from the Stone Age to the present. In particular, we will study the causes and consequences of long-term structural forces such as the agriculture, industrial and informational revolutions, the Malthusian trap and demographic transition, slavery, globalization, and the rise of government. We will also explore more cyclical phenomena such as wars, financial crises, economic depressions and hyper-inflations. Students will learn how economic historians use evidence to make sense of the past and the role economic history plays in guiding current policy debates. This course counts as a Group E elective. Prerequisite(s): ECON 119. C- or higher required for all prerequisites.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:
Social science

Course Materials

This course focuses on theories and applications of Entrepreneurship to identify opportunities and solve problems around the world. Students will learn contemporary methodologies used in startup companies and early stage organizations including: Lean Startup and Human Centered Design methodologies and the Business Model Canvas framework. Students spend the semester working in teams to apply the methodologies to identify a problem and develop a solution. For their final project students will prepare a plan for their solution and present it to an external audience. This course is open to those who are interested in social entrepreneurship as well. This course counts as a Group B elective. Note: Not available to students who took Social Entrepreneurship during the fall 2016 semester. Prerequisite(s): ECON 119. C- or higher required for all prerequisites.

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Course Materials

This course will provide a one semester overview of investment banks. The role of equity capital markets, debt capital markets, research, sales and trading, and investment banking will be covered. Basic corporate finance techniques will be introduced. Current financial issues in the business world will be reviewed. Classroom work, case studies, and outside speakers will be utilized. The key objectives of this course are for students to obtain a solid understanding of the various disciplines within the investment banking field and to prepare themselves for interviews and internships. The course is well suited for students who are contemplating a career in investment banking, banking, or corporate finance. This course counts as a Group B elective. Prerequisite(s): ECON 113 and ECON 119. C- or higher required for all prerequisites.

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Course Materials

In this course, we will apply the tools of microeconomics that students learned in their introductory course to study the labor market. We'll develop theories of labor market supply and demand to make predictions, and we will compare those predictions with observed labor market outcomes. We'll also apply the theory to studying issues like income inequality, labor market discrimination, and the effects of international trade on workers, and to evaluating the effects of possible policy responses. This course counts as a Group E elective. Prerequisite: ECON 119.

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Course Materials

Over the past three decades, China has been one of the most dynamic and fastest growing countries in the world. Why has China grown so fast? What are the keys to developing a successful business in China? How does the emergence of China affect the world economy? This course is designed to answer these questions using a general framework developed for the Chinese economy. China remains a communist country with a significant legacy of a command economy. But it is also a market economy. Understanding this mixture - capitalism with Chinese characters - is a major aim of this course.

We will begin with several classes on the historical development of the Chinese economy. This includes the nature of the command economy developed during the Maoist era and the period of economic reform under Deng Xiaoping. Then we will investigate the main players of such an economy (central/local governments and various types of firms). The next step is to analyze the three growth engines--globalization, industrialization and urbanization--and to show how they are interacted. We will also study the distorted state financial system and its implication for external imbalances. The last part of the course will focus on the future of the Chinese economy. This course counts as a group E elective. Prerequisite: ECON 119.

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Course Materials

The structure, operation, regulation and economic role of financial markets and institutions; fundamental security analysis and present-value techniques; forecasts of earnings and analysis of yields on stocks and bonds; the portfolio theory and characteristic lines, betas and mutual-fund ratings; futures and options markets. This course counts as a Group E elective. Prerequisite(s): ECON 113 and ECON 119. C- or higher required for all prerequisites.

General Education Requirements:
Writing WP

Distribution Requirements:
Social science

Course Materials

Methodology of economic science; theory of consumer behavior; theory of the firm; market structure and price determination; factor markets and income distribution; general equilibrium analysis; market failure. This course counts as a Group E elective. Prerequisite(s): MATH 135 or MATH 137, and one 200-level Economics course from Group E electives. Not open to first-year students except by permission of the instructor. C- or higher required for all prerequisites.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:
Social science

Course Materials

Methodology of economic science; theory of consumer behavior; theory of the firm; market structure and price determination; factor markets and income distribution; general equilibrium analysis; market failure. This course counts as a Group E elective. Prerequisite(s): MATH 135 or MATH 137, and one 200-level Economics course from Group E electives. Not open to first-year students except by permission of the instructor. C- or higher required for all prerequisites.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:
Social science

Course Materials

This course develops in detail theories of the determination of national income, employment and the price level. The foundations and mechanics of neo-classical and Keynesian models of the aggregate economy are studied and modern syntheses of these approaches are explored. Considerable attention will be paid to current behavior of the national economy. This course counts as a Group E elective. Prerequisite(s): ECON 361 or permission of instructor. C- or higher required for all prerequisites.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:
Social science

Course Materials

This course develops in detail theories of the determination of national income, employment and the price level. The foundations and mechanics of neo-classical and Keynesian models of the aggregate economy are studied and modern syntheses of these approaches are explored. Considerable attention will be paid to current behavior of the national economy. This course counts as a Group E elective. Prerequisite(s): ECON 361 or permission of instructor. C- or higher required for all prerequisites.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:
Social science

Course Materials

This course investigates the methods economists use to test theories and conduct economic forecasts. This course will provide the student with the ability to design, conduct, and evaluate empirical work in economics and other social sciences. The primary focus of the course is on the final project that consists of a research paper that will integrate library research, economic theory, and econometric analysis. The course will take a "hands on" approach as much as possible with weekly use of the microcomputer in class. This course counts as a Group E elective. Prerequisite(s): ECON 361 and MATH 155.  C- or higher required for all prerequisites.

General Education Requirements:
Writing WA

Distribution Requirements:
Social science

Course Materials

This course investigates the methods economists use to test theories and conduct economic forecasts. This course will provide the student with the ability to design, conduct, and evaluate empirical work in economics and other social sciences. The primary focus of the course is on the final project that consists of a research paper that will integrate library research, economic theory, and econometric analysis. The course will take a "hands on" approach as much as possible with weekly use of the microcomputer in class. This course counts as a Group E elective. Prerequisite(s): ECON 361 and MATH 155.  C- or higher required for all prerequisites.

General Education Requirements:
Writing WA

Distribution Requirements:
Social science

Course Materials

This course investigates the methods economists use to test theories and conduct economic forecasts. This course will provide the student with the ability to design, conduct, and evaluate empirical work in economics and other social sciences. The primary focus of the course is on the final project that consists of a research paper that will integrate library research, economic theory, and econometric analysis. The course will take a "hands on" approach as much as possible with weekly use of the microcomputer in class. This course counts as a Group E elective. Prerequisite(s): ECON 361 and MATH 155.  C- or higher required for all prerequisites.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:
Social science

Course Materials

This course investigates the methods economists use to test theories and conduct economic forecasts. This course will provide the student with the ability to design, conduct, and evaluate empirical work in economics and other social sciences. The primary focus of the course is on the final project that consists of a research paper that will integrate library research, economic theory, and econometric analysis. The course will take a "hands on" approach as much as possible with weekly use of the microcomputer in class. This course counts as a Group E elective. Prerequisite(s): ECON 361 and MATH 155.  C- or higher required for all prerequisites.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:
Social science

Course Materials

‘Game Theory’ is the study of situations in which agents’ outcomes depend not only on their own actions, but also on actions taken by others, including situations in which all participants understand this fact and take account of it in their decision making. This course will introduce students to the basic ideas of game theory and some of its applications. We will study models of games in extensive form (games over time) and normal form (simultaneous games), including models in which agents must make decisions under uncertainty, and think about what an 'equilibrium' in such situations entails.

The course will highlight applications of game theory to economic analysis, but will also include examples taken from other disciplines such as biology (e.g., evolution of behaviors in a population), political science (e.g., candidate behavior), and additional topics as dictated by student interest. This course counts as a Group E elective. Prerequisite: ECON 361 (completed or concurrent registration).

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Course Materials

This course will extend beyond the conventional structure-conduct-performance framework of industrial organization to focus on the theoretical models that inform the discipline and their empirical applications. In particular, students will use microeconomics and game theory to study models of imperfect competition and understand the implications for consumer welfare. We will analyze firm behavior and strategic interactions such as price discrimination, predatory pricing, limit pricing and investment under different market structures. We will also discuss various public policies that affect the structure of markets and the behavior of firms, specifically regulation, deregulation and antitrust laws. This course counts as a Group E elective. Prerequisite(s): ECON 361 and ECON 381, or permission of instructor. C- or higher required for all prerequisites.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:
Social science

Course Materials

This course surveys recent developments in behavioral economics and considers applications in labor economics, macroeconomics, finance, public finance, consumer choice, and other areas. Our goal is to draw on recent work in cognitive and evolutionary psychology to better understand human behavior and incorporate these insights into neoclassical reasoning and modeling. This course counts towards the capstone.  This course counts as a Group E elective. Prerequisite(s): ECON 361 and ECON 371. C- or higher required for all prerequisites.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:
Social science

Course Materials

This course is comprised of two primary elements: 1) a theoretical component that introduces the more advanced theories of international trade and foreign direct investment (FDI) and 2) an applied component that discusses the role of multinational corporations and exporters in shaping globalization. The theories developed in this class include the 'New Trade Theory' by Krugman and the more recently developed Melitz model that exposes students to the current paradigm in the international trade literature focused on heterogeneous firm-level analysis. Moving beyond firms engaged in international trade, we will also explore the option of horizontal and vertical FDI to serve foreign markets. These derivations provide a sound platform from which to evaluate the causes and consequences of international trade and FDI and provide a natural transition for contemplating the role of exporting firms and multinational corporations in shaping globalization. Throughout this applied component of the course ,we will examine issues, such as the role of productivity and diversity in entering foreign markets, the labor market effects in home and host countries, the correlation with economic development and inequality, convergence or polarization of global cultures, and issues related to international trade policy and transportation. This course counts as a Group E elective and toward the capstone. Prerequisite(s): ECON 361 and ECON 381, or permission of instructor.

General Education Requirements:
Internationalism

Distribution Requirements:

Course Materials