400

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

A readings or independent study course taken for variable credit.