Trinity University

Lower Division

1311 Principles of Microeconomics
Perhaps you took an Economics course in high school and came away less than impressed with the subject. A very different experience awaits you in Economics 1311. Here you will learn and use microeconomics as a powerful way of understanding human behavior.

For example, a knowledge of microeconomics will allow you to answer the following questions: Why does Fiesta Texas open on Tuesdays even though their revenues cover only part of their costs? Does rent control help the poor get adequate housing? Who really pays a sales tax? How do tariffs on Toyotas affect the price of Pontiacs? What is the most effective way to limit pollution?

The same tools can be applied to numerous questions not usually considered to be economic in nature. Why are soda machines constructed differently than newspaper machines? Why do Chicago grocery stores have better oranges than do Florida supermarkets? How should one discourage burglaries?
If you are looking for a more complete understanding of the world in which you live, ECON 1311 will teach you the essentials!

1312 Principles of Macroeconomics

This course provides the economic literacy necessary to understand national economic problems and solutions. Its goal is to provide you with a way of thinking that allows you to go beyond the media's chaotic and superficial treatment of these issues.

You will learn the answers to such questions as: What are the determinants of unemployment, inflation and economic growth? Why did the federal deficit soar in the 1980s? What will be the long-run effects of that deficit? What would be the effects of a balanced budget amendment? Is this the time for a middle-class tax cut? Is protectionism the best way to reduce our large trade deficits? Along the way, you will come to know the approaches of Keynesians, monetarists and supply-siders. You will learn how the government's fiscal and monetary policies affect the economy, and you will explore the causes of balance-of-payments deficits. But you will learn much more than abstract theories and principles -- you will develop a practical understanding of many current macroeconomic problems and a healthy skepticism about the economic policy proposals of most political leaders.
PREREQUISITE: ECON 1311.

2320 Statistics for Management & Economics

What does a mean mean? Are all samples simple? What is the relation in correlation? Is there really such a thing as standard normal deviate? All these and many more questions will be answered in ECON 2320/BUSN 2301.

Emphasis is on applications of statistical techniques to business and economic problems. Topic coverage includes descriptive measures, probability, sampling distributions, estimation, hypothesis testing, correlation and regression analysis, and time series/forecasting.

Upper Division

3115, 3116, 3117, 3121 Economists in the Elementary School, Economists in the Middle School, Economists in the High School

These one-credit classes provide a unique opportunity to enrich the quality of economics education in the local public schools while improving your command of economics and your oral communication skills. You will be assigned to a team of three Trinity students who work with a particular teacher and class during the fall semester. The teams bring the excitement of economics to area students by offering them applications, examples and hands-on activities that illustrate basic economic concepts.

Students from the past few years have been very enthusiastic about the experience; if you do it once, you'll want to return! If you're interested in teaching at any level, you'll gain valuable knowledge and experience here that you can't get anywhere else in your teacher education program. And the enthusiastic reception our teams receive will make you feel as though you've really done something worthwhile!

The course requires approximately one "contact" hour per week, including the school appearances and rehearsals with your team before each "performance." Course requirements include the preparation of lesson plans for the applications you will lead and a final evaluative essay.

If you are interested in this program, please see Dr. Butler prior to registration to discuss scheduling and course requirements.
PREREQUISITES: ECON 1311 or one of the Education practicum courses, and permission of the instructor.

3141 The Mexican Economy

This class presents an examination of the most significant contemporary issues affecting the economic life of Mexico. The international and financial sectors will be analyzed in depth, and their relationship to the macroeconomic performance of the country will be studied. Special attention will be given to the political situation of the country and its impact on the economy. This class will be taught in Spanish and therefore, students will be able to have access to reading material which is not available in English.
PREREQUISITE: SPAN 2302, ECON 1311 and 1312 (or 2318).

3318 The Global Economy

An introductory survey of international economics aimed at students interested in political science, diplomacy, world affairs, history, or business. An examination of economic relationships among countries with an emphasis on the globalization process and the debate it has produced. Economic analysis is used to study the impact of imposing (or removing) barriers to trade and the problems of the balance of payments and the exchange rate. Special emphasis is given to the changing policy options available to governments, multilateral organizations, non-government organizations, and multinational corporations in the rapidly evolving global economy. PREREQUISITE: ECON 1311. CANNOT BE TAKEN FOR CREDIT BY STUDENTS WHO HAVE TAKEN ECON 3347 OR 3348 OR 3361.

3323 The Economics of Government

What is the difference between Medicare and Medicaid? Has welfare reform delivered on its promise? Can giving firms permits to pollute reduce pollution? Is the flat rate tax flat wrong? Is voting irrational? These are some of the questions we seek to address in Economics 3323.

This course will focus on a microeconomic analysis of government tax and expenditure policies. You will learn to critically analyze existing government programs and determine whether they serve their intended purpose. The analytical frame work that economists often use to examine the political process will also allow you to develop a better understanding of why voters, elected officials, and special interest groups behave the way they do in the political marketplace.
PREREQUISITE: ECON 1311.

3325 Intermediate Microeconomics

Intermediate Micro is the course in which you really learn to think -- instinctively -- like an economist. Though this is not an easy class, the rewards are great. You will find that expanding and solidifying your microeconomic knowledge will greatly improve your ability to put economics to practical use. More than anything else, it is fluency in microeconomic theory that defines a person as an economist. Even better: the problem-solving skills you'll acquire will be a major asset in any career you pursue. As in Principles of Microeconomics, the focus of the course is on the optimizing choices of consumers, producers, employers and resource owners, and on the consequences of these choices for the performance of product and resource markets. Intermediate Microeconomics adds richness and rigor to the theories developed in Principles. Many of the simplifying assumptions of the first course are relaxed to achieve greater relevance to the real world. The course is taught with a heavy emphasis on practicing the application of microeconomic theory. Actually doing micro-economics - in problem sets, examples and class discussion - is the best way to attain mastery of this challenging and rewarding subject.
PREREQUISITES: ECON 1311.

3326 Intermediate Macroeconomics

Intermediate Macroeconomics is the course where we look at "the big picture." We will use economic theory and empirical evidence to answer questions of national (and even global) importance.
Why do some countries grow faster than others? Is foreign investment bad for our economic health? Is the U.S. saving rate lower than that of other countries? Why does the economy experience periodic increases in unemployment and inflation? What government economic policies work well? Does the size of the federal deficit or surplus matter?

In Principles of Macro you learned the basic building blocks to begin analyzing these issues. Intermediate Macro will add depth and rigor to your understanding by using more modern models and analytical techniques. The evolution of macroeconomic theory and its relevance in today's economy are discussed at length.
PREREQUISITES: ECON 1311 and 1312.

3330 Economics and the Environment

ECON 3330, a core course in the Environmental Studies minor, examines the urgent and timely problems of pollution and resource use from a perspective you'll find in no other course on these topics. The insights and perspectives of other disciplines ranging from chemistry to ethics to political science are combined with the tools of economic analysis you learned in your Principles class to tackle such questions as:
1) What is the optimal amount of pollution? (Why is it very unlikely to be zero?)
2) Why do current environmental policies produce both a dirtier environment and higher cleanup costs than necessary?
3) What are the best policies for responding to trans-national environmental threats like global climate change?
4) Are we about to run out of oil and many other vital natural resources?

PREREQUISITE: ECON 1311.

4397 Health Economics

Can you put a price on life? Can competition lead to higher prices? Is it possible to consume too much healthcare? Is there such a thing as too much information? Does supply and demand even apply to healthcare? Is it possible for the government to do something more efficiently than the private sector? The short answer to all these questions is yes. The goal of the course is to explore these issues in more detail. The basic framework of economics will be used to analyze the behavior of hospitals, physicians, insurers, and healthcare consumers. The course is intended to give the student a better understanding of the successes and failures of the healthcare industry.

3334 Urban Economics

Urban problems have a long history: nearly two thousand years ago, the poet Juvenal complained about crime, noise and traffic jams in the streets of Rome. These same problems -- and many more - bedevil the mayors and city managers of today. This course seeks an understanding of the origins of and possible remedies for today's urban problems through an examination of such questions as:
1) Why do we have cities in the first place? Is there an "optimum" city size?
2) What is the economic base of a city? Can a city change its economic base? What industries should it "target" if it seeks to do so?
3) Why is location neglected in most economic analysis but central to the understanding of most urban problems?
4) If we wish to improve the housing of the poor, which policies will be most effective? Rent control? Housing code enforcement? Public housing construction? Housing vouchers?
5) Are rail transit systems the best way to solve traffic problems in most U.S. cities?
6) Is the organization of local government a help or a hindrance in solving urban problems?
7) In what ways are urban problems in developing countries different from those of U.S. cities?
PREREQUISITE: ECON 1311.

3335 Industrial Organization

Industrial organization is a sub-field of microeconomics that examines the interactions between market structure, firm conduct and market performance. In Principles of Microeconomics many simplifying assumptions are made and the focus is on the two extremes of perfect competition and monopoly. In this course many real world complications are introducted such as transaction costs, imperfect information and barriers to entry. We then consider how market structure, firm conduct and market performance are all affected by these complications. In addition, we consider what role the government should have in affecting structure, conduct and performance.
PREREQUISITE: ECON 1311.

3336 Antitrust Economics

Everybody knows that competition is a good thing. But how can we be sure that competitive markets are maintained and not turned into monopolistic market structures? The antitrust laws are supposed to protect the marketplace from abuses that adversely affect the functioning of the competitive process. Are they successful in doing so?

We will address this question through an examination of landmark antitrust cases. This will involve becoming acquainted with the legal terminology used in antitrust decisions as well as the legal precedents that serve as the foundation for these decisions. Our primary concern, however, will be applying positive economic analysis to the behaviors described in the cases and to determine whether the decisions in these cases were justified given the goal of promoting competition. We will also examine the increasing internationalization of antitrust and discuss the influence of the European Union in antitrust matters.
PREREQUISITE: ECON 1311

3338 Government Regulation of Business

Will consumers benefit if Internet-based telephone service providers are regulated like traditional phone companies? Does the California experience prove that deregulating the electric utility industry is a terrible idea? How have changes in airline regulation affected the pocketbooks (and safety) of travelers? Why might auto safety regulations have increased the number of traffic accidents?

In Economics 3338, we employ economic analysis to find answers to these questions (and to many others like them). To gain a broader understanding of regulation, the course reaches beyond economics to incorporate the insights of other disciplines ranging from political science to accounting and finance. You will learn not only how regulation affects several major industries, but also some surprising things about the motivations behind many forms of regulation. And, in the process, you will become much more adept at "thinking like an economist" in real-world situations. Because learning to do this is hard work, most students find the course challenging. However, our alumni who have entered top graduate programs in law, business and public policy tell us that meeting this challenge was one of the best things they did to prepare for those programs.

PREREQUISITE: Three hours of upper division Economics, or consent of the instructor.

3339 Economic Analysis of Law

ECON 3339 uses economic analysis to understand and interpret the evolution and application of legal principles. The defining characteristic of the Economic Analysis of Law is that it uses a common framework and set of principles to analyze seemingly disparate areas of the law. Familiar economic concepts such as economic efficiency, opportunity costs, externalities, transaction costs, allocation of risk, and the law of demand turn out to shed considerable light on the application and effects of the law. The course applies economic principles to five main areas of law: Contracts, Property, Torts, Criminal Law, and Legal Procedure.

Analysis of court cases is used to facilitate the learning of economics and law. This course is especially valuable for students considering law school. All leading law schools have integrated economic analysis into their curriculum. The Economic Analysis of Law will provide you with a firm foundation for using economics to understand law and the legal system.
PREREQUISITE: ECON 3325.

3340 Economic Growth and Development

Do the intellectual origins and historical background of western theories of development have any relevance to present Third World conditions? How has Argentina, which was number four in the world in per capita income just a few decades ago, now fallen into the ranks of the developing countries? Why are most countries in Africa, Asia, and South America poor and unable to break their poverty cycle? What are the contending theories which attempt to explain the fortunes of national economies?

In receiving the 1979 Nobel Prize in Economics, T. W. Schultz said: "Most of the people in the world are poor, so if we knew the economics of being poor we would know much of the economics that really matters." The subject matter of this course deals with just that. The first section of the class deals with the theories of development. While the second half of the course examines the causes and consequences of long term developing by considering a variety of phenomena (for example, the "commercial revolution," the "industrial revolution," the growth of international trade, and the evolution of modern forms of enterprise) that illustrate more general principles.
PREREQUISITES: ECON 1311 and 1312.

3341 Economic Development of Mexico

Did you know that:
*Mexico is the third most important trading partner of the U.S.?
*Mexico has more trade with the U.S. than does any European country?
*NAFTA has created a market that is economically larger than the European Union?
*The radical changes taking place in Mexico today could alter U.S.-Mexican relationships forever?
The principal goal of the first half of the course will be to illustrate the "burden" of history and institutions on the later development of the Mexican economy. We will explore the multiple interactions of state and economy during the colonial period, and then consider the economic consequences of independence. The remainder of the first half will focus on why Mexican growth lagged, and the interplay of domestic and international factors in explaining slow growth. In the second half of the course, Mexican development during the 20th Century is studied. Beginning with the Porfirio Diaz regime, several states of the Mexican development will be examined. The last section of the course deals with the wild economic ride of the last 15 years, ending with an analysis of the current economic policies being implemented in Mexico and their impact on the U.S. The North American Free Trade Agreement will be discussed at length.
PREREQUISITES: Economics 1311 and 1312.

3342 Latin American Economic History

This is a topical survey of the growth and development of the Latin American economies from colonial times through the present. It is by no means a comprehensive survey, for that would require considerably more than a semester to accomplish. In general, the course emphasizes the long-run rather than the short, and the secular evolution of institutions and patterns of allocation.

It also has a strictly historical component. Many of the concepts we employ--"Latin American," "Indian," "discovery," and so forth--were European inventions rather than "objective" descriptions, and suggest the extent to which indigenous peoples, institutions, and cultures were reshaped by sustained contact with the peoples of the North and South Atlantic.

Those who take the course will write four essays of 5 to 7 pages chosen from a list of available topics.

Two cautions. First: the prerequisites for this course will be strictly observed. A strong foundation in micro-and macro-economics is essential for understanding "what happened." Second: this is not a course in dependency theory, the evil ways of multinationals, or any other sectarian or "politically correct" version of economic history. The instructor is committed to open inquiry, and other impossibly bourgeois notions.

PREREQUISITES: ECON 1311 and 1312.

3343 Slavery and Atlantic Economy

Slavery and the Atlantic Economy. Interdisciplinary analysis of the Atlantic market joining Europe, Africa and the Americas from the sixteenth through nineteenth centuries, with particular emphasis upon slavery, the slave trade, and development of the or consent of instructor. "plantation complex." Makes explicit use of economic theory to explain historical change.
PREREQUISITES: ECON 1311 and HIST 1354 or HIST 1380; ECON 1312 and 3325.

3344 Economic & Business History of the US to 1865

The history of the emergence of the English colonies in the New World, their advance from a patchwork of separate colonies to one independent nation, and the progress of the first eighty-five years of that new nation overflows with economic issues. Consider simply the need and the opportunity several times over to reestablish all the institutional underpinnings of an economy. What were the initial choices made in the founding of the colonies and why? And, of course, with what results? What was kept and what discarded at the time of the American Revolution when all the state governments were reorganized and the federal government constituted and re-constituted three times in a generation? Businesses that had grown up colonial and export-led changed radically after 1783 into one large and increasingly unified economy influenced more by internal development than by overseas markets. The exception to both those statements was the region dominated by a single, staple commodity, tobacco earlier and "King Cotton" later. During the ante-bellum years the regional economy that had stayed most agricultural and "colonial" in its orientation, the South, came under increasingly intense challenges from those regions that were rapidly joining the nineteenth-century world of commerce and industry. The resulting struggle presented the nation with yet another opportunity to establish an economy better designed to accommodate itself to a more modern era.
PREREQUISITES: ECON 1311 and 3 semester hours of U.S. history, or consent of the instructor.

3345 Economic & Business History of the US since 1865

For the United States, the "Century of World Wars," hot and cold, was preceded by fifty years in which the nation's economy confronted several profound, interrelated changes even while it experienced an unprecedented period of growth. Between 1865 and 1914, the country expanded to embrace the continent; the industrial sector displaced the agricultural sector as the leading contributor to national income; cities superseded farms as the primary residence of its people and the source of the preponderance of its economic product; a Protestant population of Northern European origin began to face the fact that men and women with ancestors from Africa and elsewhere were Americans, too; and the role of government turned from simply protecting and promoting the economy to regulating it as well. Not everyone liked the prospect all this portended for the twentieth century but, caught in the pursuit of profit, the nation had little chance to react.

Then everything changed. Swept onto the international stage by forces beyond their ken or control, Americans responded fiercely to enemies, real and potential, at home and abroad. Like a great ship, the United States economy, pitched and tossed, riding the waves of change across a tumultuous twentieth century. Ever more prosperous in the hundred years following the Civil War, it steamed steadily along, at first. Rising triumphantly in times of international crisis, suffering but surmounting a nearly disastrous check in a Great Depression, propelled by the demands of national defense, ultimately the nation's economy crested in the 1970s. The subsequent quarter-century buffeted the American economy. Failing industries and worrisome ethical lapses at home, fearsome foreign competition, a deteriorating infrastructure, too few jobs and too few skilled workers, fabulous wealth for some yet generally declining living standards, dysfunctional social and political systems and, suddenly, a world economy seriously at risk left the nation foundering through the early 1990s. Fundamental strengths seem to have held the economy on course, however, and the United States entered the new millennium at the crest of the longest upswing ever in American history. Then came a crushing stop.

This course examines all these issues and more through readings, lectures, and discussions. In addition to the formal prerequisites for the course, students are expected to be widely and deeply, if variously grounded in both of the disciplines gathered under the rubric "economic history" - and more. Curiosity, the ability to think critically, and a fondness for hard work are the real requirements for the course.

The "Business and Economic History of the United States to 1865" offered in the Fall Semester is the companion to - but not a prerequisite for - The "Business and Economic History of the United after 1865" offered in the Spring Semester. It is the intention of the Department of Economics, the Department of Business, the Department of History and the instructor to repeat the sequence every second year.
PREREQUISITES: ECON 1311 and 6 semester hours of United States history, or consent of the instructor.

The Spanish Economy & the European Union

3347 International Trade

Why does the United States trade with countries that cannot produce any goods more efficiently than the U.S.? Why do we export grain to Russia, yet cars to the Middle East? How did Japan move from exporting textiles and cheap toys to exporting cars and electronic products? Should the U.S. shoe industry be protected by imposing tariffs on imports? Given its massive trade deficit, why doesn't the U.S. simply ban any further imports? Why did Brazil "voluntarily" agree to reduce its steel exports to the U.S.? Who gained and who lost by that action? What are the possible consequences of the European Union? How is NAFTA working? What does the WTO accomplish? Why are there so many demonstrations against the WTO and the IMF? Why are U.S. companies opening new factories in Mexico? Should we try to stop illegal immigration?

Economics 3347 will show you how to answer these and many other questions of trade policy using the theoretical framework of international trade analysis. Understanding how the nations of the world are interconnected economically will enable you to realize the international ramifications of what might otherwise appear to be purely domestic policies. Indeed, such knowledge is vital for anyone who wishes to thrive in an era of increasing globalization.

PREREQUISITES: ECON 1312 and 3325.

3348 International Monetary Systems

The purpose of this course is to provide insight into open-economy macroeconomics and focus on the following questions: How can the United States be among the world's wealthiest nations and also among the world's largest debtors? Why does the U.S. run large trade deficits year after year? In what ways are interest rates, exchange rates, and inflation rates around the world linked together? Given that our financial markets are increasingly global in nature, the answers to these questions are an important part of your economic education. This course examines international macroeconomics theory and applies it to gaining an understanding of recent events and current policy issues.
PREREQUISITES: ECON 1311 and 1312.

3351 Development of Economic Thought

This course will present the story of economics through the ideas and lives of the seminal thinkes of economics including Adam Smith, Karl Marx, John Maynard, Keynes, and concluding with some of the recent Nobel laureates. This survey will serve as a guide to many of the hotly debated economic proposals and policies of our times.
PREREQUISITES: ECON 1311 and 1312.

3356 Financial Institutions & Markets

Where do interest rates come from and how do they affect the economy? Are financial markets becoming more or less volatile over time? How are financial markets regulated and does this regulation work? What are derivatives and do they make markets better or worse? What is the role of the Federal Reserve? These are the kind of questions we deal with in FNCE 3351.
PREREQUISITES: Junior standing and ECON 1311 and 1312.

3361 International Finance

Exchange rates are commonly the most important aspect of any international transaction. In an evermore globalized world, when ever a company decides to invest abroad, export its products, import raw materials, or open a foreign subsidiary, it must take into account the fact that invoices in other currencies will suffer from the foreign exchange risk stemming from a constantly changing exchange rate. The theoretical tools necessary for a sensible discussion of these issues will be covered in the first part of the course. Moreover, we will examine market microstructure aspects of exchange rate determination. In the second part of the course, real-life cases will be discussed in order to practice the theory studied. In summary, this course is designed to prepare you for the real-life problems faced by financial professionals who must make decisions in an international context.
PREREQUISITE: FNCE 3301.

3362 The American Corporation

This course is designed to provide you some feeling for the changing role of the American corporation in today's society and a sense of the way in which executives make key corporate decisions. The field of "organizational economics" is a relatively new and growing branch of the discipline. Through readings and case studies we will examine the effects of organizational structure and managerial behavior on the policies of the corporation and its eventual success or failure. We will also pursue questions relating to the legitimate economic and social goals of the corporation, its role vis-a-vis labor and government, and current industrialization and merger trends.
PREREQUISITE: ECON 1311.

4397 Behavioral & Experimental Economics

Behavioral Economics builds on experimental evidence that suggests that Expected Utility Theory may not be sufficient for explaining and predicting decisions. Behavioral Economics incorporates psychological findings into theories of decision making and focuses on the thought process of the decision maker. In this course students will both study existing experimental evidence and participate in experiments themselves. The students will then use this data to help motivate and better understand the new theories that Behavioral Economists have put forth to explain human decision making.
PREREQUISITE: Permission of the Instructor.

3371 Internship

Internship opportunities may be available in San Antonio businesses, non-profit institutions and government agencies. Students who have had internships in past semesters found them an ideal way to use their economic knowledge in the real world. These internships combine real-world work experience with written economic analysis. If you are interested, please contact Dr. Huston prior to registration.
PREREQUISITES: 6 semester hours of Econ and permission of the department chair.

Internship in Spain

3-90 Research Topics

Two different opportunities for independent work in Economics are available this Fall:

Traditional Independent Study
If there's some burning economic question that intrigues you, but it is too big in scope to resolve in a term paper or by casual reading, this is the option for you. All you need is your idea and a willing member of the Economics faculty to supervise your research.

Research with a Faculty Member
Some members of the faculty are willing to have students participate for credit in their own scholarly research. Find out what your favorite professors are working on and ask if you can help.

Study Opportunities at the Monterrey Tec

For the last few years Trinity University has been sending students to the Monterrey Tec. This institution, regarded as one of the best universities in Latin America, currently has 14,000 students at its main campus in Monterrey, and 53,000 students in total at 26 campuses located throughout Mexico. The Tec offers Trinity students many options for an international study experience. Those students with limited or no Spanish skills, can enroll in intensive language classes. For those students with better language skills, classes are offered in 37 different departments. Trinity students can study at the Monterrey Tec for one or two semesters as part of an exchange program between Trinity and this institution. For those students not wanting to go there for a whole semester, the Tec also offers an extensive summer program.

Interested students should either contact Dr. Jorge G. Gonzalez in the Economics Department or the Study Abroad Office.

Honors Readings

Senior Experience

4349 Seminar in Economic Issues

The goal of Current Economic Issues is to enable you to use economic analysis and reasoning to better understand public policy and economic issues. Emphasis is on oral and written analysis of economic issues, class discussion and debate, and reading of articles by leading economists from a professional journal rather than a textbook. You will gain an appreciation for the type of questions being asked by economists and the approaches taken to address these questions. In short, this course is intended to reveal what economists do and how they do it.
Topics early in the semester include the economics of the stock market, and Social Security. The remainder of the course will address topics chosen by students, organized around class presentations and articles from the Journal of Economic Perspectives.

PREREQUISITES: ECON 1311 and 1312.

4365 Game Theory

Game theory can be best described as "interactive decision theory" and is used to analyze situations in which one person's choices depend critically on what other people may choose. Thus while game theory can be used to study traditional games such as poker and ping-pong, it applies to much wider range of problems from avoiding nuclear war to bargaining for a used car. It is used to analyze strategic conflict and cooperation in fields as diverse as economics and biology. Economic applications include the behavior of cartels, bargaining, contacts and the economics of information. Long available at the graduate level, now you too can enjoy this marriage of mathematics and social science.
PREREQUISITES: ECON 3325, MATH 1311 and ECON 2320 (or equivalent) or consent of instructor.

4367 Advanced Microeconomic Theory

Mathematics is the language of advanced micro-economic theory. Its flexibility allows us to tackle problems too complex to be handled using the tools of intermediate microeconomics. The basic economic intuition is the same, but the precision and versatility of mathematics will greatly enhance your understanding of micro theory. If you have a strong background in both economics and mathematics, you may wish to see how the two can be successfully combined to create a powerful analytic tool. An additional benefit to this course is that it introduces the student to the world of graduate level economics. Would you enjoy graduate school in economics? Find out by taking advanced microeconomic theory.
PREREQUISITES: ECON 3325 and MATH 2321.

4370 Econometrics

You know what to do with cost curves, but do you know how to find them? You understand that the effect of a sales tax depends upon the shape of the demand curve, but how does one discover its shape? Econometrics is the application of statistical methods to the measurement of economic variables.
The ability to produce high quality statistical analysis will be of great benefit to you, if you decide to go to graduate school, and may improve your employment options if you do not. The ability to critically evaluate the statistical work of others will aid you no matter what your career path.
Econometrics will help you turn your knowledge of mathematics, statistics and economics into a powerful set of analytical tools. Since you have already taken microeconomic theory, statistics and calculus, the marginal cost of acquiring econometric expertise is far less than the marginal benefit.
PREREQUISITES: ECON 1312 and 3325; ECON 2320 (or equivalent); and MATH 1312 or permission of the instructor.

4397 Seminar in Economics

Behavioral Economics builds on experimental evidence that suggests that Expected Utility Theory may not be sufficient for explaining and predicting decisions. Behavioral Economics incorporates psychological findings into theories of decision making and focuses on the thought process of the decision maker. In this course students will both study existing experimental evidence and participate in experiments themselves. The students will then use this data to help motivate and better understand the new theories that Behavioral Economists have put forth to explain human decision making.
PREREQUISITE: Permission of the Instructor.

Honors Thesis