Topics covered include aggregate demand and supply analysis, national income determination, fiscal policy, the banking system, and the role of fiscal and monetary policies in controlling and stabilizing unemployment and inflation. 163 Principles of Microeconomics 3 credits Principles of Microeconomics introduces the fundamental principles of microeconomic theory and their application to consumer behavior, profit maximization, labor markets, and public choice. Alternative market structures are explored with formal emphases placed on resource allocation and issues of productivity. ECON 220 Research Methods in Economics 3 credits Research Methods in Economics introduces elementary research methods in economics. The course includes the use of microcomputers in economics and business.
Emphasis is on using spreadsheets to prepare quantitative research projects in economics.
The course also covers writing quantitative reports in economics. 260 Comparative Economic Development 3 credits Comparative Economic Development studies the alternative paths to economic development taken by England, the United States, France, Germany, and Russia, with American economic development used as the comparative benchmark. The course is organized around the historical timeline of the emergence of market economies, the industrial revolution and its spread, and the late 19th and early 20th century problems of modern economic systems. Comparative Economic Systems examines the post World War II performance of the industrialized economies. The course compares the relative economic performance of the market capitalist economies and the former centrally planned socialist economies.