ECON 101
Principles of Microeconomics
This is a Category D GE (general education) course.
This is a required course for economics majors
and minors, business majors, and several other majors.
Objective
The objective of this course is to discover and
apply the basic elements of economic reasoning, and begin to understand
the importance of this discipline for the well being of societies.
Prerequisites and other information
This course was formerly ECON 201. There
are no prerequisites for this course. Students may enroll in ECON
100 concurrently. Students may not enroll in this course if they
have taken ECON 300.
ECON 310
Microeconomic Theory
This is a required course for economics
majors and minors, and minors in Business Economics .
Objective
The objective of this course is to analyze economic
concepts and their applications to business situations. The emphasis
is on supply and demand analysis, cost of production, market conditions,
and various aspects of the operations of an enterprise.
Prerequisites and other information
This course has three pre-requisites: ECON
100 and 101 (formerly 201 and 202), and either Math 115 or 122.
ECON 441
Labor Economics
This is an intermediate level course designed
for students in the Economics Major and students in other majors that have
taken ECON 310, and are interested in applied economics.
Objective
The course will examine basic themes from the
labor economics' field of study. These include: labor supply, labor
demand, and human capital. Students will also learn how to access
and process information on labor markets indicators. The key data
source accessed will be the Bureau of Labor Statistics (http://www.bls.gov/).
Prerequisites and other information
This course has ECON 310 as a prerequisite.
Students are required to have an internet account, and they will be guided
to use the internet as a source of general information on labor policy,
labor research, and as a source of survey data. Basic training on
STATA (statistical program to process survey data) will be offered.
ECON 450
Public Sector Economics
This is an intermediate level course designed
for students in the Economics Major that have approved ECON 310 and Econ
311.
Objective
This
course is about economic policy and will prepare students to understand what
governments do or can do, as oppose to what they often claim they will do.
The central questions to be answered in this class are:
When should governments intervene in the economy?
How might the government intervene?
What is the effect of those interventions on economic outcomes? Why
do governments chose to intervene in the way they do? Topics include the state of California’s budget, the
various arguments for public financing and provision of goods and services,
program design (i.e. unemployment insurance and social security), tax analysis,
and other forms of government funding (including debt).
Students
should expect to learn:
- How economist think about the impact of various economic policies
(positive analysis)
- How to establish if
policies produce “good” results (normative analysis)
- The use of cost-benefit analysis applied to public sector projects.
- The importance of program design on incentives and effectiveness,
using unemployment insurance and social
security as
examples.
- A framework for thinking about taxation
Prerequisites and other information
ECON 310 and Econ 311
In addition to a main textbook, students
will be assigned a series of articles and they will be required to use
the computer lab in order to prepare assignments according to the course
objectives.
ECON 465/565
Economic
Development
This is an advanced level course designed for
students in the Economics Major that have approved ECON 310 and Econ 311
and students in the Masters of Economics program.
Course Objective
This course will expose students to the challenges
of economic progress, the evolution of ideas regarding economic development,
and the current state of thinking on this topic.
The central questions to be answered in this
class are: Why do we measure economic development? What are the economic
indicators that are associated with economic development? What is
the role of public policy in the development process?
Students should expect to learn:
· How to find and interpret basic
indicators of economic development for different countries
· How to apply basic economic principles
to the development questions.
· To apply their macro and micro knowledge
to environments characterized by isolation and a lower degree of
specialization
· The meaning of specific terms such
as: import substitution industrialization, demographic transition, gini
coefficient, PPP dollars, total factor productivity, and more.
Prerequisites and other information
ECON 310 and Econ 311
In addition to a main textbook, students
will be assigned a series of articles and they will be required to use
the computer lab in order to prepare assignments according to the course
objectives.
ECON 670
Seminar on International Development Economics
This is an advanced seminar designed for M.A.
students who are interested in applied economics. The course examines key
current economic and policy issues for developing and transition economies.
Topics include labor, education, and social security reforms and their
implication for incentives, market functioning, economic growth, and income
distribution.
Objectives
Economic policy reforms are the result of ideas,
persuasion, consistency and patience. Economists have a central role to
play in providing policy makers and the population at large, with clear
reasons for change. There is a significant amount of research available
on the most basic aspects of economic policy. Just as physicians
diagnose and recommend treatments based on their understanding of the human
body, their learned experience with other patients, and published results,
economists must use their analytical thinking and the available literature
to prepare an informed opinion. I expect students in this class to
use good economics in combination with the evidence available, to distinguish
correct from incorrect diagnosis and prepare a persuasive defense in favor
or against specific policy proposal. Students should expect to:
· Be exposed to samples of quality
research focussed on rules and regulations that affect the functioning
of markets.
· Be exposed to the methodologies used
by economists to address research issues on regulation.
· Gain experience in formulating testable
hypotheses, identifying appropriate data, determining the appropriate methodology,
and interpreting results.
· Gain experience in communicating
findings to non economists.
Prerequisites
Prerequisites: ECON 510 and 511, and one
the following ECON 465 or 472.
ECON 690
Seminar on Applied Economics
This course will prepare students in the final
stage of their M.A. program to evaluate (published or unplublished) research
papers, will guide students towards the completion of an individual research
paper, and will improve student's writing and oral presentation skills.
Objectives
This course has four primary objectives:
· To apply the quantitative skills
acquired in Econometrics and the analytical
skills acquired in theory courses
to the evaluation of other’s research
· To provide students with basic training
in data downloading
(http://www.bls.census.gov/cps/ )
and Stata programming
(http://www.stata.com/ )
· To facilitate student’s completion
of their own research paper
· To improve student’s writing and
oral presentation skills
Prerequisites
Prerequisites: ECON 510, 511, and 486/586.