Finance and Economics Concentration

When considering any major, there are two areas of concern. The first is how the subject affects you personally. Basically, you should think about what the major can do for you as a person. For instance, ask yourself if you find the topic matter interesting. If not, you may face a difficult task because you will have to force yourself to study. Also, determine if the major can enrich your life by providing you within area of knowledge or a way of thinking that you can use forever. While it is unlikely you will use some majors in your personal life – physics, for example – they still may provide you with other valuable traits, such as a rigorous, honest manner of thought.Ìý
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Only you know how interesting and easy you find economics. Objectively, if you have done well in your economics classes then you display an aptitude for economics and should consider it as a major. Economics can be an exceptionally valuable major when it comes to your personal life. If you major in economics, you will acquire a logical method of thinking that you will be able to use in your life and that will help shape the way you view the world’s affairs.
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In addition to asking how a potential major can affect your personal life, you also should ask what a major can do for your professional career. First, economics majors acquire general business skills that are useful for many different jobs. The preparation is less specific than other business-related majors, but this gives students the flexibility to select from a variety of careers, which include finance, insurance, management, and marketing. This general business background is ideal for students who wish to pursue advanced training in business through an MBA program. Second, economics also has become increasingly important in legal analysis. Thus, economics is a popular major for pre-law students because of the rigor of economic analysis. Third, majoring in economics also prepares students to do graduate work in economics. Finally, it is important to note that the starting salaries of economics majors traditionally have ranked high among all starting salaries and are equal to those of other business majors. For more details about jobs and other career choices, read the fifth section of this handout.
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The Undergraduate Program in Economics closely cooperates with the various components of the Economics and Finance Department in an attempt to achieve academic excellence in conformity with the mission, objectives, and goals of the Department and the College of Business and Information Science.

Under the leadership of the Dean of the College of Business Information Science (CBIS), the Head of the Economics and Finance Department is responsible for:

1. The organization, development, and management of the Undergraduate Program in Economics.
2. The development and dissemination of curricular information regarding the requirements for the major field of study, as well as all information for choices of minors available in the Department, in other units of the College of Business and Information Science, and in other Schools at °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Êͼ¹ÒÅÆ.
3. The organization and/or supervision of curricular and extracurricular activities that may contribute toward the achievements of an effective undergraduate program of instruction.

The Head of the Undergraduate Program in Economics works harmoniously with Committees within the College of Business and Information Science. Their productive cooperation has made it possible for the Economics Department to avoid gaps and duplication in its overall program of instruction.

OBJECTIVES OF THE UNDERGRADUATE PROGRAM IN ECONOMICS

The Undergraduate Program in Economics at °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Êͼ¹ÒÅÆ seeks to provide our students with a clear understanding of the basic principles of economic theory and policy, and to train them in the utilization of mathematics, statistics and modern technology as tools of economic analysis. It is also designed to provide our economics majors with some basic knowledge in a selected area of specialized fields, such as accounting, management, finance, sales and marketing, hospitality management, and management information science.

The Economics Program has developed the following specific goals and objectives for student learning in the department:

1. Students of economics will be able to apply economic theory to understand economic issues and policies.
2. Students of economics will be able to evaluate evidence bearing on those economic issues and policies.
3. Students of economics will be able to communicate effectively the results of their economic analysis.

The Economics program will fulfill its mission by:

1. Conducting research that leads to publications in quality scholarly journals.
2. Providing a thorough and meaningful education in economics to undergraduate students of the University - both those with majors in the Department and those from other programs.
3. Advancing the knowledge and skills of graduate students, both from the departmental graduate programs and from other graduate programs of the University, by conducting advanced seminars and supervising students' research programs.
4. Promoting the understanding of human behavior by conducting applied economic policy analysis for local, state, and national governments.
5. Providing service to promote the research and service needs of the profession.

Student Learning Goals

1. Students should master modern microeconomics and macroeconomics.
2. Students should acquire expertise in at least one other substantive area of economics (e.g., law and economics, public choice, monetary economics).
3. Students should be able to apply economic analysis to contemporary public policy issues.

Other Program Outcome Goals

1. To assist our graduates in finding jobs.
2. To encourage promising students to continue in graduate study.
3. To attract members of the local and national business community (e.g., local and national business staffers, government employees).

GENERAL EDUCATION REQUIREMENTS

201, 202. PRINCIPLES OF ECONOMICS. Lect. 3, 3 credits each semester. The first part of this course sequence deals with the aggregate volume of the output of the American Economy, with the extent to which its resources are employed, with size of the national income, and with the "general price level." The second part deals with division of total output among competing uses. It considers problems of income distribution. Its interest is in relative prices of particular goods and services.

203, 204. UNEMPLOYMENT, POVERTY AND INCOME INEQUALITY. Lect. 3, 3 credits each semester. The course provides a study of the economic causes of unemployment, poverty, and income inequality, and the proper economic policies which deal with them. It contains their definitions, classification, the case of minority groups, unequal opportunities; the economic and social costs of unemployment and the impact of poverty and income inequality; the measurement, determinants, combating of inequality; and the goals of equality, alleviating poverty, and full employment without accelerating inflation. Required for Social Work Majors.

300. INTRODUCTION TO STATISTICAL ANALYSIS. Lect. 3, 3 credits. This course deals with the collection, presentation, and interpretation of data. It is concerned with the measures of location measures of dispersion, probability and probability distributions. Prerequisite: Math 107.

301. APPLIED ECONOMIC STATISTICS. Lect. 3, 3 credits. This course deals with sampling, confidence interval estimation, tests of significance involving both parametric and non-parametric methods, analysis of relationship consisting of regression and correlation, secular trend, seasonal variation, cyclical fluctuation and index numbers. Prerequisite: Economics 300.

302. LABOR ECONOMICS. Lect. 3, 3 credits. The theory of the labor market; the theory of wages and employment; unemployment, deployment, labor organization, wages and changes in the U. S. Labor market conditions and their implications for the degree of labor force utilization that is consistent with reasonable price stability. The course includes a study of the "Phillips" curve relation. Prerequisites: Economics 201 and 202.

305. MONEY AND BANKING. Lect. 3, 3 credits. Designed to help the student understand functions of money and credit in a modern economy and the commercial bank operations and creation of credit. Principles and practices of central banking and credit control. Role of money in relation to employment, prices, and business cycles. International monetary relations. Prerequisite: Economics 201.

306. MONETARY THEORY AND FISCAL POLICY. Lect. 3, 3 credits. Application of monetary theory to current issues, unemployment and monetary policy, fiscal policy reexamined, along with monetary policy-income policies including money and National Income Determination. Prerequisite: Economics 305.

350. HISTORY OF ECONOMIC THOUGHT. Lect. 3, 3 credits. This course involves the study of the development of economic ideas, doctrine and methods from the period of the classical theorists to modern times with emphasis on contemporary implications. Prerequisites: Economics 201 and 202.

352. MICROECONOMICS. Lect. 3, 3 credits. This course analyzes the behavior of business firms, industries, consumers and resource owners. It investigates how the market system determines the composition of national product, the amount of the productive factors used by firms and industries, and the distribution of income. It evaluates the extent to which various market structures (e.g., pure competition, oligopoly, etc.) function in the interest of social welfare. Prerequisites: Economics 201 and 202; Math 106 and 107.

353. MACROECONOMICS. Lect. 3, 3 credits. An introduction to recent theory with particular emphasis on the determination of aggregate income, employment, output and price levels. The Keynesian and classical systems are contrasted, along with recent literature o the subject. Prerequisites: Economics 201 and 202; Math 227.

400. ECONOMETRICS. 3 semester hours. Approaches to inference in econometrics, including estimation, testing, prediction procedures; least squares, maximum likelihood, and analyses of the standard linear model, discussions of assumptions of this model, and residual analysis; elements of correlation theory, multivariate regression, and simultaneous equation analysis; specification analysis; applications of methods and models in analyses of economic data and problems.

401. SEMINAR IN ECONOMICS. Presentation and discussion of economic problems; emphasis placed on current and domestic economic conditions. The application of statistical analysis in real world problems is explored.

412. COMPARATIVE ECONOMIC SYSTEMS. Lect. 3, 3 credits. This course focuses on the economics of capitalism, socialism, communism, fascism. Prerequisites: Economics 201 and 202.

416. INDUSTRIAL ECONOMICS. Lect. 3, 3 credits. This course reviews the organization of American industries under various states of the market, market structure analysis, barriers to entry, and workable competition. Also included is an evaluation of government policy with respect to concentration, mergers, and oligopoly conduct along with foreign approaches to monopoly problem and an appraisal of current structural trends and policy alternatives. Prerequisites: Economics 201 and 202.

500. MATHEMATICAL ECONOMICS. Lect. 3, 3 credits. An introduction to mathematical methods in Economics. Prerequisites: Economics 352 and 353; Math 227.

508. CONSUMER ECONOMICS. Lect. 3, 3 credits. Planning financial programs; sources and terms of credit; savings and investments; types of insurance; acquisition and disposition of property.

510. MANAGERIAL ECONOMICS. Lect. 3, 3 credits. Analysis of application of economic theory to management decision-making process. Such problems as demand and cost determination, pricing and capital budgeting, risks, and uncertainty are treated. Introduction to operations research and linear programming. Prerequisites: Economics 202 and 352; Math 107 and 108.

511. ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT. Lect. 3, 3 credits. Economic progress in the past, factors affecting economic development, capital accumulation; domestic and foreign investment are explored. This course includes a focus on the doctrine of balanced growth, over-population, and Foreign Aid. Prerequisites: Economics 352, 353 and 512.

512. INTRODUCTION TO INTERNATIONAL TRADE. Lect. 3, 3 credits. This course explores concepts, analytical tools and their applications to international economics. Introduction to theory and empirical foundations of international trade and factor movements. The theory of multicountry, multicommodity trade. Problem of international disequilibrium. Public and private barriers to trade and monopoly of international trade. Search for economic stability and growth through international cooperation. International monetary funds. International monetary system. Role of international trade and aid in economic development. Prerequisites: Economics 201, 202, 352 and 353.

513. ADVANCED TOPICS IN INTERNATIONAL TRADE. Lect. 3, 3 credits. This course focuses on advanced topics in international economics. Current problems of exchange rate adjustment; balance of payment adjustment; problems of free trade and protectionism, terms of trade, developments and problems in export/import index constructions. Prerequisite: Economics 512.

514. REGIONAL ECONOMICS. Lect. 3, 3 credits. This is a course in the economic structure, stability and growth of regions. It probes into the intricacies of industrial location techniques, regional growth and development, theory and policy, abstract models of spatial equilibrium and change, urbanization patterns, and problems of urban form, growth and conflict. Specific topics include: Industrial location patterns, land use, measurement of regional economic activity, and impact analysis. Prerequisites: Economics 201, 202, 352 and 353.

515. PUBLIC FINANCE. Lect. 3, 3 credits. The course contains a study of the theory of public finance and the following related topics; the economics of modern taxation, public expenditures, government budget, and public debt and its management, tax effects, shifting, burden, and incidence, alternative types of taxes, welfare aspects of public service, externalities, pricing of divisible services, collectives and public service, externalities, pricing of divisible services, collectivities and public decision making, optimal outputs of government services, cost benefit analysis, and fiscal policies. Prerequisites: Economics 201, 202, 352 and 353.

Advising and Mentoring

As you take economics classes, you should talk to your professors about career options, the content of other courses, and the desirability of other courses for your intended career. If you have more technical questions about requirements, you should see the head of the department, Dr. Suh, in 300-E4 Brimmer Hall, or one of your College’s advisors.