PJ Glandon

Principles of Macroeconomics

ECON 102

This course studies national economic performance. Building upon the microeconomic theories of consumer and producer behavior developed in ECON 101, the course introduces models that focus on the questions of unemployment, inflation and growth. Topics covered include measurement of national income and inflation, macroeconomic models, saving and investment, money and banking, fiscal and monetary policy, and international trade and finance. This course is required for economics majors. Prerequisite: ECON 101. Offered every spring semester.

Macroeconomic Theory

ECON 202

This course is a theoretical and applied study of the level of national income and employment. Prices, interest rates, unemployment rates, international trade relations, business cycles and the long-run growth of income significantly affect our standards of living. Diverse schools of macroeconomic thought are distinguished by theoretical concepts, priorities in performance goals, and empirical evidence. The course considers a variety of approaches and also emphasizes the microeconomic foundations of macroeconomic theory. Government actively manages both domestic and international aspects of the macroeconomy, and the course considers current public policy issues. This course is required for economics majors. Prerequisite: a grade of B- or better in ECON 102 or a score of 4 or 5 on the Macro AP exam and ECON 201. Offered every spring semester.

Introduction to Econometrics

ECON 205

Econometrics is the application of statistical techniques to test economic models. This course offers an introduction to the theoretical and practical aspects of econometrics. Emphasis will be given to linear regression techniques, special problems associated with linear regression, and the interpretation of results. In short, economic explanations of behavior are quantified and hypotheses are tested with data using statistical techniques. Students will make extensive use of Stata — a statistical software package that is popular among economists — to create and modify data sets and obtain experience learning to apply appropriate econometric methods. This course is required for the major. Prerequisite: ECON 101, 102 and a college course in statistics or a score of 4 or 5 on the Statistics AP exam. Generaly offered every semester.

Portfolio Allocation and Asset Pricing

ECON 337

This course examines the optimal allocation of an individual's wealth among risky financial assets and the related question of the pricing of these risky assets. After a consideration of various measures of risk and return, modern portfolio theory is used to derive the capital asset pricing model. The empirical performance of the capital asset pricing model will be analyzed and alternative asset pricing models will be discussed. Throughout the course, equity shares will be used as a particular application. (The pricing of fixed income assets is left to ECON 343.) The remainder of the course is spent on derivative assets, most importantly futures and options. Time permitting, options will be treated in some detail, concluding with a discussion of the Black-Scholes option-pricing model. While completing assignments, students will make fairly heavy use of a spreadsheet program such as Excel. Prerequisite: ECON 101, 102 and a college course in statistics or a 4 or 5 on the Statistics AP exam.Generally offered every year.

Money and Financial Markets

ECON 343

This course examines U.S. money and financial markets and their interaction with and influence on prices, real output, employment and international trade. After an extensive discussion of fixed income pricing and the term structure, the class will consider the operations of financial institutions and the Federal Reserve System. The implementation of monetary policy and its effect on domestic and foreign financial markets, real output, and foreign trade also will be examined. In addition, alternative domestic and international monetary arrangements will be considered. While completing assignments, students will make fairly heavy use of a spreadsheet program such as Excel. Prerequisite: ECON 101 and 102. Generally offered every year.

Industrial Organization

ECON 346

This course provides an introduction to industrial organization, a field that focuses on how firms, interacting through markets, attempt to exploit opportunities for profit. We examine the standard models of perfect and imperfect competition, emphasizing the strategic behavior of the interacting firms. Topics include pricing models, strategic aspects of business practice, vertical integration and technological change. Prerequisite: ECON 101, 102 and 201. Generally offered every other year.

PENDING CPC APPROVAL

ECON 391

Individual Study

ECON 393

This course is for students who wish to do advanced work beyond regular courses or to study subjects not included in course offerings. Credit for this course will count towards the Economics major. The credit to be awarded and the exact structure of the course will be determined by the instructor and approved by the department chair. Typical activities include regularly assigned readings of scholarly material, weekly meetings to discuss the readings, and a research paper project. Prerequisite: ECON 101, 102 and permission of instructor and department chair. Because students must enroll for individual studies by the end of the seventh class day of each semester, they should begin discussion of the proposed individual study preferably the semester before, so that there is time to devise the proposal and seek departmental approval before the registrar's deadline.

Individual Study

ECON 493

This course is for students who wish to do advanced work beyond regular courses or to study subjects not included in course offerings. Credit for this course will count towards the Economics major. The credit to be awarded and the exact structure of the course will be determined by the instructor and approved by the department chair. Typical activities include regularly assigned readings of scholarly material, weekly meetings to discuss the readings, and a research paper project. Prerequisite: ECON 101, 102 and permission of instructor and department chair. Because students must enroll for individual studies by the end of the seventh class day of each semester, they should begin discussion of the proposed individual study preferably the semester before, so that there is time to devise the proposal and seek departmental approval before the registrar's deadline.