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Economics (ECON)


For some courses, a more detailed description may be available, accessible by clicking on the course number. All course descriptions are updated periodically.

ECON 002 (GS) INTRODUCTORY MICROECONOMIC ANALYSIS AND POLICY ( 3) Methods of economic analysis and their use; price determination; theory of the firm; distribution.

ECON 004 (GS) INTRODUCTORY MACROECONOMIC ANALYSIS AND POLICY ( 3) National income measurement; aggregate economic models; money and income; policy problems.

ECON 014 (GS) PRINCIPLES OF ECONOMICS ( 3) Analysis of the American economy, emphasizing the nature and interrelationships of such groups as consumers, business, governments, labor, and financial institutions. Students who have passed ECON 002 or 004 or are registered in the College of Business Administration may not schedule this course.

ECON 083S (GS) FIRST-YEAR SEMINAR IN ECONOMICS ( 3) Experiments in microeconomic principles.

ECON 187 ECONOMICS FRESHMAN SEMINAR ( 3) The meaning and advantages of a Liberal Arts education in context of a specific discipline. Prerequisite: first-semester standing and enrollment in the College of the Liberal Arts

ECON 197 SPECIAL TOPICS ( 1 - 9)

ECON 199 (IL) FOREIGN STUDIES ( 1 -12)

ECON 294 RESEARCH PROJECT ( 1 -12)

ECON 297 SPECIAL TOPICS ( 1 - 9)

ECON 299 (IL) FOREIGN STUDIES ( 1 -12)

ECON 302 (GS) INTERMEDIATE MICROECONOMIC ANALYSIS ( 3) Allocation of resources and distribution of income within various market structures, with emphasis on analytical tools. Prerequisite: ECON 002

ECON 304 (GS) INTERMEDIATE MACROECONOMIC ANALYSIS ( 3) Analysis of forces that determine the level of aggregate economic activity. Prerequisite: ECON 004

ECON 315 (GS) LABOR ECONOMICS ( 3) Economic analysis of employment, earnings, and the labor market; labor relations; related government policies. Prerequisite: ECON 002

ECON 323 (GS) PUBLIC FINANCE ( 3) Contemporary fiscal institutions in the United States; public expenditures; public revenues; incidence of major tax types; intergovernmental fiscal relations; public credit. Prerequisite: ECON 002

ECON 333 (GS) INTERNATIONAL ECONOMICS ( 3) Why nations trade, barriers to trade, balance of payments adjustment and exchange rate determination, eurocurrency markets, and trade-related institutions. Prerequisite: ECON 002 , ECON 004 , or ECON 014

ECON 342 (GS) INDUSTRIAL ORGANIZATION ( 3) Industrial concentration, size, and efficiency of business firms, market structure and performance, competitive behavior, public policy and antitrust issues. Prerequisite: ECON 002

ECON 351 MONEY AND BANKING ( 3) Money, credit, commercial and central banking, financial intermediaries, treasury operations, monetary theory and policy, and foreign exchange. Students who have already taken Econ. 451 may not schedule this course. Prerequisite: ECON 002 or ECON 004

ECON 370 (GS) COMPARATIVE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ( 3) Problems of growth and development in non-industrialized countries and in economies in transition; institutions and economic development. Prerequisite: ECON 002 or ECON 014

ECON 372 (GS) TRANSITION TO MARKET ECONOMIES ( 3) Economics of transition to a market economy; problems of former Soviet-type economies; privatization, stabilization, and institutional change. Prerequisite: ECON 002 or ECON 014

ECON 390 STATISTICAL FOUNDATIONS FOR ECONOMETRICS ( 3) Basic statistical concepts used in economics. Topics include probability distributions, expectations, estimation, hypothesis testing, correlation, and simple regression. Students who have completed ECON 490 may not schedule this course. Prerequisite: MATH 110 , STAT 200

ECON 395 INTERNSHIP ( 1 -18) Supervised off-campus, nongroup instruction including field experiences, practica, or internships. Written and oral critique of activity required. Prerequisite: prior approval of proposed assignment by instructor

ECON 399 (IL) FOREIGN STUDIES ( 1 -12)

ECON 400M HONORS SEMINAR IN ECONOMICS ( 3 -12) Readings, discussion, and oral and written reports on selected topics in economics. Prerequisite: ECON 302 , ECON 304 , fifth-semester standing, admission into Honors program

ECON 401 HISTORY OF ECONOMIC THOUGHT ( 3) Survey of economic ideas from Greco-Roman times to the present. Prerequisite: ECON 302 or ECON 304

ECON 402 DECISION MAKING AND STRATEGY IN ECONOMICS ( 3) Development and application of the tools for decision making under uncertainty and for game theoretic analysis of economic problems. Prerequisite: ECON 302 ; MS&IS 200 or STAT 200

ECON 404 CURRENT ECONOMIC ISSUES ( 3) An analytical survey of significant problems of current economic policy and the application of economic analysis to important social issues. Prerequisite: ECON 302 or ECON 304

ECON 404W CURRENT ECONOMIC ISSUES ( 3) An analytical survey of significant problems of current economic policy and the application of economic analysis to important social issues. Prerequisite: ECON 302 or ECON 304

ECON 405 SEMINAR IN ECONOMIC ANALYSIS ( 3) Development and application of tools of economic analysis; recent analytical developments; policy problems. Primarily for senior-year economics majors. Prerequisite: ECON 302 , ECON 304

ECON 412 LABOR MARKET POLICY AND COLLECTIVE BARGAINING ( 3) Operation of and current problems in labor markets, collective bargaining, social insurance, income maintenance. Prerequisite: ECON 302 or ECON 315

ECON 423 STATE AND LOCAL TAXATION ( 3) Representative state and local tax systems, including analysis of state-local fiscal relationships and proposals for tax revision. Prerequisite: ECON 323

ECON 424 INCOME DISTRIBUTION ( 3) Inequality and poverty in the United States, measurement problems, determinants of inequality, arguments for and against equality, impact of redistributive policies. Prerequisite: ECON 302 , ECON 315 , or ECON 323

ECON 425 ECONOMICS OF PUBLIC EXPENDITURES ( 3) Analytic and policy aspects of public expenditure decisions; applications from areas of contemporary public interest. Prerequisite: ECON 302 OR ECON 323

ECON 427 (EDLDR) ECONOMICS OF EDUCATION ( 3) Theoretical and empirical concepts in economics applied to education. Prerequisite: ECON 302 , ECON 315 , or EDLDR 480

ECON 428 ENVIRONMENTAL ECONOMICS ( 3) Environmental pollution, the market economy, and optimal resource allocation; alternative control procedures; levels of environmental protection and public policy. Prerequisite: ECON 302 or ECON 323

ECON 429 PUBLIC FINANCE AND FISCAL POLICY ( 3) Analysis of public revenue and expenditure structure primarily at the federal level; federalism; fiscal policy and public debt. Prerequisite: ECON 323 ; ECON 302 or ECON 304

ECON 432 URBAN ECONOMICS ( 3) Theories and methods for economic analysis of such urban problems as housing, segregation, government services, and transportation. Prerequisite: ECON 302 or ECON 323

ECON 433 ADVANCED INTERNATIONAL TRADE THEORY AND POLICY ( 3) Causes/consequences of trade; effects of tariffs and quotas; strategic trade policy; political economy of trade restrictions and other topics. Prerequisite: ECON 302 OR ECON 333

ECON 434 INTERNATIONAL FINANCE AND OPEN ECONOMY MACROECONOMICS ( 3) Trade balance movements, exchange rate determination; monetary and fiscal policies in open economies; international policy coordination; the world monetary system. Prerequisite: ECON 304 OR ECON 333

ECON 435 BLACK AMERICAN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ( 3) Analytical and theoretical aspects of Black American economic development: discrimination, development approaches, historical experience, public and private policies. Prerequisite: ECON 302 or ECON 304

ECON 436 (US) ECONOMICS OF DISCRIMINATION ( 3) Analysis of the economic characteristics of women and minorities, with examination of race and sex discrimination and related government policies. Prerequisite: ECON 302 or ECON 315

ECON 443 ECONOMICS OF LAW AND REGULATION ( 3) An economic analysis of property rights, contractual arrangements, illegal activities, and regulation; competitive problems due to externalities and market failure. Prerequisite: ECON 302 or ECON 342

ECON 444 ECONOMICS OF THE CORPORATION ( 3) Coordination and incentive issues within a corporation. Topics include employment contracts, performance incentives and pricing of financial assets. Prerequisite: ECON 302

ECON 445 (H P A) HEALTH ECONOMICS ( 3) Economic analysis of U.S. health care system; planning, organization, and financing; current public policy issues and alternatives. Prerequisite: ECON 302 , ECON 315 , or ECON 323

ECON 447 ECONOMICS OF SPORTS ( 3) Examination of economic issues pertaining to professional and collegiate sports, including analysis of industrial organization, labor markets, and local economies. Prerequisite: ECON 302

ECON 450 THE BUSINESS CYCLE ( 3) Measurement and theories of the business cycle; stabilization policies; forecasting. Prerequisite: ECON 304 OR ECON 351

ECON 451 MONETARY THEORY AND POLICY ( 3) Monetary and income theory; monetary and fiscal policy. Prerequisite: ECON 304 or ECON 351

ECON 462 AMERICAN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ( 3) Quantitative aspects and theories of American economic development; resource and technological considerations; economic policies and growth. Prerequisite: ECON 302 or ECON 304

ECON 463 ECONOMIC DEMOGRAPHY ( 3) Microeconomics of demographic behavior; interrelationships between demographic and economic factors, in developing and industrialized economies; economic welfare and policy implications. Prerequisite: ECON 302 or ECON 304 ; or 9 credits in demography

ECON 463 (IL) ECONOMIC DEMOGRAPHY ( 3) Effective Date: SP2006 Microeconomics of demographic behavior; interrelationships between demographic and economic factors, in developing and industrialized economies; economic welfare and policy implications. Prerequisite: ECON 302 or ECON 304 ; or 9 credits in demography

ECON 471 GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT ( 3) Problems of capital formation, institutional considerations, theories of economic growth. Prerequisite: ECON 302 or ECON 304 or ECON 370 or ECON 372

ECON 472 TRANSITION TO MARKET ECONOMIES ( 3) Effective Date: FA2005 Economics of transition to a market economy; problems of former Soviet-type economies; privatization, stabilization, and institutional change. Prerequisite: ECON 302 or ECON 304

ECON 474 EAST ASIAN ECONOMIES ( 3) Development, structure, and policies of the economies of East Asian pacific rim nations. Prerequisite: EA ST 187 OR ECON 370 ; ECON 002 OR ECON 004

ECON 480 MATHEMATICAL ECONOMICS ( 3) Mathematical techniques employed in economic analysis; formal development of economic relationships. Prerequisite: ECON 302 , ECON 304 , MATH 110

ECON 489M HONORS THESIS ( 1 - 6) Prerequisite: ECON 302 , ECON 304 , admission into the departmental Honors program

ECON 490 INTRODUCTION TO ECONOMETRICS ( 3) Use of simple and multiple regression models in measuring and testing economic relationships. Problems including multicollinearity, hetroskedasticity, and serial correlation. Prerequisite: MATH 110 , ECON 390

ECON 494 RESEARCH PROJECT ( 1 -12)

ECON 495 INTERNSHIP ( 1 -18) Supervised off-campus, nongroup instruction including field experiences, practica, or internships. Written and oral critique of activity required. Prerequisite: prior approval of proposed assignment by instructor

ECON 496 INDEPENDENT STUDIES ( 1 -18)

ECON 497 SPECIAL TOPICS ( 1 - 9)

ECON 499 (IL) FOREIGN STUDY--ECONOMICS ( 2 - 6) Study in selected countries of economic institutions and current economic problems. Prerequisite: ECON 002 , ECON 004

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This electronic Undergraduate Bulletin is a version of the official bulletin of The Pennsylvania State University. It is suggested that users refer to this electronic bulletin when seeking the latest information about the University's academic programs and courses. Printed versions of the Bulletin are also official copies of the programs, courses, and policies in effect at the time of printing. Programmatic expectations for general education are those in effect at the time of admission to degree candidacy, and college and major requirements are those in effect at the time of entry to college and major. These are accurately indicated in each student's degree audit.

Effective Date: Current

Review Date: 07/15/2005

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