Course learning objectives
| Course | Course Learning Objectives |
Program Learning Objective |
| ECON 001A: Principles of Economics: Macroeconomics | Master macroeconomic theory related to three broad areas: Comparative Advantage, Macroeconomic Measures, and Macroeconomic Models. Specific Learning Objectives include: Comparative Advantage (specialization and the gains from trade; globalization); Macroeconomic Measures (real versus nominal calculations; components and concept of GDP; components and concept of unemployment figures; calculation of inflation); Macroeconomic Models (circular flow; monetary and fiscal policy; the market for loanable funds & interest rate determination; the demand and supply of money & price level determination) | 2 |
| ECON 001B: Principles of Economics: Microeconomics | Master microeconomic theory related to three broad areas: Incentives, Opportunity Cost, and Supply and Demand. Specific learning objectives include: Incentives Matter (law of demand; law of supply; rational decision makers weight marginal costs versus marginal benefits; the power of self-interest); Opportunity Costs (sunk costs; production possibilities; the free-lunch fallacy; tradeoffs in consumption and production; gains from interpersonal & international trade; comparative advantage); Supply and Demand (understanding the S&D model as a representation of individual choices in exchange based on individual preferences, knowledge and circumstances; ability to examine current events using S&D tools; movement versus shift; welfare analysis.) | 1 |
| ECON 002A: Principles of Macroeconomics Online Lab | (same CLOs as Econ 1A) | 2 |
| ECON 002B: Principles of Microeconomics Online Lab | (same CLOs as Econ 1B) | 1 |
| ECON 003: Economic Statistics | 1.) Distinguish between different types of data; 2.) Learn how to graph data; 3.) Understand basic probability rules and random variables; 4.) Understand basic discrete and continuous distributions; 4.) Understand distinction between population parameters and descriptive statistics; 5.) Understand binomial and normal distributions; 6.) Learn how to apply sampling distributions; 7.) Understand classical statistical inference regarding confidence intervals and hypothesis testing | 3 |
| ECON 100W: Writing Workshop: Economic Reports | 1.) Understand and apply critical thinking techniques and analysis to economic problems; 2.) Analyze problems from an economic discipline, upholding high intellectual standards; 3.) Plan, organize, execute, and control a writing assignment; 4.) Write concisely, using words efficiently and economically to convey ideas; 5.) Write and edit for specific audiences, especially those found in business | 5 |
| ECON 101: Microeconomic Analysis | 1.) Mastery of economic tools that are the foundation for economic analysis in all other courses. The tools do not change – memorize them. 2.) Ability to apply the tools de novo to a myriad of situations (e.g., social, political, international, business, family and environmental to name a few) to gain understanding of systemic changes. The applications always change – think about application techniques but do not memorize application answers; 3.) Systematic problem-solving skills. Microeconomics is inherently a problem-solving discipline. This course makes explicit the connection between microeconomic theory and step-by-step problem-solving skills developed by the instructor. Memorize and practice these problem-solving skills. | 1 |
| ECON 102: Macroeconomic Analysis | 1.) Understand the relationship between economics and public policy, as illuminated by public-choice theory. 2.) Identify the macroeconomic aggregates that measure the price level, employment, and output and explain both their strengths and weaknesses. 3.) Display a good grasp of what we know and what we do not know about economic growth. 4.) Display a good grasp of what we know and what we do not know about sustained inflation. 5.) Display a good grasp of what we know and what we do not know about the business cycle. | 2 |
| ECON 103: Introduction to Econometrics | 1.) Understand necessary assumptions of the linear regression model; 2.) Understand basic hypothesis tests of the linear regression model; 3.) Understand basic problems encountered using linear regression model; 4.) Understand alternative linear regression models; 5.) Learn how to estimate regression models using a regression statistical package; 6.) Learn how to write empirical reports. | 3 |
| ECON 104: Mathematical Methods for Economics | 1.) use the language of mathematics to examine microeconomic and macroeconomic theory; 2.) to be competent with the following mathematical tools: sets and functions; continuity, derivatives and optimization of functions of one variable; matrices, determinants and inverse matrices; 3.) partial derivatives, unconstrained and constrained optimization of functions of several variables; mathematical tools used in game theory such as Bayes rule. | 3 |
| ECON 106: Managerial Economics | 1.) Define and use economic terminology; 2.) Learn how managers/firms solve their respective optimization problems; 3.) Learn various microeconomic models of market structure; 4.) Analyze microeconomic models to learn how markets function; 5.) Apply microeconomic theory and management practice to business decisions in a firm; 6.) Learn to estimate and forecast demand using econometric methods. | 4 |
| ECON 107: Introduction to Environmental Economics and Policy | 1.) Analysis of basic economic and political factors related to the environmental crisis. Surveys policy approaches to the problem: regulation, taxes, subsidies, cost benefit analysis. | 4 |
| ECON 108: Topics in Cost-Benefit Analysis | 1.) Understand the justification for and the process of doing CBA; 2.) use the tools of CBA (e.g. welfare economic analysis, present value calculations); 3.) find and comprehend CBA reports; 4.) search scholarly literature, locate defensible estimates such as elasticities and discount rates; 5.) produce valuation estimates using various methods. | 3 |
| ECON 109: Analysis of Economic Issues for Teachers | 1 | |
| ECON 112: Economic Development | 1.) To develop an understanding of the evolution of growth models; 2.) To display a good grasp of those factors that contribute to or inhibit economic growth (population, culture, capital, technology, human capital, and institutions; 3.) To understand public choice models of the behavior of governments; 4.) To understand the role of incentives in development; 5.) To understand the relationship between economics and public policy, as it pertains to economic growth. | 4 |
| ECON 113A: Economic History of the U.S. and Canada | 1.) Identify the general features and possible causes of the Agricultural and Industrial Revolutions and explain how those two transformations relate to the economic development of the United States; 2.) Be familiar with the contours and pattern of North American economic history, from before European contact until the mid-twentieth century; 3.) Appreciate how economic theory enriches our understanding of historical particulars, with emphasis on the impacts of war, chattel slavery, migration, and trade, both regional and international. | 4 |
| ECON 113B: Economic History of Europe | 1.) Understand the general features and possible causes of the agricultural, commercial, and industrial development of Europe from antiquity to 1914; 2.) appreciate how economic theory enriches our understanding of historical events, with particular emphasis on the origin and development of markets, money, and economic integration, the rise of the nation-state and the evolution of government policies, and the great transformation wrought by the Industrial Revolution. | 4 |
| ECON 121: Industrial Organization | 1.) To develop an understanding of the evolution of antitrust laws and the regulatory state; 2.) To understand models of static and dynamic competition; 3.) To master models of oligopoly and game theory that are used in industrial organization; 4.) To understand public choice models of the behavior of regulators; 5.) To analyze antitrust laws and other regulations using an economic framework; 6.) To relate concepts of spatial organization from urban economics to the field of industrial organization | 4 |
| ECON 132: Public Finance | 1.) Learn the theory and practice of public finance; 2.) Develop analytical skills and understanding from earlier economics courses by studying public finance topics; 3.) Develop analytical and research experience and scholarly writing and presentation skills. | 4 |
| ECON 135: Money and Banking | 1.) Explain money's vital function and how it interacts with banking and the financial system; 2.) Explain how the interaction of the demand and stock of money determine the price level; 3.) Explain seigniorage and the role it has played in the history and evolution of government involvement in the monetary and financial system; 4.) Explain the complicated relationships between money, interest rates, and fiscal policy; 5.) Have some familiarity with the various factors that play a role in financial crises. | 4 |
| ECON 136: International Economics | 1.) Explain the pattern of trade; 2.) Understand conflicts and cooperation in international trade; 3.) Examine the social welfare impacts of trade policies; 4.) Have awareness of trade issues (e.g., “currency manipulation”) | 4 |
| ECON 137A: Fundamentals of Corporate Finance | 1.) Describe and summarize the NPV value criterion for firm investment; 2.) Apply NPV, and other financial decision-making analysis such as IRR, Profitability Index, and Pay-Back Period to firm investment; 3.) Identify and interpret securities valuation to include fundamental analysis of a company and technical analysis of the underlying security; 4.) Describe and be able to contrast the various forms of the efficient market hypothesis and demonstrate how they exemplify information efficiency; 5.) Define and discuss the structuring of optimal portfolio strategies in relation to firm portfolio of goods and services. | 4 |
| ECON 137B: Topics in Corporate Finance | 1.) Describe and summarize the NPV value criterion for firm investment; 2.) Apply NPV, and other financial decision-making analysis such as IRR, Profitability Index, and Pay-Back Period to firm investment; 3.) Identify and interpret securities valuation to include fundamental analysis of a company and technical analysis of the underlying security; 4.) Describe and be able to contrast the various forms of the efficient market hypothesis and demonstrate how they exemplify information efficiency; 5.) Define and discuss the structuring of optimal portfolio strategies in relation to firm portfolio of goods and services. | 4 |
| ECON 138: Business and Economic Forecasting | 1.) Learn and produce forecasts of economic models; 2.) Understand how to evaluate a forecast; 3.) Learn simple time-series methods; 4.) Learn ARIMA models; 5.) Understand how to produce forecast using a statistical package. | 3 |
| ECON 139: Principles of Investments | 1.) fundamental market movements; 2.) Initial Public Offering, how they work and who does what; 3.) Corporate Governance and key roles of: Management, The board of directors, The independent registered certified public accountants, The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), The Financial Accounting Standards Board; 4.) Basic 1933/34 SEC Act reporting including: S-1, S-3, Form 10Q, Form 10k, Form 8K, Form 4 and Form 5 reporting, Proxy reporting, The recently signed Dodd-Frank Bill; 5.) Time Value of money and how it applies to investments and life; 6.) the cash-flow statement, income statements and balance sheet; 7.) Fundamental vs Technical analysis; 8.) Rates of return and understanding stock market indices; 9.) risk, return and the capital asset pricing model. | 4 |
| ECON 141: Law and Economics | 1.) To be able to display, by means of class room discussion and exam questions, good grasps of the Pareto and Kaldor-Hicks approaches to efficiency; 2.) the Coase theorem; 3.) Positive & negative externalities; 4.) market failure; 5.) government failure; 6.) Crimes versus torts | 4 |
| ECON 151: Labor Economics | 1.) Develop the economic way of thinking as it applies to wage determination; 2.) Apply core economic theory and reasoning to topics of practical interest regarding the behavior of governments, firms, households and other institutional and social groups; 3.) Use the economic tools of marginal benefit, marginal cost analysis to explain how employers and employees behave under different institutional conditions; 4.) Use the framework economics to explain and evaluate the short run and long run impact of labor market regulations such as minimum wage laws, unions and occupational licensing; 5.) Establish a framework for evaluating the presence, extent, and effects of minority discrimination at the industry and firm level. | 4 |
| ECON 158: Economics of Entrepreneurship | 1.) Students will understand the ways in which various public policies affect entrepreneurship; 2.) How to apply economic reasoning as it relates to various aspects of entrepreneurship. | 4 |
| ECON 160: Public Regulation of Business | 1.) To develop an understanding of the evolution of the regulatory state; 2.) To understand models of static and dynamic competition; 3.) To understand public choice models of the behavior of regulators; 4.) To analyze regulations using an economic framework; 5.) To relate concepts from cost benefit analysis to the regulatory economics | 4 |
| ECON 165: Regional Economics | 1.) develop an understanding of the structure of a region in terms of its trade pattern using a variety of metrics, like the Location Quotient; 2.) develop an understanding of the interdependence of municipalities in a metropolitan area in terms of fiscal stability, traffic congestion, and jobs-housing balance; 3.) develop a capacity to acquire and use publicly available data, such as data from the American Community Survey; 4.) develop a capacity to use statistical and geographic tools (such as GIS software) to undertake spatial analysis on a regional basis. | 4 |
| ECON 166: Urban Economics | 1.) develop an understanding of location theory as applied to households and firms; 2.) develop an understanding of the structure of urban areas, urban form, and how prices of land and housing are determined in an urban area; 3.) develop and understanding of the role of scale economies in urban analysis; 4.) develop an understand of the role of externalities in urban analysis; 5.) develop an understanding of the spatial aspects of competition; 6.) develop an understanding of fiscal issues of cities. | 4 |
| ECON 190A: History of Economic Thought | 1.) understand the evolution of economic thought and, specifically, changing perspectives on the role of markets and the state in the economy; 2.) how and why those views have changed over time. | 4 |
| ECON 195: Computer Applications in Economics | 4 | |
| ECON 200: Seminar in Law and Economics | 4 | |
| ECON 201: Seminar in Microeconomic Analysis | 1 | |
| ECON 202: Seminar in Macroeconomic Analysis | 2 | |
| ECON 203: Seminar in Econometric Methods | 3 | |
| ECON 204: Seminar in Mathematical Economics | 3 | |
| ECON 205A: Economic Decision Making (Quantitative Economic Analysis for Public Decision-Making) | 3 | |
| ECON 205B: Workshop in Policy Analysis | 5 | |
| ECON 206: Managerial Economics | 4 | |
| ECON 212: Seminar in Economic Development and Institutions | 4 | |
| ECON 221: Industrial Organization | 4 | |
| ECON 232: Seminar in Public Finance | 4 | |
| ECON 235: Seminar in Monetary Theory and Policy | 2 | |
| ECON 236: Seminar in International Trade and Finance | 4 | |
| ECON 250: Seminar in Labor Economics | 4 |