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Mission Statement

Our teaching and research stress the importance of markets and institutions on economic, political and social issues.

Undergraduate Student Learning Objectives (BA & BS)

Current SLOs: Revised 8/2010
Superceded SLOs: (1) 2009, (2) 2005 - 2009

1. Understanding

1.1 Core principles of microeconomics, namely:

• 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 and 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.)

1.2 Core principles of macroeconomics, namely:

• 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 and interest rate determination; the demand and supply of money and price level determination)

1.3 Analytical methods and model-based argument and the nature of and reasons for different methodological approaches; Relationships between verbal, graphical, mathematical and statistical representations of economic ideas and analysis.

1.4 Core principles from a set of well-defined specialist areas within economics.

• International Economics
• Financial Economics
• Policy Economics
• Quantitative Methods

2. Application

2.1 How to apply core economic theory and reasoning to topics of practical interest to governments, firms, households and other institutional and social groups; How to discuss and analyze government policy and to assess the performance of the U.S. and other spatially-defined economies.

3. Appreciation

3.1 To have a large number of students taking our classes and participating in our extracurricular programs (e.g. Provocative Lecture Series, Barstool Economists meetings, Economics Club)

Graduate Student Learning Objectives (MA & Applied MA): 

1. Understanding

1.1 Know basic models of economics at a deep enough level to enable one to teach introductory college economics

1.2 To be knowledgeable about the economy as a social and cultural system with complex interactions within markets and between firms, governments, households and other organizations, at the local and global levels

1.3 Understand a range of economic research methods and be able to produce or consume a wide range of economic studies

1.4 Be able to function effectively in all content areas

• International Economics
• Financial Economics
• Policy Economics
• Quantitative Methods

2. Application

2.1 Be able to conduct research relevant to problem solving in various settings and for different clients/partners; Develop professionally as practitioners with skills in contracting, project management, and budgeting, as well as the ability to communicate about project goals and findings and the discipline of economics to diverse audiences

3. Appreciation

3.1 To have a large number of students enrolled in our programs and contributing to the profession  

Spring 2011 (.doc)

This page last updated 08/24/11