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Course Descriptions
- ECON 1020 Micro- and Macroeconomics I (4 credits)
- This course presents an introductory analysis of how the economic aspects of our society
operate. We begin with a brief examination of the development of human economic arrangements
and how these developed into the kind of economy we have today. We then look at some
of the historical development of how people thought that economic activity works and
how they thought it should work. Then we go into an examination of the workings of
markets and economic competition--what we call micro-economics--by examining some
of the relevant theory as well as its embodiment in developments in the U.S. economy.
Following that, we examine in much more detail the theory and some current issues
involved in what we call macro-economics--the study of the workings of the national
economy as a whole, with its concerns to explain such matters as the national rates
of unemployment and price inflation, along with a study of the monetary and financial
aspects of the economy and the promises and problems of gender from many different
directions.
- ECON 1030 Micro- & Macroeconomics II (4 credits)
- Examination of how markets work and the process of competition; public policy toward
markets; antitrust, regulation, deregulation, public enterprise vs. privatization,
etc.; distribution of income, labor-management and management-ownership-finance relations;
impact of macroeconomic and international issues and policies on business, labor and
consumers. Prerequisite: ECON 1020.
- ECON 2020 Intermediate Microeconomics (4 credits)
- Microeconomic foundations to determine prices and production; consumer behavior, the
behavior of firms in competitive and imperfectly competitive markets, and factor markets.
Prerequisite: ECON 1030.
- ECON 2030 Intermediate Macroeconomics (4 credits)
- Determinants of aggregate levels of production, employment and prices, focusing on
the short-run dynamics of an economy consisting of a complex structure of interrelated
markets; includes analysis of investment decisions, monetary structures and labor
markets. Prerequisite: ECON 1030.
- ECON 2050 History of Economic Thought (4 credits)
- Development of economic thought; leading writers and schools, their influence and
theories. Prerequisite: ECON 1030.
- ECON 2150 Cost Benefit Analysis (4 credits)
- This course explores the methodology of cost-benefit in applied policy analysis of
health, safety, and environmental regulations. Students will explore the economic
reasoning, and financial/quantitative tools, used in CBA to identify, quantify, and
summarize positive and negative effects of public policy decisions. Prerequisite:
ECON 1030. Restriction sophomore standing.
- ECON 2180 Experimental Economics (4 credits)
- Economics courses covering mainstream theories are often based upon a priori reasoning,
which is in turn built upon certain assumptions about individual optimizing behavior.
This course introduces students to the new and expanding field of experimental economics.
Instead of taking the mainstream assumptions and conclusions for granted, we will
critically examine individuals' economic behavior and their 'social' consequences
in various experimental settings. We will review the historical development of experiments
and then cover specific topics that experiments have been designed to investigate.
The course will have a heavy lab focus, with students themselves participating in
simulations of most of the experiments discussed. Topics include market functioning,
public goods and open access environmental resources, fairness and equity, and individual
decision-making. Students will be encouraged to think about empirical and policy implications
highlighted by both experiments and economic theory. Students will also gain an understanding
of the scientific methodology required to create controlled experiments. Prerequisite:
ECON 1030.
- ECON 2280 Gender in the Economy (4 credits)
- This course moves beyond the traditionally male-dominated view of the economy to explore
economic life through a gendered lens. A gendered perspective challenges us to see
economic theory, markets, work, development, and policy in new ways. Gendered economic
analysis expands the focus of economics from strictly wants, scarcity, and choice
to include needs, abundance, and social provisioning in its scope. Prerequisite: ECON
1020.
- ECON 2300 Comparative Economic Systems (4 credits)
- The purpose of this course is to develop an understanding of the methods (both theoretical
and empirical) used to compare economic systems around the world. As a learning objective,
by the end of the course you should be able to explain the differences between economic,
financial, and legal institutions, policies, and economic performance in alternative
economic systems and to critically evaluate changes occurring in transition economies
(particularly China, Russia, and Central and Eastern Europe) and their implications
for economic growth. Prerequisite: ECON 1030.
- ECON 2330 China and the Global Economy (4 credits)
- This course provides a comprehensive overview of the Chinese economy and China's role
in the global economy. The course covers the economic interactions between China and
the world economy over the past two centuries, evaluates ongoing social, economic
and environmental challenges, and evaluates future development possibilities for China
and the global economy as a whole. The topics addressed include: the Chinese economy
before 1949; the socialist era, 1949-1978; economic reform and market transition;
the role of state enterprises; foreign investment; foreign trade; China's role in
the global imbalances; the impact of the recent global economic crisis. Prerequisite:
ECON 1030.
- ECON 2400 Public Finance (4 credits)
- Public-sector economics, including public finance and expenditures; effects of different
types of taxes and various government programs; government budgeting; cost benefit
analysis. Prerequisite: ECON 1030.
- ECON 2410 Industrial Organization Econ (4 credits)
- This course explores some applied topics in microeconomic theory such as innovation
and technological change; cost of production and decision making by firms; market
structures and competition; labor market; the changing role of the state; antitrust;
regulation and deregulation; and international trade. Prerequisite: ECON 1030.
- ECON 2500 Economic Development (4 credits)
- This course introduces the student to several dimensions of, and forces pertaining
to, development processes, including nature's inequalities, colonial legacies, the
role and limitations of primary production, labor utilization, industrialization,
trade, technology acquisition, foreign direct investment and other forms of capital
flow, and the role of the state. If time permits, discussion will include environmental
concerns and cultural factors. Prerequisite: ECON 1030.
- ECON 2510 The Asian Economies (4 credits)
- This course is based on a comparative approach, examining several Asian economies'
colonial background, their primary producing sectors, the developmental state in these
countries, attempts at industrialization, trade policies, technological development,
liberalization to attract foreign capital, currency and financial crises. Prerequisite:
ECON 1030.
- ECON 2590 Regional Econ of Metro Denver (4 credits)
- This course covers theories of regional economic development and applies these theories
to the economy of the Denver metro region. The course will be divided into three main
parts. The first part will examine the historical process of regional development
in the United States along with the development of American regional policy. This
section will discuss the economic history of the Denver metro area by relating it
to regional development trends in the U.S. as a whole. The second part will cover
theories of regional development and discuss how these relate to the economic history
of the Denver metro area. The third part will be an in-depth look at the current structure
of the Denver metro economy, the influence of state and federal policies, and its
prospects for future development. Prerequisite: ECON 1030.
- ECON 2610 International Economics (4 credits)
- The student learns about balance of payments, accounting, international monetary arrangements,
international trade, and international investment. Certain policies that have a direct
impact on a country's balance of payments--e.g., macroeconomic policies, exchange
rate policy, and commercial policies - are examined. Some features of recent US trade
policy stances will also be surveyed. Prerequisite: ECON 1030.
- ECON 2670 Quantitative Methods (4 credits)
- This course offers an introduction to empirical work and statistics relevant to the
study of economics. The course begins with a discussion of the use and creation of
data, and various sources of data. It then presents the basic foundations of statistical
methods for the description and analysis of data. Students learn how to calculate
common descriptive statistics, test hypotheses related to the mean and differences
between means, and how to perform and interpret bivariate linear regression analysis.
In the process, students learn and use a popular software package commonly used for
statistical analysis in economics. Prerequisites: ECON 1030.
- ECON 2710 Labor Economics (4 credits)
- Labor theory and institutions; theory of labor demand and supply including market
models, demographics and education; the labor movement and legislation, industrial
conciliation methods, and modern industrial relations. Prerequisite: ECON 1030.
- ECON 2810 Env & Nat Resource Economics (4 credits)
- Prerequisite: ECON 1030
- ECON 3040 Marxian Political Economy (4 credits)
- An exposition of Marx's theory of value through a detailed reading of Capital, vol.
I. Excerpts from other readings by Marx, and some of the relevant secondary literature
will also be used. Restriction: junior standing. Prerequisite: ECON 2020 or 2030.
- ECON 3110 European Economic History (4 credits)
- The emergence of capitalism from feudal society; the Industrial Revolution, English
capitalism; European industrialization; state and economy in capitalism; 20th-century
Europe and the global economy. Restriction: junior standing. Prerequisite: ECON 2020
or ECON 2030.
- ECON 3120 Economic History of the U.S. (4 credits)
- Industrial progress from colonial period to the present time; influence of economic
forces in social and political development. Prerequisite: junior standing and ECON
2020 or 2030.
- ECON 3460 Monetary Theory and Policy (4 credits)
- Studies the interaction between money and the economy. Examines the workings of the
financial institutions and how they affect the economy. Looks at the questions of
what serves as money, what determines interest rates, and how the central bank conducts
monetary policy and its effect on the performance of the economy. Restriction: junior
standing. Prerequisite: ECON 2030.
- ECON 3480 Money & Financial Markets (4 credits)
- Examines workings of the money and financial markets and their relation to the monetary
system and to the macroeconomy. Prerequisite: ECON 1030 or instructor's permission.
Restriction: junior standing. Prerequisite: ECON 2030.
- ECON 3500 Economic Development (4 credits)
- Careful re-examination of the works of the prominent development economists of the
immediate postwar decades to critically shed light on the treatment of topical development
problems by modern economists. Restriction: junior standing. Prerequisite: ECON 2020
or 2030.
- ECON 3590 Urban Economics (4 credits)
- Covers topics and issues of economic growth and decline in metropolitan areas, emphasizing
urban economic issues. A broad range of policy areas is discussed, including labor
market policy, welfare reform, housing policy, racial segregation, transportation,
and environmental policy, among others. Restriction: junior standing. Prerequisite:
ECON 2020 or 2030.
- ECON 3600 Int'l Monetary Relations (4 credits)
- Theory, policy, and history of international organization of money and finance; open-economy
macroeconomics: balance of payments, exchange rate dynamics, monetary policy effectiveness.
Cross-listed with INTS 3600. Restriction: junior standing. Prerequisite: ECON 2030.
- ECON 3610 Int'l Trade Theory & Policy (4 credits)
- Examines topical trade issues confronting the United States, policies proposed to
tackle them, and the theoretical underpinnings of these policies. Studies how those
policies could affect the less developed countries as determined by the environment
established under the World Trade Organization. Prerequisite: ECON 2020 or 2030. Recommended:
ECON 2610.
- ECON 3670 Econometrics (4 credits)
- This course develops the foundations of ordinary least squares (OLS) regression analysis
and teaches students how to specify, estimate, and interpret multivariate regression
models. Students have to apply what they have learned using a popular software package
used for econometrics and real data. Special topics also covered include regression
models that include dummy variables, log-linear models, fixed effects models, a brief
discussion of instrumental variables, and an introduction to time-series analysis
and forecasting. At least junior standing required. Prerequisites: ECON 2670, and
either ECON 2020 or ECON 2030.
- ECON 3740 Health Economics (4 credits)
- This course is designed to study the nature of the organization of health care production,
delivery and utilization according to economic theory. It introduces the up-to-date
problems and issues in the U.S. health care system by studying demand for and supply
of health care services, health care production and costs, and market analysis of
health care industry. Important parties playing roles in health care industry such
as private health insurance firms, physicians, pharmaceutical industry, and hospital
services will be studied in detail. In addition, the course deals with the role of
government in health care industry and various health care reforms proposed in the
U.S. Prerequisite: ECON 2020 or 2030. Restriction: junior standing.
- ECON 3830 Topics in Macroeconomics (4 credits)
- Coverage varies but may include advanced topics in monetary theory, the study of business
cycles, or the works of important monetary and macroeconomic theorists. Restriction:
junior standing. Prerequisite: ECON 2030.
- ECON 3850 Mathematics for Economists (4 credits)
- Prerequisite: ECON 2020 and 2670. Restriction: junior standing.
- ECON 3970 Environmental Economics (4 credits)
- This course examines economic perspectives of environmental and resource problems,
ranging from peak oil, food crisis, and climate change. Topics include the property-rights
basis of polluting problems, environmental ethics, benefit-cost analysis, regulatory
policy, incentive-based regulation, clean technology, population growth and consumption,
and sustainable development. Prerequisite: ECON 2020. Restriction: junior standing.
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