U07 Econ 1011 Introduction to Microeconomics

Determination of prices; distribution of national income; theory of production. For a thorough introduction to economics, U07 1021 or 102M / Introduction to Macroeconomics also should be taken.

Credit 3 units. Arch: NSM, SSC Art: NSM, SSC EN: S

U07 Econ 101M Introduction to Microeconomics

Online version of U07 1011; fulfills the same program requirements. Determination of prices; distribution of national income; theory of production. For a thorough introduction to economics, Econ 1021 or U07 102M also should be taken.

Credit 3 units. UColl: OLI

U07 Econ 1021 Introduction to Macroeconomics

Business fluctuations: inflation, recession; monetary and fiscal policy; economic development. For a thorough introduction to economics, Econ 1011 should also be taken.

Credit 3 units. Arch: NSM, SSC Art: NSM, SSC EN: S

U07 Econ 102M Introduction to Macroeconomics

Online version of U07 1021; fulfills the same program requirements. Business fluctuations: inflation, recession; monetary and fiscal policy; economic development. For a thorough introduction to economics, U07 1011/Introduction to Microeconomics should also be taken.

Credit 3 units. UColl: OLI

U07 Econ 220 Financial Statement Analysis

Accounting terminology and theory form the base for all later knowledge in the financial services area. This course presents the highlights of basic and intermediate accounting. The goal is to enable students to evaluate accounting statements when making financial decisions, not to train professional accountants. The focus is on the principal financial statements (balance sheet, income statement, statement of cash flows, etc.) and core analytical tools.

Credit 3 units.

U07 Econ 313 Economies in Transition and Development

This course examines transition and development in world economies experiencing unprecedented change. In the course we'll cover the main episodes and events in the development of the world economy in the past 300 years, split into two main parts. The first part will be about the development of the Western world, beginning at the time of the Malthusian era, moving on to the take-off of growth in the Industrial Revolution and the Great Divergence in living standards that followed, ending with the Golden Era of the 1950s and 1960s and the challenges faced at the start of the 21st century. The second main part of the course will cover the histories of other major regions — the Soviet Union, Asia, Latin America and Africa as they catch up, fall behind, and converge with the lead established by the West. This course will consider the economic history of "what" happened as well as touch on theories of "why" these events happened and "how" we can use these economic history lessons going forward. Prerequisites: U07 Econ 1011 and U07 Econ 1021.

Credit 3 units.

U07 Econ 335A Money and Banking

Money and the monetary system; money creation by the banking system; central bank functions; monetary theory and economic policy. Prerequisites: Econ 1011 & 1021.

Credit 3 units.

U07 Econ 3391 Economies as Cultural Systems

Many contemporary approaches to economics downplay or bracket the importance of culture in the workings of economic systems. In this class we will focus on approaches to distribution and exchange in which culture and social institutions figure prominently, if not pre-eminently. We will sample a diverse array of economies, from gift exchange to the ceremonial destruction of wealth, from Melanesia to Wall Street, in order to evaluate some of the assumptions that undergird market capitalism. These assumptions include the perception of market actors exclusively as calculative, maximizing individuals. Topics to be covered include the Industrial Revolution; utilitarianism; economic anthropology; the formal vs. substantivist debates; ethnography of finance, and Marxist sociology.
Same as U69 Anthro 3391

Credit 3 units.

U07 Econ 352 Health Economics

Analysis of consumer demand for health care, medical technology, and the role of health insurance. Emphasis placed on behavior of the physician (whether he acts as an agent for the consumer or on his own behalf); on the use of paramedics, preventive care, outpatient care, and the general market organization of the health industry. The major concern will be the rising cost of health care and appropriate public policy responses. Prerequisite: Econ 1011 or 101M.

Credit 3 units. Art: SSC BU: BA EN: S UColl: OLI

U07 Econ 3531 Law and Economics

The application of economics concepts and analysis to legal and public-policy issues. We broadly examine the roles of prices and markets, the causes of market failures and the criteria for "corrective" intervention. Specific topics include (1) the long-run and short-run economic interests of individual, corporate and public sector clients in a variety of legal contexts, (2) the normative judgments that are implicit in many economic policies and the legal structures implementing such policies; and (3) the uses and limits of economic analysis and economic data in solving a variety of social problems. Prerequisite: U07 Econ 1011.

Credit 3 units.

U07 Econ 355 Environmental Economics

Environmental Economics is a subfield of economics concerned with environmental issues, both theoretical as well as applied and public-policy oriented. Central to environmental economics is the concept of market failure, particularly the existence of externalities. Correcting for externalities and crafting acceptable public policy responses will be a central focus of this course. Topics explored will include consumer theory and valuation; pollution and production theory; environmental protection and welfare; the Coase theorem; resource management; and economic growth and environmental sustainability. Prerequisite: U07 Econ 1011 or equivalent.

Credit 3 units.

U07 Econ 362 Investment Chart Analysis

Investment Chart Analysis, also known as "Technical Analysis," represents one of two major methods of analyzing securities (e.g., stocks, futures and commodities, foreign exchange, etc.), with the other method being "Fundamental Analysis." Technical Analysis involves studying the statistics generated as a result of market activity. In other words, we look at supply and demand in a market, with the goal of predicting what direction, or trend, will continue in the future. The purpose of this course is to present the basic skills used in Investment Chart Analysis. Topics covered will include: an overview (including the difference between "fundamental" and "technical" analysis), the definition of a chart, how to recognize and use trends, how to characterize indicators (i.e., of a change in trend) and how to use basic statistics (such as a moving average) as indicators of changes in trends. The course grade will reflect weekly homework assignments, a midterm exam and a final exam. Data, charts, modeling and back test analytic programming software included. Computer literacy required. Prerequisites: Econ 1011, Econ 1021, Math 205.

Credit 3 units.

U07 Econ 3711 International Agricultural Development & Policy

Examination of selected aspects of international agricultural development and public policy choices related to development outcomes. The focus is on low- and middle-income countries, where the bulk of agricultural output comes from subsistence agriculture. Important questions that will be considered include: What are the strategic roles of agriculture in national development strategies? How can agricultural transformation be accelerated? How can rural economic development be promoted to generate jobs and reduce poverty in rural areas? Additional considerations will include sustainability, along with the gender and environmental aspects of farm-household decision-making and production. Prerequisites: Econ 101M and Econ 102M, approved substitutes or instructor permission. ACTRAC students must have completed U07 Econ 406 (or an approved substitute) and U07 Econ 414 (or L11 Econ 413). This course is fully online. Students enrolled in day classes at Washington University should review the policies of their home division on credit earned for online courses.

Credit 3 units. UColl: CD, OLI

U07 Econ 380 Labor and the Economy

Economic analysis of labor markets. Theory and policy applications of labor supply and labor demand; explanations of wage and income differentials; migration and immigration; discrimination; labor unions; unemployment. Prerequisite: U07 1011 or 101M Introduction to Microeconomics

Credit 3 units. UColl: OLI

U07 Econ 406 Intermediate Microeconomics

Analytic theory of consumer and producer behavior under perfect and imperfect competition. Coverage of demand theory (indifference curves and utility functions) and preferences under uncertainty, including expected utility and risk aversion. Development of the concepts of competitive equilibrium and Pareto efficiency. Prerequisite: U07 1011 or 101M Introduction to Microeconomics. (Calculus I recommended.)

Credit 3 units.

U07 Econ 407 Intermediate Macroeconomics

Analysis of forces that determine the general level of prices, output, and employment; relationship between economic growth and business fluctuations; policies of achieving full employment and price stability. Prerequisite: Econ 1021. (Econ 1011 and Calculus I recommended.)

Credit 3 units. UColl: OLI

U07 Econ 414 Econometric Techniques

Basic techniques of econometric analysis, including multiple and generalized linear regressions, residuals analysis, instrumental variables, simultaneous equation methods, and logit and probit models. Students apply the theory with regression analysis using econometric software packages. Prerequisite: U07 Econ 1011 and 1021, or U20 Math 205 or equivalent.

Credit 3 units.

U07 Econ 415 International Economics

This course provides an analysis of the international economy, the economic theories that help explain it, and analysis of important current issues of international economic policy. When David Ricardo proposed his famous theory of comparative advantage in 1821, he set out to explain why England exported cloth to and imported wine from Portugal. Today, international trade is much more complex. Apple devices are designed in Silicon Valley while their most expensive component, the hard drive, is manufactured by Toshiba in Philippines before it is finally assembled in China. Can Ricardo's theory explain today's patterns of international production and trade? Today, the number of these currencies has been reduced through the formation of the European Union. What are the cost and benefits of currency unions?
Same as U85 IA 5181

Credit 3 units. UColl: IAC, IAI, OLI

U07 Econ 4301 Understanding the Financial Crisis

The global financial crisis of 2007-2009 was the most severe since the Great Depression. The goal of the course is to provide tools to analyze key elements of this crisis. We will move from a corporate finance perspective - to understand the behavior of firms and financial institutions - to a macroeconomic perspective - to make this behavior in aggregate outcomes and policy responses. Topics covered include: The U.S. crisis in historical and international perspective; corporate finance of firms and banks in closed and open economy; monetary and fiscal policy intervention; the open economy dimension of the financial crisis; the European Sovereign Debt crisis.
Same as L11 Econ 4301

Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: SSC Arch: SSC Art: FAAM, SSC EN: S

U07 Econ 435 Open Economy Macroeconomics

This course will begin with a review of international trade theory, of the balance of payment accounts and their relationship to international borrowing and lending. We will then study the asset approach to exchange rates determination, exchange rate behavior in the short and in the long run, and the relationship of exchange rates with prices and output. The course will also explore monetary and fiscal policy under both fixed and floating exchange rates, macroeconomic policy coordination and optimum currency areas, international debt problems of developing countries and their relation to stabilization program. Prerequisite: Econ 4021.
Same as L11 Econ 435

Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: SSC Art: SSC BU: IS EN: S

U07 Econ 4601 Urban Economics

Economic function of the city and the role of the city in a national economy. Local decision making; financing of local government expenditures. An analysis of selected urban problems, such as causes and effects of housing market segregation; decay and abandonment, landlord-tenant relations, crime, and urban transport systems. Prerequisite: Econ 4011.
Same as L11 Econ 460

Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: SSC Arch: SSC Art: SSC EN: S

U07 Econ 484 Computational Macroeconomics

This course provides a more in depth look into quantitative methods used in contemporary macroeconomic analysis. We will cover numerical methods used in dynamic optimization. In practice, we will apply these methods to solve two major models used in macroeconomic analysis, using both Excel and Matlab. The Neoclassical Growth Model and its variants are used to study aggregate trends and aggregate effects of government policy. The lifecycle model is used to examine questions involving decision-making over the lifecycle. We will learn how to use empirical observations for the purpose of calibrating model parameters and how to conduct policy evaluation in the context of calibrated models. Our policy evaluation will focus on fiscal policy (taxes) and social security issues. Prerequisites: 4011 and 4021.
Same as L11 Econ 484

Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: SSC Arch: SSC Art: SSC EN: S