Economics concerns the wealth of nations, its origins in production and exchange, its allocation among competing uses, its distribution among individuals, and its accumulation or decline. It seeks to discern both the common features and the differences in the institutions by which societies throughout the world, today and in the past, have organized economic life. The discipline considers many issues of national and international policy, focusing on social institutions and outcomes. It combines theoretical and analytical rigor with concern for “real world” problems. Students studying economics often pursue careers in banking, accounting, and management, journalism, government service, or marketing.
Economics
- This course provides an introduction to the fundamental economic concepts of production, consumption and price determination, as developed by economists over the last two centuries for understanding market economies. The class introduces students to the role of markets and economic policy in our contemporary global economy at the individual and societal level. The topics to be explored in the course span the areas of economics and economic history, and may include the banking system, social insurance programs, international trade, market regulations, the role of unions, and the federal budget. The student will come away with a broad understanding of economic issues, methods, ideas, and history.
Course Syllabus - This course introduces the subject of urban economics in historical and social contexts rather than as a strict analytical discipline. The causes and existence of poverty in cities, the management of federal, state and local government programs, the financing of Black enterprises, and conditions of social welfare are considered. Solutions toward developing neglected economics of urban communities are proposed.
Course Syllabus - This course analyzes the economic policies of the different political regimes in the Dominican Republic from the end of the 19th century to the present. It studies the application and results of these policies-changes brought about by these regimes in trade, industry, agriculture and population. It also examines the influence of the United States on developments in the Dominican economy during this century.
Course Syllabus - Problems of African economic and political development since 1900 are analyzed. The emergence of conditions contrary to the goals of independence and African participation in world affairs is explored.
Course Syllabus - This is a study of the factors affecting the economies of the English and French speaking countries of the Caribbean region. The effects of international diplomacy, multinational corporate policies, educational and social determinants, and economic policies are evaluated.
Course Syllabus - This course is intended primarily for those students who intend to pursue professional careers in fields such as economics, finance, management, and administration. It is also open to highly motivated students in other areas. Topics include: national income and national product; saving, consumption, investment, the multiplier theory, fiscal policy, inflation, employment and business cycles. The student will also be acquainted with money, banking, and central bank monetary policies, as well as some of the more significant theories of international trade and economic development.
- This course is an introduction to the topics of microeconomics, which include market supply and demand, theories of the firm and individual behavior, competition and monopoly, externalities, public goods, and income distribution. Students will learn ways to analyze the basic economic activities of consumption and production, and how to evaluate the allocation of resources and products achieved through markets. The role of government policy in addressing markets failures will be emphasized throughout the course, with special focus on contemporary economic problems.
- This course introduces students to the economic analysis of environmental issues and problems related to the allocation of natural resources as well as the role of government in dealing with environmental problems. Students will develop the capacity to understand economic and policy issues related to environmental and natural resource exploitation, the micro- and macroeconomic foundations of environmental theory and policy, and discuss and evaluate current environmental policies in the United States. Students will learn about the economics of externalities and natural resource management, including theoretical concepts, models of analysis, and theoretical debates among orthodox and heterodox interpretations. Prerequisite: ECO 100 or ECO 201 or ECO 202
- International trade, capital movements and foreign exchange markets lay the basis for global economic analyses and policy debates. Balance of payments problems include liquidity and growth, exchange rate systems, and tendencies for internal and external balance. Applied areas range from international financial institutions to issues of economic integration and development. Other topics involve history of the International Monetary Fund, World Bank, Euro Zone and Emerging Markets. Prerequisites: ECO 100 or ECO 201 or ECO 202
- Economic History is a discipline which integrates history and economics. The marriage of these two disciplines enables us to look critically at the impact that ideas, institutions, and individuals have upon our economy, how such elements affect our economy, and ultimately our own lives and experiences. Together these disciplines enable us to understand local, national and global economic relationships, and observe how policies, theories, and behaviors affect our society economically, socially, and politically. This course traces the economic development of the world economy - the focus is on Europe and North America - from medieval times up to the present. The first major topic concerns the transition from feudalism to capitalism, that is, the replacement of one major system of economic and social organization by another. Once we have examined the origins of capitalism, we shall follow its progress from its early mercantile phase, through the industrial revolution up to the international order established after the Second World War. Prerequisite: ECO 201 or ECO 202
- This course is an introduction to the economic analysis of the role of government in capitalist economies. The subjects covered in this course include the provision of public goods, remedies for externalities, the generation of public revenue through taxation, the method of cost-benefit analysis, and voting mechanisms for the representation of social preferences. Additional topics to be discussed include policies implemented for the maintenance of social welfare and social insurance programs, like public education and healthcare, and unemployment insurance. While other economies will be discussed periodically, attention throughout the course will be given to the United States economy. Prerequisite: ECO 201 or ECO 202
- This course develop students' critical thinking on the economic development process and introduce them to the basic issues and concepts of Development. The course covers the political economy of the development process and the challenges of formulating and implementing development policy in developing countries and Small Island Developing States (SIDS). The evolution of development theory is treated as a contest of competing development paradigms, ranging from the Classical Modernization Paradigm, and alternative perspectives on development which emphasize dependency, world systems, human development, participatory development, sustainable development, poverty and inequality, culture, and gender, to the post-modernist challenges to 'development discourses' expressed in Post-development. The policy implications and problems raised with each discursive wave in the development process and under 'neo-liberal' globalization are expressly flagged, with special attention paid to the policy and development challenges faced by developing countries including SIDS. Prerequisite: ECO 201 or ECO 202
- This course will introduce students to anti-trust law and government policy regarding industry competition. Students will survey the economic theories of imperfect competition and the history of the regulation of competition within the United States. The motivation, formation and execution of government regulation will be discussed, along with economic analyses of the impact of regulations. Topics to be covered may also include mergers, natural monopolies, anti-competitive strategies, deregulation oversight, and the regulation of utilities and public enterprises. Prerequisite: ECO 202
- Feminist economics critically analyzes both economic theory and economic life through the lens of gender, and advocates various forms of feminist economic transformation. The objective is to retain and improve economic analysis by ridding the discipline of the biases created by the centrality of distinctively masculine concerns. We will look at feminist critiques of, and alternatives to, mainstream economics methodology and view and "economic man" the firm, and the economy itself. Other themes in the course will be racial-ethnic, class, and country differences among women. Prerequisite: ECO 201 or ECO 202
- This course is an introduction to the analysis of labor markets in advanced capitalist economies with primary reference to the United States economy. Aside from discussing the determinants of the supply and demand of labor and the qualities of labor market equilibrium, the course may cover the dominant theories of ancillary issues, like the determinants of labor productivity, wage differentials, and the role of incentive pay. Several topics of importance to the general welfare of society may also be covered, such as migration, education, labor market discrimination, and government programs to address unemployment. Prerequisite: ECO 202
- This course analyzes the history and effects of American economic policies on contemporary Puerto Rico. Economic conditions before the American occupation are examined with the objective of comparing them with the conditions and changes after 1898. The period of sugar as a monoculture is studied as well as the great depression and its impact on Puerto Rico. The coming to power of the Popular Party, with its politics of land reform and economic development, are examined. The economic and social planning that have brought about modern Puerto Rico are analyzed.
Course Syllabus - This course is an introduction to behavioral economics, which is the use of the methods of psychology to evaluate economic models of decision making and the collection of theories derived therefrom. The course reviews behavioral economics in the context of different economic models of decision making: decisions made under conditions of uncertainty, judgments of risk and probability, intertemporal decision making, and strategic interaction. Topics may include framing effects, prospect theory, menu dependence, endowment effects, confirmation bias, hyperbolic discounting, social preferences, and the utilization of behavioral economics for public policy. Prerequisites: ECO 202 and MAT 209
- This course introduces students to the economic analysis of strategic interaction and competition among firms in imperfectly competitive markets. While the focus of the course is on the behavior of businesses in an oligopoly, basic concepts of game theory will also be applied to a variety of situations facing firms. The course will cover various types of games (normal-form, sequential, repeated interaction) and bargaining theory, as well as the economic theory of contracts and asymmetric information situations. Topics covered in the course may also include vertical/horizontal integration, auctions, principal-agent relations, and market design.
Prerequisite: ECO 202
Course Syllabus - This course is an analysis of the organization and operation of our financial system, including money and capital markets, commercial banking, and other financial institutions such as commercial finance companies. The relationship between financial and economic activity including monetary and fiscal policy is demonstrated. Prerequisite: FNB 100 or ECO 100 or ECO 201 or ECO 202
