Course Descriptions

ECON 201, 202 - (3) (S)
Principles of Economics: Microeconomics, Macroeconomics

ECON 201: Microeconomics   The study of demand and supply, consumer behavior, the theory of business enterprise, the operation of competitive and monopolistic markets, and the forces determining income distribution.

ECON 202: Macroeconomics   The study of the determinants of aggregate economic activity, the effects of monetary and fiscal policy upon national income, and economic policy toward unemployment and inflation.

A full introduction to economic principles warrants completion of both ECON 201 AND 202. Students planning to take both semesters of economic principles are advised to take ECON 201 first, though this is not required. The department recommends ECON 201 to students intending to take only one semester of principles.

ECON 206 - (3) (Y)
American Economic History
A survey of American economic history from colonial origins to the present. Cross-listed as HIUS 206.

ECON 301 - (4) (S)
Intermediate Microeconomics
Prerequisite: ECON 201 and one semester of calculus
Study of the theory of prices and markets; an analysis of the forces that determine the allocation of economic resources in a market economy.

ECON 302 - (3) (S)
Intermediate Macroeconomics
Prerequisite: ECON 202 and ECON 301 or ECON 311, or permission of instructor
Study of macroeconomic theory and policy; analysis of the forces that determine employment, income and the price level.

ECON 303 - (3) (S)
Money and Banking
Prerequisite: ECON 202
Analysis of monetary standards, the role of money in an economic system, and the operation and evolution of central banking systems.

ECON 304 - (3) (IR)
The Economics of Education
Prerequisite: ECON 201
Analysis of the demand for and supply of education in the United States, governmental policies regarding education, and proposed reforms.

ECON 305 - (3) (Y)
The Economics of Welfare Reform
Prerequisite: ECON 201
Critical evaluation of the arguments used to justify welfare programs such as AFDC, Medicaid, food stamps, and public housing. Includes theoretical analyses and empirical evidence on the intended and unintended effects of these programs; and discusses reforms of the welfare system that might lead to better achieving its goals.

ECON 306 - (3) (Y)
Law and Economics
Prerequisite: ECON 201
Application of microeconomic theory to the analysis of legal rules and institutions: the effect of economic forces on the development of law, and the effect of laws on the allocation of resources.

ECON 309 - (3) (Y)
Latin American Economic Issues
Prerequisites: ECON 201, 202
Analysis of issues in the economic development of the Spanish speaking countries of Latin America and Brazil, including traditional primary product dependence, the post World War II push for industrialization via import substitution, chronic and hyperinflation, foreign capital flows and debt, and recent market reforms and their effects on growth and poverty.

ECON 311 - (4) (Y)
Mathematical Microeconomics
Prerequisites: ECON 201 and two semesters of calculus
Covers the same topics as ECON 301 using differential calculus through constrained maximization of functions of several variables. Credit is not be given for both ECON 301 and ECON 311.

ECON 333 - (3) (IR)
Public Choice
Prerequisite: ECON 201
The study of politics using economic analysis. Topics include the theory of voting rules, regulation, taxation, and interest groups; the growth of government; and the design of constitutions.

ECON 351 - (3) (Y)
Economic Development
Prerequisites: ECON 201 and 202
Study of the peculiar problems of economic growth in underdeveloped countries of the world, with emphasis on public policies, both for the countries themselves and for the more developed countries and international agencies.

ECON 371 - (4) (S)
Introduction to Statistical Analysis
Prerequisites: MATH 121 or equivalent
Introduction to the probability and statistical theory underlying the estimation of parameters and testing of hypotheses in economics. Includes simple and multiple regression analysis. Students use computers to analyze economic data. Three hours of lecture; one hour of discussion.

ECON 372 - (3) (S)
Introductory Econometrics
Prerequisites: ECON 201, 202 and ECON 371 (or equivalent) and one semester of calculus
Study of the application of statistical methods to the testing and estimation of economic relationships. Special emphasis on applied econometric studies and the problems that arise when analyzing time series and cross section data by means of stochastic linear models.

ECON 381 - (4) (IR)
Mathematical Statistics for Economists
Prerequisites: ECON 201, 202, and two semesters of calculus
Covers the same topics as ECON 371 using differential and integral calculus. Credit is not given for both ECON 371 and ECON 381.

ECON 401 - (3) (Y)
Game Theory
Prerequisites: ECON 301 or ECON 311, and ECON 371 or equivalent
Analysis of the theory of strategically interdependent decision making, with applications to auctions, bargaining, oligopoly, signalling, and strategic voting.

ECON 410 - (3) (Y)
Managerial Economics
Prerequisite: ECON 301 or ECON 311 and a course in statistics
Application of economic analysis to management problems in business and government. Emphasis is given to solving problems through marginal analysis, decision making under uncertainty, determining and using the value of information, searching and bidding, bargaining and negotiation, and analysis of transaction costs. Methods of capital budgeting, linear programming, game theory and forecasting are examined, and strategic decisions in markets are considered.

ECON 411 - (3) (Y)
Topics in Advanced Microeconomics
Prerequisites: ECON 301 or ECON 311; a course in probability or statistics; and permission of instructor
Study of the applications of and further topics in microeconomic theory. Required for Distinguished Majors but open to any advanced student who has been successful in economics. Specific topics vary from year to year. Examples are applications of decision-making under uncertainty to insurance, portfolio choice, and saving by households; applications of game theory to bargaining, contracts, and oligopoly; the economics of information; and welfare economics and applications to public policy.

ECON 412 - (3) (Y)
Evolution of Economic Thought
Prerequisites: ECON 201, 202
Study of the history of the development of economics as a systematic body of thought with special reference to the period 1750-1900. Readings from the leading economists of this period.

ECON 413 - (3) (IR)
Topics in the History of Economic Thought
Prerequisite: ECON 301 or ECON 311, and ECON 302, or permission of instructor
Detailed study of the development of modern economic thought. Subject matter may change from year to year but will normally relate to the post-1870 period: i.e., the marginalist revolution or the Keynesian revolution.

ECON 415 - (3) (Y)
Economics of Labor
Prerequisite: ECON 301 or ECON 311, and ECON 371 or its equivalent, or permission of instructor
Economic analysis of employment and wages, including the economics of education, unemployment, labor unions, discrimination and income inequality.

ECON 416 - (3) (Y)
Economics of Health
Prerequisite: ECON 301 or ECON 311
Microeconomic theory is used to examine the demand for health services and medical care, the market for medical insurance, the behavior of physicians and hospitals, issues pertaining to malpractice, and government policy.

ECON 418 - (3) (IR)
Economics of Regulation
Prerequisite: ECON 301 or ECON 311
Analysis of the methods and institutions of industry regulation. Examines electricity, natural gas, portation and television. Regulation that involves many industries, such as product safety, occupational safety, and environmental protection, is considered.

ECON 419 - (3) (S)
Industrial Organization
Prerequisite: ECON 301 or ECON 311
Industrial organization is the study of market structure, firm strategy, and market performance. Provides an economic analysis of strategic interactions among firms and of business practices like mergers and acquisitions, price discrimination, advertising, product selection, innovation, vertical restraints, cartels, and exclusionary conduct.

ECON 420 - (3) (Y)
Antitrust Policy
Prerequisite: ECON 201
Study of government regulation and control of business, through public policies designed to promote workable competition.

ECON 421 - (3) (Y)
International Trade: Theory and Policy
Prerequisite: ECON 301 or ECON 311
Study of the nature and determinants of international trade and factor movements; the effects of international trade on prices of goods and factors; the consequences of tariffs, quotas, customs unions and other trade policies and agreements, national or international; and international trade and the balance of payments.

ECON 422 - (3) (Y)
International Monetary Relations: Theory and Policy
Prerequisite: ECON 302
Study of fixed and floating exchange rate systems. Topics include determinants of a nation's balance of international payments; macroeconomic interdependence of nations under various exchange-rate regimes and its implications for domestic stabilization policies; and the international coordination of monetary and stabilization policies.

ECON 431 - (3) (S)
Economics of the Public Sector
Prerequisite: ECON 301 or ECON 311
Exploration of the justifications for government activities; principles of policy analysis; analyses of major expenditure programs and taxes; and the economic theories of political activities.

ECON 432 - (3) (Y)
Economics of Urban Areas
Prerequisites: ECON 301 or ECON 311, and ECON 371 or equivalent
Study of the spatial arrangement of economic activities. Topics include the forces of agglomeration and deglomeration; agricultural and residential land use; location of business firms; determination of land rents; transportation economics, congestion, and cost-benefit analysis applied to investments in transportation infrastructure; migration between cities; optimal city size; the economics of housing; and local public finance.

ECON 434 - (3) (Y)
The Theory of Financial Markets
Prerequisites: ECON 301 or ECON 311, and ECON 371 or its equivalent
Study of the theory and operation of financial markets; and the role of financial assets and institutions in the economic decisions of individuals, firms and governments.

ECON 435 - (3) (Y)
Corporate Finance
Prerequisites: ECON 301 or ECON 311, plus ECON 371 or ECON 381 or equivalent
Analysis of the theory of the financing of operations of firms and their decisions of how to allocate capital among alternative projects; and the nature of financial instruments and the behavior of capital markets.

ECON 440 - (3) (Y)
Topics in Economic History
Prerequisites: ECON 302, or ECON 201 and 202 and permission of instructor
Study of the historical development of selected advanced economies (for example,the United States, England, Japan, continental Europe). Comparative studies of historical growth. The nations covered will vary with instructor.

ECON 442 - (3) (IR)
Macroeconomic Policy
Prerequisite: ECON 302
An integrated analysis of public policies (including monetary, fiscal, debt-management, foreign exchange, and incomes policies) designed to cope with fluctuations in national income, employment, and the price level, and to influence the rate of economic growth. Attention is devoted to policies adopted during specific historical episodes, and to the theory of macroeconomic policy.

ECON 443 - (3) (IR)
Energy and the Environment
Prerequisite: ECON 301 or ECON 311
Application of economic analysis to problems in energy use and environmental quality. Topics include environmental consequences of energy decisions and policy options for dealing with the scarcity of natural resources.

ECON 471 - (3) (Y)
Economic Forecasting
Prerequisite: ECON 371 or ECON 381 or MATH 312 or APMA 312
Analysis of the theory and practice of forecasting economic variables using models for linear stochastic processes, including specifying, estimating, and diagnosing models of economic time series.

ECON 482 - (3) (Y)
Experimental Economics
Prerequisites: ECON 301 or ECON 311; a course in statistics; or permission of instructor
Explores the use of laboratory methods to study economic behavior. Topics include experimental design, laboratory technique, financial incentives, and analysis of data. Emphasis on applications: bargaining, auctions, market price competition, market failures, voting, contributions to public goods, lottery choice decisions, and the design of electronic markets for financial assets.

ECON 489 - (3) (Y)
Majors Seminar
Prerequisite: Permission of instructor
Reading, discussion and research in selected topics in economics. Since topics vary from instructor to instructor, this course may be taken for credit more than once.

ECON 495, 496 - (1-3) (S)
Supervised Research
Prerequisite: GPA of 3.3 in U.Va. economics courses
Research under the direction of a regular faculty member.

ECON 507 - (3) (IR)
British Economic History Since 1850
Prerequisite: Permission of instructor
Study of the structure, performance and policy in the British economy since 1850, focusing on the causes and consequences of Britain's relative economic decline.

ECON 509 - (3) (Y)
Introduction to Mathematical Economics I
Prerequisite: One semester of calculus and permission of instructor
Study of topics in univariate and multivariate calculus and linear algebra, and applications to the theories of economic statics.

ECON 510 - (3) (Y)
Introduction to Mathematical Economics II
Prerequisite: ECON 509 or permission of instructor
Study of topics in the theories of difference and differential equations and dynamic optimization, and applications to the theories of economic dynamics.

Continue to: Department of English Language and Literature
Return to: Chapter 6 Index