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Senior Seminars

Section 1: Economic Development
Prof. Djerdjian - MWF 10:40am-11:35am

This seminar attempts to answer the following question, why are some countries so rich and others so poor. We will use economic principles to investigate how culture, religion, education, geography, climate, natural resources and the role of government and types of institutions determine wealth and economic growth. The course will focus on conceptual issues and their quantification, data analysis, and will not be oriented around mathematical derivations.

Prerequisites: Economics 272 (or permission of the instructor) and Economics 250.   May not be taken by any student who has taken or is planning on taking Economics 320.

 

Section 2: Free Market Economics: The Austrian Perspective
Prof. Djerdjian - MWF 3:00pm-3:55pm

The seminar investigates an alternative approach to economics, the Austrian School of Economics, which emphasizes methodological individualism and subjectivism. The Austrian School traces its roots back to the works of the Spanish Scholastics of the sixteenth century and stresses the importance of the individual, private property, limited government and the organizing power of the free-market. Students will read from authors such as Menger, Mises, Hayek, Rothbard and Hoppe and evaluate various properties of a state-planned economy versus a decentralized free market economy.

Prerequisites: Economics 272 (or permission of the instructor) and Economics 250.  May not be taken by any student who has taken or is planning on taking Economics 309

 

Section 3: Industrial Organization
Prof. Chiou - TR 8:30am-9:55am

This course covers topics in the field of industrial organization, which is the study of firms in markets. We will analyze the acquisition and use of market power, strategic interactions among firms, and the role of government competition policy. Our approach will blend two alternative but complementary methodologies: theoretical modeling of strategic firm behavior and industry equilibrium, and the factual detail found in case studies of specific industries. In addition, students will participate in a semester-long simulation designed to model real-world decision making and complex interactions among firms in an industry.

Prerequisites:  Economics 272 (or permission of the instructor) and Economics 250.  May not be taken by any student who has taken or is planning on taking Economics 302.

 

Section 4: Industrial Organization
Prof. Chiou - TR 10:05am-11:30am

This course covers topics in the field of industrial organization, which is the study of firms in markets. We will analyze the acquisition and use of market power, strategic interactions among firms, and the role of government competition policy. Our approach will blend two alternative but complementary methodologies: theoretical modeling of strategic firm behavior and industry equilibrium, and the factual detail found in case studies of specific industries. In addition, students will participate in a semester-long simulation designed to model real-world decision making and complex interactions among firms in an industry.

Prerequisites:  Economics 272 (or permission of the instructor) and Economics 250.  May not be taken by any student who has taken or is planning on taking Economics 302.

 

Section 5: Macroeconomic Policy since the Great Depression
Prof. Jalil - TR 1:30pm-2:55pm

Since the financial crisis of 2008, the U.S. economy has languished:  unemployment has remained elevated, job growth has been anemic, and poverty rates have risen to levels not seen in decades.  What should policymakers do to help get the U.S. economy out of this mess?

The course revolves around this question.  It does so by analyzing the current macroeconomic policy challenges facing the United States from the vantage point of modern macroeconomics and economic history.  Students will read state-of-the-art empirical research in macroeconomics and develop a sense for how macroeconomists conduct research and make policy recommendations.  Special emphasis will be placed on exposing students to the major developments of U.S. macroeconomic policy since the Great Depression and on the role of history in guiding contemporary macroeconomic policy decisions and debates. 

Prerequisites:  Economics 272 (or permission of the instructor) and Economics 251.  May not be taken by any student who has taken or is planning on taking Economics 351.