Undergraduate Program

Undergraduate Economics Courses Courses with an asterisk (*) are not offered every year. Economics does not allow credit for Ec 201, 202 after credit has been earned in an upper-division economics class for which Ec 201, 202 is a prerequisite.
Ec 101 Contemporary Economic Issues (4) Introduction to economists approaches to some of the most pressing, current political and economic issues. Topics will vary depending upon the instructor, but are likely to include the sources of economic development and growth, what constitutes a desirable standard of living and quality of life, analyses of poverty and inequality, economic pressures on the family, and strategies for environmental sustainability.	Ec 201 Principles of Economics (4) A study of the market system, involving the essentials of demand and supply analysis; competition and monopoly; labor public policy towards business; the distribution of income; international trade and commercial policy; comparative advantage, tariffs, and quotas.
Ec 202 Principles of Economics (4) A study of factors affecting the level of national income: the essentials of money and banking; the role of government expenditure and taxation in achieving economic stability, growth, and development; international monetary issues including exchange rates and the balance of payments.	Ec 314 Private and Public Investment Analysis (4) An examination of engineering economy fundamentals concerned with the formulation, techniques, and patterns of economy studies or engineering projects and the underlying rationales of the various approaches.
Ec 315 Economics of Sports (4) Investigates the application of economic theory to the particular arena of sports. Emphasis is placed on the theories of labor, industrial organization, and quantitative methods and their application to such topics as player compensation and movement, stadium financing, team relocation, and racial discrimination.	Ec 316 Introduction to Health Care Economics (4) Provides an introduction to basic economic concepts that are most relevant to the study of the health care system. Examines the efficiency and equity implications of providing health care under the traditional fee-for-service system versus providing health care under the relatively new systems of health care delivery such as health maintenance organizations (HMOs), preferred provider organizations (PPOs), etc. Compares the American health care system to the systems employed in other developed countries. Special attention will be paid to the delivery of health care in Oregon.
Ec 317 Managerial Economics and Business Strategies (4) Uses examples to examine potential contributions of economic concepts to managerial decision- making in the business and public sectors. Modeling applications will be retained primarily to demonstrate that they can concisely include essential information for management decisions, eliminate extraneous information, identify key relationships, and focus managers toward more informed decision-making.	Ec 318 Investment Analysis—Engineering and Business Applications (4) Designed for the needs of students in engineering and other disciplines such as planning, accounting, finance, and business administration. Provides a rigorous examination of the economic principles involved in project planning and similar management tasks. Develops the fundamental concept that projects must not only be technically sound, but also economically feasible. Emphasizes the information needs, the communication process, and the interdisciplinary interaction involved in project planning and managerial decision-making.
Ec 332 Economics of Environmental Issues (4) Examines several local, national and global environmental issues. Students will be introduced to some basic economic concepts and tools fundamental to understanding the social, economic and environmental impacts of current and proposed environmental policies.	Ec 338 The Political Economy of Latin American Development (4) Provides students an opportunity to analyze the political and economic complexities of development in Latin America. Studies the social, political, and economic institutions that have shaped the development process in Latin America; reviews competing theoretical frameworks; and discusses current issues such as the foreign debt, privatization, trade liberalization, and recurrent financial crises.
Ec 340 International Economics (4) Examines trade and financial relations among countries with an emphasis on policy perspectives. Outlines international policy options and the principles that govern world trade and financial arrangements. Regional and international trade organizations and currency arrangements will be discussed. Credit is not given for both Ec 340 and Ec 440 or Ec 441.	Ec 345 Marxist Political Economy (4) An inquiry into the contribution to social and economic thought advanced by Karl Marx. Based on reading and interpreting primary sources. Considers the legacy of Marx’s ideas on the course of history in the 20th century, and the potential influence in the 21st century.
Ec 348 The Globalization Debate: Concept, History, and Theory (4) Works to clarify the meaning and conception of globalization. Analyzes its roots from a historical and evolutionary perspective dating from the nineteenth century, on to the present and future prospects. Applies an interdisciplinary methodology to present both the pros and cons of the globalization debate dealing with the World Trade Organization, environmental, third world development and labor concerns. Applies different economic theories to explain and analyze globalization in the context of the evolutionary dynamics of economic development.	Ec 469 Introduction to Quantitative Economics (4) General survey of quantitative techniques useful for economic analysis. Focus on the applications of mathematical tools and simple regression analysis in economics. Quantitative topics will be introduced systematically with hands-on case studies and examples. Recommended prerequisites: Ec 201, 202, Mth 241, Stat 243 and 244.
Ec 473 Macroeconomic Theory (4) Social accounting practices and problems. Factors influencing the levels of output, employment, and prices. Comparison of Keynesian and pre-Keynesian thought. Fundamentals of the theory of business cycles, economic growth, inflation. The role of government in dealing with these and related problems. Recommended prerequisite: Ec 202.	Ec 474 Microeconomic Theory (4) Theories of consumer behavior and demand, production and cost, the firm and market organization and functional income distribution. Recommended prerequisite: Ec 201.
Ec 399 Special Studies (Credit to be arranged.) Ec 401 Research (Credit to be arranged.) Consent of instructor. Ec 403 Honors Thesis (Credit to be arranged.) Consent of instructor. Ec 404 Cooperative Education/internship (Credit to be arranged.) Ec 405 Reading and Conference (Credit to be arranged.) Consent of instructor.	Ec 407 Seminar (Credit to be arranged.) Consent of instructor. Ec 409 Practicum (Credit to be arranged.) By prior arrangement with the department, economics majors may receive a maximum of 3 credits in their total undergraduate program for economics research done in the community in conjunction with guided reading and regular consultations with the practicum instructor. Recommended prerequisites: Ec 201, 202, and consent of instructor. Ec 410 Selected Topics (Credit to be arranged.)
Ec 411 Cultural Economics (4) Focus is on a general theory of economic development and growth, in the conceptual framework of culture and its evolution. The economic process fed by the dynamics of technological change is analyzed in cultural and social terms in the tradition of institutional and/or evolutionary economics. This framework is relevant and will be applied to current issues such as: globalization, trade, jobs and the environment, sustainable development, corporate power, cultural lags and social justice.	*Ec 417 Women in the Economy (4) Different economic theoretical perspectives are presented to account for women’s particular economic roles currently and historically. Emphasis on women’s responsibility for child rearing and housework; women’s relatively low wages; occupational segregation by gender; economic differences among women due to ethnicity, generation, and class; and policy issues with particular importance for women’s economic situation. Recommended prerequisite: Ec 201.
Ec 419 Economics of Race and Ethnicity (4) Survey of the economic history of ethnic groups in the United States, various economic theoretical perspectives advanced to account for past and current experience of people of color in the U.S. economy, and examination of selected economic policy issues. Recommended prerequisite: Ec 201.	Ec 420 Money And Banking (4) Functional and empirical definitions of money and interest rates. Characteristics and role of bank and non-bank financial institutions in determining the level of money and interest rates. History of the Federal Reserve System. Instruments of monetary control by the Federal Reserve. Alternative models of monetary influence on the economy. Prerequisites: Ec 201, 202.
Ec 426/526 Economics of Regulation (4) Study of government regulation designed to control—or at least to influence—the performance of the market in specific ways. Historical and economic analyses of three main forms of regulation: direct regulation of monopoly and competition, and social regulation to protect the environment and the individual. Prerequisite: Ec 201.	Ec 431/531 Urban Economics (4) Functions of the urban economy: the market sector and the public sector. Economic analysis of issues such as land use, environmental quality, transportation, housing, income distribution, and the organization and financing of urban public services. Prerequisites: Ec 201, 202.
*Ec 432/532 Environmental Economics (4) An examination of the alternative and sometimes conflicting evaluation and decision-making criteria of economics and physical sciences as they pertain to the material environment. An evaluation of policy alternatives. Prerequisites: Ec 201, 202.	*Ec 433/533 Natural Resource Economics (4) An examination of the economic concepts and theories for analyzing natural resource use and related environmental pollution, including the economics of sustainability. Discussion of renewable and non-renewable natural resource issues in the Pacific Northwest and policy alternatives. Prerequisite: Ec 201.
Ec 434/534 Business Environmental Management Economics (4) Examines the economic costs and benefits that affect the decisions of business firms to develop integrated environmental management systems. Analysis of policy options to foster business environmental management for public goods. Case studies of selected firms. Prerequisite: Ec 201.	Ec 435/535 Public Spending and Debt Policy (4) Analysis of the role of the state in a competitive economy. Development of decision rules for state economic action. Includes a detailed study of the principles of voting, public budgeting including cost benefit analysis and PPBS, the theory of fiscal federalism and the theory and principles of public debts. Prerequisites: Ec 201, 202.
436/536 Taxation and Income Policies (4) Principles and problems of government financing. Critical analysis of alternative taxes as sources of public revenue with emphasis on theories of incidence and economic effect. Prerequisites: Ec 201, 202.	Ec 437/537 Public Utility Economics (4) Examines the rationale, economic principles, and institutions of historic economic regulation. Contemporary theory of the firm and microeconomic pricing are analyzed. Technological changes suggest that to achieve economic effi- ciency it may no longer be necessary or appropriate to subject energy and telecommunications firms to traditional utility regulation. There is academic enthusiasm for displacing economic regulation with competition. Deregulation and restructuring are explored with emphasis on contemporary issues in Oregon, the Pacific Northwest, and the nation. In particular, diffi- culties in transformation to the marketplace will be examined. Expert guest lecturers from the utility and regulatory communities will be scheduled, and contemporary scholarly literature will be reviewed. Prerequisites: Ec 201, 202.
Ec 440/540 International Trade Theory and Policy (4) Theories of international trade. Analysis of the normative aspects of trade including the gains from trade and the effect of trade on economic welfare. Examination of international trade policy and issues of economic integration, economic growth, and current trade problems. Prerequisites: Ec 201, 202; Ec 376 recommended. Ec 340 and Ec 440 cannot both count towards a degree or major requirements.	Ec 441/541 International Monetary Theory and Policy (4) Balance of payments theory including balance of payments accounting and foreign exchange market; theoretical models of fixed and flexible exchange rate systems using both Neoclassical and Keynesian approaches. Historical evolution of the international monetary system. Current international monetary policies and problems. Prerequisites: Ec 201, 202; Ec 375 recommended. Ec 340 and Ec 440 cannot both count towards a degree or major requirements.
Ec 442/542 The Multinational Enterprise in the World Economy (4) The study of the multinational (transnational) enterprise as a form of direct foreign investment. Analysis of theories of direct investment; the impact of the multinational enterprise on the national and international economy and the relationship of such firms to the concept of the nation-state. Prerequisites: Ec 201, 202.	Ec 443/543 Global Environmental Economics (4) An examination of economic forces and theories to understand the causes of global environmental problems and to evaluate policy options to remedy serious problems. Analyses of the economic effects of global environmental agreements and the environmental effects of trade and global commerce in developed and developing countries.
Ec 445/545 Comparative Economic Systems (4) Introduces the evolutionary-institutional method of analysis, incorporating history, the legacy of ideas, and the dynamics of change over time. Using this method, we shall examine economic systems of Ancient Rome, Medieval Feudalism, the Laissez-Faire Market Economy, Fascist Command Economy, and others. Prerequisites: Ec 201, 202.	Ec 446/546 Institutional Economics (4) Considers the contributions of seminal thinkers to what is regarded as an alternate or heterodox school in economic science. Contribution of Thornstein Veblen, John R. Commons, Wesley Mitchell, Simon Kuznets, Clarence Ayres, Gunnar Myrdal, and John Kenneth Galbraith, as well as more contemporary thinkers will be explored. Institutional theory will be compared and contrasted with neoclassical economics, and shown as a viable theory posing a formidable challenge to the dominant paradigm of orthodoxy. Neo-institutionalist challenges will also be considered.
Ec 447/547 Economics of Transition (4) Examines the formation of the Soviet-type economic system in the 1920s and 30s and its dissemination after World War II to Eastern Europe, China, and other selected countries. Emphasis is placed on the history of ideas and the historical setting which gave rise to the Soviet model. Includes the examination of the internal contradictions of the model, the “unwinding” of planned socialism, and the prospects for the move toward mixed market economies. Prerequisite: Ec 201, 202.
Ec 450/550 Third-World Economic Development (4) Examines problems of post-colonial legacy: underdevelopment and persistent poverty. Rapid population growth, uneven development, capital flight, dual economy, brain drain. Industrialization strategies, foreign trade, education and human capital, population slowdown, microcredit institutions, role of women. Recommended prerequisites: Ec 201, 202. Ec 453/553 Theory of Economic Growth (4) Introduction to the theory of economic growth. This course will emphasize the theoretical basis and the models developed to measure growth and change in modern industrial societies. Prerequisites: Ec 201, 202. Ec 457/557 American Economic History: the 20th Century (4) Economic impact of U.S. involvement in World War I. Postwar structural changes. Waning of laissez faire. Causes of the Great Depression. Economic policies of Hoover and Roosevelt administrations. The New Deal reforms. World War II and emergence of the administered system. Evolution of the mixed economy and growing role of the government. The industrialmilitary complex. Social imbalance. Prerequisites: Ec 201, 202. Ec 465/565 Labor Economics and Industrial Relations (4) After a survey of the history of American labor market institutions including unions, this course investigates the big questions in labor economic theory including the sources of unemployment, wage determination, and the reasons demographic groups fare differently in the labor market. Also considered are appropriate policies for current developments in the labor market, such as increasing wage inequality, globalization, and the widespread use of new technologies. Prerequisite: Ec 201. Ec 480/580 Mathematical Economics (4) Mathematics for economists. Applications of differential calculus and matrix algebra to economics. Topics include consumer theory, production functions, and applied general equilibrium models. Prerequisites: Ec 201, 202. Ec 486/586 Project Evaluation (4) Cost and benefit evaluation. Choice of projects. Case studies related to water resources, transportation, and industrial projects. Prerequisite: Ec 376.	Ec 451/551 Small Businesses in Developing Areas (4) Examines role of small businesses in promoting economic development in low income areas in Asia, Latin America, and Africa. Entrepreneurship as motor of economic growth and social transformation. Appraisal of institutions as constraints and advantages. Consideration of complex political environments affecting small business. Survival strategies of entrepreneurs. Prerequisites: Ec 201, 202. Ec 456/556 American Economic History: the First Century (4) The economic background of the War of Independence and the seeds of the Civil War. Industrialization, urbanization, and development of the frontier. Rise of big business and organized labor. Laissez-faire, federalism, and the gradual emergence of the national government in economic policy. Changes in foreign trade and in the international position of the U.S. Prerequisites: Ec 201, 202. Ec 460/560 History of Economic Thought (4) Selections from the economic writings of various thinkers from antiquity through the Reformation. A survey of the work of the most important economic theorists of the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries including Adam Smith, Ricardo, Marx, Marshall, Veblen, and Keynes. Readings include original writings and interpretations by later economists. Scholars will be studied in terms of their historical context and the contemporary relevance of the theories and policy recommendations. Prerequisites: Ec 201, 202. Ec 472 Time Series Analysis and Forecasting (4) This course covers time series analysis and simulation, emphasizing techniques of identification, estimation, forecasting and econometric simulation. Various techniques of moving average, differencing, and autocorrelation adjustment will be introduced in order to identify the time series. Estimation methods and diagnostic checking following the identification will provide the base model for forecasting and simulation. Prerequisite: Ec 370. Ec 485/585 Cost-benefit Analysis (4) Identification and estimation of direct and indirect inputs and outputs. Valuation of commodities and of factors. Present social value and time discounting. Uncertainty. Prerequisite: Ec 376. Ec 487/587 Economic Planning (4) Aspects of the economic planning process including target setting, tests of feasibility, consistency, optimality, and plan implementation. Prerequisite: Ec 376.