Currently Offered Courses - Fall 2024
Introduction to the functions of individual decision-makers, both consumers and producers, within the larger economic system. Primary emphasis on the nature and functions of product markets, the theory of the firm under varying conditions of competition and monopoly, and the role of government in prompting efficiency in the economy. Credit is not given for ECON 102 and ACE 100.
Introduction to the theory of determination of total or aggregate income, employment, output, price levels, and the role of money in the economy. Primary emphasis on monetary and fiscal policy, inflation, unemployment, economic growth, and international economics.
An introductory course intended to help students explore the various fields of economics. Presents brief introductions to various faculty members within the Department of Economics at Illinois and an overview of their respective fields. Enrollment limited to undergraduate Economics majors only. Approved for S/U grading only.
Approved for both letter and S/U grading. May be repeated.
Introduction of basic concepts in statistics including the presentation of data, descriptive statistics, probability theory, discrete and continuous distributions, sampling distributions, estimation, and hypothesis testing. The approach of the class includes both learning the concepts behind basic statistics and also how to apply these concepts in "real-life" situations. Utilizes a practical project format. To complete the Business Statistics sequence, students must also complete ECON 203. Credit is not given for ECON 202 if credit for a college-level introductory statistics course such as PSYC 235, SOC 280, or STAT 100 has been earned. Prerequisite: Credit or registration in one of MATH 220, MATH 221, MATH 234.
Continuation of ECON 202. Builds upon point and interval estimation as well as hypothesis testing skills first introduced in ECON 202. Utilizes a practical project format to extend the student skill set to include simple and multiple linear regression and time series techniques. Students will: Understand the relevance of statistics in their future course-work and professions; Be trained to identify the proper statistical technique to apply to a problem; Be adept at finding the answers to statistical queries using excel; Be able to properly interpret the results of their analysis. Students must have completed a course on probability and statistical analysis before taking ECON 203. The best course to meet this requirement is ECON 202 at the University of Illinois. Prerequisite: ECON 202; one of MATH 220, MATH 221, or MATH 234.
Same as ACE 210, ENVS 210, NRES 210, and UP 210. See ACE 210.
Supervised, on or off-campus experience in a field directly pertaining to Economics, Econometrics & Quantitative Economics, or CS+ Economics. Students will complete course requirements along with a written report and possible presentation pertaining to their internship accomplishments at the end of the internship. Approved for S/U grading only. May be repeated in separate terms to a maximum of 6 credit hours. Prerequisite: Student must have secured a professional work experience related to economics which accompanies and enhances their academics. Restricted to Economics, Econometrics, or CS+Economics majors.
Microeconomic analysis including value and distribution theory; analysis of the pricing of the factors of production integrated in a micro-general equilibrium context which builds towards explaining the resource allocation process. Prerequisite: ECON 102 or equivalent. MATH 220, MATH 221, MATH 234 or equivalent.
The modern theory of the determination of the level and rate of growth of income, employment, output, and the price level; discusses alternate fiscal and monetary policies to facilitate full employment and economic growth. Prerequisite: ECON 102; ECON 103; and one of MATH 220, MATH 221, MATH 234.
Independent study course covering topics not treated by regular course offerings. This class does not satisfy departmental graduation requirements. Approved for Letter and S/U grading. May be repeated to a maximum of 8 hours. Prerequisite: Junior or senior standing; ECON 302; ECON 202.
Survey of the history of the American economy from the colonial era to the present. Studies the features and development of the American economy and examines the watershed events that have transformed it over its history. 3 undergraduate hours. No graduate credit. Prerequisite: ECON 202; ECON 302; MATH 220/221 or other Calculus course are required.
Economic analysis of government tax and expenditure policies; topics include public good and externality theory, public choice theory, income distribution, cost-benefit analysis, principles of taxation, tax incidence, economic effects and optimal structures of major taxes, and taxation in developing economies. 3 undergraduate hours. 2 or 4 graduate hours. Prerequisite: ECON 302 or consent of instructor.
Analyzes the urban economy. Topics include: economic reasons for the existence of cities; the theory of urban spatial structure; the effects of taxation on housing decisions; the economics of freeway congestion; economics analysis of local public goods and services; economic analysis of rent control, slum policies and land-use controls. Same as FIN 414. 3 undergraduate hours. 3 or 4 graduate hours. Prerequisite: ECON 302.
Application of economic theory to topical issues such as pollution, climate change, and the environmental impacts of overpopulation. Both market-based and regulatory solutions to these problems are discussed. 3 undergraduate hours. 4 graduate hours. Prerequisite: ECON 202; ECON 302; MATH 220/MATH 221 or other Calculus course.
Introduction to the theory of international trade and finance with selected application to current problems of trade policy, balance of payments adjustment, the international monetary system, and globalization issues. 3 undergraduate hours. 2 or 4 graduate hours. Prerequisite: ECON 302 or equivalent, or consent of instructor; ECON 303 is recommended.
Explores game theory and strategic decision making. Game theory is the study of strategic interaction where one person's actions affect the actions of others. Introduces students to the tools for modeling and solving problems with strategic interaction. Will cover topics such as Nash equilibrium, dominance, voting, bargaining, auction, adverse selection, each of which have broad applications in economics, politics, psychology, and everyday life. 3 undergraduate hours. 4 graduate hours. Prerequisite: ECON 202; ECON 302; MATH 220/MATH 221 are required. ECON 203; MATH 231 are recommended.
Application of economic theory to the relationship between workers and firms in the workplace. We will apply important economic concepts and models to issues including recruitment, personnel selection, employee training, managing turnover, job design, performance evaluation, and incentive compensation. 3 undergraduate hours. 4 graduate hours. Prerequisite: ECON 202; ECON 302; MATH 220/MATH 221 or other Calculus course.
Employee compensation is a critical tool for organizations to attract, retain, and motivate its employees. Students will be introduced to major principles in compensation design and will examine the incentives embedded in various compensation systems. The topics include forms of pay, incentive theory, pay structure, pay-for-performance, and employee benefits. 3 undergraduate hours. 4 graduate hours. Prerequisite: ECON 202; ECON 302; MATH 220/MATH 221 or other Calculus course.
This course examines which policies are effective for alleviating poverty, which are not, and why. The course will have a strong methodological and analytical component, focus on why interventions and policies work, and how to establish evidence on the effectiveness of specific interventions and policies. 3 undergraduate hours. 4 graduate hours. Prerequisite: ECON 202; ECON 302; MATH 220/MATH 221 or other Calculus course are required.
Topics include the inter-relationships between economic development and migration. After introducing the basic concepts of poverty and inequality - between as well as within countries - this course focuses on the role that migration and population growth play in the process of economic development. The causes of migration and its consequences are examined at national and international levels together with their policy implications, including those related to urbanization, brain drain, and labor market impacts of immigration. A range of migration forms is discussed, including international and internal migration, permanent and temporary migration, legal and illegal migration, as well as forced migration and refugees. 3 undergraduate hours. 4 graduate hours. Prerequisite: ECON 202; ECON 302; MATH 220/221 or other Calculus course.
Study of a variety of financial economics topics. Introduces basic financial products (stocks, bonds, futures, options, and other derivatives), asset pricing theory including capital asset pricing model (CAPM), arbitrage pricing theory (APT), financial institutions and the organization of financial markets, and some topics on financial crisis and monetary policy. 3 undergraduate hours. 4 graduate hours. Prerequisite: ECON 202; ECON 302; MATH 220/MATH 221 or other Calculus course.
Exploration of economic decisions under uncertainty. Includes expected utility theory and non-expected utility theory; applications to individual decision problems in investment and insurance; general equilibrium in markets under uncertainty, including problems generated by asymmetric information; measurement of risk; the value of information obtained before a decision. 3 or 4 undergraduate hours. 3 or 4 graduate hours. Prerequisite: ECON 302 or equivalent; one of MATH 220 or MATH 221 or equivalent.
Introduction to specification, estimation, prediction and evaluation of econometric models, emphasizing the interplay between statistical theory and economic applications. 3 undergraduate hours. 2 or 4 graduate hours. Prerequisite: ECON 203 or equivalent; ECON 302 or ECON 303.
Examines the econometric modeling applied to empirical and computational finance. Explains the empirical properties of financial data as well as the statistical models behind these stylized facts from the data. Explains the statistics and time series concepts that will be useful to understand financial market dynamics, and investigates some popular econometric models and estimation methods. 3 undergraduate hours. 4 graduate hours. Prerequisite: ECON 203; ECON 302; MATH 220/MATH 221 are required. MATH 231; ECON 471 are recommended.
Overview of modern, quantitative, statistical and econometric methods for forecasting and evaluating forecasts. Topics include linear regressions; modeling and forecasting trends and seasonality; characterizing and forecasting cycles; MA, AR, and ARMA models; forecasting with regressions; evaluating and combining forecasts. Advanced topics include unit roots, stochastic trends, ARIMA models, and smoothing will be covered as time permits. 3 undergraduate hours. 4 graduate hours. Prerequisite: ECON 203; ECON 302; MATH 220/MATH 221 are required. MATH 231 is recommended.
Analyzes the ways firms and markets are organized, how they interact, outcomes of various types of firm behavior and performance of markets, and causes and types of market failure. Particular emphasis on the contribution of game theory as the equilibrium concept in oligopoly settings. 3 undergraduate hours. 2 or 4 graduate hours. Prerequisite: ECON 302.
Examines the economic factors shaping innovation and technical change since the industrial revolution with emphasis on the economic relationship between science and technology and the role of government in technical change. 3 undergraduate hours. 2 or 4 graduate hours. Prerequisite: ECON 102 or equivalent; ECON 302 or consent of instructor.
Applications of economic theory to problems and issues in both civil and criminal law and the effect of legal rules on the allocation of resources; includes property rights, liability and negligence assignment, the use of administrative and common law to mitigate market failure, and the logic of private versus public law enforcement. 3 undergraduate hours. 2 or 4 graduate hours. Prerequisite: ECON 302 or equivalent.
Special topics in advanced economics within a variety of areas. See course schedule for topics. 3 undergraduate hours. 4 graduate hours. May be repeated in the same or separate terms to a maximum of 9 undergraduate hours or 8 graduate hours if topics vary. Prerequisite: ECON 202; ECON 302 or ECON 303; MATH 220 or MATH 221 or other Calculus course. Some topics may require additional prerequisites, read the section text for each topic.
Special topics applying advanced econometrics concepts. Students will use quantitative analysis and economic theories to answer economic questions and uncover relationships between variables across a variety of topics; instruction in statistical and computing techniques as needed. 3 undergraduate hours. 4 graduate hours. May be repeated if topics vary, repeatability for undergraduate students unlimited; for graduate students to a maximum of 8 credit hours. Prerequisite: ECON 203; ECON 302; and MATH 220/221 or Calculus I equivalent. See Class Schedule for other prerequisites as indicated depending on topic and content.
Emphasizes microeconomic theory; principal topics include a review of value and distribution theory, the theory of choice by households and firms, general microeconomic theory, and theoretical developments of current interest. 4 graduate hours. No professional credit. Credit is not given for both ECON 500 and ECON 528. Graduate credit for both ECON 302 and ECON 500 is given only upon recommendation of the student's adviser and approval by the Department of Economics. Prerequisite: ECON 102 or equivalent.
Emphasis on macroeconomic theory; principal topics include a review of Keynesian macroeconomic theory, formal growth theory, and selected business cycle theory. 4 graduate hours. No professional credit. Credit is not given for both ECON 501 and ECON 529. Graduate credit for both ECON 303 and ECON 501 is given only upon recommendation of the student's adviser and approval by the Department of Economics. Prerequisite: ECON 102 and ECON 103 or equivalent.
Classical statistics and regression analysis; descriptive statistics, probability and point and interval estimation; decision theory; variance analysis; and linear regression and least-squares estimates. 4 graduate hours. No professional credit. Prerequisite: A course in statistics or consent of instructor.
Modern time series analysis techniques for handling economic data which arises in a happenstance fashion through time and their application to specific economic problems. Prerequisite: ECON 503 or STAT 578, or equivalent. MSPE Graduate Student Standing.
Applications of game theory. Introduction to basic static games and dynamic games with particular attention to applying these games to real world situations. Prerequisite: MATH 415; ECON 500 and ECON 501, or equivalent. MSPE Graduate Student Standing.
The pure theory of international trade, general equilibrium income and welfare, tariffs, the theory of policy ranking, strategic trade policy, customs unions, international trade law and the WTO. Prerequisite: ECON 302 and ECON 303, or equivalent. MSPE Graduate Student Standing.
Micro- and macroeconomic theories of the supply of and demand for money; money substitutes and their significance; review of current empirical research; money in closed economy, macroeconomic, and static general equilibrium models; and analysis of inflation and unemployment. Prerequisite: Consent of instructor. MSPE Graduate Student Standing.
Review and analysis of the theories and patterns of growth in developed and underdeveloped economies; the process and impact of import substitution industrialization; trade and economic development; the role of the state and privatization in the development process; agricultural stagnation and modernization. Prerequisite: ECON 500 and ECON 501 or consent of instructor. MSPE Graduate Student Standing.
Emphasizes microeconomic theory particularly theory of the consumer, theory of the firm, general equilibrium analysis and welfare analysis. Also, covers uncertainty in general equilibrium and informational economics. Prerequisite: ECON 302 and ECON 303 or equivalent.
Introduces students to a variety of dynamic general equilibrium models that currently dominate the study of growth and economic fluctuations. These models include: neoclassical growth models, overlapping generations models, CAPM models, search models, and endogenous growth models. In covering these models, the course also seeks to develop a set of techniques for students to use. These techniques include discrete time optimization, continuous time optimization, dynamic programming and model calibration. Prerequisite: ECON 302 and ECON 303, or equivalent; calculus.
Theoretical treatment of economic statistics. Covers probability theory, set theory, asymptotic theory, estimation and hypothesis testing. Prerequisite: A course in statistics or consent of instructor.
Examines both theory and policy applications in the environmental area; selectively reviews the literature to provide a framework for understanding the relevant economic relationships and the criteria appropriate for policy assessment; emphasizes the characteristics of major environmental problems and policy choices; and considers the valuation of environmental amenities and the conflict between environmental quality and growth. Same as ACE 516. Prerequisite: ECON 302 or consent of instructor.
Empirical Methods in Industrial Organization. Topics include: detection of anticompetitive behavior; estimation techniques that allow for product differentiation, endogenous entry and intertemporal decision-making; estimation and testing of auctions and other asymmetric information models.
Frontier advanced topics in international economics; subject matter varies. May not be repeated for credit. Prerequisite: ECON 533 and ECON 534, or consent of instructor.
Directed reading and research. Approved for both letter and S/U grading. May be repeated.
Workshops are offered in all areas of specialization in which graduate students are writing Ph.D. dissertations. The specific format varies, but in general workshop sessions include presentations by graduate students of thesis research, by faculty members of their current research, and by occasional outside speakers. Approved for S/U grading only. May be repeated. A minimum of 4 hours of ECON 598 is required of all students in the Ph.D. program. Prerequisite: Admission to the Department of Economics Ph.D. program.