ECN - Economics

ECN2000 Principles of Macroeconomics
4 Intermediate Liberal Arts Credits

Understanding the economy requires knowing what affects key variables such as output, employment, prices, interest rates and exchange rates, how these variables are measured, and how they fluctuate with the national economy over the business cycle. Students in ECN2000 will master these concepts, as well as understand the impact of inflation, deflation, recessions and trade imbalances on the economy. Students will be introduced to social challenges such as poverty and income inequality. They will also gain an introductory understanding of the banking system, money creation and the tools of monetary, fiscal and trade policies used by governments to manage sustainable growth in the context of the international economy.

Prerequisites: None

ECN2002 Principles of Microeconomics 
4 Intermediate Management Credits 

**This course is equivalent to SME2031. Students who took SME2031 cannot take this course.**

Microeconomics examines the decisions made by consumers, firms and governments in allocating scarce resources. In a market economy, most allocation is determined by buyers and sellers coming together in markets. In this course, you will delve into the guiding principles that explain both consumer and firm behavior in markets for goods and services. Managers must deal with real-world constraints in making decisions about production and pricing, while consumers are subject to the constraints of income and prices in satisfying their needs and wants. Microeconomic principles also highlight the roles that governments play in the markets as they try to increase the general welfare by, for example, setting rules for the market  or providing goods and services the market cannot efficiently provision. This course also examines the nature of competition and how the level of competition in a particular market affects output, prices and profits.

Prerequisites: None 

NST2011 Socio-Ecological Systems and Disaster Resilience  
4 Advanced Liberal Arts Credits

**NST2011/ECN2611: Socioecological Systems and Disaster Resilience will be co-taught by Prof. Winrich and Prof. Way as a single course.** **These are two separate courses and students are held responsible to register for the course that they would like to receive credit for.** 

Natural disasters can affect us wherever we go. Disasters might be localized or far-reaching, and may come from severe weather, seismic events, biological catastrophe, or outer space. Natural disasters may seem random, but their impact on people and their communities is not. While natural systems spark an event, like an earthquake, the “disaster” is often the result of economic, political and social systems. And in the case of climate change, the economic system itself may be the catalyst for ever-more-destructive natural forces such as hurricanes, floods and wildfires, potentially creating a negative feedback loop that leads toward more destructive events, both natural and man-made. This course looks at the rising number of natural disasters in the context of the economic systems that impact the environment and put communities in harms’ way. It investigates the connections between humans and the environment when they are impacted by anticipated and unanticipated natural events, and how they plan for the future. It explores resilience planning for more survivable, sustainable communities in the face of disasters. It specifically looks at the role of economic systems and how these systems can either worsen or mitigate the severity of natural disasters themselves. 
 

Prerequisites: AHS1000 and RHT1000 and RHT1001 and NST1

NST2090/ECN2690 Socio-Ecological Systems: Feeding the Modern United States
4 Intermediate Liberal Arts Credits

The sustainability of local, regional, national, and global food systems hinges on the full scope of the system’s environmental resilience and safety. Climate change, and ongoing human contribution to climate change via industrialized agricultural practices, has resulted in increasing food insecurity and shifting agricultural priorities in the US and around the world. Using interdisciplinary frameworks, we will explore food and agricultural practices, the pursuit of policy goals, and the impact of government interventions. Considering the food system’s many stakeholders, we will examine food production, trade, manufacturing, safety, nutrition, and waste. We will investigate hunger and food security, access to food, and the impact of demographics such as location, economic disadvantage, gender, age, and race/ethnicity. We will analyze social and environmental stressors across the food system, focusing on policies and practices that have the potential to alleviate poverty and inequality.     

Prerequisites: NST1 and FCI1000 and WRT1001

ECN3600: Urban and Land Use Economics

4 Advanced Liberal Arts Credits

Cities are great places where populations gather, interact, and create new ideas. At the same time, cities represent problems such as traffic, crime, and economic inequality. Why do cities exist in the first place? Why are buildings in the city center taller and more expensive? How do we explain land use patterns and housing prices? Does building infrastructure relieve congestion or create pollution? Does gentrification help revitalize inner cities? This course offers a rigorous survey of urban and spatial economics, building upon previous knowledge in introductory economics courses. Core theories in urban economics will be introduced, as well as ideas in economic geography, spatial econometrics, and sustainable development. Further skills in data analysis and visualization especially through GIS will be developed.

Prerequisites: ECN 2002

ECN 3601: Political Economy of Sustainable Development: Case of Germany

4 Advanced Liberal Arts Credits

Germany has emerged as one of the world leaders in sustainability and innovation since the end of WWII. How has the political economy of Germany shaped its role in sustainability in Europe and in the world? With new “traffic light” coalition, would an increasingly popular Green Party accelerate actions towards sustainable development goals in Germany, or will these actions be hampered by the Free Democrats? The course meets first as an on-campus seminar to introduce you to the political and economic structures as well as the major environmental and sustainability debates in Germany. We will then spend spring break traveling in Germany to learn on the field, including a visit to the German Parliament (Bundestag), where the course instructor once interned. 

Prerequisites: ECN 2002

ECN3606 Uses and Abuses of Financial Derivatives: An Economist's View

4 Advanced Liberal Arts Credits

The significant use of derivative instruments began in the 1970s and, since then, has grown at a thunderous rate. Derivatives are used by individuals, businesses, financial institutions, central banks, and governments throughout the world. This course explains financial derivatives from microeconomic and macroeconomic perspectives.

Microeconomic Perspective
The wise use of derivative instruments requires the identification, measurement, evaluation, management, and monitoring of major risks. Some risks are willingly held, but many of are not, and derivative instruments provides a way to transfer these risks to others. Uses and Abuses of Financial Derivatives: An Economist’s View explains how companies have used derivative contracts to mitigate risks. It also describes how these instruments can be used for speculative, often destructive, purposes, which have little or nothing to do with a well-conceived strategy. In some cases, actions that were intended to hedge positions ended up being speculative, due (usually) to unpriced risks and a lack of understanding.

In the spirit of “Never waste a good crisis,” this course explains the steps and missteps of companies connected to some of the most spectacular derivative disasters, such as Amaranth Advisors LLC, American International Group (AIG), JPMorgan Chase (“London Whale”), Metallgesellschaft AG, Orange County, and Proctor & Gamble Inc. In doing so, the course addresses important questions, such as: What risks did these companies fail to identify or incorrectly price? Could these losses have been prevented?

The chances are high that students in this class will be offered employee stock options sometime in their professional careers, so this course explains how to put stock option offers into the broader perspective of different forms of compensation and their risks. We will find that employers (especially those in start-up companies) often look at ESOs quite differently from employees.

Macroeconomic Perspective
Derivative products have been used by central banks to influence exchange rates and by governments to hedge international borrowing and lending costs. This course explains how central banks hedge themselves and the positive and negative impacts these transactions can have on international capital flows, domestic credit markets, and foreign exchange markets.

Uses and Abuses of Financial Derivatives: An Economist’s View also connects you to an ongoing debate about whether financial derivatives can have significant negative effects on national and world economies. On one side are those who believe derivatives are zero-sum games, with the losses of some offset by the gains of others. On the other side are those who believe that derivative instruments can negatively influence nations’ monetary and fiscal policies and expectations, thereby precipitating national and international economic and financial crises. This course discusses both sides of this debate, with particular focus the currency crises of Mexico (1994), Thailand (1997 – 1998), Russia (1998), and Argentina (2001).

Engaging in a forward contract means agreeing to pay or receive payment in the future at a price agreed upon today, but how can one know if a forward price is “fair.” To address this question, we discuss four “parity conditions,” which are at the heart of many macroeconomic discussions – particularly those dealing with derivatives.
 

Prerequisites: ECN2000 or ECN2002

ECN3615 Money, Banking, and the Economy
4 Advanced Liberal Arts Elective Credits

Central Banks exert a tremendous influence over the economy and financial markets. Anyone interested in investing in or running a business should have a firm grasp on the effects of their policies and a general ability to predict their actions. Moreover, the behavior of central banks has radically changed over the last decade, implementing in practice experimental polices that were largely theoretical previously (e.g. quantitative easing) if not unfathomable (e.g. negative interest rates). In this class, we will focus on how and why central banks implement these polices and adjust interest rates, and how those policies affect the economy. We will also focus heavily on central banks’ interactions with bond markets, stock markets, and foreign exchange markets. In studying these asset markets, we will also discuss general frameworks for thinking about how financial prices are determined, including potential behavioral influences.

Prerequisites: ECN2000

ECN3620 Econometrics
4 Advanced Liberal Arts Elective Credits

This hands-on course is designed to provide students with a comprehensive introduction to the field of Econometrics. The course will be applied in nature and will be directed to undergraduate students that seek to further their understanding of how to use economic and statistical theory to develop economic models and forecast key financial and economic measures of performance while learning to assess the strengths and weaknesses of those models. These techniques can improve corporate financial planning, marketing, sales forecasts, production planning, legal consulting and many other decisions where better predictions in light of uncertainty can reduce costs, raise profits and lead to better decision making.

Prerequisites: (SME2031 or ECN2002)

ECN3625 Economic and Political Integration in the European Union
4 Advanced Liberal Arts Elective Credits

The European Union is the most important experiment in liberal democracy since the founding of the United States almost three hundred years ago. The question is, will it ultimately succeed in its goals of eliminating trade barriers and increasing political unity in order to promote economic growth and ensure peace. From the “Brexit” movement in the UK, to the rise of right-wing populism in Hungary, Poland and Italy, to the massive influx of migrants from North Africa and the Middle East, the EU faces potentially shattering challenges to its authority and its institutions. Students will learn about the history of the EU, the institutional structures, the democratic nature of decision-making and legislation, the economic foundations of the single market and the impact of adopting a single currency, the Euro. With this knowledge in hand, students will examine the current crises and the future challenges for the success of the European Union experiment.

Prerequisites: (SME2031 or ECN2002) and ECN2000

ECN3630 Industrial Organization & Public Policy
4 Advanced Liberal Arts Elective Credits

Strategic decisions that firms make on a wide range of issues such as market entry, entry deterrence, supply chain development, outsourcing and vertical integration, diversification, mergers and acquisitions, product positioning and managing innovation are the topics of this advanced course in the economic analysis of markets. Industrial Organization teaches students how market structure (or the nature of competition in a market) and the inter-relations between industries influence firm performance, and how understanding these linkages enables firms to identify opportunities and risks. Public policy and its role in industrial organization, through anti-trust enforcement for example, is important for entrepreneurs and business leaders trying to understand the rules of competition for their industries. Students will also learn to apply basic Game Theory to various aspects of strategic business decision making. Cases from a wide range of industries are used to illustrate successful business strategies.

Prerequisites: SME2031 or ECN2002

ECN3645 Business and Economic Policy in Developing Countries
4 Advanced Liberal Arts Credits

This course discusses the latest research in economics on the two fundamental questions of economic development: 1) why are some countries rich and some poor and what can be done about it, and 2) why are some individuals poor and remain poor for generations, and what can be done to alleviate poverty. In answering these questions, the course introduces students to the economic and political environment in poor countries. Topics include measures of development, economic growth, macroeconomic poverty traps (such as conflict, being landlocked, and low quality of institutions), foreign aid, and microeconomic poverty traps (such as poor nutrition and health, low educational endowments, and incomplete markets). The course introduces empirical strategies in economics to identify causal effect, such as randomized controlled trials, instrumental variable, difference-in-differences and regression discontinuity.

Prerequisites: (SME2031 or ECN2002) and ECN2000

ECN3650 Contemporary Economic Systems
4 Advanced Liberal Arts Elective Credits

At the heart of contemporary economic debates is the question: what role should government play in the economy? This course provides a framework for understanding the real world implications and outcomes of these debates in the context of economic theories, policies and systems. The course begins with an exploration of the major economic theories as they have emerged through time and the problems each theory has sought to address. The course explores the big ideas in economics from free markets to communism to managed markets, and covers the core debates surrounding the relevance of fiscal, monetary, trade and policy/regulatory policies. The course then uses several policy and country case studies to explore the application of these ideas to pressing issues such as structural unemployment, inequality, civil conflict, climate change and the impacts of trade, focusing as well on the potential role of businesses and entrepreneurs in addressing these issues. Emphasizing fact-based analysis in assessing the goals and outcomes of diverse policies, the course builds critical thinking skills and helps prepare students for leadership roles in a dynamic global business environment.

Prerequisites: (SME2031 or ECN2002) and ECN2000

ECN3655 Managerial Economics
4 Advanced Liberal Arts Elective Credits

Successful business decision-making requires the systematic analysis of a firm’s internal factors and external market forces. Managerial Economics uses applied microeconomics to prepare students to perform these quantitative analyses, both internally, looking at cost structure and scale, for example, and externally, to understand consumer preferences and demand, price sensitivity, the nature of competition, and the regulatory environment. Students will leave this course able to evaluate firms’ pricing, product attributes, production and output decisions, in the context of the competitive environment and constraints on the firm. Students will also hone quantitative skills that help them face challenges arising in dynamic markets where data can help entrepreneurs and managers mitigate risks and capitalize on opportunities.

Prerequisites: SME2031 or ECN2002

ECN3660 International Trade Theory and Policy
4 Advanced Liberal Arts Elective Credits

Global trade is of great importance to business strategy and economic development, in terms of both the opportunities for new markets and supply chains and the challenges of import competition and changing government policies. This course explores the theory behind international trade relationships, the pattern of imports and exports and trade policies among the various major trading economies of the world. As international trade becomes a more important consideration for all countries, it is important to understand the rationale, costs, and benefits of trading relationships, as well as the incentives (often conflicting) behind trade policies. This course combines very nicely with ECN3665 for a more complete coverage of international economics.

Prerequisites: SME2031 or ECN2002

ECN3662 Political Economy of Latin American Development and Underdevelopment

4 Advanced Liberal Arts Elective Credits

This course is for any individual interested in the political, financial, historical, and social determinants of economic development in Latin America. Both theoretical and policy issues in development are covered. Analyzing the characteristic volatility of the region's business environment, the course provides an in-depth examination of the workings of Latin America's economies, which in combination with courses in the liberal arts, leads to a greater appreciation of this region's global distinction and diversity.

Prerequisites: ECN2000 and (SME2031 or ECN2002)

ECN3663 Economics of Education
4 Advanced Liberal Arts Credits

Human capital development is a critical and expensive social investment, leading to intense debates about education policies, such as public funding for private schools, access to “free” community college, and college student-loan burdens. We will examine education’s critical role in growth, development, equitable outcomes, and economic well-being for individuals and societies. We will apply economic theories, methods, and frameworks to analyze educational problems, considering potential goals of efficiency, adequacy, and equity; to discuss policy context and implications; and to explore innovation in educational settings.

Prerequisites: SME2031 or ECN2002

ECN3664 College FED Challenge
2 Advanced Liberal Arts Elective Credits

This course exposes selected students to a rigorous exploration of advanced macroeconomic and monetary economic concepts, with a special emphasis on the conduct of monetary policy by the U.S. Federal Reserve. During the semester, students will research appropriate economic topics and make policy-oriented presentations. All aspects of the course will emphasize teamwork. The culminating experience of the course will be participation in the College Fed Challenge where students will present a fifteen minute monetary policy recommendation to a panel of local economists at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston. The presentation is followed by a 15 minutes question and answer session.

Prerequisites: ECN3615

ECN3665 International Finance
4 Advanced Liberal Arts Elective Credits

The global financial system provides the framework for trade and capital flows among countries. It has experienced severe disruptions in recent years from structural and policy changes that are transmitted globally through exchange rates and investment flows. This course provides broad and deep exposure to the (a) global financial institutions and markets, (b) quantitative and analytical tools, which are valuable for firms operating in the global marketplace, and (c) the costs and benefits of living in an increasingly interdependent world. This is a very valuable course for anyone with international interests and/or anyone who would like to work in a globally oriented job.

Prerequisites: ECN2000

ECN3667 Strategic Game Theory
4 Advanced Liberal Arts Elective Credits

Game theory provides a simple, but rich, framework for analyzing once-off and repeated interplay between people or firms, where the manner in which each reacts depends upon the other's reaction: strategic interaction. These interactions occur in markets, in organizations, and in the household. This course-through lectures, experiential learning, and computer simulations-will provide students with an understanding of many interactions they may encounter in their business and personal lives; including price wars, public policy, the value of cooperation interactions, and the value of information.

Prerequisites: SME2031 or ECN2002

ECN3671 The Economics of Labor Markets
4 Advanced Liberal Arts Elective Credits

Labor earnings provide over sixty percent of household income in the United States, driving the U.S. economy just as labor drives economies around the globe. The theoretical foundations for analyzing labor demand and supply will be the starting point for examining a range of labor market topics such as human capital investment, wage determination and inequality, the impact of robotics and artificial intelligence on employment, the choice between work and household production, the effect of unions on the labor market, labor mobility and migration, labor market discrimination, and the effects of taxation, regulation, unemployment insurance and other government policies on labor market outcomes.

Prerequisites: SME2031 or ECN2002

ECN3675 Environmental Economics – Policy and Analysis
4 Advanced Liberal Arts Elective Credits

Avoiding environmental catastrophe in the next century requires that business leaders and policy makers value, both inherently and quantitatively, the impact of production and consumption choices on natural resources and the environment. Students in this course will consider the tension between the resource needs of current versus future generations and will use microeconomic models to analyze non-renewable energy resources, our access to clean water and our ability to control pollution, among other topics. Students will leave this course knowing how to evaluate economic and environmental tradeoffs in the context of the most pressing resource issues, and understanding the impact of potential policies that affect environmental outcomes, including market-based approaches.

Prerequisites: ECN2000 and (SME2031 or ECN2002)

ECN3677 Regional Economies - Prospects and Tensions in Latin America's Southern Cone  
4 Advanced Liberal Arts Credits  

Program fee and group international airfare is paid to Glavin Office – program fee includes accommodations, breakfast, airport transport, group round-trip flight from Boston to Uruguay/Argentina, ferry transportation from Uruguay to Argentina, program planned meals, and cultural excursions. Not included: tuition, visa costs, additional meals and personal expenses.  This course provides an introduction to the Latin American business environment, with special focus on Uruguay and Argentina. In Uruguay, we explore the dilemmas of the country’s contrasting development opportunities, promoting tourism and sustainable enterprise built on its natural beauty, while pressured to accept environmentally threatening extractive industry investments in mining, pulp, and petroleum. Additional themes include environmental and water rights debates, regional infrastructure investment, and review of South-South trade initiatives. In Argentina, we examine the country’s emergence from the volatile swings of agricultural commodity booms, international debt, and financial turbulence. We explore the challenges of the recently elected Macri government to promote economic development through entrepreneurial initiative directed by market fundamentals. What happens when entrepreneurs design government policy and roll back the state? In addition, we examine regional e-business competition, the “Tango” as a cultural artifact of early economic development, concluding with an appraisal of the region’s prospects in the wake of the adversity of a global financial crisis. We will explore these Southern Cone economies through extensive country site visits and classroom sessions at host institutions, Universidad ORT (Uruguay) and Universidad San Andrès (Argentina).  

Prerequisites: (SME2031 or ECN2002) and ECN2000

SME2031 Microeconomics
3 Intermediate Core Credits

Microeconomics examines the decisions made by consumers, firms and governments in allocating scarce resources. Raw materials are not available in infinite quantities; neither are human labor and productive capital. Managers must deal with real-world constraints in making decisions about production and pricing, while consumers are subject to the constraints of income and prices in satisfying their needs and wants. Governments must set basic rules for an economy, provide certain goods and services, and deal with issues of taxation, income distribution and inequality when determining how a country’s resources will be used and who benefits from those resources. The Microeconomics curriculum introduces us to the rules and principles that help guide allocation decisions, and focuses particularly on the role of markets.

Prerequisites: None