1999-2000 Undergraduate Catalog
Indiana, Pennsylvania 15705

Economics

Department of Economics
College of Humanities and Social Sciences

Credit designation below title is expressed in (c) class hours per week, (l) lab or (d) discussion section hours per week, and (sh) semester hours of credit per semester.

EC 121 Principles of Economics I
3c-0l-3sh
Nature and methodology of economics; mixed capitalism and market economy; national income; employment theory, including economics of fiscal policy; money, banking, and Federal Reserve System; international trade and finance.

EC 122 Principles of Economics II
3c-0l-3sh
Economics of the firm; theory of consumer demand; determination of price and output in different market structures; distribution of income; economic growth.

EC 241 Contemporary Economic Issues
3c-0l-3sh
Prerequisite: EC101 or 122
A rigorous but nontechnical analysis of a variety of economic problems and a formulation and evaluation of possible corrective policies.

EC 281 Special Topics
var-1-3sh
Prerequisite: As appropriate to course content
Special topics are offered on an experimental or temporary basis to explore topics that are not included in the established curriculum. A given topic may be offered under any special topic identity no more than three times. Special topics numbered 281 are offered primarily for lower-level undergraduate students.

EC 283 Environmental Economics
3c-0l-3sh
Prerequisite: EC101 or 122
Examination of economic costs and benefits of environmental control and modification. Techniques of economic analysis are used to understand economic aspects of environmental problems and contribute toward their solution.

EC 325 Monetary Economics I
3c-0l-3sh
Prerequisites: EC121, 122
Organization, operation, and economic significance of U.S. monetary institutions; commercial banks and Federal Reserve System; survey of monetary theory and policy; mechanism of international payments.

EC 326 Monetary Economics II
3c-0l-3sh
Prerequisite: EC325 or permission of the instructor
Detailed study of monetary theory; tasks of central banking; principal objectives of monetary policy; intensive study of recent monetary experience; complementary and competing aims of monetary and fiscal policy.

EC 330 Labor Economics
3c-0l-3sh
Prerequisites: EC121, 122
History, structure, and operation of trade unions and employer organizations; major federal labor legislation; collective bargaining theory; wage determination; current labor problems.

EC 331 Economic Organization of Industry
3c-0l-3sh
Prerequisite: EC122 or permission of the instructor
Social effectiveness of industries analyzed through measures of market structure, market conduct, and market performance.

EC 332 Government and Business
3c-0l-3sh
Prerequisite: EC122 or permission of the instructor
An analysis of the antitrust laws focusing on the maintenance of competition, the prohibition of unfair business conduct, and the achievement of desirable economic performance.

EC 333 Regulation of Industry
3c-0l-3sh
Prerequisites: EC121, 122 or permission of the instructor
Examines the theory and practice of regulation, emphasizing effects of regulation on economic performance and efficiency in the U.S.

EC 334 Economics of Corporate Decisions
3c-0l-3sh
Prerequisites: EC121, EC122, MA121 or equivalent
Applications of economic theory using algebra, elementary statistics, and calculus to solve managerial optimization problems including problems of forecasting and risk.

EC 335 Public Finance
3c-0l-3sh
Prerequisites: EC121, 122 or permission of the instructor
Taxation and expenditure theory at the federal level; federal budget and debt considerations; public sector impact upon economy.

EC 336 State and Local Finance
3c-0l-3sh
Prerequisite: EC122 or permission of the instructor
Analysis of character and impact of state and local government revenue sources, expenditures, and fiscal systems; intergovernmental fiscal relations.

EC 339 Economic Development I
3c-0l-3sh
Prerequisites: EC121, 122
Theory of growth; theory of economic development of underdeveloped countries.

EC 343 History of the Economic Development of the United States
3c-0l-3sh
Prerequisite: EC101 or 121 or 122
Applications of economic theory and models of economic development to the main patterns of U.S. postrevolutionary growth; emphasizes the history of economic development as a laboratory for testing economic hypotheses.

EC 345 International Trade
3c-0l-3sh
Prerequisites: EC121 and 122 or permission of the instructor
Study of the microeconomic segment of international specialization and exchange, including theories of international trade and their application to commercial policies, historical survey and examination of current problems of international trade, and the institutional setting of international trade.

EC 346 International Payments
3c-0l-3sh
Prerequisites: EC121 and 122 or permission of the instructor
Study of the macroeconomic segment of international specialization and exchange, including analysis of balance of payments, exchange rates, and the mechanism of international economic and monetary adjustments; international macroeconomic policy; historical survey and examination of current international financial problems; and the institutional setting of international payments.

EC 350 Comparative Economic Systems
3c-0l-3sh
Prerequisite: EC101 or 121 or 122
Evaluation of premises, practices, institutions, and performance of capitalist, socialist, and mixed economies using economic theory and measurement.

EC 351 Russian Economic Development
3c-0l-3sh
Prerequisite: EC101 or 121 or 122
Study of the theory, institutions, and performance of the Russian economy including comparison of present and past patterns of economic development.

EC 355 Statistics for Economists
3c-0l-3sh
Introduction to economic statistics, including frequency distributions, probability, distributions of random variables, functions of random variables, and tests of economic hypotheses.

EC 356 Introduction to Econometrics
3c-0l-3sh
Prerequisites: EC355 or its equivalent or permission of the instructor
Introduction to econometrics, including linear normal regression models of two or more random variables, special econometric problems, and solutions of simultaneous equations.

EC 360 Economics of Health Services
3c-0l-3sh
Analysis of the allocation of resources in the health sector using demand and supply techniques. Pricing and output decisions by physicians, hospitals, and other health agencies will be considered along with other current policy issues.

EC 371 Economics of Labor Legislation
3c-0l-3sh
Prerequisite: EC330 or permission of the instructor
Economic background and effects of governmental regulation of labor relations, with emphasis on a detailed examination of National Labor Relations Act as amended.

EC 372 Economics of Wages and Employment
3c-0l-3sh
Prerequisite: EC330 or permission of the instructor
Analysis of wages and employment under various market structures. Also, analysis of the impact of labor market forces on wages, prices, and distributive shares.

EC 373 Economics of Human Resources
3c-0l-3sh
Prerequisite: EC101 or 122
Inquiry into economic demographics and related factors affecting growth, structure, and distribution of an economy's labor force into different occupations.

EC 383 Urban/Regional Economics
3c-0l-3sh
Prerequisites: EC121 and 122
Location theory, land use patterns, urban economic/regional growth change, and urban economic problems and policies.

EC 421 Macroeconomic Analysis
3c-0l-3sh
Prerequisites: EC121, 122 or permission of the instructor
Emphasizes aggregate income levels and problems of unemployment, inflation, and growth. Covers consumption and investment theories and the role of fiscal and monetary policy.

EC 422 Microeconomic Analysis
3c-0l-3sh
Prerequisites: EC121, EC122, MA121 or equivalent
Consumer behavior, theory of the firm, theory of exchange, market structures, distribution, general equilibrium theory, welfare economics.

EC 480 Seminar
3c-0l-3sh
Prerequisite: Permission of the instructor
Seminar in selected economic issues or problems.

EC 481 Special Topics
var-1-3sh
Prerequisite: Permission of the instructor
Special topics courses are offered on an experimental or temporary basis to explore topics that are not included in the established curriculum. A given topic may be offered under any special topic identity no more than three times. Special topics numbered 481 are primarily for upper-level undergraduate students.

EC 482 Independent Study
var-1-6sh
Prerequisite: Prior approval through advisor, faculty member, department chairperson, dean, and provost's office
Students with interest in independent study of a topic not offered in the curriculum may propose a plan of study in conjunction with a faculty member. Approval is based on academic appropriateness and availability of resources.

EC 493 Internship in Economics
var-2-12sh
Prerequisite: A student must be an economics major who has completed at least 12 semester hours in economics and who has at least a 2.5 grade-point average in the major and in all coursework.
The course provides on-the-job experience in economics positions with private and governmental employers. The student is also required to complete related academic work in the form of papers and selected readings. Number of credits earned will depend upon the nature of the job and amount of time involved in internship. A maximum of six of the credits earned in this course may be counted toward the 30 semester hours in economics requirement for Economics majors.