Economics

440 ELLIOTT HALL

(248) 370-3283

Fax: (248) 370-4275

Chairperson: Anandi P. Sahu

Professor emeritus: Eleftherios N. Botsas

Professors: Addington Coppin, Sherman Folland, Oded Izraeli, Kevin J. Murphy, Anandi P. Sahu, Jonathan Silberman, Miron Stano

Associate professors: Nivedita Mukherji, Ram Orzach, Kasaundra Tomlin, Ronald L. Tracy

Assistant professors: Fuad Hasanov, Xie Zhu

Chief adviser: Anandi P. Sahu

The Department of Economics offers a variety of programs for undergraduate students interested in economics: a Bachelor of Arts with a major in economics, a Bachelor of Science with majors in economics and business economics (see the School of Business Administration portion of this catalog) and a Bachelor of Science with a major in actuarial science that is jointly offered with the Department of Mathematics and Statistics.

The economics curriculum teaches students the concepts and tools of economic analysis, while providing them with the breadth and flexibility of a broad general education degree. Students learn how economic analysis can be applied to major problems facing individuals, businesses, the nation and the world today. A major in economics prepares students for the workplace of the future, which will require workers who are flexible, adaptable to change and who can propose practical solutions to solve problems quickly.

Besides preparing students for a career in the public and private sector, an education in economics is excellent preparation for law school, graduate school in public administration or economics, or a Master of Business Administration (MBA) program. Economics is a flexible choice for students seeking a rigorous, well-respected and relevant major without specializing in a narrowly defined area.

The Bachelor of Arts degree with a major in economics allows a student to pursue a liberal arts education while providing a background that businesses considers appropriate for most entry-level management positions. The Bachelor of Science degree with a major in economics has additional requirements in business and economics while providing educational and career flexibility not offered by a degree in business. The minor in economics is useful for liberal arts majors with an interest in business and for business majors who want to demonstrate their solid grounding in economics, the foundation for a business degree. The Bachelor of Science with a major in actuarial science prepares students for jobs in actuarial science as well as provides them with the educational background necessary to pursue an advanced degree in economics, mathematics, statistics, or business administration.

Students who are interested in attending graduate school in economics should see the department chairperson or an economics faculty mentor at an early stage of their undergraduate program. Academic advisers in the School of Business Administration (for B.A. and B.S. degrees) and the College of Arts and Sciences (for B.A. degree) or the chairperson of the Department of Economics do general student advising.

Departmental Honors

Economics majors are eligible for departmental honors if their grade point average in all economics and other courses taken from the School of Business Administration is 3.33 or above.

Promising economics students may be invited to join Omicron Delta Epsilon, a national economics honor society.

Economics Major Electives

Choose six economics electives at the 3000-level or above, one or more of which must be at the 4000 level. No more than 3 credits of ECN 4996 may be counted as electives. Students taking ECN 1500 before ECN 2000 or ECN 2010 , and who subsequently become economics majors, should talk to the department chairperson.

Students may substitute one of the following courses for an economics elective: ACC 2000 , ORG 3300 , ORG 3310 , MIS 3000 , MKT 3020 , POM 3430 , or a social science course (PS 3310 , SOC 3600 ), or another course approved by the Department of Economics chairperson. Note: students must meet any course prerequisites before taking these courses.

Programs & Cores

Schedule of Classes

Specific offerings for each semester may be found in the Schedule of Classes.

The department offers selected courses from this catalog as warranted by student needs and availability of faculty. Specific offerings for each term may be found in the Schedule of Classes (see link below). Following is a general description of the economics courses offered.

ECN 1500 : An introductory economics course for students not majoring in economics or business. After ECN 1500 , students may take certain economics courses numbered less than 3500. ECN 1500 satisfies the university general education requirement in the social science knowledge exploration area.

ECN 1600 : Explains and analyzes the comparative advantage, free trade, barriers to trade, and exchange rates. Composition of international trade is analyzed. GDP, growth, unemployment, inflation, poverty, and income distribution are discussed. Measures of each are shown for the U.S., other industrialized countries, as well as emerging and development countries. (Generally offered every semester.) Studies cannot get credit for both ECN 2020 and ECN 1600 .

(ECN 2000 and ECN 2020 ) and ECN 2010 : Introductory courses for students who intend to major in economics or business or students who desire a more complete understanding of economics. The accelerated course, ECN 2100 , combines the material of ECN 2000 (or ECN 2020 ) and ECN 2010 into a single semester, 6-credit course. Highly motivated and well-prepared students should consider taking ECN 2100 instead of ECN 2000 (or ECN 2020 and ECN 2010 ). ECN 2000 (or ECN 2020 ) and ECN 2100 satisfy the university General Education Requirements in the social science knowledge exploration area.

ECN 3020 -ECN 3040 : These intermediate economic analysis courses are designed for students who intend to major in economics or an area of business. Students may be admitted to these courses if they are pursuing a minor in economics and have met the prerequisites.

ECN 3090 -ECN 3380 : Economics electives numbered ECN 3090 through ECN 3380 are applications of economics that are open to students who have taken ECN 1500 , ECN 2000 or ECN 2100 .

ECN 3670 -ECN 3850 : Economics electives numbered ECN 3670 through ECN 3850 are intermediate-level courses in the applications of economics intended for majors or minors in economics and business. These courses are open to students who have taken ECN 2010 or ECN 2100 .

ECN 4050 -ECN 4996 : Economics courses numbered ECN 4050 or higher are advanced courses. Enrollment in these courses is generally limited to students who have taken ECN 3030 .

Detailed description of the following economics courses can be found in the School of Business Administration section of this catalog or Schedule of Classes.