Stern College for Women
""

Economics

"The ideas of economists and political philosophers, both when they are right and when they are wrong, are more powerful than is commonly understood. Indeed, the world is ruled by little else."
—John Maynard Keynes

"The man of the future is the man of statistics and the master of economics."
—Oliver Wendell Holmes

Economics at helps students develop the analytical tools to understand how modern economies allocate scarce resources to produce goods and services, and how economic performance is affected by policies, technology and institutions.

Economics courses provide ideal training for anyone interested in law, business, finance or government, as well as for graduate studies in economics. They also provide students with a rigorous way of thinking about individual, business and household decision-making. The introductory sequence of microeconomics and macroeconomics is an essential component of a liberal arts education, and provides the background for our wide array of electives.

For more information, please contact Chair: Professor James Kahn.

Mission Statement

The mission of the Economics department is to prepare students either for employment or further study in economics or related fields by providing them with analytical and quantitative skills that practitioners, researchers, and policymakers use to understand how markets allocate scarce resources.

Program Student Learning Goals

  1. Students will be able to apply analytical tools to understand how modern economies allocate scarce resources to produce goods and services 
  2. Students will be able to obtain quantitative skills that will enable them to understand and work with data and mathematical models of markets and economic variables 
  3. Students will be able to articulate a well-defined research question and conduct independent research using economic reasoning and data.  
  4. Students will able to communicate economic ideas effectively in written and oral form.

Program Information

Graduate Courses

Undergraduate Courses

Please see the Schedule of Classes for the current semester’s offerings. 

Economics (ECON)

  • ECON 1010 Principles of Economics
    Introduction to microeconomic and macroeconomic analysis. Micro:  supply and demand, the behavior of firms and consumers; how markets work; market failures; policy issues such as taxation regulation, and redistribution of income. Macro: General equilibrium, business cycles, inflation, unemployment; national income accounting; monetary and fiscal policy; public debt and social insurance; theories of international trade; long-term growth.  (Replaces ECON 1031 and 1041 beginning in Fall 2015.)
  • ECON 1101 Intermediate Microeconomics (3 credits)
    Application of indifference curve analysis to private decision making and public policy issues; consumer choice; production and cost; economic efficiency under perfect and imperfect competition; input market, game theory, public goods, and externalities.
    Prerequisite: MAT 1412 (may be taken concurrently) or Instructor's permission. ECO 1010 recommended.
  • ECON 1170 Contemporary Microeconomic Issues (3 credits)
    Use of economic tools to explore issues of public policy and private decision making. Topics vary by term but may include uncertainty and information in economics, crime, government regulation of business, education, charity, immigration, contracts, discrimination, medical care, transportation, congestion, geographic location, income distribution.
    Prerequisite: ECON 1010.
  • ECON 1177 Game Theory and Behavioral Economics (3 credits)
    Development of models of rational behavior in interactive situations through the theory of non-cooperative, cooperative, and evolutionary games. Game theory is used for decisions and strategy wherever people interact to strike mutually agreeable deals or to resolve conflicts in such diverse fields as international relations, economics, business politics, psychology, philosophy, or even evolutionary biology.
    Prerequisite: ECON 1010 or ECON 1101 or Instructor's permission.
  • ECON 1201 Intermediate Macroeconomics (3 credits)
    National income accounting, national income determination models, consumption functions, investment theory, business cycle theory, stabilization policy, IS-LM analysis, aggregate demand and aggregate supply analysis, rational expectations theory, economic growth and development theories.
    Prerequisite: MAT 1412 (may be taken concurrently) or Instructor's permission. ECO 1010 recommended.
  • ECON 1221 Money and Banking (3 credits)
    Nature of money; organization and functioning of the commercial banking system; description of financial markets and financial institutions; hedging instruments, Federal Reserve System and financial intermediaries; national income determination models; inflation; role of money in international finance.
    Prerequisite: ECON 1010 or Instructor's permission.
  • ECON 1301 History of Economic Thought (3 credits)
    Ancient and medieval economic thought, mercantilists and physiocrats, classical and neoclassical schools, institutional school, Keynesian economics.
    Prerequisite: ECON 1010.
  • ECON 1401 U.S. Economic History (3 credits)
    History of the American economy major trends, institutional developments, and public policies that address key problems in U.S. economic history. Topics include the Colonial era, the Early National era, the Reunification era, the world wars and Great Depression, and the post World War II era.
    Prerequisites: ECO 1010
  • ECON 1421 Econometrics (3 credits)
    Application of regression techniques to the problem of testing and forecasting in economics. The two variable regression model is fully developed; analysis is extended to consider the multivariate model, functional form issues, dummy variables, and distribution lag models. Covers problems associated with auto-correlation; system models.
    Prerequisites: ECON 1010 or 1101 or 1201, STAT 1021.
  • ECON 1501 Public Finance (3 credits)
    Role of government in the economy; review of microeconomics; public expenditure analysis; externalities and public goods; public choice; cost benefit analysis; income redistribution and antipoverty programs; economics of social insurance and Social Security; economics of health insurance, Medicaid, Medicare, and comprehensive reform; principles of taxation; economics of excise taxes; efficiency and equity; economics of the U.S. personal and corporate income tax system; tax reform proposals; consumption taxes (sales tax, value added tax, and flat tax); wealth taxes; economics of deficit finance and the government debt.
    Prerequisite: ECON 1010 or 1101 or 1201
  • ECON 1601 Economic Development (3 credits)
    An introduction to concepts of economic development and growth, using case studies and student presentations.
    Prerequisite: ECON 1010 or 1101 or 1201
  • ECON 1701 International Economics (3 credits)
    The theory of international trade, international finance, commercial policy, balance of payments, the foreign exchange market, competitiveness in the global economy, international macroeconomics, and foreign direct investment. Emphasis on the determinants and effects of international linkages, including the roles of consumers, firms, and government policies, in the context of the international economic environment.
    Prerequisite: ECON 1010 or 1101 or 1201.
  • ECON 2005 Economics of the Law (3 credits)
    The relationship of legal institutions and laws to economic efficiency and social goals, such as justice. Economics of property rights, environmental control, administrative processes, contracts, and liability; public utility and antitrust regulation; individual rights and discrimination.
    Prerequisite: ECON 1010 or 1101 or 1201
  • ECON 2201 Labor Economics (3 credits)
    Labor's place in the American economy; factors affecting supply and demand for labor; wage determination; unionism as a response to labor problems; industrial relations; public policy toward labor; worker alienation; history of working conditions in the U.S.
    Prerequisite: ECON 1010 or 1101 or 1201
  • ECON 2531 Health Economics (3 credits)
    Application of economic tools and concepts to the analysis of the health-care field. Effects of health care on health, hospital behavior, health workforce supply, demand for health care. Role of demographic changes in healthcare system. Methodology employed by economists to determine the economic losses suffered in cases involving death and disability. Emphasis on the U. S. and its current situation. Comparison with other countries.
    Prerequisites: None
  • ECON 2701 Managerial Economics (3 credits)
    How managers make decisions about strategic variables that affect firms profits: prices, quantity and quality of final products, technology, spending on research and development, advertising, mergers and acquisitions. Also how these decisions differ under various market structures (e.g. competition, monopoly) and how they can affect these structures.
    Prerequisites: ECON 1010 or 1101 or 1201
  • ECON 2801 H   Auctions and Market Design (3 credits)
    Introduction to classical findings and recent developments in the theory of market design.  Auctions: the classical theory of auctions in a stylized environment, followed by observation of how difficulties arise and how successfully current attempts deal with these difficulties.  Matching and related issues. We discuss applications including medical residency match, school choice, course allocation, and kidney exchange. Overview of some recent developments in the theory of market design, mostly in the context of matching. 
    Pre-requisites: ECON 1101 and MATH 1412 or 1412H or Dept. permission or consent of instructor 
  • ECON 3006 Economics and Ethical Issues (3 credits)
    Comparison of the economic efficiency and Jewish law approaches to business ethics, advertising and promotional activities, business pricing policies, labor relations, fair competition, government regulation of the economy, social welfare, speculation.
  • ECON 3501 Economics of the Middle East (3 credits)
    Economic growth of Israel until the Yom Kippur War; stagnancy and inflation since 1974; new economic policies since 1985; Middle East oil, OPEC, and the economies of Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, and Syria.
    Prerequisite: ECON 1001 or 1041.
  • ECON 4901, ECON 4902 Independent Study
    See Academic Information and Policies section.
  • ECON 4930 Topics in Macroeconomics (3 credits)
  • ECON 4931 Topics in Microeconomics (3 credits)

Minor: 18 credits

ECON 1010; ECON 1101 and/or ECON 1201; ECON 1421; IDS 1131/STAT 1021

If both 1101 and 1201 are taken, one additional elective is required. Otherwise two electives are required.

List of electives: ECON 1177, ECON 1221, ECON 2531, ECON 2601 

View the detailed economics major/minor fact sheet at the Academic Advisement Center webpage.

The following list includes faculty who teach at both the Beren and Wilf campus.

Please note: Links to external sites are offered as a convenience to visitors, as a starting point for exploration. Such sites are neither endorsed nor regulated by , which accepts no responsibility for their content.

Research

  • - From the American Economic Association.
  • - From the Yale University Library. Includes a listing of economics blogs.
  • - A bibliographic database from the University of Connecticut Department of Economics.
  • Free Online MIT Course Materials - .

Internships

  • - Offers internships during the summer and the academic year.
  • - Options include dissertation internships, project internships and unpaid internships.

Graduate Study

News and Organizations

  • - From the New York Times.
  • - Encourages research, issues publications and supports freedom of economic discussion.
  • - An association of professionals with an interest in business economics, seeking to use the latest economic data and trends to make sound business decisions.