Economics

An examination of basic Micro- and Macroeconomic topics. CANNOT COUNT FOR ECONOMICS MAJORS.

The price system; demand and supply analysis; the production process; analysis of market structures.

The economic system and it fundamental principles. The economic functions of government, monetary and fiscal policy, and international trade.

Specific topics vary. Only for study abroad. Cannot count for Economics major. May be taken more than once.

Fufills 3.0 free elective credits.

Fulfills 6.0 free elective credits.

Fulfills 9.0 free elective credits.

The components of aggregate economic growth. Theories underlying public policies which attempt to achieve the objectives of price stability, full employment and economic growth in the United States.

Economic and mathematical analysis of the equilibrium conditions of the household, the firm, and industry, in various market structures, together with a brief examination of the general equilibrium of the economy; emphasis upon developing a working knowledge of elementary mathematical analysis as it applies to present economic theory.

Fast paced coverage of R. Topics include libraries, tidyverse, IO, data types and storage, data analysis and display, function writing, higher order functions vs loops, and performance.

Fulfills 3.0 economic elective credits.

Fulfills 6.0 economic elective credits.

Principles of money, banking and financial markets; the relationship of the monetary and banking system to the functioning of the economy; the theory and practice of monetary policy; the function of money in international payments.

Competition style course structured to combine concepts of Federal Reserve monetary policy and advanced macroeconomic analysis with enhanced presentation skills. Students will be selected from the class to represent Villanova in an intercollegiate Fed Challenge Competition.

Socio-economic conditions, political history, and government policy and the global impact on international trade and monetary relations; regional integration; stability of international economic systems; economic development and transition strategies; role of multinational corporations in the global world.

Comparative advantage; gains from foreign trade; Heckscher-Ohlin doctrine; technology and product cycles; tariff theory and policy; Other protection measures; economic integration; foreign exchange rates; fixed and flexible rates; balance of payments; multinational corporations.

The evolution of economic analysis within the context of contemporary economic institutions and associated social, ethical, and political thought.

The economic roles of various levels of government and the theory and practice of public expenditure and taxation. Government's impact on the allocation of resources and the distribution of income in a mixed economy.

Through the evaluation of practical applications, social norms, and environmental laws and policies, this course provides a critical analysis of the economic impact of environmental challenges including resource depletion, climate change, and ecosystem services across temporal, spatial, and political boundaries.

The role of women in the economy and its implications. Economics of the household, marriage, fertility, divorce unemployment, earnings of women and occupational choice. International comparisons and current public policy issues.

This course introduces students to the subject matter of corporate finance and financial economics. Topics covered include The Time Value of Money, Interest Rates, Stocks and Bonds, Firm Valuation, Investment Risk and Return, Corporate Financing, Capital Structure, Financial Modeling and Forecasting, Options, and Mergers and Acquisitions. Restricted to: Non-VSB majors and minors.

Economic theories concerning the employer's labor demand, the individual's labor supply, educational/occupational choices, labor unions, on-the-job training, discrimination, labor market mechanisms and wage determination. Public policies which affect the market.

Key economic concepts and theories of Industrial Organization and Public Policy, Public Finance, and Labor Economics, discussed in the context of the sports industry. An in-depth look at related econometric research of sports economists.

Economics of American industrial organization; market structure, conduct, and performance; the workability of competition in selected industries; the application of public policy and anti-trust law.

Growth of the American economy in terms of its various sectors and their interrelations; the evolution of important economic institutions and ideas and of the role of the entrepreneurs.

Structural change in the process of development; growth patterns and income distribution; determinants and role of saving, investment, technological change; strategy and methods of development planning; the role of government; social institutions.

Variables and functions, matrices and determinants, difference equations, and calculus. Applications to economic and business problems, including market equilibrium, revenue and cost functions, marginal theory, maximization problems, input-output analysis, and selected deterministic models.

Programming in R for economics and finance applications. Topics include libraries, tidyverse, IO, data types and storage, indexing/slicing, data wrangling, regression, display, function writing, control structures, loops, higher order functions, performance, functional and objected oriented design.

The scientific methodology of studying economics. Emphasis on practical aspects of developing and undertaking an economics research project that includes the formation of a research question, literature review, and empirical testing.

Examination of health as a durable good and specific markets for services to enhance health, including physician, nursing, hospital, and private insurance. The role of government and comparison to health care systems and outcomes in other countries are all studied.

Structure and conduct of selected industries in the U.S. Economy chosen from the manufacturing, finance, energy, public utility, and transportation sectors. Effects of government policies such as regulation, deregulation, antitrust, subsidization, and protection from foreign competition.

Intermediate course in stochastic methods with emphasis on applications; estimation, hypotheses testing, regression analysis, economic forecasting, time series analysis and probabilistic formulation of economic relationships such as consumption and production functions.

Basic game theoretic framework, concepts and applications; mathematical models to understand the behavior of humans in strategic situations.

Examine cutting edge theories of how cognitive, psychological , social, and emotional factors affect economic decisions. Evidence from lab and field experiments is presented to support these behavioral models.

Utilizes economic theory to examine the major contemporary issues confronting urban areas; explores economic solutions to the problems of housing, transportation, education, poverty, crime, growth, employment, taxes and redevelopment.

Selected topics in economics currently of interest to faculty and students.

Capstone course requiring students to utilize the tools of analysis and expression, including not only economic theory and applications, but also writing, speaking and mathematics. Computer skills expanded.

Selected topics in economics currently of interest to faculty and students.

Modern methods used in macroeconomic research based on microeconomic principles; dynamic processes of economic growth and business cycles; impact of rational expectations on fiscal and monetary policies; mathematical tools for dynamic economic models.

This course examines foreign aid using a variety of economic approaches and tools including growth models, a public choice approach, principal-agent theory, and econometric analysis. Building on the history and institutions of foreign aid, we will delve into current policy and academic debates including aid effectiveness, agency problems, conditionality, and selectivity. A recurring theme is how the economic and political objectives of aid donors and recipients influence the development effectiveness of aid.

Introduction to methods of time series analysis including univariate models, trends, seasonality, structural breaks, forecasting, policy analysis, vector autoregression and panel techniques.

Capstone course. Analyze microeconomic and macroeconomic situations involving risk, uncertainty, and ambiguity. Applications of expected utility theory and mean-variance theory in insurance, behavioral economics, and finance. Applications of empirically measuring and quantitatively modeling time-varying volatility in macroeconomics.

Capstone course. Open economy macroeconomic theory, monetary and asset-based exchange rate models; flexible vs. fixed exchange rate regimes; gains from financial globalization; financial and currency crisis; currency unions.

Capstone course. Read seminal papers that use experiments to test economic theories. Learn how to properly design and conduct experiments.

Students with specific interests work on a tutorial basis with faculty. A departmental independent Research Proposal form must be approved by the directing faculty member and the department chairman prior to registration.