2022-2023 Academic Year

Fall 2022

ECON 111 Intro to Microeconomics
A study of the fundamentals of economic analysis and of basic economic institutions, with particular emphasis upon consumer demand and upon the output and pricing decisions of business firms. The implications of actions taken by these decision-makers, operating within various market structures, upon the allocation of resources and the distribution of income are examined. Special attention is given to the sociopolitical environment within which economic decisions are made.

ECON 314 Polit Econ of Neoliberalism
This course explores the political economy of neoliberalism. We will examine neoliberal thinkers and ideas from the past, the present, and examine the debates about the neoliberalism of the future. Topics we will explore in detail include: The debate over economic planning, the debate over the welfare state and a universal basic income, the controversy over neoliberal involvement in Pinochet’s Chile, and the work by the critics of neoliberalism. The course is reading intensive. Works we will read include the original transcripts of the discussions and debates that took place at the initial meeting of the Mont Pelerin Society in 1947; the literature relating to the debate over F. A. Hayek’s ‘Road to Serfdom’; Milton Friedman’s ‘Capitalism and Freedom’ Buchanan and Tullock’s ‘Calculus of Consent’; and the work of contemporary critics of neoliberal doctrine (e.g., Nancy MacLean).

Spring 2023

ECON 112 Intro to Macroeconomics
A study of the fundamentals of economic analysis and of basic economic institutions, with particular emphasis upon national output, employment, and price levels. The monetary and financial system is explored together with problems of economic stability. Monetary and fiscal policy procedures are analyzed and evaluated in light of the current economic climate. Special attention is given to the historical development of major economic institutions.Prerequisite: 111.

ECON 247 Money and Banking
A study of the role of money and credit in the U.S. economy. The nature of money, the structure of the banking system in the context of a rapidly changing financial institutional environment, and the Federal Reserve System are examined. Various theories of money as guides to monetary policy are compared and contrasted. Neoclassical approaches will predominate, although some alternative approaches will be explored. Prerequisite: 112.