2025-2026 Academic Year

Fall 2025

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 371 British & European Econ Hist
Rapid economic development took off in Britain during the eighteenth century. What were the causes and consequences of this first Industrial Revolution? Why did it take place in Britain and not France or other European country? Technological change, along with rapid population growth and migration, resulted in uneven distributional outcomes within and between countries. This course will cover important questions in British and European economic history. Readings will focus on improvements in living standards and efforts made to address unequal outcomes with an emphasis on the impact of industrial development and institutional change. This course may be taught as a Writing in the Discipline or standard elective. Quantitative Economics majors may elect to write an empirical research paper. Prerequisites: 268 and 278. Recommended: 288.

Spring 2026

ECON 332 Econ of Nat Res Sustainability
This course uses microeconomics to analyze the use and conservation of natural resources, including energy, minerals, fisheries, forests, and water resources, among others. Broad themes include the roles of property rights, intergenerational equity, and sustainable development in an economy based on resource exploitation. Prerequisite: 278. For ENST, ENSC and INST majors, prerequisite is ECON 222.

ECON 496 Economic History of the US
Permission of Instructor Required. This seminar explores episodes in the history of the United States from an economics perspective, investigating the historical roots of current economic issues. Issues include institutional and technological change; immigration, migration, and urbanization; economic growth and improvements in living standards; rising educational opportunity; racial and gender differences in earnings; the Great Depression, financial markets, and monetary and fiscal policy; and infrastructure and public health.