Course Descriptions and General Information

Microeconomic theory for majors and nonmajors. Concepts of supply, demand, markets, natural resource management, economic policy. Applications to business and government decision making emphasized.  (Gen.Ed. SB) fall semester website, spring semester website

Provides introductory training and a fluency in the discipline, to help the student to apply IT to her or his own major or career. Course develops understanding of contemporary computing tools, IT concepts, and higher-order skills like those needed to perform needs assessment and systems analysis and troubleshooting. It also introduces emerging technologies and the needs they fill, and seeks to develop a context for understanding the role of IT in society, and its relevance in a student's life. website

Explores the causes of hunger (chronic undernutrition) from an economic perspective. Focus on how population growth and economic development are increasing demand for food and on the prospects for food production to supply those needs at affordable prices, while sustaining the environment. Discussion in the context of the global economy in which increased trade links even the poorest urban and rural residents in developing countries to market forces. (Gen.Ed. SB, G) website

An introduction to small business, with emphasis on the planning function of a manager. Built around the concept of a standard business plan, it covers start-up issues, maintaining competitive advantage, market research, the total product offering, pricing and promotion of the product or service, understanding financial statements and funding sources, hiring, training and supervising employees.website

Theoretical and practical marketing for agricultural crops and services including overviews of research, plan development and creative positioning; preparation of radio spots, print ads, and press releases. website

Basic principles of organizational operation and personnel management with emphasis on human behavior.

An introduction to consumer economics. Topics include consumer behavior, rights, responsibilities, consequences of consumer decisions for individuals, families and society. Current issues that affect the individual consumer, the household as a consuming unit, and society at large. website

Designed for students in Animal Sciences, Environmental Science, Natural Resources Conservation, Plant & Soil Sciences, Resource Economics, and related majors. Introduction to basic statistical methods used to collect, summarize, and analyze numerical data. Emphasis on application to decision making; examples from the biological sciences. Topics include: common statistical notation, elementary probability theory, sampling, descriptive statistics, statistical estimation and hypothesis testing, and an introduction to analysis of variance. Basic algebra necessary. (Gen.Ed. R1, R2) [Note: Because this course presupposes knowledge of basic math skills, it will satisfy the R1 requirement upon successful completion.] spring semester website, fall semester website

Designed for students majoring in the Isenberg School of Management, Resource Economics, Economics, and other social science majors, and for students who haven't declared a major. Introduction to basic statistical methods used to collect, summarize, and analyze numerical data. Emphasis on application to decision making; examples from the social sciences. Topics include: common statistical notation, elementary probability theory, sampling, descriptive statistics, statistical estimation and hypothesis testing. Basic algebra required. (Gen.Ed. R1, R2) [Note: Because this course presupposes knowledge of basic math skills, it will satisfy the R1 requirement upon successful completion.]
Merrell spring semester website, Brandt fall semester website, Rogers fall semester website

Role of markets in coordinating economic activity. Agencies, functions, and practices involved in the movement of agricultural products from producer to consumer: characteristics of production, processing and distribution of agricultural commodities and their impact upon marketing methods and costs; important changes in food consumption and current issues in food marketing. website

Economics of environmental problems, including air, water, and land pollution. Emphasis on analyzing the individual incentive patterns that lead to pollution, and cost-effective regulatory structures that can reduce it. Includes domestic and international issues. (Gen.Ed. SB). website

Economic analysis of natural resource use and conservation, including minerals, forests, fisheries, wildlife, land, and outdoor recreation economics. Focuses on resource use patterns that are socially efficient and sustainable, and institutional arrangements for bringing these about. (Gen.Ed. SB).

Intermediate level microeconomic theory. Consumer demand theory and economics of production. Geometric and mathematical approaches. Models of market behavior, related to examples. Applications to business and government decision making emphasized. Required course for more advanced departmental offerings. Prerequisite: RES-ECON 102 or ECON 103. website

This course satisfies the Junior Year Writing requirement for students in Hotel, Restaurant and Travel Administration, Resource Economics, and Sport Management. The emphasis is on developing students' skills in critical thinking, writing, and effective communication. Prerequisite: English 112. >>more options

Basic concepts in regression analysis and econometric methods. Application of methods to real world data; emphasis on application through use of econometric software and microcomputers. Computer labs required. Students undertake research projects. Use of OWL for electronic quizzes and PRS. Prerequisites: RES-ECON 211 or 212 or STATISTC 140; and RES-ECON 102 or ECON 103. website

Introduction to contemporary quantitative methods as applied to production, marketing and resource management problems in both a private and public setting. Linear programming and decision making under uncertainty. Prerequisite: RES-ECON 211 or equivalent.

Economic analysis of the financial resource management for a small business. It examines issues such as financial statements and financial planning, capital budgeting and management, investment, risk, profitability, and forecasting. website

Decisions made every day by management in organizations of every kind, the various issues associated with ethical decision making, and how the consumer of services and products is affected. How these decisions are reached. Prepares students to make more responsible decisions on matters affecting themselves and others.

The development and implementation of merchandising strategies by food processors, wholesalers, and retailers. Analysis of consumer demand for food, processors' branding and promotional strategies, and retail store and home delivery formats. Emphasis on the use of information technology in food distribution channels and future trends. Prerequisite: RES-ECON 102 or ECON 103 website

Dynamics of the economic decisions and behaviors of individuals and families as they are influenced by the demographic, social, and psychological changes of their needs throughout the life course.

Contemporary economic problems as they affect individuals and families in their financial planning, spending for consumer goods and services, saving, and investing. Family and individual issues such as taxes, insurance, retirement, and estate planning are examined. website

Basic issues in seller-consumer relationship. Analysis of consumer legislation; its economic and social impact.

 

Analysis of economic problems presented by the rise of the Internet. Includes study of economic issues in managing the Internet, the impact of the Internet on markets and the macro economy, study of content markets, and the impact of the Internet on economic development. Prerequisite: ECON 103 or RES-ECON 102

Applications of economics and statistical methods to the decision-making process. Topics include: production economics, demand analysis, forecasting, statistical cost analysis, pricing, and promotional strategies. Prerequisite: RES-ECON 305 or ECON 203 and quantitative methods RES-ECON 312. website

Market structure models with application to the food system and to natural resource industries. Firm behavioral strategies under various market structures. The role of product differentiation, advertising, market power, mergers, barriers to entry, pricing and non-price rivalry. Market performance including prices, costs, profits, labor issues, and progressiveness. Prerequisite: RES-ECON 305 or ECON 203. website

Rationale and structure of public policies that affect the operation of private markets in the U.S., with special emphasis on consumer goods industries. Focus on antitrust and competition policies (e.g., those covering collusive restraints of trade, monopolization, and mergers) and on policies that affect product quality and information (e.g., product standards, regulation of advertising and labeling). Extensive use of cases and examples in class and homework. Prerequisite: RES-ECON 452. website

Economic analysis of the family where the economic theory is applied to the family decision-making and activities. Family resources, family internal and external activities, family choice, and selected programs for improving the economic well-being of the family will be examined in the context of the Microeconomic Theory. website

An introduction to the use of laboratory experiments to better understand economic behavior. Topics include experimental design; markets and auctions; market mechanism design; bargaining; public goods, externalities and common-pool resources. Prerequisite: RES-ECON 102 or equivalent. website

Analysis of families' use of financial resources. Includes topics such as credit problems, investments, debt, financial counseling, and financial planning.

Identifies major economic policy issues and evaluates these in terms of impact on the family and services provided to the entire population in need, including the non-poor. Honors Colloquium offered.

Theoretical foundations and practical procedures of benefit-cost analysis as applied to public natural resource and environmental projects, programs and regulations. Critical discussion of strengths and weaknesses of this tool. Topics from water resources, land use, outdoor recreation, air quality, coastal zone management, and other natural resources and environmental areas. Prerequisite: ECON 203 or RES-ECON 305. website

Topics may include: the design of environmental and natural resource policies, particularly incentive-based policies; the analysis and control of environmental risks; cost-benefit analyses of specific environmental policies; critiques of cost-benefit analysis, international environmental cooperation; environmental and natural resource policy in the developing world; sustainability, and the conservation of biodiversity. Prerequisite: RES-ECON 305 or ECON 203.

These Independent Study courses are available to students who wish to pursue a particular topic in depth. They generally take the form of a reading course with weekly one-on-one discussions with the professor about the reading, a research experience with completion of a written mini-thesis report involving regular consultation with the professor or a combination of these two formats. Other formats are possible with the approval of the professor selected by the student to direct the course. They do not count toward any departmental requirements.

Under the University Internship Program students may work in a professional environment and earn academic credit. The program integrates practical professional experience with the student's prior and future course of study. Eligible students, working with a faculty sponsor, can earn up to 15 credits for a full semester internship. Typically, a student in a full-semester internship would register for 9 credits of 298Y Practicum (mandatory pass-fail) for the field experience, and 6 credits of 498Y Practicum (either pass-fail or letter graded) for the associated paper. See Julie Caswell (in 215 Stockbridge) or Barry Field (in 212F Stockbridge), departmental Internship Coordinators for more details about the program.

M.S. Seminar

 

M.S. Independent Study in Resource Economics

 

M.S. Special Topics

 

M.S. Research Field Essay

 

Master's Thesis

 

Introduction to quantitative techniques used in resource economics theory and applications. Basic mathematical concepts and methods of microeconomics and their uses in optimization and comparative statics analysis.

Introduction to econometric methods: the general linear models, nonspherical properties, generalized least squares, and restricted least squares. Also estimation with limited dependent variables, dichotomous choice and causality testing. website

Methodologies for dealing with collinearity, autocorrelation, heteroscedasticity, and endogenous right-hand-side variables. Stochastic restrictions and evaluating restrictions via alternative norms. Generalized least squares procedures. Zellner estimation. Pooling data. Simultaneous systems of equations. Fixed-effects and random-effects models. website

Basic theory of monopoly and competitive markets; market equilibria; comparative statics; and adjustment process. Analysis of optimizing decisions for firms and consumers; production, cost, and utility functions; comparative static analysis; the derivation of supply and demand curves; risk and uncertainty. website

Principles of welfare economics; introduction to noncooperative game theory; theories of imperfect competition; the provision of public goods and the control of externalities, and the economics of information. website

Economics of environmental quality and natural resource management; theory of externalities, public goods, and resource extraction. Benefit-cost analyses of natural resource use and preservation of unique resources.

Economic models of renewable and nonrenewable natural resources; introduction to dynamic optimization; and the theory of environmental policy.

 

Applications relate to theory of the firm and emphasize techniques learned in RES-ECON 701 and 702. Major topics are production function estimation, use of duality theory, choice of functional form, dynamic specifications, and the analysis of risk.

Application of industrial organization and strategic management theory to the marketing system. Empirical analysis of market power exertion, including market structure and performance, price discrimination, product differentiation, vertical control, cartel formation and sustainability, mergers, strategic behavior and firm organizations. Applied topics include branding, advertising, tradeable pollution emission permits, environmental quality, biotechnology, intellectual property rights, and cooperatives. website

Application of microeconomic theory and quantitative methods to problems in production economics. Literature surveyed includes estimation of production, cost, and supply functions, impacts of technical change, aggregation, disequilibrium, supply irreversibility, and modeling of commodity sectors.

M.S. Ph.D. Seminar

 

Ph.D. Independent study

 

Topics are divided between forecasting techniques and econometric time-series modeling. Discovering the data generating process of a random variable. Univariate approaches for dealing with a time series: exponential smoothing methods and ARIMA models. Tests for stationarity. Unit roots. Dickey-Fuller tests. Augmented Dickey-Fuller models. Multivariate approaches for modeling. Spurious relationships. Cointegration. Vector autoregression. Error correction models. website

Use of advanced industrial organization and related models for analysis of horizontal markets and vertical channels of distribution in the marketing system. Sample topics include market entry, spatial competition, price discovery and transmission, product quality, and vertical restraints of trade.

Doctoral Dissertation