Gig or sharing economy platforms such as Uber, Airbnb, Grubhub, and Taskrabbit are rapidly redefining the meaning of work, innovation and prosperity in post-industrial capitalist economies. How has employment evolved over the last century and what are the prospects for workers in the twenty-first century? How are technological innovations and recent start-ups transforming the nature of work and eliminating traditional nine to five jobs? Are there specific gender and racial aspects associated with working in the gig economy? What are the arguments of seminal theorists in political economy about capitalism, property ownership, profits and inequality? What is the role of public policy in the gig economy? Through critical reading and discussions we will construct informed opinions on how to address issues like competition, economic regulation, inequality and the welfare state in this transformed work environment in the US. This course does not require any prior knowledge of economics.
In this course students are exposed to the political economy of identity and will evaluate labor market outcomes and inequality from both the neoclassical and heterodox perspectives. Students will work models related to identity from feminist, institutionalist, and behavioralist perspectives. Within the context of these multiple paradigms the following topics/models will be addressed: labor market outcomes such as work, wages, and discrimination; household decision making and bargaining; institutional discrimination; public policies and race/gender; experimental economics and irrational behavior; and structures of constraint.
This course introduces students to fundamental concepts of economics to explain how economic actors manage resources under conditions of scarcity. Both microeconomic (businesses and consumers) and macroeconomic (economy-wide) concepts, terms, and principles will be introduced to advance understanding of how the market economy functions.
What determines a worker’s wages and why do black women in America earn about 2/3rds the wage of white men? Why do basic goods seem to cost much more since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and how does this relate to unemployment? What does it mean that climate change could cut world output by $23 trillion by 2050 and what can governments do to alter such outcomes? This course will introduce you to a pluralistic framework that economists use to think about complex issues such as these, using discussions of contemporary issues and policies as a lens to explore arguments about the nature and functioning of a capitalist economy. The basic building blocks include an understanding of market institutions, government policies and societal structures. Topics will be drawn from both macroeconomics (unemployment, inflation,economic growth) and microeconomics (wages, prices, firm and consumer behavior) with the aim of supporting students’ ability to recognize, understand, assess, construct, and communicate economic arguments.
A semester-long study of topics in Economics. Topics and emphases will vary according to the instructor. This course may be repeated for credit with different topics. See the New and Topics Courses page on the Registrar’s webpage for descriptions and applicability to majors/minors in other departments.
This course is an introduction to the statistical techniques used in economics. It covers descriptive statistics, probability, statistical estimation, and inference, hypothesis testing, and simple and multiple regression. May not be taken after IDS 138, MATH 138, MATH 239 or AP Statistics unless approved by instructor or Chair of Economics.
History of Economic Inquiry. Change in description to: What kinds of questions do economists ask? How do they go about trying to answer those questions? Why do economists disagree with one another? How do these conversations inform current public discourse? We investigate questions like these by exploring the history of economic thought. Drawing on the work of important figures in the history of economic thought, students will explore the development of arguments that come to define the two grand traditions (exchange and production perspectives) of economic analysis
A semester-long study of topics in Economics. Topics and emphases will vary according to the instructor. This course may be repeated for credit with different topics. See the New and Topics Courses page on the Registrar’s webpage for descriptions and applicability to majors/minors in other departments.
Rising income disparity has sparked heated public discourse on the nature, causes and impacts of income inequality. Some scholars maintain that inequality is a natural, healthy product of a capitalist market economy and a stimulus for competition and progress. Others insist that vast income inequality produces debilitating impacts on the economy and society. Some attribute inequality to openness to trade while others blame government taxes and other policies. This course will explore these different theories of income inequality and the policy implications of these contending perspectives.
In this course, students will be introduced to the foundational role gender plays in the development process and the gender dimensions of economic development models and growth strategies. Throughout the semester, students will engage with data by capturing the current status of women in many different developing countries and will regularly delve into student-led country-specific studies. They will also evaluate the gendered effects of multiple development strategies. Finally, we will discuss policy options, both development and gender-equality related, and the role of international institutions in the development process. Students will explore these concepts by creating visual and artistic representations of country-specific studies, mapping data onto traditional art techniques such as drawing, painting, sculpting, etc. No previous art experience is required.
In this course students are exposed to the political economy of race and gender and will evaluate labor market outcomes and inequality from both the neoclassical and heterodox perspectives. Each perspective will be evaluated in terms of its assumptions, theories, and policy conclusions. Additionally, students will work through advanced race and/or gender related models from feminist, institutional, and behavioral perspectives. Within the context of these multiple paradigms the following topics/models will be addressed: labor market outcomes such as work, wages, and discrimination; household decision making and bargaining; institutional discrimination; public policies and race/gender; experimental economics and irrational behavior; and structures of constraint.
The economic paradigm can make important contributions to understanding and alleviating environmental problems. This course examines the shortcomings of the market mechanism for allocating environmental resources and of public policies for mitigating environmental degradation. Topics include externalities, common property resources, public goods, property rights and cost-benefit analysis. Special consideration will be given to several contemporary environmental problems.
This course examines advanced statistical methods used to quantify economic and business phenomena. Topics include regression, regression specification and functional form, multicolinearity, serial correlation, heteroskedasticity. Skill in combining economic theory and available data to produce estimates using computer statistical routines will be developed.
This course examines the nature and performance of different economic systems in theory and practice. Included are capitalist market economies, centrally planned economies, socialist market economies and the economic systems utilized in various utopian writings and experimental communities. The challenges of reforming the economies of the People's Republic of China, East European countries and the republics of the former Soviet Union serve as a contemporary theme for this course.
This course examines the structural characteristics of developing countries and major theories of economic development. Specific topics will include land reform, agriculture and industrialization, population and employment policies, the role of money and capital markets in development, trade and development, the impact of aid and foreign investment, and strategies for development planning.
This course examines the historical evolution and dynamics of global capitalism, from the Great Divergence around the 1750s to the contemporary area. It focuses on competing perspectives on the rise and fall of nations and the interplays of these nations through global unequal exchange. Topics include globalization waves and cycles; technological and institutional forces of development and underdevelopment; international trade and monetary relations; and global governance.
Formal models are an important way in which economists develop and communicate their arguments. This course builds on Introduction to Economic Inquiry, introducing students to the formal tools, models and methods from two major approaches to economic analysis. Students will explore theories that seek to explain the formation and meaning of prices, individual and firm decision-making, the mix of goods and services produced in the economy, and the distribution of income and wealth among the participants in a capitalist economy.
Formal models are an important way in which economists develop and communicate their arguments. This course builds on Introduction to Economic Inquiry, introducing students to the formal tools, models and methods from two major approaches to economic analysis. Students will explore theories that seek to explain the total level of economic activity in an economic system with special attention to the business cycle and the ways in which government spending, taxation and monetary policies influence unemployment, inflation and the rate of economic growth.
This course examines oil’s influence on the global economy. Topics discussed include: the evolving structure of the oil industry beginning in the 1930s and up to the contemporary era, OPEC, the market for oil and energy derivatives, and how oil abundance has influenced the institutional structure of some of the largest oil exporters such as Saudi Arabia, Nigeria, Venezuela, Iran, Russia and Norway.
In this course students will engage with the process of economic inquiry at an intermediate level to explore the contending perspectives around various contemporary issues. The topical foci of this course will vary, with each semester exploring the economic arguments around a particular issue from multiple economic perspectives. Assignments may include writing assignments of various length, oral presentations, and/or data analysis. Topics will be announced prior to class registration. Course can be repeated if topic is different.
Supervised interns apply and extend principles developed in the Economics majors in public and private sector placements. Students accepted for this course will normally have second-semester Junior or Senior standing and will have completed most of the courses required for the Economics major. Interns work 10-12 hours a week at the internship site, complete an analytical paper or other report based on their internship project under the guidance of the instructor and/or the off-campus internship supervisor, and attend periodic class meetings with other interns.
A semester-long study of topics in Economics. Topics and emphases will vary according to the instructor. This course may be repeated for credit with different topics. See the New and Topics Courses page on the Registrar’s webpage for descriptions and applicability to majors/minors in other departments.
A semester-long study of topics in Economics. Topics and emphases will vary according to the instructor. This course may be repeated for credit with different topics. See the New and Topics Courses page on the Registrar’s webpage for descriptions and applicability to majors/minors in other departments.
This course provides an examination of the government's role in the U.S. economy with an emphasis on policy analysis using the criteria of efficiency and equity. Typical coverage includes the rational for government intervention, theory of public goods, externalities, public choice, impact of government upon the distribution of income, transfer programs, taxation, and the economic consequences of a federalist system.
This course examines competing views concerning the fundamental determinants of labor market outcomes, and explores the role of the labor market and other institutional factors in determining wages, employment and the distribution of income. Special consideration will be devoted to topics of poverty, underemployment and labor market discrimination.
In this course students are introduced to the major financial institutions and markets, and the role they play in the U.S. economy. Topics addressed include: the functions of financial institutions and markets; the arguments of major financial theories such as the Efficient Market Hypothesis; the linkages between financial markets and the macroeconomy; the regulatory oversight of financial markets; and the relationship between monetary policy and financial markets.
In this course students are tasked with applying economic arguments and theories to all forms of media. Students will engage in critical inquiry assessing the use of economic theories and arguments as they are portrayed in literature, films, and pop culture. Students will identify, communicate, analyze, and critique the arguments found in media provided by the instructor, as well as their own research. We will specifically focus on theories and arguments introduced and developed in prior economic courses, including Malthusian Population Theory, Marxian Surplus Value, and Keynesian Fiscal and Monetary Policies, among others.
This course will trace the development of economic thought from the decline of feudalism to the present while investigating Classical, Marxist, Neoclassical, Keynesian and Modern Heterodox theories. The goal will be to understand the various theories as well as the historical context in which they became important.
Students enrolled in this course participate in the International Collegiate Business Strategy Competition. This course provides students with a hands-on understanding of economic analysis and business management through business simulation models. Students in this course will manage a business in a computer-simulated industry. Participation in the course requires that students put into practice the tools of economic analysis they have acquired in other courses. This course does not count toward the Economics major or minor.
This course examines the workings of the international economy with an emphasis on current policy issues. Competing economic theories will be used to study the patterns of trade, the effects of trade restrictions and the impacts of trade on growth and distribution. Financial relations among nations and the functioning of the international monetary system will also be explored. Other topics include balance of payment adjustment, exchange rate adjustment, and open economy macroeconomics.
This course examines alternatives to capitalism. In Introduction to Economic Inquiry and Microeconomic theory student engage arguments from the production/conflict/labor theory of value tradition. Many of these arguments highlight the problematic nature of capitalism and beg the question: If not capitalism, then what? In this class, students will review arguments against capitalism, analyze historical attempts to establish a socialist alternative, and explore theoretical proposals for the design of the next system.
In this course students work independently to explore the ways in which formal mathematical models can be used to analyze and interpret microeconomic and macroeconomic relationships and phenomena.
This offering is designed to enable a qualified student to engage in supervised study in topics not covered in other departmental courses.
In this course students experience the complete process of economic inquiry. Within the context of a given economic theme or topic, students will be involved in framing a question for analysis. Then, drawing on the analytical and empirical skills acquired in the major, students will work with evidence and theoretical reasoning published in the economics literature to develop and refine their own arguments about the answer to this question. Students will be asked to communicate these arguments orally and in writing appropriate for academic audiences.
Each student completes an independent research paper that builds on the theoretical pluralism developed in prior coursework. Drawing on the analytical and empirical skills acquired in the major, students independently develop a question of economic inquiry, work with evidence and theoretical reasoning published in the economics literature, develop and refine their own arguments on their chosen research question, and present, orally and in writing, the principle methods and conclusions of their independent research. This course will include production of multiple written drafts, as well as peer evaluation of other students’ work. Enrollment in this course requires advanced department approval of a research prospectus.
Willamette University