1997-98 UAF Catalog

Course Descriptions


Degrees and Programs Index


Economics

Admittance to 300 and 400 level School of Management courses will be granted only to students with upper division standing. Others will be admitted only with the written permission of the appropriate department head. Students enrolling in School of Management courses are expected to have completed the necessary prerequisites for each course. A $25.00 per semester student computing facility user fee will be assessed for any student enrolling in one or more School of Management courses except ECON 100X (AIS, ACCT, BA and ECON). This fee is in addition to any lab/material fees.


ECON 100X (3 Credits) Fall, Spring
Political Economy (3+0) s
(Same as PS 100X
Survey of the evolution and operation of the American domestic political economy with consideration of market failures and government responses. Review of major issues in political economy such as inflation, poverty and budget deficits. Exploration of linkages between American and global systems.


ECON 111 (3 Credits) As Demand Warrants
Economics of Rural Alaska (3+0)
Basic economic concepts as they relate to issues and problems of contemporary regional development in rural Alaska. Socioeconomic consequences of the introduction of new technologies, modern economic intra-structures and corporate relationships to traditional, small scale communities.


ECON 200 (4 Credits) Fall, Spring
Principles of Economics (4+0+1) s
Goals, incentives and outcomes of economic behavior with applications and illustrations from current issues: operation of markets for goods, services, and factors of production; the behavior of firms and industries in different types of competition; and income distribution. The functioning and current problems of the aggregate economy, determination and analysis of aspects of international exchange. Materials fee: $10.00. (Prerequisite: Sophomore standing or permission of instructor.)


ECON 201 (3 Credits) Fall, Spring
Principles of Economics I: Microeconomics (3+0) s
Price and market theory, income distribution, contemporary problems of labor, agriculture, market structure, and pollution. Also available via Independent Learning.


ECON 202 (3 Credits) Fall, Spring
Principles of Economics II: Macroeconomics (3+0) s
Analysis and theory of national income, money and banking, and stabilization policy. Also available via Independent Learning.


ECON 227 (3 Credits) Fall, Spring
Intermediate Statistics for Economics and Business (3+0)
Extension of topics developed in STAT 200. Development of statistical techniques and their application to economic and business problems. Simple and multiple regression and correlation, analysis of variance, forecasting techniques, quality control, nonparametric methods, and decision theory. (Prerequisite: STAT 200.)


ECON 235 (3 Credits) Fall
Introduction to Natural Resource Economics (3+0) s
Microeconomic principles and their application to natural resource issues. Topics include supply, demand, marginality, optimality, elementary production economics, economic rent, and comparative advantage. These principles applied to agency budget allocation decisions, multiple use, resource valuation, conservation, market failure, and public outdoor recreation problems.


ECON 237 (3 Credits) Spring
The Alaskan Economy (3+0) s
Economic problems in Alaska with analysis of historical trends and current patterns of economic growth; emphasis on present and future alternative economic policies, and their potential impacts. Also available via Independent Learning.


ECON 321 (3 Credits) Fall
Intermediate Microeconomics (3+0) s
Analysis of demand and supply under various market forms, cost and theory of production, factor pricing and theory of distribution, and survey of welfare economics. (Prerequisites: ECON 200 and MATH 262 or equivalent, upper division standing.)


ECON 322 (3 Credits) Spring
Managerial Economics (3+0)
Interpretation of economic data and applications of economic theory in business firms. Bridging the gap between theory and practice through empirical studies, cases, and decision problems. Emphasis upon decision-making using analysis of research data. Materials fee: $10.00. (Prerequisites: ECON 200 and MATH 262 or equivalent, upper division standing.)


ECON 324 (3 Credits) Spring
Intermediate Macroeconomics (3+0) s
Concepts and measurement of income, analysis of aggregate demand and supply and their relation to the level of prices, employment, and economic growth. (Prerequisites: ECON 200 and MATH 262 or equivalent, upper division standing.)


ECON 335 (3 Credits) Spring
Intermediate Natural Resource Economics (3+0) s
Extension of concepts developed in ECON 235, using a higher level of economic analysis. Topics include welfare economics and economic efficiency concepts, benefit/cost analysis, resource allocation overtime, resource taxation, common property problems, externalities, public goods, valuation of non-market resources, and land use planning issues. (Prerequisite: ECON 200 or 235, upper division standing.)


ECON 350 (3 Credits) Fall
Money and Banking (3+0) s
The liquid wealth system in the United States, including the commercial banking system, the Federal Reserve System, and nonbank financial institutions; the regulation of money and credit and its impact on macroeconomic policy objectives. (Prerequisite: ECON 200, upper division standing.)


ECON 351 (3 Credits) Alternate Fall
Public Finance (3+0) s
Economic justifications for government; federal, state and local government, taxation, spending and debt; their effects on allocation, distribution, stabilization and growth. (Prerequisite: ECON 200, upper division standing. Next offered: 1997-98.)


ECON 409W (3 Credits) Alternate Fall
Industrial Organization and Public Policy (3+0) s
The relationship of market structure to the economic conduct and performance of firms and industries, the determinants, measurement and classification of market structure, public policy toward mergers, industrial concentration, and aggregate concentration. (Prerequisites: ECON 200, upper division standing. Next offered: 1997-98.)


ECON 420W (3 Credits) Alternate Fall
Labor Markets and Public Policy (3+0) s
Application of labor market analysis and wage theory as they relate to public policy issues. Topics include determination of wages, taxation and employment, economic impact of unions, economics of discrimination, and issues relating to women's and minorities' changing roles in the labor market. (Prerequisite: ECON 200, upper division standing. Next offered: 1997-98.)


ECON 434W (3 Credits) Alternate Spring
Environmental Economics (3+0)
An extension of concepts introduced in ECON 235, using a higher level of economic analysis. An analysis of the economic forces involved in environmental degradation, preservation, and regulation. Topics include pollution, biodiversity, wilderness, and climatic change. (Prerequisite: ECON 200 or ECON 235, upper division standing. Next offered: 1998-99.)


ECON 436W (3 Credits) Alternate Spring
Energy Economics (3+0) s
Market forces and institutions affecting the allocation of energy resources. Special attention to intertemporal allocative decisions and the role that public policy plays in influencing the rate at which energy resources are used over time. (Prerequisite: ECON 200 or 235, upper division standing. Next offered: 1998-99.)


ECON 437W (3 Credits) Alternate Fall
Regional Economic Development (3+0)
Determinants and effects of the spatial distribution of economic activity. Impact of public policy on regional development within the Alaska context. (Prerequisite: ECON 200, upper division standing. Next offered: 1998-99.)


ECON 438W (3 Credits) Alternate Spring
The Economics of Fisheries Management (3+0)
Review of theoretical economic concepts as applied to the management of a commercial fishery. Major current management policy issues affecting United States' commercial fishing. Emphasis on the practical application of the economic theory and policy insights derived from the course to problems of management of Alaska's fisheries. (Prerequisite: ECON 200 or 235, upper division standing. Next offered: 1997-98.)


ECON 451W (3 Credits) Alternate Spring
Public Expenditure Analysis (3+0)
Purposes and economic effects of governmental expenditures, budgeting techniques, and their effects on resource allocation. (Prerequisite: ECON 200, upper division standing. Next offered: 1998-99.)


ECON 463O (3 Credits) Fall
International Economics (3+0) s
Pure theory of international trade: comparative cost, terms of trade, and factor movements. International disequilibrium: balance of payments and its impact on national economy, capital movement, economic development through international trade. (Prerequisite: ECON 200, upper division standing.)


ECON 601 (3 Credits) Fall
Microeconomic Theory I (3+0)
Analysis of consumer and producer theory, price determination, and welfare economics. (Prerequisites: ECON 321 or equivalent; MATH 200 or equivalent.)


ECON 603 (3 Credits) Spring
Macroeconomic Theory I (3+0)
Analysis of the underlying causes of unemployment, economic instability, inflation, and economic growth. (Prerequisites: ECON 321 or equivalent; ECON 324 or equivalent; MATH 200 or equivalent.)


ECON 622 (3 Credits) Fall
Managerial Economics (3+0)
The development and application of basic economic concepts to managerial decision-making. Major topics include demand and cost analysis, pricing decision, capital budgeting and management, and decision-making under risk. (Prerequisites: ECON 200 or 611 and graduate standing.)


ECON 623 (3 Credits) Fall
Mathematical Economics (3+0)
Mathematical techniques including matrix algebra, differential and integral calculus. Particular attention is given to static and comparative statics analysis and dynamic models. (Prerequisites: MATH 200 or equivalent.)


ECON 626 (3 Credits) Spring
Econometrics (3+0)
Introduction to econometric theory. Single equation and multiple equation system estimation, including inference and hypothesis testing and results of assumption violation. Materials fee $20.00. (Prerequisites: MATH 200 or equivalent; STAT. 401, ECON 227 or equivalent.)


ECON 630 (3 Credits) Spring
Economic Issues of the Circumpolar North (3+0)
(Same as NORS 630)
Introduction to economic methods and issues relevant to Northern Regional Studies. Topics include the optimal depletion of resources, determination of land rents and prices, factors influencing interregional migration and transportation, capital budgeting and benefit/cost analysis, and the economic impact of global warming. (Prerequisite: One Economics course or permission of instructor.)


ECON 635 (3 Credits) Fall
Resource Economics (3+0)
The theory, methods of analysis, and current literature of natural resource economics and policy. Topics include externalities, property rights, public goods, benefit-cost analysis, amenity values and other non-market resource services, and environmental policy. (Prerequisites: ECON 321, ECON 335, or equivalent; MATH 200 or equivalent.)


ECON 636 (3 Credits) Spring
Microeconomics II (3+0)
This course explores issues relating to the intertemporal allocations of resources. Mathematical techniques such as calculus of variations, optimal control theory, and dynamic programming are introduced and applied to the analysis of resource use over time, management of common property resources, capital investment problems, and market dynamics. (Prerequisite: ECON 635.)


ECON 637 (3 Credits) Alternate Fall
Natural Resource Policy (3+0
(Same as NRM 637)
Resource policy issues development and implementation including forestry, mining, fisheries, oil, wildlife and other topics as demand warrants. Focus on policy issues involved in management of Alaska's resources. (Prerequisite: Graduate standing or permission of instructor. Next offered: 1998-99.)


ECON 670 (1 Credit) Spring
Seminar in Research Methodology (1+0)
Philosophy of research and importance of the scientific method to solution of research problems. (Prerequisite: Graduate standing.)


ECON 675 (3 Credits) Fall
Practical Quantitative Methods for Business Decision Making (3+0)
(Same as BA 675)
The objective of this course is to provide the student with an in-depth treatment of quantitative research methods in an applied context. Hence the focus of the course is not the mathematical derivations and properties of statistical techniques, but rather the usefulness of those techniques to the managerial decision making process. Research skills are presented as a set of tools that enable managers to make better decisions. (Prerequisites: Graduate standing and completion of foundation courses.)