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Economics

Chair  Devashish Mitra, 110 Eggers Hall, 315-443-3612.

Faculty Farzana Afridi, Elizabeth Ashby, Badi Baltagi, Donald H. Dutkowsky, Gary V. Englehardt, Jerry Evensky, Deborah A. Freund, Susan H. Gensemer, William Horrace, Emil Iantchev, Chihwa (Duke) Kao, Jerry S. Kelly, Thomas J. Kniesner, Jeffrey D. Kubik, Derek Laing, Mary E. Lovely, Robin P. Malloy, John G. McPeak, Devashish Mitra, Jan Ivar Ondrich, John L. Palmer, Lourenço Paz, J. David Richardson, Christopher Rohlfs, Stuart S. Rosenthal, Perry Singleton, A. Dale Tussing, Michael Wasylenko, Jeffrey Weinstein, Peter J. Wilcoxen, John M. Yinger

Economists analyze the internal functioning of markets and market outcomes. While modern economics focuses on market forces, markets function imperfectly in some cases and that introduces scope for policy action. Our curriculum emphasizes the application of economics to the study of public policy issues and the role of government in a market economy. Examples include analysis of international trade and relations, economic behavior in the workplace, health care, taxation, and numerous other spheres of a global economy. Students who major in economics prepare themselves for a variety of careers. Some move on to graduate study in economics and become professional economists; the majority, however, pursue careers in law, public policy, government, and many aspects of business, including banking and financial analysis, management, and marketing. Consequently, some students choose to pursue double majors and dual degrees. Further information on these programs is available in the Academic Rules and Regulations section of this catalog or in the economics department office.
    The department offers both the B.A. degree in economics as well as a B.S. degree in economics. The B.A. has a liberal arts focus and emphasizes the applied and policy aspects of economics. The B.S. is attractive to the more mathematically oriented student. Either degree is excellent preparation for graduate study or an economics-related career.

MAJOR REQUIREMENTS
B.A. Degree
A student becomes an economics major after consulting with an economics advisor on a plan and course of study and bringing them to the department office for approval. To earn a B.A. in economics, a student:

1. Fulfills the quantitative skills requirement for the liberal arts core;
2. Completes 3-6 credits of principles of economics (ECN 203, or equivalent); and
3. Completes 24 credits of upper-division economics courses, including:
   a) ECN 301 (or ECN 311) Intermediate Microeconomic Theory
   b) ECN 302 Intermediate Macroeconomic Theory
   c) Six other upper-division electives in economics (ECN 300 or higher, excluding ECN 365 and 470), including at least two courses that have a prerequisite of ECN 301 (or 311) or ECN 302.
   

    In all, 27 to 30 credits of economics courses are required (depending on whether 3 or 6 credits of principles are taken). Graduation with a B.A. in economics requires a 2.0 average in the 24 credits of upper-division economics courses.

Scheduling
It is recommended that students sequence their courses in the following manner:

1. The economics principles courses and the quantitative skills requirement of the liberal arts core should be completed by the end of the sophomore year or earlier.
2. The quantitative skills requirement of the Liberal Arts Core should be completed before the intermediate theory courses (ECN 301 or ECN 311 and ECN 302) are taken.
3. By the end of the junior year or earlier, students should have taken the intermediate theory courses (ECN 301 or 311, and 302) and perhaps taken two upper-division economics courses.
4. It is recommended that students take at least 3 credits of statistics, such as ECN 521 or STT 101 and MAX 201.
5. Senior majors are encouraged to enroll in courses numbered 500-599. Often these classes are designed to be small seminars for the advanced undergraduate. Undergraduate majors who have completed the stated prerequisites for the 500-level courses should not be discouraged by the possibility that some master’s students may also be enrolled.

Substitutions
Courses not listed in the above plan and/or taken outside Syracuse University will not be counted toward the fulfillment of economics degree requirements except upon the approval of a petition. Such petitions should be approved before the substitution course is taken, unless it was completed while the student was regularly enrolled in the school or college in which the course was offered. For management students with a second major in economics, FIN 355 may be used as a substitute for ECN 481. Credit is not given for both ECN 481 and FIN 355.

Curriculum Suggestions
Students who are more analytically inclined or interested in graduate school should plan to take MAT 295/296, and take ECN 311 rather than ECN 301. In addition, they may wish to take ECN 505 and 522 as upper-division economics electives. Students who expect to continue their studies in economics at the graduate level should follow the above suggestions and also consider selecting their upper-division economics electives from ECN 431,441, 451,465,481, and 566.
    Students planning to enter law school after graduation may find ECN 431,441,451,481, and 575 of particular interest, while those who plan to pursue graduate degrees in management may want to choose from ECN 465,481,566, and 575. Students pursuing an international specialty might be interested in ECN 465,481, and 566. Students preparing a public sector specialty might find ECN 431,435, and 441 of particular interest. Those with a human resources interest should select electives from ECN 451 and 481. Those interested in macroeconomic theory should consider ECN 431,481,485, and 566.
    The School of Management allows economics majors to take one course per semester in the School of Management. These courses are counted as general electives and not as economics or arts and sciences electives.

B.S. Degree
The B.S. degree has an orientation toward the statistical and mathematical skills necessary to work as a professional economist or pursue graduate work in economics, public policy, or business. Students who want these career tracks or who want to acquire more analytical skills that can be used in a variety of careers should pursue the B.S. degree.

1. completes calculus courses: Calculus I (MAT 295) and Calculus II (MAT 296);
2. completes 3 to 6 credits of Principles of Economic (ECN 203, or the equivalent);
3. completes 30 credits of upper-division economics courses, including:
   a) ECN 311  Intermediate Mathematical Microeconomics
   (not ECN 301);
   b) ECN 302  Intermediate Macroeconomics;
   c) ECN 505  Mathematical Economics;
   d) ECN 521  Probability and Statistics;
   e) ECN 522  Econometrics;
   f) five other 3-credit upper-division electives in economics (300 or higher, excluding ECN 365 and 470), including at least two courses that have a prerequisite of ECN 311 or ECN 302.
   

    In all, 30 credits of upper-division coursework (courses numbered 300 or higher) in economics are required, in addition to the two courses in calculus, and principles of economics. (In some instances, students will be allowed to substitute MAS 261 and 362 for ECN 521.)
    A GPA of 2.0 or higher in the 30 upper-division courses in economics will be required for graduation.

Scheduling
It is recommended that students sequence their courses in the following manner:

1. The economic principles and the two required calculus courses should be completed by the end of the sophomore year or earlier, and before taking ECN 311.
2. ECN 311 can be taken in the fall of the junior year or earlier, along with ECN 521. ECN 522 can be taken in the spring of the junior year or earlier, along with ECN 302. One (or two) of the five economics major electives should be taken by the end of the junior year or earlier.
3. ECN 505 and four (or three) of the five economics major electives should be taken in the senior year or earlier.
4. Senior majors are encouraged to enroll in courses numbered 500-599. Often these classes are designed to be small seminars for the advanced undergraduate. Undergraduate majors who have completed the stated prerequisites for the 500-level courses should not be discouraged by the possibility that some master’s students may also be enrolled.

Curriculum Suggestions
The curriculum suggestions described above for the B.A. degree apply to B.S. degree economic majors as well.