2008-09 Undergraduate Catalog
Course Descriptions
Economics offers majors through both the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and the Warrington College of Business Administration. See the appropriate college's section for further details.
ECO 2013 Principles of Macroeconomics
Credits: 3.
The nature of economics, economic concepts and institutions; growth, unemployment and inflation; money and banking; economic policies; and the international economy. (S)
ECO 2023 Principles of Microeconomics
Credits: 3.
Theories of production, determination of prices and distribution of income in regulated and unregulated industries. Attention is also given to industrial relations, monopolies and comparative economic systems. (S)
ECO 3101 Intermediate Microeconomics
Credits: 4; Prereq: ECO 2023 and MAC 2233 or AEB 3103. Students may not receive credit for both ECO 3101 and ECP 3703. Primarily designed for majors in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. Not for majors in the Warrington College of Business Administration.
Nature, scope and purpose of economic analysis. Examines the theory of consumer behavior, production, costs, firm behavior and the allocation of resources. (S)
ECO 3203 Intermediate Macroeconomics
Credits: 4; Prereq: ECO and ES majors with ECO 2013, ECO 2023, MAC 2233 and either ECO 3101 or ECP 3703 (previously offered).
Theoretical determinants of aggregate employment, income, expenditures and the price level. Keynesian and neoclassical models are analyzed.
ECO 3532 Public Choice
Credits: 4; Prereq: ECO 2023.
Role of voters, special interests, legislators and the bureaucracy in determining government expenditure, taxation and other economic policies. Economic models of voting and the structure of governments. (S)
ECO 3704 International Trade
Credits: 4; Prereq: ECO 2013 and ECO 2023.
Theory of international trade and commercial policy. Current issues in international trade, comparative advantage, scale economics, the economics of tariff and non-tariff barriers. International factor movements and multinational firms. Political economy of trade restrictions, strategic trade policy and trade negotiations.
ECO 3713 International Macroeconomics
Credits: 4; Prereq: ECO 2013 and either ECO 2023 or AEB 3103.
Macroeconomic theory of an open economy. Current monetary issues of the world economy. The international monetary system, exchange rate determination, balance of payments adjustment mechanism, international financial institutions and their policies. Macroeconomic policies and national income determination in an open economy.
ECO 3731 Economics of Global Business
Credits: 4; Prereq: ECO 2013 or instructor permission, not for economics majors. Students may not receive credit for both ECO 3731 and ECO 4730.
Covers the influence of cultures, demand conditions, factor market conditions, currencies and political, legal and trade policy environments on the economic decision-making of the firm. Highlights current issues on the status and evolution of the world economy. Also examines potential conflicts between the economic profitability of the firm and societal ethics.
ECO 3816 Microeconomics for Public Policy Analysis
Credits: 3; Prereq: ECO 2023. Students who have credit for ECO 3101 or ECP 3703 cannot get credit for this course. Not for ECO or ES majors or majors in the Warrington College of Business. Course is designed primarily for public policy students in CLAS.
This course examines the theory of consumer behavior, production costs, firm behavior and the allocation of resources in the market system. Welfare economics and market failure with public policy focus are emphasized.
ECO 4400 Game Theory and Applications
Credits: 4; Prereq: ECO 2023.
An introduction to modern game theory, including the formal theory of Nash equilibrium and solutions techniques. Applications include strategic barriers of entry; cooperative behavior in oligopoly, auctions and bidding strategies; and durable goods sales.
ECO 4504 Public Economics
Credits: 4; Prereq: ECO 2013, ECO 2023, MAC 2233 and either ECO 3101 or ECP 3703.
Market failures and the role of the government in providing goods and services, like education and infrastructure, in a market economy. The role of the government in the provision of various types of social insurance like health insurance, social security and welfare. The effects of taxes on economic behavior.
ECO 4730 The Firm in the Global Economy
Credits: 4; Prereq: ECO 2013 and ECO 2023.
An integrated approach to the international operations and environment of the firm. Covers the patterns of international business transactions, international marketing strategies, international corporate strategies, international taxation and government policies affecting the firm in the global economy, exchange risk, working capital management and foreign investment analysis.
ECO 4905 Individual Work
Credits: 1 to 4; can be repeated with change in content up to 10 credits. Prereq: senior standing, 10 hours of economics and department permission.
For advanced undergraduate students who need to supplement regular coursework by individual studies under guidance. Will be counted as a free elective credit only.
ECO 4934 Special Topics
Credits: 1 to 4; Prereq: ECO 2013 and ECO 2023.
Course of variable content providing an opportunity for the study in depth of topics not offered in other courses.
ECO 4935 Empirical Research in Economics Seminar
Credits: 4; Prereq: ECO 2013 and ECO 2023.
After getting some background in economic empirical methodology, statistics, and statistical software and discussing some representative empirical papers, each economics student develops an empirical model and subjects it to statistical testing, helped by several class presentations.
ECO 4941 Internship in Economics
Credits: 1 to 3; can be repeated with a change in content up to 6 credits. Prereq: consent of department chair.
Applied work in economics. Requires several papers and reports. Will be counted as a free-elective credit only. (S-U)
ECO 4956 International Studies in Economics
Credits: 1 to 4; can be repeated with a change in content up to 12 credits. Admission to an approved study abroad program and department permission.
This course is designed to provide a mechanism by which formal coursework taken at a foreign university as part of an approved study abroad program can be recorded on the transcript and counted toward graduation at the University of Florida.
ECO 4970 Honors Thesis
Credits: 1 to 4; Prereq: 90 hours earned and 3.6 UF GPA.
A thesis is required for the awarding of the magna cum laude or summa cum laude designations. To qualify, students will normally have completed 90 semester hours of course work (exceptions may be made by the honors coordinator of the student's major department) and must have at least the grade point average (3.6) required for the magna cum laude designation at the time they enroll. The thesis will be reviewed by at least one faculty member chosen by the honors coordinator for the student's major department. Will be counted as a free-elective credit only. (S-U)
ECP 3006 Economics of Sports
Credits: 4; Prereq: ECO 2023, MAC 2233, and either ECO 3101 or ECP 3703.
The course examines the business of sports using economic theory as a framework for analysis. Topics covered include the economics of sports leagues, labor negotiations and arbitration, pricing decisions, discrimination, corruption in sports, gambling, sports memorabilia and antitrust policy.
ECP 3113 Population Economics
Credits: 4; Prereq: ECO 2023.
World population trends and characteristics. Effects of population growth on age structure, labor force participation, wage rates, productivity, saving, consumption, investment, technological change, human capital formation, mobility and pensions, in both less developed and more developed countries. Effects of population growth on natural resources and the environment. Economic determinants of geographic mobility, mortality rates, fertility rates, family size, marriage and divorce. Costs of children. Population policy and economic development. (S, N)
ECP 3203 Labor Economics
Credits: 4; Prereq: ECO 2023.
Determinants of demand for labor and labor supply. Labor market equilibrium and changes in the equilibrium due to changes in unionization, public policies, technology and trade. Study of the effects of skill, job amenities and discrimination on wage differentials. (S)
ECP 3302 Environmental Economics and Resource Policy
Credits: 4; Prereq: ECO 2023. Credit cannot be received for both ECP 3302 and AEB 3450.
The relations between environmental quality, resource utilization, and economic institutions and policy. An examination of alternative strategies and policies in solving the problems of environmental quality and resource scarcity. (S)
ECP 3409 Global Telecommunications Strategy
Credits: 4; Prereq: ECO 2013 and ECO 2023. This course provides an overview of the global information industries with an emphasis on telecommunications. Covered in the course are key players, government regulation and trade issues, technology and business practices.
ECP 3510 Economics of Education
Credits: 4; Prereq: ECO 2023.
This course uses economic concepts to analyze the education system and education policy options. Topics covered include class size, "No Child Left Behind" legislation, public vs. private schools, and vouchers.
ECP 3530 Health Care Economics
Credits: 4; Prereq: ECO 2023.
Analysis of health care markets, employing efficiency and equity criteria. Evaluation of current health care policies and their effects on cost, access and quality. Topics covered include the production of and demand for health and medical care; information asymmetrics between patients, doctors, and payers; health insurance coverage; the effects of managed care (including HMOs) on competition, efficiency, and quality; training and practice of physicians; hospitals; prescription drug pricing; government regulations; Medicare and Medicaid; health care reform.
ECP 3703 Managerial Economics
Credits: 4; Prereq: ECO 2023 and MAC 2233. Students may not receive credit for both ECO 3100, ECO 3101 and ECP 3703. Primarily designed for majors in the Warrington College of Business Administration. Not for liberal arts economics majors.
Analysis of the firm's decisions regarding prices, outputs and inputs, advertising, etc. under various market conditions. Reliance is placed upon both theories and applications.
ECP 4213 Public Utility Economics: International Infrastructure
Credits: 4; Prereq: ECO 2023.
The course will examine issues in infrastructure industries (telecommunications, energy, water, and transportation) that confront policy-makers and managers around the world. It will cover the political economy of regulation, regulatory policy reforms, technological changes, market structure and competition, finance (and the activities of multilateral organizations, such as the World Bank), international investment, incentive regulation, performance benchmarking, service to the poor, price structures, service quality, cost analysis, regulatory institutions, and instruments, energy, environment issues, stakeholder interests, and corporate governance.
ECP 4330 Economics of Innovation, Science and Technical Change
Credits: 4; Prereq: ECO 2023.
Surveys the economics of innovation. Topics covered include knowledge spillovers and network externalities, the relationship between market structure and innovation, the economics of the patent system, and the diffusion of innovations. Also covers histories of the rise of industrial research and of academic research in its relation to industry, and industry studies of the automobile, chemicals and petrochemicals, pharmaceuticals and biotechnology, electrical power and electronics, computers and software, and the Internet.
ECP 4403 Government Regulation of Business
Credits: 4; Prereq: ECO 2023, MAC 2233 and either ECO 3101 or ECP 3703.
The evolution, statutory foundation and methods of governmental regulation. Antitrust regulation of competitive practices. (S)
ECP 4451 Law and Economics
Credits: 4; Prereq: ECO 2023, MAC 2233 and either ECO 3101 or ECP 3703.
Analysis of the interaction between law and economics, and evolution of legal rules; efficiency of alternative rules on pollution and public goods, enforcement of contracts, deterrence of crime, and protection of consumers; and efficiency versus fairness.
ECS 3403 Economic Development of Latin America
Credits: 4; Prereq: ECO 2013 and ECO 2023.
A critical assessment of Latin American political economy and economic development. Topics covered include economic history from the colonial period forward; commodity price cycles and balance of payment fluctuations; import substitution industrialization; international indebtedness; trade liberalization; inflation stabilization policies; poverty eradication difficulties.
ECS 4013 Economic Development
Credits: 4; Prereq: ECO 2013 and ECO 2023.
Problems and policies of modernization related to economic change and growth in the third world. Empirical and theoretical case studies. Area study and formulation of development projects and programs.
ECS 4110 Africa in the Global Economy
Credits: 4; Prereq: ECO 2013 and ECO 2023, student who have credit for ECS 4111 cannot get credit for ECS 4110.
This course aims to examine the African continent position globally, looking both at the challenges as well as at the options available to African nations to get a "fair and better deal" in the global economy. Main topics: international trade and global value chairs; WTO rules and negotiations especially with regard to agriculture; aid to Africa; economic reforms, the World Bank and IMF; the debt crisis; migration and African Diaspora.
ECS 4111 African Economic Development
Credits: 4; Prereq: ECO 2013 and ECO 2023, students who have credit for ECS 4110 cannot get credit for ECS 4111.
The course deals with the most pressing issues facing Sub-Saharan African countries in their quest for socio-economic development. Although the main focus is on contemporary issues and forthcoming challenges, we will also turn to more or less recent historical facts whenever necessary to shed light on the present. Main topics are economic growth, politics and institutions, international trade, agricultural and industrial development, poverty and inequality, access to basic social services, the environment, and gender issues.
ECS 4203 Economies of East Asia
Credits: 4; Prereq: ECO 2013 and ECO 2023, or instructor permission.
Emphasis on Japan and China. Growth patterns and institutional frameworks compared to those of other countries. Quantitative trends of gross national product and qualitative assessments of industrial organization, labor relations, agricultural technology and government policies.
General Education Categories
Consult Schedule of Courses for specific information.
- Biological Sciences (B)
- Composition (C)
- Diversity (D)*
- Humanities (H)
- International (N)*
- Mathematics (M)
- Physical Sciences (P)
- Social and Behavioral Sciences (S)
* Students who entered UF prior to Summer B 2007 and/or whose catalog year is not 2007-08: Current students who have not already completed six hours of "I" - international/diversity credits can do so now by taking "D" and "N" courses.
Symbols Used in Course Descriptions
- (WR) indicates the course satisfies the writing requirement.
- (MR) indicates the course satisfies the math requirement.
- (S-U) indicates the course may be taken on a satisfactory-unsatisfactory basis.
- Refer to the Schedule of Courses for specific information.