Not available to economics majors. Broad introduction to economic concepts and how they can contribute to a better understanding of the world around us. Applies and develops concepts to current economic and social problems and issues. Less formal modeling than in the 103-104 sequence.

Introduces microeconomics in the context of current problems. Explores how market mechanism allocates scarce resources among competing uses; uses supply, demand, production, and distribution theory to analyze problems.

Introduces macroeconomics in the context of current problems. National income analysis, money and banking, economic growth and stability, unemployment, inflation, and role of government.

Introduction to economic concepts and how they can be applied to environmental policy issues such as air and water pollution, climate change, natural resource use, and sustainability. Focus is on concepts, policy, and case studies rather than formal modeling exercises. Designated a Green Leaf Course.

Introduces economics as an observational science, covering personal vs. impersonal exchange, strategic interdependence and game theory, group decision making, and market design.

Enables participation in experimental economics research by recruiting subjects, writing experiment instructions, and monitoring sessions.

Basic factors of price and distribution theory: analysis of demand, costs of production and supply relationships, and price and output determination under various market structures.

Analysis of major strategic business situations including pricing strategy, incentives and contracts, game theory, and vertical and horizontal integration.

Economic problems in light of current and proposed public policies. Topics include environmental issues, international trade policies, and regulatory issues and their historical roots.

Monetary, commercial, and central banking systems, with particular emphasis on their relationship with American government programs, fiscal policies, and controls.

Aggregate economic accounts, including measuring national income; determinants of levels of income and output; and causes and solutions for problems of unemployment, inflation, and economic growth.

Explores American labor unions and their effect on society, including causes of and proposed solutions to selected problems.

Defines factors that determine levels of wages and employment, and economic consequences. Emphasizes recent developments in unionism, collective bargaining, and industrial technology.

Covers intergovernmental financial relationships; types, incidences, and consequences of taxation; other sources of governmental income; governmental expenditures and their effect; public economic enterprises; public borrowing; and debt management and its economic effect.

Microeconomic analysis of environmental problems. Topics include externalities and market failure, alternative solutions and policies, problems in monitoring and enforcement, economic analysis of development of legislation and regulation, and applications to current policy issues. Designated a Green Leaf Course.

Mathematical treatment of theory of firm and household behavior, stabilization policy, growth theory, input-output analysis, and linear programming.

Modern statistical techniques in estimating economic relations.

Regional development and metropolitan growth, including locational decisions of households and firms, and problems associated with high-density urban economic activity.

Applies the basic principles of economics to teach students to think critically about nonprofit institutions. Examines the economics of nonprofit institutions, how incentives influence the evolution of charities, and current issues in nonprofit organizations.

Economic growth characteristic of developing countries. Economic development, obstacles to development, policies, and planning.

Economic development, institutions, and problems of Latin America.

Issues of economic development as applied to Africa. Includes overview of early economic history in Africa and post-independence development, and contemporary development problems.

Possible topics include ancient, medieval, modern European, and American economic history, using econometric analysis as necessary.

Factors influencing industrial structure, and industrial conduct and performance.

Microeconomic analysis of health and medicine. Topics include the determinants of health, health externalities, health insurance, the health effects of medicine, the supply and demand of medicine, medical quality and regulation, and information asymmetries.

Examines problems and achievements of formerly communist and socialist countries including China, Eastern European countries, and Russia and other countries of the former Soviet Union as they transition to more market-oriented economies. Includes market economics and central planning.

Introduces economic way of thinking on trade and international finance. Presents historical and current information on consequences of trade and protectionism.

Foreign exchange market, balance of payment, foreign trade policies, and theories of international trade.

Microeconomic and macroeconomic models and misallocation of resources.

Applies economic theory, methodology to study nonmarket decision making.

Introduces game theory and its relevance for analyzing framework of rules and institutions within which economic processes occur. Applies game theoretical concepts to comparative analysis of causes and effects of alternative institutional arrangements.

Economic analysis of the law. Topics include introduction to legal institutions and legal analysis; application of economic concepts to the law of property, contracts and torts, criminal and constitutional law; economic efficiency of common law; and public choice perspective on the evolution of the law.

Examines models of balance of payments, exchange rate behavior, and open economy macroeconomics. Includes international financial system and issues such as globalization and international financial instability.

Examines various issues in the energy industry using tools from microeconomic theory, law and economics and public choice. Topics include issues related to oil, historical and current energy regulation, and environmental issues associated with energy.

Introduces design principles to develop systems to allocate resources. Students must participate in experiment demonstrations of different allocation mechanisms. They also are exposed to experimental methods in economics and market design.

Requires students to design and develop mechanism to specific allocation problem. Students develop analytical and working engineering models of their mechanism.

Involves students in developing experimental design to test proposed allocation solution. Design process includes construction of experimental parameters, treatments, and initial test in laboratory setting.

Topics include comparing two or more treatments, and computing and interpreting analysis of variance. Discusses randomized block, Latin square, and factorial designs; and applications to economics experiments.

Examines various issues surrounding concepts of regulation using tools from microeconomic theory and public choice. Topics include antitrust, rate regulation, policy rationales for regulation, and issues of current interest.

Developments in economic thought from 1500 to the present. Emphasizes historical origins, impact on contemporary economics, and theoretical validity.

Applies economic tools to investigate problems in economics.

Study abroad under supervision of George Mason faculty. Course topics, content, and locations vary.

Subject matter varies.

Students find economics-related internship with assistance from Career Services. Pre-internship proposal and final reflections paper required.

Individual study of selected area of economics.

Possible topics include ancient, medieval, modern European, and American economic history, using econometric analysis as necessary.

Subject matter varies.

Applied introduction to estimating economic relationships. Includes simple equation and simultaneous equation system estimation.

Introduces current and prospective K-12 teachers to the fundamentals of economics.  Prepares teachers to instruct students in the economics and personal finance course now required by the Virginia Department of Education.  Supports teachers in successfully teaching the economics content of the Virginia SOLs in history and social sciences.

Covers theory of behavior of consumers, firms, and resource suppliers; theories of choice under risk and uncertainty; partial equilibrium analysis of competitive and noncompetitive markets; general equilibrium analysis; and welfare economics. Introduces capital theory.

Nature of the firm; theory of supply; and production functions, factor pricing, and supplies. Introduces microeconomic foundations of theories of public finance and public choice.

Survey course covering monetary theory, theories of consumption and saving, budget deficits, economic growth, international finance, and monetary and fiscal policies.

Explores development of American economy and evolution of economic institutions.

Includes set theory, function, differential calculus, integration, series, and matrix algebra, with special emphasis on economic applications.

Introduces analytical and engineering principles to develop exchange systems. Students must become familiar with literature on applied mechanism design; and understand behavioral aspects of auction systems, matching, assignment and transportation problems, and information markets. Also introduces methods for testbedding systems using experimental economics and statistical design.

Students begin process of doing research in design economic exchange system. Design process includes electronic instructions, and design of information structures. Students responsible for research into economic issues, and practical design issues.

Students do original research in economic systems design by constructing engineering model of solution to allocation problem. Research includes experimental and statistical design, and complete description of hypothesis related to construction of experimental parameters and treatments to test mechanism. Requires initial test of mechanism in laboratory setting.

Techniques of estimating relationships between economic variables. Introduces multiple regression and problems associated with single equation model-autocorrelation, multicollinearity, and heteroscedasticity.

Explores the application of economics methods and insights to the exploration of the relationship between religious and socioeconomic behavior, beliefs, and institutions.

Capitalism, socialism, and corporatism historical perspective. Includes examination of economies of representative contemporary countries.

Topics vary according to interests of instructor. Emphasizes new areas of discipline.

Covers classical, neoclassical, Keynesian, and post-Keynesian theories of income and employment determination; theories of inflation and growth; and demand for money and implications for effectiveness of monetary vs. fiscal policy.

Research on approved thesis topic under direction of thesis committee.

Theory and applications of behavior of consumers, firms, and resource suppliers. Partial equilibrium analysis of various market structures and introduction to intertemporal choice and capital theory. Review and analysis of classic works in microeconomic theory.

Examines nature of firm; theory of supply; and production functions, factor pricing, and supplies. Introduces microeconomic foundations of theories of public finance and public choice.

Aggregate economic activity and price levels with emphasis on dynamic models.

Theory of mechanisms through which central banking affects economic activity and prices. Analyzes demand for money and its relationship to economic activity. Develops monetary theory with emphasis on current theories and controversies in the field.

Explores major figures in history of economic thought and tools of analysis they created. Emphasizes classical, neoclassical, and Keynesian theories.

Covers development of economic analysis from marginal revolution of 1877 to present. Emphasizes development of neoclassical economic theory.

Offers economic analysis of various historical epochs including Industrial Revolution, evolution of political reform, rise of unions, and growth of government.

Covers economic process of public policy formulation and implementation; and economic behavior of principals in policy making and execution.

Specific issues related to political economy of public policy, including privatization, political economy of deficit spending, regulation and deregulation, and economics of rent seeking.

Analyzes philosophical organization, including interrelations between economics and legal and political institutions; philosophical presuppositions of capitalist economy under constitutional democracy; alternative presuppositions for non-capitalist economies; and critical evaluation of history of ideas in social and moral philosophy.

Analyzes existing and proposed elements of economic constitution. Emphasizes fiscal, monetary, transfer, and regulatory powers of government and constitutional limits on such powers, especially in the United States. Includes analysis of proposed changes in limits.

Analyzes framework of rules and institutions for economic activities and transactions. Includes emergence and working properties of different institutions, and classical and contemporary approaches to economic theory of institutions.

Covers mathematical treatment of economic theories. Includes static and dynamic analysis of macromodels; input-output analysis; and optimization techniques such as Lagrangian multipliers, linear programming, nonlinear programming, and game theory.

Explores econometric models and simultaneous equation systems. Includes identifying parameters and least squares bias, alternative estimation methods, and block recursive systems.

Uses economic analysis and methods to explore more deeply than in Constitutional Economics l specific issues in Constitutional Economics.

Uses economics to analyze U.S. Common-law system, evaluating efficiency and logic of evolution.

Explores empirical analyses of law of property, torts, crime, and family. Also looks at law's effects on freedom and economic growth.

Formal models of labor demand, supply, utilization, and wage determination; determination of factor shares in open economy; theory of collective bargaining, and impact of trade unions on wage rates and resource allocation; measurement, types, and causes of unemployment; and cost-benefit analysis of labor training and development projects.

Structure of American industry and underlying determinants. Includes structure and conduct on industrial performance in light of theory and empirical evidence; and rational antitrust policy and analysis of impact on structure and performance.

Covers relationship of law, economics, and theories of social control of property rights. Includes theories of market structure and industrial performance.

Theoretical and institutional analysis of government expenditure, taxation, debt management, and intergovernmental fiscal relations. Includes allocative and distributional effects of alternative tax and subsidy techniques, principles of benefit cost, and cost-effectiveness analysis for government decisions.

Applies economic theory and methodology to study of nonmarket decision making.

Applies public choice approach to study such topics as causes and consequences of governmental growth, behavior of public bureaucracies, and economic reasoning behind constitutional limitations on size and growth of government.

Regional development and metropolitan growth economics including locational decisions of households and firms, and problems associated with high-density urban economic activity.

Analyzes economic models of ecosystems and pollutant discharges into environment. Includes methods of improving economic efficiency and review of public policies.

Explores forces contributing to or retarding economic progress in developing countries. Includes role of foreign trade, economic integration, foreign investment, multinational corporations, and technological transfers.

Studies classical, neoclassical, and modern theories of international trade; theory and practice of world trade models such as project LINK; foreign investment and economic growth, tariffs and nontariff barriers, and economic integration; and recent developments, with emphasis on natural resources.

Examines international adjustment mechanism, price and income effects, controls, and monetarist approach; development of international monetary system; demand for international reserves; capital movements; and role of International Monetary Fund.

Studies the relationship between religion and economies as it addresses a wide range of empirical questions concerning the causes and consequences of religious commitment. Issues addressed include the relationship between religious and political conservatism, correlates of socioeconomic factors and religious outcomes, and the contributions of religion to development, political liberty, and civil rights.

Examines theory developed by Menger, Mises, Hayek, and others of the Austrian School; and compares with other popular theories.

Continuation of ECON 880. Topics vary and include market-process approach to analyzing capital accumulation and growth; money and credit institutions; inflation and unemployment; and industrial fluctuations.

Designed for graduate students to learn how experimental methods can be used to inform economic research and practice. Students expected to have working understanding of basic economic concepts and multivariate calculus.

Research in experimental design. Topics represent basic tools to build, test, and implement exchange mechanisms in an applied setting.

Topics vary according to interests of instructor. Emphasizes new areas of discipline.

Independent reading and research paper on a topic agreed on by student and faculty member.

Selected topics of current interest.

Important public finance issues treated in seminar format.

Topics vary, according to interests of instructor. Emphasizes new areas of discipline.

Designed for graduate students who have taken Experimental Economics and Economic Systems Design and are applying experimental methods to their own or collaborative research projects.

Research on prospective dissertation topic.

Research on approved dissertation topic under direction of dissertation committee.

Topics vary according to interests of instructor. Emphasizes new areas of discipline.

Topics vary according to interests of instructor. Emphasizes new areas of discipline.