Rice Course Schedule, Spring 2003
Economics (ECON)

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NOTE: Course web pages are available for some ECON courses.

ECON 211   PRINCIPLES OF ECONOMICS I                Credits 3.00  Spring 03
* DISTRIBUTION COURSE: GROUP II
* RESTRICTED DISTRIBUTION COURSE: GROUP II
Nature of economics; the price system; household decisions; cost and
supply;
marginal productivity and capital theory; industrial
organization and control;
economic efficiency, externalities, and public
goods.
Enrollment is limited to
45.
001 BB 116 - MWF 11:00AM - 11:50AM      Soligo, Ronald            Enr: 46 Max: 45
002 RH 123 - TTH 09:25AM - 10:40AM      Jin, Ick                  Enr: 16 Max: 45
003 BB 116 - MWF 10:00AM - 10:50AM      Dorabialski, Wojciech     Enr: 51 Max: 45
004 BB 116 - MWF 01:00PM - 01:50PM      Dorabialski, Wojciech     Enr: 30 Max: 45

ECON 212   PRINCIPLES OF ECONOMICS II               Credits 3.00  Spring 03
* DISTRIBUTION COURSE: GROUP II
* RESTRICTED DISTRIBUTION COURSE: GROUP II
Includes the measurement and determination of national income, money, banking,
and fiscal policy, business cycles, unemployment, and inflation, international
trade and balance of payments, and other contemporary economic problems. A
FOUNDATION COURSE.
Prereq- Econ 211.
001 BB 102 - TTH 09:25AM - 10:40AM      Sickles, Robin            Enr: 17 Max: NA
002 HZ 210 - MWF 10:00AM - 10:50AM      Gugl, Elisabeth           Enr: 56 Max: NA
003 ML 254 - MWF 11:00AM - 11:50AM      Dacus, Chad Lamar         Enr: 25 Max: NA
004 BB 102 - TTH 10:50AM - 12:05PM      Miller, James Isaac       Enr: 28 Max: NA
005 SH 307 - MWF 09:00AM - 09:50AM      Gugl, Elisabeth           Enr: 25 Max: NA

ECON 355   FINANCIAL MARKETS AND INSTITUTIONS       Credits 3.00  Spring 03
* DISTRIBUTION COURSE: GROUP II
Study the principles of U.S. and international equity and debt markets, and the
interactions between such markets and various countries' monetary and exchange
rate policies.  The role of financial markets and institutions in the
allocation and transfer of credit and risk is highlighted, and various existing
and suggested regulatory frameworks are discussed.
Prereq- Econ 211 and 212.
001 HZ 210 - TTH 09:25AM - 10:40AM      El-Gamal, Mahmoud A.      Enr: 71 Max: NA

ECON 370   MICROECONOMIC THEORY                     Credits 3.00  Spring 03
* DISTRIBUTION COURSE: GROUP II
Intermediate level analysis of markets, firms, households, income distribution,
and general equilibrium. Required for economics and mathematical economic
majors. Also offered in summer under Continuing Studies.
Prereq- Econ 211.
001 SH 309 - TTH 10:50AM - 12:05PM      Zodrow, George R.         Enr: 51 Max: NA

ECON 375   MACROECONOMIC THEORY                     Credits 3.00  Spring 03
* DISTRIBUTION COURSE: GROUP II
Microfoundations of macreoeconomic theory.  Required for mathematical economic
analysis majors.
Prereq- Econ 211, 212, Econ 370, Math 101, Math 102 or equivalents.
001 BL 123 - MWF 09:00AM - 09:50AM      Cordoba, Juan Carlos      Enr: 32 Max: NA

ECON 382   PROBABILITY & STATISTICS                 Credits 3.00  Spring 03
Study of probability theory and the central concepts and methods of statistics
with applications to economics, marketing, and finance. Required for
mathematical economic analysis majors; may substitute STAT 410 or 431. Also
offered as STAT 310.
Prereq- Econ 211 and Math 102.
001 SS 106 - TTH 01:00PM - 02:15PM      Scott, David W.           Enr: 8 Max: NA

ECON 403   SENIOR INDEPENDENT RESEARCH              Credits 3.00  Spring 03
No description.
Prereq- permission of instructor.
001 TBA - TBA                           Hartley, Peter R.         Enr: 10 Max: NA

ECON 404   SENIOR INDEPENDENT RESEARCH              Credits 3.00  Spring 03
No description.
Prereq- permission of instructor.
001 TBA - TBA                           Hartley, Peter R.         Enr: 8 Max: NA

ECON 415   LABOR ECONOMICS                          Credits 3.00  Spring 03
* DISTRIBUTION COURSE: GROUP II
Covers a number of topics relating to labor supply, labor demand, and
equilibrium in the labor market. Tthe course presents theoretical and empirical
work in each of the subject areas covered.  The presentation requires that
students have a firm foundation in microeconomic theory, and it requires that
sutdents be willing to improve, over the course of the semester, their ability
to apply the basic tools of microeconomic analysis.  Though Econ 415 requires
no prior courses in statistics or econometrics, some elementary knowledge of
these subjects will be necessary for an understanding of the empirical work
discussed in the course.  Consequently, students in this course should be
prepared to study some of the empirical techniques used by labor economists.
Prereq- Econ 211, Econ 370, Math 101 and Math 102 (or equivalent).
001 BB 116 - TTH 10:50AM - 12:05PM      Brown, James              Enr: 24 Max: 0

ECON 438   ECONOMICS OF THE LAW I                   Credits 3.00  Spring 03
* DISTRIBUTION COURSE: GROUP II
Exploration of the role of economics in understanding the legal system.
Includes applications to contracts, property, rights, and torts.
-Econ 211 or permission of the instructor.
001 SH 301 - MWF 02:00PM - 02:50PM      Soligo, Ronald            Enr: 74 Max: 0

ECON 439   ECONOMICS OF THE LAW II                  Credits 3.00  Spring 03
* DISTRIBUTION COURSE: GROUP II
The role of economics in understanding the legal system.  Applications to
financial markets, insurance, discrimination and constitutional issues. Limited
enrollment to 25.
Prereq- Econ 211 and 370 or permission of the instructor;
001 SH 460 - TTH 09:25AM - 10:40AM      Brito, Dagobert L.        Enr: 9 Max: 0

ECON 440   RISK, UNCERTAINTY AND INFORMATION        Credits 3.00  Spring 03
Microeconmic foundations of economic decisions involving risk, uncertainty and
incomplete information.
Prereq-ECON 370, MATH 212, and some familiarity with probability theory.
001 BB 114 - MWF 09:00AM - 09:50AM      Grant, Simon              Enr: 7 Max: 0

ECON 448   CORPORATION FINANCE                      Credits 3.00  Spring 03
* DISTRIBUTION COURSE: GROUP II
Study of financial analysis, planning, and control in modern corporations.
Includes valuation, cost and allocation of capital, and capital markets, May
also be offered in the summer.
Econ 211 and Acco 305.
001 BL 123 - TTH 01:00PM - 02:15PM      Bryant, John B.           Enr: 47 Max: 0

ECON 450   WORLD ECONOMIC & SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT      Credits 3.00  Spring 03
* DISTRIBUTION COURSE: GROUP II
No description
001 SH 303 - TTH 04:00PM - 05:15PM      Berman, Eli               Enr: 32 Max: NA

ECON 452   ISLAMIC LAW, ECONOMICS, AND FINANCE      Credits 3.00  Spring 03
Introduction to Islamic law, Islamic legal theory and Islamic jurisprudence of
financial transactions.  Economic analysis of Islamic financial jurisprudence,
and the growing Islamic finance industry.
001 GRB 212W - F 08:30AM - 11:00AM      El-Gamal, Mahmoud A.      Enr: 13 Max: 0

ECON 472   INTRODUCTION TO GAME THEORY              Credits 3.00  Spring 03
Study of solution concepts for different games (e.g. strategic form game,
coalition form game and extensive form game).  Includes elementary application
to economics and political science.
001 BB 102 - MWF 10:00AM - 10:50AM      Chae, Suchan              Enr: 32 Max: 0

ECON 475   OPERATIONS RESEARCH DETERMINISTIC MODELS Credits 3.00  Spring 03
* DISTRIBUTION COURSE: GROUP II
Modeling and solving optimization problems with discrete components, graphs and
networks; network flow problems; minimum spanning trees; basic polyhedral
theory; the knapsack problem; the plant location problem; the set packing
problem; computational complexity, branch and bound; cutting planes; Lagrangian
relaxation and Bender's decomposition.
Prereq- Caam 471.  Also offered as Caam 475
001 KH 107 - TBA                        Staff                     Enr: 1 Max: 0

ECON 480   ENVIRONMENTAL & ENERGY ECONOMICS         Credits 3.00  Spring 03
* DISTRIBUTION COURSE: GROUP II
The economic theories of externalities and common property resources are used
to analyze environmental problems.  Regulation, taxes and subsidies,
transferable pollution rights and legal solutions to environmental problems are
evaluated.  Environmental and other aspects of alternative energy sources are
considered and the pricing of depletable energy resources is analyzed.
Prereq- Econ 211.
001 BB 116 - TTH 09:25AM - 10:40AM      Berman, Eli               Enr: 31 Max: NA

ECON 484   PUBLIC EXPENDITURE THEORY AND SOCIAL INS Credits 3.00  Spring 03
* DISTRIBUTION COURSE: GROUP II
Public goods theory including non-rival and congestible public facilities,
theory of local public goods including the economics of education.  The problem
of preference revelation and the fundamentals of benefit-cost analysis.
Analysis of the effects of social security, old age retirement, and the role of
govenment in financing healthcare - medicare and medicaid.
Prereq - Econ 211
001 BB 116 - TTH 01:00PM - 02:15PM      Mieszkowski, Peter        Enr: 6 Max: 0

ECON 486   CONTEMPORARY ECONOMIC ISSUES             Credits 3.00  Spring 03
Analysis or urgent and significant economic problems, with emphasis on the
evaluation of policy remedies.  Content varies from year to year.  Not offered
every year.
Pre-req-ECON 370 or 372.
001 BB 116 - MWF 09:00AM - 09:50AM      Medlock, Kenneth          Enr: 29 Max: 0

ECON 505   MACROECON/MONETARY THEORY II             Credits 5.00  Spring 03
More detailed discussion of selective Macroeconomic and Monetary topics.
001 BB 271 - MW 10:50AM - 12:05PM       Cordoba, Juan Carlos      Enr: 8 Max: 0

ECON 508   MICROECONOMIC THEORY II                  Credits 5.00  Spring 03
Continuation of Economics 507.  Set theoretic approach to general equilibrium;
aggregate linear and nonlinear production models; existence, stability,
optimality.
001 BB 271 - MW 09:25AM - 10:40AM       Dudey, Marc P.            Enr: 8 Max: 0

ECON 510   ECONOMETRICS I                           Credits 5.00  Spring 03
Estimation and inference in single equation regression models,
multicollinearity, autocorrelated and heteroskedastic disturbances, distributed
lags, asymptotic theory, and maximum likelihood techniques.  Emphasis is placed
on the ability to analyze critically the literature. Also offered as Stat 610
Prereq- Econ 504.
001 BB 271 - TTH 02:10PM - 03:25PM      El-Gamal, Mahmoud A.      Enr: 13 Max: 0

ECON 515   LABOR ECONOMICS                          Credits 5.00  Spring 03
The economics of the labor market and the economic implication of trade unions.
 Attention is given to major public policy issues. Not offered every year.
001 BB 271 - TTH 12:45PM - 02:00PM      Brown, James              Enr: 7 Max: NA

ECON 521   PUBLIC FINANCE I                         Credits 5.00  Spring 03
Theory of public goods and externalities, political mechanisms and public
choice, theory of local public goods, cost-benefit analysis and project
evaluation issues of income redistribution.
001 BB 271 - TTH 10:50AM - 12:05PM      Mieszkowski, Peter        Enr: 3 Max: 0

ECON 578   TOPICS IN ECONOMIC THEORY II             Credits 5.00  Spring 03
Discussion of selected topics in advanced economical theory.  Not offered every
year.
001 BB 271 - F 12:45PM - 03:10PM        Grant, Simon              Enr: 8 Max: 0

ECON 579   TOPICS IN ECONOMETRICS                   Credits 5.00  Spring 03
Selected topics in advanced Econometrics.
001 BB 271 - MW 12:45PM - 02:00PM       Park, Joon Y.             Enr: 5 Max: 0

ECON 594   WORKSHOP IN ECONOMICS I                  Credits 5.00  Spring 03
Continuation of Econ 593.
001 BB 116 - T 03:00PM - 05:00PM        Hartley, Peter R.         Enr: 1 Max: 0
002 BB 116 - TH 03:00PM - 05:00PM       Moulin, Herve             Enr: 8 Max: NA
003 BB 116 - F 03:00PM - 05:00PM        Sickles, Robin            Enr: 8 Max: NA
004 TBA - M 03:00PM - 05:00PM           Berman, Eli               Enr: 1 Max: NA

ECON 800   GRADUATE RESEARCH                        Credits   Spring 03
No Description.
001 TBA - TBA                           Hartley, Peter R.         Enr: 15 Max: NA