We have a couple of announcements and some information within the Department of Economics. First, we would like to introduce (and welcome) Stefanie Flores-Freeman, who is joining me as an Academic Advisor in our department. At this time we are not assigning students, so they may make appointments with either advisor by emailing our undergraduate office: econug@illinois.edu or calling 333-2682.
· ECON 102 and ECON 103 first-time Freshman restriction will be taken off on August 23rd by 5pm, so all other students may register for these courses at that time. There are many seats available, so we expect that students will not have a problem registering. These courses will not be restricted in the Spring.
· ECON 400 level course restrictions will be lifted on August 19th by 9am.
· ECON 203 Thursday lab restrictions will be removed and any seats held for transfer students will be released in ECON 203 and ECON 302 on August 23rd by 9am.
We encourage students to always check the ‘Class Schedule’ as we provide details on restrictions (including dates and times of release) and other section specific information. Please direct students to check the schedule information before they contact the department as they will most likely find the information in the section detail.
We would like to promoted three new and very interesting ECON 490 special topics courses which are not restricted to Economics majors. Students are free to register at any time for these courses. Please find the descriptions below:
Economics 490: Public/Charitable/NP Enterprises (Section U3J, CRN 61740)
Public, charitable, and nonprofit enterprises make up a large and growing share of the U.S. economy. This course uses economics to describe these organizations, examine the interplay between the public and private sectors, and consider how to structure the modern, mixed economy. Topics include theories of the nonprofit economy, determinants of charitable donations of time and money, competition between nonprofit and for-profit enterprises in product and labor markets, and effects of taxes, subsidies, and regulations. Students will explore mixed markets through the lens of economic theory and will learn about empirical and experimental evidence on questions related to public policy.
ECON 302 is recommended, but students may speak with the instructor if they do not have this course to ensure they are prepared for the class.
Economics 490: Economics of the Household (Section U3H, CRN 59655)
Instructor: Eduardo A. Malasquez- syllabus attached
The main objective of the course is to use economic tools to study the family as the unit of analysis. This approach help us to explain and understand the decisions related to household formation (models on marriage), household production (division of labor within the family), decisions on fertility, time devoted to domestic production, women on the economy (women labor supply), among others. In addition, we are going to discuss household behavior in developing countries and as well as best policy choices for different objectives.
ECON 302 is required.
Economics 490: Topics in Econometrics (Section U3D, CRN 59652)
The goal of this course is to develop basic tools to understand and use modern econometric methods. We focus on estimating and making inference for causal effects with a special attention to policy relevant problems. Topics include randomized experiments, natural experiments, matching methods, instrumental variables, and regression discontinuity. We discuss theoretical aspects of these methods with detailed applications.
ECON 302 is required.