ECON 490

Spring 2025 All Classes

All Classes

Topics in Economics

SHOW FINAL EXAM SCHEDULE

Credit: 3 OR 4 hours.

Special topics in advanced economics within a variety of areas. See course schedule for topics.

3 undergraduate hours. 4 graduate hours. May be repeated in the same or separate terms to a maximum of 9 undergraduate hours or 8 graduate hours if topics vary. Prerequisite: ECON 202; ECON 302 or ECON 303; MATH 220 or MATH 221 or other Calculus course. Some topics may require additional prerequisites, read the section text for each topic.

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ECON 490 class schedule data for spring 2025
CRN	Type	Section	Time	Day	Location	Instructor	Section Details
62266	Lecture-Discussion	A3	2:00PM -3:20PM	MW	123 David Kinley Hall	Dubovyk, T	Part of Term: 1 Date Range: 01/21/25-05/07/25 Credit: 3 hours Section Title: POLITICAL ECONOMY Section Info: DESCRIPTION for POLITICAL ECONOMY: Political Economy studies the relationship between politics and the economy, and how each influences the other. The tools of microeconomics and macroeconomics are utilized to understand behaviour of rational and goal driven political actors. Restriction(s): Restricted to Economics or Econometrics & Quant Econ or Computer Science & Economics major(s) or minor(s). Restricted to Undergrad - Urbana-Champaign.
57387	Lecture-Discussion	A4	2:00PM -3:20PM	MW	123 David Kinley Hall	Dubovyk, T	Part of Term: 1 Date Range: 01/21/25-05/07/25 Special Approval: Advisor Approval Required Credit: 4 hours Section Title: POLITICAL ECONOMY Section Info: Graduate credit requires an additional paper or project beyond the undergraduate requirements for this course. Contact instructor for details as soon as instruction begins. See the 3-credit hour section of this title for course description. Restriction(s): Restricted to MS:Economics:Policy Econ -UIUC.
57365	Lecture-Discussion	C3	11:00AM -12:20PM	TR	113 David Kinley Hall	Sun, Y	Part of Term: 1 Date Range: 01/21/25-05/07/25 Credit: 3 hours Section Title: INTERNATIONAL LABOR MARKETS Section Info: FIELD: Macro. DESCRIPTION for Int'l Labor Mkts: This course provides an overview of labor markets in a number of countries that represent different stages of economic development, with an emphasis on labor market regulations. We will focus on the impact of various labor market regulations, including minimum wages, employment protections, collective bargaining rights, and social security laws, on various labor market outcomes (earnings, employment, productivity, and a country’s overall economic growth). Students are expected to gain an in-depth understanding of the huge variations in labor market regulations around the world, and critically analyze its important impact on various labor market outcomes and a country’s overall economic growth. PREREQUISITES: Econ 302 & Math 220 or equivalent. RESTRICTION INFO: https://go.economics.illinois.edu/SpringRestrictions Restriction(s): Restricted to Economics or Econometrics & Quant Econ or Computer Science & Economics major(s) or minor(s).
57366	Lecture-Discussion	C4	11:00AM -12:20PM	TR	113 David Kinley Hall	Sun, Y	Part of Term: 1 Date Range: 01/21/25-05/07/25 Special Approval: Departmental Approval Required Credit: 4 hours Section Title: INTERNATIONAL LABOR MARKETS Section Info: Please see the 3-credit section of this title for the course description. Students registered for graduate credit must complete additional work beyond the undergraduate requirements. Contact instructor for details when instruction begins. Restriction(s): Restricted to students in the Economics department. Restricted to Graduate - Urbana-Champaign.
70388	Lecture-Discussion	D3	12:30PM -1:50PM	MW	317 David Kinley Hall	Wang, C	Part of Term: 1 Date Range: 01/21/25-05/07/25 Credit: 3 hours Section Title: INTERNATIONAL TRADE Section Info: FIELD: Macro. DESCRIPTION for International Trade: This course is about the causes and consequences of the international trade of final goods, services, and production inputs. Throughout the course, we will cover the main topics related to international trade that are at the center of the public debate using rigorous economic models. We will discuss issues including the benefits and costs of trade, the effects of trade policies, such as tariffs and quotas, the role of international institutions such as the World Trade Organization; also questions such as what products are traded, who trades them. and at what quantities and prices are they sold. RESTRICTION INFO: https://go.economics.illinois.edu/SpringRestrictions Restriction(s): Restricted to Economics or Econometrics & Quant Econ or Computer Science & Economics major(s) or minor(s).
64175	Online	E3	11:00AM -12:20PM	MW	n.a.	Cenerini, F	Part of Term: 1 Date Range: 01/21/25-05/07/25 Credit: 3 hours Section Title: VALUATION OF NONMARKET GOODS Section Info: FIELD: Micro. DESCRIPTION for Economic Valuation of Non-Market Goods: How much should a pianist pay for their hand insurance? Or a mining company for damages to an ecosystem? The course explores this type of questions through the most common methods for valuation of non-market goods and services. These are used often by government agencies, attorneys and judges calculating damages to the environment or health, insurance companies, and all branches of economics which need to assign values to goods and services that are not traded in markets. Topics include stated preferences, travel cost method, and the hedonic method, among others. By the end of the course, the student will be familiar with the most common evaluation methods and will be able to apply and modify them for new contexts. RESTRICTION INFO: https://go.economics.illinois.edu/SpringRestrictions Restriction(s): Restricted to Economics or Econometrics & Quant Econ or Computer Science & Economics major(s) or minor(s).
70387	Lecture-Discussion	F3	3:30PM -4:50PM	TR	215B David Kinley Hall	Stocker, A	Part of Term: 1 Date Range: 01/21/25-05/07/25 Credit: 3 hours Section Title: GENDER AND DEVELOPMENT Section Info: FIELD: Micro. DESCRIPTION for Gender & Development Economics: This course focuses on the role of gender economics in developing countries. A variety of topics in the intersection of gender economics and development economics will be covered, including gender inequality, women’s empowerment, household dynamics, the role of government, poverty cycles, violence, and the interaction of race and gender dynamics. The course will primarily focus on the roles and circumstances of women in developing countries and how inequalities between men and women originated and continue to impact outcomes today. In addition to learning the relevant theory, assigned readings will cover recent research in each of the main topic areas. Students will read papers related to each of these topics and will write their own research paper on a topic and country of their choice. RESTRICTION INFO: https://go.economics.illinois.edu/SpringRestrictions Restriction(s): Restricted to Economics or Econometrics & Quant Econ or Computer Science & Economics major(s) or minor(s).
60458	Lecture-Discussion	G3	3:30PM -4:50PM	TR	209 David Kinley Hall	Perry, M	Part of Term: 1 Date Range: 01/21/25-05/07/25 Credit: 3 hours Section Title: CONSUMER & INVESTOR PROTECTION Section Info: FIELD: Micro. DESCRIPTION for Consumer & Investor Protection: This course examines the legal protections for consumers and investors from false or misleading advertising and other deceptive marketing practices. The course discusses the legal remedies under the common law doctrine of fraud, but spends most of the time on the laws and regulations against these practices that are enforced by government agencies such as the Federal Trade Commission and the Securities and Exchange Commission. For each topic, we will discuss the economic arguments for and against the regulations. RESTRICTION INFO: https://go.economics.illinois.edu/FallRestrictions Restriction(s): Restricted to students in the Economics department. Restricted to Economics or Econometrics & Quant Econ or Computer Science & Economics major(s) or minor(s). Restricted to Undergrad - Urbana-Champaign.
59280	Lecture-Discussion	G4	3:30PM -4:50PM	TR	209 David Kinley Hall	Perry, M	Part of Term: 1 Date Range: 01/21/25-05/07/25 Special Approval: Advisor Approval Required Credit: 4 hours Section Title: CONSUMER & INVESTOR PROTECTION Section Info: Graduate credit requires an additional paper or project beyond the undergraduate requirements for this course. Contact instructor for details as soon as instruction begins. See the 3-credit hour section of this title for course description. Restriction(s): Restricted to MS:Economics:Policy Econ -UIUC.
64019	Lecture-Discussion	H3	12:30PM -1:50PM	TR	113 David Kinley Hall	Perry, M	Part of Term: 1 Date Range: 01/21/25-05/07/25 Credit: 3 hours Section Title: CORPORATE LAW AND ECONOMICS Section Info: Description for CORPORATE LAW AND ECONOMICS: This course first examines the legal origins of corporations and their rights to own property and make contracts under state incorporation laws and the U.S. Constitution. The course then explains the duties of corporate managers to their shareholders and illustrates these duties in the context of takeover defenses. Finally, the course examines product liability in tort law and how the bankruptcy laws have been used to resolve large damage awards against corporations. Restriction(s): Restricted to Economics or Econometrics & Quant Econ or Computer Science & Economics major(s) or minor(s). Restricted to Undergrad - Urbana-Champaign.
54978	Lecture-Discussion	H4	12:30PM -1:50PM	TR	113 David Kinley Hall	Perry, M	Part of Term: 1 Date Range: 01/21/25-05/07/25 Special Approval: Departmental Approval Required Credit: 4 hours Section Title: CORPORATE LAW AND ECONOMICS Section Info: FIELD: Micro. DESCRIPTION for CORPORATE LAW AND ECONOMICS: Students registered for graduate credit must complete additional work beyond the undergraduate requirements. Contact instructor as soon as instruction begins for details. Please see 3-credit section of this title for course description. RESTRICTION INFO: https://go.economics.illinois.edu/SpringRestrictions Restriction(s): Restricted to students in the Economics department. Restricted to Graduate - Urbana-Champaign.
70384	Lecture-Discussion	I3	11:00AM -12:20PM	MW	1090 Lincoln Hall	Vazquez, J	Part of Term: 1 Date Range: 01/21/25-05/07/25 Credit: 3 hours Section Title: ECONOMIC GROWTH Section Info: FIELD: Macro. DESCRIPTION for Economic Growth: The course is designed to inspect some fundamental questions in the world economy- What are the primary factors driving the per capita GDP growth of any particular country? What explains the convergence or divergence patterns of growth rates across nations? Scholars have proposed different theories to address these concerns and we will explore some of them. Firstly, we examine long run growth determined by exogenous factors, secondly, we discuss endogenous growth by looking at technical factors and role of human capital, thirdly we delve deeper by considering population dynamics and its implications, fourthly we look at more recent theories emphasizing the role of institutions and finally we evaluate all the theories together. The objective of the course is to enable students to apply the knowledge of macroeconomic theory and mathematical tools to address issues in growth. REQUIRED PREREQUISITES: ECON 302 & 303. RECOMMENDED: Basic knowledge of any statistical software. R/Excel/ Stata may be used in a few classes. RESTRICTION INFO: https://go.economics.illinois.edu/SpringRestrictions Restriction(s): Restricted to Economics or Econometrics & Quant Econ or Computer Science & Economics major(s) or minor(s).
70385	Lecture-Discussion	I4	11:00AM -12:20PM	MW	1090 Lincoln Hall	Vazquez, J	Part of Term: 1 Date Range: 01/21/25-05/07/25 Special Approval: Departmental Approval Required Credit: 4 hours Section Title: ECONOMIC GROWTH Section Info: DESCRIPTION for Economic Growth: Students registered for graduate credit must complete additional work beyond the undergraduate requirements. Contact instructor as soon as instruction begins for details. Please see 3-credit section of this title for course description. RESTRICTION INFO: https://go.economics.illinois.edu/SpringRestrictions Restriction(s): Restricted to students in the Economics department. Restricted to Graduate - Urbana-Champaign.
70372	Lecture-Discussion	J3	3:30PM -4:50PM	MTWR	123 David Kinley Hall	Agiakloglou, C	Part of Term: B Date Range: 03/17/25-05/07/25 Credit: 3 hours Section Title: Int'l Macro Forecasting Section Info: DESCRIPTION for INT'L MACRO FORECASTING: Provides a thorough presentation of the theory of Macroeconomics, the branch of Economics that deals with the study of major economic totals or aggregates related though to International concepts, such as trade balance, current account and theories of exchange rates, as well as to Forecasting. The goal of the course is to help students understand how quantitative analysis works in terms of forecasting in Economics by presenting the underlying theory and having them to work on real data. The tools you will learn in this course will allow you to analyze the behavior of many Economic/International phenomena and derive policy conclusions Course Prerequisites The course will be taught in a self-contained way and therefore all materials needed for a good understanding of the concepts of this course will be presented in class. Students do not need to worry about their statistical or econometric background. The course will provide brief reviews of background concepts and proofs when needed. Find Spring Econ Course Restriction Info here: https://go.economics.illinois.edu/SpringRestrictions Restriction(s): Restricted to Economics or Econometrics & Quant Econ or Computer Science & Economics major(s) or minor(s).
70373	Lecture-Discussion	J4	3:30PM -4:50PM	MTWR	123 David Kinley Hall	Agiakloglou, C	Part of Term: B Date Range: 03/17/25-05/07/25 Special Approval: Departmental Approval Required Credit: 4 hours Section Title: Int'l Macro Forecasting Section Info: OPEN SEATS RESTRICTED TO GRADUATE STUDENTS. See CRN: 70372 for course description. To earn the 4th credit hour, contact the instructor for details on graduate-credit work. Restriction(s): Restricted to students in the Economics department. Restricted to Graduate - Urbana-Champaign. Restricted to MS:Economics:Policy Econ -UIUC.