ECON 490

Fall 2026 Part of Term 1

Part of Term 1
Aug 24-Dec 9

Topics in Economics

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 fall 2026
CRN	Type	Section	Time	Day	Location	Instructor	Section Details
63644	Lecture-Discussion	A3	12:30PM -1:50PM	MW	32 Psychology Building	Powers, E	Availability: CrossListOpen (Restricted) Part of Term: 1 Date Range: 08/24/26-12/09/26 Credit: 3 hours Section Title: SOCIAL INSURANCE Section Info: FIELD: Micro. DESCRIPTION for SOCIAL INSURANCE: It has been said that the US government is “an insurance company with an army,” with almost half of U.S. federal spending allocated to the aged, disabled, and health care. Course covers the economic rationales for social insurance and means-tested programs, their design and implementation, and current debates on their value, scale, and scope. Students gain experience conducting empirical policy analyses through hands-on sessions promoting original analyses of topical issues. Prerequisites: ECON 203; ECON 302; MATH 220 or 221 or other Calculus I equivalent. RESTRICTION INFO: https://go.economics.illinois.edu/FallRestrictions Restriction(s): Restricted to Economics or Econometrics & Quant Econ or Computer Science & Economics major(s) or minor(s).
65284	Lecture-Discussion	A4	12:30PM -1:50PM	MW	32 Psychology Building	Powers, E	Availability: Closed Part of Term: 1 Date Range: 08/24/26-12/09/26 Special Approval: Advisor Approval Required Credit: 4 hours Section Title: SOCIAL INSURANCE Section Info: Graduate credit requires additional work 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.
59652	Online	B3	9:30AM -10:50AM	MW	n.a.	Powers, E	Availability: CrossListOpen (Restricted) Part of Term: 1 Date Range: 08/24/26-12/09/26 Credit: 3 hours Section Title: GENDER IN THE ECONOMY Section Info: FIELD: Micro. DESCRIPTION for GENDER IN THE ECONOMY: Applies economic models of the labor market and household organization to a wide range of important topics, including marriage, fertility, discrimination, and family policies to better understand both personal life choices and public policy. Prerequisites: ECON 203; ECON 302; MATH 220 or 221 or other Calculus I equivalent. Students who have taken ECON 442 may not take this ECON 490 for credit. RESTRICTION INFO: https://go.economics.illinois.edu/FallRestrictions Restriction(s): Restricted to Economics or Econometrics & Quant Econ or Computer Science & Economics major(s) or minor(s).
63575	Online	B4	9:30AM -10:50AM	MW	n.a.	Powers, E	Availability: Closed Part of Term: 1 Date Range: 08/24/26-12/09/26 Special Approval: Advisor Approval Required Credit: 4 hours Section Title: GENDER IN THE ECONOMY Section Info: Graduate credit requires additional work 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.
58262	Lecture-Discussion	C3	8:00AM -9:20AM	MW	215 David Kinley Hall	Song, L	Availability: Closed Part of Term: 1 Date Range: 08/24/26-12/09/26 Credit: 3 hours Section Title: BEHAVIORAL ECONOMICS Section Info: FIELD: Micro. DESCRIPTION for BEHAVIORAL ECONOMICS: This course will focus on the intersection of Behavioral and Experimental economics using field experiments, lab experiments, and tests of theory to answer policy and social issue questions. The course is research-intensive and requires independent work outside of class, including literature review, data analysis, and the development of an original research project. PREREQUISITES: ECON 202; ECON 302 or 303; MATH 220 or MATH 221. RESTRICTION INFO: https://go.economics.illinois.edu/FallRestrictions Restriction(s): Restricted to Economics or Econometrics & Quant Econ or Computer Science & Economics major(s) or minor(s).
65815	Lecture-Discussion	C4	8:00AM -9:20AM	MW	215 David Kinley Hall	Song, L	Availability: Closed Part of Term: 1 Date Range: 08/24/26-12/09/26 Special Approval: Advisor Approval Required Credit: 4 hours Section Title: BEHAVIORAL ECONOMICS Section Info: Graduate credit requires additional work beyond the undergraduate requirements for this course. Contact instructor as soon as instruction begins for details. See the 3-credit hour section of this title for course description restriction information. Restriction(s): Restricted to MS:Economics:Policy Econ -UIUC.
58276	Lecture-Discussion	D3	11:00AM -12:20PM	MW	123 David Kinley Hall	Sora, M	Availability: CrossListOpen (Restricted) Part of Term: 1 Date Range: 08/24/26-12/09/26 Credit: 3 hours Section Title: INTERNATIONAL TRADE Section Info: FIELD: Macroeconomics. DESCRIPTION for International Trade: This course introduces students to the core theories of why countries trade and how trade affects households and firms. We will study a range of foundational models and use them to explain key empirical patterns and to evaluate the effectiveness of trade policies such as tariffs and quotas. REQUIRED PREREQUISITES: ECON 303. RESTRICTION INFO: https://go.economics.illinois.edu/FallRestrictions Restriction(s): Restricted to Economics or Econometrics & Quant Econ or Computer Science & Economics major(s) or minor(s).
58277	Lecture-Discussion	D4	11:00AM -12:20PM	MW	123 David Kinley Hall	Sora, M	Availability: Closed Part of Term: 1 Date Range: 08/24/26-12/09/26 Special Approval: Departmental Approval Required Credit: 4 hours Section Title: INTERNATIONAL TRADE Section Info: Graduate credit requires additional work 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 Graduate - Urbana-Champaign.
60330	Lecture-Discussion	E3	9:30AM -10:50AM	TR	123 David Kinley Hall	Foy, M	Availability: CrossListOpen (Restricted) Part of Term: 1 Date Range: 08/24/26-12/09/26 Credit: 3 hours Section Title: ECONOMICS OF EDUCATION Section Info: FIELD: Micro \| DESCRIPTION for ECONOMICS OF EDUCATION: Examines how and why we invest in education, the impact of education on long-term economic outcomes, and the design of public policies that shape the level and distribution of education resources. Topics include the returns to education, government funding in K-12 and higher ed, teacher labor markets, and school choice mechanisms. PREREQUISITES: ECON 302 or equivalent. RESTRICTION INFO: https://go.economics.illinois.edu/FallRestrictions Restriction(s): Restricted to Economics or Econometrics & Quant Econ or Computer Science & Economics major(s) or minor(s).
63645	Lecture-Discussion	E4	9:30AM -10:50AM	TR	123 David Kinley Hall	Foy, M	Availability: Closed Part of Term: 1 Date Range: 08/24/26-12/09/26 Special Approval: Advisor Approval Required Credit: 4 hours Section Title: ECONOMICS OF EDUCATION Section Info: Graduate credit requires additional work 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.
63647	Lecture-Discussion	F3	12:30PM -1:50PM	TR	245 Wohlers Hall	Dubovyk, T	Availability: Closed Part of Term: 1 Date Range: 08/24/26-12/09/26 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 INFO: https://go.economics.illinois.edu/FallRestrictions Restriction(s): Restricted to Economics or Econometrics & Quant Econ or Computer Science & Economics major(s) or minor(s).
66872	Lecture-Discussion	F4	12:30PM -1:50PM	TR	245 Wohlers Hall	Dubovyk, T	Availability: Closed Part of Term: 1 Date Range: 08/24/26-12/09/26 Special Approval: Advisor Approval Required Credit: 4 hours Section Title: POLITICAL ECONOMY Section Info: Graduate credit requires additional work 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 descriptio Restriction(s): Restricted to MS:Economics:Policy Econ -UIUC.
72492	Lecture-Discussion	G3	11:00AM -12:20PM	TR	132 Bevier Hall	Borgschulte, M	Availability: CrossListOpen (Restricted) Part of Term: 1 Date Range: 08/24/26-12/09/26 Credit: 3 hours Section Title: TECHNOLOGY & LABOR MARKETS Section Info: FIELD: Micro. DESCRIPTION for TECHNOLOGY & LABOR MARKETS: This course uses modern empirical methods to study how new technologies, especially AI, reshape tasks, firm organization, and labor market outcomes. Topics include the task-based framework and the historical evidence on automation, innovators within firms, AI-driven hiring and skill demands, and the diffusion of ideas across workers, firms, and places (including the role of immigration). RESTRICTION INFO: https://go.economics.illinois.edu/FallRestrictions Restriction(s): Restricted to Economics or Econometrics & Quant Econ or Computer Science & Economics major(s) or minor(s).
72493	Lecture-Discussion	G4	11:00AM -12:20PM	TR	132 Bevier Hall	Borgschulte, M	Availability: Closed Part of Term: 1 Date Range: 08/24/26-12/09/26 Special Approval: Advisor Approval Required Credit: 4 hours Section Title: TECHNOLOGY & LABOR MARKETS 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 section I3 for course description. Restriction(s): Restricted to MS:Economics:Policy Econ -UIUC.
66869	Lecture-Discussion	H3	11:00AM -12:20PM	MW	384 Armory	Vazquez, J	Availability: Closed Part of Term: 1 Date Range: 08/24/26-12/09/26 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/FallRestrictions Restriction(s): Restricted to Economics or Econometrics & Quant Econ or Computer Science & Economics major(s) or minor(s).
66871	Lecture-Discussion	H4	11:00AM -12:20PM	MW	384 Armory	Vazquez, J	Availability: Closed Part of Term: 1 Date Range: 08/24/26-12/09/26 Special Approval: Departmental Approval Required Credit: 4 hours Section Title: ECONOMIC GROWTH Section Info: Graduate credit requires additional work 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 Graduate - Urbana-Champaign.