Economics
Overview
Economics is the study of decision-making and policy-making in the context of a world constrained by scarcity. We aim to help our students understand how decisions are linked to incentives and how policies can help align individual incentives with social objectives, including an efficient use of the world's resources and an equitable distribution of its output. We also aim to equip our students with the rigorous theoretical and empirical tools of our profession to enable them to better analyze and guide the decision making of individuals, the conduct of businesses and nonprofit enterprises, and the policies of governments and international organizations.
The Department aims to ensure that students majoring in Economics (1) understand the framework that professional economists use to analyze social and economic issues; (2) recognize how economic behavior and policies can affect both the aggregate level of prosperity and differentials in prosperity across members of society distinguished by characteristics such as race, gender, and socioeconomic status; (3) have proficient decision-making and problem-solving skills; (4) are competent in writing and speaking; and (5) possess critical-thinking skills that enable them to apply the theoretical and empirical tools of professional economists to a wide range of issues.
Major Requirements
A major in economics requires a minimum of ten courses.
The major can be completed in fewer than four years, but it is almost impossible to complete the major in less than three years.
COURSEWORK
| ECON 101 | Principles of Economics I | 4 units |
| ECON 102 | Principles of Economics II | 4 units |
| Calculus 1 | Scientific Modeling and Differential Calculus | 4 units |
| ECON 250 | Intermediate Microeconomic Theory | 4 units |
| ECON 251 | Intermediate Macroeconomic Theory | 4 units |
| ECON 272 | Applied Econometrics | 4 units |
| | Three 300-level ECON electives | 12 units |
| ECON 495 | Senior Seminar | 4 units |
Two of the three 300-level elections must be completed at Oxy.
Choosing Electives
The economics department offers many electives, so it is helpful to think about how these electives might be grouped with other non-economics courses to give more intellectual continuity to a course of study. For example:
Students interested in obtaining a Ph.D. in Economics are encouraged to complete:
And at least one of:
Students interested in a career in public policy are encouraged to complete:
| POLS 101 | American Politics and Public Policy | 4 units |
| | Or | |
| UEP 101 | Environment and Society | 4 units |
| | An internship or service learning experience | 0 or 2 units |
And at least one of the following:
| ECON 301 | Environmental Economics and Policy | 4 units |
| ECON 302 | Industrial Organization | 4 units |
| ECON 308 | Public Finance | 4 units |
| ECON 311 | International Economics | 4 units |
| ECON 312 | International Finance | 4 units |
| ECON 320 | Economic Development | 4 units |
| ECON 324 | The Economics of Immigration | 4 units |
| ECON 325 | Labor Economics | 4 units |
| ECON 328 | Economics of Race and Gender | 4 units |
| ECON 351 | Macroeconomic Policy Since the Great Depression | 4 units |
Students interested in Environmental Economics are encouraged to complete the following environmental science introductory courses in addition to the regular Economics requirements:
Introduction to Geology:
| GEO 105 | Earth: Our Environment | 4 units |
| | Or | |
| GEO 106 | Earth and the Human Future | 4 units |
Introduction to Biology:
Students must select one course from the list below:
Environmental Biology:
| BIO 260 | Biodiversity and Organization of Marine Ecosystems | 4 units |
| | Or | |
| BIO 270 | Ecology | 4 units |
Economics Component:
| ECON 301 | Environmental Economics and Policy | 4 units |
Fundamental Geology:
| GEO 245 | Earth's Climate: Past and Future | 4 units |
| GEO 255 | Spatial Analysis with Geographic Information Science | 4 units |
Students interested in obtaining a Master's in Business Administration (MBA) and/or having a career in management are encourage to complete:
| ECON 233 | Accounting and Financial Analysis | 4 units |
| | An internship | 0 or 2 units |
| | And | |
| ECON 326 | Economics of Human Resource Management | 4 units |
| | Or | |
| ECON 350 | Managerial Economics | 4 units |
SECOND-STAGE WRITING REQUIREMENT
Students majoring in Economics will satisfy the second-stage writing requirement by arranging (with the instructor) for ECON 272 or an ECON 300-level course to be designated as the student's writing course. Students need to notify the instructor of the course they are wishing to designate as their writing course before the end of the semester. Writing courses cannot be retroactively counted. Also, students can only designate one course as their writing course in a given semester. The writing requirement must be satisfactorily completed by May of the student's junior year. Students who fail the requirement or who fail to meet the deadline will be required to both take a college writing course in the senior year and demonstrate acceptable writing skills in the senior comprehensive in order to graduate. Students should familiarize themselves with the departmental requirement at the time of declaring the major. See the Writing Program and consult the department chair for additional information.
COMPREHENSIVE REQUIREMENT
Economics students meet their comprehensive requirement by successfully completing ECON 495 with a grade of C or above in the fall semester of their senior year. Students who will be off campus during the fall semester of their senior year must contact the department chair by the end of their junior year to make alternative arrangements.
HONORS
Majors can earn honors by taking ECON 498 in the spring semester of their senior year and by writing and defending, in that class, a thesis that is judged by the department faculty to be of honors quality. Enrollment in ECON 498 is limited to students with GPAs of 3.5 or higher (both overall and within the department). Interested students should consult with their academic advisor and then apply to the department chair in the fall semester of their senior year.
OFF-CAMPUS AND TRANSFER CREDITS
- Students who have passed a microeconomics or macroeconomics class at another college or university will be allowed to skip ECON 101.
- Economics majors must complete the following courses at Occidental and may not satisfy them with transfer credits: ECON 250, ECON 251, ECON 272, at least two 300-level electives, and their Senior Comprehensives course.
- Students may take one accounting course for College credit, either at Occidental or through transfer credits. Students may not receive College credit for any other business-related course.
- Students who have received a score of 4 or 5 on either AP Calculus test have met the departmental Calculus I major requirement (and the calculus pre-requisite for courses that require Calculus I).
- Students who have received a score of 5 on both the AP Microeconomics test and the AP Macroeconomics test will be allowed to skip ECON 101 and ECON 102. Students who have received a score of 4 on both the AP Microeconomics test and the AP Macroeconomics test, or a score of 4 in one and 5 in the other, will be allowed to skip ECON 101. Students who have an AP Microeconomics score of 5 may be allowed to skip ECON 101 after consultation with the economics department.
Minor Requirements
COURSEWORK
Students must complete the following coursework:
| ECON 101 | Principles of Economics I | 4 units |
| ECON 102 | Principles of Economics II | 4 units |
| ECON 250 | Intermediate Microeconomic Theory | 4 units |
| ECON 251 | Intermediate Macroeconomic Theory | 4 units |
| Calculus 1 | Scientific Modeling and Differential Calculus | 4 units |
Calculus 1: Please note that Calculus 1 is a prerequisite for ECON 250 and ECON 251.
Electives:
| ECON | Two 300-level courses in economics | 8 units |
| | Or | |
| ECON 272 | Applied Econometrics | 4 units |
| | And | |
| ECON | One 300-level course in economics | 4 units |
Courses
Economics Courses
Faculty
Regular Faculty
Kirsten Wandschneider, chair
Associate Professor, Economics
M.Sc., Ph.D., University of Illinois
Bevin Ashenmiller
Associate Professor, Economics; Advisory Committee, Urban and Environmental Policy
B.A., Princeton University; Ph.D., U.C. Santa Barbara
Lesley Chiou
Associate Professor, Economics
B.A., U.C. Berkeley; Ph.D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Andrew Jalil
Assistant Professor, Economics
A.B., Sc.B. Brown University; Ph.D. U.C. Berkeley
Brandon Lehr
Associate Professor, Economics
B.A., U.C. Berkeley; Ph.D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Mary Lopez
Associate Professor, Economics; Affiliated Faculty, Latino/a and Latin American Studies
B.A., U.C. Riverside; M.A., Ph.D., University of Notre Dame
Robby Moore
Elbridge Amos Stuart Professor of Economics
B.A., Pomona College; A.M., Ph.D., Harvard University
Jesse Mora
Assistant Professor, Economics
B.A., Claremont McKenna; M.A., John Hopkins-SAIS; M.A., Ph.D., U.C. Santa Cruz
Diana Ngo
Assistant Professor, Economics
B.S., Harvard University; Ph.D., U.C. Berkeley
Woody Studenmund
Laurence de Rycke Professor of Economics
A.B., Hamilton College; M.A., Ph.D., Cornell University
On Special Appointment
Yating Chuang
Part-Time Non-Tenure Track Assistant Professor, Economics
B.A., National Tsing Hua University; M.P.P., University of Maryland, College Park; Ph.D., University of Madison, Wisconsin
Daron Djerdjian
Full-Time Non-Tenure Track Professor, Economics
B.A., U.C. Los Angeles; Ph.D., Syracuse University
Matthew Hill
Part-Time Non-Tenure Track Assistant Professor, Economics
A.B., Princeton University; M.A., Ph.D., U.C. Los Angeles
Sarah Meacham
Part-Time Non-Tenure Track Assistant Professor, Economics
B.A., M.A., Ph.D., U.C. Los Angeles
Laurel B. Mitchell
Part-Time Non-Tenure Track Assistant Professor, Economics
B.B.A., College of William and Mary; Ph.D., Columbia University
Amy Ramnarine
Full-Time Non-Tenure Track Assistant Professor, Economics
B.S., Florida A&M University; M.A., Ph.D., Florida International University
Daryl Ono
Non-Tenure Track Instructor of Accounting, Economics
B.A., U.C. Los Angeles; Ph.D., Pacific Western University
Victoria Umanskaya
Full-Time Non-Tenure Track Assistant Professor, Economics
B.A. (DHE), Saratov State University; Ph.D., University of Wyoming