39 courses with the subject ECON, each shown exactly as we captured it from the college's catalog, with every element we hold. Where the wording looks broken, that is our reading of the catalog, not the college's text.
ECON 110Principles of Macroeconomics
This course gives students a foundation in the general principles of economics as a basis for effective citizenship and, when combined with 111, as a preparation for all advanced study in economics. Topics include analysis of the measurement, level, and distribution of national income; the concepts of inflation and depression; the role and structure of the banking system; fiscal and monetary stabilization techniques; implications of and limits to economic growth; and international economic relations. Offered: Fall 2025, Winter 2026, Spring 2026 Credits: 6
ECON 201Analysis of Microeconomic Development Models6
This course is the second part of a two-term winter break course sequence beginning with Economics 240. This course will focus on critically analyzing the appropriateness of modern microeconomic development models in the context of Bangladesh. Students exposed to various on-site visits and lectures in Bangladesh during the winter break will be required to research, write, and present their views on the reliability of different model assumptions and implications they studied in Economics 240. Not offered in 2025-26 Liberal Arts Requirements: IS, International Studies QRE, Quantitative Reasoning SI, Social Inquiry WR2 Writing Requirement 2 score of 5 on the Microeconomics AP exam or received a score of 6 or better on the Economics IB exam AND ECON 240 with a grade of C-. Open only students accepted in the Microeconomic Development in Bangladesh program. Tags: CL: 200 level
Student has completed any of the following course(s): ECON 111 or received a
ECON 221Cambridge Program: Contemporary British Economy
The course focuses on the development of the British economy since the inter-war period. The approach integrates economic and historical analysis to discuss the development of the structure of the British economy, economic policy, and the institutions affecting economic performance. Offered: Summer 2025 Credits: 6 Liberal Arts Requirements: IS, International Studies QRE, Quantitative Reasoning SI, Social Inquiry Tags: CL: 200 level ECON Elective EUST Country Specific Faculty: Michael Hemesath
ECON 222Cambridge Program: The Industrial Revolution in Britain
Economic growth only became an expected part of modern life during the Industrial Revolution. This course will explore the origins and implications of the Industrial Revolution in Britain. Why did this revolution start in Britain? How did it change life for British citizens, and how did the many changes move beyond Britain? The course will use readings, lectures and visits to industrial sites and museums in and around Manchester. Offered: Summer 2025 Credits: 6 Liberal Arts Requirements: IS, International Studies QRE, Quantitative Reasoning SI, Social Inquiry WR2 Writing Requirement 2 Tags: CL: 200 level ECON Elective Faculty: Michael Hemesath
ECON 223Cambridge Program: The Economics of Multinational Enterprises3
Among the most important economic institutions in the world today are multinational enterprises. This course will explore the theory and practice of MNEs. Lectures and reading will be supplemented with visits to British multinationals. Offered: Summer 2025 Liberal Arts Requirements: IS, International Studies No Exploration QRE, Quantitative Reasoning Tags: CL: 200 level Faculty: Michael Hemesath
Acceptance in the Carleton OCS Economics in Cambridge program.
ECON 224Cambridge Program: J.M. Keynes and the Bloomsbury Group3
Britain has nurtured some of the most important economists in the world and Cambridge was the intellectual home of the foremost of these, J.M. Keynes. This course will explore the economic theory and social thought of Keynes and the influence of his contemporaries in the Bloomsbury group on post-WWI Britain. Offered: Summer 2025 Grading: S/CR/NC Liberal Arts Requirements: IS, International Studies QRE, Quantitative Reasoning SI, Social Inquiry Tags: CL: 200 level Faculty: Michael Hemesath
Acceptance in the Carleton OCS Economics in Cambridge program.
ECON 240Microeconomics of Development6
This course explores household behavior in developing countries. We will cover areas including fertility decisions, health and mortality, investment in education, the intra-household allocation of resources, household structure, and the marriage market. We will also look at the characteristics of land, labor, and credit markets, particularly technology adoption; land tenure and tenancy arrangements; the role of agrarian institutions in the development process; and the impacts of alternative politics and strategies in developing countries. The course complements Economics 241. Offered: Winter 2026 Liberal Arts Requirements: IS, International Studies QRE, Quantitative Reasoning SI, Social Inquiry or better or has received a score of 5 on the AP Microeconomics test or a score of 6 or better on the IB Economics test. Tags: AFST Pertinent ASST Central Asia ASST East Asia ASST South Asia CL: 200 level EAST Supporting ECON Elective ENTS Society, Culture and Policy
Student has completed any of the following course(s): ECON 111 with a grade of C-
ECON 241Macroeconomic Growth and Development6
Why are some countries rich and others poor? What causes countries to grow over time? This course documents different patterns of macroeconomic development across the world and how economic theory explains those patterns. We will draw on both cross-country evidence and individual case studies to understand the role of formal and informal institutions, culture, geography, policy, and other fundamental causes of differences in long run macroeconomic outcomes. Offered: Spring 2026
This course examines the role of gender in determining key socio-economic outcomes. Topics include education, marriage, divorce, domestic violence, sex, fertility, work, earnings, occupation, and discrimination. We develop economic tools to examine patterns in gender differentials across time, across societies, and within socio-economic groups. We also evaluate the impact of policies, such as paid versus unpaid parental leave, on gender-based outcomes. Offered: Spring 2026 Credits: 6 Liberal Arts Requirements: QRE, Quantitative Reasoning SI, Social Inquiry or better or has received a score of 5 on the AP Microeconomics test or a score of 6 or better on the IB Economics test. Tags: CL: 200 level ECON Elective GWSS Elective POSI Elective/Non POSC PPOL Social Policy & Welfare Faculty: Prathi Seneviratne
In recent years, the sports business in the United States has grown into a multibillion-dollar industry. Understanding the sports business from an economic viewpoint is the subject of this course. Topics will include player compensation, revenue-sharing, salary caps, free agency, tournaments, salary discrimination, professional franchise valuation, league competitiveness, college athletics, and the economics of sports stadiums and arenas. Offered: Fall 2025 Liberal Arts Requirements: QRE, Quantitative Reasoning SI, Social Inquiry or better or received a score of 5 on the Macroeconomics AP exam AND ECON 111 with a grade of C- or better or received a score of 5 on the Microeconomics AP exam OR has received a score of 6 or better on the Economics IB exam. Tags: AMST America in the World CL: 200 level ECON Elective AMST Production Consumption of Culture AMST Race Ethnicity Indigeneity Faculty: Mark Kanazawa
Game theory is the study of decision making in strategic situations. In this course we will develop tools to help us to analyze a wide variety of settings in which two or more people make choices that jointly affect one another’s well-being. We will discuss many different applications, including negotiations, charitable giving, the division of labor on shared projects, armed conflicts, and the role of education in the job market. Topics covered include pure and mixed-strategy Nash equilibrium, rationalizability, backward induction, repeated games, Bayesian games and level-k reasoning. Offered: Spring 2026 Liberal Arts Requirements: QRE, Quantitative Reasoning SI, Social Inquiry
Student has completed any of the following course(s): ECON 111 with a grade of C-
ECON 267Behavioral Economics6
This course introduces behavioral economics as a complementary approach to traditional economic models of decision making. We will study situations in which the predictions of traditional models can appear to be inconsistent with the choices people actually make, and then ask whether we can improve those models by introducing psychologically plausible assumptions. We will discuss a broad range of behavioral topics, including biases in decision making, risk and time preferences, prospect theory, other- regarding preferences, and the design of experiments. Offered: Spring 2026 Liberal Arts Requirements: QRE, Quantitative Reasoning SI, Social Inquiry or better or received a score of 5 on the Macroeconomics AP exam AND ECON 111 with a grade of C- or better or received a score of 5 on the Microeconomics AP exam OR has received a score of 6 or better on the Economics IB exam. Tags: CGSC Elective CL: 200 level ECON Elective PSYC Pertinent Faculty: Jonathan Lafky
This course provides a theoretical and empirical examination of the government’s role in the U.S. economy. Emphasis is placed on policy analysis using the criteria of efficiency and equity. Topics include rationales for government intervention; analysis of alternative public expenditure programs from a partial and/or general equilibrium framework; the incidence of various types of taxes; models of collective choice; cost-benefit analysis; intergovernmental fiscal relations. Offered: Winter 2026 Liberal Arts Requirements: QRE, Quantitative Reasoning SI, Social Inquiry WR2 Writing Requirement 2 or better or received a score of 5 on the Macroeconomics AP exam AND ECON 111 with a grade of C- or better or received a score of 5 on the Microeconomics AP exam OR has received a score of 6 or better on the Economics IB exam. Tags: ACE Theoretical AMST Democracy Activism CL: 200 level ECON Elective POSI Elective/Non POSC PPOL Core Faculty: Aaron Swoboda
Student has completed any of the following course(s): ECON 110 with a grade of C-
ECON 271Economics of Natural Resources and the Environment6
How do we address increasingly urgent problems of environmental degradation and depletion of natural resources? This course develops the economic approach to addressing a wide variety of related issues, while also considering how issues of law and political economy affect resource allocations and the desirability and feasibility of various policies. Topics covered include climate change, energy production, air quality regulation policies, wildlife management, endangered species protection, water resource management, and valuation of the environment. Offered: Winter 2026 Liberal Arts Requirements: QRE, Quantitative Reasoning SI, Social Inquiry or better or has received a score of 5 on the AP Microeconomics test or a score of 6 or better on the IB Economics test. Tags: AMST America in the World AMST Democracy Activism AMST Space and Place CL: 200 level ECON Elective ENTS Core Course POSI Elective/Non POSC PPOL Environmental Policy & Sustainability Faculty: Mark Kanazawa
Why do some people choose to work and others do not? Why are some people paid higher wages than others? What are the economic benefits of education for the individual and for society? How do government policies, such as subsidized child care, the Earned Income Tax Credit and the income tax influence whether people work and the number of hours they choose to work? These are some of the questions examined in labor economics. This course will focus on the labor supply and human capital decisions of individuals and households. Offered: Spring 2026 Credits: 6 Liberal Arts Requirements: QRE, Quantitative Reasoning SI, Social Inquiry or better or received a score of 5 on the Macroeconomics AP exam AND ECON 111 with a grade of C- or better or received a score of 5 on the Microeconomics AP exam OR has received a score of 6 or better on the Economics IB exam. Tags: CL: 200 level ECON Elective POSI Elective/Non POSC PPOL Economic Policy Making & Development Faculty: Faress Bhuiyan
This course explores the history of financial crises and what we can learn from their patterns over time. You'll also learn about the economic ideas behind these crises, such as how debt, risky behavior, and the lack of coordination among individuals can create problems. We'll discuss tools that governments and institutions use to manage risks and prevent crises, including deposit insurance and foreign currency reserves. Offered: Spring 2026 Credits: 6 Liberal Arts Requirements: IS, International Studies SI, Social Inquiry or better or received a score of 5 on the Macroeconomics AP exam AND ECON 111 with a grade of C- or better or received a score of 5 on the Microeconomics AP exam OR has received a score of 6 or better on the Economics IB exam. Tags: CL: 200 level ECON Elective HIST Latin America HIST Pertinent Courses LTAM Electives POSI Elective/Non POSC Faculty: Victor Almeida
Firms that free themselves from competition may leverage market power for profit. This course studies strategies that monopolies and oligopolies use to establish or defend their own market power while protecting themselves from the market power of both suppliers and distributors. We also explore how market power influences related choices like advertising, innovation, and product quality. Offered: Winter 2026 Credits: 6 Liberal Arts Requirements: QRE, Quantitative Reasoning SI, Social Inquiry or better or has received a score of 5 on the AP Microeconomics test or a score of 6 or better on the IB Economics test.
Do countries benefit from trading with each other? Why do some individuals embrace free trade while others oppose it? This course develops economic models that explain why countries choose to or choose not to trade. We examine the roots of political conflict surrounding trade policy and discuss recent trade- related controversies. We also evaluate the myriad policy tools governments deploy to manipulate trading relationships, and quantify their benefits and costs. Offered: Winter 2026 Credits: 6 Liberal Arts Requirements: QRE, Quantitative Reasoning SI, Social Inquiry or better or has received a score of 5 on the AP Microeconomics test or a score of 6 or better on the IB Economics test. Tags: CL: 200 level ECON Elective POSI Elective/Non POSC PPOL Economic Policy Making & Development Faculty: Prathi Seneviratne
This course provides an introduction to the broad range of financial instruments that are used to fund economic activities. We will explore major asset classes in financial markets, look at how investors make choices when allocating their portfolios, and learn how to price a typical security within each asset class.
ECON 286Economic Beliefs, Political Beliefs, and Identity
How people form and express their beliefs about ‘objective’ economic and political facts is a central question for social science. We will explore the literature on how people form beliefs about political and economic data from a multidisciplinary approach and learn how to apply methods from economics and political science to understand the causes and consequences of disagreement about social facts. Recommended Preparation: POSC 122. Offered: Winter 2026 Credits: 6 Liberal Arts Requirements: IDS, Intercultural Domestic Studies QRE, Quantitative Reasoning SI, Social
This course explores the intersection of Artificial Intelligence (AI), economics, and policy. We examine AI's economic potential impacts on labor markets (job creation/displacement, skills, wages, and implications for policies like minimum wage or Universal Basic Income), productivity, economic growth, market structures, and innovation, using theory and empirical evidence. Real-world AI applications and socio-economic consequences are analyzed through case studies across multiple sectors of the economy. The course also investigates AI's use as a research tool (literature review, data collection, analysis, forecasting) and explores critical ethical challenges (bias, fairness, privacy, transparency, environmental implications), and broader policy/governance issues. Offered: Fall 2025 Credits: 6 Liberal Arts Requirements: QRE, Quantitative Reasoning SI, Social Inquiry a grade of C- or better or received a score of 5 on the Macroeconomics AP exam or received a score of 5 on the Microeconomics AP exam or a score of 6 or better on the Economics IB exam. Tags: CL: 200 level ECON Elective PPOL Economic Policy Making & Development Faculty: Aaron Swoboda
This course is an introduction to the statistical methods used by economists to test hypotheses and to study and quantify economic relationships. The course emphasizes both econometric theory and practical application through analysis of economic data sets using statistical software. Prior experience with R is strongly encouraged. Topics include two-variable and multiple regression, interval estimation and
An analysis of the forces determining relative prices within the framework of production and distribution. This class is normally taken by juniors. Sophomores considering enrolling should speak to the instructor. Offered: Fall 2025, Spring 2026 Credits: 6 Liberal Arts Requirements: QRE, Quantitative Reasoning SI, Social Inquiry grade of C- or better or received a score of 5 or better on the Macroeconomics AP exam AND ECON 111 with a grade of C- or better or received a score of 5 or better on the Microeconomics AP exam OR received a score of 6 or better on the Economics IB exam AND MATH 101 or MATH 111 with a grade of C- or better or received a score of 4 or better on the Calculus AB AP exam or received a score of 4 or better on the Calculus BC AP exam or received a score of 5 or better on the Calculus IB exam received a score greater than or equal to 111 on the Carleton Math Requisite Equivalency exam or Equivalents. Tags: CL: 300 level Faculty: Jenny Bourne
This course focuses on the theoretical analysis of the macroeconomy, with an emphasis on the microeconomic foundations of macroeconomic outcomes. Topics include the analysis of long-run growth, theories of business cycles, and optimal stabilization policy. This class is normally taken by juniors. Sophomores considering enrolling should speak to the instructor. Offered: Winter 2026, Spring 2026 Credits: 6 Liberal Arts Requirements: QRE, Quantitative Reasoning SI, Social Inquiry
ECON 39501 Advanced Topics in Macroeconomics and Finance6
This seminar will focus on contemporary approaches to analyzing the macroeconomy and financial markets. Students will be exposed to empirical methods suited for the causal analysis of cross-sectional, time series, and panel data. Topics covered depend on student interest and may include purchasing power parity, arbitrage, capital control, globalization, financial crises, exchange rate dynamics, efficient market hypothesis, and the role of financial markets in the real economy. We will read journal articles that apply econometric techniques to questions in macroeconomics and finance, and students will give presentations on their own research ideas. Offered: Fall 2025 Liberal Arts Requirements: QRE, Quantitative Reasoning SI, Social Inquiry WR2 Writing Requirement 2 and ECON 331 with a grade of C- or better. Tags: CL: 300 level ECON Advanced Seminar Faculty: Victor Almeida
Student has completed any of the following course(s): ECON 329 and ECON 330
ECON 398Advanced Research in Economics6
This course is designed to support majors in developing advanced skills in economic research and communication. Through a combination of class discussion, small group work, and/or one-on-one interactions with the professor, majors learn the process of constructing strong, theoretically-grounded arguments through primary research, secondary research, or both. Students will also learn and practice strategies for engaging critically with contemporary scholarship and effective techniques of peer review and the oral presentation of research. Offered: Winter 2026, Spring 2026 Grading: S/CR/NC Liberal Arts Requirements: No Exploration or better. Tags: ECON Elective Faculty: Victor Almeida · Jonathan Lafky · Prathi Seneviratne
Student has completed any of the following course(s): ECON 395 with a grade of C-
Corequisite
ECON 400: Integrative Exercise
ECON 400Integrative Exercise
Required of all senior Economics majors. Students complete either the research paper or the policy paper developed in ECON 395. Students writing the research paper must enroll concurrently in ECON 398. Offered: Winter 2026, Spring 2026 Grading: S/NC
