Applied Economics Fundamental and Core Courses
Introduction to Management (3 Credits)
Introduction to management is a required course for all the undergraduate students of School of Business. Basically, management is a science and art, and dynamic as well. This course is expected to enable students to have a full understanding of the importance of management in today’s daily increasing global competitive business environment. It provides students with basic managerial theories, concepts & principles. Emphases are given to the four functions of management, i.e., planning, organizing, leading and controlling. By the end of this course, students are expected to understand basic theories about management, and be able to apply what they have learnt from this course into practices. This course aims to assist students to build up a scientific framework of analyzing business and management. It will prepare students to better cope with disciplines that related to advance management in the coming semesters. Hence, enable them to develop managerial skills in the future.
Business Statistics (3 Credits)
This course introduces ideas of probability distribution and main statistical analysis tools which are widely used in modern business management. This course will cover sampling and data gathering, descriptive statistics, concept of probability and probability distribution, sampling distribution, hypothesis test and regression analysis. This course aims to encourage students to apply the ideas and methods to solve specific problems in business administration.
Principles of Accounting (3 Credits)
This course is one of the core courses of Applied Economics major. It covers the purpose of accounting, basic assumptions and principles, categories and functions of accounts, and the application of double-entry accounting system. It will equip the students with the brief overview of accounting cycle, accounting treatments of daily economic events and transactions, and the basic understanding and analysis of financial statements.
Principles of Finance (3 Credits)
This course introduces the basic concepts, principle, and instruments of corporate finance, and how to use this knowledge make financial decision in practice. The main contents include analysis of financial statement, the calculation method of cash flow, financial ratios, simple interest and compound interest, time value of money, formula of discounted cash flow, capital budget, valuation of stock and bond, mean deviation model, and capital asset pricing model.
Linear Algebra (3 Credits)
Linear algebra is a fundamental knowledge on many different aspects. It is widely applied in Mathematics, engineering, business, economics, etc. The aim of this is to introduce the basic knowledge of linear algebra. The context includes (1) how to use matrix to represent system of linear equations, (2) basic operation of matrix, (3) how to use matrix operation to solve the system of linear equations, i.e., Ax=b, (4) eigenvalues and eigenvectors, (5) the application to least square analysis. After the course, students will learn the fundamental knowledge. Meanwhile, it will help students to further study advance knowledge in economy and statistics.
Economic Law (3 Credits)
This course focus on the fundamental legal theories and principles related to economics. It includes an introduction to law and economics, an introduction to law and legal institutions, theory of property, property law, tort law, tort liability, contract law, legal process, and topics in the economics of crime and punishment. While focusing on economic law, this course adopts substantial cases for in-class discussion and after-class assignment analysis. This course will prepare students with background knowledge of economic law and develop problem-solving skills in business judgement and decisions.
Microeconomics I (3 Credits)
This course introduces the basic concepts, framework and theories of microeconomics. The topics cover market and equilibrium, demand and elasticity, supply and cost, efficiency and the working of the “invisible hand.” This course will also talk about the behaviors of firms in imperfectly competitive markets, for example, monopoly and oligopoly. Students are expected to apply the basic theories to understand and explain some economic phenomena and activities observed in society.
Microeconomics II (3 Credits)
This course is a continuation of Microeconomics I. It extends topics of Microeconomics to cover games and strategic behavior, the economics of information, externalities and property rights, labor market, poverty and income distribution, the environment, health and safety, public goods and tax policy. Students are expected to apply the basic theories to understand and explain some economic phenomena and activities observed in society. Based on their analysis and relevant economic decision rules, optimal choice or policy proposal may be recommended.
Macroeconomics I (3 credits)
Macroeconomics studies the economy as a whole. It will include such topics as GDP, unemployment, inflation, exchange rate, and other macroeconomic indicators. AD-AS model, economic fluctuations and economic growth, open economy, monetary policy, and fiscal policy will also be covered. The objective of this course is to give the students a basic understanding of the theories and methods of macroeconomics, and to provide them with an analyzing of the macroeconomic issues. After learning this course, students will be able to apply some basic graphical macroeconomic models to analyze and understand some macroeconomic events and policies in the real world.
Macroeconomics II (3 Credits)
This course is a continuation of Macroeconomics I. It introduces to the students theories of alternative arguments and key concepts of macroeconomics with knowledgeable macroeconomic statistics, so students can find their own answers to the questions concerning the national economy and the global economic system. Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to apply some both graphical and quantitative macroeconomic models to analyze and understand some macroeconomic events and policies in the economic history. Policy suggestions and strategies may be proposed accordingly.
Econometrics I (3 Credits)
This course is an entry-level econometrics course. This course introduces the linear regression model and discusses estimation and testing under (mostly) ideal conditions. While focusing on cross-sectional techniques, this course includes techniques for estimating linear regression models, techniques for problems commonly encountered in estimating OLS models, and how to interpreting the estimates from such models.
Econometrics II (3 Credits)
This course is a continuation of the econometrics sequence. This course looks at what happens when the conditions are less than ideal due to departures from the assumptions necessary for ordinary least squares to be the best linear unbiased estimator. The course then provides alternative regression techniques that address problems arising from the violations of the basic assumptions. Time series analysis and panel data analysis will also be introduced in this course.
Mathematical Economics (3 Credits)
It is essential to analyze the quantitative relationship between various key economic variables in economics. This quantitative analysis needs mathematical tools, such as functions, equations, differential and integral calculus and optimization technologies. This course helps students to develop ability to apply fundamental mathematical tools and techniques in economic analysis.
International Economics I (3 Credits)
International economics can be commonly divided into two sections, international trade theory and international finance. International Economics I is designed to cover topics of international trade theory and policy. Topics in this course include reasons that trade takes place, the implication for commodity and factor prices of changes in real variables (such as the stock of capital and the supply of labor), the benefits that accrue from international trade, and the effects of trade restrictions on the welfare of the economy.
International Economics II (3 Credits)
Given that some topics on international trade will be covered in the courses of International Economics I, this course is designed to cover topics of international finance. International finance is a dynamic course which investigates real world issues such as balance-of-payments problems and policy, the causes of exchange-rate movements, the implications of macro-economic linkages between economics, and topics on global financial crisis. Specific topics include: Macroeconomics models, including IS-LM model and Mu