The Minor in Microeconomics of Strategic Analysis (MESA) provides students a 15-hour economics concentration to learn strategic decision making designed around microeconomic theory.
Students will not only learn core microeconomic theory, but also advanced micro theory concepts and tools pertaining to the economics of strategic decision-making, including game theory, industrial organization, behavioral economics, network economics, and the economics of information.
These are well-established fields of theoretical microeconomics that have applications in key sectors including (but not limited to) manufacturing, marketing, health, computer science, and business.
Required Courses (6 hours)
ECON 3110 - Advanced Microeconomic Analysis
Review of important mathematical tools and techniques used in advanced microeconomics. Advanced topics include the estimation of demand and cost functions; the role of government in the economy (externalities, property rights, and public goods); public choice theory; factor markets (especially labor and capital markets); models of monopoly; pricing techniques used by firms with market power (monopolies and oligopolies); and game theory.
ECON 4180 - Game Theory
This course provides students with foundations in game theory, which is the study of strategic interaction. Topics covered are relevant to many settings in economics and business, as well as other disciplines including statistical decision theory, artificial intelligence (online learning, multi-agent systems), biology (evolution, signaling behavior, fighting behavior), political science, and philosophy. Prerequisites: ECON 2100 or 2101 or 2105 or 2106.
Elective Courses (9 hours)
9 hours of electives must be chosen from the five courses below. Substitutes are not allowed.
ECON 4170 - Mathematics for Economic Modeling
Students apply mathematical tools to deepen their understanding of economic theory in this course. Topics covered include optimization, statics and dynamic analysis, and comparative-static analysis, all of which are applied to theories of economic decision making. Prerequisites: ECON 3110 and ECON 3120, or by permission of the instructor.
ECON 4190 - Economics of Strategy & Information
Students will learn microeconomic theories of strategic decision making by firms and individuals, and how firms and individuals utilize information to interact strategically.
ECON 4340 - Economics of Industrial Competition
This course examines the theory of the firm, the relationship between market structure, practices, and performance, and the determinants of technological change. The role (and ability) of government policy to solve various market failures, via antitrust enforcement, regulation, etc., are also discussed.
ECON 4360 - Network Economics
Analyzes the telecommunications sector from public policy, business strategy, and technology perspectives. The course explores the driving forces behind the radical change in telecommunications regulations and the impact of this regulation on business operations.
ECON 4803 - Behavioral Economics
This course joins the fundamentals of human psychology to the rational choice models of economics to better understand human behavior. We will ask why individuals frequently make decisions that depart from the predictions of standard economic models. Concepts such as probability weighting, reference dependence, priming, framing, and heuristics for decision making will be discussed. Students will learn to apply this conceptual framework to policy questions regarding financial behavior, health care, shopping behavior, and personal decision making. In addition to the discussion of current research in economics, psychology, and neuroscience, students will design, execute, analyze, and present their own primary.
Interested?
Declaring our minor consists of four easy steps:
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Register for the ECON courses you want!
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Fill out the DocuSign Add a Minor Form, it will be automatically sent to your major and minor advisors. Once both minor and major advisors sign the form, the DocuSign form will be automatically submitted to the Registrar's Office.
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Subscribe to Econ Minors email list to stay in touch with our awesome ECON Community.
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At the start of your last semester, fill out the Approved Program of Study form and submit it to Davis Palubeski and your major advisor for signatures. The signed form must be submitted to the registrar along with your application to graduate.