Hide Advanced Options
Courses - Fall 2023
AREC
Agricultural and Resource Economics Department Site
AREC200
The Chesapeake Bay Ecosystem: Intersection of Science, Economics, and Policy
Credits: 3
Grad Meth: Reg, P-F, Aud
GenEd: DSNS or DSSP, SCIS
The Chesapeake Bay is one of the most studied and monitored ecosystems in the world. To develop effective policies to restore this system to a healthier status requires integrating what we know about the biological and physical properties of the system with our understanding of the human dimension. Issues such as achieving nutrient reduction goals, restoring healthy blue crab and oyster fisheries in the bay will be used to demonstrate how economics interacts with science to guide policies that can be effective in achieving Bay restoration goals.
AREC250
Elements of Agricultural and Resource Economics
Credits: 3
Grad Meth: Reg, P-F, Aud
GenEd: DSHS
Credit only granted for: ECON200, AREC240 or AREC250.
An introduction to economic principles of production, marketing, agricultural prices and incomes, farm labor, credit, agricultural policies, and government programs.
AREC260
The Science of Gender in Economics and Development
Credits: 3
Grad Meth: Reg, P-F, Aud
GenEd: DSHS, DVUP, SCIS
Recommended: Completion of introductory statistics recommended but not required.
Describes the process by which various scientific disciplines, including anthropology, evolutionary biology, psychology and economics do research on the topic of gender. We will examine the current state of the literature on the reason why different sexes exist and how sex translates into gender across different societies today. With a better understand of the source of gender, we will examine how researchers are learning about the reasons behind the highly divergent economic outcomes for men and women today. The class will discuss these issues in the context of the labor market in developed countries like the US (why are there fewer women in high paying STEM jobs?, for example) and in the context of a wide variety of markets in developing countries (what role do women play in agriculture, health and politics?, for example). A particular focus of the class will be on techniques for learning more about the underlying reasons for these differences, how they can be overcome and whether women play a special role in improving economic outcomes in the poorest parts of the world.
AREC280
Harvesting Big Data to Examine Agriculture and Climate Change
Credits: 3
Grad Meth: Reg, P-F, Aud
GenEd: DSSP, SCIS
Credit only granted for: HNUH258A or AREC280.
Formerly: HNUH258A.
Can agricultural production keep up with climate change? Data analytics and data science are driving the force behind the digital revolution, which has changed the way we are able to analyze and interpret the world. The explosion of data offers both opportunities and challenges that require new tools and methods of analysis. This course applies sophisticated digital tools to an age-old concern: the impact of environmental change and extreme weather on agricultural productivity. In this hands-on introduction to data analysis and visualization with real-world data, students acquire the tools to understand the impacts of environmental change and more.
Restricted to students in Carillon Communities.
AREC306
Farm Management and Sustainable Food Production
Credits: 3
Grad Meth: Reg, P-F, Aud
GenEd: DSSP
The organization and operation of farm businesses are explored through principles of management, financial analysis, production economics, marketing, and business planning. These farm management principles are presented in the context of a sustainable food production system.
AREC326
Intermediate Applied Microeconomics
Credits: 3
Grad Meth: Reg
Prerequisite: ECON200, AREC250, or AREC240; and ECON201. And MATH120, MATH130, MATH136, or MATH140; or must have completed MATH220.
Credit only granted for: ECON306, ECON326, AREC489M, or AREC326.
Formerly: AREC489M.
Deepens and broadens your ability to apply rigorous economic analysis skills to a broad range of problems.
AREC365
World Hunger, Population, and Food Supplies
Credits: 3
Grad Meth: Reg, P-F, Aud
GenEd: DVUP
An introduction to the problem of world hunger and possible solutions to it. World demand, supply, and distribution of food. Alternatives for leveling off world food demand, increasing the supply of food, and improving its distribution. Environmental limitations to increasing world food production.
AREC380
Data Science for Environmental and Resource Economics
Credits: 3
Grad Meth: Reg, P-F
Prerequisite: AREC240, AREC241, AREC250, or ECON200.
An introduction to principles of data science using modern, open source software tools with applications to important problems in environmental, energy and resource economics. Topics include data wrangling, exploratory data analysis and visualization, modeling, forecasting, practices for reproducible research, and communication of results.
AREC386
(Perm Req)
Experiential Learning
Credits: 3 - 6
Grad Meth: Reg, P-F
Prerequisite: Permission of AGNR-Agricultural & Resource Economics department.
Restriction: Junior standing or higher.
Contact department for information to register for this course.
AREC388
(Perm Req)
Honors Thesis Research
Credits: 3 - 6
Grad Meth: Reg
Contact department for information to register for this course.
AREC399
Credits: 1 - 3
Grad Meth: Reg, P-F, Aud
Contact department for information to register for this course.
AREC427
Commodity Pricing and Markets
Credits: 3
Grad Meth: Reg, P-F, Aud
Prerequisite: ECON326 or AREC326; or students who have taken courses with comparable content may contact the department.
Economic theory as applied to the marketing of agricultural commodities. How commodity prices vary with current demand and production, and how prices are linked over time, across space, and across grades. The role played by contractual arrangements, cooperative marketing, vertical integration, and governmental policies in commodity marketing strategies.
AREC430
Introduction to Agricultural and Resource Law
Credits: 3
Grad Meth: Reg, P-F
Prerequisite: ECON326 or AREC326.
Credit only granted for: AREC430 or AREC489K.
Formerly: AREC489K.
Survey of law with emphasis on problems and applications related to agricultural and natural resource economics. The course emphasizes strategies for managing legal risk arising from ownership, management, and use of agricultural resources. Students will get practical information to utilize in personal or professional settings. Contract law, constitutional law, tort law, property law, real estate transactions, business organization, estate planning, and debtor.
AREC447
The Economy of China
Credits: 3
Grad Meth: Reg, P-F, Aud
Prerequisite: AREC326, ECON306, or ECON326.
An introductory survey course of economic development in China with emphasis on understanding the process of economic reform in mainland China since 1978.
AREC453
Natural Resources and Public Policy
Credits: 3
Grad Meth: Reg, P-F, Aud
Prerequisite: AREC326, ECON306, or ECON326; and (BMGT230 or ECON230).
Restriction: Must be in one of the following programs (Agricultural and Resource Economics; Agricultural and Resource Economics: Agribusiness; Agricultural and Resource Economics: Environmental and Resource Economics; Economics Bachelor of Arts; Environmental Science & Policy-Env Economics).
Cross-listed with: ECON453.
Credit only granted for: AREC453 or ECON453.
Rational use and reuse of natural resources. Theory, methodology, and policies concerned with the allocation of natural resources among alternative uses. Optimum state of conservation, market failure, safe minimum standard, and cost-benefit analysis.
AREC455
Economics of Land Use
Credits: 3
Grad Meth: Reg, P-F, Aud
Prerequisite: 1 course with a minimum grade of C- from (AREC326, ECON306, ECON326); and 1 course with a minimum grade of C- from (ECON230, ECON321, BMGT230).
Cross-listed with: ECON485.
Credit only granted for: AREC455 or ECON485.
Fundamentals of location theory. Microeconomics of land use decisions, including determination of rent and hedonic pricing models. Impacts of government decisions on land use, including regulation (e.g., zoning), incentives (transferable development rights), provision of public services, and infrastructure investments. Impacts of land use on environmental quality, including issues relating to sprawl, agricultural land preservation, and other topics of special interest.
AREC620
Optimization in Agricultural and Resource Economics
Credits: 3
Grad Meth: Reg, Aud
Prerequisite: Must have completed Multivariate calculus and matrix or linear algebra.
Mathematical theory of static and dynamic optimization as applied to the economics of agriculture, natural resources and the environment. Topics include necessary and sufficient conditions for constrained optimization, convexity and concavity, duality and the envelope theorem, comparative statics, fixed point theorems, optimal control theory and dynamic programming.
AREC623
Applied Econometrics I
Credits: 4
Grad Meth: Reg, Aud
Prerequisite: Introductory statistics or econometrics, linear algebra, and differential/calculus; or permission of instructor.
Additional information: Intended for first-year Ph.D. students from AREC, BUFN, ECON, EDMS, EDUC, PLCY and URSP departments with a background in introductory statistics or econometrics.
A modern introduction to empirical strategies in applied microeconomic research in public policy, development economics, labor economics, education, marketing and corporate finance. Emphasis on causal reasoning and design-driven identification in the social sciences. Concepts and applications will focus on addressing economically meaningful causal questions. Basic theoretical and mathematical aspects of probability and statistics will be developed to assess the significance of the relationship among economic variables. Topics include: the approximation of the conditional expectation function through a linear predictor (Ordinary Least Squares), the effects of omitted variables and the usefulness of variables that resemble the outcome of a randomized experiment (Instrumental Variables), as well as extensions to high-dimensional big-data counterparts. Fundamental concepts in sampling theory, statistical inference (with small and large samples) and hypothesis testing will be studied and applied to real data using Stata, a general-purpose statistical software.
AREC699
(Perm Req)
Special Problems in Agricultural and Resource Economics
Credits: 1 - 2
Grad Meth: Reg, Aud
Contact department for information to register for this course.
AREC785
Advanced Economics of Natural Resources
Credits: 3
Grad Meth: Reg, Aud
Prerequisite: Permission of AGNR-Agricultural & Resource Economics department; or (ECON603 and AREC623).
Cross-listed with: ECON785.
Credit only granted for: AREC785 or ECON785.
The use of exhaustible and renewable natural resources from normative and positive points of view. Analysis of dynamic resource problems emphasizing energy, mineral, groundwater, forestry, and fishery resources; optimal, equilibrium, and intergenerational models of resource allocation.
AREC799
(Perm Req)
Master's Thesis Research
Credits: 1 - 6
Grad Meth: S-F
Contact department for information to register for this course.
AREC829
Policy Design and Causal Inference for Social Science
Credits: 3
Grad Meth: Reg, Aud
Prerequisite: AREC623; or permission of instructor. Additional information: Intended for second-year Ph.D. students from AREC, BUFN, ECON, EDMS, EDUC, PLCY and URSP with a background in econometrics comparable to that provided in AREC623.

This course delves into empirical strategies in applied micro research, assessing causal effects of policies or programs on outcomes. These methods are the contemporary toolkit for causal inference in academic areas like public policy, economics, education, and finance, as well as in industries and global organizations. Tailored to second-year Ph.D. students with a quantitative foundation akin to AREC623, the course prioritizes design-based identification using observational data. Modules, dedicated to specific strategies, rotate each academic year, covering regression, matching, instrumental variables, natural experiments, and more. The curriculum also addresses practical coding for real-world application.
AREC844
Firm Growth in Developing Countries
Credits: 3
Grad Meth: Reg
Prerequisite: A one-year PhD-level sequence in microeconomics and a PhD-level course in econometrics.
A study of the growth of firms face in developing countries and interventions/policies that can be used to remove barriers to growth, including issues related to management, credit constraints, political connections, misallocation and trade.
AREC891
Introduction to Prospectus Development
Credits: 1
Grad Meth: Reg, Aud
Prerequisite: Completion of the first year of graduate study in AREC.
Credit only granted for: AREC 869K or AREC 891.
Formerly: AREC869K.
Critical evaluation of research, prospectus topic exploration including literature review, data identification, model development, and related presentations. Required of all second-year Ph.D. students.
AREC892
(Perm Req)
Dissertation Prospectus Development
Credits: 3
Grad Meth: Reg, Aud
Prerequisite: Completion of two years of the AREC Ph.D. program.
Credit only granted for: AREC 869P or AREC 892.
Formerly: AREC869P.
Presentations of proposed dissertation research including literature review, model development, data identification, and written prospectus development. Required of all third-year Ph.D. students.
AREC898
(Perm Req)
Pre-Candidacy Research
Credits: 1 - 8
Grad Meth: S-F
Contact department for information to register for this course.
AREC899
(Perm Req)
Doctoral Dissertation Research
Credits: 6
Grad Meth: S-F
Contact department for information to register for this course.