Online Courses

The Economics Department at Michigan State University offers a wide variety of online courses throughout the year. A full slate of courses is offered every summer. We offer courses at all levels: introductory courses that provide you with a foundation of knowledge that allows you to move on and take advanced courses; and advanced courses that provide surveys of key areas in economics and delve more deeply into the economic issues of the day. You can take introductory courses over the summer and then more advanced courses during the fall or spring terms. You can also take one (or more) of our specialized courses that cover topics as varied as the Economics of Sports and Introduction to Econometric Methods.

If you are interested in our online courses, please visit our registration information page. You need not be a Michigan State student to take our courses. Most of our courses, if not all, can be taken for transfer credit (but, check with your university or college to make sure before enrolling). You can also take our courses just to learn more about economics. You need not reside in the Lansing area either – provisions can be made that will allow you to take our courses from anywhere in the world.

If you have any questions, please contact us at courseinfo@econ.msu.edu

Summer 2012 Courses:

EC201 Economics 201: Introduction to Microeconomics

Developed by Professor Byron Brown. Microeconomics studies the behavior of how individual households and firms make decisions to allocate limited resources. Microeconomic analysis applies to markets where goods or services are being bought and sold. It examines how individual decisions affect the supply and demand for goods and services, which determines prices, and how prices, in turn, determine what gets produced and who gets to consume those goods and services. (more...)

EC202 Economics 202: Introduction to Macroeconomics

Developed by Professor Norman Obst. The severe economic downturn that began in 2008 has increased interest in economy-wide assessment of economic activity. The persistent high levels of unemployment and high national debt levels have challenged policy makers to implement workable solutions. Will the economy experience deflation, or falling price levels, as a result, or will high growth rates of monetary measures lead to inflation rate increases? Economics 202 online provides a foundation for economic analysis along with a framework with which national economic measures can be understood. The financial markets are examined (more...)

EC301 Economics 301: Intermediate Microeconomics

Developed by Professor Byron Brown. This course covers the theory of consumer behavior, the theory of production and cost, the theory of the firm in competition and monopoly, and the analysis of market failure, including externalities, public goods, and a variety of information failures. (more...)

EC330 Economics 330: Money and Banking

Developed by Professor Norman Obst. The financial crisis of 2007 – 2009 nearly triggered a worldwide depression. Could the crisis have been prevented, what caused it to happen, and will it occur again? Economics 330 online studies the basic functions of the financial system while deemphasizing the memorization of operational details. As economic incentives and technological advancements cause the financial system to evolve, understanding its basic functions increases in importance. Changes will occur as governments, firms, and consumers adjust to the transformations resulting from the crisis and (more...)

EC333 Economics 333: Governments and Markets: When Laissez-Faire Fails

Developed by Professor Byron Brown. This course focuses on market failure – situations in which a market economy fails to produce an outcome that is efficient for society. Examples of market failure include externalities of many kinds, including an analysis of global warming, the markets (or lack of them) in human organs for transplant, the inefficiency of health care markets due to the phenomenon called adverse selection, and a variety of intellectual property, immigration, and taxation problems, some of which are caused by governments themselves. (more...)

EC340 Economics 340: Survey of International Economics

Developed by Professor Steven Mastusz. Hourly compensation for the average U.S. manufacturing employee was $33.53 in 2009. In that same year, hourly compensation for the average Mexican worker employed in manufacturing was $5.38, yet the United States managed to export more than $90 billion of manufactured goods to Mexico. How is that possible? Similarly, in 2009, U.S. imports from all countries exceeded exports to all destinations by more than $350 billion, but the value of American aircraft exports was more than four times the value of aircraft imports. What determines a country’s overall trade balance, and how is it possible for high-wage countries to compete in the world market? Does competition in the world marketplace benefit all participants, or does it create winners and losers? How can we quantify the gains and losses associated with globalization? What determines the value of a country’s currency, and what does it mean for that currency to be overvalued or undervalued? How does opening an economy to international financial flows affect the macro economy and impinge on the ability of policy makers to keep the economy on an even keel? These questions and others are at the heart of international economics. This survey course addresses (more...)

EC391 Economics 391: The Economics of Sports

Developed by Professor Lawrence Martin. All sports fans make bold statements. “I was so hot yesterday. I knew that I couldn’t miss.” “Papa Grande is great in save situations, but he is terrible otherwise.” “Drive for show, putt for dough.” “A-rod is overpaid.” “Athletes always try their best whether there is money or not.” “Discrimination is a thing of the past.” “Referees are biased.” “It’s not wise to go for it on fourth down.” “The Big Ten is better than the SEC.” “I can beat the betting market.” Economists have studied sports for several decades and have developed ways to think through such statements and assess their validity. This course studies the economic approach to sports. It deepens understanding of strategies, rules, performance, money and many other aspects of sports. (more...)

EC420 Economics 420: Introduction to Econometric Methods

Developed by Professor Jeffery Wooldridge. This course teaches the basic methods used by economists to analyze statistical data, methods that are also used in other data-based fields, such as marketing research and public health, and are increasingly valued by private sector employers. The on-line version of the course was developed by MSU professor Jeff Wooldridge, based on his textbook Introductory Econometrics: A Modern Approach, which is the world’s most highly respected and widely used Econometrics textbook. (more...)