Graduate Curriculum Committee Course Proposal Form for Courses Numbered 6000 and Higher
Note: Before completing this form, please carefully read the accompanying instructions.
Submission guidelines are posted to the GCC Web site: http://www.ecu.edu/cs-acad/gcc/index.cfm
ECON 8413 09/12/2011
1.
Course prefix and number: 2. Date:
3.
Requested action:
X New Course
Revision of Active Course
Revision & Unbanking of a Banked Course
Renumbering of an Existing Course from
from # to #
Required X Elective
4.
Method(s) of delivery (check all boxes that apply for both current/proposed and expected future delivery methods within the next three years):
Current or
Proposed Delivery
Method(s):
Expected
Future Delivery
Method(s):
X On-campus (face to face) X
Distance Course (face to face off campus)
Online (delivery of 50% or more of the instruction is offered online)
5.
Justification (must cite accreditation and/or assessment by the graduate faculty) for new course or course revision or course renumbering:
The graduate faculty of the Department of Economics identified a societal need for PhD graduates with advanced analytic and technical skills necessary for analysis, mitigation, management and regulation of risk—both environmental and financial. This requires an understanding of the underlying individual decision maker and firm behavior and their interaction within market and nonmarket settings. Theoretical modeling and empirical analysis complete the picture and allow for the identification of effective public policy and regulation. This doctoral program is unique within the state of North Carolina because it emphasizes risk modeling and analysis over a broad scope of applications that range from financial markets to natural hazards. Students with training from this program will be well equipped to qualify for high level positions within Federal and State
Agencies that deal with natural hazards and regulation of risk, as well as businesses for
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management and mitigation of risk.
The assessment process of the Economics Graduate Faculty has determined that a field in risk and uncertainty, particularly one dealing with natural and environmental hazard risks requires a course that develops and examines modern risk regulation using standard economic models and behavioral approaches.
6.
Course description exactly as it should appear in the next catalog:
8413. Risk Analysis III (3) P: ECON 8412. Explores frontiers of theoretical and applied research particularly with regard to market and regulatory risk: models of financial risk and their applications; models of risk and uncertainty in a regulated domain; government intervention to manage financial and natural hazard risk; risk policy and regulation evaluated in short and very long time scales.
7.
If this is a course revision, briefly describe the requested change:
NA
8.
Course credit:
Lecture Hours 3 Weekly OR Per Term Credit Hours 3 s.h.
Lab
Studio
Practicum
Internship
Total Credit Hours
Weekly OR Per Term Credit Hours
Weekly OR Per Term Credit Hours
Weekly OR Per Term Credit Hours
Weekly OR Per Term Credit Hours
Other (e.g., independent study) Please explain.
s.h. s.h. s.h. s.h. s.h.
3 s.h.
9.
Anticipated annual student enrollment:
10.
Changes in degree hours of your programs:
10
Degree(s)/Program(s) Changes in Degree Hours
PhD/Economics NA
11.
Affected degrees or academic programs, other than your programs:
Changes in Degree Hours Degree(s)/Program(s)
12.
Overlapping or duplication with affected units or programs: x Not applicable
Documentation of notification to the affected academic degree programs is attached.
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13.
Council for Teacher Education (CTE) approval (for courses affecting teacher education): x Not applicable
Applicable and CTE has given their approval.
14.
University Service-Learning Committee (USLC) approval: x Not applicable
Applicable and USLC has given their approval.
15.
Statements of support: a. Staff
x Current staff is adequate
Additional staff is needed (describe needs in the box below): b. Facilities x Current facilities are adequate
Additional facilities are needed (describe needs in the box below): c
.
Library x Initial library resources are adequate
Initial resources are needed (in the box below, give a brief explanation and an estimate for the cost of acquisition of required initial resources): d. Unit computer resources x Unit computer resources are adequate
Additional unit computer resources are needed (in the box below, give a brief explanation and an estimate for the cost of acquisition): e. ITCS resources x ITCS resources are not needed
The following ITCS resources are needed (put a check beside each need):
Mainframe computer system
Statistical services
Network connections
Computer lab for students
Software
Approval from the Director of ITCS attached
16.
Course information (see: Graduate Curriculum and Program Development Manual for instructions): a. Textbook(s) and/or readings: author(s), name, publication date, publisher, and city/state/country. Include ISBN (when applicable).
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Books:
Balleisen, E. & Moss, D. (2009). Government and Markets: Toward a New Theory of
Regulation..
Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
Laffont, J. & Tirole, J. (1993). A Theory of Incentives in Procurement and Regulation.
Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press.
Moss, D. & Cisternino, J. (2009). New Perspectives on Regulation Cambridge, MA:
The Tobin Project.
Readings:
Armstrong , M., & Sappington, D. E. M. (2007). Recent Developments in the Theory of Regulation. Handbook of Industrial Organization 3, 1557-1700.
Pottier, S. W. (2011). Life insurer efficiency and state regulation: evidence of optimal firm behavior. Journal of Regulatory Economics , 39(1), 169-193.
Terpstra, T., Lindell, M.K. & Gutteling, J. M. Does Communicating (Flood) Risk
Affect (Flood) Risk Perceptions? Results of a Quasi-Experimental Study
Williams, O. J. & Satschell, S. E. (2011). Social Welfare Issues on Financial Literacy and Their Implications for Regulation. Journal of Regulatory Economics, 40 (1), 1-40.
10 additional new journal articles b. Course objectives for the course (student – centered, behavioral focus)
Upon completion of this course, students will be able to:
 Model and analyze existing and proposed regulatory rules and policies within a context of risk and uncertainty.
 Evaluate the incentive structures created by new and proposed regulatory rules and policies and derive testable implications.
 Design and implement research projects that test the implications of theoretical models c. Course topic outline
1.
The Regulatory Environment, Institutions, and Incentive Schemes
2.
Time discounting and behavioral biases
3.
Introduction of Risk and Uncertainty into Incentive Schemes
4.
Regulation of Markets for Risk
5.
The Insurance Industry
6.
The Banking Industry
7.
Environmental Risk and Regulation
8.
Hazards and Disaster Risk, Mitigation and Adaptation at different Time Scales d. List of course assignments, weighting of each assignment, and grading/evaluation system for determining a grade

Quizzes and written assignments (25%);
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
Mid-term Exam (25%),

Comprehensive Final Exam (25%),

Research Paper (25%).
Grading System:
A – Outstanding; B – Satisfactory; C – Insufficient; F – Failing.
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