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 1. Course prefix and number: ECON 8411 2. Date: 09/13/2011 3. Requested action: X New Course Revision of Active Course Revision & Unbanking of a Banked Course Renumbering of an Existing Course from from to # X Required # 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): X On-campus (face to face) Expected Future Delivery Method(s): 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 need in government, the private sector, and in academia 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 1 Revised 04-06-11 and posted fall of 2011 hazards and regulation of risk, as well as businesses for management and mitigation of risk. The assessment process of the Economics Graduate Faculty has determined that this is an essential core course for the field of Risk Economics. It is also a fundamental course for the applied macro and micro economic fields in dealing with issues raised by coastal natural hazards. 6. Course description exactly as it should appear in the next catalog: 8411. Risk Analysis I (3) P: ECON 8011, 8012; MATH 5102, 5801. Analysis of risk and uncertainty. 7. If this is a course revision, briefly describe the requested change: N/A 8. Course credit: Lecture Hours 3 3 Weekly OR Per Term Credit Hours s.h. Lab Weekly OR Per Term Credit Hours s.h. Studio Weekly OR Per Term Credit Hours s.h. Practicum Weekly OR Per Term Credit Hours s.h. Internship Weekly OR Per Term Credit Hours s.h. Other (e.g., independent study) Please explain. s.h. 3 Total Credit Hours s.h. 6 9. Anticipated annual student enrollment: 10. Changes in degree hours of your programs: Degree(s)/Program(s) Changes in Degree Hours PhD in Economics N/A 11. Affected degrees or academic programs, other than your programs: Degree(s)/Program(s) Changes in Degree Hours 12. Overlapping or duplication with affected units or programs: X Not applicable Documentation of notification to the affected academic degree programs is attached. 13. Council for Teacher Education (CTE) approval (for courses affecting teacher education): X Not applicable Applicable and CTE has given their approval. 2 Revised 04-06-11 and posted fall of 2011 14. University Service-Learning Committee (USLC) approval: X Not applicable Applicable and USLC has given their approval. 15. Statements of support: a. Staff Current staff is adequate X 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 MATLAB 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). Required: Fishburn, P.C. (1970). Utility Theory for Decision Making. New York: Wiley. ISBN: 978-0471260608 Gilboa, I. (2009). The Theory of Decision under Uncertainty. Cambridge, UK: 3 Revised 04-06-11 and posted fall of 2011 Cambridge. ISBN: 978-0521741231 Kreps, D. (1988). Notes on the Theory of Choice. Boulder: Westview. ISBN: 9780813375533 Recommended: Arrow, K.J. (1970). Essays in the Theory of Risk Bearing. New York: Markham. ISBN: 978-0720430479 De Groot, M. (1970). Optimal Statistical Decisions. New York: McGraw Hill. ISBN: 978-0471680291 Savage, L.J. (1954). The Foundations of Statistics. New York: Dover. ISBN: 9780486623498 Selected articles from recent theoretical literature. b. Course objectives for the course (student – centered, behavioral focus) Upon completion of this course, students will be able to: Apply fundamental mathematical models of risk and uncertainty; Analyze the decision theory of choices in the face of both risk and more fundamental uncertainty; Compare and critique expected utility models and their dynamic extensions to situations involving risk, uncertainty, and/or ambiguity in both static and dynamic settings; Master the classic tools of risk analysis and implement them in standard applications. c. Course topic outline 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. Mathematical formulation of risk, measures of levels of ‘riskiness’ Review of the foundations of expected utility theory Classical Decision Theory in the face of Risk Subjective Probability and Choice under Uncertainty Modeling Ambiguity and Ambiguity Aversion Intertemporal, Recursive Utility Models of Decision Making Learning and Updating Generalizations of State Space approach to modeling uncertainty and decisions d. List of course assignments, weighting of each assignment, and grading/evaluation system for determining a grade 6 problem sets (40%); Mid-term Exam or Writing Assignment (25%); Comprehensive Final Exam (35%). Evaluation System A 90% to 100% B 89% to 80% C 79% to 70% F Below 70% Outstanding Performance Acceptable Performance Inadequate Performance Failure 4 Revised 04-06-11 and posted fall of 2011