ECON 160 - Big Ideas in Economics

Semester Offered: Fall and Spring
1 unit(s)

Topics in contemporary economics, a non-exhaustive survey of topics of interest to economists intended for any student interested in contemporary issues in modern economics (especially non-majors, or students who are not yet sure about their major, but also open to economics majors interested in a broader perspective of the field).

Note, this is not the introductory course for the major. For that, please take ECON 102 .

Possible topics include: inequality, climate change, immigration, inflation, unemployment, education, economic growth, healthcare, addiction, poverty.

Topic for 2025/26a: This team-taught Intensive focuses on Chinese Economy, Global Financial System, Labor Market and Human Capital, Inflation and Platform Markets. Qi Ge, Paul Johnson, Harrison Shieh, Zhengren Zhu.

Topic for 2025/26b: This team-taught Intensive focuses on Climate Change, Trust, Inequality and Monetary Policy and Social Safety Net Programs. Esteban Argudo, Alicia Atwood, Benjamin Ho.

Two 75-minute periods.

Course Format: INT