ECO 416 - Evolutionary Economics

This course expands the topics and dynamics that can be addressed with economic thinking by taking advantage of the science on the evolution of the human species, human behavior, and human institutions. Evolutionary economics applies the principals of variation, selection and retention to understand the dynamic nature of economic systems, filling some gaps in economics and other social sciences. This course will cover historical and current evolutionary approaches to economics and students will learn how an evolutionary approach connects to the other social sciences. Students will practice building evolutionary accounts of economic systems, characterizing evolutionary forces acting in economic systems, suggesting evolutionary interventions to improve outcomes, and will complete a major project on a system of their choosing. Students will be introduced to the analytical tools of evolutionary game theory and agent-based modeling. This class is appropriate for students outside of economics as well as economics majors.

ECO 416 and 516 cannot both be taken for credit

General Education Requirements: Fulfills the General Education Writing Intensive and Social Contexts and Institutions requirements.

Prerequisites: ECO 120 and ECO 121 and Sophomore standing or permission.

Course Typically Offered: Alternate years

Credits: 3