ECONOMICS
ECON 100 (formerly ECON 201):
Principles of Microeconomics 3 credits
Prerequisites: none
Transferability: SFU, UVic, OU, TWU, and, with ECON 101, to UBC
This is the classic “first principles course” which presumes no prior study of economics and provides powerful insights in consumer and business decision-making. The course also exposes students to a number of public policy issues.
ECON 101 (formerly ECON 202):
Principles of Macroeconomics 3 credits
Prerequisites: none
Transferability: SFU, UVic, OU, TWU, and, with ECON 100, to UBC
Macroeconomics is the study of the economy as a whole, notably unemployment, inflation, and economic growth. The course examines a number of policy ideas, including government spending, taxation and regulation of the money supply, and interest rates. This course gives a broad understanding of many current issues and debates concerning the Canadian economy. This is a first principles course and presumes no prior study of economics.
ECON 102:
Twentieth Century Economies 3 credits*
Prerequisites: none
Transferability: SFU, UBC, UVic, OU, TWU
A comparative approach to the study of how different countries deal with the problems of scarcity and choice. The relationships between individuals, interest groups, firms, and the state will be explored. Attempts will be made to compare economic systems within and between three broad categories: market capitalism, central planning, and market socialism. Special attention will be paid to classification of economic systems evaluation criteria, models of economic systems, and coordination of economic activities. The changing balance of public and private power in market capitalist and market socialist economies will be a central focus. The course will include a historical perspective on major ideas and events since the Industrial Revolution.
*Students with credit for economics courses at the 200 or higher level (excluding ECON 100 [formerly ECON 201], and ECON 101 [formerly ECON 202]) may not take ECON 102 or 110 for further credit.
ECON 110:
The Canadian Economy 3 credits*
Prerequisites: none
Transferability: SFU, UBC, UVic, OU, TWU
ECON 110 is an introductory course about the Canadian economy, suitable for students contemplating further courses in business, economics, or other social sciences as well as non-majors. The course covers basic economic principles and provides background to Canadian economic institutions and policies. This enables students to better understand economic policy-making in Canada. National economic issues and various policy prescriptions are discussed including foreign investment, free trade, health and education, competition policy and government measures to deal with unemployment, inflation and economic growth. Students will learn to apply basic economic theory and critically evaluate current policies and political affairs.
*Students with credit for economics courses at the 200 or higher level (excluding ECON 100 [formerly ECON 201], and ECON 101 [formerly ECON 202]) may not take ECON 102 or 110 for further credit.
ECON 307:
Managerial Economics 3 credits
Prerequisites: ECON 100 and 101, MATH 111 or MATH 115, all with a C grade or better.
This course is designed to provide a basic understanding of the neo-classical microeconomic paradigm and some of the criticisms of this view at the intermediate level. The subject of managerial economics takes many of the principles of microeconomic analysis and applies them to the business context. Emphasis throughout the course will stress the application of analytical techniques to “everyday” economic problems. The course will concentrate on the theory of consumer behaviour, revealed preference and demand estimation, the nature of costs and production theory, theories of organization and coordination of firms within a certain and uncertain economic environment, and theories of wage determination in factor markets under both imperfect and perfect information scenarios.
ECON 341:
International Trade 4 credits
Prerequisites: 60 credits, and any lower-level economics course or POSC 190
This course, designed for the non-business major, provides a survey of international trade and finance. The international business environment is examined with a survey of cultural, social, and economic factors influencing decision making. Major functions of international commerce are reviewed, including (for example) export and import trade, investment transfers, and international monetary control systems.
ECON 352:
Technology, Development and Economic Growth 4 credits
Prerequisites: 60 credits, and any lower-level Economics, Political Science or LAS course
The accelerating pace of global change continues to challenge existing paradigms of social, political and economic order. Developments in the technologies of transportation, communications, and finance are commonplace examples where technological change has become a harbinger of profound social and economic change. Existing social orders, political boundaries, and economic issues are still as pressing as ever. This course provides students with an understanding and historical perspective on the evolution of societies and the impact of technology, development, and economic growth. The evolution and nature of market institutions is traced, and with it, the evolving role of business and government.
ECON 361:
Environmental and Resources Management 4 credits
Prerequisites: 60 credits, and any lower-level Economics course
The conceptual focus of this course is two-fold: on the environment side, the economics of pollution is examined along with theories about various remedies; on the resources side, theories of optimal harvest rates are addressed for both renewable and non-renewable resources. Extraction and preservation values, and common versus private property tenures are examples of economic issues examined in this part of the course.
ECON 365:
Transportation Economics 4 credits
Prerequisites: 60 credits, and any lower-level Economics course
This is an allied course with the general aim to acquaint students with the economic issues of the transportation sector. The issues and the economics particular to the transportation sector are examined with the general aim of understanding public policies and their effect upon the particular sector and upon the communities served. The approach is to develop the economic principles of demand, cost, pricing, and regulation to the various modes, with an emphasis on those of particular interest to the students in the course.
ECON 388:
Law and Economics 4 credits
Prerequisites: 60 credits, and any lower-level Economics course or CRIM 220
The economic analysis of law is an interdisciplinary subject that brings together several fields of study and facilitates a greater understanding of all of them. This course will help students perceive law in a new way: one that is extremely useful to lawyers and to anyone interested in issues of public policy. It is customary to think of the law only in its role as a provider of justice. To this end, this course will look at what extent criminal behaviour can be described as an individual, rational choice, and to what extent crime is dependent on the threat of punishment and various socioeconomic factors.
ECON 397:
Business and Government I — Topics in Microeconomics 4 credits
Prerequisites: 60 credits, and either any lower-level Economics course or POSC 110
This is an issues-oriented topics course, designed for students with a minimal background in business and economics. The course is focussed on the application of microeconomics to the role of business and to the regulatory role of government in the economy. The course is designed as a practical introduction to such issues as for example, industrial strategy, competition policy, and patent policy. This is not a theory course, and as such, economic theory and analysis is developed in the course only to the extent necessary to understand public policy issues of business and of government regulation and intervention. The aim is to understand the divergent private business and public policy interests with respect to a number of regulatory issues.
ECON 398:
Business and Government II — Topics in Macroeconomics 4 credits
Prerequisites: 60 credits, and any lower-level Economics course
Financial markets and institutions not only affect everyday life but also involve huge flows of funds through the economy, which in turn affect business profits, the production of goods and services, and even the economic well-being of countries. What happens to financial markets, financial institutions, and money is of great concern to our politicians and even can have a major impact on our elections. This course examines how financial markets (such as bonds, stocks and foreign exchange) and financial institutions (banks, insurance companies, mutual funds, and so on) work by exploring the role of money in the economy. This course will also examine the wide variety of instruments for financing, investing and controlling risk that are available in today’s financial markets.
ECON 410:
Money and Banking 3 credits
Prerequisites: ECON 307
Transferability: OU
The purpose of this course is to provide an overview of the complex and evolving structure of the financial industry. It will explore how the changing structure of the industry has affected the management of financial institutions. The course integrates real world banking considerations with the principles of, and recent developments in, financial economics, including analysis of bank management functions in terms of operating philosophies, strategies, and techniques. The primary emphasis is on the theory and evidence as to the processes by which banking firms fit into financial markets and facilitate the flow of capital among various sectors of the economy. Finally, this course will analyze how commercial banks operate in today’s complex financial system and how they are influenced by regulation, technological change, and the risk associated with financial market activity and uncertainty.
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