ECON 100
3 credits
Principles of Microeconomics
Prerequisite(s): None
This course analyzes the decision making of individual households and firms in a market economy, with an emphasis on the use of the price mechanism to allocate resources. The course will include applications to economic policy.
ECON 101
3 credits
Principles of Macroeconomics
Prerequisite(s): None
This course develops a basic understanding of economy-wide issues such as growth, composition, and fluctuation of overall output, the determinants of unemployment, inflation, and interest rates, and the role of the financial system in facilitating savings and investment. It teaches students the tools to understand the debates surrounding current macroeconomic issues and to evaluate various policy instruments. Techniques in measuring aggregate variables are studied and these variables are subsequently employed as inputs for macroeconomic models utilized to provide insight into economic policy issues.
ECON 203
3 credits
Comparative Economic Systems
Prerequisite(s): ECON 100 or ECON 101
This course takes a comparative approach to the study of how different economic systems deal with the problems of scarcity and choice. It defines, describes, and analyzes the underlying concepts and characteristics of modern economic systems. Students will be introduced to classification of economic systems, criteria for evaluating performance of various systems, and social-economic forces that drive the evolution of economic systems. The aim is to learn the basic theoretical framework and develop the analytical tools to understand the history, functional attributes, and institutional features of the economies in the 21st century.
Note: Students with credit for ECON 102 cannot take this course for further credit.
ECON 207
3 credits
Introduction to Strategic Thinking
Prerequisite(s): ECON 100 and ECON 101
This course provides an introduction to the concepts of game theory in economics. Game theory is the study of decision making in situations characterized by strategic interaction; that is, where an individual’s optimal decision is dependent not only on exogenous factors, but also on the choices made by other individuals. As game theory is simply the study of human interaction, its ability to explain and predict behavior is applicable in a wide range of settings including economics, business, political science, law, psychology, history, anthropology, and other social sciences. To help translate theory into practice, students participate in in-class teaching games.
ECON 215
3 credits
Canadian Economic Issues
Prerequisite(s): ECON 100 and ECON 101
This is a post-principles course that engages students in a discussion of specific micro and macro economics topics including labour markets, agricultural economics, public finance, industrial strategy, trade policy, resource development, competition policy, and health and education. This course brings an economic perspective to major policy issues facing Canada, its provinces, and its major trading partners.
ECON 226
4 credits
Economic and Business Statistics
Prerequisite(s): STAT 106 (formerly MATH 106) and one of MATH 111 or MATH 141 (formerly MATH 115).
This is a cross-listed course. Please refer to BUS 226 (formerly BUS 301) for the official course outline.
ECON 307
3 credits
Managerial Microeconomics
Prerequisite(s): 45 university-level credits, including ECON 100 and ECON 101, and one of MATH 111 or MATH 141.
This course develops and applies the principles of microeconomic analysis to decision making in business. Emphasis will be on the application of analytical techniques to economic and business problems. The course will concentrate on consumer demand, comparative static analysis, determinants of costs and production, the organization and coordination of firms, market structure, pricing strategies, game theory, and strategic interaction.
ECON 341
3 credits
International Trade
Prerequisite(s): 45 university-level credits, including ECON 100 and ECON 101
Topics discussed in this course include gains from trade in a Ricardian world, trade theory with increasing return to scale, empirical tests and extensions of theoretical trade models, economic growth and international trade, the nature and effects of protection, multinational enterprises, customs union theory, globalization of the production process, trade and the environment, and international trade agreements and trade disputes.
ECON 349
3 credits
Financial Management I
Prerequisite(s): BUS 143, BUS 249 (formerly BUS 149 and BUS 162), and BUS 226 (formerly BUS 301).
This course will explore the principles of successful corporate financial management, and will therefore target various aspects of managing an organization financially. As a result, the focus of the course is theory and application to the areas (among others) of financial analysis, valuation, capital budgeting, and risk.
Note: This course is offered as BUS 349 and ECON 349. Students may take only one of these for credit.
ECON 352
3 credits
Technological Progress and Economic Growth
Prerequisite(s): 45 university-level credits, including ECON 100 and ECON 101
This course equips students with a theoretical foundation for studying economic growth and technological progress. Topics covered include sources of economic growth, the impact of technological advances on growth and economic systems, the social-economic factors that influence innovation and diffusion of technology, and public policy issues on technological progress and economic growth.
ECON 360
3 credits
Labour Economics
Prerequisite(s): ECON 100, ECON 101, and one of MATH 106 or MATH 104
This course focuses on labour economics and its application to the Canadian economy. The course analyzes labour issues using institutional facts along with analytic and empirical methods. The emphasis is on the interaction between economic theory and empirical evidence. Simple theoretical models of labour demand and labour supply are developed; students conduct economic analysis, and organize and present data.
ECON 361
3 credits
Environmental Economics
Prerequisite(s): 45 university-level credits, including ECON 100 and ECON 101
This course explores the proper role of government regulation regarding the environment. Students will study the economic framework used to estimate the costs and benefits of environmental policies. This framework will be used to evaluate a series of policy questions, including: What is the relationship between economic growth and environment quality? How much pollution should there be? What are the costs of climate change? Are we running out of resources?
ECON 365
3 credits
Transportation Economics
Prerequisite(s): 45 university-level credits, including ECON 100 and ECON 101
This course focuses on economic issues related to both passenger and freight transportation. These issues include the demand and supply of transportation, market structure of transportation, transport cost and price analysis, transportation regulation, the evaluation of public and private modes of transportation, and the economic analysis of proposed transportation systems.
ECON 388
3 credits
Law and Economics
Prerequisite(s): 45 university-level credits, including one of ECON 100, ECON 101, or CRIM 220.
In this course, economic methodology serves two roles in analyzing the legal system. First, fundamental economic principles provide a scientific theory to predict the effects of legal sanctions on behaviour. Second, economic theory provides a useful normative standard for evaluating law and policy. Topics covered include property rights, contract formation and breach, tort law, law as an instrument for achieving desired social goals, an economic critique of the legal system, and crime and punishment.
ECON 397
3 credits
Regulatory Economics
Prerequisite(s): 45 university-level credits, including ECON 100 and ECON 101
This course provides a framework for students to understand regulatory issues in the rapidly changing area of government-business relations in the 21st century. Students will learn the principles of and rationale for government regulations of business and examine how these principles are practiced in a number of industries to resolve various policy issues. They will also gain knowledge of the nature of business organization, market structure, and regulatory regime, with a particular focus on the Canadian economy.
ECON 398
3 credits
Development Economics
Prerequisite(s): 45 university-level credits, including one of ECON 100 or ECON 101
This course will introduce students to the field of development economics, which applies theories and analytical tools of economics to the policy issues of underdeveloped economies such as poverty alleviation in poor countries and regions. The issues of development are wide-ranging and often require interdisciplinary perspectives. It is therefore crucial to exercise economic analysis of these issues in their institutional, historical, and geographical contexts. Country cases and cross-country comparative studies are used to illustrate the approach of development economics.
ECON 410
3 credits
Macroeconomics and Financial Markets
Prerequisite(s): 45 university-level credits, including ECON 100 and ECON 101, and one of MATH 111 or MATH 141.
This course examines the economy as a whole, with a focus on financial markets. Topics include financial markets and institutions, the management of financial institutions, inflation and unemployment, interest rates in money and capital markets, savings and investment, business cycles, international financ, and ecomomic growth.
ECON 433
3 credits
Investments
Prerequisite(s): BUS 349
This course is designed to develop the student’s ability to value securities. Various methods of investment analysis will be studied. Stocks, bonds, and derivative products are used in a case setting to enable students to learn the appropriateness of using these tools and methods. All of these financial instruments are viewed from an individual, institutional, and portfolio perspective.
Note: This course is offered as BUS 433 and ECON 433. Students may take only one of these for credit.
ECON 434
3 credits
Risk Management and Financial Engineering
Prerequisite(s): BUS 349
This course deals with the ways in which risks are quantified and managed in a portfolio that includes equities, fixed income instruments, and derivatives. The course begins by reviewing the Black-Scholes model of option pricing. The Black-Scholes model is then extended to examine how institutions hedge themselves when they sell non-standard derivatives securities. In particular, we examine the hedging of bonds, stocks, and options against movements in share prices, curvature, interest rates, and volatilities.
Note: This course is offered as BUS 434 and ECON 434. Students may take only one of these for credit.
ECON 435
3 credits
International Finance
Prerequisite(s): BUS 349
This course is a study of international financial markets and institutions, and introduces the student to the management of assets and liabilities in an international and multinational setting. Topics to be covered include: exchange rate determination, foreign exchange risk, interest rate swaps, international portfolio management, comparative markets, and country risks.
Note: This course is offered as BUS 435 and ECON 435. Students may take only one of these for credit.
ECON 449
3 credits
Financial Management II
Prerequisite(s): BUS 349
This course looks at various models of asset pricing. These models are then used to price securities such as stocks, bonds, and options, and the empirical implications of these theories are examined. Other topics include capital budgeting under uncertainty, optimal capital structure, dividend policy, mergers and acquisitions, and foreign exchange risk.
Note: This course is offered as BUS 449 and ECON 449. Students may take only one of these for credit.
ECON 490
3 credits
Directed Studies in Economics
Prerequisite(s): ECON 100, ECON 101, ECON 307, and instructor’s permission.
This course is designed for students who wish to examine a particular topic in economics in greater depth. It will be offered either as an individual reading course or as lectures to a small class, depending upon student and faculty interest. Admission is by instructor consent only.
