Course Descriptions - Undergraduate Calendar 2011-2012

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E C O N O M I C S

Note

Due to sabbatical leaves, some courses normally offered may be cancelled in the next year. Consult departmental listing at time of class enrolment for deletions or additional course offerings.

ECON 100s


ECON 101 LEC,TST 0.50Course ID: 004874
Introduction to Microeconomics
This course provides an introduction to microeconomic analysis relevant for understanding the Canadian economy. The behaviour of individual consumers and producers, the determination of market prices for commodities and resources, and the role of government policy in the functioning of the market system are the main topics covered.
Also offered Online

ECON 102 LEC,TST 0.50Course ID: 004877
Introduction to Macroeconomics
This course provides an introduction to macroeconomic analysis relevant for understanding the Canadian economy as a whole. The determinants of national output, the unemployment rate, the price level (inflation), interest rates, the money supply and the balance of payments, and the role of government fiscal and monetary policy are the main topics covered.
Also offered Online

ECON 200s


ECON 201 LEC 0.50Course ID: 004885
Microeconomic Theory 1
Theory of consumer choice; the economics of production; price and output under perfect and imperfect competition.
Prereq: ECON 101

ECON 202 LEC 0.50Course ID: 004886
Macroeconomic Theory 1
Theory of the determination of income/output (GDP), employment, unemployment, prices (inflation), and interest rates; an analysis of monetary and fiscal policy.
Prereq: ECON 101, 102

ECON 211 LEC 0.50Course ID: 004890
Introduction to Mathematical Economics
Application of mathematics to problems in economic theory. Topics include an introduction to matrix algebra, differentiation, partial derivatives, optimization techniques including constrained optimization -- all developed within the context of economic theory.
[Note: Students should complete ECON 211 by their second year.]
Prereq: ECON 101; one of MATH 104, 4U Advanced Functions, 4U Calculus and Vectors; Not open to students in the Faculty of Mathematics.
Antireq: MATH 106/125, 109, 115, 116, 117, 118, 119, 128, 136, 138, 146, 148

ECON 220 LEC 0.50Course ID: 004894
The Principles of Entrepreneurship
The role of entrepreneurship in the economy, especially with respect to competition, innovation and investment; historical experience, theoretical framework, market dynamics, public policy and practical applications.
Prereq: ECON 101; Level at least 2A.
Antireq: ARBUS 200/201
(Cross-listed with ARBUS 200)

ECON 221 LEC 0.50Course ID: 004895
Statistics for Economists
An introduction to statistical procedures commonly employed by economists. Topics include descriptive statistics, probability distributions, sampling, statistical estimation, hypothesis testing, regression analysis and may include computer applications.
Prereq: ECON 101; Not open to Math stdts.
Coreq: ECON 102.
Antireq: (for ART & ENV stdt) ARTS 280, ENVS 278, ISS 250A/B, 250R, KIN 222, PSCI 214/314, PSYCH 292, REC 371, SMF 230, SOC/LS 280, STAT 202,206,211,221,231,241, SWREN 250A/B, 250R

ECON 231 LEC 0.50Course ID: 004899
Introduction to International Economics
Theory of comparative advantage and the gains from trade; tariff theory; concepts and measurement of balance of payments; exchange rate systems; reform of international monetary system.
Prereq: ECON 101, 102

ECON 300s


ECON 301 LEC 0.50Course ID: 004911
Microeconomic Theory 2
Pricing and employment of inputs; general equilibrium theory; theory of modern welfare economics with some applications. Intertemporal choice.
Prereq: ECON 201; one of ECON 211, MATH 106/125, 109, 115, 116, 117, 118, 119, 128, 136, 138, 146, 148

ECON 302 LEC 0.50Course ID: 004913
Macroeconomic Theory 2
An extension of the tools developed in Macroeconomic Theory 1 to analyse topics such as unemployment and inflation, government spending, finance, consumption, investment, growth, and the open economy.
Prereq: ECON 202; one of ECON 211, MATH 106/125, 109, 115, 116, 117, 118, 119, 128, 136, 138, 146, 148

ECON 304 LEC 0.50Course ID: 004917
Monetary Economics
This course explores the role of money in modern economies. Some of the topics covered will include: the demand for money; the determinants of the price-level, inflation and nominal interest rates; liquidity; bank risk and financial intermediation; private money; central banking and the money supply; government debt and money creation; monetary policy and credibility.
Prereq: ECON 201, 202; one of ECON 211, MATH 106/125, 109, 115, 116, 117, 118, 119, 128, 136, 138, 146, 148; Level at least 3A

ECON 311 LEC 0.50Course ID: 004921
Mathematical Economics
Mathematical treatment of partial and general equilibrium models. Topics usually include some of the following: duality, applications of the envelope theorem, discussion of sufficiency conditions for optimisation problems, programming, and growth models.
Prereq: ECON 201, 202; one of ECON 211, MATH 106/125, 109, 115, 116, 117, 118, 119, 128, 136, 138, 146, 148; Not open to students in the Faculty of Mathematics

ECON 321 LEC 0.50Course ID: 004923
Introduction to Econometrics
An introductory course in the theory and practice of econometrics, focusing on multiple regression analysis and associated topics such as multicollinearity, heteroskedasticity and serial correlation. Simultaneous equation models will also be introduced. Computer assignments make up part of the course.
Prereq: ECON 221; or for Mathematics students ECON 101, 102 and one of STAT 221, 231, 241; or for Accounting students ECON 101, 102, STAT 211.
Antireq: STAT 331, 361, 371

ECON 332 LEC 0.50Course ID: 004927
International Finance
An analysis of the main issues in international finance. Topics include international borrowing and lending, intertemporal gains from trade, current account and balance of trade movements, the determination of exchange rates and foreign exchange markets.
Prereq: ECON 201, 202.
Antireq: (For Mathematics students only) BUS 443W

ECON 341 LEC 0.50Course ID: 004932
Public Economics: Expenditure
The course focuses on the rationale for government intervention in a market economy. The course begins with a consideration of market successes through the analysis of the first and second theorems of welfare economics. The course then considers market failures through an analysis of distributional issues, public goods, externalities, non-competitive market structures, and asymmetric information. Time permitting, some issues in the public economics of taxation may be covered.
Prereq: ECON 201; one of ECON 211, MATH 106/125, 109, 115, 116, 117, 118, 119, 128, 136, 138, 146, 148

ECON 342 LEC 0.50Course ID: 004934
Public Economics: Taxation
The course focuses on the public economics of taxation. Normative topics include the efficiency and distributional aspects of taxation and positive topics include the incentive effects of taxation and tax incidence. Time permitting, some issues in public expenditure theory may be covered.
Prereq: ECON 201; one of ECON 211, MATH 106/125, 109, 115, 116, 117, 118, 119, 128, 136, 138, 146, 148

ECON 344 LEC 0.50Course ID: 004936
Marketing: Principles of Marketing and Consumer Economics
Economic principles for marketing, exchange theory and consumer analysis, product or service introductions, public and private policies for advertising, differentiation and quality assurance.
Prereq: ECON 101; Level at least 3A.
Antireq: BUS 352W
(Cross-listed with ARBUS 302)

ECON 351 LEC 0.50Course ID: 004939
Labour Economics
A study of the supply of labour by individuals (and unions) and the demand for labour by firms; topics include the labour market effects of social assistance, unemployment insurance and minimum wages, discrimination in the labour market, efficient wage contracts, the determinants of wage inflation and unemployment.
Prereq: ECON 201, 202, 221

ECON 355 LEC 0.50Course ID: 004941
Economics of Energy and Natural Resources
An analysis of the economics of conservation, especially the adequacy of the market mechanism as an allocator of resource use over time. Issues concerning the economic behaviour of Canada's fishery, forest, fuel and nonfuel mineral industries will be considered.
Prereq: ECON 201

ECON 357 LEC 0.50Course ID: 004942
Environmental Economics
Application of economic theory to problems of the environment, in particular, air, water, and land pollution. Emphasis is on the theory of the management of common property resources.
Prereq: ECON 201

ECON 361 LEC 0.50Course ID: 004943
Cost-Benefit Analysis and Project Evaluation
Methods for evaluating private and public projects; decision rules, efficiency conditions and methods of conducting cost-benefit analysis. Application of the technique.
Prereq: ECON 201, 221
Also offered Online

ECON 363 LEC 0.50Course ID: 004944
Contemporary Canadian Problems
A topic-oriented seminar course. Problems are selected from a list that includes regulatory economics, poverty, unemployment, industrial policy, safety, social policy, government deficits/debt and stabilization policy and others. The format assists the student in gaining analytical skills through work on the selected topics.
Prereq: ECON 201, 202

ECON 365 LEC 0.50Course ID: 004945
Economic Development of Modern Europe
A survey of Europe's economic development from the Industrial Revolution to 1939. Case studies of England, France, Germany, Russia and the Soviet Union are discussed. Emphasis is on technology, economic institutions, capital formation, standards of living and the role of the State.
Prereq: ECON 101, 202

ECON 371 LEC 0.50Course ID: 004946
Business Finance 1
The course explores decisions faced by managers of firms. In particular, decision-makers must determine which long-term real investment opportunities to exploit. Once undertaken, managers must decide how to finance the projects, for example, by debt or equity. The course develops both the conceptual framework and the tools required for these decisions.
Prereq: ECON 101, 102 and (ECON 221 or One course from the Arts Overlap list Set A).
Antireq: AFM 271/273, ACTSC 371

ECON 372 LEC 0.50Course ID: 004947
Business Finance 2
This course examines a number of topics relevant to financial practitioners. The topics examined may include options, derivatives securities, futures markets, swaps and hedging.
Prereq: ECON 371; or for Mathematics students ECON 101, 102 and ACTSC 371.
Antireq: ACTSC 446 (for Actuarial Science students only)

ECON 381 SEM 0.50Course ID: 009938
Special Topics
One or more special half courses will be offered at different times as announced by the Department.
Instructor Consent Required

ECON 382 LEC 0.50Course ID: 004949
Special Topics
One or more special half courses will be offered at different times as announced by the Department.
Instructor Consent Required

ECON 383 LEC 0.50Course ID: 004950
Special Topics
One or more special half courses will be offered at different times as announced by the Department.
Instructor Consent Required

ECON 384 SEM 0.50Course ID: 009939
Special Topics
One or more special half courses will be offered at different times as announced by the Department.
Instructor Consent Required

ECON 385 SEM 0.50Course ID: 009940
Special Topics
One or more special half courses will be offered at different times as announced by the Department.
Instructor Consent Required

ECON 386 SEM 0.50Course ID: 009941
Special Topics
One or more special half courses will be offered at different times as announced by the Department.
Instructor Consent Required

ECON 387 SEM 0.50Course ID: 009942
Special Topics
One or more special half courses will be offered at different times as announced by the Department.
Instructor Consent Required

ECON 388 SEM 0.50Course ID: 009943
Special Topics
One or more special half courses will be offered at different times as announced by the Department.
Instructor Consent Required

ECON 389 SEM 0.50Course ID: 009944
Special Topics
One or more special half courses will be offered at different times as announced by the Department.
Instructor Consent Required

ECON 400s


ECON 401 LEC 0.50Course ID: 004952
Microeconomic Theory 3
The course considers a number of topics in microeconomics. Possible topics include decision theory, the analysis of uncertainty, principal-agent problems, game and information theory, social choice theory and the coordination of economic activity through prices, quantities, command and coercion.
Prereq: ECON 301; Level at least 3B Honours Economics, Honours Applied Economics, Joint Honours Economics, and Science Biotechnology/Economics students

ECON 402 LEC 0.50Course ID: 004953
Macroeconomic Theory 3
The course develops and analyses simple models of the economy that recognize explicitly the dynamic nature of decision making and market interactions. These models will be used to interpret and understand macroeconomic phenomena including money and inflation, unemployment, savings and investment, and the national debt.
Prereq: ECON 302; Level at least 3B Honours Economics, Honours Applied Economics, Joint Honours Economics, and Science Biotechnology/Economics students

ECON 404 LEC 0.50Course ID: 004955
Topics in Money and Finance
A discussion of topics in monetary policy. Topics may include: foundations of monetary theory; portfolio choice; term structure of interest rates; money supply and money demand; decision-making under uncertainty; capital asset pricing models; financial flow analysis; rational expectations and monetary policy.
Prereq: ECON 301, 302, 372; Honours students or Economics majors

ECON 405 LEC 0.50Course ID: 013754
Topics in Financial Econometrics
This course is one of the topic courses in Econometrics. The course will focus on both the Econometric theory and applications in Economics and Finance. Topics may include several main components, such as regression theory (linear/non-linear regression models, multivariate regressions), estimation methodology (OLS, MLE, GMM, WLS/GLS, Monte Carlo simulations), and time series analysis/financial modelling (stochastic process, general ARMA process, autoregressive conditional heteroskedasticity model, stochastic volatility model, high frequency data analysis, nonstationarity for time series and co-integration, continuous time stochastic process).
Prereq: ECON 371, 372; one of ECON 321, STAT 331, 361, 371, 372; Honours students or Economics majors
(Cross-listed with AFM 423)

ECON 411 LEC 0.50Course ID: 004958
Advanced Mathematical Economics
Mathematical formulation of economic theory; introduction to dynamic optimisation and optimal control theory; analysis of stability conditions; introduction to linear and nonlinear programming and game theory.
Prereq: ECON 301, 302, 311; Not open to students in the Faculty of Mathematics

ECON 421 LEC 0.50Course ID: 004959
Econometrics
Advanced treatment of topics covered in ECON 321 through the extensive use of matrix algebra and statistical theory. A review of required matrix algebra and statistical theory will be part of the course. Topics covered will include classical linear models and associated problems such as multicollinearity, functional form, heteroskedasticity and autocorrelation; restricted least squares; generalized least squares; and introduction to simultaneous equations.
Prereq: ECON 201; one of ECON 211, MATH 106/125, 109, 115, 116, 117, 118, 119, 128, 136, 138, 146, 148; one of ECON 321, STAT 331, 361, 371; Honours students or Economics majors

ECON 422 LEC 0.50Course ID: 004960
Topics in Econometrics
An applied topics course involving extensive use of computers, requiring the completion of a term project. While topics covered will vary with the instructor's interests, they will normally be drawn from the following: estimation of stochastic linear regression models; distributed lags and time series models; identification and estimation of simultaneous equations; non-linear estimation; maximum likelihood method; pooling cross-sections and time series; limited dependent variable models; and specification issues.
Prereq: ECON 201; one of ECON 211, MATH 106/125, 109, 115, 116, 117, 118, 119, 128, 136, 138, 146, 148; one of ECON 321, STAT 331, 361, 371; Honours students or Economics majors

ECON 436 LEC 0.50Course ID: 011778
International Trade
An examination of theories of international trade. Topics include the gains from trade, theories of trade determination (Ricardian, Heckscher-Ohlin, increasing returns to scale), the effects of tariffs, multinational corporation behaviour and factor mobility.
Prereq: ECON 301; Honours students or Economics majors.
Antireq: ECON 331, 431

ECON 442 LEC 0.50Course ID: 012408
Economics of Taxation
This course discusses economic issues in taxation. Topics may include general equilibrium tax incidence, computable tax models, optimal taxes, development taxation, environmental taxation, tax reforms and fiscal federalism.
Prereq: ECON 301, 302; Honours students or Economics majors

ECON 445 LEC 0.50Course ID: 009948
Industrial Organization and Public Policy
Study of how firms compete, and the structure of markets. Emphasis on oligopoly markets and use of game theory. Focus on differentiated goods, price discrimination, barriers to entry, vertical relationships, advertising, strategic behaviour, and empirical industrial organization including estimation of demand and costs. Applications to competition policy emphasizing evaluation of horizontal mergers.
Prereq: ECON 301; Honours students or Economics majors

ECON 451 LEC 0.50Course ID: 013562
Law and Economics
Legal rules and jurisprudence can have a significant effect on resource allocation. A key question is whether legal regimes affect the optimality of an equilibrium and succeed in bringing society closer to a welfare maximizing outcome. From another perspective, a relevant question is on the objective or motivation behind the enactment of specific legislation. Recent studies suggest that much legislation is consistent with simple welfare concepts developed by economists. The course focuses on these issues with examples drawn from property, contract, tort, and criminal law.
Prereq: ECON 201, 211; Level at least 3A Honours students or Economics majors.
Antireq: ECON 381 taken Spring 2009

ECON 452 LEC 0.50Course ID: 013884
Topics in Labour Economics
The course presents an overview of the relevant theoretical and empirical research questions related to employment relationships (pay, mobility, workplace organization). The course will offer a combination of tools (theoretical or statistical) and applications of these tools to various topics. Each topic addresses research questions for which we will see the associated seminal papers and more recent papers providing the latest findings on the given topic. The findings may come from new theoretical arguments, data improvement and/or finer methodological tools, all offering a way to better address the question.
Prereq: ECON 301; one of ECON 321, STAT 331, 361, 371; Honours students or Economics majors

ECON 456 LEC 0.50Course ID: 012409
Health Economics
This course explores the theories and models developed to study the health and health-care sectors from an economic viewpoint. The course will focus on the economic tools necessary to evaluate the efficiency of the market for, and the efficient allocation of scarce resources in, health and health care. Examples of possible topics to be covered are the nature of the market, supply and demand of health care, asymmetries of information, externalities, principal-agent relationships, insurance and cost-benefit analysis.
Prereq: ECON 301; One of ECON 321, STAT 331, 361, 371; Honours students or Economics majors

ECON 465 LEC 0.50Course ID: 012982
Economics in History: Topics in European History 476-1800 ADA
A survey of the role played by selected economic variables in long-term economic growth and decline. Issues include the impact of technological change, supply shocks, inflation, warfare, climatic change, population growth or contraction, institutions, and the size and role of governments. Period coverage will range from the fall of the Roman Empire to the end of the 18th century.
Prereq: ECON 201, 202 and one of ECON 301 or 302; Honours students or Economics majors

ECON 471 LEC 0.50Course ID: 009949
Computational Economics
Basic concepts and techniques of computational economics. Topics may include computable general equilibrium models, data and calibration, system sensitivity, and dynamic extensions. Depending on class backgrounds and interests, applications may cover such areas of economics as taxation, international trade, industrial organization, economic history, development, environment, dynamics, and finance.
Prereq: ECON 301, 302; Honours students or Economics majors

ECON 472 ESS 0.50Course ID: 004970
Senior Honours Essay
Students are required to do research and write a paper on a topic of their choice, supervised by a member of the Economics faculty.
Department Consent Required
Prereq: Level at least 4A Honours Economics students only

ECON 483 SEM 0.50Course ID: 009950
Special Studies
Research and reading courses under the direction of individual instructors. See Economics Undergraduate Officer for course registration.
Instructor Consent Required

ECON 484 SEM 0.50Course ID: 009951
Special Studies
Research and reading courses under the direction of individual instructors. See Economics Undergraduate Officer for course registration.
Instructor Consent Required

ECON 485 LEC 0.50Course ID: 004973
Special Studies
Research and reading courses under the direction of individual instructors. See Economics Undergraduate Officer for course registration.
Instructor Consent Required

ECON 486 SEM 0.50Course ID: 009952
Special Studies
Research and reading courses under the direction of individual instructors. See Economics Undergraduate Officer for course registration.
Instructor Consent Required

ECON 487 SEM 0.50Course ID: 009953
Special Studies
Research and reading courses under the direction of individual instructors. See Economics Undergraduate Officer for course registration.
Instructor Consent Required

ECON 488 RDG 0.50Course ID: 004974
Special Studies
Research and reading courses under the direction of individual instructors. See Economics Undergraduate Officer for course registration.
Instructor Consent Required

ECON 489 RDG 0.50Course ID: 004975
Special Studies
Research and reading courses under the direction of individual instructors. See Economics Undergraduate Officer for course registration.
Instructor Consent Required