Economics

Designed for students who do not intend to major in economics. Examines the working of the market system, competition policy, price supports and regulation, labour markets and unions, and social issues. NOTE: BBA students cannot take this course for credit. Credit cannot be counted for both ECON 1013 and ECON 1004.

Concerned with current issues in the Canadian Economy. Topics may include public policy towards unemployment, inflation, foreign investment, poverty, income distribution and regional development.

Analysis of specific economic phenomena in Canada.

An introduction to the microeconomic aspects of monetary theory and policy. Topics include how money is defined and measured, portfolio theory, theories of the interest rate, the determination of the money supply, and bank regulation. 

Definition, extent and causes of poverty. Distribution of income and wealth in Canada and abroad. Rationales for and effectiveness of income redistribution policies. 

An introduction to the economic analysis of the development of urban areas. Topics include the evolutionary development of cities, the location of cities and of activities within them, and theories of urban growth. 

A study of the major contributions to economic analysis from Adam Smith to Alfred Marshall. 

The nature and role of the public sector in a market economy. Topics include taxation and government expenditure and their effects on the allocation of resources and the distribution of income, and the growth of the public sector.

Determinants of labour supply and demand. Includes structure of wages, male-female earnings differentials, employment insurance, unions, strikes, and labour relations. 

The principles of international trade and issues in trade policy.

Development theory at both sectoral and aggregate level; analysis of growth, employment, distribution of income, intersectoral investment allocation, and investment in human capital. 

An analysis of the international dimension of economic problems faced and policies adopted by developing countries of Asia, Latin America, and Africa. Topics include: international trade, direct foreign investment, technology transfer, regional economic blocks, structural liberalization, debt and development financing, high rate of population growth and exhausting of natural resources.

An introduction to game theory - a type of applied mathematics that describes strategic behaviour. Examples will be drawn from economics, political science, sociology and biology. This interdisciplinary course is open to students who have successfully completed 15 term-courses (45 ch) or by permission of the instructor.

Comparative study of costs and benefits and the impact of public projects and policy initiatives. 

Examines interaction of ecological and economic systems, considering population growth, food supply, non-renewable resources. 

The objective of the course is to explain the problems and issues associated with empirical measurement of economic relationships, and an assessment of the techniques by which those problems may be solved.