Course List

Course Number	Course Name	C - L - H	Hrs
383-101-DW	Introduction to Economics	3 - 0 - 3	45
Description for Course: The course introduces students to economic systems, the great economic thinkers, the different schools of thought, and the basic concepts and theories of economics. Students will become familiar with introductory tools, methods, and models of economic analysis, as well as recognize their limitations. Applying different perspectives and relying on current and historical data, the course exposes students to Canada's and Quebec's major macroeconomic problems such as unemployment, recessions, inflation, and the public debt. Students will learn how governments can use fiscal, monetary, and trade policies to reduce domestic economic problems. The course prepares students to critically assess government economic policies and economic information in the news media. For students in the Social Science program, this course is a pre-requisite to all other Economics courses.
383-201-DW	Microeconomics	3 - 0 - 3	45
Description for Course: The course presents concepts and theories that explain how households and firms behave in different markets. The assumptions of each theory will be clearly stated and the weaknesses of the theory pointed out. Topics covered in the course include market structures, supply and demand, consumer behaviour, behaviour of the firm, production and costs, and the determination of equilibrium price and output in different markets. Using concepts and theories, students will analyze how individuals and companies react to government interventions in the market such as subsidies, minimum wages, and price controls.
383-206-DW	Economic Development	3 - 0 - 3	45
Description for Course: The course discusses, from different perspectives, some of the major economic problems facing the nations of the South: poverty, land ownership, foreign debt, dependency, and distribution of income and wealth. The course examines why the majority of the population in developing countries have inadequate access to housing, education, and healthcare. It critically assesses the economic relationships between the developed countries and the developing countries. The course also analyzes the effects of globalization and how the policies pursued by international organizations such as the IMF the World Bank, and the World Trade Organization have affected Third World countries.
383-210-DW	Money and Banking	3 - 0 - 3	45
Description for Course: The course introduces students to the role of money, the banking system, and the financial sector in the Canadian economy. It familiarizes students with the institutional and historical evolution of the banking and financial systems in Canada. Topics covered in the course include the evolution and functions of money, the functions of the Bank of Canada, the classical and Keynesian theories of money, and the mechanisms by which the money supply influence the major markets of the Canadian economy. The course discusses how the Bank of Canada uses monetary policy to influence the rate of interest, the rate of unemployment, the rate of inflation, and the value of the dollar. The course assesses the effectiveness of monetary policy under globalization.
383-213-DW	Economics and Environment	3 - 0 - 3	45
Description for Course: The environment provides a number of resources that are essential for production, distribution, and consumption, and is in turn affected by these economic activities. The course focuses on the interaction between the environment and economic activities, and assesses the causes of the various types of air, land, and water pollution. It presents the economic concepts, theories, and models that explain environmental pollution. The course examines the effectiveness of the various approaches to pollution abatement adopted by governments. It also discusses the causes of global warning and the various multilateral attempts to control the emission of green houses gases.
383-302-DW	Macroeconomics	3 - 0 - 3	45
Description for Course: The course introduces students to theories that explain the determination and evolution of macroeconomic aggregates such as GDP, the rate of unemployment, the rate of inflation, and the rate of interest. It discusses macroeconomic theories and models, specifies their assumptions, presents their applications, and identifies their limitations. Relying on historical and current data, the course examines the changes that have taken place in the Canadian economy over the last few decades. Topics discussed in the course include economic cycles, sources of economic growth, fiscal and monetary policies. Students will learn how different schools of thought, namely the Classical and Keynesian schools, approach these topics. The course enables students to apply macroeconomic concepts to specific cases and to critically assess economic policies.
383-324-DW	The Stock Market	3 - 0 - 3	45
Description for Course: The course introduces students to investment management and the stock market. The course presents various investment theories, assesses asset allocation, and examines the relationship between risk and rates of return. Students learn concepts and theories that explain how investors allocate their wealth among financial assets, real estate, and commodities. The course also presents theories that analyze fluctuations in the stock market. Students will understand how macro economic variables such as the rate of economic growth, the rate of unemployment, the rate of inflation, and the rate of interest, as well how microeconomic variables such as profits, productivity, and sales growth affect the stock market. Students will be able to understand the construction of stock market indices such the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the NASDAQ, the TSX, the Standard and Poor 500. The course enables students to understand stock listings and to critically assess financial information.
383-330-DW	International Economics	3 - 0 - 3	45
Description for Course: The course helps students understand the economic dynamics of the increasingly integrated world economy and its consequences for countries. The course introduces students to the concepts and theories that explain the patterns of international trade, investment, and migration. It analyzes how the increase in the flow of goods and services and capital across countries over the years - globalization - has created an interdependent world economy, with various challenges and opportunities for countries. It examines the impact of globalization on the domestic stabilization policies of countries, including Canada. The course also discusses trade policies, balance payments problems, different exchange rate regimes, the political economy of trade agreements such as NAFTA, and the role of international organizations, namely the IMF and the WTO.
383-401-DW	Advanced Studies in Economics	3 - 0 - 3	45
Description for Course: The course examines current economic issues, selected by the instructor teaching the course. The issues can be provincial, national, or international in scope. The course presents students with the theoretical discussions, the empirical evidence, and the policy options pertaining to these issues. While discussing these issues, students will understand how economics explains economic problems as well as how it influences policy decisions. Students are required to submit a project at the end of the term. The project provides students with the opportunity to apply the appropriate economic model, theory, and concepts in analyzing a clearly defined problem. In undertaking the project, students will learn how to write an economics paper, including how to summarize, present, and analyze quantitative data, a skill that is important for university-level studies.
383-BXS-03	Personal Finance and Consumer Economics	3 - 0 - 3	45
Description for Course: Given that being in debt is fairly common in our world, this course provides a useful introduction to consumer credit and personal finance. Class discussions focus on the growth of consumer credit, and its distribution, sources and methods of financing, effective money management and low-cost borrowing.
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