Course subject: Economics (ECON)

The main purpose of this course is to provide students with the methodological tools that underlie dynamic equilibrium analysis of the macro-economy.

This course for MA students examines the monetary and financial aspects of the macro-economy. Its main purpose is to prepare students to conduct analyses of problems and policies in monetary economics. Topics may include the link between monetary policy and output, the economic cost of aggregate fluctuations, the costs and benefits of price stability, the role of central banks and the banking system.

This course focuses on increasing students' understanding of the roles of economic theory and empirical methods and on the development of skills in the critical analyses of economic research. Through reading a variety of research papers and attending seminars, students will gain exposure to different research methodologies used in economics. Students will learn how to synthesize and critique research on a particular topic by writing reviews of academic papers and/or research reports from government and non-governmental agencies, as well as by writing a paper such as literature survey on an assigned topic. Students will enhance their writing skills and will also gain practice in presenting a research paper.

This course provides an introduction to the analysis of microdata - data in which the unit of analysis in an individual decision-maker, such as a consumer, worker, or firm. The course familiarizes students with the various types of microdata structures and draws links between theoretical economic models and statistical models. It devotes considerable attention to analytical techniques for describing univariate and bivariate distributions, including the use of kernel density estimators and scatterplots. The course addresses statistical inference using multivariate regressions, covering a series of techniques and issues of particular significance in the analysis of microdata. Examples include Monte Carlo methods; bootstrapping; the use of sampling weight; omitted variable bias; measurement error; and instrumental variables. Completion of an empirical project is a course requirement.

After exploring solutions for first and second-order difference and differential equations, the course studies the calculus of variations, optimal control theory, discrete and continuous dynamic programming, with applications to various fields; including micro and macroeconomics, natural resource and environmental economics, finance and investment theory. Techniques of dynamic simulation are discussed.

This course explores a variety of machine learning methods used to analyze complex economic data and inform policy decisions. The course introduces students to predictive methods and exploratory data analysis for high-dimensional data. These methods, such as decision trees and neural networks, are applied to observational data with an emphasis on the analysis of large and/or complex datasets of interest to social scientists and policy makers

This course is aimed at exploring the nexus between international trade, growth, and development through a set of selected readings. The course will not present a comprehensive treatment of the subject area. Rather, it will provide an introduction to a few selected topics that are suggestive of both the typical questions posed in the literature and of the manner in which the literature has developed over time. The topics will include models of international trade under perfect and imperfect competition, models of north-south trade, immiserizing growth, the Dutch disease, trade as an engine of growth, and international trade, technological change and long-run growth.

This course studies the economic role of the public sector in a modern market economy. Topics include the efficient provision of public goods, externalities and public choice analysis of the growth in government spending. Time permitting, some issues in the public economics of taxation may be covered.

This course introduces students to the role of economics in health care and health policy. It is meant to be a survey of major topics in health economics and an introduction to the ongoing debate over health care policy. Topics include the economic determinants of health and health policy, the market for medical care, the market for health insurance, and the role of the government in health care, and health care reform.

This course examines public policies in imperfectly competitive markets. The focus is on how different public policies impact dynamic welfare through their effects on innovation. The course explores the role of innovation in antitrust policy, examines in detail different forms of intellectual property rights, and introduces students to concepts such as technological opportunity, induced innovation, and preference externalities. Throughout the course the methodological emphasis is on studying when economic research - whether theoretical or empirical - can inform public policy.

The economics of renewable and non-renewable resources in a Canadian context. Problems peculiar to the fisheries, forestry, mineral industries and oil and gas production and consumption are analyzed. Also considered are economic and constitutional issues arising from the uneven distribution of resource rents in Canada.

This course considers the application of option concepts from finance to value real assets. The focus is on using real options theory and methodology to value investments characterized by uncertainty, irreversibility, and flexibility in the timing of irreversible expenditures. The course begins with an introduction to stochastic processes, Ito's Lemma, the Black-Scholes equation, contingent claims analysis and dynamic programming. Methods to solve simple option value problems will be presented, such as binomial trees and Monte Carlo simulation. Applications will focus on problems in natural resource and environmental economics, such as valuing the option to drill for oil or install pollution control equipment and, time permitting, other applications in economics.

One or more half-courses will be offered at different times as announced by the Department.

This course builds on the models and the techniques developed in Microeconomic Theory I. Topics may include general-equilibrium analysis, game theory, the economics of information, mechanism design and applications of bargaining theory to the theory of markets.

This is a research-oriented course in macroeconomics. Topics may include issues in economic growth and development, economic inequality, fiscal policy, labour market policy, and business cycles.

The course provides a rigorous treatment of more advanced topics in econometrics. They include system of equations, simultaneous equations, generalized method of moments, empirical likelihood, vector autoregression and dynamic models, time series models and methods, discrete dependent variables, and limited dependent variables.

This course covers some of the most important concepts, models and methods used in the empirical analysis of macroeconomic problems. In particular the course covers established time series techniques as well as more recent developments such as testing for unit roots, measurement of the persistence of shocks and estimation and hypothesis testing in cointegrated systems. Several dynamic models will be studied using time series analysis methods. Topics covered include basic concepts in time series analysis (modelling volatility and trend), VAR Modes (including structural VAR's), VECM and Cointegration, neural networks and estimation of DSGE models. During the course, students will have the opportunity to explore several case studies using econometric software such as RATS and MATLAB.

This course familiarizes PhD students with recent developments in research on government expenditures. By the end of the course, students are expected to know what are the main current academic and policy debates in relation to public expenditures as well as what research papers from the most recent important contributions to these debates. This course is an essential part of preparation for students aiming to write a thesis in public economics. Topics include, but are not limited to, the efficient provision of public goods, externalities, public choice and voting, fiscal federalism and equalization, and public policy reform.

The course builds upon the MA course in Health Economics (643). This topics course is designed for students wishing to undertake research in the area of health policy. The course will examine health and economic literature on mutually (instructor and students) agreed upon topics, focusing on current research issues in population health, health-services research, economic evaluation, and health policy analysis from an economic perspective.

This course is intended for PhD students who specialize in the field of environmental economics. It provides an advanced analysis of the interplay between economic activities and the environment, and environmental regulation. The course will focus on the application of several advanced economic tools and methods covered in the core PhD theory courses to environmental problems. Topics may include the application of general equilibrium theory, game theory, real options theory, optimal control theory, dynamic optimization, and econometric analysis to environmental policy analysis and design.