Provides students with a systematic analysis of competing perspectives on key areas of macroeconomic theory and policy. Special attention paid to competing views regarding key fiscal, monetary, and trade policy issues as applied to Canada.

This course examines the foundations of money and financial institutions using tools mastered in micro and macroeconomics. The goal is a set of principles valid for the analysis of monetary policy and institutional regulation in a variety of real world settings.

A combined theoretical, empirical and policy approach to mergers amongst competitors (horizontal mergers). Uses microeconomic models including game theory and econometrics. Delves into recent/current matters assessed by antitrust authorities domestically and/or internationally with applications to specific industries.

This course provides a general treatment of the economics of energy markets and the use of regulation in addressing environmental and other issues arising in these markets. A central theme is the search for an appropriate balance between market forces and regulatory/government intervention. Familiarity with tools of microeconomics and statistics/econometrics is essential. Topics include: oil, natural gas, coal and electricity markets, global warming and other externalities, networks, feed-in-tariffs, carbon taxes, ‘cap-and-trade’ and incentive regulation.

An examination of the causes and consequence of poverty in developing countries with a microeconomic focus, and how it relates it to poverty in the developed world, using a 30-hour service placement at a community organization. Importance of community and context specific factors in policy implementation; learn how local organizations have responded. Use of reflection assignments, papers, group work and class discussions to relate to course concepts. Topics include: poverty traps, health, education, and credit. An application to the instructor is necessary. Not eligible for CR/NCR option.

Topics class in applied econometrics, emphasizing empirical industrial organization. Emphasis on a balanced treatment of theory and econometric techniques used in empirical research in industrial organization (the study of firms and markets). How firms behave, how market equilibriums arise and how economic policies are used to affect market equilibriums. Note: hands-on analysis of real-world data using computer programs is a course requirement. The course is open to all students who meet the prerequisites and necessary support for applicable software is provided.

This course studies the causes and consequences of international borrowing and lending and exchange rate fluctuations. We will discuss key empirical facts about these phenomena, develop economic models to understand the forces that drive them, and apply the models to gain insights about a variety of historical contexts like China's rapid economic development and the recent sovereign debt crises in the Eurozone periphery.

Seminars or workshops may be offered in one or more subjects each year.

Seminars or workshops may be offered in one or more subjects each year.

Seminars or workshops may be offered in one or more subjects each year.

Experimental Economics is a relatively new and very exciting field in economics. While most data used in economics is observational, experimentalists use controlled environments to study various economic issues: from individual decision making, to interaction in games and markets, to asset markets and even macroeconomic issues. In this “hands on” course, students read the background literature in a few areas of current academic research, design and conduct human-subject experiments, ultimately submitting a paper where they draw conclusion from their analysis of real data.

This course builds on material covered in ECO208Y1. Students will learn how to use business cycle models to better understand key empirical features of the macroeconomy. Topics covered include: the financial crisis, monetary policy, fiscal policy, theories of unemployment, and the effects of innovation on economic fluctuations, the Great Depression and the Financial Crisis.

This course presents the theory and practice of market design, including matching markets and auctions. Sample topics include: school choice, kidney exchange, spectrum auctions, and keyword auctions.

This course examines the role and the use of information in strategic situations. The class will expand on the material covered in game theory classes and illustrate it with applications. Topics include: communication, signalling, building reputations, adverse selection, etc.

An examination of the price, distribution, and growth theories of major economic thinkers before 1870, from pre-classical contributions by Aristotle, Mercantilists, and Physiocrats to the classical authors Adam Smith, David Ricardo, T.R. Malthus, and Karl Marx.

Economic analysis between 1870 and 1960, from the foundations of microeconomics by the Marginal Utility theorists of the 1870s (Jevons, Menger, and Walras), Alfred Marshall in the 1890s, and the capital theorists Bohm-Bawerk and Fisher in the early 1900s, to the Keynesian revolution in macroeconomics in the 1930s and Friedman's counter-revolution in the 1950s.

Intended for advanced Specialist students who have exhausted course offerings in a particular area. Students may apply by submitting an application detailing their proposed topic, consult Timetable for more information. The course is open only when a faculty member is available and willing to supervise. Applications will be jointly reviewed by the faculty member and Associate Chair, Undergraduate Studies. Not eligible for CR/NCR option.

Intended for advanced Specialist students who have exhausted course offerings in a particular area. Students may apply by submitting an application detailing their proposed topic, consult Timetable for more information. The course is open only when a faculty member is available and willing to supervise. Applications will be jointly reviewed by the faculty member and Associate Chair, Undergraduate Studies. Not eligible for CR/NCR option.

This course surveys recent advances in political economy, emphasizing the critical evaluation of empirical evidence pertaining to political economic theories. Topics vary by year, but may include: voters and electoral competition, and the political economy of media and political agency.

A focus on post-1949 Chinese economy, and the PRCs economic legacy. Economic development during the Maoist period, particularly post-1979 reforms. China's experience is compared to Eastern Europe's and the role of China in the rapidly growing East Asian economy. This is a limited enrolment seminar requiring extensive reading.

In order to capture the complexity of economic behaviour and interactions, especially with a significant time dimension, modern models of the macroeconomy make considerable use of computer simulation. This course teaches students both how to develop the economic models, and how to solve and work with them computationally.

Behavioural Economics is a relatively new field that incorporates insights gained from psychological, experimental and neuroscientific studies. Research methods adapted from behavioural economics are now being employed in virtually every field in economics. The course will cover the main themes in behavioural economics: individual choices under risk and uncertainty, reference-dependent choices, intertemporal preferences, other-regarding preferences, bounded rationality in individual and interactive decision-making, and the measurement of rationality and recovery of preferences.

This course studies the methods used in modern program evaluation and micro-econometrics to identify causal effects in the presence of potentially unobserved confounding factors. Covers a range of methods and designs, both experimental and quasi-experimental. There is a heavy emphasis on the application of these methods to a broad range of economic questions. Note: hands-on analysis of real-world data using computer programs is a course requirement. The course is open to all students who meet the prerequisites and necessary support for applicable software is provided.

Advanced topics in public economics and economic analysis of Canadian public policy. Through a mix of lectures and independent research, students will acquire theoretical and empirical tools for public policy analysis. Topics may include: income inequality and redistribution; fiscal federalism; taxation of corporate profits; and policies to deal with public goods and externalities. Note: hands-on analysis of real-world data using computer programs is a course requirement. The course is open to all students who meet the prerequisites and necessary support for applicable software is provided.

Studies current empirical evidence, and corresponding theoretical models to explain and understand macroeconomic growth, and its varied experience across countries. Coverage and depth of treatment go beyond ECO362H1. Students may benefit from, but need not have taken ECO362H1.

Courses may be offered in one or more subjects each year. Students must meet the prerequisites announced by the Department.

The theory and political economy of international trade, with examination of specific trade institutions: Bretton Woods, WTO, NAFTA, tariff administration, most-favoured nation treatment, antidumping regulation, subsidies and countervailing duties, agriculture, trade in services, trade-related intellectual property, trade and environment, trade and developing countries.

This course is intended primarily for students in the Financial Economics specialist program and is not open to students in the BCom program. The role of risk management in both private and public sectors, a discussion of why firms and government should hedge financial risks; individual and social gains of financial risk management; identification and quantification of financial risks (including Value-at-Risk measures); how derivative securities can be used for financial risk management.

This course is intended primarily for students in the Financial Economics specialist program. An introduction to the econometrics used in empirical finance, with an emphasis on estimation and inference using computer based applications. Topics will include: parametric and nonparametric models of volatility, evaluation of asset pricing theories, and models for risk management and transactions data.

The course develops the tools used in empirical research in financial economics. Coverage may include: discrete choice models, duration models, instrumental variables, differences-in-differences, regression discontinuity, propensity score estimators, sample selection models and cumulative abnormal return calculation. Topics are drawn from: ownership structure, mergers and acquisitions, capital structure, payout policy, CEOs’ effect on the firm, executive compensation, insider trading, shareholder activism, and bank financing. Note: hands-on analysis of real-world data using computer programs is a course requirement. The course is open to all students who meet the prerequisites and necessary support for applicable software is provided.