Undergraduate Calendar 1998-1999

Undergraduate Officer
K. Stollery, HH 207, ext. 3635

Notes

1. The "normal" number of lectures per week in each course is three; however, each instructor determines how often her/his particular class will meet.
2. Due to sabbatical leaves, some courses normally offered may be cancelled in the next year. Consult departmental listing at time of preregistration for deletions or additional course offerings.

ECON100s

ECON 101 3C 0.5
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.


ECON 102 3C 0.5
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.


ECON200s

ECON 200 3C 0.5
Contemporary Policy Issues
The basic principles of economics used to examine contemporary economic issues and to evaluate current public policy debates.
Prereq: ECON 101, 102, or permission of instructor


ECON 201 3C 0.5
Microeconomic Theory 1
Theory of consumer choice; the economics of production; price and output under perfect and imperfect competition.
Prereq: ECON 101


ECON 202 3C 0.5
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 and 102


ECON 210A 3C 0.5
Political Economy 1: Microeconomics
Technical, ideological and social aspects of production, distribution and employment in the evolution of capitalism. Inter- dependencies in commodity and labour markets, monopoly power, instability, alienation, and the contradictions of capitalist and democratic governance. The 'moral society' and prescriptions for social change.
Prereq: ECON 101 or instructor's consent


ECON 210B 3C 0.5
Political Economy 2: Macroeconomics
Social class, power, institutions, and system-specific and other values in explanation and evaluation of the effects of capitalist governance on aggregate production, employment, income distribution and prices. The state, fiscal and monetary policy and the control of unemployment and inflation. Macro-level insights into the 'moral society' and prescriptions for social change.
Prereq: ECON 102 or instructor's consent


ECON 211 3C 0.5
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.
Prereq: ECON 101, 102, OAC Calculus or MATH 104
Students should complete ECON 211 in the second year.


ECON 220 3C 0.5
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, 102


ECON 221 3C 0.5
Statistics for Economists
An introduction to statistical procedures commonly employed by economists. Topics include descriptive statistics, probability distributions, sampling, statistical estimation, hypothesis testing, and regression analysis.
Prereq: ECON 101, 102
Refer to overlapping content note under Grading System


ECON 231 3C 0.5
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 265 S 3C 0.5
Economic Development of Early Modern Europe, 1492-1780
A survey of Europe's Economic Development from 1492 to 1780. Case studies of Spain, Venice, the Dutch Republic, England, and France are discussed. Emphasis is on technology, institutions, overseas trade, the role of the State, and the changing balance of international power.
Prereq: ECON 101 and 102 or consent of the instructor. Previous familiarity with general European history is desirable but not required.


ECON300s

ECON 301 3C 0.5
Microeconomic Theory 2
Pricing and employment of inputs; general equilibrium theory; theory of modern welfare economics with some applications. Intertemporal choice.
Prereq: ECON 201, 211


ECON 302 3C 0.5
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, 211


ECON 304 3C 0.5
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
(Recommended: ECON 231 or 332)


ECON 310 3C 0.5
History of Canadian Economic Development
A study of the economic development of Canada; development theories, industrial structure and national policies analysed in a Classical- Marxian framework.
Prereq: ECON 101, 102


ECON 311 3C 0.5
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, 211
Strongly recommended for students who intend to do graduate work in Economics
Refer to overlapping content note under Grading System


ECON 321 3C 0.5
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
Refer to overlapping content note under Grading System


ECON 331 3C 0.5
International Trade
An examination of theories of international trade at an intermediate level. Topics include the gains from trade, theories of trade determination (Ricardian, Heckscher-Ohlin, increasing returns to scale), the effects of tariffs, the gains from trade, multinational corporation behaviour and factor mobility.
Prereq: ECON 201


ECON 332 3C 0.5
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


ECON 333 3C 0.5
Interregional Economics
An economic analysis of regional development: theories and policies, with special reference to Canada.
Prereq: ECON 201


ECON 334 3C 0.5
Institutions of International Trade and Finance
A political economy analysis of multilateral institutions of international trade and finance. Topics will include discussion of Free Trade Areas and Customs Unions, (NAFTA and EU), the WTO (formerly GATT), the International Monetary System and the IMF, the World Bank and the Bank for International Settlements.
Prereq: ECON 101, 102, and 231
Cross-listed as INTTS 301


ECON 335 3C 0.5
Economic Development
The nature of the problem of economic development; theories of economic development; major policy issues in economic development.
Prereq: ECON 201, 202, 231


ECON 341 3C 0.5
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


ECON 342 3C 0.5
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
(Formerly ECON 441)


ECON 343 3C 0.5
Urban Economics
Application of economic analysis to urban areas. Topics include location decisions of households and firms, structure and growth of cities, land and housing market, transportation market, labour market, and public finance -- all developed within the context of economic theory. Policy issues will be stressed.
Prereq: ECON 201


ECON 344 3C. 0.5
Consumer Theory
Economic principles for consumer analysis; market responsiveness; conditions causing problems; public and private consumption; alternative economic policies.
Prereq: ECON 201


ECON 345 3C 0.5
Industrial Organization
An economic analysis of market structure, behaviour and performance with special reference to the Canadian manufacturing sector.
Prereq: ECON 201


ECON 351 3C 0.5
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


ECON 355 3C 0.5
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 3C 0.5
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 3C 0.5
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


ECON 363 3C 0.5
Contemporary Canadian Problems
A "topic oriented" seminar course. Problems are selected from a list that includes regulatory economics, poverty, unemployment, industrial policy, safety and others. The format assists the student in gaining analytical skills through work on the selected topics.
Prereq: ECON 201, 202


ECON 365 3C 0.5
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, 102


ECON 371 3C 0.5
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 221 or other course in Statistics
Antireq: ACC 371


ECON 372 3C 0.5
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
Antireq: ACC 372


ECON 381-389 3S each 0.5
Special Topics
One or more special half courses will be offered at different times as announced by the Department.
Prereq: Consent of instructor


ECON400s

ECON 401 3C 0.5
Microeconomic Theory 3
The course considers a number of topics in microeconomics. Possible topics include decision theory, the analysis of uncertainty, information theory, principal-agent problems, game theory and social choice theory.
Prereq: ECON 301


ECON 402 3C 0.5
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


ECON 403 3C 0.5
Topics in Economic Forecasting
The course focuses on the problems of forecasting economic variables. Topics include the importance of economic forecasting; a survey of major forecasting methods including subjective probability, survey methods, exponential smoothing, econometric models, and time series models; forecast evaluation; and methods for managing forecast systems. Applications will be drawn from microeconomics, macroeconomics, finance, and special issues involving new product demand, population and technology forecasting.
Prereq: ECON 301, 302, 321


ECON 404 3C 0.5
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


ECON 405 3C 0.5
Quantitative Finance
The course covers a broad spectrum of empirical finance, including: the Capital Asset Pricing Model, the Arbitrage Pricing Theory, the predictability of stock returns, tests of the Random-Walk Hypothesis and event analysis. Time permitting the course may also consider more advanced topics such as the term structure of interest rates, dynamic models of economic equilibrium, and nonlinear financial models such as ARCH or Neural Networks.
Prereq: ECON 321 or equivalent
Coreq: The course will benefit mostly those students who have taken or are concurrently taking ECON 371


ECON 410 3C 0.5
Economic Thought
A critical survey of the development of Economic Theory from Classical Political Economy to the Keynesian Revolution.
Prereq: ECON 231, 301, 302


ECON 411 3C 0.5
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


ECON 420 3C 0.5
Economic Development of the United States
A survey of U.S. Economic Development from the beginnings of organized settlement, with special emphasis on the methods and techniques applied by the New Economic Historians since 1958.
Prereq: ECON 201, 202, 321


ECON 421 3C 0.5
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 211, 321


ECON 422 3C 0.5
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 211, 321


ECON 431 3C 0.5
International Economic Policy
Analysis of selected policy problems of open economies from an institutional perspective. Topics include GATT/WTO and trade policy, customs unions, multinational firms, exchange rate management and international monetary reform.
Prereq: ECON 301, 302 and 231 or 331


ECON 461 3S 0.5
Comparative Economic Systems
This course concentrates on the criteria which are relevant for comparing different economic systems, how well various forms of economic theory make comparisons, the development of capitalist and socialist economies, together with the analysis of alternative types of price system and planning.
Prereq: ECON 201, 202


ECON 463A/B
Studies in Political Economy
Either ECON 463A or ECON 463B will be offered in the Winter term. Check departmental listing on course offering. See course descriptions below.


ECON 463A 3S 0.5
Political Economy of Capitalist Development
A study of the main tools and models of modern political economy. Micro and macro tools and concepts, based on the work of Robinson, Sraffa, Kaldor, Pasinetti, Rowthorn, Nell, Sweezy and others are integrated in what can be termed the "Classical Marxian" tradition.
Prereq: Consent of instructor or Undergraduate Officer


ECON 463B 3C 0.5
The Political Economy of Socialism
An examination of programs for the creation of socialist economy based on the work of Horvat, Nove, Medvedev and others.
Prereq: Consent of instructor or Undergraduate Officer


ECON 471 3C 0.5
Computable General Equilibrium Modelling
Basic concepts and techniques of computable general equilibrium modelling, fixed-point theory and algorithm, data and calibration, system sensitivity, applications in various fields of economics, e.g., taxation, international trade, industrial organization, economic history, economic development, and fixed-price equilibria.
Prereq: ECON 211, 301
(Recommended: ECON 311, 331, or 341)


ECON 472 3C 0.5
Senior Honours Seminar
Students required to do research and write a paper on a topic in their area of specialization. Topics selected by honours students not pursuing an area of specialization must be approved by the instructor of the course.


ECON 481 3C 0.5
Advanced Microeconomic Theory
The course includes a more advanced treatment of selective topics in microeconomic theory.
Prereq: ECON 311, 401


ECON 482 3C 0.5
Advanced Macroeconomic Theory
This course considers a number of advanced topics such as growth, business cycle theory, search theory and co-ordination failures.
Prereq: ECON 311, 402


ECON 483-489 3S 0.5 each
Special Studies
Research and reading courses under the direction of individual instructors.
Admission by consent of instructor. See Economics Undergraduate Officer for course registration.

The Undergraduate Calendar is published by the
Office of the Registrar, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON N2L 3G1 Canada
Inquiries: infoucal@www.adm.uwaterloo.ca
Revised February 1998