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Economics

Economics courses provide individuals with a logical and consistent framework for understanding basic concepts such as market equilibrium, social welfare and economic policies.

Course Decriptions

Select a course below to see full descriptions. (#) Indicates amount of credits per course

This introductory course examines a subset of economic ideas to broadly understand individual behaviors, market outcomes, and aggregate performance of the economy in a non-technical manner. This course is strongly recommended to be taken prior to ECON 103 or ECON 105.

Prerequisite(s):

ENGL 098

Transfer to:

UBC ECON 1st (3), No credit with any prior or concurrent ECON credits
SFU ECON 1XX (3)
UVIC ECON 100 (1.5)
UNBC ECON 1XX (3)
TRU ECON 1220 (3)

Microeconomics is a particular branch of economics that exploits a model of behavior based on several principles of motivation, preferences, and technology. This introductory course introduces the principal elements of theory concerning utility and value, price and costs, factor analysis, productivity, labour organization, competition and monopoly, and the theory of the firm.

Prerequisite(s):

ENGL 098, ECON 100 or MATH 11 (B) or MATH 12 (C) or MATH 099 (C) or MATH 100 (P)

Transfer to:

UBC ECON 101 (3)
SFU ECON 103 (3), Q/B-Soc
UVIC ECON 103 (1.5)
UNBC ECON 100 (3)
TRU ECON 1900 (3)

Principles of macroeconomics introduces macroeconomic theories and issues and how economic variables interact with one another. This introductory course covers topics such as the national product and income and how to measure it, the theory of income and employment determination, inflation, money, banking, and the Bank of Canada, interest rates and exchange rates, and fiscal and monetary policies.

Prerequisite(s):

ENGL 098, ECON 100 or MATH 11 (B) or MATH 12 (C) or MATH 099 (C) or MATH 100 (P)

Transfer to:

UBC ECON 102 (3)
SFU ECON 105 (3), Q/B-Soc
UVIC ECON 104 (1.5)
UNBC ECON 101 (3)
TRU ECON 1950 (3)

What is money? How are interest rates determined? Why do we need financial intermediaries? What caused the financial crisis? How is monetary policy conducted in Canada? This course provides answers to these questions. As an introduction to money, banking and financial markets, this course is aimed at giving students an overview of Canadian financial system and an understanding of the theory and practice of monetary policy.

Prerequisite(s):

ENGL 098, ECON 103 and ECON 105

Transfer to:

UBC ECON 2nd (3)
SFU ECON 2XX (3), Q
UVIC ECON 2XX (1.5)
UNBC ECON 2XX (3)
TRU ECON 2XXX (3)

This course examines social and economic implications of globalization for both rich and poor countries. Particular emphasis is given to the international flows of information, capital, labour and goods and recent trade issues around the world.

Prerequisite(s):

ENGL 098, ECON 103, ECON 105

Transfer to:

UBC ECON 2nd (3)
SFU ECON 2XX (3)
UVIC ECON 2XX (1.5)
UNBC ECON 2XX (3)
TRU ECON 2XXX (3), Precludes credit for TRU ECON 3550 (3)

Environmental economics explores the relationship between economic activity and the environment by examining causes, consequences and possible solutions to local and global environmental issues. Major topics include evaluation of market failures due to externalities and public goods, market and non-market regulation of environmental problems, and economic analysis of environmental problems such as water and air pollution and global climate change.

Prerequisite(s):

ENGL 098, ECON 103

Transfer to:

UBC ECON 2nd (3)
SFU ECON 260 (3), Q
UVIC ECON 2XX (1.5)
UNBC ECON 2XX (3)
TRU ECON 2XXX (3), Exclude TRU ECON 3710

EAn analysis of the microeconomic and macroeconomic aspects of labour markets and government policy options relating to labour markets. Institutional aspects and recent trends in the Canadian labour market, and labour market models that seek to explain the behaviour of labour market participants are examined. Policy analysis is studied with these models and is an important focus of the course.

Prerequisite(s):

ENGL 098, ECON 103 and ECON 105

Transfer to:

UBC ECON 2nd (3)
SFU BUEC 280 (3), Q
UVIC ECON 2XX (1.5)
UNBC ECON 2XX (3)
ECON 2XXX (3), Exclude TRU ECON 3600

Canadian governments regularly implement policies targeted at specific markets and this intervention is justified on the basis that the targeted market would not achieve desired levels of performance on their own. Why do markets fail to automatically achieve efficient outcomes (i.e., what are market failures and why do they occur)? What government policies are used to correct for market failure? Are they effective? In this course students will learn to use tools developed in introductory economics to evaluate various microeconomic policies in a Canadian context.

Prerequisite(s):

ENGL 098, ECON 103 and ECON 105

Transfer to:

UBC ECON 210 (3)
SFU ECON 290 (3), Q
UVIC ECON 2XX (1.5)
UNBC ECON 2XX (3)
TRU ECON 2XXX (3)

A general survey of Canadian macroeconomic policy issues. Topics will include the costs of inflation and unemployment, monetary and fiscal policy, the effects of government debt and exchange rate policy.

Prerequisite(s):

ENGL 098, ECON 103 and ECON 105

Transfer to:

UBC ECON 211 (3)
SFU ECON 291 (3), Q
UVIC ECON 2XX (1.5)
UNBC ECON 2XX (3)
TRU ECON 2XXX (3)

An intermediate economic theory class with a focus on market and business applications. Topics include an overview of price theory, demand and supply in output and input markets, production, and market structure, price and quantity regulations, multiple pricing strategies, collusion, economics of anti-trust, the organization of firms, and the economics of contracts.

Prerequisite(s):

ENGL 098, MATH 104, ECON 103, and ECON 105

Transfer to:

UBC COMM 295 (3)
SFU BUS 207 (3), Q
UVIC ECON 2XX (1.5)
UNBC ECON 2XX (3)
TRU ECON 3040 (3)

Faculty

Learning Methods

A variety of active learning methods are used in economics classes. Film, class discussion, and multi-media presentations help engage students in active learning.

Career Outlook

Economics provides a strong insight into the economic and public policy environment in which virtually every profession, such as finance, journalism and health care, will be pursued.

Resources

UBC Vancouver School of Economics: economics.ubc.ca

SFU Department of Economics: sfu.ca

Bank of Canada: bankofcanada.ca

Department of Finance Canada: canada.ca

Statistics Canada: statcan.gc.ca

Federal Reserve: federalreserve.gov

US Department of Treasury: treasury.gov

Canadian economy in numbers: statcan.gc.ca

Canadian economy in news: huffpost.com

Financial markets: bloomberg.com

Economics Online

This website is a quality supplement to Econ103 and Econ105. Concepts are explained in detail, links to related concepts are just one click away, and topics are presented in a vivid manner and demonstrated with videos. economicsonline.co.uk

Khan Academy

This website offers video lessons on various topics in introductory economics, and other subjects including math. khanacademy.org

ThougtCo/Economics

This website contains a variety of articles on Micro- and Macroeconomics topics. Students taking Econ103 or Econ105 can use the website to enhance their understanding of concepts, use the provided questions to practice, and check latest news articles for application of textbook theories in the real world. economics.about.com

Federal Reserve Education

Students taking Econ105, 210, and 291 can learn more about monetary policies and practical macroeconomic issues from the Federal Reserve Education website. federalreserveeducation.org

The Economics network

The websites are U.K. based, but most information is universal. It includes a few sub-sites, such as “Why Study Economics” , “Studying Economics”, and “Research in Economics Education”. On these websites, you will be able to find IREE (International Review of Economics Education) papers, interesting application of economic theories, and tips for studying efficiently. economicsnetwork.ac.uk

American Economic Association

This website contains a variety of articles on Micro- and Macroeconomics topics. Students taking Econ103 or Econ105 can use the website to enhance their understanding of concepts, use the provided questions to practice, and check latest news articles for application of textbook theories in the real world. aeaweb.org

tutor2u/Economics

American Economic Association website is not intended for concept explanation, while it provides complementary access to some economic journals, information on graduate school application and job opportunities for economics majors. tutor2u.net

Alexander College acknowledges that the land on which we usually gather is the traditional, ancestral and unceded territory of the Coast Salish peoples, including the territories of the xʷməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), and Səl̓ílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations. We are grateful to have the opportunity to work in this territory.

Alexander College acknowledges that the land on which we usually gather is the traditional, ancestral and unceded territory of the Coast Salish peoples, including the territories of the xʷməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), and Səl̓ílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations. We are grateful to have the opportunity to work in this territory.