Economics

Course description

The first portion of this course introduces students to basic microeconomic terminology, concepts, methodology and theories, and provides an understanding of firm behaviour under various market structures in an international setting, and their application to current global microeconomic issues. Topics of study include concepts of supply, demand, and elasticity and their application, market efficiency and inefficiency and government intervention, consumer theory, firm production, and costs, and the determination of equilibrium price and output under different market models (perfect competition, monopolistic competition, oligopoly, and monopoly), government export taxes/subsidies and regulation of the market, and international trade. The second portion of the course explores aggregate economic activity in the Canadian economy and its interrelationship with the rest of the world. It provides students with a basic understanding of macroeconomic principles and their relevance to macroeconomic issues impacting Canadian society. It examines the structure and performance of the Canadian economy utilizing economic indicators as gross domestic product, employment, unemployment, income and labour productivity growth, inflation, interest rates, exchange rates, balance of international payments, and the impact of government fiscal and monetary policies in national and international setting. It will analyze current global issues affecting the Canadian economy.

Course details