Faculty of Arts and Science
Introduction to Microeconomics
Credit hours: 3.00
Contact hours per week: 3-0-0 or
3-1-0
The study of how prices and quantities are determined in the marketplace. Consumers' and firms' views of the various markets in which goods and services are bought and sold. Current everyday life examples of microeconomics, as well as the role of government in the Canadian free market system.
Lib Ed Req:Social Science
Note:This course may be offered with a lab component.
Introduction to Macroeconomics
Credit hours: 3.00
Contact hours per week: 3-0-0 or
3-1-0
The study of the current Canadian economy, including the roles of the Federal Government and the Bank of Canada. Canada's output, unemployment, inflation, money, interest rates, investment, consumption, and trade relationships in the economy. Canada's role in the world economy.
Lib Ed Req:Social Science
Note:This course may be offered with a lab component.
Economics 2070/Management 2070
Operations and Quantitative Management
Credit hours: 3.00
Contact hours per week: 3-0-0
Management of production and service operations, including capacity planning, process and layout design, and TQM; applications of quantitative techniques like linear programming, forecasting, inventory models, waiting line models, CPM/PERT, simulations and decision theory are discussed within the operations environment.
Prerequisite(s):One of Statistics 1770 or [Health Sciences 3450/Psychology 3450 and admission to the B.H.Sc./B.Mgt. combined degrees program] AND
Second-year standing (a minimum of 30.0 credit hours)
Lib Ed Req:Science
Introduction to Financial Economics
Credit hours: 3.00
Contact hours per week: 3-0-0
The interplay between basic concepts of Economics and Finance. Simple and compound interest, with applications to continuous interest, annuities and perpetuities, loan and mortgage payments, sinking funds, bonds, capitalization and depreciation. Topics include the calculation of net present values, basic asset pricing, evaluation of risk and return, capital budgeting, and financial derivatives. Emphasis on practical problems with economic applications.
Lib Ed Req:Social Science
Economics of Agricultural Issues
Credit hours: 3.00
Contact hours per week: 3-0-0
Agriculture in a modern economy. Globalization of agriculture. Canadian agriculture in the World Trade Organization and NAFTA. Safety net issues. Subsidies in agriculture. Marketing issues in Canadian agriculture. Current policy debates.
Prerequisite(s):Economics 1010
Lib Ed Req:Social Science
Economics of Agricultural Markets I
Credit hours: 3.00
Contact hours per week: 3-0-0
An introduction to the processes and institutions comprising the contemporary food marketing system. Basic theory and underlying factors determining and affecting grain and livestock prices. Spatial price relationships. Temporal price variation. Price differences due to form (particularly dealing with grading and quality). Prices as a coordinating mechanism in vertically-related systems. Derived demand and marketing margins. Marketing boards.
Prerequisite(s):Economics 1010
Lib Ed Req:Social Science
Quantitative Methods in Economics
Credit hours: 3.00
Contact hours per week: 3-0-0 or
3-1-0
The mathematical interpretation of fundamental economic concepts; demand and supply; competitive equilibrium. Application of the calculus and matrix algebra to production and distribution theory, growth models and investment theory. Solving systems of linear equations, optimization problems and some dynamics of economic systems.
Prerequisite(s):Economics 1010
Lib Ed Req:Science
Note:This course may be offered with a lab component.
Economics and Business Statistics
Credit hours: 3.00
Contact hours per week: 3-0-0 or
3-1-0
The application of statistical techniques to economic and business data, with emphasis on statistical estimation, hypothesis testing, regression, correlation, time series analysis and index numbers.
Prerequisite(s):Statistics 1770 AND
One of Economics 1010 or Economics 1012
Mutually Exclusive:
Statistics 2780
Substantially Similar:
Statistics 2780
Lib Ed Req:Science
Note:This course may be offered with a lab component.
Intermediate Microeconomic Theory
Credit hours: 3.00
Contact hours per week: 3-0-0
An analytical approach to optimal resource allocation in a competitive economy; the theory of consumer behaviour; the theory of cost and production; price determination under perfect competition and monopoly; general equilibrium theory; welfare economics.
Prerequisite(s):Economics 1010
Lib Ed Req:Social Science
Intermediate Macroeconomic Theory
Credit hours: 3.00
Contact hours per week: 3-0-0
Utilization of economic principles to study the determination of income, consumption, investment, employment, price level, and how government policies impact them. Topics include the measurement of unemployment, income, and inflation; theories of economic growth; basic analysis of business-cycle fluctuations of two main macroeconomic models (the flexible-price macroeconomics and the fixed-price macroeconomics); and the effect of fiscal and monetary policies on the economy.
Prerequisite(s):Economics 1012
Lib Ed Req:Social Science
Managerial Economics
Credit hours: 3.00
Contact hours per week: 3-0-0 or
3-1-0
An introduction to the application of economic principles to organizations and how they operate. The neoclassical theory of the firm, team production, property rights, ownership and efficiency, contract theory, rent capture, agency problems and corporate control, managing human resources, core competencies and competitive strategies, organizational structure in a global environment. Case studies relate theoretical concepts to modern firms.
Prerequisite(s):Economics 1010
Lib Ed Req:Social Science
Note:This course may be offered with a lab component.
Economics of Professional Sports
Credit hours: 3.00
Contact hours per week: 3-0-0
The application of microeconomic principles to analyze and interpret current issues in the professional sports industry. Topics include: history and economic characteristics of professional sports leagues; local market demand; profitability and taxes; competitive structure of a sports league; cost-benefit analysis of new stadiums; player and team production and salaries; rival leagues; and competitive parity.
Prerequisite(s):Economics 1010
Lib Ed Req:Social Science
Economic History of Canada
Credit hours: 3.00
Contact hours per week: 3-0-0
Development of the Canadian economy from colonial times to the present; European origins; the staple trades, growth of agriculture, manufacturing, transportation; growth of banking and capital market institutions; roles of government; historical origins of contemporary Canadian economic problems; application of economics to historical issues.
Prerequisite(s):Third-year standing (a minimum of 60.0 credit hours)
Recommended Background:
One of History 2710 or History 2720
Equivalent:Economics 2170 (prior to 2018/2019)
Lib Ed Req:Social Science
Natural Resource Economics
Credit hours: 3.00
Contact hours per week: 3-0-0
Economic issues and analysis related to the use of renewable and non-renewable resources, and their extraction, management, conservation and efficient allocation in static and dynamic framework. Management approaches for specific renewable resources such as water, forestry and fishery; and generic management approaches for non-renewable resources such as oil, gas, coal and minerals. Problems of externality, resource scarcity, and overexploitation.
Prerequisite(s):Economics 1010
Lib Ed Req:Social Science
Environmental Economics
Credit hours: 3.00
Contact hours per week: 3-0-0
The economic analysis of environmental issues; design and implementation of government policies; cost-benefit analysis; survey of environmental policies and regulations in Canada; measurement of environmental values; current local and global environmental problems; topics of special interest will vary from term to term.
Prerequisite(s):Economics 1010
Lib Ed Req:Social Science
Agricultural Policy I
Credit hours: 3.00
Contact hours per week: 3-0-0
Use of economic principles to analyze rural incomes and agricultural policies. Topics include supply-managed marketing boards in dairy and poultry industries; bio-fuels and their effect on food prices; water management policies for improved water use efficiency; international trade and multilateral agreements; benefits and costs of using genetically-modified seeds; changes in land tenure and use; environmental/economic trade-off of agricultural practices; and other current agricultural issues.
Prerequisite(s):Economics 1010
Lib Ed Req:Social Science
Economics of Agricultural Markets II
Credit hours: 3.00
Contact hours per week: 3-0-0
Microeconomic theory and analysis of markets for agricultural and food products. Alternative market structures, market regulation, the role of information in markets, the role of uncertainty in markets, and organization structures. Introduction to the institutional structure and economic functions of futures and options markets. Price formation in commodity futures and options markets. The theory of intertemporal price formation for storable commodities along with the theory and practice of hedging.
Prerequisite(s):Economics 1010 AND
Economics 2350
Lib Ed Req:Social Science
Money and Banking
Credit hours: 3.00
Contact hours per week: 3-0-0
The unique roles of the banking and financial sectors in the Canadian economy with an emphasis on current issues and innovations. Topics include the history and uses of money; the roles and functions of financial intermediaries and financial instruments; the determination of interest rates; inflation rates and exchange rates in Canada's monetary system; and the roles and policies of the Bank of Canada in maintaining Canadian economic stability within a changing world economy.
Prerequisite(s):Economics 1012
Lib Ed Req:Social Science
International Economics
Credit hours: 3.00
Contact hours per week: 3-0-0
Why nations trade with each other; trade protection policies and their rationale; the role international institutions play in world trade; and the determination of the exchange rate and its relationship to the current account. Focused on trade models, economic policies, and institutions related to issues such as protectionism, regionalism, liberalization of economic systems, globalization, exchange rate determination, purchasing power parity, balance of payments, currency convertibility and open economy macroeconomics.
Prerequisite(s):Economics 1010 AND
Economics 1012
Lib Ed Req:Social Science
Labour Economics
Credit hours: 3.00
Contact hours per week: 3-0-0
Utilization of economic principles to study the determination of wages and employment in both competitive and unionized labour markets with an emphasis on current labour issues. Topics include measurement of unemployment; effects of minimum wages and employment insurance on employment; different models of wage determination and collective bargaining; gender wage differentials and other forms of discrimination; and effects of labour migration within and outside of Canada.
Prerequisite(s):Economics 1010
Lib Ed Req:Social Science
Economic Analysis of Canadian Public Issues
Credit hours: 3.00
Contact hours per week: 3-0-0
The application of simple economic analysis to current Canadian public policy issues. Course content will vary from term to term, but topics will be weighted toward labour market and social issues such as labour market discrimination, poverty and income distribution, crime, etc.
Prerequisite(s):Third-year standing (a minimum of 60.0 credit hours)
Lib Ed Req:Social Science
Economics of Public Spending
Credit hours: 3.00
Contact hours per week: 3-0-0
Theories of allocating resources by political means; public goods, externalities, income and wealth distribution and the role of government spending; the effects of taxation and government spending on resource allocation; tax incidence, cost-benefit analysis and fiscal federalism are covered.
Prerequisite(s):Economics 1010
Lib Ed Req:Social Science
Economics 3780/Management 3780
Principles of Industrial Organization
Credit hours: 3.00
Contact hours per week: 3-0-0
The development of economic principles applied to the behaviour of individual firms and the collection of firms at the industry level. Topics include measures of market power, cost concepts and output decisions, various types of price discrimination and their effects on firm profits and consumer welfare, pricing strategies, providing product optimal varieties and quality, product bundling and tie-in sales. An introduction to game theory, and strategic pricing and output behaviour.
Prerequisite(s):Economics 1010
Equivalent:Economics 3080/Management 3780 (prior to 2021/2022)
Lib Ed Req:Social Science
Economic Development
Credit hours: 3.00
Contact hours per week: 3-0-0
Theoretical aspects and empirical evidence related to economic development throughout the developing world. Modern theories of economic growth and development. Economic analysis of current issues and problems in development including poverty, inequitable income distribution, stagnation in agriculture, population growth, savings and capital accumulation, urbanization and rural-urban migration.
Prerequisite(s):Economics 1010
Lib Ed Req:Social Science
Econometrics I
Credit hours: 3.00
Contact hours per week: 3-1-0
Multiple regression analysis; problems in regression analysis including multicollinearity, autocorrelation, heteroscedasticity, specification error and systems of equations.
Prerequisite(s):Economics 1012 AND
One of Economics 2900 or Statistics 2780
Lib Ed Req:Science
Advanced Microeconomic Theory
Credit hours: 3.00
Contact hours per week: 3-0-0
Analytical economics tools for economics majors and those considering graduate programs are developed. Topics include the structure of firms and incentives of managers; firm behaviour under asymmetric information, risk and uncertainty; contract design; auction theory; and other current topics.
Prerequisite(s):Economics 2750 AND
Economics 3010
Lib Ed Req:Social Science
Advanced Macroeconomic Theory
Credit hours: 3.00
Contact hours per week: 3-0-0
Modern macroeconomic theory for economics majors and those considering graduate programs, utilizing microeconomic foundations with applications to current macroeconomic issues. Examination of the determinants of long-run growth and short-term cyclical fluctuations using various current models, including the real business cycle approach, the New Keynesian approach, and models that generate multiple equilibria. Comparison of model predictions to relevant Canadian data. The roles of fiscal and monetary policy.
Prerequisite(s):Economics 2750 AND
Economics 3012
Lib Ed Req:Social Science
Mathematical Economics
Credit hours: 3.00
Contact hours per week: 3-0-0
The application of mathematical tools to economic analysis; the use of calculus and matrix algebra as applied to unconstrained and constrained optimization problems; the derivation and mathematical properties of economic functions; comparative static analysis; linear economic systems; and other topics.
Prerequisite(s):Economics 1012 AND
Economics 2750 AND
Economics 3010 AND
One of Mathematics 1510, Mathematics 1560, or Mathematics 1565
Lib Ed Req:Science
Agricultural Policy II
Credit hours: 3.00
Contact hours per week: 3-0-0
Income problems in agriculture; federal and provincial goals for Canadian agriculture; welfare implications of policies to increase demand or decrease supply of agricultural commodities; risk and uncertainty in agricultural production; analysis of policies to decrease risk and uncertainty in agriculture; economics of agricultural research; price and income policies in Canadian agriculture.
Prerequisite(s):One of Economics 3010 or Economics 3300
Recommended Background:
Economics 2900
Lib Ed Req:Social Science
Monetary Economics
Credit hours: 3.00
Contact hours per week: 3-0-0
Monetary policy in Canada and its effects on the economy. Topics include the development of the overlapping generations' model, rational expectations models, inflation targeting by the Bank of Canada, hyperinflations, dollarization, and common currency areas.
Prerequisite(s):Economics 3012 AND
Economics 3400
Lib Ed Req:Social Science
International Trade Theory
Credit hours: 3.00
Contact hours per week: 3-0-0
A theoretical approach to international trade; topics include the basic trade model, the Ricardian and Heckscher-Ohlin theories of international trade, intra-industry trade, the impact of multinational corporations, tariff and nontariff barriers to trade and international factor movements; Canadian trade policy.
Prerequisite(s):Economics 3010
Lib Ed Req:Social Science
International Finance
Credit hours: 3.00
Contact hours per week: 3-0-0
Theories of balance of payment adjustments, foreign exchange rate market under alternative exchange rate regimes, monetary and fiscal policies under fixed and floating exchange rate systems, monetary integration, the international capital markets, international monetary system, international policy coordination, and the theoretical and empirical explanations of currency crises.
Prerequisite(s):Economics 3012
Lib Ed Req:Social Science
Economics of Globalization
Credit hours: 3.00
Contact hours per week: 3-0-0
Analytical approach to globalization and international economic integration. Topics include international trade flows in goods and services, preferential trade agreements, multilateral trade agreements, foreign direct investment, multinational enterprises, offshoring/outsourcing, relationship between globalization and economic growth, relationship between globalization and international movements of labour and capital, and implications of globalization for the environment.
Prerequisite(s):Economics 1010
Lib Ed Req:Social Science
Econometrics II
Credit hours: 3.00
Contact hours per week: 3-0-0
An extension of Economics 3950 (Econometrics I). Topics include dummy variables, qualitative and limited dependent variables, and simultaneous equation models. Optional topics include simple expectations models, errors in variables, specification tests and diagnostics checks, distributed lag models, and seemingly unrelated regression models.
Prerequisite(s):Economics 3950
Lib Ed Req:Science
Undergraduate Thesis
Credit hours: 6.00
Contact hours per week: Variable
This is a research-oriented course in which students will conduct field work, text- or library-based research, submit a report in the form of an Undergraduate Thesis, which will be made publicly available, and report orally on the work. In consultation with their Thesis Supervisor, students will define a research problem and formulate a research plan.
Prerequisite(s):Fourth-year standing (a minimum of 90.0 credit hours) AND
A minimum GPA of 3.30 calculated on all completed University of Lethbridge courses or calculated on all University of Lethbridge and transferable courses taken within the terms containing the last 20 courses (60.0 credit hours), whichever is higher AND
Economics 3950 AND
Application to the Department of Economics
Corequisite(s):Economics 4010 AND
Economics 4012 AND
Economics 4150
Note:Contact hours will vary. Students should be aware that this course involves regular contact with the Thesis Supervisor as well as considerable independent work.