31 graduate courses in the Winter 2010 Graduate Calendar, from Waterloo’s archived copy.
Topics include: axioms of rationality; consumer behaviour in perfectly competitive markets; behaviour of firms in perfectly competitive markets; implications of rationality on observable behaviour; partial and general equilibrium; uncertainty and incomplete information.
LEC · Course ID 000925Archived pageECON 601 today
A theoretical and policy-oriented treatment of the determination of output, employment, interest rates and inflation in the short run and in the long run. Discussion of the policies of growth promotion, stabilization policy and disinflation policy options.
LEC · Course ID 000926Archived pageECON 602 today
A general equilibrium approach to money, interest and asset structures, prices, and activity. Problems and policies of central banking, with special reference to Canadian experience.
LEC · Course ID 000928Archived pageECON 604 today
Static and dynamic general equilibrium modelling; computation, calibration and simulation. Sensitivity analysis. Policy applications.
LEC · Course ID 000929Archived pageECON 605 today
This course focuses on increasing students' understanding of the roles of economic theory and empirical methods and on the development of skills in the critical analyses of economic research. Through reading a variety of research papers and attending seminars, students will gain exposure to different research methodologies used in economics. Students will learn how to synthesize and critique research on a particular topic by writing reviews of academic papers and/or research reports from government and non-governmental agencies, as well as by writing a paper such as literature survey on an assigned topic. Students will enhance their writing skills and will also gain practice in presenting a research paper.
LEC · Course ID 000930Archived pageECON 606 today
Specification and estimation of the linear regression model. Departures from the Gauss-Markov assumptions include heteroskedasticity, serial correlation, and errors in variables. Advanced topics include generalized least squares, and simultaneous equations/instrumental variables. They may also include nonlinear regression, and limited dependent variable models. Some or all of the problem sets involve working with the computer.
LEC · Course ID 000933Archived pageECON 621 today
This course provides an introduction to the analysis of microdata - data in which the unit of analysis in an individual decision-maker, such as a consumer, worker, or firm. The course familiarizes students with the various types of mircodata structures and draws links between theoretical economic models and statistical models. It devotes considerable attention to anlytical techniques for describing univariate and bivariate distributions, including the use of kernel density estimators and scatterplots. The course addresses statistical inference using multivariate regressions, covering a series of techniques and issues of particular significance in the analysis of microdata. Examples include Monte Carlo methods; bootstrapping; the use of sampling weight; omitted variable bias; measurement error; and instrumental variables. Completion of an empirical project is a course requirement.
Prerequisite: ECON 621
LEC · Course ID 013664Archived pageECON 622A today
This course focuses on the econometric techniques of empirical problems. Topics may include some basic concepts in time series analysis (such as deterministic and stochastic processes, stationary, ACF, Ergodicity conditions), established estimation techniques (such as OLS/GLS, MLE, GMM, Monte-Carlo simulation), popular univariate and multivariate time series models (such as ARMA process, autoregressive conditional heteroskedasticity model, stochastic volatility model, Vector Autoregression, Vector Moving Average), and non stationary models (such as random walk, unit roots, Dickey-Fuller Tests, Co-integration System and error corrections). Some related (empirical/theoretical) published papers for each topic may be discussed in class. An empirical project is required in the course, requiring the use of software (such as Matlab, SAS).
Prerequisite: ECON 621
LEC · Course ID 013665Archived pageECON 622B today
After exploring solutions for first and second-order difference and differential equations, the course studies the calculus of variations, optimal control theory, discrete and continuous dynamic programming, with applications to various fields; including micro and macroeconomics, natural resource and environmental economics, finance and investment theory. Techniques of dynamic simulation are discussed.
LEC · Course ID 011824Archived pageECON 623 today
This course presents classical and new international trade theories and discusses selected topics representative of recent empirical research. Theory, extensions, applications and empirical tests of models such a Ricardian, Hecksher-Ohlin, increasing returns to scale and imperfect competition, political economy, heterogeneous agents (Melitz) will be covered. Additional elective topics include trade and environment; economic geography; trade, aid and development; trade and conflict; trade and growth.
LEC · Course ID 000935Archived pageECON 631 today
This course is aimed at exploring the nexus between international trade, growth, and development through a set of selected readings. The course will not present a comprehensive treatment of the subject area. Rather, it will provide an introduction to a few selected topics that are suggestive of both the typical questions posed in the literature and of the manner in which the literature has developed over time. The topics will include models of international trade under perfect and imperfect competition, models of north-south trade, immiserizing growth, the Dutch disease, trade as an engine of growth, and international trade, technological change and long-run growth.
LEC · Course ID 010498Archived pageECON 635 today
This course demonstrates the usefulness of economic analysis to the study of global governance. Topics include the economic analysis of international trade, foreign direct investment, and international finance.
Department Consent Required
Prerequisite: PSCI 610
LEC · Course ID 012850Archived pageECON 637 today
This course studies the economic role of the public sector in a modern market economy. Topics include the efficient provision of public goods, externalities and public choice analysis of the growth in government spending. Time permitting, some issues in the public economics of taxation may be covered.
LEC · Course ID 000938Archived pageECON 641 today
This course discusses the economic effects of taxation. Topics may include the design of a desirable tax system, the structure of income, consumption and wealth taxes in Cananda, the efficiency cost and incidence of various types of taxes, international aspects of taxation, and fiscal federalism. Time permitting, some issues in public expenditure theory may be covered.
LEC · Course ID 011825Archived pageECON 642 today
This course introduces students to the role of economics in health care and health policy. It is meant to be a survey of major topics in health economics and an introduction to the ongoing debate over health care policy. Topics include the economic determinants of health and health policy, the market for medical care, the market for health insurance, and the role of the government in health care, and health care reform.
LEC · Course ID 011126Archived pageECON 643 today
Study of the firm as a rational economic agent, how it makes decisions and implements strategies in markets that are imperfectly competitive, and the differences in industry equilibrium relative to perfect competition. The course covers market owe (oligopolies and monopolistically competitive models), the theory of the firm (organization and contracts), vertical restraints, differentiated products, price discrimination, advertising, barriers to entry, and strategic behaviour.
LEC · Course ID 000939Archived pageECON 645 today
This course examines public policies in imperfectly competitive markets. The focus is on how different public policies impact dynamic welfare through their effects on innovation. The course explores the role of innovation in antitrust policy, examines in detail different forms of intellectual property rights, and introduces students to concepts such as technological opportunity, induced innovation, and preference externalities. Throughout the course the methodological emphasis is on studying when economic research - whether theoretical or empirical - can inform public policy.
LEC · Course ID 012016Archived pageECON 648 today
Labour market structure and operations. Theories of real wages, labour supply, employment-unemployment, and labour unions.
LEC · Course ID 010499Archived pageECON 651 today
The economics of renewable and non-renewable resources in a Canadian context. Problems peculiar to the fisheries, forestry, mineral industries and oil and gas production and consumption are analyzed. Also considered are economic and constitutional issues arising from the uneven distribution of resource rents in Canada.
LEC · Course ID 000941Archived pageECON 655 today
This course will review the application of the tools and theory of economics to environmental problems. The normative foundations of economic analysis will be discussed including efficiency, intergenerational equity and sustainability. The design and implementation of environmental policy will be analyzed including the use of command and control regulation, market-based instruments, and legal liability. Applications to various environmental issues may include global warming, trans-boundary pollution, and trade and the environment.
LEC · Course ID 011828Archived pageECON 657 today
This course considers the application of option concepts from finance to value real assests. The focus is on using real options theory and methodology to value investments characterized by uncertainty, irreversibility, and flexibilty inthe timing of irreversible expenditures. The course begins with an introduction to stochastic processes, Ito's Lemma, the Black-Scholes equation, contingent claims analysis and dynamic programming. Methods to solve simple option value problems will be presented, such as binomial trees and Monte Carlo simulation. Applications will focus on problems in natural resource and environmental economics, such as valuing the option ot drill for oil or install pollution control equipment and, time permitting, other appications in economics.
LEC · Course ID 012333Archived pageECON 659 today
Topics covered include: expected utility theory, no-arbitrage pricing, equilibrium-pricing models, derivative-security pricing, asymmetric information, capital structure theory and dividend policy.
LEC · Course ID 000945Archived pageECON 672 today
One or more half-courses will be offered at different times as announced by the Department.
Instructor Consent Required
LEC · Course ID 000946Archived pageECON 673 today
This course builds on the models and the techniques developed in Microeconomic Theory I. Topics may include general-equilibrium analysis, game theory, the economics of information, mechanism design and applications of bargaining theory to the theory of markets.
Prerequisite: ECON 601
LEC · Course ID 011829Archived pageECON 701 today
The course consists of an advanced analysis of topics treated in Macroeconomic Theory I, with emphasis on recent empirical developments in macroeconomics. Topics may include the convergence hypothesis, consumption and asset pricing models, monetary and fiscal policy, the expectations hypothesis and stabilization regimes.
Prerequisite: ECON 602
LEC · Course ID 011830Archived pageECON 702 today
The course provides a rigorous treatment of more advanced topics in econometrics. They include system of equations, simultaneous equations, generalized method of moments, empirical likelihood, vector autoregression and dynamic models, time series models and methods, discrete dependent variables, and limited dependent variables.
Prerequisite: ECON 621
LEC · Course ID 000957Archived pageECON 721 today
This course reviews identification strategies used in the analysis of cross-sectional and longitudinal microdata. Techniques primarily come from applications in labour economics, health economics and industrial organization. These may include fixed and random effects models, duration analysis, instrumental variables estimators, nonparametric and semi-parametric analysis, decomposition techniques, quantile regression, difference-in-difference estimators, propensity score matching and regression discontinuity design. The primary objectives of the course are to familiarize students with current methods used in microeconometric research and provide them with hands-on experience applying these methods using an appropriate statistical software package.
LEC · Course ID 012334Archived pageECON 722 today
This course covers some of the most important concepts, models and methods used in the empirical analysis of macroeconomic problems. In particular the course covers established time series techniques as well as more recent developments such as testing for unit roots, measurement of the persistence of shocks and estimation and hypothesis testing in cointegrated systems. Several dynamic models will be studied using time series analysis methods. Topics covered include basic concepts in time series analysis (modelling volatility and trend), VAR Modes (including structural VAR's), VECM and Cointegration, neural networks and estimation of DSGE models. During the course, students will have the opportunity to explore several case studies using econometric software such as RATS and MATLAB.
LEC · Course ID 012335Archived pageECON 723 today
This course focuses on the theory and application of estimation and statistical evaluation of continuous-time stochastic processes frequently used in finance. In particular, it provides an in-depth discussion of estimation methods and statistical tests in the context of dynamic models of the term structure of interest and option pricing.
Prerequisite: STAT 850 or permission of the instructor
LEC · Course ID 012849Archived pageECON 727 today
The course builds upon the MA course in Health Economics (643). This topics course is designed for students wishing to undertake research in the area of health policy. The course will examine health and economic literature on mutually (instructor and students) agreed upon topics, focusing on current research issues in population health, health-services research, economic evaluation, and health policy analysis from an economic perspective.
Prereq: ECON 643
LEC · Course ID 012337Archived pageECON 743 today
One or more courses will be offered at different times as announced by the Department.
Instructor Consent Required
LEC · Course ID 012336Archived pageECON 773 today