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Course Offerings for 2025/26
To view course materials, refer to MyLearningSpace, or see your faculty member or the course outline for further information on how to access your course material.
Examinations for Online (VA) courses
All online (VA) courses in the Department of Economics include on-campus mid-term and/or final exams. This information will be noted on your syllabus. If you live within 100 kilometres of either Laurier’s Waterloo or Brantford campuses, you must write your exam on that campus. Your instructor will confirm your exam date, time and location at the start of the term. If you live more than 100 kilometres from either campus, you may arrange to write your exam off campus using an approved external proctor.
A description of courses can be found in the Business area of the undergraduate academic calendar.
100-Level Courses
This course analyzes the decision making of individual households and firms in a market economy, with an emphasis on the use of the price mechanism to allocate resources. The course will include applications to relevant economic policy.
- Term(s) offered: Fall, Winter, Spring
- Also offered online
This course examines the working of the national economy with an emphasis on the determination of national income. There will be an examination of important issues such as unemployment, price stability, and balance of payments and of possible government policies to deal with these issues.
- Term(s) offered: Fall, Winter, Spring
- Also offered online
200-Level Courses
A study of growth in developing countries considering the relationship of economic development to the structure of the economy; problems in modernizing the economic structure; problems of growth within the modernized sector of the economy.
- Term(s) offered: Fall, Winter
- Also offered online
This course is designed to introduce the student to the economic characteristics, function and performance of Canada's financial system. Such institutions as the Canadian payment system, the money market, the banks and near banks, and the foreign exchange market will be examined in detail.
- Term(s) offered: Fall, Winter, Spring
- Also offered online
An examination of broad topics related to China’s economic structure, its transition from a command economy to a socialist market economy, urban versus rural market reforms, population policies and dynamics, political institutions, patterns of economic growth and development, international trade, and foreign investment.
- Term(s) offered: Fall, Winter
- Offered online only
This course is an introduction to Canadian public sector institutions and the theoretical foundations necessary for evaluating the government’s role in the allocation of resources. Areas covered may include public goods, externalities, the public provision of private goods and the redistribution of income. Canadian federal-provincial relations, health care and education and voting procedures may also be examined.
- Term(s) offered: Fall, Winter
An examination of economic concepts in the context of sports, including market structure and pricing, public finance, competition policy, labour markets, and game theory.
- Term(s) offered: Fall
Economic theory is applied to the problems of environmental disruption and pollution. The factors that inhibit environmental improvement are examined. Economic policies that can be used to prevent environmental decay are studied.
- Term(s) offered: Fall, Winter
- Also offered online
An introductory course in international trade theory and policy. Partial and general equilibrium analysis is used to discuss the direction of and gains from trade, and the effects of distortions like tariffs and quotas. The second part of the course includes a discussion of trade policy issues such as the formation of free trade areas and customs unions, and the operation of the world trading system under the World Trade Organization (formerly GATT).
- Term(s) offered: Fall, Winter
- Also offered online
This course traces the history of international economic relations from the period of industrialization to the present. Topics covered will include the gold standard, international trade, foreign investment and migration.
- Term(s) offered: Winter
An examination of the market for health care. Special emphasis will be given to health as an economic good, the relation between health status and economic well-being, market responses to the demand for health care, for the provision of health care workers, and the problems of health care costs and financing in a Canadian context.
- Term(s) offered: Fall, Winter
- Offered online only
This course is an introduction to issues in international finance. Topics may include international financial institutions, the balance of payments, exchange rates, international borrowing and lending and their relationship to international trade and the domestic economy.
- Term(s) offered: Winter
- Offered online only
Macroeconomic analysis is used to gain understanding of the determinants of current business conditions, to make macroeconomic forecasts, and to evaluate the effects on the economic and business environment of various types of macroeconomic policies.
- Term(s) offered: Fall, Winter
- Also offered online
This course develops and applies those principles of economics, which offer a foundation for managerial decision making. Microeconomic tools are applied to analyze the economic choices faced by the firm, and to establish decision rules which can assist the manager of business enterprise in achieving the goals of the firm.
- Term(s) offered: Fall, Winter
- Also offered online
An examination of conventional microeconomic theories which attempt to explain the nature of markets and the behaviour of individuals and firms. Topics will include consumer choice, the technology and costs of production, firm behaviour, competition and market structure.
- Term(s) offered: Fall, Winter
The course focuses on techniques and strategies for clear and effective written and oral communication of economic ideas. Topics may include technical writing techniques and style, expositional writing, literature searching and retrieval, and short oral presentations. Students gain practical experience through exercises which provide opportunities for instructor and peer assessment.
- Term(s) offered: Fall, Winter
An introduction to the foundations of statistical reasoning including probability theory, the law of large numbers, limit theorems, theories of point and interval estimation and statistical inference. This course will prepare students for further work in econometrics.
- Term(s) offered: Fall, Winter
A study of the determination of levels of aggregate output, employment, interest rates, and prices in both closed and open economies with emphasis on static analysis. Stabilization policy is also examined.
- Term(s) offered: Fall, Winter
An introduction to the foundations of large sample econometric theory and practice. Emphasis is placed on modelling data-generating procedures based on economic and statistical theory and analysis of resulting properties of least-squares and maximum-likelihood estimators.
- Term(s) offered: Fall, Winter
300-Level Courses
An examination of the theoretical foundations of benefit-cost analysis, cost-utility analysis and cost-effectiveness analysis along with the introduction of a number of case studies. Applications are to a number of areas within the public sector.
- Term offered: Winter
The course examines the theory and evidence relating to firms operating within imperfect market structures. The effects of structural conditions such as concentration, barriers to entry and product differentiation on the firm's pricing strategies and performance are examined using statistical studies and industry studies.
- Term(s) offered: Fall
An introductory survey of modern theories of economic growth and of the empirical applications of such theories. Topics include the neoclassical growth model, new growth theory and the role of economic institutions and government policy in facilitating growth.
- Term(s) offered: Fall, Winter
An in-depth examination of one applied and/or theoretical topic in economics, to be chosen by the faculty.
- Fall
- Economics, Technology and Innovation
- Market Design
- Financial Econometrics
- Contemporary Economic Issues
- Winter
- Macroeconomic Forecasting
- Economics, Technology and Innovation
- Market Design
- Development and Political Economy
This course examines gender differentials in economics outcomes and behaviour. Topics may include societal preferences for sons, education and skill investments in children and young adults, family formation decisions, wages and employment, and well-being among the elderly.
- Term(s) offered: Fall, Winter
Applies economic theory and empirical techniques to the analysis of educational decisions and policies. Issues covered will vary from year to year, but may include the factors underlying individuals' educational decisions, estimates of the private and social returns to education, how education policies affect students' grades and/or future incomes, or the effectiveness of early childhood education programs.
- Term offered: Fall, Winter
This course examines the operational and strategic decisions of firms using the tools of microeconomics. The emphasis is on developing analytical models to evaluate both intra-firm organization and inter-firm rivalry. Topics covered include horizontal and vertical boundaries of the firm, markets and competitive analysis, strategic positions and competitive advantage and incentive contracts and agency issues.
- Term(s) offered: Fall, Winter
This course is designed as a mathematical treatment of economic theory; some partial and general equilibrium models of micro and macroeconomics will be discussed and students will be introduced to stability analysis; in addition, some other special theoretical techniques and models will be discussed.
- Term(s) offered: Fall, Winter
Applies economic theory and empirical techniques to the analysis of health and health-related decisions and policies in the health care sector. Issues covered will vary from year to year, but may include determinants of individuals' health and health care decisions, health care markets, health care finance/funding issues, health insurance markets, physician agency, or the economics of risky health behaviours.
- Term(s) offered: Fall, Winter
An examination of decision making, equilibrium and efficiency in different economic environments. Topics may include strategic behaviour, information, risk, intertemporal choice, product differentiation, general equilibrium, externalities and public goods.
- Term(s) offered: Fall, Winter
A study of extensions and refinements of the static model of national income determination with particular emphasis upon the theories of aggregate consumption, investment, and the demand and supply of money. Dynamic analysis is used to study the determinants of the rates of inflation and of economic growth and to evaluate macroeconomic policies designed to influence these variables.
- Term(s) offered: Fall, Winter
The course is designed to give a deeper understanding of modern econometrics tools and their application to answering economic questions. A primary focus of the course is on providing practical application in estimating econometric models using real world data sources.
- Term(s) offered: Fall, Winter
400-Level Courses
This course surveys topics in empirical economic history, with a strong focus on the tools used by economic historians to study the long-run determinants of economic outcomes and to inform the understanding of historical events and trends.
- Term offered: Spring
An in-depth examination of a topic in economics at the advanced level.
- Fall
-
- Bank of Canada Governor's Challenge
- Winter
-
- Environmental Economics
- Financial Economics
The institutions and rules of international economic relations, the international economic environment and the economic case for trade liberalization.
- Term offered: Winter
An advanced survey of models of aggregate income, employment, and price level determination and recent developments in macroeconomics.
- Term(s) offered: Winter
An in-depth study of microeconomic theory and its applications as represented by published articles in academic journals and other contemporary literature. Topics may include moral hazard, adverse selection, principal-agent interactions, problems relating to insurance markets, co-operation through self-interest and endogenous market structure.
- Term(s) offered: Winter
Honours Economics students with the permission of the department may undertake a research paper in economics. The paper will be directed by a member of the faculty who agrees to the proposal.
- Term(s) offered: Winter
The course focuses on the integration of knowledge into the application of economic theory and econometrics to a specific economic problem. Students will complete a written project and presentation.
- Term(s) offered: Fall, Winter, Spring
The course presents advanced treatment of econometrics principles commonly used in cross sectional, and panel data methods. In addition to the analysis of linear models, the course will also cover non-linear models such as limited dependent variables and generalized methods of moments.
- Term offered: Winter
Directed Studies (Irregular Course)
Qualifications
- An irregular courseis defined as a course offered under an Economics seminar heading or the EC480 or EC490.
- Year 4 of an Honours Economics program or permission of the Department.
- Approval by the Chair of Economics and the Economics Director
- Academic Add/Drop dates need to be followed as per the Undergraduate Academic Calendar.
Student Instructions
- Find a faculty member to supervise the study.
- Together with the instructor, determine the topic / field of interest and develop the study (course) details.
- The instructor will provide the syllabus to the student, which must be uploaded on this form.
- The student fills out this form and submits it electronically.
- After you submit the form, approvals are handled for you. It will be sent to the Instructor, Program Director and the Department Chair. If approved, it will be forwarded to Enrollment Services to add the course to your registration. Check your record to confirm the course is added. If missing, please contact LazaridisUGoffice@wlu.ca to inquire.