4th Year Seminar Preferences 2022

This seminar requires students to conduct independent research and write a paper in health economics, an applied microeconomics area. Options range from analyzing and modeling a problem to drafting a policy paper based on economic analysis.  Learning objectives:  (i) Analysis of a real-world problem;  (ii) Development of policy arguments using economic analysis;  (iii) Improvement of written and oral communication skills with an eye to future careers.

This seminar examines philosophical issues raised by standard economic analysis. It begins by looking the nature of the discipline itself, proposing that economics may be understood as the science of human freedom. The seminar covers three broad areas. First, what image of the human person emerges from standard economic premises? Does that comport with how people actually act, or, perhaps more provocatively, should act?

The broad theme of this seminar is international economic growth and development. In the first few weeks, students will be introduced to commonly used data sources, applied empirical approaches and basic theoretical concepts underlying research in this area. The objective is to lay the groundwork for students to develop their own research on related topics of their choosing.

This seminar focuses on the economic evaluation of renewable energy policies in Canada and other countries worldwide. The learning objectives are (i) applying the economic theory to real-world problems; (ii) improving oral and written communication skills.

Students are expected to:

This seminar examines philosophical issues raised by standard economic analysis. It begins by looking the nature of the discipline itself, proposing that economics may be understood as the science of human freedom. The seminar covers three broad areas.

This course examines fundamental theories and research findings on rational choice, drawing on research conducted by psychologists, economists, and biologists. We will compare basic principles of rationality with actual choice behavior and illustrate how the way that we think about decision problems systematically deviates from rationality.

This seminar requires students to conduct independent research and write a paper in health economics, an applied microeconomics area. Options range from analyzing and modeling a problem to drafting a policy paper based on economic analysis.  Learning objectives:  (i) Analysis of a real-world problem;  (ii) Development of policy arguments using economic analysis;  (iii) Improvement of written and oral communication skills with an eye to future careers.

The world economy in 2008-09 experienced its most severe recession since the Second World War. More recently, the corona virus and the ensuing need to respond to it have also severely disrupted the world economy. These events have presented the economics profession with a number of unprecedented challenges.

This seminar will explore the history and causes of various social and economic catastrophes. Lack of government and private sector preparation can lead to devastating economic and social costs. The initial source of the catastrophe can be varied: a pandemic, a major earthquake, flood, forest fire, a tsunami, the collapse of a housing boom, a war, etc. But the economic and social consequences and government policy responses have common elements.

This is a seminar in empirical macroeconomics, including its international aspects.
We shall focus on developing skills to:
(a) Find a research question that is interesting to you (and others) and feasible to study.
(b) Collect data and apply statistical and econometric tools to answer that question. (Some projects will involve time-series data while others will add a dimension and use panel data.)