Graduate Diploma in Economics

6 credits – Core Courses

ECON 501 - Advanced Microeconomic Theory (3 credits)
ECON 503 - Advanced Macroeconomic Theory (3 credits)

6 credits minimum – Class B Courses

All 600-level courses offered in the Department of Economics.

18 credits maximum – Class A and/or B and/or C Courses

Class A

ECON 509 - History of Early Economic Thought (3 credits)
ECON 510 - History of Modern Economic Thought (3 credits)
ECON 513 - Economic Growth and Fluctuations (3 credits)
ECON 514 - Economic Development: Policy Analysis (3 credits)
ECON 521 - Econometrics I (3 credits)
ECON 522 - Econometrics II (3 credits)
ECON 523 - Topics in Applied Econometrics (3 credits)
ECON 525 - Mathematics for Advanced Study in Economics (3 credits)
ECON 530 - Transportation Economics (3 credits)
ECON 532 - Monetary Theory (3 credits)
ECON 533 - Financial Economics (3 credits)
ECON 536 - The Economics of Taxation (3 credits)
ECON 537 - Economics of Public Expenditure (3 credits)
ECON 540 - Market Design (3 credits)
ECON 542 - International Economics: Trade Theory (3 credits)
ECON 543 - International Economics: Finance (3 credits)
ECON 550 - Economic History (3 credits)
ECON 561 - Industrial Organization (3 credits)
ECON 562 - The Corporate Economy (3 credits)
ECON 563 - Economics of Regulation (3 credits)
ECON 564 - Game Theory, Information, and Economic Modelling (3 credits)
ECON 565 - The Economics of Professional Sport (3 credits)
ECON 581 - Labour Economics (3 credits)
ECON 582 - Economics of Personnel and Industrial Relations (3 credits)
ECON 583 - Employment, Earnings and Labour Market Policies (3 credits)
ECON 585 - Health Economics (3 credits)
ECON 591 - Environmental Economics (3 credits)
ECON 593 - Regional Economics (3 credits)
ECON 595 - Economics of Transportation and Communications (3 credits)
ECON 596 - Natural Resource Economics (3 credits)
ECON 597 - Income Distribution and Economic Inequality (3 credits)
ECON 598 - Advanced Topics in Economics (3 credits)

Class B

All 600-level courses offered in the Department of Economics. Course descriptions are listed under the MA in Economics

Class C

All MSCA courses offered in the John Molson School of Business, with prior permission of the Department of Economics and the John Molson School of Business.
No more than six credits may be taken from Class C.

Fall: Late applications will be considered until April 1. 
Winter: Late applications will be considered until August 1.

Courses

The grading scheme for diploma courses will be the scheme applicable to graduate courses (i.e., the passing grade is B-).

Class A Courses
The 500-level courses have a 3-credit value and are cross-listed with the undergraduate 400-level courses.

ECON 501 Advanced Microeconomic Theory
This course examines selected topics in microeconomic analysis such as general equilibrium analysis, welfare economics, the theory of the firm, factor pricing, and income distribution.

ECON 503 Advanced Macroeconomic Theory
This course examines selected topics in macroeconomic analysis such as the construction of models including the labour market, the goods market, and financial markets; the role of monetary and fiscal policies; classical, Keynesian, and post-Keynesian models.

ECON 509 - History of Early Economic Thought
This course covers the evolution of economic thought from the Greek philosophers up to (and including) Classical economics. It seeks to provide the student with an outline of the development of economic analysis in this period.

ECON 510 History of Modern Economic Thought
This course covers the evolution of economic thought from the Historical School to modern controversies in economic reasoning, which includes a comparative treatment of Keynesian economics and Monetarism.

ECON 513 Economic Growth and Fluctuations
This course reviews various theories explaining the causes of economic fluctuations and the determinants of economic growth. It also examines issues relevant to macroeconomic stabilization policies.

ECON 514 Economic Development: Policy Analysis
This course offers an advanced treatment of selected topics related to issues in economic development. Particular emphasis is placed on models of growth and structural change, such as the two-gap model, input-output analysis, and computable general equilibrium models. Trade and industrial policies, fiscal and financial policies, as well as public-sector policies including taxation, spending, and cost-benefit analysis are also discussed.
Note: Students who have received credit for ECON 511 may not take this course for credit.

ECON 521 Econometrics I
This course builds on the classical linear regression model as well as introducing time series models involving both stationary and non-stationary variables. Topics may include random regressors, method of moments estimation and a variety of models involving simultaneous equations, VEC, VAR, ARCH, panel, qualitative and limited dependent variables. Students continue to build on their knowledge of data management and a statistical software package through the application of these concepts and theories.

ECON 522 Econometrics II
Prerequisite: ECON 521. This course is intended for those interested in further developing their knowledge of econometrics and/or those contemplating pursuing graduate studies in economics. It re-examines the properties, assumptions and interpretation of the classical linear regression model and the maximum likelihood model through the use of matrix algebra. Students continue to build on their knowledge of data management and a statistical software package through the application of these concepts and theories.

ECON 523 Topics in Applied Econometrics
This course focuses on the development of skills in the analysis of both time-series and cross-sectional data. Time-series topics may include univariate stationary time series models, forecasting, unit-root theory, trend-stationarity, and testing and applications. Cross-sectional topics may include logit, probit and linear probability models. Students may also analyze large-survey microdata.

ECON 525 Mathematics for Advanced Study in Economics
This course gives students the requisite mathematical background for graduate studies in economics. Topics include algebraic methods, and static and dynamic optimization techniques needed for the study of economic theory and econometrics. Difference and differential equations are also examined.

ECON 530 Transportation Economics
This is a course in the field of applied economics, with a focus on transportation economics. Topics may include the evaluation of the economic benefits of various transportation systems, the social costs of transportation, road pricing, government participation in transportation finance and urban planning, the redistributive and other economic effects of transportation investment.
Note: Students who have received credit for this topic under an ECON 598 number may not take this course for credit.

ECON 532 Monetary Theory
This course examines the nature of the Monetarist-Keynesian controversy and gives a critical appraisal of the IS-LM-AS model. Topics covered may include the term structure of interest rates, post-Keynesian theories of money supply and demand as well as issues in macroeconomic policy theory such as transmission mechanisms, policy coordination and implementation lags, and international constraints.

ECON 533 Financial Economics
This course introduces students to the theory and practice of finance as seen from the economist’s point of view. In particular, it examines the following topics: the theory of decision-making under uncertainty; the basic portfolio models, such as the CAPAM and the APT; equilibrium aspects of financial markets, such as the role of arbitrage in the pricing of financial assets; the pricing of derivative securities, such as options.
Note: Students who have received credit for this topic under an ECON 598 number may not take this course for credit.

ECON 536 The Economics of Taxation
This course focuses on the effects of taxation on economic behaviour. Major topics considered include the excess burden of taxation in decisions to supply effort, savings and investment, the incidence of corporate taxation, and the design of commodity taxation. Among policy issues, topics such as tax evasion, and the taxation of multinational enterprises are examined.
Note: Students who have received credit for ECON 535 may not take this course for credit.

ECON 537 Economics of Public Expenditure
This course examines the economic consequences of public expenditure on the economy. Topics covered include public goods, externalities, the theory of welfare measurement, public investment criteria, pricing policy of public enterprises, public choice and intergovernmental fiscal relations.
Note: Students who have received credit for ECON 535 may not take this course for credit.

ECON 540 Market Design
This course focuses on the design and analysis of market mechanisms, which are concerned with how to construct rules for allocating resources and how to structure successful marketplaces. It draws on tools of game theory to identify why certain market rules or institutions succeed and why others fail. Topics may include matching markets, auctions, contracts, economic platforms and network effects. The main objectives of this course are to introduce students to some of the fundamental concepts and ideas in the theory of market design and to connect this theory to real-life markets and to practical aspects of market design policy.
Note: Students who have received credit for this topic under an ECON 598 number may not take this course for credit.

ECON 542 International Economics: Trade Theory
This courses examines the foundations of international trade, the origins of gains from trade, factor-price equalization, tariffs, Canadian trade policy, the role of trade in development, and economic integration.

ECON 543 International Economics: Finance
This course is an introduction to theory of national income determination in open economies with capital mobility. It includes analyses of balance of payments, exchange rate, and the role of monetary and fiscal policies under different exchange rate regimes. Among other issues covered are international policy coordination, optimum currency areas, and features of the international monetary system.

ECON 550 Economic History
This courses covers advanced topics in economic history with an emphasis on the application of economic theory to specific historical issues.

ECON 561 Industrial Organization
This course examines departures from the perfect competition paradigm to analyze economic behaviour in an industrial setting. An industry consists of a number of firms which interact strategically to maximize their profits. Topics addressed include measures of market structure, theories of oligopoly, effects of potential entry, product differentiation and advertising, technological change, vertical integration, and monopoly and merger issues.

ECON 562 The Corporate Economy
This course investigates the nature and behaviour of the firm. Economic rationalizations are presented for organizing production within a firm. The economic effects of various organization structures are examined. Topics addressed include team production, contractual models of the firm, principal-agent theory, tournaments, and the relationship between managers, shareholders, and the outside market.

ECON 563 Economics of Regulation
This course is devoted to an examination of the economic aspects of governmental regulations. Besides a critical review of the economic theories of regulation, the spectrum of the existing regulatory network, and empirical investigations aimed at discerning cost-benefits, the course focuses on the process of regulatory reforms in all aspects of the Canadian economy.

ECON 564 Game Theory, Information, and Economic Modelling
This introductory course on game theory is a collection of mathematical tools to model and analyze strategic interactions in a variety of settings, from economic and social situations to politics and international relations. The course focuses on both non-co-operative and co-operative game theoretic modelling, in particular, strategic and extensive form games, Bayesian games, and coalitional games. Students learn to solve games using the concepts of dominant strategies, Nash-equilibrium, subgame perfection, Bayesian equilibrium, and the core. Applications may include repeated games, auctions, bargaining, oligopoly games, entry deterrence, pricing strategies, and collusion.

ECON 565 The Economics of Professional Sport
This is a course in applied microeconomic theory. Various observations on the state of professional sports are explained using economic theory. Evidence of the statistical relevance of such explanations is also investigated. Issues addressed include the magnitude of the earnings of professional sports stars; the impact of free agency on competitive balance in sports leagues; the value of professional sports teams to cities, and whether such valuation justifies public subsidization of franchises or arenas.
Note: Students who have received credit for this topic under an ECON 598 number may not take this course for credit.

ECON 581 Labour Economics
The course deals with topics in labour economics using microeconomic concepts such as inter-temporal decision-making, uncertainty, moral hazard, adverse selection and market signalling. The following topics are covered: labour supply and demand, wage differentials, human capital theory, efficiency wages and implicit contracts.

ECON 582 Economics of Personnel and Industrial Relations
The main objective of this course is to describe how modern microeconomics and modern labour economics can be used to solve practical human resource and personnel issues. These include hiring and firing practices, optimal payment and compensation structure, unions and strike behaviour.

ECON 583 Employment, Earnings and Labour Market Policies
This course covers topics in labour economics from the macroeconomic perspective. The key topics include equilibrium unemployment, job search, wage determination mechanisms, labour income processes and labour mobility. The course also devotes a substantial amount of time to macroeconomic policy issues of the labour markets such as employment insurance, minimum wage and union.

ECON 585 Health Economics
This course introduces students to the role of economics in health, health care, and health policy. It surveys the major topics in health economics and forms an introduction to the ongoing debate over health care policy. Topics include the economic determinants of health, the market for medical care, the market for health insurance, the role of government in health care, and health care reform.

ECON 591 Environmental Economics
This course provides a survey, from the perspective of economics, of public issues regarding the use of environmental resources, ecosystems and the management of environmental quality. The course covers both conceptual and methodological topics with recent and current applications. It begins with an introduction to the theory and methods of environmental and natural resource economics and concepts of sustainable development. Then the emphasis is shifted to the optimal use of natural resources, both non-renewable resources (mineral and energy) and renewable resources, and the valuation of environmental resources. The last part of the course examines national and international environmental policy issues, including intergenerational equity and environmental ethics.

ECON 593 Regional Economics
This course introduces the student to the methods and techniques of regional economic analysis, and their application to the problems of regional economies within Canada. Among the micro-economic topics covered are the location behaviour of firms and households, and the factors determining the allocation of land among alternative competing uses. Macroeconomic topics include the measurement and analysis of regional income and growth levels, cyclical changes in those levels, and interregional differences in growth rates. Policy problems pertinent to Canadian regions are stressed throughout the course.

ECON 596 Natural Resource Economics
This course focuses on the problems of the finiteness of the natural resources base in Canada and in the world, and on an analysis of the demand for and supply of natural resources and energy. The course also discusses the economic aspects of a selected group of conservation measures (financial incentives, reallocation of property rights, regulation).
Note: Students who have received credit for this topic under an ECON 598 number may not take this course for credit.

ECON 597 Income Distribution and Economic Inequality
This course examines the extent and dimensions of economic inequality among households both domestically and internationally. Topics covered include theories of income inequality, wealth inequality, recent trends in polarization, poverty, intergenerational bequests, the welfare state, and the role of government economic policy.

ECON 598 Advanced Topics in Economics
Specific topics and relevant prerequisites for this course are stated in the Graduate Class Schedule.

Class B Courses (3 credits each)
All 600-level courses offered in the Department of Economics. Course descriptions are listed under the MA in Economics

Class C Courses (3 credits each)
All MSCA courses offered in the John Molson School of Business, with prior permission of the Department of Economics and the John Molson School of Business.