Economics (Non-Thesis): Population Dynamics (M.A.) (45 credits)
Offered by: Economics (Faculty of Arts)
Degree: Master of Arts
Program credit weight: 45
Program Description
The Population Dynamics Option (PDO) is open to M.A. (non-thesis) students in Economics specializing in Population Dynamics. The purpose of this program is to provide graduate training in demographic methods (including life table analyses) and enhance students’ knowledge of critical population issues. As such, students will be required to take a course on demographic methods and a course in microeconomic methods relevant for population studies. In addition, students will take one complementary course in Economics, which focuses on a particular population issue such as population health, migration, aging, family dynamics, and labour markets and skills acquisition. Students will attend at least five of the seminars given in the Social Statistics and Population Dynamics Seminar series. Research topics must be related to population dynamics and approved by the PDO coordinating committee.
Note: For information about Fall 2025 and Winter 2026 course offerings, please check back on May 8, 2025. Until then, the "Terms offered" field will appear blank for most courses while the class schedule is being finalized.
Research Project (18 credits)
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| ECON 650 | Research 1. | 3 |
Research 1. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Preparation for work on M.A. thesis and M.A. research report. | ||
| ECON 651 | Research 2. | 3 |
Research 2. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Preparation for work on M.A. thesis and M.A. research report. | ||
| ECON 680 | M.A. Report 1. | 3 |
M.A. Report 1. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. The M.A. Report must demonstrate the candidate's ability to do independent work at the graduate level in a particular field of economics. While length will vary with the subject matter, it is expected that on average reports will be about 50 pages long. The Report will be graded jointly by two members of the Department. The supervisor will normally be one of the examiners. | ||
| ECON 681 | M.A. Report 2. | 3 |
M.A. Report 2. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. The M.A. Report must demonstrate the candidate's ability to do independent work at the graduate level in a particular field of economics. While length will vary with the subject matter, it is expected that on average reports will be about 50 pages long. The Report will be graded jointly by two members of the Department. The supervisor will normally be one of the examiners. | ||
| ECON 682 | M.A. Report 3. | 3 |
M.A. Report 3. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. The M.A. Report must demonstrate the candidate's ability to do independent work at the graduate level in a particular field of economics. While length will vary with the subject matter, it is expected that on average reports will be about 50 pages long. The Report will be graded jointly by two members of the Department. The supervisor will normally be one of the examiners. | ||
| ECON 683 | M.A. Report 4. | 3 |
M.A. Report 4. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. The M.A. Report must demonstrate the candidate's ability to do independent work at the graduate level in a particular field of economics. While length will vary with the subject matter, it is expected that on average reports will be about 50 pages long. The Report will be graded jointly by two members of the Department. The supervisor will normally be one of the examiners. | ||
Required Courses (21 credits)
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| ECON 610 | Microeconomic Theory 1. | 3 |
Microeconomic Theory 1. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. This is the first in a two-course sequence in microeconomics. The core microeconomics sequence (ECON 610, ECON 611) provides a rigorous coverage of the economic foundation upon which economic fields are built. Most of the sequence is devoted to building up this foundation of consumer and firm optimisation (including choice under uncertainty), partial and general equilibrium, and welfare economics. The remainder of ECON 611 covers special topics that vary from year to year. These are likely to be drawn from the following: social choice; externalities and public goods; models of asymmetric information; the principal-agent framework; search; basic game theory. | ||
| ECON 620 | Macroeconomic Theory 1. | 3 |
Macroeconomic Theory 1. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. This course is the first in a two-course sequence in macroeconomics. The course offers a thorough treatment of the fundamentals of macroeconomic theory. Emphasis is placed on the construction of economic models with microeconomic foundations. Topics include market-clearing and non-market-clearing models, capital accumulation, business cycles, monetary policy and fiscal policy. | ||
| ECON 661 | Applied Time-Series and Forecasting. | 3 |
Applied Time-Series and Forecasting. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Essential methods used in practical forecasting and modelling contexts: standard time series models for forecasting; non-stationary data; conditional variance forecasts; nowcasting macroeconomic quantities; density and probability forecasts; feasible forecast horizons; forecast evaluation and presentation. | ||
| ECON 664 | Applied Cross-Sectional Methods. | 3 |
Applied Cross-Sectional Methods. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. With limited public resources, determining which programs, reforms, policies are beneficial, and at what cost, is crucial, and allows public policy to be driven by evidence. However, evaluating programs is made difficult by the “counterfactual problem”: one cannot observe the outcomes or behavior of a participant, had (s)he not participated. This course will describe the standard OLS model, its limitations, and an improvement (panel data models). This course will then present the state-of-the-art empirical techniques used by economists to address the counterfactual issue (randomized experiments, instrumental variables, difference-in-differences, regression discontinuity design; and time permitting selection models and matching). For each of these approaches, we will give the basic intuition, discuss the necessary assumptions, present the strengths and weaknesses, and analyze applications drawn from the literature. Moreover, each technique will be implemented by the students in hands-on Stata sessions. | ||
| ECON 665 | Quantitative Methods. | 3 |
Quantitative Methods. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. A survey of quantitative methods frequently used in economic research. Special emphasis will be placed upon the formulation and evaluation of econometric models. Illustrations will be drawn from the existing empirical literature in economics. Required for all Ph.D. students who have not taken Econometrics as a field. | ||
| ECON 742 | Empirical Microeconomics. | 3 |
Empirical Microeconomics. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Surveys the empirical techniques used in applied microeconomic fields, particularly development and labour economics. Focus is on the formulation of empirical models derived from economic theory, and on various estimation methodologies, including panel data econometrics, limited dependent variable models, and duration analysis. A "hands on" approach is emphasized. | ||
| SOCI 626 | Demographic Methods. | 3 |
Demographic Methods. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Introduction to demographic measurement and modeling. Course covers direct and indirect estimation, standardization, life table construction, and population projections. | ||
Complementary Courses (6 credits)
3 credits related to population dynamics course from the following:
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| ECON 634 | Economic Development 3. | 3 |
Economic Development 3. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. A systematic treatment of the characteristics and problems of economic development in underdeveloped countries. | ||
| ECON 641 | Labour Economics. | 3 |
Labour Economics. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. A synthesis of theoretical developments in the area of labour economics with stress upon problems of empirical testing. | ||
| ECON 734 | Economic Development 4. | 3 |
Economic Development 4. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Problems of economic growth and planning in selected underdeveloped countries. Topics covered vary from year to year in response to student interests; growth, poverty and income distribution, LDC labour markets and institutions, trade and development, international debt problems, issues in trade policy. | ||
| ECON 744 | Health Economics. | 3 |
Health Economics. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. The emphasis will be on describing and analyzing the structure and performance of the Canadian health system, though some attention will be given to recent attempts by the federal and provincial governments to deal with current problems in this field. Readings will be selected from the economics and health literature. | ||
| SOCI 502 | Sociology of Fertility. | 3 |
Sociology of Fertility. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. An upper-level course that will cover the major theories and findings from the social scientific study of fertility behavior. Readings and discussion will focus on the causal linkages between social change and transitions in fertility behavior. We will examine contemporary and historical fertility behavior and transitions across the globe. | ||
3 credits from the following (a course in the same/approved field, chosen in consultation with the student’s supervisor):
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| ECON 510 | Experimental Economics. | 3 |
Experimental Economics. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Experimental methodology, current topics in experimental economics, and market design. | ||
| ECON 525 | Project Analysis. | 3 |
Project Analysis. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. A course in cost benefit analysis for graduate and advanced undergraduate students. | ||
| ECON 531 | Historical Experience of Economic Development. | 3 |
Historical Experience of Economic Development. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Examination of historical patterns of economic development. | ||
| ECON 546 | Game Theory. | 3 |
Game Theory. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. This course introduces students to game theory, the branch of the social sciences that focuses on the formal modelling and analysis of human interactions and strategic behaviour. Basic concepts in cooperative and non-cooperative games are applied to economic models. | ||
| ECON 611 | Microeconomic Theory 2. | 3 |
Microeconomic Theory 2. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. This is the second in a two-course sequence in microeconomics. | ||
| ECON 621 | Macroeconomic Theory 2. | 3 |
Macroeconomic Theory 2. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. This is the second in a two-course sequence in macroeconomics. The course provides an in-depth analysis of selected issues in macroeconomic theory, extending and complementing the coverage provided in ECON 620. | ||
| ECON 623 | Money and Banking. | 3 |
Money and Banking. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. A rigorous analysis of the demand and supply of money and the role that it plays in the economy. Study of the ideas of the major schools of thought in monetary economics. | ||
| ECON 624 | International Economics. | 3 |
International Economics. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. A detailed examination of theories and policies in international trade and finance. | ||
| ECON 625 | Economics of Natural Resources. | 3 |
Economics of Natural Resources. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. The concept of optimal resource management and the associated rules, such as Hotelling's rule and Faustmann's rule. Implications of the need to sink capital for equilibrium in resource utilization under certainty and uncertainty. Conditions under which there is market failure and the merits of price and quantity instruments. | ||
| ECON 634 | Economic Development 3. | 3 |
Economic Development 3. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. A systematic treatment of the characteristics and problems of economic development in underdeveloped countries. | ||
| ECON 637 | Industrial Organization and Regulation. | 3 |
Industrial Organization and Regulation. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. An analysis of the nature of the firm, industrial structure and the effect of structure on firm and industry behaviour and performance. | ||
| ECON 641 | Labour Economics. | 3 |
Labour Economics. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. A synthesis of theoretical developments in the area of labour economics with stress upon problems of empirical testing. | ||
| ECON 647 | Applied Computational Economics. | 3 |
Applied Computational Economics. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Study of tools that allow numerical solutions to selected economics problems for which closed-form analytical solutions are not available. Coverage includes solutions to dynamic stochastic models in economics and finance, including dynamic programming in discrete and continuous time. | ||
| ECON 654 | Research Methods in Economics. | 3 |
Research Methods in Economics. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Preparation of M.A. research papers. | ||
| ECON 688 | Seminar on Social Statistics. | 3 |
Seminar on Social Statistics. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Seminar on social statistics. | ||
| ECON 706 | Selected Topics. | 3 |
Selected Topics. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Reading course in Economics. | ||
| ECON 710 | Selected Topics in Economics. | 3 |
Selected Topics in Economics. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Selected topics in specialized areas of Economics. | ||
| ECON 720 | Advanced Game Theory. | 3 |
Advanced Game Theory. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. The main focus of the course will be the "theory of social situations" (which is closely related to "game theory") which is a new and integrative approach to the study of formal models (both cooperative and non-cooperative) in the social sciences. | ||
| ECON 721 | Advanced Monetary Theory. | 3 |
Advanced Monetary Theory. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Selected topics in monetary theory, the theory of monetary policy, and the history of monetary institutions. | ||
| ECON 724 | International Economics. | 3 |
International Economics. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Selected problems in international trade, foreign exchange and international movements of capital. | ||
| ECON 726 | Topics in Environmental Economics. | 3 |
Topics in Environmental Economics. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Topics in environmental economics. | ||
| ECON 734 | Economic Development 4. | 3 |
Economic Development 4. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Problems of economic growth and planning in selected underdeveloped countries. Topics covered vary from year to year in response to student interests; growth, poverty and income distribution, LDC labour markets and institutions, trade and development, international debt problems, issues in trade policy. | ||
| ECON 737 | Industrial Organization and Regulation Seminar. | 3 |
Industrial Organization and Regulation Seminar. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Builds on material covered in ECON 637. Problems are examined in greater depth with specific topics varying from year to year. | ||
| ECON 741 | Advanced Labour Economics. | 3 |
Advanced Labour Economics. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Selected theoretical and policy issues in labour economics. | ||
| ECON 744 | Health Economics. | 3 |
Health Economics. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. The emphasis will be on describing and analyzing the structure and performance of the Canadian health system, though some attention will be given to recent attempts by the federal and provincial governments to deal with current problems in this field. Readings will be selected from the economics and health literature. | ||
| ECON 761 | Econometrics: Time Series Analysis. | 3 |
Econometrics: Time Series Analysis. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Theory and application of linear, non-linear expectational and asymptotic time series models to economic phenomena. Probabilistic models of economic dynamics and experimental economies, including simulation. | ||
| ECON 762 | Econometrics - Asymptotic and Finite - Sample. | 3 |
Econometrics - Asymptotic and Finite - Sample. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Exact and asymptotic distribution theory in econometrics: basic results for estimation and inference in regression models, extensions and other selected topics including nonparametric and distribution-free methods for econometric models. | ||
| ECON 763 | Financial Econometrics. | 3 |
Financial Econometrics. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. This course covers advanced time series methods used in the analysis of financial data and other potentially non-stationary time series. Topics: integrated time series, co-integration, unit root testing, conditional heteroscedasticity, long memory, non-parametric and neural network models. Applications include market efficiency, stochastic volatility and predictability of asset returns. | ||
| ECON 765 | Models for Financial Economics. | 3 |
Models for Financial Economics. Terms offered: Summer 2025 A review of mathematical techniques used in modern finance theory, including measure theory and stochastic processes in continuous time (e.g., Brownian motion) and other techniques essential to understanding arbitrage pricing theory, including the pricing of options. | ||
Courses may not be double counted for both the Population Dynamics complementary course and other complementary courses.