Economics Minor (B.Eng.) (18 credits)
Offered by: Economics (Faculty of Arts)
Degree: Bachelor of Engineering
Program credit weight: 18
Program Description
The B.Eng.; Minor in Economics focuses on such economic topics as: how societies decide what to produce, how much of it, what determines prices, exchange rates, interest rates, and levels of inflation. How economies function internally and on a global scale, what drives consumers, and how public policy and global events affect markets. A maximum of 9 credits of coursework in the student's major may be double counted with the Minor.
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.
Required Courses (18 credits)
6 credits from the following:
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| ECON 230D1 | Microeconomic Theory. | 3 |
Microeconomic Theory. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. The introductory course for Economics Major students in microeconomic theory. In depth and critical presentation of the theory of consumer behaviour, theory of production and cost curves, theory of the firm, theory of distribution, welfare economics and the theory of general equilibrium. | ||
| ECON 230D2 | Microeconomic Theory. | 3 |
Microeconomic Theory. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. See ECON 230D1 for course description. | ||
| ECON 250D1 | Introduction to Economic Theory: Honours. | 3 |
Introduction to Economic Theory: Honours. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. An intermediate level microeconomics course. Includes theory of exchange, theory of consumer behaviour, theory of production and cost curves, theory of the firm, theory of distribution; general equilibrium and welfare economics. The assumptions underlying the traditional neo-classical approach to economic theory will be carefully specified. | ||
| ECON 250D2 | Introduction to Economic Theory: Honours. | 3 |
Introduction to Economic Theory: Honours. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. See ECON 250D1 for course description. | ||
12 credits from:
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| ECON 209 | Macroeconomic Analysis and Applications. | 3 |
Macroeconomic Analysis and Applications. Terms offered: Summer 2025 A university-level introduction to national income determination, money and banking, inflation, unemployment and economic policy. | ||
| ECON 225 | Economics of the Environment. | 3 |
Economics of the Environment. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. A study of the application of economic theory to questions of environmental policy. Particular attention will be given to the measurement and regulation of pollution, congestion and waste and other environmental aspects of specific economies. | ||
| ECON 303 | Canadian Economic Policy. | 3 |
Canadian Economic Policy. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Major theories of how economic policy is made and goes on to use economic tools of analysis to investigate selected policy problems of current interest. | ||
| ECON 304 | Financial Instruments and Institutions. | 3 |
Financial Instruments and Institutions. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Economic analysis of initiating, assembling, pricing and marketing equities of bonds, bills and complex financial instruments; financial innovation; its implications for financial stability and market failure; banks as brokers, underwriters, market makers and international allocators of credit; strategies of private and public agents operating in financial markets, monetary history. | ||
| ECON 305 | Industrial Organization. | 3 |
Industrial Organization. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. The course analyzes the structure, conduct, and performance of industries, particularly but not exclusively in Canada. Topics include effects of mergers, barriers to entry, product line and promotion policies, vertical integration, and R D policies of firms. | ||
| ECON 306 | Labour Markets and Wages. | 3 |
Labour Markets and Wages. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Examination of the implications on wage structures of differences in job conditions, levels and type training, long-term employment relationships, unionization etc. A variety of socioeconomic policy issues including subsidies for higher education, government regulation of workplace safety, and the role and treatment of women in today's labour force are explored. | ||
| ECON 308 | Governmental Policy Towards Business. | 3 |
Governmental Policy Towards Business. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Covers the major public policies toward business in Canada, such as competition policy, regulation, public ownership and privatization, industrial policies, and trade policies. Includes comparison with policies of other countries, especially the U.S. Readings will include some legal decisions. | ||
| ECON 313 | Economic Development 1. | 3 |
Economic Development 1. Terms offered: Summer 2025 Microeconomic theories of economic development and empirical evidence on population, labour, firms, poverty. Inequality and environment. | ||
| ECON 314 | Economic Development 2. | 3 |
Economic Development 2. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Macroeconomic development issues, including theories of growth, public finance, debt, currency crises, corruption, structural adjustment, democracy and global economic organization. | ||
| ECON 316 | The Underground Economy. | 3 |
The Underground Economy. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. The origins, structure and operation of the "underground" sectors of modern economies around the world. Topics include the causes of black marketeering in Western economies; international contraband trade in guns and drugs; money laundering through the world financial system. | ||
| ECON 326 | Ecological Economics. | 3 |
Ecological Economics. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Macroeconomic and structural aspects of the ecological crisis. A course in which subjects discussed include the conflict between economic growth and the laws of thermodynamics; the search for alternative economic indicators; the fossil fuels crisis; and "green'' fiscal policy. | ||
| ECON 332 | Macroeconomic Theory: Majors 1. 1 | 3 |
Macroeconomic Theory: Majors 1. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. A review of basic economic concepts and tools with an in depth and critical presentation of the fundamental areas of macroeconomic theory. Topics include: the measurement of economic aggregates, economic growth, and the consumption-savings decision and other basic elements of a business cycle. | ||
| ECON 333 | Macroeconomic Theory - Majors 2. 1 | 3 |
Macroeconomic Theory - Majors 2. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. A review of basic economic concepts and tools with an in depth and critical presentation of the fundamental areas of macroeconomic theory. Topics include: money and banking and business cycles, stabilization policy, and international finance. | ||
| ECON 335 | The Japanese Economy. | 3 |
The Japanese Economy. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. The first part of the course covers the economic institutions in, changing structure of, and public policies employed by the Japanese economy. The second part probes the economic "logic" of the Japanese capitalist system, explores its relationship to the ideas of Joseph Schumpeter, and makes comparisons with the American economy. | ||
| ECON 336 | The Chinese Economy. | 3 |
The Chinese Economy. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Examination of the growth and transformation of the Chinese economy and the domestic and international implications. | ||
| ECON 337 | Introductory Econometrics 1. | 3 |
Introductory Econometrics 1. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. The practical application of quantitative methods in statistical investigations. | ||
| ECON 347 | Economics of Climate Change. | 3 |
Economics of Climate Change. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. The course focuses on the economic implications of, and problems posed by, predictions of global warming due to anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases. Attention is given to economic policies such as carbon taxes and tradeable emission permits and to the problems of displacing fossil fuels with new energy technologies. | ||
| ECON 405 | Natural Resource Economics. | 3 |
Natural Resource Economics. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Topics include: Malthusian and Ricardian Scarcity; optimal depletion of renewable and non-renewable resources; exploration, risk and industry structure, and current resources, rent and taxation. Current public policies applied to the resource industries, particularly those of a regulatory nature. | ||
| ECON 406 | Topics in Economic Policy. | 3 |
Topics in Economic Policy. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Selected policy issues are investigated using economic theory. For details on topics covered in the current year, consult the instructor. | ||
| ECON 408 | Public Sector Economics 1. | 3 |
Public Sector Economics 1. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Theoretical and empirical economic analysis of the public sector with an emphasis on public goods and government spending. Study of Canadian institutions in international perspective. | ||
| ECON 409 | Public Sector Economics 2. | 3 |
Public Sector Economics 2. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Theoretical and empirical economic analysis of the public sector with an emphasis on taxation. Study of Canadian institutions in international perspective. | ||
| ECON 411 | Economic Development: A World Area. | 3 |
Economic Development: A World Area. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. An advanced course in the economic development of a pre-designated underdeveloped country or a group of countries. | ||
| ECON 416 | Topics in Economic Development 2. | 3 |
Topics in Economic Development 2. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. This course gives students a broad overview of the economics of developing countries. The course covers micro and macro topics, with particular emphasis on the economic analysis at the micro level. | ||
| ECON 420 | Topics in Economic Theory. | 3 |
Topics in Economic Theory. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. The course discusses selected topics in micro or macroeconomic theory at an advanced level. Possible topics include welfare economics, general equilibrium, theories of firms, consumer behaviour, intertemporal choice, uncertainty, game theory, etc. | ||
| ECON 426 | Labour Economics. | 3 |
Labour Economics. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. The determinants of labour supply, demand and the structure of earnings are considered. The economic effects of government policies, such as minimum wage laws, unemployment insurance, welfare and training programs and subsidies to higher education are analyzed. A rigorous theoretical and "hands on'' empirical approach is emphasized. | ||
| ECON 434 | Current Economic Problems. | 3 |
Current Economic Problems. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. A discussion of contemporary economic problems. Topics will reflect economic issues of current interest. | ||
| ECON 440 | Health Economics. | 3 |
Health Economics. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. The organization and performance of Canada's health care system are examined from an economist's perspective. The system is described and its special features analyzed. Much attention is given to the role of government in the system and to financing arrangements for hospital and medical services. Current financial problems are discussed. | ||
| ECON 468 | Econometrics 1 - Honours. | 3 |
Econometrics 1 - Honours. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. The statistical basis of econometric modelling and treatment of the linear regression model; simple time series models; procedures for inference in linear cases; an introduction to methods for dealing with endogeneity and non-constant variance. | ||
| ECON 469 | Econometrics 2 - Honours. | 3 |
Econometrics 2 - Honours. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Treatment of asymptotic theory and classical inferential procedures, an introduction to the bootstrap, maximum likelihood, non-linear models, mis-specification testing, non-stationarity and limited dependent variable models. | ||
| 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 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. | ||
| MIME 325 | Mineral Industry Economics. 2 | 3 |
Mineral Industry Economics. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Geographical distribution of mineral resources. Production, consumption and prices of minerals. Market structure of selected minerals. Economic evaluation aspects: grade-tonnage considerations; capital and operating cost estimation; assessment of market conditions; estimation of revenue; taxation; sensitivity and risk analyses; economic optimization of mine development and extraction. | ||
| MIME 526 | Mineral Economics. 2 | 3 |
Mineral Economics. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Mineral project evaluation techniques and applications. Topics covered include grade-tonnage relationships, capital and operating cost estimation techniques, assessment of mineral market conditions, taxation, discounted cash flow analysis, risk analysis, and optimization of project specifications with respect to capacity and cutoff grade. | ||