This seminar course will focus on topics related to inequality, competition, market power and regulation. Each student will be required to research and write a major paper, present it in class, and participate in general discussion of the presentations.
This seminar will explore the history and causes of various social and economic catastrophes. They can impact the whole world, a country, a region or a large company. Lack of government and private sector preparation can lead to devastating economic and social costs. We will explore some policy frameworks that can help prepare a society for catastrophes, reducing the social, economic and financial costs. This is a fascinating policy topic that is evolving fast.
This seminar focuses on the economic evaluation of environmental and climate policies in Canada and other countries worldwide. The learning objectives are (i) applying economic theory to real-world challenges through hands-on case studies and (ii) improving communication skills.
Healthcare provision emerges under mixed and regulated systems. The course examines the institutional and organizational aspects of the health care systems with an eye to policy-making. Since healthcare is largely a private good, economic analysis would then prescribe private provision on efficiency grounds. Mostly on equity grounds but also due to informational problems potentially causing market failures in insurance, the case for public intervention proves strong.
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.