Canadian Microeconomic Policy

Curriculum guideline

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Course
ECON 2490
Discontinued
No
Course code
ECON 2490
Descriptive
Canadian Microeconomic Policy
Department
Economics
Faculty
Commerce & Business Administration
Credits
3.00
Start date
End term
202220
PLAR
No
Semester length
15 Weeks X 4 Hours per Week = 60 Hours
Max class size
35
Contact hours
Lecture: 3 Hours Seminar: 1 Hour Total: 4 Hours
Method(s) of instruction
Lecture
Seminar
Learning activities

Lecture and Seminar.

Course description
Microeconomics is the study of how resources are allocated by individual decision makers in their market pursuits. In a modern industrial economy like Canada's, it is also true that government policy influences the allocation of resources. Canadian Microeconomic Policy utilizes principles of microeconomics to examine policy issues such as: government controlled prices and quantities, marketing boards, tax policy, competition policy, regulation of industry, trade policy and environmental protection.
Course content
  1. Review of supply and demand
  2. Consumer surplus and measures of welfare
  3. Government controlled prices and quantities
  4. Marketing boards
  5. Tax Policy
  6. Imperfect Competition and Anti-Competitive Practices
  7. Competition Policy
  8. Regulation of Industry
  9. Trade Policy: Theory and Institutions
  10. Externalities and Environmental Protection
  11. Public Goods.
Learning outcomes

At the end of the course, the student will be able to:

  1. apply supply and demand analysis to examine issues such as government price and quantity controls and tax policy;
  2. utilize different theories of market structure to analyze anti-trust policy issues;
  3. analyze the economics of regulation from a public interest and private interest perspective;
  4. evaluate the efficacy of the policy options available to government authorities to deal with the problems of externalities and public goods.
Means of assessment
Final Examination     30% - 40%
Term Tests 40% - 70%
Assignments   0% - 20%
Participation   0% - 10%
Total         100%

Students may conduct research as part of their coursework in this class. Instructors for the course are responsible for ensuring that student research projects comply with College policies on ethical conduct for research involving humans, which can require obtaining Informed Consent from participants and getting the approval of the Douglas College Research Ethics Board prior to conducting the research.

Textbook materials

Textbooks and Materials to be Purchased by Students

The main texts are to be chosen from the following, as determined by the instructor:

 

Brander, James.  Government Policy Toward Business, Latest Ed.  Butterworths.

Carson, Robert.  Economic Issues Today, Latest Ed.  St. Martin's Press.

Luciani, Patrick.  Economic Myths: Making Sense of Canadian Policy Issues, Latest Ed.  Addison-Wesley.

Supplementary materials may be chosen, as determined by the instructor.

Prerequisites

ECON 1150 and ECON 1250

Equivalencies

Courses listed here are equivalent to this course and cannot be taken for further credit:

  • No equivalency courses