Consumer behaviour, producer theory, exchange, monopoly, oligopoly, externalities, public goods, general equilibrium and welfare economics.
Economics 492: Economics in Action: Consulting Projects for UBC (undergraduate)
This course is a new and unique opportunity to apply economic principles and data analysis to study real world problems that arise at UBC and need solutions. This is an experiential learning course, structured around team-based projects that aim to answer genuine questions that arise at various organizations within UBC. These organizations submit requests for students’ consulting help on a wide range of projects, through the SEEDS Sustainability Program. The course will create a structure and an opportunity for you to answer the questions posed by these organizations, and have a direct impact on UBC policy and operations. You will acquire and analyze relevant data, apply economic principles, generate a report, and make a presentation to the organization requesting help. It provides an opportunity to get hands-on consulting experience, which will let you see how economics is used in practice, and develop skills that businesses will value.
The course is open to third- and fourth-year students in the BIE and Economics BA programs. Students must be proficient at microeconomic theory, econometrics, and practical writing and presentational skills. Fluency with Stata, R, Excel, or a similar software package is also required.
Economics 562: Research Design and Policy Evaluation in Economics (Ph.D./M.A.)
This course in applied econometrics is suitable for M.A. students who have completed Econ 527 and who seek a foundation in the modern methods of policy evaluation. It will also be of interest to Ph.D. students with interests in applied microeconomics. The course will survey empirical methods for policy evaluation. The focus will be on empirical applications. Topics covered will include causal inferences, treatment effects, randomized controlled trials, differencing methods, instrumental variables, regression discontinuity, and matching methods.
Economics 594: Applied Economics (M.A. students)
The objective of this course is to provide you with a number of tools for conducting empirical research in economics, and to use these tools in practice by conducting an empirical project and reporting the results in a research paper. The focus of the course will be on empirical methods for cross-sectional and panel data. You are strongly encouraged to choose a research topic in which you will have the opportunity to apply in practice the methods learned in class. While these methods are typically used in applied microeconomics (labour economics, public economics, economic development, industrial organization, international trade, etc.), students are free to choose the topic they want to work on, provided that it involves the use of (preferably) cross-section or panel data.
Workshop for seniors writing theses in theoretical and applied microeconomics. Emphasis on choice of research topics, methodology, and data sources. Written and oral presentations of work in progress leading toward completion of a major research paper or senior honors thesis are required. Course website (2009-2010).
Economics 2728: Behavioral Finance (Ph.D.) Teaching Fellow for: Owen Lamont (spring 2009), and Jeremy Stein (spring 2010).
Deals with theoretical and empirical approaches to the study of financial markets using psychological or behavioral ideas. Topics include limited arbitrage, predictability of security returns, and trading volume. Course website (2009), Course website (2010).