S.96-lo
• ?
SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY
OFFICE OF THE VICE-PRESIDENT, ACADEMIC
?
MEMORANDUM
To: ?
Senate
From:
?
D. Gagan, Chair
Senate Committee on Academic
l
Planning
Subject. ?
Department of Economics
Curriculum Revisions
Date: ?
December 11, 1995
Action undertaken by the Senate Graduate Studies Committee and the Senate Committee
on Academic Planning gives rise to the following motion:
Motion:
"That Senate approve and recommend approval to the Board of
Governors, as set forth in .96-10 / the following
a)
Deletion of the description of the fields of study
b)
Changes to the Graduate Program Requirements for the M.A.
core course work, M.A. program options, Ph.D. Degree
requirements, Ph.D. program committees, Ph.D. program
deletion of fields of study and the Ph.D. comprehensive
examination entry
C)
?
New courses: ?
ECON 826-4 Industrial Organization II
ECON 860-4 Environmental Economics
d)
?
New Calendar entry: Satisfactory Performance
For Information:
Acting under delegated authority of Senate, SGSC has approved the following revisions:
Change of credit hours from 3 credits to 4 credits for ECON 802, 803
Course number changes: ECON 807-4 to ECON 877-4, ECON 808-4 to ECON 878-4,
ECON 809-4 to ECON 879-4
.
?
Change in prerequisites for ECON 811-4
Change in description for ECON 835-4.
Agreement has been reached between the Faculty and Library in
the assessment of library costs associated with the new courses.
COURSE ALTERATION AND RATIONALE
(PLEASE USE THIS FORM FOR THE FOLLOWING
CHANGES: Change
of
Title, Change
of
Course
Description, Change
of Credit Hour, Change
of
Vector,
Change of
Prerequisite, Change in Requirements for Graduate
Program, etc.)
DEPARTMENT OF
(Please sjaW'departnwnt)
DELETE: ?
Graduate Academic Program
The facilities of this program are best developed for offering course work
and research supervision in the following areas: macroeconomic theory,
microeconomic theory, econometrics, economic development, economic
history, international economics, industrial organization, industrial -
relations, labor economics, monetary economics, regional economics,
resource economics, finance, financial economics, history of economic
thought and methodology, management science, and marketing.
RATIONALE: ?
The department does not have the resources to offer all the listed fields.
As a result, this statement does not reflect reality. We believe that other
materials such as recruiting brochures reflect better the ability of the
department of offer different areas of specialization. These materials also
can be changed more readily to take into account changes in the faculty.
.
1.
Ji41
?
1IflI1 VINM
i
(PLEASE USE THIS FORM FOR THE FOLLOWING
CHANGES:
Change
of
Title, Change
of
Course
Description, Change
of
Credit Hour, Change
of Vector,
Change
of
Prerequisite, Change in Requirements for Graduate
Program, etc.)
DEPARTMENT OF
(PleytdIe department) ?
CI&Ck-4
iC
FROM: ?
MA Program
1. Core Course Work
Except where students have successfully undertaken equivalent work in
graduate work at another university the requirements regarding
microeconomics will be met by completing either ECON 802- and 803-5
or ECON 804-4. The requirements regarding macroeconomics may be
met by completing either ECON
805-4
or ECON 806-4.
TO: ?
Except where students have successfully undertaken equivalent work in
graduate work at another university students must complete ECON 8024
and ECON 805-4.
RATIONALE: ?
This change follows the recommendation of the External Review. Room
for an additional optional course may prove more vaWable to many MA
students, especially those taking a terminal MA, than another core course
in microeconomics.
.
9
40-MIUMEMP
]q
(PLEASE USE THIS FORM FOR THE FOLLOWING
CHANGES:
Change of Title, Change of Course
Description, Change
of Credit Hour, Change of Vector,
Change
of
Prerequisite, Change in Requirements for Graduate
Program, etc.)
DEPARTMENT OF
(Please 3tatIdepartment)
FROM
The MA Program allows three options.
Thesis Option - core work plus two ECON or BUEC graduate courses and an
original thesis.
Extended Essay Option - core work plus four ECON Or BUEC graduate courses
(including ECON
836-4)
and two extended essays.
Project Option - core work plus five ECON or BUEC graduate courses,
(including ECON
836-4)
and a research project.
.
?
TO:
?
The MA Program has three options.
Thesis Option - core work plus three ECON or BUEC graduate courses and an
original thesis.
Extended Essay Option - core work plus five ECON or BUEC graduate courses,
(including ECON
836-4)
and two extended essays.
Project Option - core work plus six ECON or BUEC graduate courses (including
ECON
836-4)
and a research project.
RATIONALE: ?
This change maintains the number of courses required for an MA by
adding one course beyond the core requirements to each MA program
option to reflect the one course reduction in the core.
0
1119
I Loma"
(PLEASE USE THIS FORM FOR THE
FOLLOWING
CHANGES:
Change
of
Title, Change
of
Course
Description, Change
of
Credit Hour, Change
of
Vector,
Change
of
Prerequisite, Change in Requirements for Graduate
Program, etc.)
P:1;4i ?
Iit.i;a ?
•)[IJJ
(*1
FROM: ?
Ph.D. Program
Degree Requirements
least
1. Successful
thirty semester
performance
hour credits
in
approved
beyond
courses
the requirements
amounting
listed
to a total
above
of
at
for the MA in Economics.
TO:
?
1. Successful performance in
eight approved
courses
beyond the
requirements listed above for the MA in Economics.
RATIONALE:
?
To remove the anomaly of requiring at' least 30 semester hours in a?
circumstance where all courses are 4 credits.
.
.
4
. ?
COURSE ALTERATION AND RATIONALE
(PLEASE USE THIS FORM FOR THE FOLLOWING
CHANGES: Change
of
Title, Change of
Course
Description, Change
of
Credit Hour, Change of
Vector,
Change
of
Prerequisite, Change in Requirements for Graduate
Program, etc.)
FROM: ?
Ph.D. Program
Degree Requirements
2.1
In addition, students must complete a field either by successfully taking
two courses (other than readings courses) or a comprehensive examination
in the field: -
TO: ?
In addition, students must complete a field either by successfully taking
two courses
approved
by
the Graduate Program Chair
(other than
readings courses)
with at least an A- average,
or a comprehensive
examination in the field.
RATIONALE: ?
It is felt that since this field requirement can be completed without a
comprehensive examination, there should be some definition of what
constitutes successful completion. A standard beyond the B average in
graduate studies seems appropriate for a field in which a doctoral student
Specializes.
S
$1.
LflhJ4 ?
4 ?
tsr.ip
(PLEASE USE THIS FORM FOR THE FOLLOWING
CHANGES. Change
of
Title, Change
of
Course
Description, Change
of
Credit Hour, Change
of Vector,
Change
of
Prerequisite, Change in Requirements for Graduate
Program, etc.)
ui
tIiiJ JIJ[IJi(sf1
FROM: ?
Ph.D. Program (every instance)
Graduate Studies Committee
TO: ?
Graduate Program Committee
RATIONALE: ?
To bring the departmental calendar entry into line with university level
graduate general regulations.
.
[1]
V1
?
o
Ii
(,1IJW1IN 0
:4
(PLEASE USE THIS FORM FOR THE FOLLOWING
CHANGES. Change
of
Title, Change
of
Course
Description, Change
of
Credit Hour, Change
of
Vector,
Change of
Prerequisite, Change in Requirements for Graduate
Program, etc.)
DELETE: ?
Ph.D. Program
Degree Requirements
2.1
The fields in which courses and/or comprehensive examinations are
regularly given are econometric theory, econometrics, finance,
international economics, regional economics, resource economics and
industrial organization. Courses and/or comprehensive examinations are
given by arrangement in public economics, labor economics, economic
history, methodology, as well as in the Business Administration fields of
accounting, finance, management science, marketing and organization
behavior. Preparation for other fields should be on the basis of directed
study and special
COUfSC
work.
RATIONALE: ?
This description does not describe current reality. We intend to indicate
in
our information brochures the fields in which comprehensives have
been offered recently. The brochures also describe the interests of faculty.
0
I.
COURSE ALTERATION AND RATIONALE
(PLEASE USE THIS FORM
FOR THE FOLLO WING
CHANGES. Change
of
Title, Change
of
Course
Description, Change
of
Credit Hour, Change
of
Vector,
Change
of
Prerequisite, Change in Requirements for Graduate
Program, etc.)
I1(IJ J ;(•IIJ[I)
I c
FROM: ?
Ph.D. Program
Degree Requirements
2.4
Comprehensive examinations will usually he taken after completion of
appropriate course work and/or other preparation. One comprehensive
exam in economic theory must be written within three academic semesters
of the beginning of the Ph.D. program, but a student may sit for an
examination after the first semester following formal admission to the
Ph.D program. This may be done whether or not specific courses
recommended by the department as partial preparation for the examination
have been taken.
TO: ?
Normally, full time students entering the program are expected to write
the micro and macro theory comprehensive exams at the first scheduled
opportunity
?
the examination period of their third semester.
RATIONALE: ?
We are concerned that students spend too many semesters preparing for
comprehensive examinations. The change is that they will now normally
writ
e1th micro and macro theory comps at the end of the first year,
instead of one of them.
.
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NEW GRADUATE COURSE PROPOSAL FORM
S
Calendar Information:
Department: Economics ?
Course #: ECON 826-4
Title:
?
Industrial Organization It
Description: This course examines topics specific to the theory the firm. Classes will focus on theories of
transaction costs, principal-agency, and the theory of contracts. Particular attention will be given to the strategic
interaction of the agents.
Credit [Irs: 4
?
Vector: 0/4/0 ?
Prerequisite(s), if any:
Enrollment and Scheduling:
Estimated Enrollment: 10
?
When will the course first be offered: 96-1
1mw often will the course be offered: once every two years
Course required to complete course requirement for a field in Industrial Organization (10)
Resources: One-quarter of a faculty member's teaching load.
Which Faculty member will usually teach the course: D. Allen, G. Dow, C. Eaton, N. Schmitt
What are the budgetary implications of mounting the course:
None; we will he reducing the offering of Special Topics courses that had been used previously to cover the area.
Are there sufficient library resources (append details): yes
Appended:
?
a) ?
Outline of the course
b)
?
An indication of the competence of the Faculty member to
give the course
C) ?
Library resources Approved:
Approval:
?
c
Departmental Graduate Commit( .
-Date,
?
2...
f
Arts 92-3
q.
L
RATIONALE FOR NEW COURSE PROPOSAL
?
0
DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMICS
ECON 826-4 Industrial Organization II
RATIONALE:
The Department
of
Economics is very strong in the field
of
Industrial Organization. This has
been a traditional strength for the Department, but the additions
of
D. Allen, C. Eaton, R. Harris
and N. Schmitt have increased our comparative advantage. Currently the Department only
offers one course in Industrial Organization, whic/zis insufficient under our new guidelines to
qualify as afield. The Department wishes to offer a regular field examination in industrial
Organization, and therefore seeks to offer an additional course in the area.
.
S
ID.
.
?
SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY
DEPARTMENT
OF ECONOMICS
COURSE: ECON 826-4
?
SEMESTER: ?
Spring 1996
TITLE:
?
Industrial Organization II
?
INSTRUC'IOR:
D. Allen
This course examines the theory of contracts. After it review of the economics of
unccrtainity, the course will look at the implications of' allowing economic agents to
acquire information and adjust their priors of uncertain events. We-look -at two -
different approaches to this problem. The first generally assures agents are risk neutral
(transaction cost approach) and the second assures some agents ale risk averse (the
principal-agent approach). The course finishes with an application to vertical
contracts.
The distribution of grades will be as follows:
1]
Participation:
20%
Term Paper
15%
Midterm Exam:
25%
Final Exam:
40%
Weeks 1-2 Review of economics of uncertainity
a. 1-lirshlicfcr and Riley, The Economics of Uncciiaini(y and Information,
Chapters 1-3.
Weeks 3-4 Property Rights and Transaction Costs
a.
Coase "The Problem of Social Cost' J LE 1960.
b.
Allen "What Are Transaction Costs!' RLE 1991.
c.
Coase "The Nature of the Firm" Econoinica 1937.
Weeks 5-8 Principal Agent Models with Risk Aversion
a.
Hart and Holmstrom "The 'l'heory of Contracts" in 1'. Bewley (ed.),
Advances in Economic Theory,
Cambridge University Press, 1987.
b.
Sappington "Incentives in Principal Agent Relationships" JEP 1991.
c.
Shavell "Risk Sharing and Incentives in the Principal and Agent
Relationship" WE` 1979.
d.
Allen and Lueck "Risk, U ncertainity, and Contracts" 111ilI1I5cril)t 1994.
/1.
Weeks 9-11 Other Principal Agent Models
a.
Sappington ''Limited Liability Contracts between Principal and Agent." JET
1983.
b.
Neary and Winter "Output Shares in Bilateral Agency Contracts" JET
1994.
c. Holmstrom and Milgrom "Multi-Task Principal Agent Analyses" JLEO
1990.
d. Allen and Lueck "Contract Choice in Modern Agriculture: Cropshare vs.
Cash Rent" JLE 1992.
Weeks 12-13 Vertical Contracts
a.
Winter "Vertical Control and Price versus Non-price Competition", QJ E
1993.
b.
Blair and Lewis "On Vertical Pricing Relationships" RAND 1994.
c.
Aghion and Boulton "Contracts as Barriers to Entry" AER 1987.
d.
Grossman and Ilart "The Costs and Benefits of Ownership: A 'l'heory of
Vertical and Lateral Integration" J PE 1986.
Reading Lists available on request
C
/c2.
Calendar Intonnation: ?
NEW GRADUA1E COURSE PROPOSAL FORM
Department: Economics
?
Course #: ECON 860-4
Title: Environmental Economics
Description: ?
The analysis of the role of the natural environment in economic system. All economic activity creates
waste products (pollution) which must be disposed of back into the natural environment. The socially efficient amount of
waste generation and disposal is determined and methods of reaching this level evaluated. This involves the theoretical
and empirical determination of the costs and benefits of waste generation and a thorough discussion of the role of
government policies: taxes, standards, tradeable emission permits versus private market initiatives (bargaining and green
goods) under a variety of assumptions about the economic system.
Credit 1-Irs: 4
?
Vector: 0/4/0
?
Prerequisite(s), if any:
Estimated Enrollment: 10 ?
When will the course first be offered: 96-1
I low often will the course be offered: once a year
Justification: The course is an important field in economics. There are a number of positions for people with graduate
training in the field for those at the Ph.D. and M.A. levels. It also allows students at SFU to have a concentration in
Natural resource and environmental economics, by taking this course plus our existing courses in Natural Resource
Economics and Fisheries Economics.
Resources: One-quarter of a faculty member's teaching load.
Which Faculty member will usually teach the course: Nancy Olewiler.
What are the budgetary implications of mounting the course: none
Are there sufficient library resources (append details):
Appended: ?
a)
?
Outline of the course
b)
An indication of the competence of the Faculty member to
give the course
c)
Library resources Approved:
/c.
DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMICS
RATIONALE FOR NEW COURSE PROPOSAL for Economics 860-4
Three years ago, the Department offered Environmental Economics as a graduate
course under our special topics category (Economics 911). This was done to expand the
number of applied courses offered in the graduate program and to recognize the
importance of this field in-economics. Environmental economics has been offered at a
large number of universities in Canada and the United States. It is a well-established field
with several journals dedicated to the subject as well as a professional association. The
Economics Department anticipated that a number of students would find this course
attractive, both for its own sake and to combine with our other offerings in the related
areas of Natural Resource Economics and several courses in Fisheries. Students at the
graduate level, by taking all these courses, would have a concentration in Natural
Resources and Environmental Economics. The course is now being taught for the third
time. Enrollment in the course has ranged from 7 to 15 students. A number of students
have now completed MA projects in this field and several Ph.D. students are working in
the area.
S
S
/41
. ?
Department of Economics
Simon Fraser University
Environmental Economics?
Economics 860
Instructor: ?
Nancy Olewiler
2684 WMX
Phone:
291-3409
Course Outline and Readings
Course Content and Objectives
The principal objective is to integrate the environment into economic analysis. The course
covers theoretical and applied topics including: the economics of waste generation,
market-oriented solutions to pollution, the ability of economic incentives and command
and control policy instruments to reach target levels of pollution under a variety of
assumptions about the economy, measurement of the benefits of improving environmental
quality, the impact of the environmental regulation on the economy, and ecological
economics. Specific topics covered may vary depending on student's interests. The
course is applied microeconomics and should provide students exposure to model building
I*
?
and empirical approaches in economics
?
Course Requirements
The requirements for the course are a final exam and a major paper on a topic to be
selected from the course outline and readings, or from readings of your own choosing
(and checked with me). Each will count as 50% of the total term mark. The paper will be
due after the end of classes in April. You will also be asked to give a brief (20 minutes)
presentation of your paper in class and be prepared to answer questions about it. The
exam will cover the entire course. I will hand out some sample questions before the exam.
There is no course text.
Readings -
Lists available on request
For each topic we cover, I have listed a number of readings. Some we will cover in class.
Others are optional reading or extensions of what we cover. Required readings are
indicated by an '. The other readings are optional and may be helpful for paper topics.
Note in the references below: JEEM is the
.Jo,r,ial of Enviroinnenial Economics and
Maizagemeni.
I'.
COURSE ALTERATION AND RATIONALE
(PLEASE USE THIS FORM FOR THE FOLLOWING
CHANGES: Change
of
Title, Change
of
Course
Description, Change
of
Credit Hour, Change
of Vector,
Change
of
Prerequisite, Change in Requirements for Graduate
Program, etc.)
DEPARTMENT OF E
FROM: ?
(New Item)
TO: ?
Satisfactory Performance
The progress
of each candidate will be assessed at least once a year
by the department (Fall). Any student who performs
unsatisfactorily will.
?
be
subject to the procedure for the review
of
unsatisfactory progress
described in Graduate General Regulation 1.8.2.
RATIONALE: ?
This regulation (used by Criminology) allows close monitoring of
student progress, and notifies students that such monitoring will take
place.
(P/case
note; this f'rnz should 1'
used
ff'r vth ii
of the curriculum changes
iflYflhi('flCd
above)
I'"-
L-1
I',.
