Last updated: February 27, 2024 @ 09:29AM
Business Economics
Master of Business Economics, Co-op
Master of Business Economics
Dean
Ingrid Makus
Faculty of Social Sciences
Dean
Barry Wright
Goodman School of Business
Associate Dean, Graduate Programs and Research
Narongsak (Tek) Thongpapanl
Goodman School of Business
Associate Dean, Graduate Studies and Research
Dawn Zinga
Faculty of Social Sciences
Core Faculty
Professors
Robert W. Dimand, Diane P. Dupont, Joseph Kushner, Tomson Ogwang
Associate Professors
Xue Bai, Cornelius Christian, Andrew Dickens, Katerina Koka, Lester Kwong, Jean-Francois Lamarche, Ling Sun, Ivan Medovikov, Andreas Marcel Oestreich
Assistant Professors
Miguel Cardoso, Qian Liu, Teegawende Zeida, Taylor Wright
Lecturers
See the Business Administration calendar entry for listing of Business faculty associated with the Business Economics program.
Graduate Program Director
Jean-Francois Lamarche
jfl@brocku.ca
Administrative Assistant
Kelly Guembel
905-688-5550 extension 4697
PLZ 451
brocku.ca/economics/
Program Description
The Master of Business Economics is an interdisciplinary program offered by the Department of Economics in the Faculty of Social Science in collaboration with the Goodman School of Business. The program combines academic learning with practical experience through two optional Co-op work terms.
The academic course work covers a broad range of areas such as economic theory, econometrics and aspects of economics and business administration including international payments, industrial organization, finance, business strategy, marketing and human resource management.
The MBE Co-op allows students to apply their knowledge to private and public business settings and to develop highly specialized professional skills. The work experience, along with valuable networking contacts, makes a difference to students when preparing to enter the competitive career market. Recent MBE students are pursuing careers with Hydro One, RBC Dexia, the Ministry of Transportation, Environment Canada, Suncor Energy, Ministry of Finance, Scotiabank, Statistics Canada, and General Motors Limited.
Admission Requirements
Successful completion of a four year Bachelor's degree, or equivalent, in a relevant discipline, with a minimum average of B+. Applicants are strongly encouraged to have taken econometrics, mathematical economics, advanced macroeconomics and microeconomics at the undergraduate honours level, but strong applicants from other disciplines will also be considered. Applicants must demonstrate proficiency in English and suitability for Co-op placement, if applicable.
The Graduate Admissions Committee will review all applications and recommend admission for a limited number of candidates.
Part-time study is not available.
Degree Requirements (Non Co-op)
Students are required to complete ECON 5N11, 5P01, 5P02, 5P03, 5P04, 5F00, two ECON half credit electives, one-half credit Business elective, and an additional one-half credit elective in either Economics or Business. For full-time students the program is normally a three term program.
Degree Requirements (Co-op)
Admission to the co-op option is on a competitive basis, and is subject to availability of co-op placements and successful completion of the pre-intake co-op interview. The co-op option provides an excellent opportunity for students to gain practical work experience, and takes two terms to complete.
Students are required to complete ECON 5N11, 5N90, 5N01, 5N02, 5P01, 5P02, 5P03, 5P04, 5F00, two ECON half credit electives, one-half credit Business elective, and an additional one-half credit elective in either Business or Economics. The program is normally a five term program (three academic and two work placement terms).
Business Electives:
To complete the two or three half credit Business electives, students will choose, with approval from the MBE Graduate Program Director, from the Business Administration (MBA), Management (MSCM) and Accounting (MACC) courses offered by the Goodman School of Business. Note that space in these courses is extremely limited. Students are encouraged to seek approval as early as possible.
Any student who has not previously completed an Accounting course (prior to commencing the MBE) should take MBAB 5P01 Accounting for Decision-Making I or MBAB 5P06 Accounting for Decision-Making II as one of the Business courses. Any student who has not previously completed a Finance course (prior to commencing the MBE) should take MBAB 5P08 Financial Management as one of the Business courses.
Students undertaking a co-op work term are not permitted to enrol in additional courses within that term.
Course Descriptions
Note that not all courses are offered in every session. Refer to the applicable timetable for details.
Students must ensure that prerequisites are met. Students may be deregistered, at the request of the instructor, from any course for which prerequisites and/or restrictions have not been met.
ECON 5F00
Major Research Paper
Reading and research under the supervision of a faculty member from Economics or Business. A presentation of the research in progress will be scheduled by the Graduate Program Director in consultation with the Essay supervisor.
ECON 5N01
Co-op Employment 1
Co-op work term (four months) with an approved employer providing a work integrated learning experience related to the student's chosen area of concentration. The co-op employment is full time with 35 to 40 hours per week for 12 to 16 weeks. Students are required to meet all the work term deliverables successfully (learning objective, work site visit, work term report and work term evaluation) and fulfill their employment contract in order to receive a "Satisfactory" grade for the work term.
ECON 5N02
Co-op Employment II
Co-op work term (four months) with an approved employer providing a work integrated learning experience related to the student's chosen area of concentration. The co-op employment is full time with 35 to 40 hours per week for 12 to 16 weeks. Students are required to meet all the work term deliverables successfully (learning objective, work site visit, work term report and work term evaluation) and fulfill their employment contract in order to receive a "Satisfactory" grade for the work term.
ECON 5N03
Co-op Employment III
Co-op work term (four months) with an approved employer providing a work integrated learning experience related to the student's chosen area of concentration. The co-op employment is full time with 35 to 40 hours per week for 12 to 16 weeks. Students are required to meet all the work term deliverables successfully (learning objective, work site visit, work term report and work term evaluation) and fulfill their employment contract in order to receive a "Satisfactory" grade for the work term.
Note: approval of the Graduate Program Director is required.
ECON 5N04
Co-op Employment IV
Co-op work term (four months) with an approved employer providing a work integrated learning experience related to the student's chosen area of concentration. The co-op employment is full time with 35 to 40 hours per week for 12 to 16 weeks. Students are required to meet all the work term deliverables successfully (learning objective, work site visit, work term report and work term evaluation) and fulfill their employment contract in order to receive a "Satisfactory" grade for the work term.
Note: approval of the Graduate Program Director is required.
ECON 5N11
Mathematics and Statistics Review for Economists
Mathematical and statistical techniques used in economic theory and econometrics are reviewed, including logic and proofs, matrix algebra, optimization, distribution functions, sampling, properties of estimators and hypothesis testing.
Note: may be offered on-site, online or blended.
ECON 5N90
Co-op Professional Preparation Course
The primary goal of this course is to provide graduate students with the tools, resources and skills to maximize co-op employment and professional development opportunities – both while at Brock and after graduation. This course is a pre-requisite for any co-op students who wish to participate in co-op job search and grade will be evaluated based on class participation including attendance and completion of professional projects.
ECON 5P01
Microeconomic Theory
Individual and business decision making are considered within a theoretical framework encompassing market structure, business strategy, game theory, as well as the economics of information and uncertainty.
Note: may be offered on-site, online or blended.
ECON 5P02
Macroeconomic Theory
Determinants of the level of economic activity and the factors contributing to long-term growth are considered. Important social issues such as unemployment and inflation are examined in order to identify their causes, consequences, and possible cures. The instruments of government policy, fiscal and monetary, are analyzed in the same context.
Note: may be offered on-site, online or blended.
ECON 5P03
Econometrics
Econometric theory and methods covering the basic linear and nonlinear regression models, dynamic models, hypothesis testing, confidence intervals with extensions to the case of instrumental variables, the generalized method of moments and the method of maximum likelihood. Cross-section and time-series examples.
Note: may be offered on-site, online or blended.
ECON 5P04
Research in Economics
Quantitative techniques used in time series and panel data are introduced to investigate applied problems relevant to the area of business economics including forecasting, financial, and marketing problem. Practical hands-on experience with data analysis, oral and written presentation of results are important outcomes of this course.
Prerequisite(s): ECON 5P03
Note: may be offered on-site, online or blended.
ECON 5P05
Cost-Benefit Analysis, Project Appraisal, and Decision Analysis
Theoretical and empirical treatment of rational decision making, including cost-benefit and cost-effectiveness analysis, and their application to project evaluation.
Prerequisite(s): ECON 5P01
Note: may be offered on-site, online or blended.
ECON 5P06
Labour Economics
Economics of the labour market, components of the demand and supply of labour to yield simple models of wage determination. The effects of compensating wage differentials, human capital accumulation and signaling, discrimination, incentive wages and labour unions. The causes of unemployment, search theory, implicit contract and efficiency wages. Public policy issues, minimum wages, mandatory retirement and immigration.
Prerequisite(s): ECON 5P01
Note: may be offered on-site, online or blended.
ECON 5P07
International Trade
International trade theory and the political economy of trade policies are discussed including endogenous growth and trade, tariff and non-tariff barriers to trade, international economic integration, and factor mobility.
Prerequisite(s): ECON 5P01
Note: may be offered on-site, online or blended.
ECON 5P08
International Payments
Advanced treatment of open-economy macroeconomic issues including international capital and goods and services flows complicating the conduct of national monetary and fiscal policies while, at the same time, providing opportunities for economic growth.
Prerequisite(s): ECON 5P02
Note: may be offered on-site, online or blended.
ECON 5P09
Industrial Organization
Strategic analysis of conflict and cooperation with applications to market structure and the behaviour of firms. Topics may include price discrimination, advertising, oligopoly, product differentiation, and antitrust issues.
Prerequisite(s): ECON 5P01
Note: may be offered on-site, online or blended.
ECON 5P10
Environmental and Natural Resource Economics
The economic analysis of natural resources such as oil, fisheries, forests, and water and environmental impact upon an economy. Emphasis is placed on the development of theoretical models for the efficient and sustainable use of resources and on the design of appropriate government policies in the event of market failure. The analysis is complemented by an examination of specific real-world cases and government policies.
Prerequisite(s): ECON 5P01
Note: may be offered on-site, online or blended.
ECON 5P13
Analysis of Time Series
Time series econometric theory and models are introduced including stationarity, the Wold representation, unit roots, model selection and multivariate models. Special emphasis is put on their application to modeling and prediction of time series data.
Prerequisite(s): ECON 5P03
Note: may be offered on-site, online or blended.
ECON 5P14
Economics of Population Aging
Applied macroeconomic about public finance, examining the role of government in the economy and the financing of government activities through taxation and borrowing. Topics include taxation, public debt, fiscal policy and public expenditure. Course covers efficiency and effectiveness of public expenditure and the impact of tax policy on income distribution. Studies the effects of demographic change on taxation and efficiency, social security and pensions, retirement, healthcare policy, and political support for publicly funded programs.
Prerequisite(s): ECON 5P02
Note: may be offered on-site, online or blended.
ECON 5P15
Microeconometrics
Introduces students to modern econometric techniques, an essential toolkit for an applied economist. Focuses on making and evaluating casual claims, experiments, instrumental variables, difference - in- differences, regression, discontinuity, synthetic control and machine learning. Applications of these methods will include text as data.
ECON 5V20
Topics in Economics I
Advanced topics in Economics and Business offered by faculty members. Structure and content of course varies.
Note: may be offered on-site, online or blended.
ECON 5V21
Topics in Economics II
Advanced topics in Economics and Business offered by faculty members. Structure and content of course varies.
Note: may be offered on-site, online or blended.
ECON 5V22
Topics in Economics III
Advanced topics in Economics and Business offered by faculty members. Structure and content of course varies.
Note: may be offered on-site, online or blended.
ECON 5V23
Topics in Economics IV
Advanced topics in Economics and Business offered by faculty members. Structure and content of course varies.
Note: may be offered on-site, online or blended.