This discipline examines the economic problems facing our society including analysis and proposed solutions. Principal topics include the study of production,consumption, exchange activities and income distribution.

Topics studied are:
- Unemployment, inflation, and the business cycle
- Public goods, public expenditures, taxation, and the role of the state
- The effects of international trade on prices and production across nations
- The workings of the Bank of Canada and monetary policy
- The structure of industries and the concentration of firms
- the integration of developing countries into the global economic structure
- The workings of the international monetary system and the determination of exchange rates
- Natural resources and environmental issues
- The workings of labour markets, income distribution, and poverty.

Students who complete this program acquire a solid base in microeconomic and macroeconomic theories. In addition, they will obtain an understanding of a range of applied economic and policy development issues, as well as gain knowledge of economic history, economic institutions, and quantitative methods.