Economics

Permanent URI for this communityhttps://hdl.handle.net/10294/415

We are a small, but student-friendly department housed in the Faculty of Arts at the University of Regina (in southern Saskatchewan, Canada). With 9 full-time faculty members, we are able to offer most of the undergraduate courses that are standard in economics departments across Canada. We also offer an Economics and Society major. It is designed for students who aren't that interested in the mathematical and theoretical tools emphasized in traditional economics courses, but want to learn about important, real-world economic problems and current thinking about how best to address them. Joint majors in economics and administration, geography, history, and statistics are also available.

The Department also participates in the Master of Public Administration program offered through the Graduate School of Public Policy. This is a one-year program open to anyone with an undergraduate degree (in any area, not just economics) and can be taken part-time or full-time, as you choose. It is designed to furnish students with the basic skills they will need to undertake sound, quantitative analysis of contemporary public policy issues.

If you have any questions or comments, feel free to get in touch by phone at (306) 585-4485, by email at econ@uregina.ca, or by mail to Department of Economics, University of Regina, Regina, Sask, Canada S4S 0A2.

For more information, visit the web site at: www.econ.uregina.ca/


Browse

Browsing Economics by Title

Filter results by typing the first few letters
Now showing 1 - 20 of 46
  • Thumbnail Image
    ItemOpen Access
    Adjustment and investment in Africa: a retreat to compradorization
    (Department of Economics, University of Regina, 2001-08) Abdou, Abdella
  • Thumbnail Image
    ItemOpen Access
    Any Risk Is Unacceptable
    (Canadian Plains Research Center, 2010-10) Arbuthnott, Katherine; Dolter, Brett
    In the spring and summer of 2009 the Saskatchewan provincial government held a consultation process to elicit citizen views on expanding the nuclear industry (UDP 2009). Thousands of citizens participated in the consultation process, and an overwhelming majority of participants opposed the expansion of the nuclear industry (Perrins 2009). We used qualitative methods to study stakeholder submissions to the Saskatchewan consultation process. We wanted to understand why the majority of citizens opposed the expansion of the nuclear industry, and why the government, the nuclear industry, and some citizens supported nuclear expansion. Our results suggest that those who oppose nuclear power do so primarily because they possess different cultural identities and value priorities than those who support nuclear power. Our findings offer insight into the academic literature around risk perception, environmental conflict, and environmental values.
  • No Thumbnail Available
    ItemOpen Access
    A Call for a New Saskatchewan Heritage Fund ?
    (Stuart Wilson, University of Regina, 2012) Wilson, Stuart J.; Penner, Jason V.; Demyen, Amy L.
  • Thumbnail Image
    ItemOpen Access
    Can U.S. strategic petroleum reserves calm a tight market exacerbated by the Russia–Ukraine conflict?
    (Elsevier BV, 2023-10) Noha Razek; Valentina Galvani; Surya Rajan; Brian McQuinn
    Recent changes in global petroleum markets have driven the debate regarding the use of strategic petroleum reserves (SPRs) as a price management tool during periods marked by extreme price volatility. We examine the price management role of the U.S. SPR under typical market conditions and in extreme emergencies. Furthermore, we discuss the White House's hypotheses that (a) boosted Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries' (OPEC) production and releases from the U.S. SPR result in a negative pressure on U.S. gasoline inflation, and (b) crude oil releases from the U.S. SPR helps balance the global oil market. The threshold cointegration results indicate that U.S. SPR releases impact neither OPEC production nor imported input prices. We apply a hybrid open-economy Phillips curve to model gasoline inflation, accounting for backward- and forward-looking price settings, domestic and global slackness, and energy security. We distinguish between normal-, super-, and hyper-backwardation and -contango oil markets using threshold cointegration and regression techniques. Our results demonstrate that SPR releases and OPEC output increases generally decrease inflation, with a crucial exception being the hyper-backwardation market, as seen in 2021–2022. This period was characterized by severely constrained global supply buffers, including OPEC's spare capacity, exacerbated by the Russia–Ukraine conflict. For this period, we conclude that (1) the impact of OPEC production changes on gasoline inflation would be negligible, (2) excess domestic demand relative to domestic supply raises concerns about domestic energy security, and (3) the unprecedentedly large SPR drawdowns are likely to have caused the market to panic and contributed to gasoline price increases, contrary to arguments suggesting that the 2022 releases eased domestic gasoline prices. We conclude that the SPR is an ineffective price control mechanism during crises and may not have the strategic value previously thought in an extremely tight oil market.
  • Thumbnail Image
    ItemOpen Access
    Carbon Pricing Costs for Households and the Progressivity of Revenue Recycling Options in Canada
    (University of Toronto Press Inc. (UTPress), 2023-03-01) Jennifer Winter; Brett Dolter; G. Kent Fellows
    Canadian federal policy mandates a floor price on greenhouse gas emissions in all provinces and territories or an equivalent quantity instrument. Provinces that implement a system consistent with the federal benchmark maintain control of revenues. Provinces that do not implement a carbon price are subject to a federally administered pricing system, with revenue recycling via lump-sum household rebates. Using rich synthetic household microdata, we quantify the direct and indirect tax burden on households and carbon pricing revenues in each province. We also calculate carbon pricing revenue available to each province. Using these data, we measure the net cost to households and the overall progressivity of carbon pricing under four revenue recycling scenarios: (a) a means-tested sales tax credit increase, (b) a lump-sum dividend, (c) a sales tax rate reduction, and (d) a personal income tax basic exemption increase. We find that the carbon tax is generally progressive even without revenue recycling, the sales tax credit and lump-sum rebate are progressive, the sales tax rate reduction is mostly regressive, and the income tax change is regressive. We also show that Canada’s outputbased pricing system for large emitters helps to mitigate indirect carbon pricing costs with a notable effect in reducing household costs.
  • Thumbnail Image
    ItemOpen Access
    The choice of principal variables for computing human development indicators
    (Department of Economics, University of Regina, 2001-08) Ogwang, Tomson; Abdou, Abdella
  • Thumbnail Image
    ItemOpen Access
    Copyright and freedom of expression: an economic analysis
    (Department of Economics, University of Regina, 2000-09) Rushton, Michael
  • Thumbnail Image
    ItemOpen Access
    The cost effectiveness of new reservoir hydroelectricity: British Columbia’s Site C project
    (Elsevier, 2022-09) Dolter, Brett; Fellows, G. Kent; Rivers, Nicholas
    Large-scale, reservoir hydroelectric facilities can play an important role in decarbonizing the electricity sector. However, new hydroelectric facilities are costly, and several recent projects in Canada have been subject to cost over-runs. In this paper, we develop a methodology for evaluating the cost-effectiveness of new reservoir hydroelectric projects. We apply this methodology to a case study of the Site C hydroelectric project currently under construction in British Columbia, Canada. Our approach makes use of a purpose-built linear programming capacity expansion and dispatch model, resolved at an hourly frequency and incorporating detailed treatment of balancing area requirements, available wind and solar resources, watershed constraints on hydroelectric potential, and endogenous electricity trade. Our simulations reveal that the value of the Site C project is unlikely to exceed its total cost, and only exceeds the avoidable cost of project cancellation in scenarios where BC and Alberta build additional inter-provincial transmission capacity and aim for 100% decarbonization of their electricity systems. Site C provides a cautionary tale for policymakers and planners pursuing large hydro-electric projects. Potential cost over-runs can render large hydroelectric projects uneconomic relative to alternatives. The decision to complete the Site C project is only justified by its high sunk costs.
  • Thumbnail Image
    ItemOpen Access
    The decline in savings: should we be surprised?
    (Department of Economics, University of Regina, 2001-12) Wilson, Stuart J.
  • Thumbnail Image
    ItemOpen Access
    Dimensions of competition in urban cannabis markets
    (Wiley, 2023-09) Jason Childs; Calum MacDonald
    AbstractWe report the results of a survey of legal cannabis retail operators in the two largest urban centres of a Canadian province that uses a fully private model to determine the dimensions of competition between retail outlets. We find that, in addition to expected price and location competition, customer loyalty is central in the opinion of retailers. Firms also did not see the illicit market as their primary competition, instead identifying nearby legal retailers as their main competitors. Restrictions on advertising loomed large in the minds of retailers as a policy‐based impediment to their success. These results are further supported by visual inspection of the exterior of all stores in one of the urban centres.
  • Thumbnail Image
    ItemOpen Access
    A Dynamic General Equilibrium Analysis of Migration and Capital Formation: The Case of Canada
    (Department of Economics, University of Regina, 2000-11) Wilson, Stuart J.
  • Thumbnail Image
    ItemOpen Access
    The economic analysis of freedom of expression
    (Department of Economics, University of Regina, 2001-06) Rushton, Michael
  • Thumbnail Image
    ItemOpen Access
    An economic approach to copyright in works of artistic craftsmanship
    (Department of Economics, University of Regina, 2001) Rushton, Michael
  • Thumbnail Image
    ItemOpen Access
    The Effects of Labor Supply on Commodity Demands: Some Canadian Evidence
    (Department of Economics, University of Regina, 1997-02) Nicol, Christopher J.; Nakamura, Alice
  • Thumbnail Image
    ItemOpen Access
    Elasticities of Demand for Gasoline in Canada and the United States
    (Department of Economics, University of Regina, 2000-05) Nicol, Christopher J.
  • Thumbnail Image
    ItemOpen Access
    The Fertility Transition, the Public and Private Costs of "Dependents", and Intergenerational Welfare
    (Department of Economics, University of Regina, 2007-07) Wilson, Stuart J.
  • Thumbnail Image
    ItemOpen Access
    Financial Intermediation, Capital Accumulation and Growth: Evidence from Canada
    (Department of Economics, University of Regina, 2001-05) Wilson, Stuart J.
  • Thumbnail Image
    ItemOpen Access
    Greening the Saskatchewan grid: A case study in deliberative energy modelling
    (Elsevier, 2021-01-29) Dolter, Brett
    This paper presents a case study of deliberative energy modelling focused on the future of electricity in Saskatchewan, Canada. Participants included representatives from the provincial electricity utility and from environmental organizations. These diverse social actors participated in defining the desired scope and output of the model, providing data and insights that were incorporated into the model, and conducting extended peer review of modelling assumptions and design. Participants then attended a face-to-face workshop to co-create scenarios for Saskatchewan's electricity future using an interactive version of the electricity futures model. The interactive model served as a platform for discussing the social, environmental, and economic impacts of competing scenarios. Post-workshop analysis indicates that the deliberative energy modelling process contributed to participant learning, increased trust and communication amongst participants, reinforced the idea that wind energy could play a greater role in the Saskatchewan electricity system, and contributed to an increased focus on deliberative engagement at the Saskatchewan electricity utility SaskPower. The process did not, however, lead to consensus on the proportion of electricity that could be provided by renewable energy in Saskatchewan.
  • Thumbnail Image
    ItemOpen Access
    The Informational Content of Linear Standard of Living Indices
    (Department of Economics, University of Regina, 1996-11) Jones, Marion E.; Rongve, Ian W.
  • Thumbnail Image
    ItemOpen Access
    Is All Bullying the Same?
    (Archives of Public Health, 2014) Zhang, Lihui; Osberg, Lars; Phipps, Shelley
    We ask whether verbal abuse, threats of violence and physical assault among Canadian youth have the same determinants and whether these determinants are the same for boys and girls. If these are different, the catch-all term “bullying” may mis-specify analysis of what are really different types of behavior