Welcome to the Department of Economics
NEW Course: Econ 3990: Economics of Crime (Offered Winter 2012)
NEW Course: Econ 4990: Introduction to Public Policy Analysis (Offered Fall 2011)
New program developments (expected launch time: Fall 2012)
- Minor in Forecasting in Business and Economics
- Minor in Industrial Organization and Business Regulation
- Post Baccalaureate Diploma in Environmental Economics and Management
New Major in Arts: Joint Major in Economics and Mathematics
New Minor in the BBA Program: Minor in Financial Markets and Institutions
The Department operates within both the Arts and the Business School, offering Majors and Minors in Economics programs (B.A. and B.B.A.). The department is composed of a dynamic group of people and has set a number of new initiatives/goals/plans. These can be found at New Program Initiatives.
The Economics Department also offers introductory as well as specialized courses to a variety of programs at TRU.
What’s Happening with Economics Students
Maria Bezymyannaya (Economics major, Bachelor of Business Administration program) learned that she is the recepient of two awards: Fiscal Realities Economists Award, and TRU Foundation Undergraduate Academic Scholarship in Business. Maria earned the latter award for achieving one of the 10 highest undergraduate GPAs in the School of Business and Economics.
Maria Bezymyannaya (Economics major, Bachelor of Business Administration program) received a letter of recognition from the Canadian Automobile Dealers Association (CADA) for her paper on forecasting new car sales in Canada. Maria presented this paper in April 2011 at TRU Undergraduate Student Innovation & Research Conference.
Stevie Felton (Economics major, Bachelor of Business Administration program) earned the Global Competency Certificate.
Rien Okawa (Economics major, Bachelor of Arts program) received the Global Competency Certificate and the Coop Distinction.
Adam Fizer (major in Economics, minor in Political Studies, B.A.) was the Valedictorian for the Faculty of Arts and School of Trades ceremony on June 10, 2011. Adam was also this year's Arts Medal Winner.
Brant Shapka, a former award winning student of Economics, has been hired to work full time as a research analyst for the Institutional Planning and Analysis department at Thompson Rivers University.
Jeffrey Hicks (Economics major, Bachelor of Arts program) has obtained a summer work term. He will be working with the Thompson Nicola Cariboo United Way in Kamloops as a community development assistant. This is a great opportunity for Jeff to gain further skills related to his major.
Maria Bezymyannaya (Economics major, Bachelor of Business Administration program) was offered an International Partial Tuition Scholarship (valued at over $3,000) to join the Master of Arts in Economics program at the University of British Columbia. Maria also learned that she is the recepient of one of the three awards for the best paper submitted to the 5th Annual Undergraduate Research Conference Proceedings. Her paper, entitled "Forecasting of new Car Sales in Canada," was supervised by Dr. Mohammad Mahbobi.
Adam Fizer (major in Economics, minor in Political Studies, B.A.) received two awards at the 2011 TRU Undergraduate Student Innovation & Research Conference. Adam won one of the Top 3 Overall Presentations Awards for his presentation entitled "Djibouti: An Introduction to the Partnership Method of Development". This presentation was supervised by Dr. Hafiz Rahman. Adam also received the Oral Presentation Award for the Economics Section for his presentation titled "The Inflation Gap: A Way Forward for the Bank of Canada". This presentation was supervised by Dr. Mohammad Mahbobi.
Lisa Scruton (Economics major, Bachelor of Business Administration program) and Sean Morrison (Economics major, Bachelor of Business Administration program) won the 1st Place Award for Posters on the Economics of Climate Change for their poster entitled "The Impact of Climate Change on Developing Nations". This work was supervised by Dr. Peter Tsigaris.
Neville Osayemi Obbu (Bachelor of Science in Environmental Chemistry program), Nicolas Warner (Bachelor of Tourism Management program), and Shane Gyoba (Major in Economic and Political Studies, Bachelor of Arts program) received the 2nd Place Award for Posters on the Economics of Climate Change for their poster entitled "The Science of Climate Change". This work was supervised by Dr. Peter Tsigaris.
Roy Wang (Economics major, Bachelor of Business Administration program) received the 3rd Place Award for Posters on the Economics of Climate change for his poster entitled "The Economics of Stabilization of GHGs". This work was supervised by Dr. Peter Tsigaris.
Sara Burchnall (Economics major, Bachelor of Business Administration/Bachelor of Arts programs) is among the 10 outstanding School of Business and Economics students who were nominated for the Alvin and Lydia Grunert Scholarship award. Sara has been advised to pick up a certificate of recognition of her achievement. The Certificate is signed by TRU's Provost and Vice-President Academic, Dr. Uli Scheck. Her name will also appear in a full-page colour ad in next week's issue of The Omega.
Adam Fizer received a scholarship package valued at $34,000.
Adam Fizer (major in Economics, minor in political studies, B.A.) received the Joseph-Armand Bombardier CGS Master's Scholarship (valued at $17,500). The Joseph-Armand Bombardier CGS Master's Scholarships program "seeks to develop research skills and assist in the training of highly qualified personnel by supporting students in the social sciences and humanities who demonstrate a high standard of achievement in undergraduate and early graduate studies."
Adam has decided to attend graduate school at Wilfrid Laurier University next September and receive two scholarships from Wilfrid Laurier University. The Centennial Scholarship for Academic Excellence and Leadership (valued at $9,000) and the Dean's Graduate Scholarship (valued at $7,500).
Economics students have really embraced the upcoming TRU Undergraduate Student Innovation & Research Conference! The conference will take place on April 1-2, 2011. For a list of nine oral presentations and eight posters that will be presented by Economics students at the conference, please click here.
Bonnie Klohn (Major in Interdisciplinary Studies concentration in Sustainability) and Rebecca Purdy (Major in Political Studies and Economics) are members of TRU-ECO. They were interviewed by Joseph Chan during Sustainability week. In one of the events that took place during Sustainability week, Associate Professor and Chair of Economics, Peter Tsigaris, gave a lecture on the Economics of Climate Change.
Bonnie Klohn, Jeff Hicks, and Kaitlin Boyd developed an innovative innovative Mug Share Program that aims to make re-useable clean mugs accessible across the campus. Check out their video on TD FEF Go Green Challenge web site.
Alexander Condon (Economics major, Philosophy minor, Bachelor of Arts program) won the Alvin and Lydia Grunert Scholarship. The Alvin and Lydia Grunert Scholarship fund provides annual awards valued at $5,000 each to the top domestic undergraduate student in each TRU faculty and school. An additional award is also provided to the CIS/CCAA athlete who has the highest GPA. Currently, the total number receiving the annual award is seven students.
Melissa Schuurman (Economics major, Bachelor of Business Administration program) in December 2010 won three awards: the Credit Union Foundation of BC ($1,600), the Southwest Business Improvement Area Association Bursary, and TRU Foundation—BC Provincial Gaming Fund Open Bursary.
Sara Burchnall (Economics major, Bachelor of Business Administration/Bachelor of Arts programs) won two awards in November 2010. The $2,000 annual Arar-Mazigh Award for Social Justice recognizes a student who has demonstrated an active role and interest in promoting social justice and social responsibility. The Fiscal Realities Economists Award is given annually to a top academic student who has completed the third year of a BA or BBA and who has taken BUEC 3330, ECON 2950, BUEC 3040, or ECON 2900.
Christina-Joy Smale (Economics major, Bachelor of Business Administration program) in November 2010 won the annual Linda Turner Personal Real Estate Corporation Award ($1,000), given to a fourth-year BBA student who achieves a minimum 3.0 GPA.
Morgan Brooklyne (Economics major, Bachelor of Business Administration program) received the Community Futures of Thompson Country Bursary in November 2010. This award of $500 is given annually to a student who is entering the third or fourth year of degree studies in Economics. The recipient must be a resident of the Community Futures service area, have a minimum GPA of 2.5, and have completed or be enrolled in a third year economics course. The recipient must have an interest in serving in a volunteer capacity with Community Futures.
Brant Shapka (Economics major, Bachelor of Business Administration 2009) won a Joseph Armand Bombardier Canada Graduate Scholarship from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council Canada, in October 2010. The Joseph-Armand Bombardier CGS Master's Scholarships program seeks to develop research skills and assist in the training of highly qualified personnel by supporting students in the social sciences and humanities who demonstrate a high standard of achievement in undergraduate and early graduate studies. The scholarship is valued at $17,500.
Maria Bezymyannaya (Economics major, Bachelor of Business Administration program) presented the findings from a project in BUEC 433 (Forecasting in Business and Economics) as “Forecasting of New Car Sales in Canada (1993-2009)” at the 5th Annual Thompson Rivers University Undergraduate Conference in April 2010. Maria received an award for the best oral presentation at the conference. The project was supervised by Dr. Mohammad Mahbobi, and the paper was published in the conference proceedings.
What’s Happening with Economics Faculty
Laura Lamb has been requested to appear before the House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance and take part in a panel of witnesses in relation to the study on tax incentives for charitable donations. This is a wonderful recognition of Laura Lamb's joint work with Belayet Hossain. Their research goes beyond a peer reviewed publication in a journal and into influencing public policy in Canada on the important topic of charitable donations.
Hasnat Dewan learned that his paper, entitled "Equilibrium and Optimum City Size with the Presence of Pollution" has been accepted for publication in The Open Urgan Studies Journal.
Laura Lamb and Peter Tsigaris found out that their paper entitled "Public Good Provision and Fairness Issues for Climate Change Mitigation: A Classroom Experiment" has been accepted for publication in the Journal of Business Ethics Education.
Belayet Hossain and Laura Lamb learned that their paper entitled, "Does the Effectiveness of Tax Incentives on the Decision to Give Charitable Donations Vary Across Donation Sectors in Canada?" has been accepted for publication in Applied Economics Letters.
Hasnat Dewan found out that the paper he co-authored with A. Khan entitled "Factors Correlating with Long-Lasting Banking Crises: A Special Focus on Crisis Resolution Policy Measures," has been accepted for publication in Applied Economics Letters.
Mohammad Mahbobi learned that the paper he co-authored with B. Kerr, titled "Possibility of Dumping in a Mixed Duopoly Model," has been accepted for publication in the Journal of International Business Research. In addition, Mohammad found out that his paper titled "What Factors Influence First-Year Student's Success and Failure at TRU - A Case of Introductory Economics Courses," has been accepted for publication in the Journal of Economics and Economic Education Research.
Hasnat Dewan received notice that his paper, co-authored with A. Khan and H. Khan, entitled "Central Bank Autonomy, Legal Institutions and Banking Crisis Incidence," has been accepted for publication in the International Journal of Finance and Economics.
Mohammad Mahbobi attended the first American Economic Association teaching conference that was held at Stanford University, June 1-3, 2011.
Belayet Hossain and Peter Dalley are teaching at the Tianjin Technical University in Tianjin, China, this summer.
Stan Miles was informed by the Chair of the Performance Review Committee that he has successfully passed his final Summative Evaluation.
Hasnat Dewan is visiting Curtin University, Perth, Australia this May, during the last leg of his sabbatical.
At the request of Thompson Rivers University Dr. Ian Stuart (UBC-Okanagan), Maureen Fizzell (Simon Fraser University), and Dr. Heather Banham (Okanagan College) undertook the external review of the Bachelor of Business of Administration Degree program.
Amongst other things their report stated:
Commendation #1 - Research
"The committee commends the implementation of the internal Research Grant which encourages participation in research activities and provides support costs beyond the scope of the nominal professional development funding. Within the current institutional context, the research productivity for the Economics department is commended."
Laura Lamb received notice that her paper entitled "Voluntary Participation in Community Economic Development in Canada: An Empirical Analysis" has been accepted for publication in the Canadian Journal of Nonprofit and Social Economy Research.
Belayet Hossain and Laura Lamb found out that their paper entitled "Does the Effectiveness of Tax Incentives on the Decision to Give Charitable Donations Vary Across Donation Sectors in Canada?" has been accepted for presentation at the International Journal of Arts and Sciences Conference in Aix en Provence, France, June 7 -10, 2011.
Laura Lamb and Belayet Hossain learned that their paper titled "The Effectiveness of Tax Incentives on Green Giving in Canada" has been accepted for presentation at the Pacific Northwest Regional Economic Conference in Victoria, May 11-13, 2011.
Peter Tsigaris and Jaroslava Hlouskova found out that their paper entitled "Taxation, Risk Taking and Loss Averse Preferences" has been accepted for presentation at the peer reviewed International Institute of Public Finance Congress, University of Michigan, Ann Arbour, Michigan in August 2011.
Belayet Hossain and Peter Tsigaris have been invited to give a presentation of their research work entitled "Student's Grade Expectations: Are they Rational?" at the BC Economics Articulation Meetings, on May 3rd in Victoria, B.C..
John Janke has completed 40 Years of Service at TRU. All of us at the Department of Economics would like to congratulate John for this long term career achievement. We cannot find words to express our appreciation of your long term service in teaching and service for the Department. You are a great colleague, a great teacher and a wise scholar. You have an immense intuition for economic issues and problems. You have our outmost respect and admiration.
Best wishes for the future, John!
Peter Tsigaris was awarded the Excellence in Research Award for 2010-2011 by the Faculty Council of the School of Business and Economics.
Andre Le Dressay's book titled Beyond the Indian Act – Restoring Aboriginal Property Rights (co-authored with Tom Flanagan and Christopher Alcantara) has been nominated for the Donner Prize award. The largest and most prestigious prize of its kind, the Donner Prize awards $35,000 to the author of the winning book, with $5,000 awarded to each of the other shortlisted titles (to a maximum of five titles). The Donner Canadian Foundation established the prize to recognize and reward the best public policy thinking, writing and research in Canada and the role it plays in determining the well-being of Canadians and the success of Canada as a whole.
Peter Tsigaris received notice that his paper, co-authored with Dave Tomkins, entitled "Bomb Threats, Global Warming and Statistical Errors" has been accepted for publication in the Journal of Sustainability Education.
Jaroslava Hlouskova found out that her paper, co-authored with Ines Fortin, entitled "Optimal asset allocation under linear loss aversion" has been accepted for publication in the Journal of Banking and Finance.
Hasnat Dewan learned that his paper titled "Does the Primary Condition for a Sustainable Human Development Meet the Feasibility Condition of Cost-Benefit Analysis?" has been accepted for 2011 publication in the Journal of Sustainable Development.
Ehsan Latif and Stan Miles received notice that their paper titled "The Impact of Assignments on Academic Performance," was accepted for 2011 publication in the Journal of Economics and Economic Education Research.
Peter Tsigaris and Laura Lamb presented Climate Account Contributions under Changing Risk Scenarios: A Classroom Experiment at the 2011 Teaching Practices Colloquium.
Mohammad Mahbobi presented his poster titled What Factors Influence First-Year Student’s Success and Failure at TRU; A Case of Introductory Economics Courses at the 2011 Teaching Practices Colloquium.
Ehsan Latif and Stan Miles contributed two posters to the 2011 Teaching Practices Colloquium. The two posters were titled Students' Perception of Effective Teaching and Factors Influencing Academic Performance of Economics Students.
Andre Le Dressay has recently co-authored the book titled Beyond the Indian Act – Restoring Aboriginal Property Rights with Tom Flanagan and Cristopher Alcantara. Andre Le Dressay holds a Ph.D. in Economics from Simon Fraser University. He is the director of Fiscal Realities Economists LTD, the director of the Tulo Centre of Indigenous Economics, and an adjunct professor at Thompson Rivers University.
Hasnat Dewan found out that his paper titled "Sustainable Human Development: A Cost-Benefit Approach" presented during The 4th Asian Business Research Conference held December 23-24, 2010, in Dhaka, Bangladesh, has been awarded "The Best Paper Award" by the conference organizers.
Belayet Hossain and Peter Tsigaris received notice that their paper titled "Student Grade Expectations: Are they Rational?" presented at The Clute Institute International Academic Conference held January 3-5, 2011 in Maui, Hawaii, has been awarded "The Best Paper in Session Award." The best paper award is determined by a vote of faculty who attended the session along with input from the conference chair, reviewing staff, and track chair.
Ehsan Latif learned that his paper titled "The Impact of Obesity on Employment" was recently listed on Social Science Research Network's Top Ten download list for HEN: Determinants of Morbidity & Mortality topic.
Nancy Carson and Peter Tsigaris received notice that their paper titled "Illustrating Environmental Issues using the Production Possibility Frontier: A Classroom Experiment," was accepted for 2011 publication in Journal of Economic Education.
Peter Tsigaris's paper "The Instability of Tax Revenue and the Missing Risk Premium," co-authored with A. Syed, will be published in 2011 in Journal of Business and Economics Research.
Ehsan Latif learned that his paper titled "The Impact of Retirement on Psychological Well-Being in Canada" was accepted for publication in the Journal of Socio-Economics in 2011.
Hasnat Dewan received notice that his paper titled “Deposit Insurance Scheme and Banking Crises: A Special Focus on Less Developed Countries,” co-authored with M. Khan, was accepted for 2011 publication in Empirical Economics.
Peter Tsigaris’s paper “The Effects of a Utility Compensated Wage Tax on Human Capital and Consumption Decisions,” co-authored with S. Ahsan, will be published in 2011 in Public Finance Review.
Stan Miles learned that his paper titled “Can Investors Benefit from Using Trading Rules Evolved by Genetic Programming? A Test of the Adaptive Efficiency of U.S. Stock Markets with Margin Trading Allowed,” co-authored with B. Smith, has been accepted for publication in Computational Methods in Economic Dynamics, to be published in 2011 by Springer.