Overview
ECON 385 examines the important roles that money, banking, and financial institutions play in the economy, and assesses wide-ranging institutional changes that affect banking and financial systems. This course reviews recent changes in the Canadian and world financial systems and provides a theoretical framework with which to analyze problems such as bank failures, regulatory reform, the debt crisis, and the internationalization of financial transactions that affect all sectors of the Canadian economy.
Outline
The course consists of the following six units.
- Unit 1: The Nature and Evolution of Money and Payments Systems
- Unit 2: Financial Markets
- Unit 3: Canadian Financial Institutions
- Unit 4: The Management of Financial Institutions
- Unit 5: Central Banking and the Conduct of Monetary Policy
- Unit 6: International Finance and Monetary Policy
Learning outcomes
When you have completed this course, you should be able to
- outline the basic concepts of money, including role, types, and functions of money; types and roles of different kinds of markets; and ways in which payments system have evolved in Canada.
- describe the development, structure, and operations of various financial institutions, markets, instruments, and payments system in Canada.
- describe the concepts of present value, current yield, and yield to maturity, and explain how interest rates on bonds with different maturities are related.
- describe the interrelationships among the various components of a financial system, the risks involved in financial intermediation services, and explain how financial intermediaries manage those risks.
- explain the importance of financial regulations, including the role of the central bank in prudent supervision of financial intermediaries.
- calculate the present value of money, future value of money, security prices, and investment yields, and understand how each is used in financial decision-making.
- describe how the Bank of Canada implements its monetary policy and how the federal government’s financial transactions affect domestic financial conditions.
- describe the various approaches to the quantity theory of money, and explain the role and effectiveness of monetary policy according to these theoretical approaches.
- describe the interrelationship between domestic and international economies through international payments accounts, foreign exchange rate markets, and interest rates.
- outline the history of the international monetary system before 1939 and describe recent international monetary relations.
Evaluation
Your final grade is determined by a weighted average of the grades you receive on the following activities. To receive credit for this course, you must achieve a minimum grade of 50 percent on the final examination, and an overall grade of at least D (50 percent) for the entire course.
| Activity | Weight |
| 6 Quizzes (5% each) | 30% |
| 2 Assignments (8% each) | 16% |
| 2 Research Questions (2% each) | 4% |
| Final Exam | 50% |
| Total | 100% |
The final examination for this course must be requested in advance and written under the supervision of an AU-approved exam invigilator. Invigilators include either ProctorU or an approved in-person invigilation centre that can accommodate online exams. Students are responsible for payment of any invigilation fees. Information on exam request deadlines, invigilators, and other exam-related questions, can be found at the Exams and grades section of the Calendar.
To learn more about assignments and examinations, please refer to Athabasca University鈥檚 online Calendar.
Materials
Digital course materials
Links to the following course materials will be made available in the course:
Mishkin, F. S., & Serletis, A. (2023). The economics of money, banking, and financial markets (8th Can. ed.). Pearson.
Other Resources
All other learning resources will be available online.
Challenge for credit
Overview
The challenge for credit process allows you to demonstrate that you have acquired a command of the general subject matter, knowledge, intellectual and/or other skills that would normally be found in a university-level course.
Full information about challenge for credit can be found in the Undergraduate Calendar.
Evaluation
To receive credit for the ECON 385 challenge registration, you must achieve a grade of at least 50 percent on the examination.
Online Exam (3 hours)
Challenge for credit course registration form