This is the first edition of the open text book Building a Competitive Investment Climate on First Nation Lands. This textbook is for students who are First Nation and tribal government employees or students who would like to work for or with First Nation and tribal governments. The purpose of this textbook is to help interested First Nation and tribal governments build a competitive investment climate. Work began on this text book in early 2012 with a generous grant from the Donner Canadian Foundation. Financial support was also provided by the First Nations Tax Commission and the Tulo Centre.

This case study highlights the epidemiological and socioeconomic factors associated with a disease which plagues thousands of people in Central and South America. The case follows the story of Adrian, a banana plantation worker in southwestern Costa Rica who develops a mysterious illness. Students learn about infectious diseases, pathogens, and vectors endemic to the region, and are asked to diagnose Adrian's illness and consider his dilemma with respect to treatment options. The case is appropriate for courses with a component on health care, pharmacology, microbiology, medical anthropology, ethnobotany, or epidemiology. Instructors can choose to focus more on the biological components of the case or more on the socioeconomic and ethical aspects, depending on course goals and subject area.

Students analyze international oil consumption and production data. They make several graphs to organize the data and draw conclusions about the overall use of oil in the world.

Describes how economic theory is linked to economic evaluation techniques like cost-benefit and cost-effectiveness analysis and to introduce students to many concepts that are specific to economic evaluation. Introduces students to the many varieties of economic evaluation to establish a common terminology. Discusses cost-benefit with a demonstration of how this type of evaluation is most clearly linked to economic theory. Explores other theories and concepts, including cost measurement, benefit valuation, and incremental decision-making. Finally, explores recommendations on performing economic evaluations that are made in the United States with a focus on how these are related to underlying economic theory and other concepts.

This role-playing case on climate change policy is designed to engage student groups in parallel discussions on policy instruments and packages for controlling greenhouse gas emissions. Specifically, student groups discuss cap-and-trade and carbon tax policies for reducing carbon dioxide emissions. Each group has four students representing one of the following characters: climate scientist, economist, political sociologist, and the staff expert on science related policy. Students study the policies from a holistic perspective and explore related social, economic and environmental issues. In the end, each group drafts a statement for the senator that includes choices and recommendations based on these different views. This case is appropriate for introductory environmental studies and environmental economics courses once students have been introduced to the basic technical and scientific information on climate change.

In this case study, students examine tropical deforestation in the Amazon from the perspective of three dominant stakeholders in the region: a peasant farmer, logger, and environmentalist. As part of the exercise, students perform a cost-benefit analysis of clearing a plot of tropical forest in the Amazon from the perspective of one of these stakeholder groups. Developed for a course in global change biology, this case could also be used in courses in general ecology, environmental science, environmental ethics, environmental policy, and environmental/ecological economics.

Agricultural issues: peasant behavior, land tenancy, and interlinked markets. Credit and insurance market problems and institutions. Health, nutrition, and productivity. Gender bias. Education. Technological change. Government failures.

" Topics include productivity effects of health, private and social returns to education, education quality, education policy and market equilibrium, gender discrimination, public finance, decision making within families, firms and contracts, technology, labor and migration, land, and the markets for credit and savings."

This course provides a review of physical, chemical, ecological, and economic principles used to examine interactions between humans and the natural environment. Mass balance concepts are applied to ecology, chemical kinetics, hydrology, and transportation; energy balance concepts are applied to building design, ecology, and climate change; and economic and life cycle concepts are applied to resource evaluation and engineering design. Numerical models are used to integrate concepts and to assess environmental impacts of human activities. Problem sets involve development of MATLABĺ¨ models for particular engineering applications. Some experience with computer programming is helpful but not essential.

Econometrics is the study of estimation and inference for economic models using economic data. Econometric theory concerns the study and development of tools and methods for applied econometric applications. Applied econometrics concerns the application of these tools to economic data.

The phrase 'economic development' generally refers not only to economic growth, but to changes in the ways in which goods and services are produced in a country as well as improvements in inhabitants' quality of life. Theories of economic development attempt to explain the social, political, and economic processes that countries go through as they transition from being what are known as 'Less Developed Countries' (LDCs) to being 'Developed Countries' (DCs). In this course, the student will discover how various theories explain development success and failure in the real world. Upon completion of this course, students will be able to: Define economic development and its components; Describe major theories of economic development; Understand some simple economic models related to economic development and economic growth, including the Solow Growth model and its extensions; Place economic development theories in the social and political context in which they were created; Critically examine economic development theories in light of a history of poor performance in development programs. (Economics 304)

In this case study, students assess ecotourism in Costa Rica by considering the viewpoints of a displaced landowner, banana plantation worker, environmentalist, state official, U.S. trade representative, and national park employee. Working in small groups, students evaluate the scenario and develop a strategy that can provide balance between the protagonists of the case and the delicate ecosystem. The case was developed for a study abroad course in Costa Rica, but could be applied to traditional courses in sociology, international business, political science, bioethics, or public administration and policy analysis.

In this case study, two students have been asked to conduct a "systems analysis" study to determine whether ethanol derived from corn or biodiesel prepared from soybeans is the more energy efficient alternative fuel. The students must investigate the two systems very broadly to determine all energy inputs and outputs. When the corn-to-ethanol system turns out to be less energy efficient, the students are asked to consider the political and economic consequences of this and the role that science plays in making policy decisions. The case is designed for general chemistry courses and non-science majors' chemistry courses.

Review of IPE field covering previous and core research focusing on dual national objectives in a global context, namely pursuit of power and pursuit of wealth. Surveys major paradigms of international political economy, including neoclassical economics, development and ecological economics, lateral pressure, and perspectives and structural views of power relations. Examines interaction of politics and economics on international trade, capital flows, foreign investment, intellectual property rights, international migration, and select issues in foreign economic policy in global context. Examines the evolution of international economic institutions and attendant political implications. Open to undergraduates by permission of instructor.

This case study uses the Zimbabwean experience with hyperinflation to give students an opportunity to apply a variety of economic concepts to a real world event. The topics include, but are not limited to, scarcity, production possibility frontier, supply and demand, and fiscal and monetary policies. Because the four parts of the case are linked together (they use the same economic scenario), students will carry over and apply the knowledge obtained in one part of the case to the next one. As a result, students see the interrelatedness of the macroeconomic issues and obtain a more comprehensive understanding of the issues and not just looking at one aspect in isolation. The case was designed for an introductory macroeconomics college course, but can be modified for a development or agricultural economics course. Instructors can choose to use all parts of the case or just some of them depending on time constraints and topic interest.

This course surveys major topics and theories in the field of Industrial Organization. As part of the applied microeconomics structure, Industrial Organization uses the basic tools of microeconomic theory and game theory to study the structure and behavior of firms and their strategic interactions with one another in the marketplace. Industrial Organization also studies the impact that those interactions have on market structure and welfare. This course will emphasize market structure analysis and the strategic behaviors of competing firms, including (but not limited to) product differentiation, collusion, price discrimination, pricing strategy, non-price discrimination (i.e. advertising), horizontal mergers, vertical integration, and vertical restraints. Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to: Identify different theories of the firm; Describe the different market structures under which firms operate, with particular emphasis on concentration and monopoly power as well as oligopoly; Analyze how market structures impact the behavior of firms; Identify and compare the anti-competitive pricing strategies that firms adopt under various market structures; Use the theoretical insights presented in this course to explain observed features of particular markets and industries; Apply a deepened knowledge of game theory to understand the strategic behavior of firms in the market; Determine the factors that influence the firm's decision-making over time; Critically analyze the role of the government in regulating industries and the subsequent implications of public regulation. (Economics 306)

In this course, the student will build on and apply what you learned in the introductory macroeconomics course. The student will use the concepts of output, unemployment, inflation, consumption, and investment to study the dynamics of an economy at a more advanced level. As the course progresses, the student will gain a better appreciation for how policy shifts and changes in one sector impact the rest of the macroeconomy (whether the impacts are intended or unintended). The student will also examine the causes of inflation and depression, and discuss various approaches to responding to them. By the end of this course, the student should be able to think critically about the economy and develop your own unique perspective on various issues. Upon successful completion of this course, the student will be able to: Explain the standard theory in macroeconomics at an intermediate level; Explain and use the basic tools of macroeconomic theory, and apply them to help address problems in public policy; Analyze the role of government in allocating scarce resources; Explain how inflation affects entire economic systems; Synthesize the impact of employment and unemployment in a free market economy; Build macroeconomic models to describe changes over time in monetary and fiscal policy; Compare and contrast arguments concerning business, consumers and government, and make good conjectures regarding the possible solutions; Analyze the methods of computing and explaining how much is produced in an economy; Apply basic tools that are used in many fields of economics, including uncertainty, capital and investment, and economic growth. (Economics 202)

Historically, international trade has played a critical role in enabling countries to grow, develop, and become economically powerful. Through international trade in goods and services, the economies of different countries are more closely linked to one another now than ever before. At the same time, the world economy is more turbulent now than it has been in decades. Keeping up with the shifting international environment has become a central concern in business strategy and national economic policy. This course uses the same fundamental methods of analysis deployed in other branches of economics, as the motives and behavior of individuals and firms remain the same whether they are in the context of international trade or domestic transactions. The student will learn, however, that international trade introduces an entirely new and different set of concerns as well. Upon successful completion of this course, the student will be able to: Have a good understanding of the fundamentals of global economics; Have a rounded overview of the modern international trade theory; Understand the current world trading system and the basic rules underlying this system; Study and discuss historic, current, and emerging economic models in the United States and around the world; Understand recent developments in the field of international macroeconomics and perform an independent study in this field; Acquire and demonstrate analytical and problem solving skills to discuss and analyze the global economic environment within which business operate; Acquire an analytical framework to examine contemporary international economic issues; Acquire a general overview of international trade, the foreign exchange markets, and the issues arising from the globalization of markets; Understand the concepts of foreign exchange, its importance to individuals, businesses, and the performance of national economies, and how foreign exchange markets work; Analyze policy issues related to international trade; Understand the legal system governing international economic transactions and international economic relations; Assess actual dispute settlement proceeding and discuss several dispute settlement cases that address a wide variety of issues such as antidumping, subsidy, safeguard, and environment; Answer the four trade questions: 'Why do countries trade?,' 'How does trade affect production and consumption in each country?,' 'Which country gains from trade?,' and 'Within each country, who are the gainers and losers from opening trade?' (Economics 307)

This course is a self-contained introduction to statistics with economic applications. Elements of probability theory, sampling theory, statistical estimation, regression analysis, and hypothesis testing. It uses elementary econometrics and other applications of statistical tools to economic data. It also provides a solid foundation in probability and statistics for economists and other social scientists.

In economics, the term 'labor' refers to workers. As a factor of production, labor earns wages for the services that it renders. As such, students of labor economics have traditionally set out to understand wage formation, the level of employment, and all elements that go into the making of a wage relationship. Over the years, the social and economic contexts in which labor markets operate have become increasingly complex; nowadays, labor economics is no longer limited to the study of wages. Modern labor economics instead seeks to understand the complex workings of the labor market by studying the dynamics between employers, employees, and their wage-, price-, and profit-making incentives. In other words, modern labor economics explores the outcomes of the labor market under the assumption that workers strive to maximize their wellbeing and firms strive to maximize profits. It also analyzes the behavior of employers and employees and studies their responses to changes in government policies and/or in the demographic composition of the labor force. Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to: Demonstrate an understanding of basic labor economics theory, including labor market structures and wage determination; Apply their understanding of theoretical models to analyze trends in data pertaining to topics in labor economics; Apply their understanding of theoretical models to case studies presented in the course; Construct, defend, and analyze important labor policy issues; Comprehend, assess, and criticize existing empirical work in labor economics. (Economics 303)