A practical course on inflation, price indexes, real purchasing power, and how inflation shapes policy and financial decisions.
This course teaches viewers how to read inflation carefully rather than react to a single headline rate. It begins by separating inflation from relative price changes, disinflation, and deflation. It then explains why inflation is measured with weighted price indexes rather than simple price averages, including the intuition behind Laspeyres, Paasche, chain weighting, CPI baskets, and the practical compromises statistical agencies make.
The course connects price indexes to inflation rates across different time windows and shows why nominal figures must be converted into real purchasing power. It then examines demand-pull inflation, supply shocks, expectations, stagflation, hyperinflation, the Phillips curve, and inflation targeting. The practical focus is on diagnosing what is driving inflation and what that means for wages, borrowing, contracts, planning, and policy.
TARGET AUDIENCE
Canadian CPD viewers, including accountants, lawyers, advisors, analysts, managers, business owners, and professionals who need to interpret economic data in their work and personal financial decisions.
Associate Professor of Economics | King's University College at Western
Dr. Jason Dean is an economics professor and applied economist with experience teaching macroeconomics, microeconomics, labour economics, economic history, public policy, and applied economic topics to university, college, and professional audiences. He holds a PhD in Economics from McGill University, an MA in Economics from the University of Guelph, and an Honours BBA from Wilfrid Laurier University. His academic work focuses on labour markets, immigration, housing, poverty, economic history, and public policy. He has also worked as a health economist and economic research analyst, bringing both academic and applied experience to his teaching. Jason has taught at King’s University College, Wilfrid Laurier University, Sheridan College, McMaster University Continuing Education, McGill University, Kwansei Gakuin University in Japan, Renmin University in Beijing, and Wuhan University of Technology. His courses are built to make economic ideas practical, clear, and useful for real decisions. His peer-reviewed research has appeared in journals including Regional Science and Urban Economics, Cliometrica, Journal of Housing Economics, IZA Journal of Development and Migration, Contemporary Jewry, Journal of International Migration and Integration, International Journal of Social Economics, and health economics journals. His policy work has been published through the Montreal Economic Institute, and he has provided media commentary on labour markets, housing, public policy, immigration, and the Canadian economy. Jason’s CPD courses help professionals understand how economic indicators, policy decisions, inflation, GDP, interest rates, labour markets, and consumer demand connect to business conditions, client decisions, financial planning, and the broader economy. Selected Publications: - “Income Decline, Financial Insecurity, Landlord Screening and Renter Mobility,” Regional Science and Urban Economics, 2022. - “The Linguistic Wage Gap in Québec, 1901 to 1951,” Cliometrica, 2022. - “Sexual Orientation and Homeownership in Canada,” Journal of Housing Economics, 2020. - “Does it Matter if Immigrants Work in Jobs Related to their Education?” IZA Journal of Development and Migration, 2018. - “Labour Market Attainment of Canadian Jews During the First Two Decades of the 20th Century,” Contemporary Jewry, 2017. - “Economic Integration of Pre-WWI Immigrants from the British Isles in the Canadian Labour Market,” Journal of International Migration and Integration, 2016. - “Religiosity and Female Labour Market Attainment in Canada: The Protestant Exception,” International Journal of Social Economics, 2016.
