Actuarial Notes

VEE Economics

VEE Economics is one of the Validation by Educational Experience (VEE) requirements, and both bodies ask for it. It is required for the ASA and for the ACAS, whose VEE topics the CAS set together with the Canadian Institute of Actuaries and the SOA. A VEE is not an exam. It is credit for university coursework, or for an approved alternative, that the VEE Administration Committee has approved for the topic. A candidate applies for it once they have passed two SOA, CAS or CIA actuarial exams. A CAS candidate may claim it directly through the CAS or through the SOA. Credit obtained through the CAS may not be recognized by other actuarial organizations, such as the SOA.

About the requirement

Typically, the VEE requirement for economics will be met if a candidate has completed two economics courses, one course covering microeconomics and the other covering macroeconomics. If distinct courses are used, the application should indicate which are for the microeconomics topic and which are for the macroeconomics topic. Most of the topics listed below should be covered.

The topics are those of the SOA's Guidelines for Approval of VEE Courses and Educational Experiences, effective November 1, 2024, the guidelines the CAS's VEE page also points to. Credit can't be claimed for part of a topic: the CAS notes that a microeconomics course may not be submitted alone, but must come with an approved macroeconomics course on the same application.

Learning Objectives

Microeconomics

  1. Explain the concept of utility and how rational utility maximizing agencies make consumption choices.
  2. Explain the elasticity of supply and demand and the effects on a market of the different levels of elasticity.
  3. Explain the interaction between supply and demand and the way in which equilibrium market prices are achieved.
  4. Explain various pricing strategies that can be used by firms.
  5. Explain the core economic concepts involved in choices made by businesses with respect to short-run and long-run investment and production choices.
  6. Explain competitive markets and how they operate.
  7. Explain profitability in markets with imperfect competition.

Macroeconomics

  1. Explain basic macroeconomic measures (e.g., GDP) used to compare the economies of countries.
  2. Describe the structure of public finances for an industrialized country.
  3. Explain the effect of fiscal and monetary policy on the economy, including the effect on financial markets.
  4. Explain the role of international trade, exchange rates and the balance of payments in the economy.
  5. Explain the effect of savings and consumption rates on the economy.
  6. Explain the major factors affecting the level of interest rates, the rate of inflation, the exchange rate, the level of employment and the rate of growth for an industrialized country.
  7. Describe the function of money in the economy.
  8. Explain the relationship between money and interest rates.
  9. Explain how macroeconomic policies affect businesses.

Source Material

Source Material

  • Guidelines for Approval of VEE Courses and Educational Experiences (SOA - 2024)
    • VEE–Economics: Microeconomics; Macroeconomics