Economics BA

Methodological pathway:

Economic Analysis and Policy

This is a compulsory module for all single and dual honours students in Economics. The module provides students with an introduction to microeconomic and macroeconomic analysis together with examples of their application in order to develop students' understanding of the roles of both in economic policy making.

40 credits

Statistical Methods for Economics

The aims of the module are: 1. To introduce statistical methods and provide an insight into their uses in economics. 2. to demonstrate application of a range of statistical techniques to economic problems. Topics include collection and presentation of data, descriptive statistics, probability and applications, statistical inference, correlation and regression.

20 credits

Plus one from:

Mathematical Methods for Economics 1

The aims of this module are: 1. To give an insight into the importance of mathematical methods in economic analysis. 2. To introduce a range of mathematical techniques. 3. To give an understanding of how and when to apply the techniques. The module will include revision of basic concepts, algebra, equations, exponential and logarithmic functions, differential calculus, optimisation, geometry

20 credits

Mathematical Methods for Economics 2

The aims of this module are: 1. To give an insight into the importance of mathematical methods in economic analysis. 2. To introduce a range of mathematical techniques. 3. To give an understanding of how and when to apply the techniques. The module will include revision of basic concepts, algebra, equations, exponential and logarithmic functions, differential calculus, optimisation, geometry

20 credits

Optional modules:

Introductory Finance for Economics

This module introduces students to the financing and investment decisions that financial managers make, and the financial market context in which those decisions are made. Its aim is to provide a solid grounding in the basic concepts of finance for economists, focusing in particular on theoretical analysis and problem solving.

20 credits

Classical and Contemporary Thinkers in Economics

This module introduces students to a range of classical and contemporary economists, including the founders of the discipline and some Nobel Prize winners, past and present. For each economist, a senior member of the department will give a short biography, outline their contributions to the discipline of economics and the development of the subject, and explain how they have influenced their own thinking and research that is undertaken in economics today. Examples of the contribution of these economists to a range of economic issues will be used to illustrate the continuing relevance and application of their ideas.

20 credits

Economic History of Britain and the Modern World

This module surveys the economic history of Britain since the mid-eighteenth century (in the first semester) and of the global economy (in the second semester) in order to better understand the forces which determine why some people and countries are rich, and have the capacity for sustained economic growth, whereas others are poor. In particular, we wish to understand the role of government and institutions in driving or retarding economic development, and to provide ideas from the comparative experience of different countries about what policies have been successful in enabling poor people and countries to escape from poverty.

20 credits

Plus a limited number of level one modules from outside the Department of Economics.

Methodological pathway:

Intermediate Microeconomics

This module builds on Level 1 modules in microeconomics and mathematical economics, using the mathematical training to allow a more rigorous investigation of the principles of microeconomics. It aims to develop an understanding and ability to undertake economic analysis of models of the behaviour and interaction of economic agents (consumers, firms and government) in a market economy, the functioning of different types of industries, decision making under uncertainty and economic welfare.

20 credits

Intermediate Macroeconomics

The aims of this course are to provide firm grounding in the analytical tools of modern macroeconomics; to use these tools to understand critically the conduct of economic policy nationally and internationally. The course builds on level 1 modules in macroeconomics. The main subject areas covered are: Basic macroeconomic models: consumption/leisure choice, closed economy one period-macro models, models of search and unemployment; Savings, investment and government deficits: consumption/savings choice (two-period model), credit market imperfections, real intertemporal model with investment; Money and business cycles: flexible price models, New Keynesian economics (sticky prices), inflation; International macroeconomics: international trade, money in open economy; Economic growth: Malthus and Solow growth models, convergence, endogenous growth model.

20 credits

Econometrics

The aim of this module is to consolidate the statistical theory covered in earlier modules for economists, introduce students to the role of econometrics in economic analysis and to give an introduction to the conduct of empirical work in econometrics.

20 credits

Applied pathway - three from:

International Economics

International Economics covers core aspects of international trade and international macroeconomics. The first part of the module analyses the patterns and volume of international trade, and its effects on growth and income distribution. The second part covers international capital flows, their causes and their effects on growth and macroeconomic stability.

20 credits

Labour Economics

This module develops theoretical models of the labour market, starting with the competitive model of the labour market through an analysis of supply and demand for labour. A range of issues that can affect outcomes in the labour market will be considered, with an emphasis on the study of empirical evidence concerning these issues.

20 credits

Economics of Financial Institutions

This module covers introductory monetary, banking and finance theory and issues relating to policy and regulation of the banking and finance system. The module introduces the basic concepts in money and banking while it supports and expands on the material provided in ECN201 and ECN202, the second year micro and macro modules.

20 credits

Public Economics

The module is concerned with the economic aspects of public policy. It employs tools of economic analysis to develop a framework for the study of government decision making.

20 credits

Industrial Organisation

Industrial Organisation is a major branch of microeconomics. It considers the structure, operation and performance of industries and firms using both economic theory and empirical work.

20 credits

Economic Decision-making

In life we are constantly making economic decisions: whether to go to university; whether to leave a tip in a restaurant; whether to buy a house or rent; whether to declare all our income to the tax authority; whether to play the lottery; whether and how much to invest in the stock market. In this module we study economic theory and evidence related to decision-making in these different contexts with a view to understanding human decision-making, how it deviates from standard notions of economic rationality.

20 credits

Macroeconomic Policy

The module will focus on applying macroeconomic theory to a variety of economic policy issues. The module will consider fiscal and monetary policy and will include how policy responds to economic shocks. The course builds on the knowledge of the core first year economics modules.

20 credits

Applied pathway - four from:

Education Economics

The amount of education possessed by individuals will influence their decisions in future. Education relates to issues such as health and labour market decisions. This module examines the demand for and provision of education, incorporating a mixture of economic theory such as human capital; rates of return to further and higher education and course type all of which directly relate to the labour market. Macroeconomic new growth theories are considered using empirical evidence. The graduate labour market is analysed, incorporating changes in the provision of higher education and an understanding of the rationale for the introduction of top-up fees. A final section considers schools, analysing and evaluating issues such as class size reduction, competition and selection, the performance of teachers, and the importance of pupils' family backgrounds, all in terms of their effect on pupil performance.

20 credits

Political Economy

Important economic processes cannot be fully understood without taking into account political and institutional factors and governments' political motivations. This module introduces insights from politics into the study of public policy and economic performance. In particular, it aims to give students: 1. an opportunity for interdisciplinary study within the undergraduate economics degree; 2. familiarity with the modern literature in theoretical and applied political economy, including topics such as redistributive politics, comparative politics, and electoral/partisan cycles; 3. an opportunity to develop their research and team-working skills through research-oriented group assignments.

20 credits

International Trade

The first part of the course will cover neoclassical trade theories in which countries trade following their comparative advantage. The second part of the course deals with more recent trade theories based on economies of scale and/or imperfect competition that helps us to explain some recent patterns observed in the data. The third part of the course is an introduction to trade policy and the political economy of trade policy.

20 credits

Monetary Economics

This module covers monetary theory and monetary policy. It presents several economic models and discusses what monetary policy can and cannot do, as well as an introduction to the New Keynesian model. The module aims to enable students to apply the skills of economic analysis to the conduct of central banks and to the mechanisms underlying the monetary transmission mechanism.

20 credits

Development Economics

It takes the average worker in the UK less than ten days to produce the same amount of output as the average worker in the Democratic Republic of Congo produces over the course of an entire year. Earning the minimum wage in the UK easily puts you in the top 10% of earners worldwide. This module uses a mix of theory and empirics to seek to understand where these enormous gaps in standards of living between countries come from and how they evolve over time.

20 credits

Health Economics

Economics is the study of how society allocates its scarce resources across competing alternatives. This notion of scarcity is as relevant in the health care sector as it is elsewhere and, thus, it is important that the resources available to health and health care are used in the best possible ways. This course will: look at how best should be defined in the context of health care; consider the roles that market forces and governments might play in achieving the sector's objectives; and discuss what information is needed so that resources can be deployed where they will do the most good. The aims of the module are: 1. To enable students to develop a critical understanding of the basis of health economics.
2. To introduce students to the health economists' toolkit, the ways in which it can be used in to inform health care resource allocation, and its limitations.

20 credits

Economic Analysis of Inequality and Poverty

This module will cover the economic theories used for the analysis of inequality and poverty.
The theories will be backed by evidence from both the developed and the developing countries. The module starts off by a discussion of issues around measurement of inequality and poverty; the different measures that are used and the inherent assumptions behind these measures. We then move on to explain the existing global trends in inequality and poverty. Different theories are used to explain these trends; for example: role of human capital, poverty traps etc. Finally we discuss the policy response of different countries to address the issues of inequality and poverty, drawing on the specific examples of welfare programmes in the developed countries and the conditional cash transfers in the developing countries.

20 credits

Economics of Race and Gender

The Economics of Race and Gender will present economic theories as to why discrimination by race and gender occurs, in labour markets and other settings. Empirical evidence will be presented and used to test for such discrimination, as well as to test and evaluate the economic theories put forward to explain its existence.

20 credits

Behavioural Economics

Standard economic models can successfully model human behaviour. However, the strong assumptions required of economic actors in those models will make systematic mispredictions in some contexts. Behavioural economics tries to overcome the systematic mispredictions by adopting non-standard assumptions, often inspired by insights from other disciplines. The module will discuss empirical evidence that underpins these non-standard assumptions, and will reflect on how insights from behavioural economics can be relevant in real life.

20 credits

Research in Practice pathway:

Economics in Action

On this innovative module you’ll undertake a number of projects related to the economic fields in the Applied pathway. You will demonstrate your abilities and skills by applying them to a range of issues explored in your final year, while acquiring new research skills.

40 credits