Economics and Management

Core Modules

Year 1

You will take the following modules in Economics:

• Professional Skills 

  In this module, you will develop an understanding of the external and internal environments of organisations and their relevance to help you develop self-awareness and knowledge and skills required to succeed at university, at work and in life generally. You will look at a range of academic and professional literatures, examine the skills and abilities relevant to applying for or working as a professional, and consider how to communicate with academic and business audiences in a clear and effective manner.

• Introduction to Mathematics for Economics

  An introduction for students with no or minimal mathematical background to the formal tools used in first year principles of economics module and the data skills module as well as the second year modules in Microeconomics and Macroeconomics. To achieve this goal, the course presents the most common functional forms used in economics and analyses their behaviour using conventional graphs. In addition, the course addresses the rules of differentiation and the ways derivatives are used in unconstrained and constrained optimisation. Throughout the course, emphasis is given to how the formal methods presented above are applied in economic models and data. By doing so, students with a limited mathematical background are brought up to the level of their peers with a more extensive set of technical skills needed to progress to the second-year joint economics degree.

• Academic Integrity

  This module will describe the key principles of academic integrity, focusing on university assignments. Plagiarism, collusion and commissioning will be described as activities that undermine academic integrity, and the possible consequences of engaging in such activities will be described. Activities, with feedback, will provide you with opportunities to reflect and develop your understanding of academic integrity principles.

   

• Employability 1

  This module will be composed of an introduction to Employability, library resources, team building, and CV making. Career services will provide a session on self-awareness and decision making and library services will present their relevant resources. Finally, the Economics department will organise some team building exercises.

• Principles of Economics

  Principles of Economics is a first-year undergraduate module in how the economy works. The module is suitable for students with or without A-Level economics or equivalent. We will cover the basic theories of macroeconomics (that of the economy as a whole) and microeconomics (the behaviour of individuals, firms and governments and the interactions between them).

  The module adopts the state-of-the-art CORE approach (Curriculum Open-access Resources in Economics) to teaching Principles of Economics. The approach has three pillars which we rely on throughout the module:

  • Formulate a problem that our society is facing now or has faced in the past;
  • Build a theory to explain and solve the problem;
  • Evaluate the usefulness of the theory by using data observations and more novel theories.
• Fundamentals of Accounting and Finance

  In this module you'll be introduced to the fundamental aspects of financial accounting, management accounting and finance. You'll further be introduced to the underlying framework and concepts of accounting and finance and their role in organisations and society.

• Fundamentals of Digital Enterprise

  In this module you will develop an understanding of information systems and how they have become the backbone of contemporary businesses. You will consider how they are used by business managers as a tool for achieving operational excellence, developing new products and services, improving decision making, and achieving competitive advantage. You will also examine the broader organisational, human and information technology dimensions of information systems and how they can be used to provide solutions to challenges and problems in the business environment.

• People and Organisations

  In this module, you will develop a solid grounding in key concepts relevant to a critical understanding of how organisations function, and why this matters to both employees and prospective managers. Themes such as organisational design, the social and psychological contract, conflict, power, diversity and equality, emotional labour, space and place, and the impact of internal and external forces on organisations, will be looked at through the lens of competing organisational theories such as the classical perspective, Institutional Theory, Systems Theory, and Contingency Theory. You will learn to demonstrate their understanding of, use, discuss, and evaluate these theories making use of a range of tools such as, contemporary case studies, class discussion, class presentations, and simulation exercises.

• Data Skills for Economists

  Data Skills for Economists is about understanding the data we encounter constantly in everyday life and the data that social science researchers create as they explore and analyse the world around us. We'll endeavour to understand such questions as:

  • Where does data come from and how can we harvest it?
  • What useful information does the data contain?
  • How can we create new data to generate useful insights?

  Computers equipped with statistical software are a big part of the answer to the third question (above) so, accordingly, you'll spend much of your time learning to analyse and display data using the R statistical software package (R is the industry standard).

  We'll develop an ethos of clear communication of numerical information that will be supported by our growing understanding of statistical concepts and our growing proficiency with computers.

  Simultaneously, we'll delve into the seamy underside of the tricksters who try to fool you with falsified data. Understanding their game can provide at least some degree of inoculation against their attacks.

Year 2

• Microeconomics

  In this module you will develop an understanding of the models of individual optimisation and their applications. You will look at the key determinants of an individual’s behaviour in a variety of circumstances and the behaviour of firms in different market environments, such as perfect competition, monopoly and oligopoly. You will consider how changing circumstances and new information influences the actions of the economic agents concerned, and examine the properties of competitive markets and the need for government intervention to correct market failures.

• Macroeconomics

  In this module you will develop an understanding of macroeconomics and macroeconomic policy-making. You will look at a variety of contemporary and historical macroeconomic events, and the differences between the short, medium and long run. You will consider why some countries are rich and some are poor, why different economies grow at different rates, and what determines economic growth and prosperity. You will examine the role of monetary and fiscal policy, its impact on the economy and its limitations. You will also analyse how taxation, budget deficits, and public debt affect the economy.

• Employability 2

  Career services will provide a session on how to be ready to apply for an internship at the end of the second year. Students will prepare for a psychometric test and will undertake a series of a mock interviews in order to improve their interview technique. Finally, students will attend at least one Econ@Work talk to be aware of professional life and challenges.

• Data Visualisation and Analytics

  This module aims to cultivate a reflective and pragmatic comprehension essential for preparing, analysing, and presenting data through visuals in the context of a rapidly evolving job market, heavily influenced by the exponential growth of AI solutions. You will be introduced to the principles of data handling, emphasising efficient and effective practices to uncover insights, with a strong focus on visual storytelling and the development of compelling narratives. You will acquire a thorough understanding of data visualisation and analytics, encompassing advanced concepts, methodologies, techniques, and cutting-edge tools and will gain substantial hands-on experience in manipulating raw data to create insightful visual data narratives, tailored to address the dynamic challenges and opportunities presented by AI-driven markets.

• Collaboration and Communication in Business

  This module builds on the knowledge and skills developed in your first year Professional Skills module, to prepare you for the graduate workplace. You will evaluate business functions and processes in an interdisciplinary context and develop effective communication skills for business, demonstrate collaborative leadership of self and others and learn to be able to work effectively in a team.

• The Global Economy

  In this module, you will explore the growth and development of the international or global economy during the twentieth century –that is from the late nineteenth century to the present. You will gain insights into the growth and development of the global economy during the twentieth century and examine the forces shaping the global economy and the institutions to which it has given rise, from the World Trade Organisation to the multinational enterprise. You will be introduced to relevant theoretical perspectives (economic, historical, management, geopolitical) and attention is given to the role of Foreign Direct Investment as a driving force in the integration of developing countries into the globalisation process.

• Responsible Business and Management

  In this module you will review and analyse business responses to sustainability grand challenges. You will appraise the impact on business strategy, practises and operations and will apply gained knowledge to recommendations for responsible business and management practices. The first part of the module looks at environmental challenges (centred on climate change, making links to biodiversity, conservation, resource depletion, pollution, waste) whereas the second part looks at social challenges (centred on inequality, making links to poverty, marginalisation, justice)- in the final part the links between environmental and social grand challenges and the business world are examined.

Year 3

• Employability 3

  This third-year course will deepen the elements covered previously in Employability 1 and 2. Career services will provide a session on how to be ready for employment at the end of the year. Students will prepare for a psychometric test and undertake a series of mock interviews in order to improve their interview technique. Finally, students will attend at least one Econ@Work talk to be aware of professional life and challenges.

Optional Modules

Below is a taster of some of the exciting optional modules that students on the course could choose from during this academic year. Please be aware these do change over time, and optional modules may be withdrawn or new ones added.

Year 1

• All modules are core

Year 2

• All modules are core

Year 3

• Behavioural Economics

  In this module you will develop an understanding of the use of experiments to test economic theories. You will look at how individuals make decisions in markets, how individuals decide to spend money today or save it for future spending, the assumption of self-regarding preferences commonly made in standard economic models, and the ability to act rationally in a strategic environment. You will consider the issues raised by experimental design and critically evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of experimental methods.

• Business Data Analytics

  In this module you will develop an understanding of the main managerial and technological principles which underlie business and analytics. You will look at the impact of business data analytics on product and service innovation, and examine the main challenges and risk related to business data analytics activities within organisations. You will learn how to carry out a variety of business data analytics techniques, and consider the impact of legislation, regulation and ethical codes of practice on business data analytics programmes and the organisations running them.

• Business Process Applications

  In this module you will develop an understanding of the principles and concepts of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP). You will look at how firms use ERP systems for strategic effectiveness and consider the key strategic issues facing managers seeking to deploy and exploit such systems. You will examine the challenges facing those responsible for the selection, implementation and management of ERP projects, and gain practical experience using SAP software and other enterprise-level applications.

• Economics of Warfare 2

  Introduce students to the main facts about conflict. Apply theoretical and empirical economic tools to the study of conflict. Give students an appreciation of the main questions at the research frontier in the economic analysis of conflict. Draw some policy conclusions on how the international community should deal with conflict. Study data issues that arise when analysing conflict.
  
  Week 1. Causes of conflict (correlations), sensitivity analysis, p hacking, psychology of conflict
  Week 2. Prediction, economic shocks and conflict, instrumental variables
  Week 3. Commodity price shocks
  Week 4. Economic aid and conflict, rape and conflict
  Week 5. Conflict and climate change 1
  Week 6. Reading Week, no class
  Week 7. Conflict and climate change 2, panel data
  Week 8. Conflict and climate change 3, Syrian war
  Week 9. Costs of terrorism
  Week 10. Causes of terrorism, media and terrorism
  Week 11. Terrorism and poverty

• Emerging Markets

  In this module you will develop an understanding of the emerging markets, commercial realities, and national cultures within the context of the global economy. You will look at the strategic issues and dilemmas that managers face in their efforts to expand into emerging markets, and consider the commercial realities and national cultures of these. You will look at specific cases studies, including the economies of Brazil, Russia, India, China, Turkey and South Africa.

• Environmental Economics

  In this module you will develop an understanding of how economic methods can be applied to environmental issues facing society. You will consider the difficulties arising in using economic analysis in environmental policy design and learn how to solve and manipulate a variety of diagrammatic and algebraic models in environmental economics. You will evaluate a number of real-world environmental policy problems and see how economic analysis has been applied in their solution.

• Financial Econometrics with Data Science

  The course aims to familiarise students with the principal techniques used in Financial Econometrics. Some in depth discussion of the key technical concepts needed to understand the Financial Econometrics literature. Furthermore, the course makes a real effort to facilitate awareness in students of how these techniques can be used and applied on real data, and provides the necessary background to understand and critically assess empirical findings reported in the financial literature, as well as to carry out their own empirical research in the future.

• Innovation, Strategy and the Corporation

  In this module you will develop an understanding of business innovation in the context of new ventures and corporations. You will look at how changes in technology, markets, and society are affecting how new business models, products and services emerge. You will consider innovation as a source of competitive advantage and examine the management of innovation, critically evaluating associated risks and uncertainty. You will also analyse past experiences and how they can be used to exploit future opportunities through innovation.

• International Human Resource Management

  In this module you will develop an understanding of the implications of changes in the global organisation of firms and the international workforce for human resource management policy choices. You will look at the differences in business and human resource systems between the UK, the USA, Germany and Japan, and examine the approaches to, and strategies for, human resource management in international business activities. You will consider the problems of transferring human resource management practices from one country to another, and the role of multinational companies as agents of knowledge. You will also evaluate the role of transnational organisations in regulating human resource policies and practices in firms.

• Labour Economics

  This course will analyse the economic issues of behaviour and outcomes in labour markets. It will focus on topics relating to labour supply and demand, wage formation and earnings inequalities:

  • Labour Demand
  • Labour Supply
  • Human Capital and Compensating Wage Differentials
  • Inequality in Earnings
  • Labor Mobility
  • Discrimination
  • Unemployment
• Leading and Leadership in Organisations

  This module aims to provide a comprehensive overview to important and current leadership theories. Working at the boundary of practice and theory, weekly sessions are highly interactive and will be delivered in the form of lectures and workshops. We expect each student to engage proactively with all aspects of the module, including adequate preparation for each session as well as post-class reflections.

   

• Marketing, People and the Planet

  In this module you will develop an understanding of the scope and nature of marketing ethics. You will look at the complexity and interconnectedness of moral dilemmas in marketing practice and consider potential responses by stakeholders, such as consumers, businesses and governmental actors, to ethical marketing issues.

• Monetary Economics

  This is a half-year module in monetary economics. Its aim is to gain insight into more recent approaches to monetary policy, and to developments in understanding and applying such policy. The main objectives of the course will be to understand the role of money in the economy; identify the links between central bank decision making and commercial bank behaviour; know the basic theoretical underpinnings of monetary policy, monetary policy operating procedures and the central banking mechanisms. A significant part of the class discussions are focused on how the political forces affecting monetary policy making may affect inflation, which has important implications for contemporary policy making.

• Organisations and Accountability

  In this module you will develop an understanding of contemporary issues in the theory and practice of accounting for sustainability. You will look at key issues in the growing ara of sustainability accounting including notions of accountability in the context of sustainability, cultural and religious perspectives on sustainability accounting, elements of sustainability reporting, and the role of accounting in embedding sustainability in decision making.

• Personnel Economics

  This module will focus on the relationship between employers and employees. It will examine the design of employment contracts, with the specific objectives of mitigating the problems of adverse selection (hiring the right workers, assigning workers to jobs for which they are suited) and moral hazard (encouraging worker effort). The topics covered will include hiring, training, pay, job assignments, promotion, quits and dismissals, and pensions. The course will use economic theory to outline the nature of labour contracts, and use statistical analysis to examine the empirical relevance of different types of contracts.

• Public Economics

  Public Economics is concerned with the study of the effects of government policy upon the economy and the design of optimal policies. The module begins with a review of empirical methods for policy evaluation. A number of recent research areas in public economics are then discussed including income taxation, welfare support, behavioural responses, and social security. Throughout the module, the emphasis is placed upon analytical techniques, policy applications, and empirical evidence.

• Strategic Management Accounting

  In this module you will develop an understanding of financial management control strategy. You will look at the dependencies and relationships between business models and operating architecture, capital structure, and off-balance sheet financing. You will consider the context of managing accounting in a changing environment, and evaluate the impact of mergers and acquisitions on businesses. You will examine strategic control tools and techniques such as responsibility accounting and transfer pricing, and assess the relationship between product markets, internal organisation cost structures and capital market expectations.

• Current Issues in the Global Workplace

  In this module, you will develop an up-to-date understanding of the new developments in the organisation of work within a global context. The new trends in workplace relations and the future of work will be examined. You will be introduced to the debates on emerging issues in global labour market and the economic, political, institutional, and technological factors that shape the new patterns of work. It will also look at economic policies, labour market regulations, socio-economic conditions and technological change that have affected work organisations on a global scale. New employment practices adopted by established and emerging multinational firms will be compared and assessed through case studies. "

• Topics in Development Economics

  This module provides an overview of the current literature in development microeconomics, with strong policy and empirical components. The topics covered offer a political economy perspective over development issues. Students will be introduced to theoretical and empirical approaches to the understanding of binding constraints to development such as the quality of political institutions, democracy and elections and ethnical diversity. We will also cover the motivations and solutions to corruption and conflict as large deterrents to development. And how grass-root movements and innovative behavioral mechanisms can improve people’s lives.
  
  Week 1: Development Economics: stylised facts, definitions, and measurement issues
  Week 2: Methodological Issues in Development
  Week 3: Macro perspective of poverty and Foreign Aid
  Week 4: History and Institutions
  Week 5: Ethnic Divisions
  Week 6: Democracy and Elections
  Week 7: Corruption
  Week 8: Conflict
  Week 9: Improving governance in the field
  Week 10: Behavioral insights in development

• Topics in Economic History

  This is a survey course covering several important topics in economic history. It is designed to be within the mainstream economics tradition in that the focus is on topics and methodology rather than time periods or countries. The aim is to teach students how economists have analysed important and ongoing historical events and trends.

• Topics in Game Theory

  Game Theory uses mathematical models to study and analyze strategic interactions between agents. This module is designed to provide an understanding of the fundamental concepts in game theory as applied to economics in general and microeconomics in particular. The module will cover both the theory and its applications.

• Understanding Financial Crises

  The module's aim is to provide an honours level analysis of the fragility of the financial system and its relevance to the current financial crisis. The course will broadly follow the book "Understanding Financial Crises", Clarendon Lectures in Finance by Franklin Allen and Douglas Gale - both of whom are now Professors at Imperial College London - which is a book that has been used as the basis of an honours level course recently at UCL. The course will include analysis of bank runs and the theory of optimal financial regulation and analysis of the implications of asset price bubbles for financial stability.

• Accountability and Sustainability

  In this module you will develop an understanding of the concept of accountability in the context of the relationships between corporate organisations and their stakeholders. You will look at the main theoretical approaches used to explain corporate reporting practice, including agency theory, signalling theory, stakeholder theory, legitimacy theory and institutional theory. You will examine a selection of International Financial Reporting Standards dealing with complex issues involving the identification, recognition and measurement of assets, liabilities, equity, income and expenses. You will also consider the nature of subjective judgements involved in financial, social and environmental accounting and reporting.

• Advanced Econometrics II

  In this module you will develop an understanding of the theoretical properties of different econometric estimation and testing procedures under various modelling assumptions. You will look at regression techniquies and learn how to apply relevant econometric and statistical methods to your own research. You will also evaluate the appropriateness of each of the economic estimation methods and the impact of consider data limirations.

• Programing and Coding for Economists

  In this module you will develop an understanding of the basics of coding and progranming with Python. You will look at some of the high-level data analysis packages within Python and learn how to plot multidimensional data in different ways including histograms and parametric plots. You will examine the use of arrays, matrices and basic control structures, such as IF, FOR, WHILE and RETURN. You will also consider how to evaluate simple and complex expressions and how to use Monte Carlo simulation to understand the impact of uncertainty.

• Corporate Entrepreneurship

  In this module you will develop an understanding of the Corporate Entrepreneurship (CE) process in large established organisations. In particular, the role and importance of the following theories and concepts will be critically evaluated: entrepreneurial traits; organisation structure; entrepreneurial leadership; entrepreneurial strategy and management; corporate venturing; and creativity. You will benefit from action and situated learning, and emphasis is given to increasing students’ entrepreneurial attitudes and skills through self-reflection techniques and diagnostics.

• Economics of the European Union

  In this module you will develop an understanding of the main effects of trade integration within Europe and, particularly, of the creation of the single market. You will look at the principal costs and benefits of monetary integration and the debate around the optimal currency area as it applies to the Eurozone. You will analyse the main aspects of the Eurozone crisis, consider the main policies and institutions of the EU, and examine the recent political implications of EU enlargement.

• Financial Economics 1

  The module aims to introduce the student to what factors affect corporate financial decisions. Particular emphasis is given to the concepts of Net Present Value and Risk. The learning outcomes include: Understand what the goals of a firm are; Understand how investments are valued (Internal rate of returns) in order to help with good financial planning); Understand the concepts of risk, agency costs and how they feed into financial decision making; Understand the process of price formation in financial markets; Understand venture capital and different types of debt finance and debt valuation, including leverage.

• Financial Economics 2

  In this module you will develop an understanding of the wide range of fixed income securities and derivatives available to investors in the financial markets. You will look at the basic institutional features of derivatives markets, as well as the pricing of bonds and of derivative instruments and using them for hedging purposes. You will consider investment and trading strategies that use bonds and derivatives, and evaluate the use of bonds in immunising portfolios based on the bond's duration. You will also explore the features and uses of the most popular types of derivatives available today, including options, futures, forwards, and swaps.

• Industrial Economics 1

  In this module you will develop an understanding of the methods and models applied by economists in the analysis of firms and industries. You will learn how to manipulate these models and analytically solve problems relating to industrial economics. You will consider the applications of the models to important policy areas, exploring topics such as collusion, mergers, product differentiation and asymmetric information. You will also also examine the limitations of the theory.

• Industrial Economics 2

  In this module you will develop an understanding of advanced topics in industrial organisation, with a special focus on the role that information plays in markets. You will explore topics such as collusion, mergers, product differentiation, and asymmetric information, and become familiar with a broad range of methods and models applied by economists in the analysis of firms and industries.

• Social Media, Networks and Business

  In this module you will develop an understanding of social networks and social media platforms from multiple perspectives. You will look at the growth of social media and the connectedness of the networked society, considering recent advances in network science, social psychology, and marketing. You will examine the role of social networking technologies in enabling business innovation and societal change, and critically assess positive and negative impacts of these technologies.

• The Individual at Work

  The module provides an overview of contemporary subjects and issues in the field of work and well-being. The module examines how employment practices can influence employee well-being and draws on key concepts in the field to provide students with a critical and detailed analysis of the subject. The module will also equip students with a theoretical and practical understanding of how to manage and improve well-being at work. The module includes topics such as stress at work, technology and well-being, emotions at work, work-life balance and performance and well-being.