Economics and Business Finance BSc

Compulsory

• Mathematics for Economics and Finance

  This module is designed to provide students with the mathematical skills and techniques necessary for further study in Economics, Finance and Accountancy. Students will develop their understanding of basic algebra and differential calculus and the way they are applied in Economics, Finance and Accountancy.

• Microeconomic Principles

  The aim of this module is to introduce students to core concepts, methods and techniques of modern microeconomics. The course prepares students for more advanced topics to be studied in following years.

• Macroeconomic Principles

  This module provides students with a firm foundation in the principles of macroeconomics at the theoretical level, which will provide the basis for further core modules at level 2 and level 3. It aims to demonstrate the application of theory to current issues in macroeconomics.

• Financial Markets

  This module aims to give students an understanding of the roles and functions of financial markets and an awareness of the financial system, in order to provide a necessary basis for further study.

• Introduction to Financial Accounting

  This module aims to develop knowledge and understanding of the underlying principles and concepts relating to financial accounting and technical proficiency in the use of double-entry accounting techniques including the preparation of basic financial statements.

• Statistics and Data Analysis

  This module is designed to improve numerical and data analysis aptitude of students. It aims to provide an understanding of key statistical concepts and methods, such as descriptive statistics, probability theory, inference, testing and sampling. Students will be given the opportunity to work on data sets, develop theoretical, technical and software related skill, which are in high demand in industry.

Compulsory

• Corporate Finance

  This module aims to provide students with an understanding of the financing decisions and policy of modern corporations.

• Corporate Investment

  This module represents a core component of corporate finance and aims to give students a range of techniques to investigate firms’ investment decisions.

Optional

• Quantitative Methods

  The aim of the course is to provide students with a review of statistical methods applied in economic analysis, the theoretical skills needed to understand and analyse data and the practical skills needed to construct and estimate relevant models. Students will learn about and practice techniques in performing and discussing data analysis.

• Mathematical Economics

  The aim of this module is to provide mathematical tools needed to analyse economic problems, and to understand the role of mathematical modelling and how to translate economic problems into the language of mathematics.

• Introduction to Econometrics

  The aim of this module is to provide students with the theoretical skills needed to understand and analyse econometric studies and the practical skills needed to construct and estimate such models.

• Microeconomic Principles II

  The objective of this module is to provide students with the essential analytical tools which are used in standard economic analysis. The aims of the module are to build on the foundations of Level 1 microeconomics and to develop analytical skills and to learn to use microeconomic tools for the analysis of economic problems which are expected to be seen in other courses of economics.

• Macroeconomic Principles II

  The main aims of the module are to understand forces behind long-term prosperity and fluctuations in economic activity. To identify the role of banks, features of financial markets and labour markets, their interaction as well as consequences of the increasing globalisation for the economy. And to explore the role central bank and government play in stabilising macro economy.

• Intermediate Microeconomics

  The objective of the course is to provide students with insights from economic theory which are relevant to a variety of real world decisions. The emphasis is on applying microeconomics ideas to solve problems.

• Intermediate Macroeconomics

  The main aims of the module are to familiarise students with the assumptions, operation and predictions of the principal macroeconomic models. Enable students to understand current debate amongst Macroeconomists by examining the major theoretical controversies. And to explore policy implications relating to current macroeconomic performance.

• Money and Banking

  This module aims to provide students with a good grasp of both the theoretical and practical issues related to the modern financial markets and intermediaries. The topics covered include financial system, banking, financial institutions and money. Special attention will be given to the topics of financial crisis and the need and role of regulation.

• Monetary Economics

  The main aims of the module are to familiarise students with functions of money, interaction of money supply and demand, operations of financial intermediaries and banks, to enable students to understand to effect of monetary policy on welfare, business cycles, inflation and other macroeconomic variables in the short- and long-run and to explore inconsistencies and uncertainties in relation to monetary economics.

Optional

• Applied Research in Economics, Banking and Finance

  The module aims to provide final-year undergraduates with the opportunity to provide evidence of their ability to independently pursue research in the area of the topics chosen by them, with the assistance of, and the recommendation by, members of the Department. Students will be expected to develop their analytical ability and skills to conduct a general investigation into issues relating to economics and finance.

• Financial Theory and Corporate Policy

  The aim of this course is to give students a thorough theoretical and practical guide to corporate finance. Advanced corporate finance topics are covered including capital budgeting, cost of capital, capital structure, payout policy, raising equity capital, mergers and acquisitions, real options, working capital management, market efficiency, and corporate governance. The material presented for each topic includes theory, empirical evidence and practical examples. Emphasis is given to recent developments of the theory in the presence of informational asymmetries, such as the principal-agent relationship, incentives and signalling.

• Financial Engineering

  The aim of the course is to offer an introduction to the theory and practice of financial engineering. The course will examine the design, the development and the implementation of financial innovation, in addition to developing a deeper understanding of the workings of financial markets.

• Risk Management

  This module aims to illustrate on practical examples the application of concepts and ideas of financial management, to apply statistical tools to public policy and private sector business decision-making and to interpret their findings. It also aims to show and discuss how to conduct empirical research, work with data sources and present results in a project and to engage students in critically evaluating the theories and tools of financial markets

• Fixed Income Markets

  This module will provide an understanding of security valuation and portfolio Management within the fixed income markets. It will explore the underlying economic and finance theory, market developments and various practical approaches to fixed income investment.

• Behavioural Finance

  This module aims to provide students with an understanding of the principles of behavioural finance and to apply behavioural finance tools to financial decision-making and to interpret their findings. Students will engage in critically evaluating the theories and tools of behavioural finance.

• Managerial and Industrial Economics

  This module introduces students to the latest theories on the organisation of the firms and industries. Practical examples will illustrate the role of each theory in current policy debates. The focus is on recent developments in the theory of oligopoly, including the study of cooperative and non-cooperative oligopoly behaviour based on game theory. In addition, the course covers some advanced topics in pricing and strategic behaviour. Case studies will indicate how and why industrial economics models are valuable tools for competition policy and antitrust activity.

• The Economics of Labour Markets

  The aims of this course are to survey the broad area of Labour Economics and to analyse how individuals, families, firms and governments operate within a contemporary labour market. The approach is a two-fold one: a theoretical survey with the incorporation of empirical evidence from several developed countries.

• Behavioural Economics

  The module aims to provide students with an understanding of the principles of behavioural economics, to apply behavioural economics tools to public policy and private sector business decision-making and to interpret their findings and to engage students in critically evaluating the theories and tools of behavioural economics and finance.

• Game Theory

  The aim of this module is to equip students with the advanced knowledge and analytical skills associated with game theory and its economic applications.

• International Money and Finance

  The module aims to provide students with an understanding of the key issues in International Money, International Macroeconomics, and International Finance.

• Developmental Economics

  This module aims to provide students with an understanding of the main features of developing economies, how developing economies function, constraints and opportunities of the development process, economic growth in theory and practice, and the causes and consequences of extreme poverty and vulnerability. It also looks at how markets and institutions operate in developing economies, and the role of the household, ethnic and other networks, rural-urban migration.

• Further Econometrics

  This course will examine the basic regression model before considering how models should be specified and recent developments in the time series theory. The aim of the course is to provide students with the theoretical skills needed to understand and analyse econometric studies and the practical skills needed to construct and estimate such models.

• Political Economics

  This module aims to introduce students to formal economic models of politics, provide students with the tools to apply economic principles and analytical techniques to the study of politics, and enable students to use these tools to analyse real world observations and practical economic problems in politics and other areas.

• Economic History and Thought

  The course will provide a broad outline of the history of the British economy through the last few centuries, and some additional understanding of the European economy. It will discuss many of the ideas about Economics that have been held by Economists in the past, and their contemporary relevance. The link between Economic Theory and Economic Policy will be discussed. There will be an evaluation of how Economic Policy affected the Economy, and how discussion about policy informed Economic theory.

• Economics of Information

  This module aims to introduce students to the economics of information, provide students with the conceptual and analytical tools to analyse the role of asymmetric information in the determination of market outcomes, the design of contracts, and the provision of incentives, and enable students to use these tools to analyse real world observations and practical economic problems related to the design of contracts, compensation schemes, pricing menus, and more.

• Environmental and Natural Resource Economics

  This module aims to provide an understanding of the behaviour and interconnections between economic agents, markets and the environment, to apply economic tools and theory to problems relating to the environment and natural resources and interpret their findings. It also engages students in critical evaluation of these tools and theories against real-world phenomena.

• Public Economics and Finance

  This module investigates the role of the government in the economy. It will explore the rationale for/against government interventions and evaluate the impacts of policy choices on individuals and the economy. It will investigate the provision of services by the public sector (e.g. health insurance or disability benefits) and how a tax system may be designed in order to provide funding for such services.

• Advanced Macroeconomics

  The main aims of the module are to familiarise students with an exposition of modern micro-founded macroeconomics, to enable students to understand decisions made by representative consumers and producers and to explore the role of government policies on the economy.

• Data Analysis for Microeconomic Policies

  This module will provide the theoretical and methodological tools to identify the causal impact of an event or policy on outcomes of interest. The module will introduce students to the potential outcome framework and the casual effects of interests, then study the ideal scenario: randomized control experiments, linking them to regression techniques. The module will also cover mainstream methods to overcome selection issues, such as instrumental variables and difference-in-difference. Economically relevant applications will be provided throughout the course.

• Panel Data Methods

  This course will examine the basic regression model before considering how models should be specified and recent developments in panel data methods. The aim of the course is to provide students with the theoretical skills needed to understand and analyse econometric studies and the practical skills needed to construct and estimate such models.