DESCRIPTION OF MSc
COURSES
Pre-sessional Mathematics
The main objectives of the
course are to refresh knowledge in mathematical economics, to establish a
common basic standard and to facilitate the start to the core courses in
macro and microeconomics.
Pre-sessional Econometrics
The course furnishes students with the basic skills of probability,
statistics and matrix algebra, including the use of the computer package
MicroFit, which will be required for the compulsory Quantitative Methods
course.
Macroeconomics (2 core courses)
These courses cover the major areas
of the modern macroeconomics. The emphasis is on understanding different
theoretical approaches and their relevance to macroeconomics policy. By the
end of the courses students should be able to derive and manipulate a
number of key theoretical models.
Microeconomics (2 core courses)
These courses have been designed
to meet two main objectives: First to ensure that students on the programme
are familiar with the core elements of microeconomic theory which form the
basis for advanced work in fields such as industrial economics, labour
economics, etc. Second, to introduce students to a number of topics in
applied microeconomics so as to identify and explore the issues and
problems which arise in making the transition from theoretical models to
empirical and other applied work founded on microeconomic analysis.
Quantitative Methods (2 core courses)
These courses provide a thorough
training in econometric methods, to enable students to assess critically
applied work and to use econometric techniques in PhD work or in employment
as economists. The courses cover: the General Linear Model, OLS estimators,
seasonality and structural change, testing for parameter constancy and
predictive accuracy, multicollinearity, likelihood based inference, model
selection tests, Generalised Least Squares, univariate time series
analysis, Errors-in Variables & instrumental variable estimators. The
courses also include a substantial amount of applied econometrics, based in
the computer laboratory, working principally on Macroeconomic applications
of time series analysis, with an empirical project at the end.
Advanced Topics in Macroeconomics
The course extends the core
macroeconomics course to new developments in intertemporal macroeconomics,
economic integration, and real business cycle theory. These are topics of
key importance in contemporary macroeconomics, and the course is often
taken by students who plan to do a Phd on mainstream macroeconomic theory
or applied macroeconomics.
Advanced Topics In Microeconomics
The course looks at game theory
and how it can be used to analyse a variety of economic issues, including
bargaining, auctions, and the design of contracts. The course also covers
recent advances in evolutionary game theory.
Advanced Topics In Quantitative
Methods
This course builds on the core
course in Quantitative Methods. It provides an opportunity to cover a range
of advanced topics in time-series and cross-section analysis, including
limited dependent variables, panel data and vector autoregressions.
Asset Pricing
The aim of the module is to provide
students with a good foundation in asset pricing, by using a blend of
theoretical concepts, empirical evidence and some applications of the
theory. The intention is for the students to increase their knowledge and
understanding of modern finance theory. Within this context, the module
covers the following topics: mean-variance analysis, the Capital Asset
Pricing Model, the Arbitrage Pricing Theory, derivatives pricing; market
microstructure with respect to Efficiency Market Hypothesis, security
exchanges, asymmetric information and noise traders; behavioural finance
and Individual portfolio choices.
Corporate Finance
The aim of the module is to develop
students’ knowledge and understanding of corporate finance theory and
empirical evidence, specifically in the areas of capital structure, payout
policy, corporate governance, and new equity issues.
Development Economics
The course aims at providing students with
an introduction to the recent research in development economics. As the
following key themes indicate the focus will be on market imperfections,
institutions and various governance issues in the context of economic
development. Students will be exposed to a blend of theoretical models and
empirical applications enabling them to get a better understanding of the
obstacles to economic development.
Development Of Economic Thought &
Methodology
The aim of this course is to
promote an understanding of how economic theory has developed, in terms of
the questions addressed, the types of theory developed to address these
questions, and the methodological underpinnings of these theories. The
course covers the key developments in the history of economic thought and
its methodology from the pre-Enlightenment period up to the present day.
Economic Policy
The aim of this course is two-fold. The
first is to present the student with a series of topics that are currently
policy relevant. The second is to provide the student with an understanding
of how economics can be used to enlighten the debate surrounding these
topics. The topics of this course will be reviewed annually in order to
ensure that the course remains current. This course should be particularly
of interest to those students interested in pursuing a career as an
economist with the civil service. Topics taught in 2003/04 included UK productivity performance, policy
evaluation and the usefuness of social and natural experiments, UK
transport policy, health policy and regional policy.
Economics of Eastern Europe
The course reviews the functioning of the
former centrally-planned systems of Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union, briefly covering the political events
of 1989-91 which led to the downfall of the system, and the subsequent
reforms. The course then examines how modern economic analysis can help to
explain both the functioning of the old economic systems in the region and
the issues confronting the new, with an emphasis on the latter. Topics
covered include privatisation, structural change, enterprise and financial
sector reform, employment and unemployment, and macroeconomic management.
Environmental and Natural Resource
Economics
The course intends to provide students with
an introduction to the application of economic theory to the subject area.
There is a strong focus on policy issues and policy remedies to identified
problems, and the course will be structured around an organising theme of
sustainability.
Experimental Economics
Introduced to the programme in 2009 and taught by lecturers from the University
of Aberdeen’s
Scottish Experimental Economics Laboratory (SEEL), a dedicated
state-of-the-art purpose-built computer laboratory used by experimental
economists as well as by researchers in other disciplines wishing to use
experimental methods for their own work.
Industrial Organisation
The aims of the course are to enable students to make intelligent access to
the research literature in Industrial Economics, to provide illustrations
of areas of
application of both applied econometrics and advanced microeconomics as
developed in courses elsewhere on the programme, and to facilitate the
cultivation of skills in industrial economics to a level which would lay
the basis for research work within academia or industry.
International Money And Finance
The course aims to cover the major recent
developments in the field of International Money and Finance. There is of a
blend of theoretical, applied econometric and institutional material. The
course will consider: theoretical and applied aspects of exchange rate
determination; the efficiency of foreign exchange markets; regimes of the
international monetary system; the international transmission of
macroeconomic shocks and the case for policy
coordination; implications for the effectiveness of macroeconomic policies
of alternative assumptions about wage-price flexibility in a standard open
economy macro-model; the operation of the European Monetary System and its
effectiveness in aiding the convergence process.
International Trade
This course is intended to explain the
reasons that countries trade with each other and the benefits that arise
from this trade; to demonstrate the role of
governments in regulating international trade in order to promote national
interests; to give an insight into the nature and causes of trade arising
between and within imperfectly competitive industries; to provide an
understanding of the determinants of the spatial location of production; to
explain why industry may agglomerate; and to examine the economics of
regional integration.
Personnel Economics
The module will examine the theories and
empirical evidence concerning the way incentives are structured within
organisations. This is an active area of current research, and will be of
interest to students interested in the application of incentive theory in
the real world.
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