Economic Development and Policy Analysis MSc

This module covers a series of topics in economic policy. The first part looks at policies relating to growth, technology, investment and exporting/trade. The second part covers international economic policies and institutions including:

• policy transfer
• macroeconomic policy (IMF)
• development (World Bank)
• aid
• capital flows

This module covers empirical models of international trade and several topics in trade policy. It discusses firms’ decision to export; the evaluation of export promotion policies; the link between globalisation and labour markets; the gravity model of international trade; free trade agreements; multinational firms; the political economy of trade policy.

This module covers foundations of consumer theory, decision-making under risk, elements of the theory of imperfect competition, and incomplete information in markets.

We start by laying the foundations of macroeconomic models with the use of very stylised one and two-period models in which consumers, firms and governments interact in the goods and factor markets. We will discuss how to solve macroeconomic models in the computer with the aid of these simple economies.

We next move to study the determinants of long-run economic growth. The overarching question that we will study is: why are some countries so much richer than others? We will study several mechanisms that can potentially account for these differences, namely, capital accumulation, knowledge production and institutions. This section does not seek to be an exhaustive survey of models of economic growth; it intends to highlight the mechanisms at play in a broad class of models. We will also place a strong emphasis on how to take the predictions derived from these models to the data.

In the last section of the module, we turn our attention towards the ‘short run’. We will embed the consumption and labour supply decision studied at the beginning of the semester into a dynamic stochastic general equilibrium model of the macroeconomy, the standard real business cycle (RBC) model developed by Kydland and Prescott. We will study the investment decision of firms, and close the module by studying the search and matching model of unemployment of Mortensen and Pissarides.

This module provides you with 'hands on' training in the use, presentation and interpretation of economic data, including time series, cross-section and panel data. It comprises of:

• an introduction to basic principles of economic data analysis
• descriptive statistics
• hypothesis testing
• simple and multiple regression
• introduction to panel data
• introduction to dynamic modelling
• time series models

The module will include a series of practical classes using econometrics software packages.

Examples of types of policy issues addressed include:

• randomised controlled trials to evaluate policy interventions
• trade policy reform
• welfare impact of economic partnership agreements
• growth and innovation
• dealing with public debt

This module covers the following:

• A review of perspectives on the principles and philosophical foundations of economic enquiry
• The construction and evaluation of theories and research programmes
• The role of models and concepts of rationality in economics
• Alternative empirical methods
• Professional practice

A period of research and study designed to allow you to demonstrate familiarity with a particular area of economic theory or policy, or of applied economics or econometrics, and the ability to apply a specific analytical and/or empirical technique.

The module will cover a selection of topics in applied behavioural economics where a substantial literature has already developed.

Possible areas include behavioural approaches to: labour economics, public economics, financial economics, development economics.

This module employs tools of microeconomic analysis to address topics central to development issues in low-income countries. One part concentrates on issues concerning household behaviour covering intrahousehold allocation, production, risk, migration and rural markets (especially credit), while the second part focuses on poverty and income distribution, covering measurement, income dynamics, and poverty reduction strategies.

This module covers the central issues in the economics of household finance. Increasingly economists are interested in the decisions of consumers as well as the decisions of firms.

Household finance is the study of the behaviour of individuals and households in financial markets including those for secured (for example, mortgage) and unsecured (for example, credit card) lending and related economic models of consumption smoothing, liquidity constraints and household behaviour.

The module begins with the central topic of consumption smoothing, focusing on the role of credit markets and income risk in household behaviour. Later topics include financial literacy, self-control, mortgage market design, stock market participation and the regulation of consumer credit markets.

The module content includes come theoretical material but is mostly applied, with a focus on how large-scale individual level proprietary and survey datasets can be used to understand household financial behaviour.

This module covers the following:

• Foundation in the research method of modern laboratory experimentation
• Economics as an experimental subject
• Rationale for experiments, applications and practicalities, considered in the context of specific experiments and programmes of experiments

This module covers the following:

• International linkages in economics as a result of exchange rate movements, capital movements and spillovers
• Factors which determine the level of the exchange rate and trade effects
• International effects of monetary and fiscal policies

This module provides an overview of the theory of international trade, the theory of trade policy and each of their applications, utilising the techniques of general equilibrium theory and the theories of perfectly competitive and imperfectly competitive markets as appropriate. Recent developments in these areas will be emphasised.

This module covers monetary aspects of advanced macroeconomics and is suitable for students of mainstream economics, finance and international economics. It focuses on the theory and practice of central banking, monetary policy and control.

It covers concepts such as time inconsistency, the problem of inflation bias with solutions, credibility, transparency and accountability of monetary institutions, inflation targeting and price stability, the choice of instruments for monetary policy and their control, and finally monetary transmission. It combines some theory with evidence and practice.