Business Economics (Industry) BSc Hons

15

15th for Graduate Prospects for Economics

The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide

(2023)

16

16th for Economics

The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide

(2023)

Lancaster University is among the best in the UK - appearing in the Top 20 of all major national league tables.

form

Telephone

Each year students receive specific training by the Management School Career Team, to prepare them for the graduate labour market. In the first year the focus is on growing the student’s awareness of labour market dynamics and his or her professional aspirations and inclinations. The second year focuses on goal setting, action planning, and the development of a personalised career plan. The third year focuses on one-to-one sessions with career advisors. The Career Team is based in the Management School, organises events with employers and alumni, and coaches students on how to best perform in the graduate job market through seminars, surgeries, mock interviews and one-to-one advice.

This full-year module is a self-contained introduction to Economics, and can be taken by students both with and without prior knowledge of the subject. It is divided into three parts. The first part provides a thorough introduction to Microeconomics (including the theory of demand, costs and pricing under various forms of market structure, and welfare economics). The second part provides a thorough introduction to Macroeconomics (including national income analysis, monetary theory, business cycles, inflation, unemployment, and the great macroeconomic debates).

The third part of the module, taught in parallel with the first two parts, first covers the key mathematical tools required for a good understanding of Economics (including linear and nonlinear equations, and differentiation), and then shows how the key Micro- and Macroeconomics ideas can help us understand the world around us. In this part, you will participate in economic experiments involving games with and without strategic behaviour. We will also discuss the lessons from the Great Depression and the Great Recession, speculative attacks and currency crises, inequality, democracy and growth, government deficits and inflation, and the macroeconomic implications of Brexit and Covid-19.

During this Preparation for Placement module, you will learn about the competitive recruitment processes in the UK and the skills and expertise employers expect you to evidence; how to produce excellent CVs and cover letters; how to make an impact on application forms, what to expect at interviews and assessment centres.

You will get to hear from final year students about their placement experience and a chance for you to learn about the placement opportunities on offer from graduate employers. You will be offered the opportunity to experience a mock interview with a real employer and attend a mock assessment centre. You will be shown the range of resources and support we offer in LUMS Careers and how that will continue throughout the placement programme, in order to seek a suitable year in industry placement.

Students compete with others nationally to secure placements and we also offer exclusive opportunities with employers, however, we cannot guarantee that all students will progress on to a year in industry placement.

This course provides a comprehensive introduction to the basic concepts and techniques of Accounting and FiNAce, which include fiNAcial accounting, managerial fiNAce, and fiNAcial statement analysis.

An important element of this course is that it provides exposure to the business and fiNAcial environment within which the discipline of Accounting and FiNAce operates, using real-world fiNAcial data for actual companies.

The course covers concepts, techniques and interpretive skills that relate to the external fiNAcial reporting of companies and their relationship to the stock market, and to the use of accounting information for internal management purposes.

This module is designed to give you a broad and critical introduction to the subject of marketing through a series of lectures and seminars. A comprehensive range of topics is taught at foundational level which you will then explore further in your second and final years. Subject areas that you will study include Understanding Markets, which examines how markets are created and sustained, Consumer Behaviour, Marketing Communications, Marketing Research and Innovation.

Throughout the year, you will be asked to consider how theory works in practice, by examining your own experience of marketing as well as current stories from the press and marketing media. Assessment consists of coursework including an individual essay and a group-based business report, and a summer exam which is largely essay-based. As part of your studies on this module, we will help you to develop all of the necessary academic skills to succeed in your first year at university and throughout your degree.

Each year students receive specific training by the Management School Career Team, to prepare them for the graduate labour market. In the first year the focus is on growing the student’s awareness of labour market dynamics and his or her professional aspirations and inclinations. The second year focuses on goal setting, action planning, and the development of a personalised career plan. The third year focuses on one-to-one sessions with career advisors. The Career Team is based in the Management School, organises events with employers and alumni, and coaches students on how to best perform in the graduate job market through seminars, surgeries, mock interviews and one-to-one advice.

This module provides an introduction to the core concepts and methods of econometric analysis and their applications in economics, business and fiNAce. More specifically, it examines different types of economic data and ways to handle them, the specification of econometric models and their estimation and testing, with a focus on the classical linear regression model. The approach pursued in the course is an intuitive and practical one, where special attention is paid to the application of econometric techniques to real-world data, interpretation and evaluation of the results of the estimation, and the ways in which they can be used to inform business and policy decisions.

An important part of the module is the training in the use of the specialized econometrics software EVews to gain the ability to analyse and assess empirical results. This module equips you with a set of tools and technical skills needed to conduct applied econometric research for the purposes of writing a dissertation or other assignments with an empirical component. The ability to apply econometric methods and evaluate the results represents an essential part of undergraduate training in economics and fiNAce, and is in high demand in the era of big data and business analytics.

The objective of the course is to train students to use macroeconomic models to understand real-world economic phenomena. The students will learn how to interpret macroeconomic data and understand the implications of economic policies. The course will put emphasis on major issues related to economic growth, the causes of economic fluctuations, and the effectiveness of economic policy. We will investigate the link between fiNAcial openness and economic growth, and we will explain why emerging countries experience capital outflows. We will study the impact of the exchange rate regime on the effectiveness of fiscal policy, we will rationalise the increase of current account deficits in Europe after the beginning of the nineties, and we will analyse the cause(s) of cross-country differences in hours worked.

The module requires basic knowledge of basic calculus, logical thinking and problem-solving skills.

Various topics of interest to prospective managers are covered within this module, including production and demand, competition and strategic behaviour, advertising and distribution, capital budgeting and inventories, the foreign exchange market, the economics of the multinational enterprise and the politics of corporate economics. The module provides knowledge of aspects of microeconomics relevant to general management, and also emphasises techniques and tools of analysis alongside relevant theory.

The module is designed to as an introduction to aspects of the firm and its environment which are of particular relevance to management. The topics selected aim to bridge the gap between the traditional approach to managerial economics and the more modern study of the organisation.

The course provides students with general knowledge and understanding concerning social research and particular methods and methodologies that lie within the positivist and interpretivist paradigms. It is primarily aimed at students from across the management school that are planning to undertake an industrial placement and/or a dissertation in their final year of study. This module helps to prepare you to undertake your own research with a view to highlighting different research approaches and techniques that are used in the production of knowledge.

The module provides an insight into the various ways research can be undertaken and the implications of different approaches. We will examine the conceptual and practical complexities of undertaking research in practice. Initially you will be introduced to research methods and that are most commonly employed in business and management research. The module will then examine the methodological approaches and paradigms that are linked with these methods and the assumptions that underpin positivistic and interpretivist approaches. The final part of the module explores how this understanding can be used in writing your research proposal and dissertation.

In your first year you'll apply for placements in business or industry, and will take a module to prepare you for the placement year. The whole of your third year will then be spent working in a paid placement, supported by the Careers team. Near the end of the placement, you'll submit a proposal for your dissertation topic, inspired by your experiences during the placement year, which you'll complete in fourth year under the supervision of an academic tutor.

This module equips students with experience of working within a business environment. You are expected to acquire not only knowledge of business problems and practices, but also experience of interpersonal relationships within a business context. The dissertation is undertaken during the work placement year.

Each year students receive specific training by the Management School Career Team, to prepare them for the graduate labour market. In the first year the focus is on growing the student’s awareness of labour market dynamics and his or her professional aspirations and inclinations. The second year focuses on goal setting, action planning, and the development of a personalised career plan. The third year focuses on one-to-one sessions with career advisors. The Career Team is based in the Management School, organises events with employers and alumni, and coaches students on how to best perform in the graduate job market through seminars, surgeries, mock interviews and one-to-one advice.

The course introduces state-of-the-art methods used in current macroeconomics research to understand short-run business cycle and inflation dynamics, as well as economic stabilisation policies.

We will develop a broad and deep knowledge of modern Dynamic Stochastic General Equilibrium (DSGE) macroeconomic models that employ microeconomic foundations and rational expectations. These models will be solved using advanced analytical and numerical-computational approaches. More specifically, we will use the DSGE neoclassical Real Business Cycle and New Keynesian frameworks to understand the different sources of aggregate economic fluctuations, and to examine the positive and normative roles of fiscal and monetary policies.

Finally, the course examines contemporary issues such as inflationary shocks, government debt fiNAcing through distortionary taxation, optimal (un)conventional monetary and fiscal policies in a zero interest rate-liquidity trap environment, and fiNAcial frictions.

This module explores how the theoretical and mathematical tools of advanced microeconomic theory can be used to understand and model individual and strategic decision making. Topics it covers include advanced concepts of decision making of the main economic agents (consumers and firms), as well as specialised topics on game theory. The module requires algebra and calculus, along with logical thinking and problem-solving ability.

Behavioural Economics is the interface between economics and psychology. It is one of the fastest-growing fields in economics, and since the past decade, it is regarded as a standard tool for policymaking. The course will survey the empirical tools used by behavioural economists and in particular lab and field experiments. We will explore behavioural biases affecting economic and fiNAcial decision making, and the role of trust and cooperation in teamwork. We will discuss models and experimental results explaining how we make decisions in various contexts such as choice under uncertainty, intertemporal choice or decision making in a social framework.

This course focuses on the economics of growth and development, both from a theoretical and empirical perspective. Using examples from developing countries, it explores wide-ranging, policy-relevant topics such as investments in health, education and infrastructure, microeconomics of credit markets, corruption and other determiNAts of economic development.

This module introduces up-to-date quantitative econometric methods used in applied research/empirical work. We will discuss various economic applications, including “returns to schooling” and “the effect of minimum wages on employment”. The module will also provide students with the data analytical skills necessary to conduct applied research in economics/policy analysis using popular statistical software, STATA. Key topics include linear regression, instrumental variables, causal inferences, binary choice models, panel data, time series modelling, and forecasting.

This module helps you improve your strategic thinking. Over the course of this module, you will learn how to use ‘games’ to model strategic situations in the real world, and how to analyse and find out solutions to these games in situations in which players are intelligent and rational. Games including “normal form games”, “extensive form games”, “Bayesian games”, “repetitive games”, and “games with correlation device” will be introduced. Opportunities for playing games with the lecturer and other students will also be provided. The module requires a basic knowledge of algebra, calculus, and economics.

This applied module is an introduction to the economics of health and health care and will develop your awareness of the main policy issues in this field. It provides a comprehensive set of economic tools for critically appraising fundamental issues in the economics of health while offering a broad overview of the UK’s National Health Service and other health care systems around the world. The emphasis is on the use and interpretation of microeconomic models and the latest empirical evidence.

This module builds on basic microeconomics concepts to explore competition between firms and the evolution of market structure. It focuses on understanding the way firms make decisions and the effects of those decisions on market outcomes like prices, quantities, the type of products offered, and social welfare. The module first introduces basic concepts in Industrial Organisation to study imperfect competition and the determiNAts of market power. It then proceeds to analyse important topics in competition policy, such as cartels and merger policy.

The module requires an understanding of intermediate microeconomics (especially production/cost theory), basic concepts of game theory, and basic calculus.

This module develops your understanding of concepts and theories of international trade and factor flows, with particular reference to the way in which such material can inform policymaking. Topics covered include the Ricardian model, the Heckscher-Ohlin model, international trade under imperfect competition, outsourcing and offshoring, trade models based on heterogeneous firms and multinational firms, and trade policy under perfect and imperfect competition. Throughout the module we emphasise the applicability of the models learned, and their relevance to real-world events. Examples include the relationship between labour productivity and wages, opinions toward free trade, and the impact of immigration.

Focusing on the microeconomics of labour and personnel, this module covers topics such as the economics of migration, wage determination, job search and labour market discrimination.

There is a particular emphasis on principal agent problems in human resources and the design of incentives within firms.

Economics theory is used to analyse the operation of labour markers and assess the empirical evidence. Areas covered include:

This course aims at training ambitious economists to formal mathematical methods used in economic modelling and beyond. These techniques are necessary for students interested in pursuing postgraduate studies in Economics or working in analytically demanding jobs in the private sector. The course will cover material that usually is outside the scope of the regular mathematics education for economists, like decisions over time.

By the end of this course, students should have a good knowledge and understanding of these relevant mathematical techniques.

Policymakers at Central Banks lie in a unique position to influence economic activity. This module examines the role of monetary policy in influencing the expectations and behaviour of agents in the economy and the implications this has for outcomes such as inflation, GDP and household welfare. Students will focus on applications of monetary theory to central banks problems and the recent objectives of the Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee. Topics include Central Bank independence, inflation targeting and the zero lower bound on interest rates, money creation and quantitative easing, and the macroeconomics of pandemics.

This module presents an overview of the interactions between the government, firms, and citizens, using a mix of theory and empirical work. Sometimes, markets are not efficient, and government intervention is necessary. Sometimes, markets are efficient, but equity concerns create the need for government. There is often a tension between the socially optimal policy and the outcome of the democratic process.

Some questions we study in this module: