Economics

Economics is the systematic study of questions such as: how much of its income a household chooses to save and what goods it chooses to buy; how many people a business chooses to employ and how it sets its prices; how the price system in a market economy allocates resources and incomes; and how all the households and businesses in the country interact to determine national output, the balance of payments, inflation and unemployment. It reveals why purely self-interested behaviour may nevertheless produce a desirable outcome for society as a whole. But it also reveals how easily this process can go awry, justifying government intervention. A case in point is the need for co-ordinated international action to limit environmental pollution. Above all, the study of economics develops a mental approach suitable for analysing a whole range of problems, often well outside what is conventionally thought of as the domain of economics.

A first degree in Economics or Econometrics will not only prepare you for a career as an economist in industry, the City or government, but will also be excellent preparation for a range of related careers such as accountancy, banking, and managerial jobs in general.

Features of LSE courses

• The Economics Department is regularly ranked number one outside the USA for its published research in economics and econometrics. You will therefore benefit from the wide knowledge and experience of its staff.
• Economics is a means of analysing the key features of problems by modelling economic relationships mathematically and testing beliefs about economic behaviour against the known data. Because of this, your course will help you to develop knowledge of essential mathematical techniques such as calculus and statistics.
• Our BSc in Economics course attempts to provide a well-rounded coverage of the whole area of economics. The BSc in Econometrics and Mathematical Economics enables you to build a particularly strong quantitative background, which is becoming more and more important for a successful career in economics. The BSc in Economics with Economic History provides an option for students with a secondary interest in Economic History and who are not so interested in statistics and econometrics.
• The first year of all courses will give you an essential foundation in the subject. The second year concentrates on building a firm grasp of core analytical methods and applying them to a range of problems, while the third year allows you to specialise and to apply those methods to particular areas.

Degree structure

We offer two single honours degrees, in Economics , and Econometrics and Mathematical Economics . You can also take Economics as a major subject with Economic History as a minor .

You can also take degrees which combine Economics in various ways with Economic History , Environmental Policy , Geography , Government , Philosophy and Mathematics . The study of economics in all these degrees requires core study in economic principles and mathematics.

Teaching and assessment

You will have around 12 to 15 hours of lectures and classes a week. Classes in groups of between 10 and 20 students are the main form of interaction with staff. You will have a personal tutor who will be available to offer general guidance and assistance with both academic and personal concerns on an individual basis. The courses are assessed through examinations in June each year. The project element of the degree in Econometrics and Mathematical Economics is assessed through the report you submit.

Other degrees including Economics:

• BSc Environmental Policy with Economics
• BSc Mathematics and Economics
• BSc Philosophy and Economics
• BSc Government and Economics
• BSc Geography with Economics

Suggested preliminary reading

If you wish to gain further insight into the subject we suggest that you look at one or more of the following books:

• J Sloman Economics (4th edition, Addison Wesley, 2000)
• P Heyne The Economic Way of Thinking (9th edition, Financial Times/Prentice Hall, 1999)

Academic staff

• Dr Oriana Bandiera
• Dr Nicholas Barr
• Professor Timothy Besley
• Dr Margaret Bray
• Dr Robin Burgess
• Dr Xiaohong Chen
• Professor Frank Cowell
• Dr Saikat Datta
• Professor David de Meza
• Professor Lord Meghnad Desai
• Dr Christopher Dougherty
• Mr Ramdam Dridi
• Dr Antoine Faure-Grimaud
• Dr Leonardo Felli
• Professor Raquel Fernandez
• Professor Lucien Foldes
• Dr Stanislaw Gomulka
• Professor Charles Goodhart
• Dr Vassilis Hajivassiliou
• Professor John Hardman Moore
• Mr Timo Henckel
• Dr Javier Hidalgo
• Dr Anthony Horsley
• Professor Richard Jackman
• Professor Michihiro Kandori
• Dr Godfrey Keller
• Professor Nobu Kiyotaki
• Dr Edward Kuska
• Dr Ricardo Lagos
• Dr John Lane
• Professor Richard Layard
• Dr Jonathan Leape
• Dr Gilat Levy
• Professor Oliver Linton
• Dr Erzo Luttmer
• Professor Alan Manning
• Mr Alan Marin
• Dr Thomas Mariotti
• Professor Stephen Nickell
• Dr François Ortalo-Magné
• Professor Michele Piccione
• Professor Christopher Pissarides
• Professor Danny Quah
• Dr Rohit Rahi
• Dr Stephen Redding
• Dr Hèléne Rey
• Professor Peter Robinson
• Dr Marcia Schafgans
• Dr Mark Schankerman
• Dr Christopher Scott
• Dr Luca Stanca
• Mr Max Steuer
• Mr Daniel Sturm
• Professor John Sutton
• Mr James Thomas
• Dr Lucia Tsai
• Dr Tommaso Valletti
• Professor Anthony Venables
• Professor Christine Whitehead
• Dr Hugh Wills
• Dr Chenggang Xu

^