Undergraduate study

Overview

The course offers

• Insight into issues of social importance and policy relevance from a degree combining theoretical and applied economics.
• Thorough training in analytical techniques for economic decision making
• A wide range of career opportunities in business and government
• Opportunities to combine with closely related subjects

The Economics Principal provides a thorough and stimulating training in the economic analysis of issues of social importance and policy relevance. The programme has been designed to provide a sound base if you are seeking to follow a career as a professional economist. However, at the same time it builds bridges with other subjects, especially Finance, Geography, Business Management, Mathematics, and Politics and, therefore, also provides excellent training for students wishing to prepare for a wider range of career opportunities.

Our teaching is motivated by the following aims:

• to help students explain a diverse range of real-world phenomena in terms of a small set of unifying core economic principles
• combine theoretical analysis with up-to-date factual knowledge about real-world policy issues
• develop independence and self-confidence among students in their work and their ability to co-operate with colleagues
• develop students’ ability to use professional software tools for the analysis of real economic data
• develop students’ ability to present complex findings in a well-balanced and concise manner

There is an option to study abroad for a semester at a range of partners in the EU, the USA, Canada, Asia and Australia

Course Content

Our programme has a sequential structure that starts from first principles and gradually builds up your understanding of economic ideas and analytical tools. No prior knowledge of Economics is assumed.  Modern Economics uses a range of mathematical techniques to study real-world economic behaviour, and graduates with competence in such techniques are much sought after by employers. Our programme carefully develops this competence over the three years of study. In the first two years, study includes a systematic introduction into the tools of empirical data analysis. The third year then offers a  range of optional modules that enable students to specialise in topics of their own personal interest.

First year 

The following core modules are taken:

Households, Firms and Government introduces the basic concepts of supply, demand and price, the principles underlying household and firm decision making and the effect of market intervention on these decisions.

Output, Inflation and Employment examines the determination of output at the national level and the role of policy in influencing aggregate output, inflation and employment. 

Quantitative Methods develops basic mathematical and statistical methods, such as calculus, probability, hypothesis testing and univariate regression used extensively in Economics and Finance.

Modules can also be taken from a range of electives:

Strategic Thinking
Everyday Economics
British and Global Economy

Second year 

The second year builds upon work undertaken previously with a further three core modules:

Price Theory covers more advanced analysis of the theory of the consumer and the firm, examining the factors that underpin demand and supply in markets.

Introduction to Econometrics uses statistical methods to investigate selected economic and financial issues such as consumption functions, household labour supply and asset pricing.

Open Economy Macroeconomics examines the fole and capability of government demand management policies in an open economy. The module systematically develops an open economy model and examines the efficacy of monetory and fiscal policy for stabilising output and employment in the context of capital mobility and flexible exchange rates.

Modules can also be taken from a range of electives available at School level, including:

Contemporary Issues in Economics

Banking

Third year 

The following two core modules are taken:

Market Imperfections and Market Failure introduces a variety of advanced topics inlcuding: imperfect competition, decision making under risk and uncertainty and the efficient provision of public goods. These issues are illustrated with examples including collusion in oligopolies, managerial incentives, auctions , tenders and procurement issues, bank lending.

Dynamic Macroeconomics explores the significance of macroeconomic dynamics and their implications for macroeconomic modelling models and policy in the context of key macroeconomic policy problems such as business cycles and growth.

Modules can also be taken from a range of electives, including:

Labour Economics
Health Economics
Economics of the European Union
Game Theory

The opportunity to take a structured, project-based independent study module using the tools needed to construct and interpret economic and business forecasts.

Study Abroad

The Management School is keen to promote the opportunity for students to spend a semester studying Economics at a partner institution in the EU, Australia, Asia, South Africa or North America. Students study abroad for either the first or second semester in their second year and take a series of modules at the partner university that are equivalent to those at Keele. Keele International's Study Abroad Office oversees the process and offers excellent support for students both as they prepare for their study abroad period and while they are away.

Codes and Combinations

Students are candidates for the degree of Bachelor of Arts (with Honours) (BA Hons) if their two Principal courses are in humanities and/or social science subjects.

All students who study a science subject are candidates for the degree of Bachelor of Science (with Honours) (BSc Hons).

Dual Honours course can be combined with:

Foundation course available:

For overseas students who do not meet direct entry requirements, we offer the opportunity to take an intensive Foundation Diploma programme in Business and Management leading to second year degree entry.

Teaching and Assessment

Teaching takes place in lectures, supported by tutorials, study groups and computer laboratory classes. Computer facilities are used extensively in economics teaching, especially in the quantitative modules, now part of the essential ‘toolkit’ of modern economics. Students acquire expertise with a wide range of statistical, economic and modern business software, and access to commercial databases, including Datastream, the main source of information for economic and financial data.

A range of assessment methods is utilised across the programme comprising weekly or fortnightly exercises, mid-semester tests, projects, essay assignments and unseen two-hour examinations. The precise combination in each module will depend on the material covered.

Programme Specifications

Programme specifications (new window)

Skills and Careers

The programme develops a variety of transferable and subject-specific skills, all of which are highly relevant to typical career choices in this subject area. Tests and examinations assess students' ability to solve problems and address issues under a severe time constraint, essays develop abilities in written expression and argument, dissertations develop ability to study a single issue in depth, while seminars give students practice in making presentations and developing powers of oral expression and argument.

Graduates from our Dual Honours Economics programme leave Keele well prepared for further study or employment in economics and related areas. In 2011 32% of the graduating cohort went on to postgraduate or equivalent study (45% of the cohort into full-time education).

The skills acquired at Keele also make graduates highly valued with employers. Economics graduates from Keele take up careers in the City, in the prestigious Government Economic Service, in commerce and industry, and in education.

Professional Recognition

After completion of a BA Economics (Dual Honours) the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) has awarded the following exemptions: 

• C3: Fundamentals of Business Mathematics
• C4: Fundamentals of Business Economics

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Economics and Finance
Economics and Finance share the same analytical framework. The notion of market equilibrium that is used extensively in economics provides the foundation for the arbitrage ideas that underpin the standard approach to asset pricing used in Finance. The economic policies of governments studied in our macroeconomic modules are closely inter-related with the behaviour of the monetary and financial system. The analytical toolkit acquired from the quantitative methods modules is identical for economics and finance. Graduates with this combination are well-placed to find employment with financial institutions, or in the financial sections of large enterprises.

Each year we award the Fishman Bursary, in memory of Professor Les Fishman, Economics Professor at Keele between 1969 and 1988. The bursary goes to the best performing student from the local area.