Business Economics BA (Hons) module details

Year one

Block 1: Contemporary Issues in Microeconomics

This module will introduce you to the fundamentals of the economic approach to problem-solving and analysis. Economic issues of scarcity, exchange and trade-offs will be used to explore a variety of contemporary issues in the modern economy relating to choices by individual consumers, firms and government policy-makers.

Block 2: Quantitative Methods for Business Economics

This module is designed to avail students with the key mathematical and statistical techniques that will enable them to understand the models and arguments used within business and economics, both in theory and in application.

Block 3: Macroeconomics for Business

This module introduces students to mainstream macroeconomics and its core principles. The module facilitates an understanding of how economists’ approach and analyse societal problems at the national and regional levels.

Block 4: The History of Business and Economics

This module aims to develop an understanding of how and why economies and the individual businesses within them change and how economic thought develops and is influenced by its historical context. A wide variety of thinkers and ideas will be discussed and compared, and students will have a sense of the richness of debates and how they relate to contemporary issues.

Year two

Block 1: Macroeconomics Analysis and Policy

The module will emphasise the analytical skills developed by examining economic and business theory in an applied context. It will equip participants to think conceptually and holistically about how to approach macroeconomic policy making at an institutional level.

Block 2: Microeconomics: Ethics, Policy and Practice

This module develops the understanding of microeconomics established in the first-year module. Students will be introduced to the programming of economic problems and develop communication skills, both written and oral.

Block 3: Data Modelling and Analytics

This module offers a deep insight into the realm of data science and visualisation, exploring a wide range of tools in MS Excel. A career in Economics or the private sector requires technical experience in using spreadsheets, economic and business models.

Block 4: Contemporary Issues in Global Business

The module will examine how firms understand the external environment they operate in and the internal competitive pressures within their respective markets.

Year three

Block 1: Advanced Business Economics

This module will provide students with the critical knowledge of relevant economics and business theories that are essential for the optimal decision making of individuals and firms within the context of a business environment. It will also explore the interdependence between them and the implications of their actions on each other.

Block 2: International Economics, Sustainability and Emerging Markets

This module examines important themes and concepts in development economics, development studies and international trade. It has been designed to provide students with in-depth knowledge of various development, resource and governance issues.

Block 3: Behavioural Economics

The purpose of the module is to examine behavioural concepts and their application to both theoretical and empirical challenges which are difficult to explain with a traditional economics approach.

Block 3: Economics Institutions and Policy

This module has been designed to provide students with the knowledge of economic institutions and the importance of public policy on social, economic and political outcomes. It will draw upon the effectiveness of economics institutions and the different theories and approaches to the concept of policymaking including the interlinks between the two.

Block 4: Applied Business Project

This module provides students with an opportunity to apply their knowledge of business and economics and the skills developed in their degree to develop their own business project. Students will be able to communicate their ideas visually, verbally and in written format.

The project can take different forms; from case-study analysis to business simulation and evaluation, or a consultancy-type project. Initial thinking about topics and methods for this project will be done at level 5 in the modules ‘Data Modelling and Analytics’ and ‘Contemporary Issues in Global Business.

Block 4: Economics Dissertation

The module provides an opportunity for students to undertake independent research study in an area of special interest within selected subject areas of business and economics. Students will be able to communicate their ideas visually, verbally and in written format.

The research work should use appropriate research methods in the solution of business and economic problems or in answering research questions of interest in business and economics. Initial thinking about topics and methods for this project will be done at level 5 in the module ‘Data Modelling and Analytics’.