University of Kent

Description

The aim of the module is to introduce students to contemporary economic issues and how to evaluate the design and success of policy responses to tackle them. The topics covered include: introduction to economic policy; mergers, acquisitions and non-competitive behaviour; global warming and sustainable economic welfare; poverty and opportunity in Britain; transport infrastructure, congestion and deregulation; inactivity and unemployment. Students are also given guidance and help in developing their oral and written communication skills.

Learning outcomes

By the end of the module, students will:

• be able to draw on social science concepts and theories in decision-making situations
• be able to communicate economic arguments and ideas in seminars and contextualise their relevance to current and past policy design
• be able to write extended economics essays
• be able to analyse data to support their understanding of economic issues
• be able to work in a group on seminar problems
• be able to think critically and analytically
  
• plan work and study independently
• retrieve information from a variety of sources
• be able to think about the way that they learn

Reading list

M Sawyer, The UK Economy (16th ed), Oxford University Press, 2005
N Barr, The Economics of the Welfare State, Oxford University Press, 2004
S Connolly and A Munro, Economics of the Public Sector, Prentice Hall, 1999
R Dickens, P Gregg and J Wadsworth, The Labour Market Under New Labour: The State of Working Britain II, Palgrave Macmillan, 2003

Factsheet

Credits	15 [7.5]
Level	Intermediate
Term	Autumn
Availability
Exclusion
Pre-requisites & Co-requisites:	Stage 1 Economics (modes A or B), Mathematics for Economics and Business (modes A or B) and Statistics for Economics and Business
Assessment	100% coursework consisting of an oral presentation (20%), a reflective writing assignment of 400-500 words (20%), a class test (30%) and an extended essay (30%)
Contact hours	10 lectures, 8 seminars and 4 workshops