BA (Hons) Economics, Politics and International Relations

This intermediate module enriches the understanding of microeconomic theory built in previous modules. It covers individual consumer preferences, market demand analysis, production costs, pricing behaviour of firms, and asymmetric information. You'll apply economic theory to real-world scenarios, including issues of price and income subsidies, taxation, insurance, and asset markets. The module utilises a graphical approach to help you develop a basic understanding of general equilibrium theory. You'll learn to distinguish between issues of equity and efficiency in product markets, gaining a deeper understanding of economic policies' societal impact.

Through this module, you'll also develop self-management, learning, communication, and problem-solving skills essential to success in academic and professional settings. By the end of this module, you will have the ability to comprehend key functional relationships, analyse economic issues, and think critically about economic policies.

In this module, you will delve deeper into macroeconomic theory and policy by examining national economies and international linkages. You will analyse long and short-run macroeconomic models, fiscal and monetary policies, exchange rate policies, government debt, and currency unions. Through theoretical analysis and examination of recent economic events, you will develop a critical understanding of macroeconomic hypotheses and competing approaches. You will also enhance your problem-solving, critical thinking, and data analysis skills to apply theoretical understanding and empirical knowledge to macroeconomic policy debates.

By completing this module, you will gain critical self-awareness by assessing the impact of macroeconomic shocks and economic policies in determining key economic variables. The carefully curated learning framework will enhance problem-solving and critical thinking skills, as well as the ability to work independently and as part of a team.

This module will help you develop the knowledge, skills and attitudes you’ll need for making your career decisions and managing your future career development. Looking both at the UK and overseas, you will cover:

• transitions into graduate employment
• self-employment
• further study
• professional training courses.

You’ll be supported to take an informed and critical view of the world of work and think about your future role and responsibilities, not only to yourself but also to others. You’ll also learn about the University Careers Service and OBBS WAVES team. You’ll have the opportunity to go into placements, internships, volunteering and other extracurricular activities offered by the University.

You'll look at the development, application and realities of different research methods in the social sciences. You'll equip yourself with the understanding and skills required to analyse research methods, design, processes and research outcomes. You'll study the methods that social scientists use to gather and analyse ‘data’ or evidence, and evaluate and compare these methods. You'll study the ways that research methods are applied in practice, by drawing upon existing examples of research in social sciences.

You'll also learn how to design their own research project, in preparation for your third-year extended project work. In so doing you'll carefully explore what is appropriate and achievable for your undergraduate research project.

In this module, you’ll get to know the global economy. You’ll investigate how economics and politics shape world affairs in both trivial and profound ways.

In part 1, you’ll gain a strong knowledge of the history of the world economy. You’ll develop key analytical skills, as you explore competing explanations of how it functions. You’ll gain the tools you need to understand the economy’s recent changes.

In part 2, you’ll dig into key debates on how the global economy functions today, including:

• Finance
• Global production
• Trade and international development
• The relationship between the global economy and the environment.

In this module, you will explore the history and details of British politics, covering the major events and themes of contemporary British politics.

Examine the complex institutions that make up the British political system and how these have changed over time, including the evolution of political parties and how policy is made by the executive and implemented by the civil service.

You’ll look at political and economic factors side-by-side in how the British state is constituted and how decisions are made. You’ll also cover topics like;

• the changing nature of the British political system
• conceptual approaches to British politics
• the post-war consensus and its end in electoral politics
• declinism
• Britain’s foreign relations and its relationship with Europe.

Equip yourself with the knowledge and critical analytical skills to understand contemporary British politics.

In this module, you can investigate the politics of the USA, subject to student numbers and staff availability.

You’ll focus on governmental and political institutions. You’ll also explore explosive issues in American politics, including religion, race and capital punishment.

In this module you'll look at and analyse governmental and political institutions in Europe. You'll cover policy-making, the participatory process and contemporary issues in European politics, with a focus on comparative study as well as the process of regionalisation. You'll examine:

• The evolution of democracy and citizenship in Europe
• Parties, party systems and elections in Europe
• The EU and theories of European integration
• Regional nationalism and sub-state governance in Europe
• The unique challenges facing post-communist Europe
• The rise of populist nationalism in Europe
• The politics of migration in Europe
• The European welfare state
• The impact of global challenges on European politics.

In this module, you’ll explore the effect of nationalism, ethnicity and regime change on a country. You’ll get to grips with the different approaches we use to explore them. You’ll gain fantastic analytical skills as you apply these approaches to real world cases, and investigate the implications of their different perspectives.

You’ll also look at how globalisation impacts the politics and identity of a country. You’ll analyse the ways in which globalisation can be a force for good (spreading democracy) and bad (divisive, leading to nationalist resistance)

This module examines the diversity of national policy approaches to labour market and social issues. You’ll undertake a comparative economic analysis of the behaviour of employers and employees operating in the global marketplace. Using a common framework of the economic theory of labour markets, you’ll also critically evaluate how governments, economic, social and other institutions alter outcomes in labour markets.

By completing this module, you’ll be able to present a range of international labour market data, defend appropriate policy proposals and solutions to labour market issues, and recognise the implications for analysis of various social and cultural phenomena.

This module provides an introduction to the interpretation and analysis of economic data through the application of appropriate statistical and econometric methodologies. You will gain practice in applying theory and develop your skills of statistical and econometric analysis through the completion of problem sets. Practising quantitative techniques in seminars is essential in helping you to identify your learning needs and to encourage you to become critically self-aware of your relative strengths and weaknesses in relation to the acquisition of quantitative skills, a fundamental attribute of graduates in economics and finance.

On completion of the module, you will have an understanding of hypothesis testing and statistical inference; the ability to conduct essential statistical analyses of data; and an understanding of regression analyses.

You'll get an introduction to the way in which different schools of thought in economics have analysed important issues. You'll learn about the main characteristics of these schools of thought and the historical and contemporary contexts in which they have arisen. You'll get to understand the variety of approaches which can be taken to the study of economic phenomena and the traditions to which they give rise.

You’ll be introduced to international trade and economic integration. And you’ll use partial equilibrium tools of economic analyses to analyse trade policy options and assess the welfare implications of these policies. Throughout this module, you’ll also explore the institutional arrangements of various trading blocks through reviewing multilateral and global institutions.

Upon successful completion of this module, you’ll be able to understand the economic rationale of international trade, and the stages of economic integration, including their relevance to international negotiations. You’ll also gain problem-solving and IT skills.

How do we govern the world, when it’s no longer dominated by states and national governments? How do different types of migration shape the movement of people across the world? In this module, you’ll get to understand the key part of international relations - borders and solidarities (groups with a common identity or interest). You’ll explore the various forms of borders and solidarities, including:

• movements across national boundaries
• regional organisations
• trade agreements.

You’ll link them to key forces and events, such as:

• NGOs
• corporations
• colonisation
• refugee movements
• the migrant ‘crisis’.

You’ll gain valuable practical and professional knowledge, as you explore major issues today, and how global governance or migration shape our lives.

We encourage you to take the optional, supervised work placement in the computing industry for 12 months between Year 2 and your final year. You will need to apply for your placement position yourself; however you will be taught about how to apply for jobs effectively in a second year module, and we have a placements office with dedicated staff to provide information and advice to help you secure a placement. We maintain links with industry and most students who go on placement obtain their position through the Department.

More and more students are finding that a placement benefits their final-year studies and career prospects. Possible placement organisations include IBM, Microsoft and PepsiCo.

On returning to University for your final year, the experience you have gained will improve your academic performance. In addition, we have an excellent record of students gaining full-time employment on graduation, often with their industrial placement company or organisation.

This module is your advanced introduction to pluralism and competing paradigms in economics, finance and international business. You will investigate contemporary topics by using theoretical and empirical tools in economics and finance where you’ll employ orthodox and non orthodox approaches.

Through the module, you’ll develop a deep understanding of key global trends and outcomes that are relevant to the world of international business. Also, you will progress your analytical investigation skills in the sphere of global economics.

How can we respond to and solve global injustice and the ecological crisis without a world government? How can we resolve issues in international politics which are beyond the limit of individual countries? A global unified approach is critical for success.

In this module, you’ll gain knowledge of the theory and practice of global development, justice and sustainability. And build your analytical skills. You'll take a combined approach of looking at global development and the ecological crisis. You'll examine competing and contrasting perspectives that feature across these global issues. Helping you gain understanding in their global justice implications. Also you'll look at international policy responses and global governance initiatives.

On this module, you will build your understanding of modelling techniques and analytical tools of environmental economics. You will be able to critically analyse a range of environmental issues which impact environmental externalities on economic agents and the range of policy responses available to policymakers.

This module uses economic theory to analyse the structure and forces behind economic growth and development.

You will learn standard theory of economic growth and use those theories to analyse the process of economic growth across countries. You will familiarise yourself with a set of important issues that are central to macroeconomics and develop some dynamic economics knowledge useful in macroeconomics as well as in a number of other sub-disciplines. By the end of the module you will gain tools to analyse the economy with a long-run perspective that is normally overlooked in the other macroeconomic modules

On this module, you will build your understanding of the concept called ‘homo economicus’ where individuals are considered to be perfectly rational and concerned only about maximising their own welfare. Your understanding of strategic behaviour in encounters with other individuals, modelled as games will broaden. You’ll examine concepts such as:

• bounded rationality
• cognitive bias
• market design
• equilibrium selection
• policies in detail.

By the end of the module, you’ll have a critical understanding of the new stream of thinking that has developed within economics in the last few decades. You’ll have knowledge of what allows people to make mistakes in decision-making and be altruistic – i.e. care about others’ utility, as well as their own.

For this dissertation, you will engage in research and employ methodologies that require a thorough understanding of the process of research as well as using published research material. You'll deeply study a topic, selected with appropriate supervision and guidance from any suitable area of Economics in combination either with Politics or International Relations.

In keeping with the interdisciplinary character of the module, it is expected that you choose from a plurality of methodological approaches of both a quantitative and qualitative character.

In this module you’ll explore practices of conflict management and peacebuilding in societies which experience violent conflict. You’ll cover three key areas;

• conceptualise peace and the causes and dynamics of contemporary conflict
• investigate models of peacemaking
• understand how building a sustainable peace can be achieved by societies emerging from war.

You’ll compare a variety of case studies to draw conclusions about these challenges and processes, alongside analysing current cases of violent conflict, critically evaluating peacebuilding processes and asking questions about the quality of peace that often emerges.

This module will further and broaden your knowledge of econometrics. You’ll progress and develop your econometric skills that are needed to be able to successfully investigate economic and financial relationships by using appropriate econometric methodologies. You’ll study examples based on both economic and financial data that illustrate the application of the methodologies you’ll learn to use.

What should world leaders do? How much power should countries give each other? And how should states and individuals behave towards each other? In this module, you’ll get to understand the key questions in world politics. You’ll explore:

• how we determine rights and duties
• how we both enable and restrict dominance
• how issues of race, gender and class interact
• in relation to world politics.

You’ll choose one of three topics that on international ethics and power - human rights, migration and immigration, or racism and colonialism.

How can we respond to and solve global injustice and the ecological crisis without a world government? How can we resolve issues in international politics which are beyond the limit of individual countries? A global unified approach is critical for success.

In this module, you’ll gain knowledge of the theory and practice of global development, justice and sustainability, and build your analytical skills. You'll take a combined approach of looking at global development and the ecological crisis. You'll examine competing and contrasting perspectives that feature across these global issues.

Helping you gain understanding in their global justice implications. Also you'll look at international policy responses and global governance initiatives.

You'll compare and contrast the shifting and different ways in which states respond to terrorism, and you'll critically engage with the idea of counter terrorism; what it is, and its relation to conceptions of the state, security and political violence.

You'll then examine particular moments of counter terrorism practice, going on to consider the similarities and differences in various countries' responses to terrorism. You'll conclude this module by considering how these various responses impact upon both human rights regimes and norms and citizenship rights, behaviours and practices.