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Department of Economics

Before you Start

Ensuring a smooth and enjoyable start

Before you start at Warwick, there are a few steps that you should complete to ensure your transition into the Department is as smooth and enjoyable as possible.

Enrolment

You will receive an email from the enrolment team 4-6 weeks before your course start date, or within a few days of you accepting your unconditional offer if this is later, asking you to complete online enrolment. Please do not try to complete Course Registration until you have received this email.

Once you have completed online enrolment you will receive an email with instructions on any further actions required before your enrolment can be completed or to simply confirm your enrolment has been completed.

Course start date

MSc courses start on Monday 16 September 2024 and your first subject is Introductory Maths and Statistics, which is known as the pre-sessional course because it begins two weeks before the rest of your MSc programme. The teaching for this course is in-person.

ID cards

Your Warwick ID Card will be issued on arrival at Warwick. If you have on-campus accommodation then your ID card will be paired with your on-campus room keys. If you have off-campus accommodation then your ID card can be collected from Rootes during the enrolment event. Find out more about Warwick ID Card Collection.

In-person Right to Study Check Event

All full time, non-British/non-Irish students, will need to attend an in-person right to study check event on arrival at the University of Warwick to complete enrolment for your course. If you have selected for your BRP to be received by Warwick under the Alternative Collection Location (ACL) provision, you will also be able to collect your BRP at this event. Your in-person Right to Study Check Event will take place on Monday 16 September 2024 in Rootes Building and you can view your timeslot on the induction timetable. Please bring along with you all the relevant immigration documents.

Please note, you cannot take part in any study until you have completed both Course Registration (online) and cleared the in-person checks. Once all cleared, you will be sent an email with confirmation that you are now fully enrolled on your course and at the same time your enrolment status will be updated to "Fully Enrolled".

Late arrival details

We are very much looking forward to seeing you in September. If you are unable to arrive for in-person teaching starting on 16 September, and need to arrive on campus later (no later than Monday 30 September 2024), you must let us know by completing the MSc Late Arrival Form*.

Late Arrival Form

* New students who have already activated their Warwick IT account will need to log in to the University website to access the form; new students who have yet to activate their Warwick IT account can use the password ‘Sargent1965’ to access the form.

You are not permitted to attend timetabled teaching sessions until you arrive here on campus. This is why we’d like you to arrive by 16 September if you can.

Course Preparation

You may find it useful to prepare for the Introductory Mathematics and Statistics course by working through the Refresher Mathematics for Economics resource. This will help you revise some basic mathematical concepts. We expect you to comfortably pass the diagnostic tests in all 5 sections. The resource will be available to you shortly after you have completed course registration.

International Student Success Course

Studying abroad can be exciting and stressful. To prepare, we recommend completing the 'international Student Success' online course before travelling to the UK. https://warwick.ac.uk/students/welcome/beforeyouleave/course. Amongst other things, the course offers practical advice about living in the UK.

Reading Lists

Detailed reading lists will be given out with course syllabi at the start of the term. However, a number of prospective students have enquired about textbooks and the following will be used:

Introductory Maths and Statistics

You may find it useful to prepare for the Introductory Mathematics and Statistics course by working through Refresher Mathematics for Economics resource.

If you just need to refresh a few basic concepts, it is often best to use whichever books you are already familiar with (since then you will be able to use it efficiently), or even browse Wikipedia or YouTube for explanations or tutorials. In many cases this approach will work sufficiently well.

Optional reading

  • Essential Mathematics for Economic Analysis by Knut Sydsaeter, Peter Hammond, Arne Strom and Andres Carvajal (published by Pearson).

On arrival, you will find multiple copies of this book available in the Warwick University Library.

Core reading

You do not need to read anything apart from lecture slides or course notes and you will not have time for it. The course will be self-contained.

Additional reading

While you do not need to read any particular books for this course, you might need to reference or learn certain techniques during the course of your programme, or to use them in your MSc dissertation. For this purpose you could turn to books such as the following:

  • Schaum's Outline of Linear Algebra by Seymour Lipschut and Marc Lipson (2012).

  • Introduction to Statistics and Econometrics by Takeshi Amemiya (2006).
  • Fundamental Methods of Mathematical Economics by Alpha C. Chiang and Kevin Wainwright (2005).
  • Mathematics for Economists: An Introductory Textbook by Malcolm Pemberton and Nicholas Rau (2015).
  • Further Mathematics for Economic Analysis by Knut Sydsaeter, Peter Hammond, Atle Seierstad and Arne Strom (2008).
  • Mathematics for Economists by Carl P. Simon and Lawrence Blume (1994).

Microeconomics A

The following textbooks are useful for the course:

  • G. Jehle and P. Reny, Advanced Microeconomic Theory, FT/Prentice-Hall, 3rd edition, 2011.
  • H. Gravelle and R. Rees, Microeconomics, Longman, 1992.
  • H. Varian, Microeconomic Analysis, Norton, 3rd edition, 1992.
  • A. Mas-Colell, M.D. Whinston and J.R. Green, Microeconomic Theory, 1995, OUP.

Optional background reading to help prepare for the course:

  • H.R. Varian, Intermediate Microeconomics: A Modern Approach (any edition)

Microeconomics B

The aim of this course is to: (i) introduce and develop the analytical tools of graduate level Microeconomics with a special emphasis on mathematical models; (ii) provide the students with a firm grounding in classical Microeconomic Theory as well as its modern development.

Topics for the the first part of the module include: Consumer theory, producer theory, general equilibrium, welfare, social choice. Readings for the first part of the module will include:

  • Geoffrey A. Jehle and Philip J. Reny (2011): Advanced Microeconomic Theory, FT/Prentice-Hall.
  • Andreu Mas-Colell, Michael Whinston and Jerry Green (1995): Microeconomic Theory, Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  • Peter C Ordeshook. (2008): Game Theory and Political Theory: An Introduction, Cambridge University Press.

The second part of the module will cover game theory and topics in mechanism design. The subjects are fairly standard and can be studied from various sources and from different books. Further details will be provided later on. There's no requirement to consult them all, but the following textbooks will be most relevant:

  • Geoffrey A. Jehle and Philip J. Reny (2011): Advanced Microeconomic Theory, FT/Prentice-Hall.
  • Andreu Mas-Colell, Michael Whinston and Jerry Green (1995): Microeconomic Theory, Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  • Drew Fudenberg and Jean Tirole: Game Theory, 1991
  • Martin J. Osborne and Ariel Rubinstein: A Course in Game Theory, 1994
  • Vijay Krishna, Auction Theory, 2009
  • Tilman Borgers, An Introduction to the Theory of Mechanism Design, 2015

Macroeconomics A

No single textbook will be followed mechanically, but readings may include:

  • G. Mankiw, Macroeconomics (9th edn), Worth Publishers, 2016

  • S.D. Williamson, Macroeconomics, Pearson, 2014.

  • E. Helpman, The Mystery of Economic Growth, Harvard University Press.

Optional background reading to help prepare for the course:

  • Weil, D.N. (2013), Economic Growth (3rd edition). Routledge.

Chapter 1: "The facts to be explained"
Chapter 3: "Physical capital"
Chapter 4: "Population and economic growth"
Chapter 15: "Geography, climate, and natural resources"

Macroeconomics B

No single textbook will be followed mechanically, but readings may include:

  • King & Rebelo (1999). Resuscitating real business cycles. Handbook of macroeconomics
  • D. Romer, Advanced Macroeconomics (5th Edition), McGraw-Hill
  • D.N. Weil, Economic Growth, Pearson, 2004.

  • E. Helpman, The Mystery of Economic Growth, Harvard University Press.

  • O. Galor, Unified Growth Theory, Princeton University Press, 2011.

Quantitative Methods: Econometrics A

Essential pre-reading:

An extensive treatment of basic mathematical tools, fundamentals of probability and fundamentals of mathematical statistics can be found in Appendices A, B and C of:

  • Wooldridge, J. M. (2013) Introductory Econometrics: A Modern Approach. 5th Edition Mason, Ohio: South-Western Cengage Learning.

Also in Chapters 2 and 3 of:

  • Stock J. H. and M. W. Watson (2012) Introduction to Econometrics. 3rd Edition. Princeton University

It is highly recommended to read the following two books before the beginning of the module:

  • Cunningham, Scott (2021), Causal Inference: The Mixtape, Yale University Press. (free online version available at https://mixtape.scunning.com/index.html.
  • Angrist, J. and Pischke, J.S. (2014), Mastering Metrics: The Path from Cause to Effect. Princeton University Press.

The lectures will not follow any particular textbook closely. However, the material covered in the lectures can be found in most introductory texts. In the lectures references will be given to the following texts:

  • Verbeek, M. (2012), A Guide to Modern Econometrics (4th edition). Wiley. (Note: Any edition is OK).
  • Angrist, J. and Pischke, J.S. (2014), Mastering Metrics: The Path from Cause to Effect. Princeton University Press.
  • Angrist, J. and Pischke, J.S. (2009), Mostly Harmless Econometrics. Princeton University Press.
  • Wooldridge, J.M. Introductory Econometrics: A Modern Approach (3rd or 4th edition).

    Quantitative Methods: Econometrics B

    Module lecturers will provide lectures notes and also further references during the lectures. Please make sure that you are prepared for the module by pre-reading or preparing from a text such as:

    • Wooldridge, J.M. Introductory Econometrics: A Modern Approach (3rd or 4th edition) or something equivalent.

    Books that come close to some of the material that will be covered are the following:

    • Verbeek, M. (2012), A Guide to Modern Econometrics (4th edition). Wiley.
    • Cameron, C. and Trivedi, P. (2005), Microeconometrics - methods and applications. Cambridge University Press.
    • Hamilton, J.D. (1994), Time Series Analysis. Princeton University Press.
    • Wooldridge, J.M. Econometric Analysis of Cross Section and Panel Data (2nd edition). MIT Press.