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Economics and Industrial Organisation BSc (L112)

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Learn more about our Economics and Industrial Organisation degree at Warwick

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2a

L112

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Bachelor of Science (BSc)

2c

3 years full-time (or 4 years with study abroad placement)

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26 September 2022

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Department of Economics

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University of Warwick

3a

Encompassing many aspects of our pure Economics degree, this challenging degree is ideal if you also have an interest in business and industry. It focuses strongly on the application of economic theory to corporate decision making, while providing a solid grounding in the broader scope of economics. Our teaching is research-led, meaning you will be learning from some of the world’s leading researchers in their field.

3b

You will study and learn within the Department of Economics and will also study bespoke modules taught by Warwick Business School, focused on the interaction between economics and its applications within business and industry. The degree focuses on research-led teaching and so we will expose you to research from the very start, encouraging you to consider and develop your own research questions.

In your first and third years you will be able to choose from many optional modules both within and outside of the Economics Department, helping you to pin down your own areas of academic interest.

In your final year, you will be able to follow your curiosity further by completing a Research in Applied Economics project on a topic of particular interest.

3c

The first year consists of four core modules and up to three options. The second year has five core modules and no optional modules. In the third year, there are two core modules and up to four optional modules and a research project.

Within your course regulations, we will permit you to choose any year-specific option offered by any department in the University, provided that you satisfy the pre-requisites or other requirements for that module and that the offering department permits you to take the module.

The final degree classification is determined by your second and final year marks and each contributes 50%.

3d

You will have a combination of lectures, and small group support and feedback classes.

Throughout the degree, you will have many opportunities to apply the principles of economics to practical study. This means that what you are learning is highly relevant to real-world issues. This is something we also emphasise through our 360 guest lecture series. This gives you the chance to engage with policymakers, practitioners and influential decision makers.

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Your lecture size will naturally vary, especially for the optional modules, but also for core lectures. Some of the larger modules may have 200-500 students in them. You will then typically have weekly support and feedback classes with around 15-20 students.

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You will receive approximately 3 hours of contact time per day, making 15 hours on average per week.

3g

You will usually have more formative assessments in year one than in years two and three.

The typical module in years one and two is based 20-30% on coursework and 70-80% on the final examination, but assessment weights and methods do still vary. This is even more the case for final year modules, where the assessment methods vary widely depending on the modules chosen.

3h

Study abroad

We currently offer an exciting range of opportunities for you to spend a year abroad. You can study in a higher education institution either in Europe, at the University of Monash in Australia, or with our partners in China and Canada. Studying overseas can add immeasurably to your personal development, future study and career opportunities.

It will also offer you an opportunity to experience an alternative university system. If you’re successful in gaining a Study Abroad placement, your degree programme will become a four year programme and, assuming you pass sufficient modules whilst abroad, the title of your course changes to add the suffix 'with Study Abroad' to the existing title (e.g. 'BSc Economics with Study Abroad').

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Our selectors value a breadth of subjects. You should therefore avoid subjects with significantly overlapping curricula where possible.

4a

A level typical offer

A*A*A including A in Maths

A level contextual offer

We welcome applications from candidates who meet the contextual eligibility criteria. The typical contextual offer is AAA including A in Maths. See if you’re eligible.

General GCSE requirements

Unless specified differently above, you will also need a minimum of GCSE grade 4 or C (or an equivalent qualification) in English Language and either Mathematics or a Science subject. Find out more about our entry requirements and the qualifications we accept. We advise that you also check the English Language requirements for your course which may specify a higher GCSE English requirement. Please find the information about this below.

4b

IB typical offer

39 to include 6, 6, 6 in three Higher Level subjects including Higher Level Mathematics (either ‘Analysis and Approaches’ or ‘Applications and Interpretation’).

IB contextual offer

We welcome applications from candidates who meet the contextual eligibility criteria. The typical contextual offer is 37 including 6 in Higher Level Maths ('Analysis and Approaches' only). See if you’re eligible.

General GCSE requirements

Unless specified differently above, you will also need a minimum of GCSE grade 4 or C (or an equivalent qualification) in English Language and either Mathematics or a Science subject. Find out more about our entry requirements and the qualifications we accept. We advise that you also check the English Language requirements for your course which may specify a higher GCSE English requirement. Please find the information about this below.

4c

We welcome applications from students taking BTECs alongside two A levels, including A level Mathematics.

5a

Year One

Macroeconomics 1

On this module, you will gain a thorough grounding in the basic principles of microeconomics and study several applications of theory, with the aim of being able to demonstrate your knowledge of major topics, including consumer theory and behavioural economics; government policy and the links to welfare and the decisions of the firm under producer theory, including profit maximisation and cost minimisation, You will also consider the model of demand and supply, different models that explain how firms compete, including oligopoly and collusion, and the work of the major theorists Bertrand, Cournot and Stackelberg, including game theory. You will learn to use appropriate terminology in a wide range of more advanced topics relevant to microeconomics and will consider all of these topics using both a mathematical and graphical approach.

Microeconomics 1

On this module, you will gain a thorough grounding in the basic principles of microeconomics and study several applications of theory, with the aim of being able to demonstrate your knowledge of major topics, including supply and demand, consumer theory and behavioural economics, competition, profit maximisation and cost minimisation, oligopoly and collusion, and the work of the major theorists Bertrand, Cournot and Stackelberg, including game theory. You will learn to use appropriate terminology in a wide range of more advanced topics relevant to microeconomics, such as Nash equilibria, asymmetric information and moral hazard.

Quantitative Techniques

This module combines two modules: Mathematical Techniques and Statistical Techniques. You will cover topics ranging from algebra and calculus to distributions and hypothesis testing, which will provide you with key skills and knowledge that will then applied in many other modules. In addition, you will be introduced to some advanced statistical software packages, which will help you learn about a range of techniques to analyse data and different ways in which you can present data.

Foundations of Finance

The module will introduce you to the key concepts of Finance, giving you good preparation to study more advanced modules in related disciplines. It will teach you the main theories and models of Finance (and the assumptions that underpin them), enabling you to apply these theories to the financial press that you are encouraged to read daily. You will cover topics including present value of expected future cash flows, estimating the cost of capital, the Efficient Markets Hypothesis, Interest-rate parity and purchasing power parity theorems in the context of foreign exchange. You will also consider various shareholder ratios and learn about constructing spreadsheets to calculate net present values and internal rates of return. You will learn how to critically analyse and reflect on the limitations of models and develop the tools to solve numerical problems and analyse case studies.

Plus up to three optional modules.

Year Two

Macroeconomics 2

On this module, you will learn to understand and apply the core theoretical models used in macroeconomics, for both closed and open economies, in order to enhance your comprehension of real-world macroeconomic experiences, especially involving macroeconomic policy. By the end of this module, you should be able to present clearly and methodically your understanding of a variety of common theoretical models and their inter-relationships, including through the use of equations and graphics. We will typically cover all major areas, including but not limited to, flexible pricing and sticky-price models; consumption and growth; wage-setting and unemployment; fiscal and monetary policy; international trade and exchange rate systems; and international financial markets.

Microeconomics 2

You will gain a solid understanding of intermediate and some advanced principles of microeconomics and be exposed to a range of applications of theory. You will spend time on the use of mathematical concepts in the field for analysis, and cover important principles of general equilibrium and social welfare, market failure, choice and uncertainty, and static and dynamic games of complete and incomplete information. By the end of this module, you will be able to analyse a range of microeconomic concepts, using a range of approaches, including graphical and mathematical techniques and apply your knowledge to policy issues and to the analysis of different sectors.

Econometrics 1

You'll be equipped with important skills of both academic and vocational value, being an essential part of the intellectual training of an economist and also useful for your future career. This includes an awareness of the empirical approach to economics; experience in analysis and use of empirical data; understanding the nature of uncertainty and methods of dealing with it; and using econometric software packages as tools of quantitative and statistical analysis. With the required necessary skills and knowledge to critically appraise work in applied economics, you'll have a good grasp of the dangers, pitfalls and problems encountered in applied modelling. You will then be able to apply this knowledge to a research project of your own.

Industrial Economics 1: Market Structure

Why are firms grouped together in industries in particular ways? How do the interactions between firms influence efficiency, profits, technical progress and welfare? What are the determinants of profitability? Does oligopoly always lead to collusion? These are some of the questions you’ll engage with as you study the nature of market power in industrial economies. This module will see you finding empirical support for theoretical models of economic performance, and solving algebraic problems as part of a team in order to refine your understanding of economic models and increase your grasp of the methodology of economic model-making, including through the study of game theory and the work of Bertrand, Cournot and Stackelberg.

Industrial Economics 1: Strategic Behaviour

You will develop your understanding of a range of business-pricing and related practices, including advertising, auctioning, franchising, consumer switching behaviour and vertical integration, through the lens of economics, moving from abstract modelling to applying strategies to real-life situations. You will learn how opportunities and constraints in pricing apply to different groups of consumers, including consideration of the influence of technological change, and will analyse the extent to which the models are supported by empirical studies. Practical work will enable you to refine your ability to structure an argument, and work as part of a team towards the achievement of specific objectives.

Year Three

Research in Applied Economics

You will have the opportunity to deepen and consolidate your knowledge by applying your understanding of economic theory to a research question that arouses your curiosity. You will use a combination of economic analysis and statistical and econometric techniques to formulate and pursue your research interest, supported by lectures on research methodology and supervision by a member of academic staff, who will support your research towards an independent project. The work will increase your confidence in formulating economic questions, and the scientific method of developing a suitable approach, conducting a literature review and data searches, identifying and testing hypotheses and using your findings to construct coherent, persuasive scholarly arguments, presented in both written and oral form.

Industrial Economics 2: Strategy and Planning

On this module, you will study more advanced economics topics in the modern theory and modelling of industrial organisation. You will increase your ability to formulate, model and analyse issues, such as multi-market monopolies, dynamic competition, advertising and obfuscation, product differentiation and behavioural industrial organisation. The module will place a special emphasis on the increasing importance of platforms and two-sided markets such as Uber and AirBnB alongside more traditional digital platforms such as Amazon and eBay.

Industrial Economics 2: Market Economics, Competition and Regulation

This module aims to enable students to put industrial organisation theory into a practical context, focusing on the regulation of utility industries and competition policy issues. As such, it will provide students with an opportunity to analyse policy issues arising in different market structures. This module will also help enable students to build an understanding of how economics informs policy-making and how to apply effective policy in the areas of regulation and competition policy.

Plus up to four optional modules.

5b

• World Economy: History and Theory
• Environmental Economics
• Development Economics
• Labour Economics
• International Trade
• Financial Economics
• Behavioural Economics
• Public Policy