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Economics | www.essex.ac.uk/economics | E admit@essex.ac.uk | T +44 (0)1206 873666


and research. We are consistently ranked in the top five research departments in the UK. In the most recent Research Assessment Exercise (2008), we were ranked third among all UK universities for research excellence in economics, scoring an outstanding 40 per cent of four star (world-leading quality) research. Members of our staff – many of whom are leaders in their field – specialise in a wide range of theoretical and applied economics. This research expertise enables us to guide your studies to the exciting frontiers of economics, to distinguish the genuine advances in the subject from passing fashions, and to show you the directions that future research is likely to take.


In addition, the collective skills and expertise across the social sciences at the University, confirmed by the most recent RAE (2008), has emphatically substantiated Essex’s position as the leading social science university in the UK.


Ranked third in the UK for research.


Why study economics? Economics is about how people respond to incentives. It is about how individuals interact together – in households, firms, governments or other organisations – to make decisions that determine the allocation of resources in society and hence the quality of life.


Economics addresses questions such as: How should governments seek to mitigate the impact of financial crises on the rest of the economy? What are the causes and consequences of banking crises? What is the relationship between the Bank of England’s monetary policies and the cost of mortgages? What determines how much you pay to use your mobile phone? How can economic policies affect global warming and help the environment? What are the causes and effects of high energy prices? How do different ways of funding the National Health Service affect the quality of patients’ treatment? Why are people in some jobs paid more than others? Who benefits and who loses from globalisation? What are the effects of immigration on the British economy? In


106 | Undergraduate Prospectus 2012


what ways can foreign aid help to reduce poverty? Should taxes be raised to pay for public services? Economics sheds light on all these and many other questions.


Courses at Essex will equip you with the skills you need to explore such economic issues in depth. You will learn how to analyse economic problems in a systematic way, thus enabling you to grasp how economies work. Your knowledge will be expanded by studying a range of applications, each of which you will be able to discuss with experts in the subject.


What is the


Department like? While economics contributes to courses in many subjects, around 155 undergraduates are enrolled each year to study for one of the single-honours courses that are most popular in our Department. There are also opportunities to study finance, accounting, mathematics, politics, philosophy and history alongside economics.


The Department of Economics maintains a world-class reputation for both teaching


In the 2010 National Student Survey, we achieved an overall student satisfaction score of 94 per cent, placing us sixth in the UK.


As a student of economics at Essex, you will experience a lively, informal environment with many opportunities to pursue your own interests. One such opportunity is provided by the students’ Economics Society, a forum for the exchange of ideas, for arranging talks by visiting speakers, for introducing students to various career pathways and for organising debates on topical subjects. You will also be able to take advantage of extensive learning resources, including laboratories of networked computers, featuring extensive software for quantitative analysis, as well as the University library, which provides access to a variety of economics databases as well as multiple copies of textbooks and materials to support your learning.


What does the study of


economics involve? Economics at undergraduate level is an analytical subject. As such, your studies will focus on developing your problem-solving skills to apply economic reasoning to issues of contemporary importance (eg the effect of economic policies on the environment and climate change). You will then extend your


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