ECON (Economics)
Stage I
ECON 151G - Understanding the Global Economy (15 pts)🏳
Economics affects our daily lives and the global environment in many ways. Through the media we are constantly made aware of price increases, interest rate changes, exchange rate movements and balance of payments problems, growth and recessions, standard of living comparisons, regional trading agreements. What does it all mean and how does it all work?
ECON 152 - Principles of Economics (15 pts)🏳
Analysis of issues that affect our daily lives, including pricing decisions by firms and their impact on our cost of living; game theory and strategic decision-making; tackling problems of pollution and global warming; and how governments use monetary and fiscal policies to stimulate economic growth and address unemployment and inequality.
Stage II
ECON 200 - Special Topic (15 pts)🏳
ECON 201 - Microeconomics Analysis (15 pts)🏳
Study of the allocation of scarce resources among competing end uses. Intermediate-level analysis of the economic behaviour of individual units, in particular consumers and firms. Although the focus is on perfectly competitive markets, attention is also given to other types of markets. Analysis also includes concepts of expected utility and uncertainty, and welfare economics.
ECON 203 - Principles of Political Economy (15 pts)🏳
Introduces themes of positive political economy and the normative foundations of policymaking. Analyses the role of institutions in influencing resource distribution, creating incentives, and consequently impacting economic outcomes, including the dynamics of inequality and economic growth.
ECON 211 - Macroeconomics Analysis (15 pts)🏳
Provides an introduction to the dynamic microfoundations of macroeconomics, and demonstrates how we can utilise these foundations (i) to understand the trends and fluctuations of macroeconomic aggregates like national output, unemployment, inflation and interest rates, and (ii) to predict the outcome of alternative government policies related to current economic problems of New Zealand and the rest of the world.
ECON 212 - Strategic Reasoning (15 pts)🏳
An introduction to the fundamental concepts of non- cooperative and cooperative game theory: the concept of strategy; two person constant sum non-cooperative games and the minmax value; n-person non-cooperative games and Nash equilibrium; examples and applications in auctions, bargaining and other economic models, political science and other fields; the idea of backward induction and sub-game perfection; introduction to games in coalitional form; the core and the Shapley value.
ECON 221 - Introduction to Econometrics (15 pts)🏳
Equips students with essential statistical skills and business analytics tools necessary for data analysis in economics, finance, marketing, and other related areas. Develops proficiency in applying statistical techniques to real-world business scenarios and decision-making challenges and using software for reproducible analyses.
ECON 271 - Behavioural Economics (15 pts)🏳
Scientists and philosophers have long pondered whether human decisions are primarily deliberative or more prone to emotions. This course brings together findings from economics, psychology and neuroscience to discuss decision making at the level of individuals, within small groups and in more anonymous and impersonal market settings with an emphasis on the role of social norms and cognitive biases.
Stage III
ECON 300 - Directed Study (15 pts)🏳
ECON 301 - Advanced Microeconomics (15 pts)🏳
Advanced treatment of aspects of consumer theory, producer theory, and game theory. Applications of this basic theory to the analysis of some topics in uncertainty, contracts, auctions, oligopoly, and information economics.
ECON 302 - Labour Economics (15 pts)🏳
The application of economics to labour issues that confront policymakers around the world. Examines how labour markets function and focuses on the use of economic frameworks to evaluate the effects of various policies, including education and training, welfare and taxation, workplace health and safety, minimum wages, and immigration. Discusses effective strategies to mitigate workplace discrimination.
ECON 303 - Law, Economics and Institutions (15 pts)🏳
Economic analysis of law and organisation, and the and Economics 881 application of economics to property rights, patents and natural resource management. Includes: contracts, transaction cost analysis, classical contracting, long-run contracts, enforcement, role of market forces, risk aversion, remedies for breach, economic theory for torts, negligence rules, strict liability, multiple torts, product liability. Special topics may include: crime, insider trading, and business law.
ECON 304 - Industrial and Digital Economics (15 pts)🏳
Considers the interdependence of market structure, company behaviour, and market outcomes. Employs game theory concepts and tools to analyse imperfectly competitive markets, their impact on consumers and society at large, and implications for competition policy and regulation. A variety of market settings, including digital markets, are explored alongside real-world case studies.
ECON 306 - Evidence-based Policy Making (15 pts)🏳
Focuses on the evaluation of policy effectiveness. Develops skills in applying econometric tools to real-world policy issues, critically assessing research quality in policy studies, and equipping students to contribute to evidence-based policymaking. Coverage includes instrumental variables, discrete choice, difference-in-differences estimation, regression discontinuity, and panel data models.
ECON 311 - Advanced Macroeconomics (15 pts)🏳
Designed to teach students modern macroeconomic analysis and focuses on the standard dynamic general equilibrium model, which is central to current macroeconomic research. Students are given a careful introduction to the overlapping generations version of this model and shown how this model can be adapted in different ways to address a wide variety of economic issues and policy questions.
ECON 321 - Advanced Econometrics (15 pts)🏳
Development of the linear regression model, its basis, problems, applications and extensions: demand systems, time-series analysis including unit roots and co-integration, simulation and resampling methods including an exposure to practical computing classes.
ECON 341 - International Trade (15 pts)🏳
The main theories of international trade in goods and services, and of international movements of capital and labour. Partial equilibrium and general equilibrium analysis of the major instruments of trade policy, their economic effects, and the issues created by their use in practice. The economics of regional trading arrangements, such as free trade areas, customs unions and common markets.
ECON 351 - Financial Economics (15 pts)🏳
A study of the modern literature on corporate finance, investments and derivative securities. An analysis of consumption and investment decisions in the presence of time and risk, asset pricing models and market efficiency. The term structure of interest rates and various issues in debt and equity financing. The use of derivative securities, e.g., forwards and/or options to manage exchange rate risk.
ECON 352 - International Finance (15 pts)🏳
A study of the modern literature on exchange rate markets, exchange rate determination and the implications of exchange rate movements for various economic issues. Students will gain an understanding of why exchange rates change, of financial market arrangements, and of the reasons for, and implications of, recent events in international financial markets.
ECON 361 - Public Economics (15 pts)🏳
A study of the role of the state in a modern mixed economy; its roles, measurement and accountability. Topics include: welfare theory, theory of public goods, cost-benefit analysis, budgetary issues, taxation theory and practice, insurance markets, and social insurance.
ECON 372 - Energy and Environmental Economics (15 pts)🏳
Explores the theory and empirical practice of economic analysis as it is used in evaluating energy and environmental problems. Topics include natural resource economics, electricity and oil markets, environmental policy; analysis of economic instruments, such as tradable property rights and pollution taxes; the allocation of non-renewable and renewable resources; and sustainable development and climate change.
Postgraduate 700 Level Courses
ECON 700 - Special Topic (15 pts)🏳
ECON 701 - Microeconomic Theory (15 pts)🏳
Advanced treatment of traditional topics from "core" microeconomics, including consumer theory and duality, expected utility theory, general equilibrium, game theory and the economics of information.
ECON 704 - Directed Study (15 pts)🏳
ECON 706 - Information and Digital Economy (15 pts)🏳
Develops insights into the digital economy by exploring topics spanning the differentiation of prices and products; search cost and price dispersion; network effects; economics of platforms; privacy; intellectual property; to antitrust regulations. Applies economic tools and principles such as game theory, industrial organisation, law and economics, competition policy and regulation, and information economics. and Economics 882
ECON 711 - Macroeconomic Theory and Policy (15 pts)🏳
Discusses advanced analytical tools and concepts used in modern macroeconomics and shows how to apply these tools in policy settings. The focus will be on dynamic macroeconomic models with micro-foundations and their applications to understanding macroeconomic policy issues, such as growth, fluctuations, debt-crises, ageing, unemployment, and global imbalances.
ECON 712 - Topics in Money, Banking and Finance (15 pts)🏳
An advanced treatment of macroeconomics focusing on contemporary issues that have been brought into sharp relief since the global financial crisis. Topics include models of financial crises, the role of financial markets and liquidity, sovereign debt, the relationship between financial intermediation and the macroeconomy, and the (unorthodox) way in which central bank policy is now conducted.
ECON 720 - Econometric Methods (15 pts)🏳
An overview of the theory and practice of econometrics for postgraduate business students.
ECON 722 - Applied Microeconometrics (15 pts)🏳
Provides an understanding of fundamental econometric methods and how to apply them to real-world microeconomic data, evaluate policies, and analyse firm and individual behaviour.
ECON 723 - Time Series and Panel Data Econometrics - Level 9 (15 pts)🏳
Advanced theory and practice of time series and panel data econometrics, including stationary and non-stationary time series processes, macro econometric models, and causal identification. Students apply the methods by independently authoring a project that empirically investigates an economic issue or policy question.
ECON 748 - International Economics (15 pts)🏳
Advanced treatment of selected developments in the theories and empirics of international economics as well as contemporary issues relating to trade strategies, international capital flows, and structural adjustment with an emphasis on developing countries.
ECON 751 - Advanced International Finance (15 pts)🏳
A study of open-economy macroeconomic topics (theoretic, empirical and policy oriented), including models of exchange rate behaviour.
ECON 759 - Applied Research Consultancy Project - Level 9 (30 pts)🏳
An applied practical opportunity for students to work with a New Zealand or international business or organisation in a consulting capacity to apply their advanced disciplinary knowledge and to develop research-informed strategic recommendations for a client.
ECON 766 - Political Economy (15 pts)🏳
Explores the political economy of institutions and contributes to acquiring knowledge of the current state of the literature and a command of the tools in the field. Topics typically include distribution and efficiency, dynamics of political power, beliefs, norms and institutions, media, coordination and protests, conflict, bureaucracy, and corruption.
ECON 777 - Economic Development and Wellbeing (15 pts)🏳
Examines economy-wide issues in development, focusing on key factors and using real-world examples. Emphasis is placed on extracting policy insights from recent research and country experiences. Topics include geography, institutions, social welfare, and policy design for enhancing well-being in developing nations.
ECON 780 - Climate and Energy Economics (15 pts)🏳
Examines issues related to the economics of climate change, energy transitions toward electrification, competing energy sources (fossil fuels and renewables), and regulation and market design issues for energy and carbon markets. Natural resource and electricity markets are explored in depth.
ECON 786 - Behavioural and Applied Economics (15 pts)🏳
The application of economic principles and behavioural insights to address real-world decision-making challenges faced by individuals, organisations and society. Potential applications include contemporary issues in health, education, labour, urban or public economics. Evidence is drawn from a variety of sources, such as administrative or survey data, lab or field experiments to inform analyses or policy prescriptions.