University of Sydney Handbooks - 2020 Archive

Download full 2020 archivePage archived at: Tue, 27 Oct 2020

Economics (Major)

Semester 2 2020 unit of study availability

Some Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences units of study originally intended to run in Semester 2, 2020 are no longer available.

A full and up-to-date list of units of study available in Semester 2, 2020 from the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, can be found on this webpage.
 

Economics

Honours

Honours in Economics requires 48 credit points from this table including:
(i) 30 credit points of 4000 level Honours seminar units of study
(ii) 18 credit points of 4000 level Honours thesis units of study

Honours seminar units of study

ECON4901 Advanced Microeconomic Analysis

Credit points: 6 Session: Semester 2 Classes: 1x3hr seminar/week Assessment: 3x 1000wd Assignments (20%), 1x 1.5hr Mid-semester test (35%), 1x 2hr Final exam (45%) Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day
This unit of study is designed to provide advanced understanding of microeconomic theory. Topics may include individual choice; game theory; group decision making; general equilibrium; and mechanism design. While the course will heavily emphasize theory, practical applications will also be covered. This unit of study will enable students to undertake postgraduate studies in microeconomics.
ECON4902 Advanced Macroeconomic Analysis

Credit points: 6 Session: Semester 1 Classes: 1x3hr seminar/week Assessment: 3x 1000wd Assignments (25%), 1x 1000wd Numerical/replication project (25%), 1x 2.5hr Final exam (50%) Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day
This unit will teach students the latest academic research in advanced macroeconomics, focusing on business cycles and monetary policy. Students will learn essential macroeconomics tools and theories: micro-founded rational expectations, dynamic stochastic general equilibrium (DSGE) models. Students will learn the role of nominal frictions within a New Keynesian/New Neoclassical framework and their implication for monetary policy. This unit of study will enable students to undertake postgraduate studies in macroeconomics.
ECON4904 Topics in Labour Economics

Credit points: 6 Session: Semester 1 Classes: 1x3hr seminar/week Assessment: 2x 1500wd Assignments (25%), 1x 1hr (1000wd equivalent) Mid-semester test (25%), 1x 2hr (2000wd equivalent) Final exam (50%) Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day
This unit of study surveys contemporary research in labour economics. The field of labour economics is very broad, dealing with fundamental issues ranging from resource allocation to distributional equity and social welfare. The subject matter covers the determinants of wages, employment and unemployment; insurance and incentive mechanisms; and the behavioural effects and welfare impacts of institutions and public policies. In this unit students will have the opportunity to analyse theoretical models and their empirical applications.
ECON4905 Topics in Industrial Organisation

Credit points: 6 Session: Semester 1 Classes: 1x3hr seminar/week Assessment: 3x 1000wd Assignments (20%), 1x 1.5hr Mid-semester test (30%), 1x 2hr Final exam (50%) Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day
This unit is concerned with the study of the economic theory of industrial organisation with an emphasis on oligopoly behaviour and its market outcomes. The unit examines market competitiveness in the framework of general equilibrium theory, as pioneered by Arrow and Debreu; monopoly and nonlinear pricing strategies; dynamic oligopoly; welfare outcomes of industrial organisation; and some aspects of government policy and regulation, especially in relation to mergers and collusion.
ECON4906 Topics in Economic Development

Credit points: 6 Session: Semester 1 Classes: 1x3hr seminar/week Assessment: 3x 750wd Assignments (15%), 1x 1250wd Essay (35%), 1x 1000wd Take-home exam (25%), 1x 1.5hr (1500wd equivalent) Final exam (25%) Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day
This unit of study is designed to train students in current theoretical and empirical developments in the field of development economics. Specific topics change from time to time as development economics can cover most fields of economics with a particular application to developing countries. Examples of topics include: development finance; firms in emerging markets; poverty traps and social interactions; and history and institutions in the context of economic development.
ECON4907 Classics in History of Economic Thought

Credit points: 6 Session: Semester 1 Classes: 1x3hr seminar/week Assessment: 1x 2500wd Seminar paper (50%), 1x 2hr (2000wd equivalent) Final exam (50%) Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day
The unit studies classic works by the most influential scholars in the historical development of economic theory. Two classic works will be studied in the unit: Adam Smith's (1776) An Inquiry into Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations; and John Maynard Keynes's (1936) The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money. From time to time other classics may be studied instead, such as: David Ricardo's (1817) Principles of Political Economy, Alfred Marshall's (1890) Principles of Economics or Knut Wicksell's (1901-06) Lectures on Political Economy.
ECON4909 Topics in Microeconomic Analysis

This unit of study is not available in 2020

Credit points: 6 Session: Semester 2 Classes: 1x3hr seminar/week Assessment: 3x 2500wd Assignment (50%), 1x 2hr (2000wd equivalent) Final exam (50%) Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day
This unit covers the latest policy-relevant developments in the field of advanced microeconomics. It will cover several microeconomic topics using multiple economics approaches: after the traditional theoretical approach, students will be exposed to a combination of empirical evidence, experimental evidence, and current behavioural economics perspectives. Examples of topics include: incentives; discrimination; altruism; decision-making under uncertainty; gift-exchange; and time-preference.
ECON4910 Topics in Macroeconomic Analysis

Credit points: 6 Session: Semester 2 Classes: 1x3hr seminar/week Assessment: 3x 1000wd Assignments (25%), 1x 1000wd Project (25%), 1x 2.5hr (2500wd equivalent) Final exam (50%) Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day
This unit of study is designed to provide an understanding of the latest theoretical and empirical policy-relevant developments in the field of advanced macroeconomics. The focus is on both theoretical understanding and the practical application of state-of-the-art modelling techniques. Examples of topics include: international macroeconomics; international trade; economic growth; and economics of taxation.
ECON4913 Topics in Economic History

This unit of study is not available in 2020

Credit points: 6 Session: Semester 1 Classes: 1x3hr seminar/week Assessment: 4x 1500 Assignments (35%), 1x 1.5hr (1500wd equivalent) Mid-semester test (30%), 1x 1.5hr (1500wd equivalent) Final exam (35%) Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day
The unit studies selected topics in economic history, with an emphasis on the history of economic development over the last 300 years since the advent of capitalism. Topics may include the commercial revolution and expansion of international trade in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries; the role of the slave trade; the industrial revolution; the evolution of international economic relations in the 19th and 20th centuries; the Great Depression; post-World War II recovery and the growth 'Golden Age' of 1950-1973.
ECON4914 Microeconometric Modelling

Credit points: 6 Session: Semester 2 Classes: 1x3hr seminar/week Assessment: 3x 1000wd Assignments (25%), 1x 1.5hr Mid-semester test (30%), 1x 2hr Final exam (45%) Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day
This unit concentrates on mainstream models and estimation and inference methods that are widely used in most empirical investigations in applied microeconomics. The unit has a topics-based structure, and theory and applications are closely integrated. Examples of topics include parametric and semi-parametric estimation methods applied to cross-section and panel data; treatment evaluation; models of cross-sectional dependence; quantile and mixture regressions; density estimation; Bayesian regression analysis.
ECON4915 Macroeconometric Modelling

Credit points: 6 Session: Semester 2 Classes: 1x3hr seminar/week Assessment: 3x 1000wd Assignments (25%), 1x 1000wd Project (25%), 1x 2.5hr Final exam (50%) Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day
The unit is designed to provide an understanding of selected topics of current academic research in the area of advanced empirical macroeconomics. The course develops tools and reviews basic models of business cycles and monetary policy. The unit then applies these tools and models to actual macroeconomic data to enhance understanding of the workings of these models, with an emphasis on their merits and shortcomings.
ECON4948 Special Topic in Economic Analysis 1

Credit points: 6 Session: Semester 1,Semester 2 Classes: 1x3hr seminar/week Assessment: 3x 1500wd Assignments (30%), 1x 1hr (1000wd equivalent) Mid-semester test (25%), 1x 2hr (2000wd equivalent) Final exam (45%) Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day
Study of an advanced topic in Economics. Topic may vary from semester to semester according to staff availability and the presence of visitors. Examples of topics include Behavioural Economics; International Trade; International Macroeconomics; and Health Economics. This unit of study will use advanced theoretical and empirical techniques to help equip students to undertake postgraduate studies in economics.
ECON4949 Special Topic in Economic Analysis 2

Credit points: 6 Session: Semester 1,Semester 2 Classes: 1x3hr seminar/week Assessment: 3x 1500wd Assignments (30%), 1x 1hr (1000wd equivalent) Mid-semester exam (25%), 1x 2hr (2000wd equivalent) Final exam (45%) Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day
Study of an advanced topic in Economics. Topic may vary from semester to semester according to staff availability and the presence of visitors. Examples of topics include Behavioural Economics; International Trade; International Macroeconomics; and Health Economics. This unit of study will use advanced theoretical and empirical techniques to help equip students to undertake postgraduate studies in economics.
ECON4954 Topics in Analysis of Panel Data

Credit points: 6 Session: Semester 1 Classes: 1x3hr seminar/week Assessment: 1x 1000wd equivalent Group assignment (20%), 1x 1.5hr (1500wd equivalent) Mid-semester test (30%), 1x 2hr (2000wd equivalent) Final exam (50%) Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day
Research in economics, finance, marketing and accounting has been enriched by increased availability of panel data. A 'panel' refers to the pooling of observations on a cross section of households, countries, firms or individuals over several time periods, offering major advantages over conventional cross-sectional or time series data sets. This unit teaches students a comprehensive set of tools for the analysis of panel data, enabling students to both critically assess and contribute to applied economic research.
ECON4998 Special Topic in Econometrics 1

Credit points: 6 Session: Semester 1,Semester 2 Classes: 1x3hr seminar/week Assessment: 3x 1500wd Assignments (30%), 1x 1hr (1000wd equivalent) Mid-semester test (30%), 1x 2hr (2000wd equivalent) Final exam (40%) Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day
Study of an advanced topic in Econometrics. Topic may vary from semester to semester according to staff availability and the presence of visitors. Examples of topics include: Bayesian Econometrics; Nonparametric and Semiparametric Econometrics; Econometrics for Big Data; Spatial Econometrics; and Financial Econometrics. This unit of study will develop advanced econometric techniques to equip students to undertake postgraduate studies in economics.
ECON4999 Special Topic in Econometrics 2

Credit points: 6 Session: Semester 1,Semester 2 Classes: 1x3hr seminar/week Assessment: 3x 1500wd Assignments (30%), 1x 1hr (1000wd equivalent) Mid-semester test (30%), 1x 2hr (2000wd equivalent) Final exam (40%) Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day
Study of an advanced topic in Econometrics. Topic may vary from semester to semester according to staff availability and the presence of visitors. Examples of topics include: Bayesian Econometrics; Nonparametric and Semiparametric Econometrics; Econometrics for Big Data; Spatial Econometrics; and Financial Econometrics. This unit of study will develop advanced econometric techniques to equip students to undertake postgraduate studies in economics.

Honours thesis units of study

ECON4810 Economics Honours Thesis 1

Credit points: 6 Session: Semester 1,Semester 2 Classes: 7 x half-hour supervision meetings/semester, on average. Assessment: 1x Honours thesis (100%) Mode of delivery: Supervision
In this unit students will design a research project appropriate to the scope of a 13,500 word Economics Honours thesis in any economics field. Each student will match with a research supervisor from the Economics who will give them feedback on their independent research.
ECON4820 Economics Honours Thesis 2

Credit points: 12 Session: Semester 1,Semester 2 Classes: 7 x half-hour supervision meetings/semester, on average. Assessment: 1x 13500wd Honours thesis (100%) Mode of delivery: Supervision
In this unit students will complete a research project appropriate for a 13,500 word Economics Honours thesis in any economics field. Each student will match with a research supervisor from the Economics who will give them feedback on their independent research.