Economics at Warwick

Open Day April 22nd 2009

Dennis LeechProfessor of Economics

This talk

• Programme for today• The Economics department• Research • Teaching and learning• Our degree courses• What our students go on to do• Notable Warwick economics graduates

Open Day programme

• 2.00-2.45 Talk in ACCR

• 2.50-3.30 Small group Q&A meetings with academic staff and students in Social Studies Building

• 3.55-4.45 Campus tours led by students from Social Studies foyer

• 4.45 Final questions in Arts Centre Café

Economics department

• Academic Staff – Professors 29– Associate Prof (SL/Reader) 13– Assistant Prof (Lecturer) 10

• Graduate Students– Doctoral 60– Masters 80

• Undergraduates 600

Distinguished ex Warwick economists • Nick Stern (Lord Stern)

– Author of Stern Report on Economics of Climate Change

• Robert Skidelsky (Lord Skidelsky)– Biographer of Keynes

• John Williamson– Influential International Economist. Coiner of term “Washington

Consensus”

• Avinash Dixit– President of the American Economic Association 2008

High quality research

• Research Assessment Exercise 2008 (official rating): ranked in the top five• Third equal with Oxford and Essex • LSE and UCL ranked first and second• 40% of research assessed rated as 4* (‘world leading’)• 95% either 4* or 3* (‘internationally excellent’) – equal

first place

Why research matters

• Our reputation brings a lot of cash– Research income subsidises our teaching

• More resources for learning– Better campus, library, computing facilities …..

• Better academic staff, more of them• Better class tutors, etc• Teaching more authoritative

High quality teaching

• QAA Teaching Quality Assessment:highest grade = 24/24

Our degree courses

1. Economics department based– Economics

– Econ, Politics & International Studies (EPAIS)

– Industrial Economics

– Economics and Economic History

Our degrees are popular• Student numbers for Economics degrees

2009/10

Home/EU Overseas

Places 130 110

Applications 2466 1282 (so far)

Our degree courses

2. Joint degrees based in other departments

– Philosophy, Politics & Economics (PPE)

– Maths, OR, Stats & Econ (MORSE)

– Maths and Economics

BSc Economics course• A professional training

• A specialised programme– aims to make you think like an economist– also develop transferable skills

• Flexibility is limited– Only a little each year that’s NOT economics

• no more than 25% of load can be non-economic• E.g. finance, maths, a language, …..

• But: possibility of a year of study abroad

Teaching

• We teach from first principles– A-level Economics is NOT required

• We assume that you are clever– and mathematically competent (geometry,

algebra, calculus)

• So it moves fast– You have to work hard to keep up

• But support is available– Staff are generally accessible

The course structure• Year 1: Foundations (5 modules)

– Micro, Macro, Quant Tech, Econ Hist – Option: eg Industrial Econ, Math Econ, Language,

WBS …

• Year 2: Core (4 modules)– Micro, Macro, Econometrics – Option: eg Industrial, Public, …, Language, WBS …

• Year 3: Specialisation (4 modules)– Research Project – 3 options: Labour, Econometrics, Development,

Game Theory, International, Industrial, Language, WBS …

Year of study abroad

• After second year (making 4 year degree)• Good partner institutions

– EU • Amsterdam , Madrid , Munich, Paris, Barcelona, Milan,

Lille, Antwerp

– USA• California

• Complements regular Warwick studies• Some help with fees and expenses• Numbers limited therefore selective

Employment by sector

Some distinguished alumni• Cabinet Secretary: Gus O’Donnell • Chief Economist, BOE: Spencer Dale• Professors: 2 @ Harvard; many other leading

academics• Christian Wolmar, Writer, transport policy• Liam Halligan, economics journalist• Steve Heighway, Liverpool footballer

Economics Open Day

Questions