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Economics at Warwick

Economics at Warwick. Stephen Lovelady 7 th May 2011. Road Map. Introduction: the life of an Economist. What is Economics? Economics at Warwick. Being a good student. Admissions. Q & A session. The Life of an Economist. An Example Economist -Me.

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Economics at Warwick

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  1. Economics at Warwick Stephen Lovelady 7th May 2011

  2. Road Map • Introduction: the life of an Economist. • What is Economics? • Economics at Warwick. • Being a good student. • Admissions. • Q & A session.

  3. The Life of an Economist

  4. An Example Economist -Me • My name is Stephen Lovelady, a PhD student and Teaching Fellow at Warwick. • I have been at Warwick since 2002! I have been... • An Undergraduate – BSc. Maths and Economics (2002-2005) • A Masters student – MSc. Economics (2005-2006) • A PhD student – PhD Economics (2006 - ) • A Teaching Fellow – Lecturing Microeconomics (2009 - ) • A Researcher – • An Admissions Officer – Non Home/EU Applicants (2009 - ) • A Resident Tutor – Rootes Residences (2006 - ) • Actively involved in the Students’ Union

  5. The Life of an Economist

  6. What is Economics?

  7. What is Economics? • A way of thinking – not a set of rules, laws or graphs! • The process matters more than the outcome... • Learning how to think like an Economist • Learning technical skills • Maths • Econometrics • Game Theory • Economics as a “Social Science” • Then apply what you learn practically anywhere...

  8. Research in Applied Economics • How do Warwick Undergraduates apply what they learn? • They can choose the RAE module in their final year and produce an undergraduate dissertation • Do video games make you more violent? • “Deal or No Deal” as a natural experiment in risk preferences • Modelling football transfers using international trade theory • How house prices ripple through the UK (I did this!) • How to increase blood donations • And...

  9. Undergraduate Dissertations... • ... • Measuring risk by observing poker players • Attempting to explain obesity • Is there a wage premium for being attractive? • Why don’t males do their fair share of the housework? • What are the incentives to commit crime and how do these change across the UK? • And this is just a tiny sample...

  10. Some Examples of My Research • Consulting for Birmingham City Council on how to target their spending to do the most good • How does memory play a role in Economics? • Are happier people more productive? • And how can we make them happier?! • How are our decisions guided by emotions? • Specifically regret and our experiences of regret • How can we test “behavioural economics” in the lab?

  11. The common denominator? • Across all these topics, and more, the key feature is thinking like an Economist: • Develop and apply sensible theory • From first principles • From experiments, psychology or neuroscience • Support that theory with data that is as objective as possible. • Develop sensible conclusions that point out the limits of the theory (aka the assumptions) and data • This methodology need not be limited to traditional topics (unemployment, inflation, competition policy, etc.).

  12. Economics at Warwick

  13. The core Economics Course • 3-year course • Erasmus & Voluntary Year of Work Experience schemes can take it to 4 • Strongly rooted in Mathematical foundations • First year covers Micro, Macro, History and develops Quantitative Techniques • Teaching in lectures and seminar groups (15 hours contact per week) • Assessment is by exams, tests, group project work, presentations, assignments and 3rd year dissertation.

  14. Other Courses • The Economics department also offer a number of other courses: • Economics and Industrial Organization; • Economics and Economic History; • Economics, Politics and International Studies. • Also available within Warwick: PPE, MORSE, Maths & Economics, numerous business courses at WBS that include a significant Economics element. • Options allow you to tailor your degree to your interests

  15. Our Modules • The core components are designed to follow in a series • Our optional modules reflect the skills of the department • Complete list on the website • All modules are designed to include the latest thinking, current events and modern techniques • Assessment methods are specific to each module

  16. Languages & Year Abroad • You can choose to do Language Modules as a key part of the course • And may want to apply for an Erasmus year abroad between 2nd and 3rd year • About 20 places per year • Distributed over 10 universities • Madrid, Barcelona, Munich, Paris, Venice etc. • You can also apply to go to the University of California • 2 places per year currently • Places given to high quality students

  17. Economics Outside the Department • Student run societies and events • Warwick Economics Summit • Now running for 10 years and is superb • Warwick Economics Society • ‘Assumptions’ magazine • Warwick International Development Society and Summit • Warwick Entrepreneurs • Warwick Emerging Markets Forum • Running for the first time in 2011

  18. Being a good student

  19. Being a good student • Economics is a tough course: • Analytical and rigorous – lots of maths, statistics, and analytical thinking • Very broad – the ability to solve maths problems one week and think about world history the next • A competitive environment - students here all want to succeed! • You will need to work hard, be innovative and creative, work in a team, be able to solve problems, write and present, and think like an Economist to do well!

  20. What do We provide? • Key areas of Economics (micro, macro, economic history, etc.) • Core skills (maths, econometrics, game theory, etc.) • Teaching to help you to think like an economist • A sensible mixture of large and small group teaching • Regular access to a personal tutor • Regular assessments and feedback • High quality support network • Third year dissertation • A reputation for excellence well-understood by employers • Quite simply one of the best places to study Economics in the UK – with one of the best departments

  21. What do Employer’s Want? • “I would like to see more enthusiasm and imagination from economics graduates for economics in a wider range of application areas.” • “The knowledge here is pretty standard for all those we have employed so far but the graduates offer little in the way of application to real situations.” • “We get the odd outstanding individual who really lives economics.” • “. . . an ability to think about novel situations in relation to economic theory.” • “Graduates who see economics in the world around them and don't need the parameters spelt out.” • “Employability says they turn up smart, on time, their soft skills are good, they can listen, diagnose . . . have an ability to think.“ • “They don't regurgitate what you have told them . . . they have an ability to think.”

  22. Admissions

  23. The Bottom Line • Do you want to study Economics? • If so, do you want to come to Warwick? • Some things to consider: • Pure Economics vs. joint courses; • Campus vs. city; • Geographical preferences.

  24. Some Figures from 2010 • >3000 applications in total from across the world. • Almost 2000 from UK/EU • For UK/EU just over 450 offers, around 150 admitted • For non-UK/EU around 800 offers, around 150 admitted • A multicultural student population: about 50% of our admissions come from outside the EU. • If you come to Warwick you will be working and living alongside some of the brightest students in the world...

  25. Coming to Warwick in 2012 • Competition is fierce! So we also need: • Superb motivation (personal statement, school report) • Superb prior record (GCSEs, AS marks, school report) • Commitment to Maths (Maths A-level or equivalent for most of our courses) • If you get an offer it will be in the range AAAb-A*AAA for A-level students (likely A*AAa) and 38 for IB students. • With minimum A grade, or 6 at Higher Level, in Maths • Fees & funding info at http://go.warwick.ac.uk/ugfunding • Student Funding Team are in the Digi Lab today

  26. The End • Many thanks for coming to this talk. • I hope this helps you to decide whether you want to study Economics and if so whether Warwick might be the place for you! • Students from Warwick Economics Courses will be on hand to chat about their experiences after Q&A

  27. Q & A

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