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2022/2023

Applied Economics and Business

Code: 42618 ECTS Credits: 15
Degree Type Year Semester
4313384 Applied Research in Economics and Business OB 0 1

Contact

Name:
Diego Prior Jimenez
Email:
diego.prior@uab.cat

Use of Languages

Principal working language:
english (eng)

Teachers

Diego Prior Jimenez
Maria Antònia Tarrazon Rodon
Javier Asensio Ruiz De Alda
Isabel Narbón Perpiña
Riccardo Turati
Francesc Trillas Jane

Prerequisites

None.

Objectives and Contextualisation

To provide the students with the basic analytical tools to understand the main features of applied research in economics and business.

Competences

  • Analyse, synthesise and critically evaluate a certain matter of scientific interest and/or real problem case, considering its different perspectives and supporting the results and conclusions obtained.
  • Be able to evaluate inequalities for reasons of sex or gender to design solutions.
  • Possess and understand knowledge that provides a basis or opportunity for originality in the development and/or application of ideas, often in a research context
  • Produce and draft projects, technical reports and academic articles in English, making use of the appropriate terminology, argumentation, communication skills and analytical tools for each context, and rigorously evaluate those produced by third parties.
  • Select and apply different and adequate models and/or theoretical frameworks, methodologies and techniques for scientific research, data sources and IT tools for research applied to business and economics.
  • Student should possess an ability to learn that enables them to continue studying in a manner which is largely self-supervised or independent
  • Understand, analyse and evaluate the complexity, functions and main challenges of the current socio-economic and business reality using analytical tools and/or precise methodologies.
  • Work in international and inter-disciplinary teams.

Learning Outcomes

  1. Analyse, synthesise and critically evaluate a certain matter of scientific interest and/or real problem case, considering its different perspectives and supporting the results and conclusions obtained.
  2. Identify the contributions of gender study to the research topic.
  3. Identify the main theories and analytical tools usable in the area of applied research in economics and business.
  4. Know and use the contributions of women and gender studies in the discipline.
  5. Know how to distinguish in theoretical and empirical analyses the effects of sex and gender variables.
  6. Know how to identify the role of ICT in the transmission of gender stereotypes and apply measures to avoid them.
  7. Know how to undertake research with a gender perspective.
  8. Possess and understand knowledge that provides a basis or opportunity for originality in the development and/or application of ideas, often in a research context
  9. Produce and draft projects, technical reports and academic articles in English, making use of the appropriate terminology, argumentation, communication skills and analytical tools for each context, and rigorously evaluate those produced by third parties.
  10. Produce, compile and interpret empirical data in a gender-sensitive manner.
  11. Recognise and distinguish the theoretical, methodological and empirical knowledge in relation to the finance of entrepreneurship, improvements in business innovation and their impact, and also in economic and regional development through public policy to promote business, in order to foster new research in the area.
  12. Recognise and distinguish theoretical, methodological and empirical knowledge in relation to applied microeconomics and geographic or territorial economics in order to solve problems and promote new research in these economic fields.
  13. Relate and combine the different focuses, theories and/or theoretical frameworks existing in the area of applied economics and business while formulating new empirically testable hypotheses.
  14. Student should possess an ability to learn that enables them to continue studying in a manner which is largely self-supervised or independent
  15. Work in international and inter-disciplinary teams.

Content

Applied Microeconomics

Themes: 

1- Demand and consumer behaviour

2- Technology, costs and production efficiency

3- Property Rights, markets and public policies.

4- Basic Game theory

5- Regulation of natural monopoly

6- Institutions and political economy in microeconomics

7- Financial Markets

8- Market Power and Empirical Industrial Organization

 

Finance and Entrepreneurship

Themes: 

1-    Financial institution structures, lending infrastructures, legal and information environments: effects on credit availability for SMEs

2-    Overcoming growth constraints through access to funding: internal versus external funding, transparent versus opaque SMEs

3-    Some funding alternatives: Leasing, factoring, venture capital, business angels, and microfinance.

 

Productive Efficiency and Innovation

Themes: 

1-    Conventional productivity and efficiency concepts

2-   Output and input measurement: Partial productivity measures and aggregation.

3-    The frontier approach to efficiency analysis

4-    Extensions on frontier evaluation

5-    Innovation and technical change. The indices of Total Factor Productivity

 

Applied Macroeconomics

Themes: 

1. DSGE/RBC modern macroeconomics models. 

    1. The origin of modern macroeconomics

    2. The Ramsey/Central Planner Model.

    3. The Decentralized Economy Model.

    4. Introducing the Government.

    5. Monetary Economy.

2. Growth theory: neoclassical, endogenous growth model an comparative development.

    1. The Neoclassical Growth Model.

    2. Introducing Environmental Constraints.

    3. The Endogenous Growth Model.

    4. A source of ideas Immigration and Innnovation.

    5. Introduction to Comaparative Development.

 

Methodology

Combination of theory and problem-solving classes, essays and autonomous study and research.

The proposed teaching methodology may undergo some modifications according to the restrictions imposed by the health authorities on on-campus courses.

Annotation: Within the schedule set by the centre or degree programme, 15 minutes of one class will be reserved for students to evaluate their lecturers and their courses or modules through questionnaires.

Activities

Title Hours ECTS Learning Outcomes
Type: Directed      
Theory and problem-solving classes 93.75 3.75 1, 9, 3, 8, 14, 12, 11, 13, 15
Type: Supervised      
Essays and tutorials 56.25 2.25 1, 9, 3, 8, 14, 12, 11, 13, 15
Type: Autonomous      
Study and research activities 222 8.88 1, 9, 3, 8, 14, 12, 11, 13, 15

Assessment

Module Assessment (general rules)

Calendar of evaluation activities

The dates of the evaluation activities of the module (final exams, exercises in the classroom, assignments,...) will be announced well in advance during the semester.

"The dates of evaluation activities cannot be modified, unless there is an exceptional and duly justified reason why an evaluation activity cannot be carried out. In this case, the degree coordinator will contact both the teaching staff and the affected student, and a new date will be scheduled within the same academic period to make up for the missed evaluation activity." Section 1 of Article 115. Calendar of evaluation activities (Academic Regulations UAB). Students of the Faculty of Economics and Business, who in accordance with the previous paragraph need to change an evaluation activity (mainly final exam/s) date must process the request by filling out an Application for exams' reschedulehttps://eformularis.uab.cat/group/deganat_feie/application-for-exams-reschedule

Grade revision process

After all grading activities have ended, students will be informed of the date and way in which the module grades will be published. Students will be also be informed of the procedure, place, date and time of grade revision following University regulations.

Retake Process

"To be eligible to participate in the retake process of the module, it is required for students to have been previously evaluated for at least two thirds of the total evaluation activities of the module." Section 3 of Article 112 ter. The recovery (UAB Academic Regulations). Additionally, it is required that the student will have achieved an average grade of the module between 3.5 and 4.9

The date of the retake exam will be duly announced by the coordination of the program. Students whotake this exam and pass, will get a grade of 5 for the module. If the student does not pass the retake, the grade will remain unchanged, and hence, student will fail the module.

Irregularities in evaluation activities

In spite of other disciplinary measures deemed appropriate, and in accordance with current academic regulations, "in the case that the student makes any irregularity that could lead to a significant variation in the grade of an evaluation activity, it will be graded with a 0, regardless of the disciplinary process that can be instructed. In case of various irregularities occur in the evaluation of the same module, the final grade of this module will be 0" Section 10 of Article 116. Results of the evaluation. (UAB Academic Regulations).

Not Assessed Grade  

A student can obtain "Not Assessed" grade in the module only when he/she has not participated in any of the evaluation activities within it. Therefore, students who perform even one evaluation component cannot obtain "Not Assessed" grade in the module.

The proposed evaluation activities may undergo some changes according to the restrictions imposed by the health authorities on on-campus courses.

Assessment Activities

Title Weighting Hours ECTS Learning Outcomes
Class attendance 5% 0 0 1, 4, 9, 2, 3, 8, 10, 14, 12, 11, 13, 7, 5, 6, 15
Essays 35% 0 0 1, 4, 9, 2, 3, 8, 10, 14, 12, 11, 13, 7, 5, 6, 15
Exams 60% 3 0.12 1, 4, 9, 2, 3, 8, 10, 14, 12, 11, 13, 7, 5, 6, 15

Bibliography

 
  • Varian, H. (1992), Microeconomic Analysis, Norton and Company.
  • Bowles, S. (2004), Microeconomics. Behavior, institutions and evolution. Princeton University Press.
  • Church, J. and R. Ware (2000), Industrial Organization: A Strategic Approach, McGraw-Hill.
  • Davis, P. and E. Garcés (2009), Quantitative Techniques for Competition and Antitrust Analysis, Princeton University Press.
  • Beck, T and A, Demirguc-Kunt (2006), “Small and medium-size enterprises: Access to finance as a growth constraint”, Journal of Banking and Finance, 30, 2931-2943.
  • Berger, A.N. and G. F. Udell (2006), “A more complete conceptual framework for SME finance”, Journal of Banking and Finance.
  • Fernando, N.A. (2004), “Micro Success Story. Transformation of Nongovernment into Regulated Financial Institutions”. Manila: Asian Development Bank.
  • Todd A. W. and K. Hicks (eds.) (2009), “Moving Beyond Storytelling: Emerging Research in Microfinance”.  UK: Emerald
  • Carton, R. B. and C. W. Hofer (2006), Measuring Organizational Performance. Metrics for Entrepreneurship and Strategic Management Research, Edward Elgar.
  • Fried, H.O., C.A.K. Lovell and S.S. Schmidt (2008), The Measurement of Productive Efficiency and Productivity Growth, Oxford Un. Press.
  • Tidd, J. and J. Bessant (2009), Managing Innovation. Integrating Technological, Market and Organizational Change, 4th edition, Wiley
  • Wickens, M. (2012). Macroeconomic theory: a dynamic general equilibrium approach. Princeton University Press.
  • Jones, C. and Vollrath, D. (2013). Introduction to Economic Growth. Norton and Company Publisher.

Software

  • Text editors (Word, Pages, LaTeX, ...).
  • Spreadsheets (Excel, Numbers, LaTeX, ...).
  • Slide show presentation (PowerPoint, Keynote, LaTeX, ...).
  • Statistical/Econometric software and/or for data management (Stata, R, Eviews, Python, ...).