Applied Economics and Business
Code: 42618 ECTS Credits: 15| Degree | Type | Year |
|---|---|---|
| 4313384 Applied Research in Economics and Business | OB | 0 |
Contact
- Name:
- Diego Prior Jimenez
- Email:
- diego.prior@uab.cat
Teachers
- Diego Prior Jimenez
- Maria Antònia Tarrazón Rodón
- Fco. Javier Asensio Ruiz De Alda
- Isabel Narbón Perpiña
- Riccardo Turati
- Francesc Assis Trillas Jane
Teaching groups languages
You can view this information at the end of this document.
Prerequisites
There are no additional requirements to those needed to be accepted in the master program.
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
- 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.
- Identify the contributions of gender study to the research topic.
- Identify the main theories and analytical tools usable in the area of applied research in economics and business.
- Know and use the contributions of women and gender studies in the discipline.
- Know how to distinguish in theoretical and empirical analyses the effects of sex and gender variables.
- Know how to identify the role of ICT in the transmission of gender stereotypes and apply measures to avoid them.
- Know how to undertake research with a gender perspective.
- 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.
- Produce, compile and interpret empirical data in a gender-sensitive manner.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Student should possess an ability to learn that enables them to continue studying in a manner which is largely self-supervised or independent
- 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- Capital budgeting decision making: standard criteria.
2- Real options.
3- An overview of some alternative financing sources for SMEs: Microfinance, venture capital, business angels, leasing, crowfunding.
4- Corporate social responsability and entrepreneurship: Business ethics, strategic decision making, sustainability and investment opportunity analysis.
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/RBCmodern 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.
Activities and Methodology
| Title | Hours | ECTS | Learning Outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Type: Directed | |||
| Theory and problem-solving classes | 93.75 | 3.75 | 1, 3, 8, 9, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 |
| Type: Supervised | |||
| Essays and tutorials | 56.25 | 2.25 | 1, 3, 8, 9, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 |
| Type: Autonomous | |||
| Study and research activities | 222 | 8.88 | 1, 3, 8, 9, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 |
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.
Assessment
Continous Assessment Activities
| Title | Weighting | Hours | ECTS | Learning Outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Class attendance | 5% | 0 | 0 | 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 |
| Essays | 35% | 0 | 0 | 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 |
| Exams | 60% | 3 | 0.12 | 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 |
Module Assessment (general rules)
The overall grade for the module will be determined as the average of the final grades obtained for the individual units of the module, weighted by their ECTS, under the condition that:
- None of the final grades for the individual units is less than 3.5;
- Not more than one of the final grades for the individual units is less than 5.0.
In case any of these conditions are not fulfilled, the student will be given the option to recover the corresponding units. Also in the case that the conditions are fulfilled but the overall, weighted-average grade for the module is less than 5.0, the student will be given the option to recover the individual unit graded with less than 5.0.
The format of the recovery of a unit will be determined by its professors and the maximum grade that can be obtained for each recovered subject is 5.0.
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 264. 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' reschedule form
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 2 of Article 261. The recovery (UAB Academic Regulations). Additionally, it is required that the student will have achieved an average grade of the module of at least 3.5.
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 11 of Article 266. 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.
SINGLE ASSESSMENT EXAMINATION (Art. 265 of theUAB AcademicRegulations)
Requests for single assessment are waived for continuous assessment.
Single assessment must be requested from the Master's Degree Academic Management within the deadline and following the administrative procedure established in the administrative calendar of the Faculty of Economics and Business.
Attendance:
• The presence of the student is mandatory on the day that the single assessment is carried out. The date will be the same as the date of the final exam.
• 100% of the evidences must be submitted on the day of the single assessment.
• The assessment evidences carried out face-to-face on the day of the single assessment must have a minimum weight of 70%.
TYPOLOGY EVIDENCES WEIGHT IN THE FINAL ASSESSMENT (%) THE ACTIVITY THAT GIVES RISE TO THE EVIDENCE IS CARRIED OUT FACE-TO-FACE ON THE ESTABLISHED DATE?
Exam of Applied Microeconomics 26.66 % YES
Exam of Finance and Entrepreneurship 20.00 % YES
Exam of Productive Efficiency and Innovation 26.66 % YES
Exam of Applied Macroeconomics 26.66 % YES
2 RE-TAKE:
The same re-take system will be applied as for continuous assessment.
3 REVIEW OF THE FINAL GRADE:
The review of the final grade follows the same procedure as for continuous assessment.
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, ...).
Language list
| Name | Group | Language | Semester | Turn |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| (PLABm) Practical laboratories (master) | 30 | English | first semester | morning-mixed |
| (TEm) Theory (master) | 30 | English | first semester | morning-mixed |