How do firms make decisions? And how do these decisions impact on the prices you pay? What role does game theory play? Understand strategic interaction among firms, using theoretical tools to examine real-world examples. Analyse the main economic forces behind firm behaviour, adapting economic models to study particular challenges.

Can economic analysis be applied to environmental issues? And to environmental policies? Understand the strengths and weaknesses of economic analysis when applied to the environment. Learn to design policies that result in positive environmental outcomes in the modern world. This module has been designed to enable students to integrate their subject knowledge with an understanding of sustainable development, acquiring the skills and competencies essential for addressing the urgent sustainability challenges of the 21st century.

Wish to conduct your own research using econometric methods? Understand econometric methods and learn to apply them to a wide variety of situations. Examine methods of linear regression and hypothesis testing. Study time series concepts of unit roots and co-integration. Explore ideas around model selection and panel data models.

What mathematical concepts are vital to understanding modern economic theory? Gain the essential mathematics skills needed to study economics at Masters-level, such as optimisation theory and the role of equilibrium. Understand how economic arguments work and improve your problem solving skills by using real-world economic problems.

How do you optimise sticky price models? What implication does this have on monetary policy? How do you apply the New Keynesian model to monetary aspects of the business cycle? Study theoretical models and empirical evidence for monetary aspects of the business cycle, and learn how to critically assess work.

What are the distinctive features of less developed economies? How do theories around child labour or inequality explain poverty? What economic policies could alleviate such problems? Understand the issues facing developing countries, examining policies theoretically and empirically. Act as a policy advisor, undertaking research on issues of development economics.

What are the concepts and methods of modern microeconomics? And how can you apply economic reasoning to this? Understand the main principles and theories of modern microeconomics, looking at topics like contract theory, equilibrium concepts in game theory, and market signalling. Learn to apply economic reasoning to these arguments.

What are the main issues facing the modern macroeconomist? How do you critically assess macroeconomic policies? Acquire the necessary tools for macroeconomic analysis, focusing on the important questions faced by macroeconomists today.

Study the concepts of risk and return in equity markets, both in the context of asset pricing, and in the management of equity portfolios. You will start by focusing on the analysis of the stylised facts of asset returns, and will then review the theoretical foundations of modern finance, covering expected utility theory and risk aversion.

How do individuals make decisions? When does classic economic theory not predict empirically observed behaviour? And how do you then use behavioural economics to reconcile your empirical findings with theoretical models? Learn about empirical and theoretical research in behavioural economics that can be used to explain individual decision making.

What happens when classic economic theory doesn’t predict empirically observed behaviour? Can behaviour economics help? Study strategic interactions and markets using behavioural economics to reconcile empirical findings with theoretical models. Gain an understanding of experimental methods used in behavioural economics.

This postgraduate module equips you with the key tools in modern data science, with a focus on machine learning (ML) and its application to Economics and Finance. The main goal of this module is to enable you to understand how machine learning tools can complement the tools of traditional econometrics and how to apply these techniques to real-world economics and finance problems. By the end of this module you will have: 1. Developed a comprehensive understanding of key concepts in modern machine learning (ML): classification, prediction, supervised and unsupervised learning 2. Demonstrated a critical understanding of the advantages and disadvantages of ML as compared to traditional econometric approaches 3. Applied ML to real-world economics and finance problems, with examples based on: i. Prediction ii. Causal Inference and Policy Evaluation

How do firms interact? What impact does this have on products that are available to you? Or the price that you pay? Understand current thinking on industrial organisation, with a focus on competition policy, regulation and business strategy. Apply analytical models of firm behaviour and strategic interaction to real-life situations.

Despite all the talk about the “death of distance”, geography matters more than ever. This course is a journey through the current economic landscape. We will try to understand the economic forces driving trends in wages, productivity and innovation across cities and regions. These are the forces that will define the geography of future jobs and will shape the economic destiny of local communities around the world.

What are the main uncertainties for international financial markets? What causes a currency crisis? How do you deal with global imbalances? Understand the analytical tools used in the field of international macroeconomics and finance. Demonstrate how such tools can be applied by examining key policy issues of interest today.

What compensation should CEOs get? How can you motivate team performance? What impact does an altruistic manager make? Study real-world issues like policymaking, finance and management using economic models from contract theory, incentive theory, and the theory of the firm.

This module equips you with the tools to critically access experimental methods commonly used in economics. You will put theoretical knowledge into practice, learning how to design experiments and interpret results. With a growing interest in behavioural considerations, experiments are increasingly used not only in psychology, but also economics and political science. Recognizing the value of controlled variation to study causal relationships, large companies also increasingly use "A-B testing".

Get to grips with modern microeconometrics. Examine the nature of causal and noncausal models, discuss the nature of microeconomic data structures, and review core econometric methods in the first part of this module. Then, analyse limited dependent variable models, including discrete choice and selection models, and examine program evaluation methods.

How do you analyse stationary time series? Or non-stationary (integrated) processes? Understand the econometric methods available to analyse models of economic time series. Examine how methods of estimation and inference can be applied to these models. Learn how to use these methods in your own research.

What are the main issues with panel data? And the main econometric techniques to analyse panel data? What methods can you use to evaluate spell duration data? Answer such questions with examples from labour economics, while gaining the skills to analyse a variety of research and policy problems.

What are the issues regarding different types of panel datasets? Or problems with survey methodology? Understand longitudinal data analysis by using micro-econometric techniques and critically examine survey methodology issues, like response rate and sampling frames. Apply panel data methods to study labour markets, focusing on marriage, unemployment and wages.

This policy-oriented module probes the role and limits of government interventions in the microeconomic management of developed economies. In so doing, the analysis emphasises: (i) examination of the most common market failures and evaluation of options available for government to address them; and (ii) the factors that determine the choice and design of economic and regulatory policies to address these market failures given governments' political objectives. The module then goes on to explore the emergence of government failures and the reasons why the interactions between economics and politics impose constraints on the design of public policies, thereby enabling you to appreciate the associated policy issues and trade-offs.

Theories of justice are still being worked on and developed today. You question contemporary theories of justice through applying them to some of the most controversial issues dominating contemporary politics.

International migration is at the forefront of academic and policy discussions. You'll explore the multiple dimensions of human development linked to international migration, and the determinants and dynamics of international migration and its economic and social effects on both sending and receiving countries.

Study one of the most important contemporary societal and political issues that require urgent policy action: climate change. You consider the state of the natural environment and growing concerns related to the climate crisis. You will also explore environmental and climate policies, regarding how they shape and are shaped by individual attitudes, social movements, institutions, parties and international diplomacy.

This course is about how representative democracy works in Europe. We will examine several topics within the European context, including: public opinion, political participation, political parties, electoral systems, party competition, and how to evaluate democracies. We will also develop specific knowledge about several European countries, by learning how the political institutions (several are mentioned above) function within them. The course also provides an accessible introduction to research design and methods that political scientists have used to address these topics.

This module offers you an introduction to the theory and practice of quantitative data analysis techniques. You will also be introduced to the computer package R, which is widely used by academics and practitioners for the analysis of quantitative data. As the work becomes more challenging, the relevance of the techniques to modern social science research becomes more apparent.   

Master the quantitative methods that are essential for testing hypotheses. You will study hypothesis testing, linear regression models, and more advanced regression models ubiquitous in political science, accompanied by data science and R programming skills.

In this module you focus on conflict resolution in inter- and intra-state issues. You gain experience in the practical as well as in the theoretical aspects of negotiation and mediation, exploring the applicability of various tools and techniques in problem-solving real cases of international conflict, and making use of negotiation and mediation techniques in role playing exercises and other types of simulations.

The course covers topics in comparative political economy, including the relationship between domestic politics, domestic economic conditions and markets, and government economic policy. The goals of the course are to (a) introduce students to contemporary scholarly research on comparative political economy topics, (b) introduce students to strategic models in political science using substantive applications, and (c) stimulate students to form original ideas for promising research projects in contemporary comparative political economy.

This module introduces historical and contemporary traditions within political theory, and applies these theories to pressing policy debates.

In this module you gain an overview of the logic of social science research designs that includes the goals, theories and strategies of social science research, and develop a research agenda for potential use as publication in a peer reviewed journal, MA or PhD dissertation.

On this module you explore a variety of questions concerning public opinion: How do citizens acquire information and convert it into opinions? Can politicians and the media influence public opinion and if so, how? How does political misinformation spread? Why do some people have strong beliefs in false information? Does public opinion matter for public policy?

This module introduces you to key concepts and theoretical approaches to studying and analysing public policy as well as applying these concepts and approaches to real-world public policy areas. This includes the economic, theoretical and normative foundations for public policies, theories of the public policy process and the actors and institutions involved in this process as well as approaches to studying the politics and political dilemmas regarding public policy. You will also be introduced and apply these concepts to real-world policy areas including education, pollution and taxation.

The module “The Politics of Public Policy” provides a comprehensive overview of the key players and institutions that shape the policy-making process. You will study theories and evidence surrounding the creation of policies and explore the impact of political actors, institutions, and strategies on the formation and implementation of public policy. Through the examination of advocacy coalitions, policy networks, and the influence of ideas, beliefs, and interests, you will gain a deeper understanding of the relationships between state and private actors and the role of interest intermediation and lobbying in shaping public policy. The course also focuses on the interactions between legislative and executive branches of government, as well as the influence of international institutions and policy diffusion beyond the nation state. By the end of the course, you will have a well-rounded knowledge of the complex and dynamic politics of public policy and will be able to analyse specific policy processes using the tools and approaches covered in the module.

Politics is about people. Everything – angry tweeting, constitutional design, environmental lobbying, states going to war – boils down to the opinions, decisions and behaviour of individuals, and understanding those is the territory of psychology. Political psychology is a growing and thriving subfield, to which this module provides a wide-ranging introduction. We will apply both the theories and methods of psychology to the behaviour of a range of political actors – voters, leaders, protestors, even terrorists. This is a practical as well as a theoretical module, with heavy emphasis on how we learn about political psychology and with every student designing – and perhaps in their dissertation executing – a research project in the field.

The world of violent non-state actors has received growing attention among academics and policy circles. Given the rise of groups such as the Islamic State, and criminal organisations fighting in Mexico and other locations, the focus on violent non-state actors has become increasingly important. This module focuses on the political science literature on violent non-state actors. We start with a conceptual approach, considering why some groups fit into categories such as "insurgent" while others perhaps fit better in another category such as "terrorist" or "mafia". It also examines why non-state actors resort to violence and crime, what tactics and strategies they use, how they fund their existence, how they undermine the state and what can be done to counter the instability they cause. The module will examine the objectives of these organizations, what their mobilization strategies are and what often constitutes their support base. The module will give a thorough overview of not only the world of violent non-state actors but also the political, economic, geographical and regional environments which help to explain their strength.

This module examines the institutions that govern international relations. It is designed around the following question: Do international institutions promote international cooperation? In particular, the module analyses how formal and informal international institutions can help to overcome the main challenges for international cooperation and promote global governance.

In this module you focus on conflict resolution in inter- and intra-state issues. You gain experience in the practical as well as in the theoretical aspects of negotiation and mediation, exploring the applicability of various tools and techniques in problem-solving real cases of international conflict, and making use of negotiation and mediation techniques in role playing exercises and other types of simulations.

The course covers topics in international political economy, including the relationship between domestic politics, international economic conditions and markets, and government economic policy. The goals of the course are to (a) introduce students to contemporary scholarly research on international political economy topics, (b) introduce students to strategic models in political science using substantive applications, and (c) stimulate students to form original ideas for promising quantitative research projects in contemporary international political economy.

GV948 is a module in political theory. We read classic texts that first formulated our modern ideas of democracy and freedom, as well as more contemporary texts that challenge these ideas. We will discuss democracy from a range of historical, normative, and theoretical perspectives. Questions include: What is democracy? What is democracy’s value? What are the practices that are constitutive of democracy? We will also consider some challenges for democracy, considering contemporary threats to democracy and freedom.

This module offers you an introduction to the theory and practice of quantitative data analysis techniques. You will also be introduced to the computer package R, which is widely used by academics and practitioners for the analysis of quantitative data. As the work becomes more challenging, the relevance of the techniques to modern social science research becomes more apparent.

The objective of this module is to provide a better understanding of democratic political processes in Europe. The first part will be devoted to studying the origins of party systems, the impact of different electoral systems on party competition, and linkages between citizens and politicians in West and East European countries. In the second part, we will analyse the rise of populist and extremist parties, democratic backsliding, and institutional mechanisms that constrain political officials. The module also provides an accessible introduction to research design and methods that political scientists have used to address these topics. By the end of the course students will have a sound knowledge of contemporary European politics and understand the advantages and limitations of comparative research. Specifically, participants will become familiar with important academic debates in political party behaviour, the rise of extremism, democratic backsliding, and accountability mechanisms. Students are encouraged to critically assess the validity of conflicting theoretical claims and arguments on the basis of appropriate empirical evidence. The module will also help students hone their analytical and writing skills. By composing short response papers, a grant application, an essay, and peer review comments, students learn how to tailor their writing to different audiences.

This module presents advanced quantitative methods for political science based on maximum likelihood estimation (MLE), with a particular focus on the generalised linear model (GLM). After introducing the principles of MLE, models for different kinds of outcome distributions, such as binary, ordinal, categorical, count, and event history data, are considered. This module also introduces some advanced methods beyond the GLM. All models and methods are approached substantively, mathematically, and computationally (using R), with applications to political science research questions. Throughout the module, you will also familiarise yourself with the interpretation and presentation of empirical evidence in political science. The module will be particularly useful for you if you aim to pursue a career in academia or in research-intensive environments, for example think tanks, research-related government posts, data science, or survey analytics.

This module explores the dynamic interaction between political and economic processes in Europe, with a focus on political economy topics. Through a comparative lens, we will examine how political systems, economic policies, and social institutions shape and influence each other across European countries and within the European Union. Key themes include: Democratic Systems: What are the tradeoffs between representative and direct democracy? Is one approach inherently superior in fostering political and economic stability?; Corruption: How can we effectively study and measure corruption, and what are its economic and political consequences?; Social Policies and Welfare States: Why do some European countries offer more generous protections against risks like sickness, unemployment, and old age? What trade-offs do expansive social safety nets entail for economic growth and fiscal sustainability?; European Union Politics: Under what conditions do member states choose to delegate authority to the EU or reclaim powers at the national level? The module also examines the EU's capacity to manage crises, analysing its responses to challenges such as the euro crisis, trade disputes, the COVID-19 pandemic, and other disruptions. Why has the EU succeeded in some instances and failed in others? Finally, this module provides an accessible introduction to the research design and methods political scientists use to investigate these questions. You will gain practical tools for studying political economy topics in a rigorous and systematic way.

On this module you explore classical and up-to-date knowledge required to understand and undertake public opinion surveys via the four-weeks seminars. Six-weeks lab sessions are designed to develop students’ practical skills in administrating surveys (and survey experiments) and analysing polling data used to study public opinion and political behaviour.

This module introduces the fundamental concepts and logics of poststructuralist political theory, drawing on post-Marxism, deconstruction, structural linguistics and psychoanalytic theory. Students are invited to engage with contemporary debates in critical political theory in order to better probe and grasp the role that discourse and ideology play in our understanding of the contemporary world.

This module introduces key ideas associated with political discourse theory, situating this within the broader field of critical political theory. It critically engages with the conceptual frameworks and presuppositions associated with the work of scholars in critical political and social theory who draw on a wide range of sources, including psychoanalysis, post-marxism, and contemporary continental philosophy. Participants unpack the visions they project and evaluate their prospects for effective and sustained political action and ideological critique in a time of poly-crisis (economic, political, and ecological crises, among others).

Until very recently, it was frequently claimed that human rights were the dominant moral instruments for regulating global politics and law. Indeed, many went so far as to claim that we were living in an age of human rights. Is this still true today? Human rights are increasingly challenged from a variety of perspectives. Indeed, an increasing number of people describe the global human rights project to be in a state of real crisis. With human rights increasingly challenged, it is vitally important that we are able to understand the basis and extent of this challenge, in order to overcome the challenge. This module provides an opportunity to do just that. We will situate the theory and the practice of human rights within the broader moral and political contexts within which contemporary human rights unfolds. We will also connect theory with practice in order to examine key spheres in which the challenge to human rights occurs.

What are the principles of modern survey design? And what is best practice? Explore the fundamentals of survey design and the concept of survey error. Analyse different types of design and modes of data collection, drawing on real-life examples. Build the transferable study skills required to conduct professional surveys. As part of this module, you're required to undertake a 10-day work placement. If you're placement is in London, your travel costs will be paid for by the company. Outside of London, you may incur associated travel costs.