POSTGRADUATE PROSPECTUS

DEPARTMENT OFECONOMICSThe Department of Economics is one of the country’sleading departments specialising in the economics ofdevelopment and growth. Research is pursued on avariety of topics and is unique in its depth and range ofregional coverage. A special feature of the Departmentis its orientation towards Political Economy as well asFinance and Development. In addition, the Departmentmajors on aspects of economic theory that go beyondmainstream paradigms.NUMBER OF STAFF 20RAE 4DEPARTMENT WEBSITEwww.soas.ac.uk/economicsFACULTY Law and Social SciencesTAUGHT MASTERS DEGREESMSC DEVELOPMENT ECONOMICSMSC ECONOMICS (WITHREFERENCE TO AFRICAOR SOUTH ASIA ORTHE MIDDLE EAST ORTHE ASIA-PACIFIC REGION)MSC FINANCE ANDDEVELOPMENTMSC POLITICAL ECONOMY OFDEVELOPMENT67The core of the Department’s teaching andresearch enables students to gain a closeunderstanding of theoretical and analytical issues;to apply rigorously the relevant concepts, acrossa wide spectrum of problems, to the countriesof Asia, Africa, the Middle East and the globaleconomy at large; and to acquire a thoroughfamiliarity with the conceptual apparatusof Econometrics, including the necessarystatistical tools.The Department includes regional specialists, witha broad range of theoretical and applied interests.The Department employs its own computerprogrammer who takes on the responsibility forthe training and other needs of postgraduatestudents. Full computing facilities are availableto all postgraduate students.RESEARCH DEGREESStudents whose qualifications indicate that theyare able to pursue independent research may beaccepted to read for a research degree (MPhil/PhD). Normally a Masters degree in Economicsis a prerequisite.An essential feature of the MPhil and PhDwork is the close relationship between researchstudents and supervisors. Supervisors andstudents meet regularly and consult closely. Allresearch students have a supervisory committeeto cover theoretical, empirical and regionallyspecific supervision, as appropriate. There is aResearch Student Tutor with overall responsibilityfor research students, who is available fordiscussion of general problems.All research students in Economics receive acopy of the manual on Research Methods inEconomics. Students are required to participatein a workshop/seminar in which research topicsand results are presented and discussed by staffand students. In addition, there is a regulardepartmental Political Economy of Developmentseminar, to which members of the departmentand visiting speakers present papers.There is a strong interdisciplinary basis forresearch and teaching. London, moreover,provides an unrivalled opportunity for studentsto hear papers being read by leading authoritiesin African and Asian studies. Research studentsmay choose from a wealth of seminars bothin the School (especially in the regional andinterdisciplinary centres) and in other collegesand institutes of the university.STAFF RESEARCHAll academic staff are active researchers andpublish in core journals such as AmericanEconomic Review, Economic Journal, CambridgeJournal of Economics, Oxford Bulletin ofComparative Economics, World Bank EconomicReview, World Development, Journal ofInternational Development, Journal of AfricanEconomies, China Quarterly, Food Policy andthe Journal of Development Studies.GRADUATE DIPLOMA IN ECONOMICSThis one-year diploma is administered by theDepartment of Economics and provides studentswith a solid understanding of the main topicsECONOMICS