| Unit name | Economics of Financial Markets |
|---|---|
| Unit code | ECON30018 |
| Credit points | 20 |
| Level of study | H/6 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 2 (weeks 13 - 24) |
| Unit director | Professor. Hu |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Units you must take before you take this one (pre-requisite units) | |
| Units you must take alongside this one (co-requisite units) |
None |
| Units you may not take alongside this one |
None |
| School/department | School of Economics |
| Faculty | Faculty of Social Sciences and Law |
Why is this unit important?
The course covers economic principles of financial markets, money, and banking. Financial markets are important in any economy by reallocating risk and liquidity in the credit market. The subject has attracted fresh research and policy debates after the 2008 Global Financial Crisis, with policy and public debates on the social roles of financial intermediaries. Students in this unit will be equipped with necessary background knowledge and analytical skills to follow the current debates and to understand two fundamental functions of financial markets: risk reallocation and liquidity provision.
How does this unit fit into your programme of study?
This unit is offered as an elective to several economic-related programmes. Taken in conjunction with other finance units, it will deepen your understanding of price formation and market efficiency. Taken on its own, it will give you a different perspective on how standard economic concepts such as asymmetric information, competition and risk aversion can impact welfare.
An overview of content
In this unit you will learn the economic perspective of asset pricing and liquidity provision, and their welfare properties.
We will focus on:
How will students, personally, be different as a result of the unit.
You will develop an understanding about the economic principles governing trading and the organisation of financial markets. Overall, this unit will provide you with the theoretical underpinning to form well-reasoned opinions about how well financial markets are organised.
Learning Outcomes
Students will be able to
Teaching will be delivered through a combination of large and small group classes, supported by online resources.
Tasks which help you learn and prepare you for summative tasks (formative):
The exercises that are assigned each week are useful for understanding the revise the material. The weekly tutorials are designed to have discussions of both the conceptual and technical aspects of the material in greater details.
Tasks which count towards your unit mark (summative):
When assessment does not go to plan
As this is a final year unit, reassessment is not normally permitted. However, where it is permitted it will be an exam of the same format as the main exam.
If this unit has a Resource List, you will normally find a link to it in the Blackboard area for the unit. Sometimes there will be a separate link for each weekly topic.
If you are unable to access a list through Blackboard, you can also find it via the Resource Lists homepage. Search for the list by the unit name or code (e.g. ECON30018).
How much time the unit requires
Each credit equates to 10 hours of total student input. For example a 20 credit unit will take you 200 hours
of study to complete. Your total learning time is made up of contact time, directed learning tasks,
independent learning and assessment activity.
See the University Workload statement relating to this unit for more information.
Assessment
The assessment methods listed in this unit specification are designed to enable students to demonstrate the named learning outcomes (LOs). Where a disability prevents a student from undertaking a specific method of assessment, schools will make reasonable adjustments to support a student to demonstrate the LO by an alternative method or with additional resources.
The Board of Examiners will consider all cases where students have failed or not completed the assessments required for credit.
The Board considers each student's outcomes across all the units which contribute to each year's programme of study. For appropriate assessments, if you have self-certificated your absence, you will normally be required to complete it the next time it runs (for assessments at the end of TB1 and TB2 this is usually in the next re-assessment period).
The Board of Examiners will take into account any exceptional circumstances and operates
within the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes.
