BSc Economics

This is an introductory course designed to cover both a practical and theoretical understanding of the principles and concepts involved in the preparation of financial statements. You are exposed to a conceptual analytical approach, with the aim of improving your critical thinking and communication skills, especially in the area of accounting.

This course introduces students to the basic tools and concepts of economics. Students will be exposed to the core principles of economics: the role of incentives; the idea of scarcity; how to measure the cost of a choice; what is a market; and the purpose of prices. Students will be introduced to the toolkit of methods used by economists. At the end of this course students should be able to engage the core principles of the methodology of economics in everyday use.

Microeconomics is the study of people in the “ordinary business of life”. As economic welfare depends upon the choices of people regarding the allocation and use of resources, it is necessary that ordinary members of the community and specialists in government and business, understand the account of these choices that are provided by microeconomic theory and are able to develop critiques of that theory. It is also necessary that they are able to appreciate, and undertake, microeconomic analysis of contemporary problems and policies. This course therefore explores the theory of economic choice and its application to a range of resource-use questions. Specifically, it focuses upon a range of microeconomic principles, their use in economic analysis, and their relevance in the global information economy. While drawing on the history of economic thought, it emphasizes contemporary resource-use issues and the development of the skills of economic specialists and non-specialists.

This Course is designed to build on students’ understanding of elementary mathematics and to expose them to some of the mathematical concepts that will be used in the study of various models in economics and management sciences. It begins with the topic of functions and moves seamlessly into equations and inequalities. These draw on the student’s prior experience in areas of algebra and coordinate geometry. It then moves the equally interesting area of sequences. This is followed by some matrix algebra then into the topic of limits and continuity, it ends with differentiation with some applications to the social sciences. Emphasis will be placed on the understanding and application of mathematical concepts rather than on computational skills, the use of algorithms and the manipulation of a formula.

This course introduces students to the art and science of statistics. Topics covered are: the collection and compilation of data, descriptive statistics, probability distributions, estimation, hypothesis testing and simple regression and correlation. Teaching is accompanied by computer applications using MINITAB software.

This is a cross-disciplinary course. It is designed to provide a firm base for Communication courses and for courses in English for Special Purposes linked with specific disciplines. It helps students to achieve the level of competence in written language that is required of the university student in undergraduate programmes. Course content includes Language in the Caribbean, Summarizing, the Formal Essay and Methods of Organising Information.

This course is designed to develop an awareness of the main process of cultural development in Caribbean societies, highlighting the factors, the problematic and the creative output that have fed the emergence of Caribbean identities. It also develops a perception of the Caribbean as wider than island nations or linguistic blocs and stimulates students’ interest in, and commitment to Caribbean civilization and to further their self-determination.

This course deals with the basics, major concepts and principles of computers and computing. Topics covered will include: evolution and classification of computers, computer hardware, software and data communications; computer data processing; and microcomputers in business.

The course is designed to introduce learners to the major aspects of management principles. It will expose them to the corpus of knowledge required to assist an organisation to achieve its objectives. It provides important information intended to expose learners to the intricacies of managing enterprises - be these private or public, corporate or small business enterprises, and government or nongovernmental organisations.

This course will introduce students to classical social theory through an understanding of the work of writers such as Auguste Comte, Max Weber, Karl Marx and George H. Mead. The main focus of this studying is to understand the central ideas of these writers and to reflect on the usefulness of their theory in contemporary Caribbean societies. This reflection will support students’ further investigations of the explanations given for issues on the front line of Caribbean societies’ development agendas. At the same time, students will learn about the central ideas and perspectives of writers such as Edward Kamau Brathwaite, M.G. Smith and George Beckford. The combination of classical and Caribbean schools of social inquiry will set the tone for a synthesizing of perspectives on race, class, gender, ethnicity and the family in society. This process will assist students with developing their theoretical base in social theory, as well as independent thought on happenings in Caribbean society.

This course introduces the use of statistical analysis on economic data. It also focuses on the techniques used to compile indices, national income accounts and other reported economic statistics.

Against the constantly changing background of economic and geopolitical international developments which impact the vulnerable economies of the Caribbean, new styles of management and professionalism are necessary in order to develop policy and practice that are truly informed. To help face these challenges, there is a clear and urgent need for citizens of the Caribbean to be grounded in the fundamentals of microeconomic theory.

This course emphasizes the markets in which goods and services are traded and the implications, from a welfare perspective, of the various types of market structures. The models examined include perfect competition with an emphasis on General Equilibrium analysis and welfare maxima, market failures such as public goods and externalities, the welfare losses of tariffs, dead weight losses of monopoly, price discrimination and multiplant monopolies. The course is organized according to the following areas: Theory of the Firm, Theory of Perfect Competition, General Equilibrium and Market Failure, Theory of Monopoly and Monopolistic Competition, Theory of Oligopoly, Price Leadership and Limit Pricing and Theoretical Welfare Economics.

This course introduces the student to the unique characteristics of the Caribbean economy. It highlights the challenges and opportunities. The impact of globalisation on small economies of the Caribbean as well as the challenges and possibilities associated with economic integration within the region will be explored.

This course examines: the role of government in the economy especially in developing countries and the Caribbean; taxation (both direct and indirect) and its impact on the economy; the theory of public sector pricing and production; the design of public policy and the scope and limitations of public economic policy.

This course provides an introduction to the econometric methods frequently used to analyze data. The courses focuses on the linear regression model and more specifically, the ordinary least squares (OLS) estimation procedure. Students will gain an understanding of how to use t-Test and F-Test to make inferences about the estimated parameters and the diagnostic tests that are available to test some of the assumptions of the simple OLS model.

This course builds on the foundations learned in Econometrics by focusing on the practical application of econometric methods in solving econometric problems. It also introduces topics such as panel data analysis and modern time series methods.

This course examines the basic workings of the financial system and the main issues in monetary policy, primarily in developing countries. Emphasis will be on understanding the issues relating to interest rates, the tools of monetary policy, and the role of the Central Bank, in the conduct of monetary policy. The general economics and the structure of the financial system are also highlighted. Furthermore, the main monetary and financial issues confronting the CARICOM region as a whole are examined. For example, possible monetary union, intra-Caribbean investment and exchange rate systems are discussed.