MSc Economics 2012-13

Queen Mary, University of LondonMSc Economics2012-13

Welcome

Dear Applicant,

Welcome to the School of Economics andFinance at Queen Mary, University of London.You can anticipate joining one of the UK's besteconomics departments, ranked jointly sixth inthe most recent (2008) Research AssessmentExercise. Our faculty members aredistinguished research economists whopublish in the profession's most influentialjournals and advise major institutions such as the World Bank and the Bank of England.

Postgraduate study at the School is excellent preparation for a variety ofcareer paths. Past students have gone on to have success in the financialsector, industry, government service, academia, and internationalorganisations such as the IMF.

The MSc Economics curriculum provides rigorous training in the theories,applications, and methods of modern economics. Upon completion of thedegree you will have the knowledge base needed to understand andevaluate published work in the field, as well as the skills required toconduct research of your own.

For students entering the programme, the year ahead will be a challengingone. We look forward to welcoming you to Queen Mary in September andhope that your time with us will be both rewarding and enjoyable.

Dr Christopher TysonDirector of MSc Economics

Contents

Queen Mary, University of London 01

The programme 2

The modules 5

Staff 9

Sample publications 16

Graduates 19

Graduate employment 20

Alternative MSc programmes 22

Accommodation and application procedure 24

The information given in this brochure is correct at the time of goingto press. The College reserves the right to modify or cancel any statement in itand accepts no responsibility for the consequences of any suchchanges.

The programme

Programme descriptionThe MSc in Economics is a well-establishedspecialist programme which aims to providegraduate students and professionals with a rigorous training and strong analyticalbackground in both theoretical and applied economics.

This intensive programme covers the analytical tools and advanced methods in macroeconomics, microeconomics,econometrics, and mathematics for economicresearch. You will also study areas ofspecialisation such as labour economics,financial econometrics, empiricalmacroeconomics, and asset pricing.

You will gain up-to-date insights in to how markets and economic players behave,along with a solid grounding in a range ofanalytical tools and rigorous methodologies. Thiswill enable you to undertake, assess andsupervise independent research in boththeoretical and applied economics.

The MSc in Economics is ideal for students and professionals aiming to follow careers aseconomists, analysts and consultants in a variety of settings, including: academic institutions,research centres, think tanks, economic analysisdepartments in the public sector, privatecompanies and international institutions.

This programme is recognised as a ResearchTraining degree by the ESRC under their “1+3”scheme.

You will take four modules per semester, followedby a 10,000 word dissertation. There are alsopre-sessional modules in mathematics andstatistics, providing a good opportunity forstudents to refresh their knowledge of theseareas. For more detailed module information, see page 5.

Research strengthThe School of Economics and Finance iscommitted to excellence in research andteaching. Our expertise covers three key areas:economic theory, econometrics and finance, and applied economics. We regularly publish the results of our research in leading economicsjournals. We combine an excellent internationalreputation with a friendly and informalatmosphere. Economics at Queen Mary wasranked jointly sixth in the UK in the 2008Research Assessment Exercise (RAE) – thenation-wide assessment of the quality of researchacross all Schools in all British universities.

Many members of our School have recentlyreceived academic grants, and providedconsultancy and advisory services to primaryfinancial institutions such as the UK and ItalianTreasury, the ONS, the Bank of England andmany others.

Applied learning The School has developed and nurturedcollaborations with a number of public andprivate institutions. This provides plenty ofopportunity for student placements and research co-operation.

02 MSc Economics

We also organise a number of additional, optional modules, the topics of which vary fromyear to year. These modules are taught by Cityprofessionals, who are well-placed to give aninsider’s view on issues of interest to the financialcommunity.

Postgraduate resourcesYou will have access to excellent computingfacilities, offering an ideal environment in whichto practise applied analysis. Standard softwarepackages for data analysis, simulation, and wordprocessing are available, including GAUSS,Eviews, PCgive, RATS, Microfit, and Stata. Wealso provide full subscription access to Datastream.

Financial supportApplicants to the MSc Economics programmeare automatically considered for a number ofmerit-based scholarships offered by the Schoolthat cover all or part of the tuition fee. In addition,the School awards cash prizes to students withoutstanding performance in individual coursemodules. For more information aboutpostgraduate funding, please see:www.econ.qmul.ac.uk/postgraduate/fees-and-funding

Teaching styleModules are taught in a three hour block format.The first two hours deliver the core theoreticaland technical concepts; these are then applied in the remaining hour. You will be assigned apersonal tutor who will support you throughoutyour studies.

DissertationOver the summer term, you will write a 10,000word dissertation. Under supervision, you willlearn how to undertake applied analysis, runestimations and formulate and test hypotheses.

Recent examples of student dissertation topicsinclude: "Quantile regression specification forprocurement auctions", "Leverage,macroeconomics, and asset prices", "Earningsinequality and fixed-term contracts in Italy", and"Forecasting exchange rates: A Bayesian VARapplication and interval forecasting extension".

AssessmentThe grade for each module is assessed throughcoursework, which counts for 20-25 per cent ofthe final marks, along with a written exam in May.The 10,000 word dissertation written over thesummer carries a weight equivalent to fourmodules.

Pre-semester modulesPre-semester modules in mathematics and statistics take place over two weeks inSeptember. They are especially designed forstudents who want to review concepts such asstatistical distributions and matrix algebra. Youwill sit exams at the end of these modules.


The programme (cont)

04 MSc Economics

Pre-Semester A

Mathematics

Statistics

Semester A

Macroeconomics A

Microeconomics A

Econometrics A

Mathematics forEconomists

Semester B

Macroeconomics B

Microeconomics B

Econometrics C

Option

Post-Semester B

10,000 word dissertation

Programme timetable

Compulsory modules:Macroeconomics AThis module deals with the long-run growth of GDPand its short-run fluctuations. You will start byanalysing the traditional models of economicgrowth theory, ie the Solow-Swan model and theRamsey-Cass-Koopmans model. Within theframework of these models you will study thecentral questions of growth theory as well as the effects of government expenditure onmacroeconomic variables. You will then discussthe most important ideas of endogenous growththeory, including research and development,human capital formation, and knowledge creation.

The second part of the module deals with twoclasses of theories of aggregate fluctuations, ie, real-business-cycle theories and Keynesiantheories. Whereas real-business-cycle theoriesassume flexible prices and market clearing,Keynesian theories proceed from the assumptionof nominal stickiness and market failure. Wediscuss possible reasons why prices and wagesare sticky and analyse the implications of this fact.

Microeconomics ATogether with Microeconomics B, this modulewill give you a firm grounding in modernmicroeconomic theory.

Topics to be covered in the first term include:choice, preference, and utility; classicalconsumer and producer theory; choice underuncertainty; Walrasian (competitive) equilibriumand the fundamental welfare theorems; generalequilibrium over time and under uncertainty; andmarket failure.

Econometrics AThe purpose of this module is to provide you with the necessary tools for formalising ahypothesis of interest and testing it, writing asimple econometric model, estimating it andconducting inference.

You will start with a review of the classical linear model, and then analyse finite sample and asymptotic properties of ordinary leastsquares, instrumental variables and feasiblegeneralised least squares, under generalconditions. Classical tests, as well as generalHausman tests, and moment’s tests are covered.The case of dependent stationary observations isalso covered. You will also study nonlinearestimation methods, and in particular thegeneralised method of moments.


The modules

The modules (cont)

Mathematics for EconomistsThe purpose of this module is to equip studentswith the mathematical tools needed to studyeconomics and related fields at the postgraduatelevel and to work in these areas as a researcher orpractitioner. The emphasis is on both (1)mastering specific techniques that are widelyused in economic theory and finance, and (2)developing a language, a conceptual framework,and a standard of argument appropriate foranalysing economic questions mathematically.The module complements the School’spostgraduate micro and macro theorysequences, and together with these modules willenable the successful student to read researchpapers in theoretical and applied economics.

The course will cover some or all of the followingtopics: logic, sets and orderings, the real numbersystem, Euclidean space, sequences and limits,topology and convexity, functions andcorrespondences, continuity, differentiability, theinverse and implicit function theorems, fixedpoint theorems, optimisation, comparativestatics, dynamic programming, and optimalcontrol.

Macroeconomics BThis module covers a number of standard topicsin macroeconomics. The first part of the moduledeals with individual and aggregate consumptionand saving behaviour as the outcome of optimalinter-temporal choice. It uses the framework tostudy a number of policy issues including theeffect, and optimal mix, of tax versus debtfinancing of government expenditure.

The second part of the module presents theoriesof firms' investment in physical capital and theirimplications for aggregate investment. Lastly youwill study two ways of looking at unemploymentas an equilibrium outcome. The first viewhighlights the role of search frictions. The second one focuses on real wage inflexibility.

Microeconomics BTogether with Microeconomics A, this module willgive you a firm grounding in modernmicroeconomic theory.

Topics to be covered in the second term include:games in strategic and extensive form; Nashequilibrium and its refinements; games withincomplete information; repeated games;adverse selection, signaling, and screening; theprincipal-agent problem; incentive theory andmechanism design.

Econometrics CThe purpose of this module is to equip studentswith the probabilistic and statistical toolsnecessary to undertake research in econometricsand to cover a number of important topics in thisfield. The modules starts with a review of largesample theory, and then proceeds to analyze theasymptotic behavior of extremum estimators,including maximum likelihood and generalizedmethods of moments. Some important efficiencyresults will be covered. Finally, the module willdeal with panel data, limited dependent variables,unit roots, and cointegration.

06 MSc Economics


Module options include:Labour EconomicsThis module will give you an understanding of some of the issues in contemporary laboureconomics, with an emphasis on the empiricalside of the discipline.

You will cover a mix of theoretical economic, data analysis and econometric techniques. Thisreflects the nature of a discipline which is eclecticand constantly ‘on the move’. This illustrates howeconomists uncover the effect of policy reformsand changes in opportunities and constraints in the labour market using micro-data. Thismodule is designed to appeal to both prospectiveresearchers and those wishing to pursue a careerin government, international institutions andconsultation with public and private bodies. This module is not intended to be an exhaustivesurvey of all of the relevant issues in laboureconomics. The topics chosen are selected inorder to illustrate the varieties of questions laboureconomists ask themselves, and how theyproceed to solve them. Topics covered include:introduction to empirical labour economics;human capital and returns to education; schoolquality; changes in the wage structure; changesin employment structure; US vs. Europe; theemployment effect of minimum wages; laboursupply; immigration; crime; neighbourhoodeffects.

Advanced Asset Pricing and ModelingThe aim of this module is to provide students with the analytical tools of advanced financetheory. The module starts with an introduction to stochastic calculus, optimal control andmartingale methods, and will cover dynamicasset pricing models, optimal consumption and portfolio theory, equilibrium models of theterm structure of interest rates, option pricing of

The modules (cont)

interest rates and stocks based on arbitrage andgeneral equilibrium models, incomplete marketsand portfolio optimisation in incomplete markets.

Empirical MacroeconomicsThis module studies modern econometricmethods to estimate, evaluate and forecast with structural macroeconomic models. It coversmethods that are popular in central banks and inpolicy institutions. The methods covered allow usto extract cyclical information, solve and estimatestructural models, evaluate the effect of monetarypolicy, and forecast variables such as inflationand output growth using econometric software.

Topics in Macro-LabourThis module provides an overview of some of themain current topics in macro-labour. It combinestypical empirical tools of labour economics withequilibrium models of the macroeconomy tointerpret the main stylised facts of modern labourmarkets and draw policy implications. Themodule has a strong applied focus. For eachmajor topic covered we will derive testableimplications, provide insights into the researchmethodology, discuss the advantages andlimitations of existing empirical work, and draw policy conclusions.

Financial EconometricsThis module discusses econometricmethodology for dealing with problems in the area of financial economics and providesstudents with the econometric tools applied inthe area. Applications are considered in thestock, bond and exchange rate markets.

You will cover the following issues: asset returnsdistributions; predictability of asset returns;econometric tests of capital markets efficiencyand asset pricing models; inter-temporal modelsof time-varying risk premium; nonlinearities infinancial data; value at risk; pricing derivativeswith stochastic volatility (or GARCH) models;modeling non-synchronous trading; andnumerical methods in finance.

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Staff

Jose-Miguel Albala-Bertrand Development economics, macroeconomics and economics of disastersJose-Miguel is an international expert in theeconomics and political economy of disasters, who has participated in high-powered projects withinternational organisations, especially the WorldBank. He is currently writing a book, commissionedby Routledge, in the area of disaster economics. Its provisional titled is Disasters, Networks andDevelopment. He works on developmenteconomics with a focus on macroeconomic theoryand policy in three main areas of concern. Firstly,naturally/socially-induced disasters via empirical,analytical and policy-orientated approaches. Hismain conclusion is that as a rule "disasters are aproblem OF development, but not a problem FORdevelopment". Secondly, he has done work onstructural change, especially comparing the"Washington Consensus Model" with the "AsianModel". And thirdly, he has also worked on theanalysis of infrastructures, proposing a novel two-gap model to assess the impact of infrastructuralcapital on growth. He has also proposed anoptimally consistent method, via linearprogramming, to calculate a benchmark for thecapital stock, which is both accurate andsignificantly cost-saving in finance and time,especially when data is scarce. It has now beenapplied in many countries, especially China.

Nizar Allouch Microeconomic theoryNizar's research interests are mainly inMicroeconomic Theory, Public Economics andGame Theory. In addition to his work on No-Arbitrage conditions in assets markets, he is

currently elaborating some work on Tiebouteconomies with overlapping clubs/jurisdictions andmultiple memberships. His work on Tiebout/Clubseconomies will have some game theoretic andpricing applications to general networks.

Richard Baillie Time series analysis, econometrics and international financeRichard divides his time between QMUL and theMichigan State University, USA, where he is the A JPasant Professor of Economics and Finance. Heworks in the area of dynamic econometricmethods, international finance, asset pricing andtime series analysis. His current main researchinterests are the theory of long memory processes,modelling volatility, general issues in prediction,international finance parity conditions, modellingrisk premium, and the effects of central bankintervention. He has published over seventy articlesin the main professional journals and is a fellow ofthe Journal of Econometrics and an elected fellowof the American Statistical Association. Accordingto Repec, he is in the top 3 per cent of alleconomists for citations and has an "h" statistic of19. He is co-editor of the Journal of EmpiricalFinance and also serves as associate editor of anumber of other journals and is visiting scholar atthe Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta.

Francis Breedon Foreign exchange and bond markets particularly in the area of market microstructure.Francis’s main research interests are in foreignexchange and bond markets particularly in thearea of market microstructure.


10 MSc Economics

Staff (cont)

He has direct experience of financial marketsthrough his time at the Bank of England, and hisconsulting roles for a number of Banks, HedgeFunds, Government Departments and CentralBanks. Currently, he is undertaking a project oncurrency allocation for the Norwegian PetroleumFund. He has also worked at the London andChicago Business Schools.

Andrea Carriero Applied macroeconomics and forecastingAndrea's research interests are appliedmacroeconometrics and forecasting. He is workingon the econometric analysis of present valuemodels, with applications on the ExpectationTheory of the Term Structure of Interest Rates, the Uncovered Interest Rate Parity, and the NewKeynesian Phillips Curve. He is also working on the construction and evaluation of alternativecomposite coincident and leading indexes for theEuro Area and the UK.

Francesca Cornaglia Applied microeconomicsFrancesca's main interests are in labour and healtheconomics, and applied microeconomics. Hercurrent work agenda is related to crime, addictivebehaviour and mental health issues. She'scurrently working on a project investigating theimpact that crime has on the mental wellbeing ofindividuals living in communities that have beensubjected to crime, but who have not themselvesbeen victims of criminal actions. She's also workingon a lifecycle model of smoking behaviour.

Giulio Fella Macroeconomics and theoretical laboureconomicsGiulio Fella works in macroeconomics and theoretical labour economics. He hasinvestigated the effects of dismissal regulations onunemployment, welfare and firms' investment inworkers' training. He has worked on optimalinsurance contracts in models of searchunemployment. His current projects concern theeffectiveness of alternative policies in shapingincentives to engage in criminal activity.

Marcelo Fernandes Empirical finance, financial econometrics, and empirical market microstructureMarcelo has currently two lines of research. The first deals with the theory and application of nonparametric methods to high-frequencyfinancial data. In particular, he has been workingon a nonparametric framework for the analysis ofvolatility and jump spillovers as well as foridentifying mispricings in the financial markets.Marcelo's second line of research aims to assessperformance and risk-taking behaviour in thehedge fund industry.

Ana Galvao Applied macroeconomics and forecastingAna's research interests are macroeconometricsand forecasting. She has worked on applications ofnon-linear time series models to macroeconomicand financial time series, and on extensions ofmodels with mixed data frequencies for forecastingmacroeconomic variables. She is currently workingon the impact of data revisions in forecastingmacroeconomic aggregates.


Liudas Giraitis Time-series econometricsLiudas has completed extensive research on long memory and integrated I(d) models. He isinterested in ARCH models, their properties andestimation methods. Liudas has most recentlybeen working on testing and estimation ofintegrated time series models in econometrics anddevelopment of comprehensive asymptotic theoryfor quadratic forms of dependent variables. He haspublished numerous articles in the leadingstatistical and econometric journals.

Emmanuel Guerre Econometric theoryEmmanuel's research interests concernnonparametric identification and inference forauctions, optimal nonparametric testing andinference for recurrent/unit root processes. His main contribution in auction modelling consistsin a nonparametric rate optimal estimation methodthat circumvents the numerical difficulties inducedby the Nash equilibrium. His work innonparametric testing deals with adaptive rateoptimal tests that also have a simple limitdistribution. This testing approach can be appliedin various contexts and is easy to implement.

Randi Hjalmarsson Economics of crimeMy research focuses on empirical questionsrelated to the economics of crime. In particular, I have studied the effect of incarceration oneducation and subsequent criminal activity; one of these papers focuses on identifying peereffects in the criminal justice system. Otherresearch questions are policy driven, such aswhether the death penalty has a deterrent effect

and whether gun shows in the US increase suicideand homicide rates in the geographic areassurrounding the shows. My current researchfocuses on racial and gender biases in jurydecisions and on the role of the family andneighborhood in determining criminal behavior.

Alfonsina Iona Capital structure, corporate investment, corporategovernance and financing constraintsAlfonsina’s research in finance is carried out both at the theoretical and empirical level. In particular,she studies and develops models of investmentwhere the effects of capital market imperfectionscontribute to shape the firm’s investment; wherecorporate investment is affected by the publicinvestment and where capital market imperfectionseffects may be relaxed by some macroeconomicvariables. In this research area she also analyseshow corporate governance characteristics affectthe firm financing policies and how these affect thefirm value.

Alfonsina’s research in economics is focused onthe main determinants of the adoption ofinnovations by firms and the impact of innovationson firm performance.

Staff (cont)

George Kapetanios Econometrics and macroeconomicsGeorge works in the area of econometrics andmacroeconomics. In the area of econometrics he is interested in (i) the analysis of nonlineareconometric models, (ii) nonlinear unit root tests,(iii) factor models for large datasets (iv) modelselection (v) tests of rank (vi) tests of nonlinearityand (vii) econometric forecasting. He hasdeveloped unit root tests that are powerful againstnonlinear stationary processes for a variety ofnonlinear alternative hypotheses. He hasdeveloped new tests for nonlinearity with veryfavourable size and power properties. He hasproposed a new methodology for estimating factorsfrom large datasets using state space models. Inthe area of macroeconomics he has investigatedthe persistence properties of a number ofmacroeconomics series and used state space andnonlinear models to forecast GDP for Europe andthe US.

Marika Karanassou Macroeconomics and empirical financeMarika's main interest is macroeconomicmodelling. The analysis of dynamic macro-labourmodels with spillover effects, the evaluation of the inflation-unemployment tradeoff, and theidentification of the factors which jointly drive thesecentral macro variables are the focal points of herresearch. The theoretical and empirical models ofher work draw a new line of research and herresults challenge the macroeconomic consensuson two major fronts: (i) the interplay of dynamicsand growth in labour market models questions the

prevailing wisdom of the natural rate ofunemployment, and (ii) the existence of adownward-sloping Phillips curve points against the classical dichotomy doctrine.

Winfried Koeniger MacroeconomicsWinfried considers macroeconomic issues with a particular focus on consumption and labourmarkets. He has analysed the effects of labourmarket institutions on economic performanceemphasising interactions between the structure of labour markets, financial markets and productmarkets. Moreover, he researches quantitativemodels with heterogeneous agents to understandconsumption and saving patterns.

Stepana Lazarova Time-series econometricsStepana works in the area of Time SeriesEconometrics. In particular she focuses on timeseries with long memory. She investigates linearmodels with breaks in parameters and examinesthe validity of bootstrap methods for models withstrongly dependent processes.

Leone Leonida Corporate finance and growthLeone's research interests are mainly in growth and corporate finance. He is studying the effects on growth processes and convergence patterns ofstructural change (ie industrialisation) by means ofsemi-parametric stochastic kernels and ACFestimation. He also studies the effects on firm value and investment of corporate governancemechanisms, exchange rate fluctuations and spillover effects from public capital.

12 MSc Economics

Yioryos Makedonis Mathematical economics, macroeconomics, and environmental economicsYioryos's main areas of research are MathematicalEconomics, Macroeconomics, and EnvironmentalEconomics.

Rachel Male Applied macroeconomics and developmenteconomicsRachel's interests are applied macroeconomics,development economics and appliedeconometrics. She is currently working on theempirical analysis of a DSGE model with stickyprices and a vertical input-output structure, tomodel output persistence (in response to amonetary policy shock) of economies at differentlevels of development. She is also working on theeconometric analysis of developing countrybusiness cycles; including turning point analysis ofbusiness cycle duration and timing, and statisticalanalysis of persistence, volatility, correlations withoutput, cross-country quantity correlations and realexchange rate correlations.

Marco Manacorda Labour economicsMarco Manacorda is a labor economist with aparticular interest in developing countries. Hisresearch is empirical in nature and focuses on howincentives are shaped by public policies, with theultimate aim of uncovering the micro-determinantsof individual behavior. He has written on topicssuch as wage institutions, schooling, child labour,migration, family formation, social protection,political economy, unemployment, wage inequalityand early child development, in both developedand developing countries. Marco Manacorda is

also a research associate at the Centre forEconomic Performance (CEP) at the LondonSchool of Economics, a CEPR Research Affiliate in the Public Policy and Labor EconomicsProgrammes, and a Research Fellow at IZA (Bonn)and CESIFO (University of Munich).

Xavier Mateos-Planas Xavier’s primary research interest is in quantitativemacroeconomics – the combination of theory anddata for measurement and policy analysis. Hisagenda reaches across various themes, includingthe determination of fiscal policies, financialfrictions and consumer credit regulation,unemployment and inequality, technology anddevelopment, and fertility and economic growth.

Xavier’s recent work on political economyintroduces dynamic voting and a rich demographicstructure in quantitative macroeconomic models, anecessary step for the positive analysis of fiscalpolicies when there is population change.

Xavier has also focused on consumer credit inorder to study personal bankruptcies and theimpact of banking regulation. This researchdevelops models for the determination of creditterms – credit limits and interest rates – incontinuing credit relationships across the differenttypes of households in the economy.

Radoslawa Nikolowa Organisation theory, contract theory, industrial organisation, labour economicsRadoslawa's research interests are organisationaleconomics and corporate finance. In the area oforganisational economics she has analysed from atheoretical prospective the impact of labour market


Staff (cont)

conditions on the internal organisation of the firm,in terms of organisational structure and rewardschemes for the employees. More recently she isworking in the field of corporate finance,investigating the questions of creation andfinancing of spin-offs, and CEO turnover.

Barbara Petrongolo Barbara Petrongolo's main area of interest isapplied labour economics. The focus of some ofher recent contributions is the performance oflabour markets with job search frictions, withapplications to unemployment dynamics, welfarepolicy and interdependencies across local labourmarkets. She is also carrying out research on thecauses and characteristics of gender earningsinequality across countries, with emphasis on therole of employment selection mechanisms andstructural transformation.

Eric Hjalmarsson Eric's expertise is in Empirical Asset Pricing andPortfolio Choice, Empirical Market Microstructure,Volatility Modeling and Estimation, FinancialEconometrics and Time Series Econometrics

Anne Spencer Health economicsAnne's research is focused on the analysis of preferences and decision-making, withparticular applications to health and safety issues.Her research covers utility measurement, decisionunder uncertainty, intertemporal choice, and drawsupon experimental economics techniques to try toisolate the factors that affect decision-making. Shehas published in the Journal of Risk andUncertainty, as well as more specialised journalslike Health Economics and Social Science and

Medicine. She also mentors health economists touse modelling techniques to aid decision-makingat the National Institute for Health and ClinicalExcellence (NICE). In addition, she is involved inresearch to apply modelling techniques to improvethe design of clinical trials and to developguidelines for researchers on the use of modellingtechniques to inform cost effective studies. Anne isalso senior health economics advisor for thePragmatic Clinical Trials Unit (PCTU) which can be found on the web atwww.ihse.qmul.ac.uk/chspctu.

Christopher Tyson Microeconomic theoryChristopher's primary research interests are inindividual decision-making; specifically, in theareas of revealed preference analysis, boundedrationality, utility theory, and intertemporal choice.His other interests include game theory,bargaining, choice under uncertainty, andevolutionary models.

Roberto Veneziani Microeconomic theory and political economyRoberto's research interests include topics ofdynamic models of cyclical growth, egalitarianprinciples, and distribution of resources betweengenerations, sustainable development, andnormative principles in economics. He has focusedmainly on dynamic recursive optimisation modelswith heterogeneous agents. He is also interested inthe history of economic thought and in politicaleconomy from a mathematical perspective.

14 MSc Economics

Leon Vinokur Environmental economicsEnvironmental Economics, EU Emission TradingScheme, Energy markets, Financial Economics.My research is on environmental policy of the EUwith an emphasis on the UK. In my thesis I conducta cost-benefit analysis of the environmental policyin the EU. I focus on decision-making underuncertainty. I also assess econometrically thedisposition effect in the carbon market using anintra-daily data. In addition, I analyse thetheoretical impact of the Kyoto mechanisms on theproduction incentives in the market. Specifically, Ianalyse how the uncertainty of the Policy, after theKyoto protocol expires, affects the currentemissions rate of the producers.

Guglielmo Volpe Economic education and growth theoryGuglielmo's research interests lie in the areas ofeconomic growth and economic education. He hasinvestigated the role of imperfect capital marketsin human capital accumulation and economicgrowth. Presently he is investigating the effects ofalternative environmental policies on economicgrowth. In the area of economic educationGuglielmo has a particular interest in studentcentred approaches to learning (such as PBL),the internationalisation of the curriculum and linkbetween institutional sense of belonging andacademic performance.

Nicolaas Vriend Microeconomic and game theory, economic dynamicsNick's fields of interest are microeconomic theory,game theory, industrial organisation, evolutionaryeconomics, and complex adaptive systems. His

research focuses on the theory of markets andeconomic behaviour, and he is particularlyinterested in the dynamics of interactive processesinvolving bounded rational, learning agents. Inrelation to this, in his work he follows theoretical aswell as experimental and computational tracks. Hehas investigated the meaning of the concept ofrationality in economics, and analysed the linkbetween, on the one hand, ideas of economies ascomplex adaptive systems (eg in recent Agent-based Computational Economics work), and on theother hand, much earlier views on self-organisationin economics as advanced by Adam Smith orHayek. He has worked on models of pricedispersion and consumer loyalty and of thephenomenon of information-contagion, and he hasinvestigated the relevance and implications of arange of learning theories both in theory and inexperimental setups (including various oligopolisticmarkets, a location game, and ultimatum games).Recent work also includes the significance of focalpoints and of signalling in coordination games,and the measuring of the competitiveness offootball leagues.

Andriy Zapechelnyuk Microeconomic theory, game theoryAndriy's research interests are in the areas of microeconomic and game theory, with aparticular focus on adaptive learning anddecision making in uncertain environments, aswell as bargaining theory, auctions and contracts.


Sample publications

Allouch, N. and Florenzano, M. (2004):“Edgeworth and Walrasian equilibrium of anarbitrage-free exchange economy”, EconomicTheory.

Baillie, R T. “Prediction from ARFIMA Models:Comparisons between MLE and Semi ParametricProcedures”, (with C. Kongchareon and G.Kapetanios), International Journal of Forecasting,forthcoming.

Baillie, R T. “Carry Trades, Momentum Tradingand the Forward Premium Anomaly”, (with S. S.Chang), Journal of Financial Markets,forthcoming, 2010.

Breedon, F. “Differences in Beliefs and CurrencyRisk Premia” (with A. Beber and A. Buraschi)Journal of Financial Economics, December 2010

Breedon, F. “An empirical study of liquidity andinformation effects of order flow on exchangerates” (with P. Vitale) Journal of InternationalMoney and Finance, April 2010

Carriero, A. (2008): “A simple test of the NewKeynesian Phillips Curve”, Economics Letters.

Cornaglia, F. “The Effect of Taxes and Bans onPassive Smoking”, with Jérôme Adda, AmericanEconomic Journal – Applied Economics, vol. 2,No.1, January 2010, pp.1-32

Cornaglia, F. The Effect of Taxes and bans onPassive Smoking”, British Academy Review,issue 11, 2008.

Cornaglia, F. “Taxes, Cigarette Consumption, andSmoking Intensity”, in The Economics Of HealthBehaviours, Edited by John Cawley and DonaldS. Kenkel, Vol.III, part 2, 2008.

Amaro de Matos, J., and Fernandes, M., (2007):Testing the Markov property with high frequencydata, Journal of Econometrics.

Fernandes, M. and Rocha, Marco Aurelio dosSantos, (2007): Are price limits on futuresmarkets that cool? Evidence from the BrazilianMercantile and Futures Exchange, Journal ofFinancial Econometrics.

Galvao, A., "Forecasting US output growth usingLeading Indicators: An appraisal using MIDASmodels" (with M. Clements) (2009). Journal ofApplied Econometrics. Forthcoming.

Clements, M. and Galvão, A. B. (2008):“Macroeconomic Forecasting with MixedFrequency Data: Forecasting US output growth”,Journal of Business and Economic Statistics.

16 MSc Economics

Guerre, E. and Guay, A. (2006): “A data-drivennonparametric specification test for dynamicregression models”, Econometric Theory.

Guerre, E. and Guay, A. (2006): “A data-drivennonparametric specification test for dynamicregression models”, Econometric Theory.

Hjalmarsson, R. and Lopez, M. (2009). “The Voting Behavior of DisenfranchisedCriminals: Would They Vote if They Could?”forthcoming American Law and EconomicsReview.

Hjalmarsson, E. and Hjalmarsson, R. (2009).“Efficiency in Housing Markets: Which HomeBuyers Know How to Discount?” Journal ofBanking and Finance Volume 33(11): 2150-2163.

Bayer, P., Hjalmarsson, R., and Pozen, D. (2009),“Building Criminal Capital Behind Bars: PeerEffects in Juvenile Corrections”, QuarterlyJournal of Economics, Volume 124(1): 105-147.

Kapetanios G. (2008): “The asymptoticdistribution of the cointegration rank estimatorunder the Akaike information criterion”,Econometric Theory.

Bertola G., Hochgürtel, S. and Koeniger, W.(2005): “Dealer Pricing of Consumer Credit”,International Economic Review.

Lazarova, S. (2001) "Testing for OngoingConvergence in Central and Eastern Europe:1970 - 1998" Journal of Comparative Economics(with S. Estrin and G. Urga)

Lazarova, S. (2003) "Are Differences in FirmSizes Transitory or Permanent" Journal of AppliedEconometrics (with P. Geroski, G. Urga and C.Walters)

Lazarova, S. (2005) "Testing for StructuralChange in Regression With Long MemoryProcesses" Journal of Econometrics

Lazarova, S. (forthcoming) "Common stochastictrends and aggregation in heterogoeneouspanels" Econometric Theory (with L. Trapani and G. Urga).

Berlinski, S., Galiani, S. and Manacorda, M.(2008): “Giving Children a Better Start: PreschoolAttendance and School-Age Profiles”, Journal of Public Economics.

Mateos-Planas, X. “Demographics and thePolitics of Capital Taxation in a Life-cycleEconomy”, The American Economic Review, 100 1, 337-363, 2010

Mateos-Planas, X. “A Quantitative Theory ofSocial Security Without Commitment”, Journal of Public Economics, 62, 652-671, 2008.

Nikolowa, R. "Supply of Skilled Labour andOrganizational Change", 2010, LabourEconomics, vol. 17

Nikolowa, R. "Mutual Monitoring versus IncentivePay in Teams", 2009, Annals of Economics andStatistics, vol 93/94

Petrongolo, B. Unequal pay or unequalemployment? A cross-country analysis of gendergaps" (joint with Claudia Olivetti). Journal ofLabor Economics 26: 621-654, 2008

Petrongolo, B. A test between stock-flowmatching and the random matching functionapproach" (joint with Melvyn Coles). InternationalEconomic Review 49: 1113-1141, 2008.


18 MSc Economics

Sample publications (cont)

Petrongolo, B. The long-term effects of jobsearch requirements: Evidence from the UK JSAreform". Journal of Public Economics 93: 1234-1253, 2009

Petrongolo, B. The Ins and Outs of EuropeanUnemployment" (joint with ChristopherPissarides). American Economic Review, Papers & Proceedings, 98: 256-262, 2008.

Petrongolo, B. Job and wage mobility withminimum wages and imperfect compliance"(joint with Zvi Eckstein and Suqin Ge).Forthcoming in Journal of AppliedEconometrics, 2011.

Petrongolo, B. The part-time pay penalty forwomen in Britain" (joint with Alan Manning).Economic Journal 118: F28-F51, 2008.

Tyson, C.J. (2010): “Dominance solvability ofdynamic bargaining games”, Economic Theory.

Tyson, C. (2008): “Cognitive constraints,contraction consistency, and the satisficingcriterion”, Journal of Economic Theory.

Tyson, C. (2008): “Management of a capitalstock by Strotz's naive planner”, Journal ofEconomic Dynamics and Control.

Veneziani, R. (forthcoming) "What We Owe OurChildren, They Their Children..." Journal ofPublic Economic Theory (with J. E. Roemer)

Veneziani, R. (forthcoming) "The TemporalSingle-System Interpretation of Marx'sEconomics: A Critical Evaluation"Metroeconomica

Veneziani, R. “Non-Interference ImpliesEquality” (joint with M. Mariotti), Social Choiceand Welfare, vol.32, 123-128, 2009

Veneziani, R. “Objectivist versus SubjectivistApproaches to the Marxian Theory ofExploitation”, (joint with Naoki Yoshihara),Metroeconomica, forthcoming.

Veneziani, R. “Analytical Marxism”, Journal ofEconomic Surveys, forthcoming.

Pancs, R. and Vriend, N. (2007): “Schelling'sSpatial Proximity Model of SegregationRevisited”, Journal of Public Economics.

Zapechelnyuk, A. (2010), with Yair Tauman “On (Non-) Monotonicity of CooperativeSolutions,” International Journal of Game Theory

Zapechelnyuk, A. (2008), “Better-ReplyDynamics with Bounded Recall,” Mathematics of Operations Research

Zapechelnyuk, A. (2008), with Alexander Matros,“Optimal Fees in Internet Auctions,” Review ofEconomic Design


Graduates

Graduateprofile: Andrej SokolStudied: MScEconomics

I became interested inEconomics during mystudy of Management

Engineering. After working as a teachingassistant and then as a freelance consultant, Idecided it was time to improve my knowledgeof the subject and acquire a professionalprofile suitable for a career in economicresearch. I applied to Queen Mary based onpersonal recommendations, the College andDepartmental Rankings, and of course thepositive externalities due to its location inLondon; the offer by the School of Economicsand Finance to waive my fees removed anyadditional doubts.

I am finding the MSc Economics course highlyinteresting and stimulating; lectures are oftenvery interactive, homework assignments andtheir constructive discussion during classesgreatly enhance understanding, and facultymembers are always available forclarifications and eager to discuss any furtherquestions. Moreover, the College providesexcellent computing and library facilities, andthough I personally don't live on campus, Ifind it a very pleasant place where to study.

Overall, after this first Semester I remain verymuch satisfied with my choice to come toQueen Mary, and I am convinced that I willboth enjoy the remaining part of the Masterand leverage the acquired knowledge andskills for my future career as an economist.

20 MSc Economics

Graduateprofile:MatanatAlievaStudied: MSc inFinance andEconomics

Currently: Working for Barclays Bank

Why did you choose Queen Mary for yourpostgraduate study:

I chose Queen Mary, because the School of Economics and Finance has a greatreputation – it is considered to be one of thebest in the UK. In particular, I was impressedby the School being ranked 6th in the UK forthe quality of its research.

Also, I studied for my BSc in Economics atQueen Mary and decided to continue withthe MSc. I had lots of positive emotions aboutthe School, the teaching quality was veryhigh, and I met lots of nice people.Ultimately my aim was to work in thebanking sector, and I secured a job withBarclays before graduating.

What did you gain from your time at QueenMary?

During my time at Queen Mary, I learned howto work hard under pressure, how to dealwith strict deadlines, and how to work in agroup. Ultimately I started to think as afinancial economist.

First destinations of our graduates include some of the most prestigious universities in UK,continental Europe and Asia; several independenteconomic research centres and privateinstitutions; many governmental researchdepartments and regulatory bodies, such as theAntitrust authorities and the financial regulatoryagencies; some international institutions such asthe European Central Bank, the Bank of England,the European Commission, the InternationalMonetary Fund and the World Bank.

The chart below shows student destinations, by percentage.

Graduate employment

Destination

Banking33%

InvestmentBanking23%

InternationalFinance15%

Others17%

EventManagement 8%

Research 4%


CareersOur careers service is run by a team of dedicatedand professional staff. We offer advice throughdrop-in sessions and in-depth interviews, andrun an extensive programme of seminarscovering topics such as: interview skills; how to deal with psychometric tests; and survivingassessment centres. You will also be able to use our extensive Careers Library.

An international outlook The School of Economics and Finance at Queen Mary is made up of people from all over the world. In fact, international diversity of both faculty and students is a key ingredient of our success. Female students are also wellrepresented, making up almost 50 per cent ofstudents.

The chart below shows students’ country of origin by percentage.

Country of origin

Europe22%

Asia30%

Africa6%

UK9%

MiddleEast33%

22 MSc Economics

Alternative MSc programmes

The School of Economics and Finance runs anumber of specialist MSc degree programmes.You can indicate on your application form asecond choice of programme, for which you willbe considered in the event that we are not able tooffer you a place on the MSc Economics degree.

MSc Banking and FinanceThis MSc in Banking and Finance offersspecialised, practical training in an environmentof academic excellence. Students cover a varietyof perspectives on how financial markets operate,grounded in economic and financial theory andpractice.

This MSc programme is ideal for those aiming topursue careers in the city private banking sector,financial institution, and financial regulatorybodies, as well as those already working in thesefields. Graduates will be well placed to followcareers in investment management, financialstatement, risk and portfolio management.

For more informationwww.econ.qmul.ac.uk/postgraduate/msc-programmes/msc-banking-and-finance /

MSc Finance and EconomicsMSc Finance and EconometricsThese are well-established intensiveprogrammes offering advanced study in finance and related areas of economics andeconometrics. They are ideal for students whoaim to train as professional economists and work in the private or public sector, or follow anacademic career. Both programmes include adissertation component.

For more information: MSc Finance and Economicswww.econ.qmul.ac.uk/postgraduate/programmes/msc-econ-finance-and-economics

MSc Finance and Econometricswww.econ.qmul.ac.uk/postgraduate/programmes/msc-econ-finance-and-econometrics

MSc Investment and FinanceThis programme aims to train students andprofessionals in areas of finance which havemajor practical and theoretical interest,especially investment analysis and corporatefinance issues such as optimal capital structureand mergers and acquisitions, banking,derivatives and finance microstructure.

This programme offers professional postgraduatetraining, preparing students to follow careers infinance, banks or elsewhere in the private sector.A number of optional modules are also on offer.These are taught by City practitioners whoprovide insiders’ views on issues of interest to the financial community.

For more information: www.econ.qmul.ac.uk/postgraduate/msc-programmes/msc-investment-and-finance


Application procedure

24 MSc Economics

AccommodationQueen Mary students are well placed when itcomes to finding suitable accommodation. TheMile End campus incorporates a Student Villagewith more than 2,000 rooms, many of themensuite. Queen Mary students also have accessto places in the fully catered Intercollegiate Hallsin central London, which are owned by theUniversity of London. Additionally, there is arange of private sector housing in the eastLondon area surrounding the campus.

If you prefer to live in private accommodation, the College can help you find a suitable place, by providing you with guidance notes and up-to-date listings of available properties. Once youhave firmly accepted your offer to study at QueenMary, full details of how to apply for Collegehousing will be sent to you by the AdmissionsOffice.

Some residences are reserved solely forpostgraduates, while others may be shared withfinal year undergraduate students; all residencesare for both male and female students. Single sexaccommodation is available in the standard styleof housing, subject to availability. For all enquiriesabout accommodation, information can be foundon the following website:www.residences.qmul.ac.uk

Entry requirementsYou should have a first class or strong uppersecond class honours degree, or internationalequivalent, normally (though not necessarily) ineconomics or a related field. Some backgroundin quantitative subjects is essential. Students arealso expected to attend intensive pre-sessionalclasses in mathematics and statistics duringSeptember.

ApplicationAll candidates should include a full academictranscript (a record of courses taken and gradesachieved) and two academic references withtheir applications. The deadline for applicationsis early June, but courses generally start to fill up by the middle of March each year. The Schoolreserves the right not to process applicationswhich arrive later than June.

Further information The School welcomes informal enquiries aboutany aspect of its graduate programmes. For further information please contact thePostgraduate Programme Manager:Sandra Adams School of Economics and FinanceQueen Mary, University of LondonMile End RoadLondon E1 4NS email: [email protected] +44 (0)20 7882 7356Fax +44 (0)20 8983 3580

This guide has been produced by the Creative Services for the School of Economics and Finance – Pub8427

For further information contact:School of Economics and Finance Queen Mary, University of LondonMile End RoadLondon E1 4NSTel: +44 (0)20 7882 7356Fax: +44 (0)20 8983 3580email: [email protected]

Any section of this publication is available uponrequest in accessible formats (large print, audio,

etc.). For further information and assistance,please contact: Diversity Specialist,

[email protected], 020 7882 5585

MSc Economics 2012-13

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