NUS Economics
Disclaimer: All of the reviews below are my personal opinions and hence do not represent the opinions of others nor reflect the actual difficulty of the modules. Difficulty and grading criteria also vary from semester to semester.
This introduction, written from my personal point of view, serves as a guide to prospective and current economics majors on the economics curriculum and modules in NUS. I'm not one of those genius/hardcore muggers with first class CAP standing, so in some sense, this guide is more relevant to the majority of prospective economics majors. While I have completed a second major in financial mathematics and additional modules in the real analysis branch of mathematics, I do not assume knowledge beyond EC2104 in my module reviews for NUS economics.
What is Economics?
I feel that there is a dire need to address this because many people, especially in Singapore, either equates economics to finance, or assume that economics prepares undergraduates for banking and corporate roles. This is not entirely wrong, but it is also not an accurate description of economics. Many freshmen majored in economics, only to find that the course does not match their expectations. For many of us, we only begin to understand the nature of this discipline in our second or third year. So what is economics?
Economics is the study of choice. There are three major themes in economics. First, how people respond to incentives. One of the central tenets of economics is that humans have unlimited wants, and they will behave in a certain manner to fulfill these desires. This leads to us to the second theme: allocation of scarce resource. While the wants are unlimited, the endowed resources of each person in an economy is finite, and the population in each economy is also finite. In other words, every decision problem has to take into consideration certain (physical or financial) constraints. In economics, these are known as the budget constraints to the issue at hand. Lastly, economics is concerned with the consequences of choices. This aspect includes both positive (the direct consequences of an action) and normative (how should we respond to the aforementioned action) economic analysis. As an economics major, you will learn the necessary qualitative arguments and quantitative tools to address the issues and ideas revolving around these themes.
Why Economics?
Economics is a very broad discipline that covers almost every aspect of the society because individuals and firms make decision on daily, if not hourly basis, e.g. lunch decisions, shopping, sales and purchase agreements, etc. Thus, economics can be applied anywhere and everywhere. This implies that a wide array of opportunities are available to economic undergraduates, making the economics degree one of the most versatile degree in terms of job prospects. This versatility also compensates for the lack of specific skill sets for different job functions. Furthermore, this issue is partially addressed with specializations or concentrations in specific fields of economics. The diverse nature of economics also allows greater flexibility in its curriculum, enabling undergraduates to align their studies to their fields of interests.
About NUS Economics
Economics in NUS places emphasis on strong foundation in economic theories, mathematical models, and statistical methods which prepare undergraduates for postgraduate research. This is particularly true for honours (EC4xxx) modules, so do think twice before embarking on the honours track. If you prefer economics with a stronger business flavor, a B. B. A. degree with a specialization in business economics (or SMU economics) might be a better option. Back to NUS economics, the mathematics are not that hard if you have at least A/B for H2 Mathematics. Most of the problem sets are either optimization problems, interpreting the equations or explaining the economic intuitions of the models, depending on the focus of the module as determined by the lecturer.
The Math & Stats
The biggest difference between university and JC level economics is the amount of mathematics and statistics involved. The most important of all is multivariable calculus, in particular partial differentiation, which is the main tool used to solve optimization models. Fortunately, multiple integrals are rarely used outside financial economics. Probability is very important in microeconomics, financial economics, and game theory, where uncertainty plays a huge role. Mathematical statistics and regression analysis are mainly used in the econometrics sequence and other applied fields. Some lecturers prefer to use linear algebra to solve system of equations but most stick with the usual multiple-equations representation. These basics are covered in EC2104 and EC2303 and further quantitative tools will be developed according to the specific needs of each course. As long as your have some affinity for mathematics, it shouldn't be a big problem.
More Information & Updates
Everyone knows what is CAP in NUS, but few actually know the terms SJAP and SAP. SJAP is the abbreviation for Subject Joint Average Point, which calculates the average grade point for all modules with a specific subject code, e.g. ECxxxx. For NUS Economics, it is a criterion used to determine the eligibility to read EC4401 Honours Thesis. For those who are interested in completing the honours year thesis, a SJAP of 4.00 is required. It is also a secondary criterion used to evaluate the eligibility to read EC4301 Microeconomic Analysis III and EC4302 Macroeconomic Analysis III in the event that the primary requirements on EC3101 Microeconomic Analysis II and EC3102 Macroeconomic Analysis II are not satisfied. Another noteworthy term is SAP, referring to Semester Average Point which is non-cumulative, so don't mix them up!
From AY2015/2016 onwards, there is going to be a huge revamp of the honours curriculum for economic majors. The changes are as the following:
It seems like the department is intending to change its focus for the undergraduate economics curriculum from theory to application. With regards to these changes, I think it is a good move because advanced theory is only useful if the undergraduate is intending to pursue a research career. Otherwise, the changes allow undergraduates to tailor the most suited combination of modules for themselves and the specialization provides a clearer signal of their interests and abilities to their future employers. Thus, as much as I would prefer a curriculum with greater emphasis on academic rigour, such changes are indeed timely and necessary for the curriculum to stay relevant in today's world where tertiary education, on top of research, also serves a secondary purpose of providing the economy with high quality workers.
I'll give a rough idea of what the specializations are:
The official link for the specializations: http://www.fas.nus.edu.sg/ecs/undergraduate/specialisations.html
Below, I'll do a rather detail content description for each module below, I won't comment much about teaching methods because I don't usually attend lectures, so I will focus more on content structure of the modules. If you wish to also read my biased and opinionated semester-based reviews, click here. Any modules with inactivated links means I have not penned them down in an objective manner. For most modules under the basket of Applied and Policy Economics, do refer to other blogs and/or NUSMods for review.
If there is any queries, leave a comment in the blog post titled "NUS Economics Enquiries" tagged with "Economics" in the home(blog) page.
Do note that I didn't take EC2104, EC2303 and EC3303 because of alternative modules.
This introduction, written from my personal point of view, serves as a guide to prospective and current economics majors on the economics curriculum and modules in NUS. I'm not one of those genius/hardcore muggers with first class CAP standing, so in some sense, this guide is more relevant to the majority of prospective economics majors. While I have completed a second major in financial mathematics and additional modules in the real analysis branch of mathematics, I do not assume knowledge beyond EC2104 in my module reviews for NUS economics.
What is Economics?
I feel that there is a dire need to address this because many people, especially in Singapore, either equates economics to finance, or assume that economics prepares undergraduates for banking and corporate roles. This is not entirely wrong, but it is also not an accurate description of economics. Many freshmen majored in economics, only to find that the course does not match their expectations. For many of us, we only begin to understand the nature of this discipline in our second or third year. So what is economics?
Economics is the study of choice. There are three major themes in economics. First, how people respond to incentives. One of the central tenets of economics is that humans have unlimited wants, and they will behave in a certain manner to fulfill these desires. This leads to us to the second theme: allocation of scarce resource. While the wants are unlimited, the endowed resources of each person in an economy is finite, and the population in each economy is also finite. In other words, every decision problem has to take into consideration certain (physical or financial) constraints. In economics, these are known as the budget constraints to the issue at hand. Lastly, economics is concerned with the consequences of choices. This aspect includes both positive (the direct consequences of an action) and normative (how should we respond to the aforementioned action) economic analysis. As an economics major, you will learn the necessary qualitative arguments and quantitative tools to address the issues and ideas revolving around these themes.
Why Economics?
Economics is a very broad discipline that covers almost every aspect of the society because individuals and firms make decision on daily, if not hourly basis, e.g. lunch decisions, shopping, sales and purchase agreements, etc. Thus, economics can be applied anywhere and everywhere. This implies that a wide array of opportunities are available to economic undergraduates, making the economics degree one of the most versatile degree in terms of job prospects. This versatility also compensates for the lack of specific skill sets for different job functions. Furthermore, this issue is partially addressed with specializations or concentrations in specific fields of economics. The diverse nature of economics also allows greater flexibility in its curriculum, enabling undergraduates to align their studies to their fields of interests.
About NUS Economics
Economics in NUS places emphasis on strong foundation in economic theories, mathematical models, and statistical methods which prepare undergraduates for postgraduate research. This is particularly true for honours (EC4xxx) modules, so do think twice before embarking on the honours track. If you prefer economics with a stronger business flavor, a B. B. A. degree with a specialization in business economics (or SMU economics) might be a better option. Back to NUS economics, the mathematics are not that hard if you have at least A/B for H2 Mathematics. Most of the problem sets are either optimization problems, interpreting the equations or explaining the economic intuitions of the models, depending on the focus of the module as determined by the lecturer.
The Math & Stats
The biggest difference between university and JC level economics is the amount of mathematics and statistics involved. The most important of all is multivariable calculus, in particular partial differentiation, which is the main tool used to solve optimization models. Fortunately, multiple integrals are rarely used outside financial economics. Probability is very important in microeconomics, financial economics, and game theory, where uncertainty plays a huge role. Mathematical statistics and regression analysis are mainly used in the econometrics sequence and other applied fields. Some lecturers prefer to use linear algebra to solve system of equations but most stick with the usual multiple-equations representation. These basics are covered in EC2104 and EC2303 and further quantitative tools will be developed according to the specific needs of each course. As long as your have some affinity for mathematics, it shouldn't be a big problem.
More Information & Updates
Everyone knows what is CAP in NUS, but few actually know the terms SJAP and SAP. SJAP is the abbreviation for Subject Joint Average Point, which calculates the average grade point for all modules with a specific subject code, e.g. ECxxxx. For NUS Economics, it is a criterion used to determine the eligibility to read EC4401 Honours Thesis. For those who are interested in completing the honours year thesis, a SJAP of 4.00 is required. It is also a secondary criterion used to evaluate the eligibility to read EC4301 Microeconomic Analysis III and EC4302 Macroeconomic Analysis III in the event that the primary requirements on EC3101 Microeconomic Analysis II and EC3102 Macroeconomic Analysis II are not satisfied. Another noteworthy term is SAP, referring to Semester Average Point which is non-cumulative, so don't mix them up!
From AY2015/2016 onwards, there is going to be a huge revamp of the honours curriculum for economic majors. The changes are as the following:
- A new core module, EC4103 Singapore Economy: Practice and Policy, is introduced and compulsory for all undergraduates from cohort 2012/2013 onwards. It was recoded as EC4352 and removed from the core requirements as of AY2017/AY2018 (I believe it is due to the unanimous negative feedback from my cohort and the next).
- EC4101 and EC4102 are recoded as EC4301 and EC4302 respectively. They are no longer part of the requirements for graduation with honours.
- Honours track requirement is lowered from 3.50 to 3.20
- The department introduces a wide range of new level-4000 modules to accommodate the changes.
- Specializations: (1) Quantitative Economics, (2) Monetary and Financial Economics, and (3) Applied and Policy Economics.
It seems like the department is intending to change its focus for the undergraduate economics curriculum from theory to application. With regards to these changes, I think it is a good move because advanced theory is only useful if the undergraduate is intending to pursue a research career. Otherwise, the changes allow undergraduates to tailor the most suited combination of modules for themselves and the specialization provides a clearer signal of their interests and abilities to their future employers. Thus, as much as I would prefer a curriculum with greater emphasis on academic rigour, such changes are indeed timely and necessary for the curriculum to stay relevant in today's world where tertiary education, on top of research, also serves a secondary purpose of providing the economy with high quality workers.
I'll give a rough idea of what the specializations are:
- Quantitative economics is the branch that deals with advanced theories and computations. Topics that would fall under this category would be advanced microeconomics (information economics, auctions, bargaining, search theory, contests, contract theory, game theory applications, matching markets, etc), advanced macroeconomics (endogenous growth models, real business cycle models, new Keynesian models, etc), econometrics and mathematical economics.
- Monetary and financial economics would cover topics such as monetary economics and policy, microeconomics of banking (financial intermediaries, financial management, financial crises, etc) and financial economics (financial markets, investment and trading strategies, international finance, etc).
- Applied and policy economics is the branch that applies theories to real-world situations and examines the soundness of these theories using empirical analyses. The branch has the greatest number of fields, including but not limited to industrial economics, international economics, public economics, labour economics, development economics, environmental economics and behavioural economics.
The official link for the specializations: http://www.fas.nus.edu.sg/ecs/undergraduate/specialisations.html
Below, I'll do a rather detail content description for each module below, I won't comment much about teaching methods because I don't usually attend lectures, so I will focus more on content structure of the modules. If you wish to also read my biased and opinionated semester-based reviews, click here. Any modules with inactivated links means I have not penned them down in an objective manner. For most modules under the basket of Applied and Policy Economics, do refer to other blogs and/or NUSMods for review.
If there is any queries, leave a comment in the blog post titled "NUS Economics Enquiries" tagged with "Economics" in the home(blog) page.
Do note that I didn't take EC2104, EC2303 and EC3303 because of alternative modules.
Core Modules
Elective Modules (Quantitative Economics)
Elective Modules (Monetary & Financial Economics)
Elective Modules (Applied & Policy Economics)
Elective Modules
- EC1101E: Introduction to Economic Analysis
- EC2101: Microeconomic Analysis I
- EC2102: Macroeconomic Analysis I
- MA2108: Mathematical Analysis I (Taken in lien of EC2104: Quantitative Methods for Economic Analysis)
- ST2131/MA2216: Probability (Taken in lieu of EC2303: Foundation for Econometrics)
- EC3101: Microeconomic Analysis II
- EC3102: Macroeconomic Analysis II
- ST3131: Regression Analysis (Taken in lieu of EC3303: Econometrics I)
- EC3304: Econometrics II
- EC4103: Singapore Economy: Practice and Policy
Elective Modules (Quantitative Economics)
- EC3312: Game Theory & Applications to Economics
- EC3314: Mathematical Economics
- EC4101: Microeconomic Analysis III (Recoded as EC4301: Microeconomic Analysis III)
- EC4102: Macroeconomic Analysis III (Recoded as EC4302: Macroeconomic Analysis III)
- EC4303: Econometrics III
- EC4304: Economic & Financial Forecasting
- EC5104R: Mathematical Economics (Postgraduate)
Elective Modules (Monetary & Financial Economics)
- EC3332: Money and Banking I
- EC3333: Financial Economics I
- EC3341: International Economics I (Taken in lieu of EC3343: International Finance)
- EC4102: Macroeconomic Analysis III (Recoded as EC4302: Macroeconomic Analysis III)
- EC4332: Money & Banking II
- EC4333: Financial Economics II
Elective Modules (Applied & Policy Economics)
Elective Modules
- EC3322: Industrial Organization I
- EC3384: Resource and Energy Economics I
- EC4401: Honours Thesis
- EC5332R: Money & Banking (Postgraduate)