Economic Fields You Can Choose To Major

This will be a helpful guide in giving the current A-Level students to gauge what area they would like to major in their future undergraduate studies shall they choose to study Economics

(1) Econometrics. This field applies mathematical & statistical concepts in analysing economic data. For example, a theory may hypothesize that a person with more education will on average earn more income than a person with less education holding everything else equal. Through economoetric modeling, one can estimates the magnitude and statistical significance of the relation

(2) Agriculture economics. Agricultural economics is one the oldest and most established fields of economics. It is the study of the economic forces that affect the agricultural sector and the agricultural sector's impact on the rest of the economy

(3). Development economics. Branch of economics which deals with economic aspects of the development process in low-income countries. Its focus is not only on methods of promoting economic growth and structural change but also on improving the potential for the mass of the population, for example, through health and education and workplace conditions, whether through public or private channels

(4). Environmental economics. Environmental economics is concerned with issues related to degradation or preservation of the environment. In particular, public bads from production or consumption, such as air pollution, can lead to market failure. The subject considers how public policy can be used to correct such failures (somewhere related to our Unit 2, but greater detail)

(5). Financial economics. Is concerned with the allocation of financial resources in an uncertain (or risky) environment. Thus, its focus is on the operation of financial markets, the pricing of financial instruments, and the financial structure of companies

(6) Industrial organisation. Studies the strategic behavior of firms, the market structures and their interactions. The common market structures studied include perfect competition, monopolistic competition, various forms of oligopoly, and monopoly (our Unit 4)

(7). Information economics. Branch of microeconomic theory that studies how information affects an economy and economic decisions. An important focus is the concept of information asymmetry, where one party has more or better information than the other. The existence of information asymmetry gives rise to problems such as moral hazard & adverse selection. The economics of information has relevance in many fields, including finance, insurance, contract law, and decision-making under risk and uncertainty

(8). International economics. International trade studies determinants of goods-and-services flows across international boundaries. It also concerns the size and distribution of gains from trade. Policy applications include estimating the effects of changing tariff rates and trade quotas

(9). Labour economics. Seeks to understand the functioning of the market and dynamics for labour. Labour markets function through the interaction of workers and employers. Labour economics looks at the suppliers of labour services (workers), the demanders of labour services (employers), and attempts to understand the resulting pattern of wages, employment, and income

(10). Managerial economics. Managerial economics applies microeconomic analysis to specific decisions in business firms or other management units. A unifying theme is the attempt to optimize business decisions, including unit-cost minimization and profit maximization, given the firm's objectives and constraints imposed by technology and market conditions

(11). Welfare economics. Welfare economics is a branch of economics that uses microeconomic techniques to simultaneously determine the allocative efficiency within an economy and the income distribution associated with it. It attempts to measure social welfare by examining the economic activities of the individuals that comprise society

(12). Energy economics. Studies the role of energy within economy. Issues include supply & demand of energy, economic growth, environmental conservation & alternative source of energy

(13). Economic systems. This field studies a variety of economic systems, particularly their transition from one system to another e.g. socialist system to market economy