Bachelor of Arts Honours in Economics

Objective:
The objective of this course is to provide the student a comprehensive and up to date knowledge of international trade relationships among countries. Accordingly, students will be introduced different theories related to international trade and international trade policies.

Objective:
The objective of this course is to provide a comprehensive theoretical and applied knowledge of the history of money, role of the money, evolution of banking balance of payments and the exchange rate.

Objective:

The objective of the course is to give students a theoretical knowledge on how the international monetary and capital flows work and how and economy could take measures for effective international monetary policies.

Description:

Introduction of Relationship with trade theory, Balance of Payments and its importance, Introduction, Partners and Functions of Foreign Exchange Markets and Exchange rates, Vehicle currencies, Spot and Forward rates, Foreign Currency Swaps, etc, Exchange rate determinants, Monetary approach to BOP and exchange rates, Exchange rate dynamics: exchange rate overshooting, BOP adjustment with exchange rates changes, Derivation of the demand curve for foreign exchange, Derivation of the demand curve for foreign exchange, Exchange rate, Domestic prices and the Terms of Trade, Stability of foreign Exchange Markets, Marshall –Lerner Conditions, Elasticities and the “J” curve effect, Income Adjustment Mechanism, Absorption approach to BOP and automatic adjustment , Monetary approach to BOP and automatic adjustment, Expenditure Changing and Expenditure Switching policies, Fiscal and Monetary policies for internal and external balance, Case of Flexible Exchange Rates, Concepts & rational, Relevance for less developed counties, Policy mix and Internal and External Balance, Direct Controls, The flexible versus fixed exchange rates, European Monetary System, transition to Monetary Union, The Gold Standard, The Bretton Woods System, The Gold-Exchange Standard evolution and the collapse of Breton Wood system, International Monetary system: Present and Future, Monetary system in Sri Lanka: Past, Present and Future.

Objective:

The objectives of the course are to prepare students with a good understanding of the theoretical foundation of financial market and institutions, and to keep students updated on the latest discourse on practical issues and policies in the new international financial environment.

Objective:

The main objective of the course unit is to provide the student with a basic understanding of the types of environmental resources and theoretical approaches to efficient use of each type of environmental resource.

Description:

Classification of natural resources, Role of scarcity, Natural resource management: common principles, Market structure and exploitation of NRR, Hoteling’s rule for resource extraction, Economics of mineral resources, Role of time and uncertainty, Recycling and reuse, Principles of Renewable Resource Economics (Population growth models, Static and dynamic models), Economics of fisheries resources, (Biological growth model, Sustainable yield, Bio-economic yield), Economics of fisheries Resource management, Policy tools, Role of uncertainty, Biological growth model, Natural forest and commercial forestry, Economics of forestry, Optimum forest harvest, Socially optimal forest rotation, Forest policies, Uncertainty, Physical features of land, Economic principles, Land resource Management and land market, Land use planning, Economics of water resources, Water pollution, Water scarcity, allocation, and pricing, Water and social welfare, Water policies, Economics of energy resources.

Objective:

The main objective of this course is to provide students with a sound knowledge on the economy of Sri Lanka and articulate economic data in relation to economic reasoning and policy issues.

Description:

The traditional economy, Transition of the economy under British rule, Becoming a dual economy, Long-term influence on the economy, Structural change after independence, Present structure and related issues, Agriculture and the economy, Industrial sector and the economy, Service sector of the economy, Main development projects after independence and at present, Achievements and failures, Main issues, Population, population growth and trends, labor force, employment and unemployment, Pattern of income distribution, trends, issues, Growth of the independent Sri Lanka, Trends, contribution of different sectors, issues, Adoption of  different system strategies, Planning, achievements and failures, Policy changes and policy tools (legislation, sanctions, regulations, taxes and subsidies) under different regimes, Critical evaluation of different economic policies of Sri Lanka based on the content, implementation and impact of different policies, Identification of issues by students, assigning different policies and policy tools for different issues.

Objective:

To make student acquainted with widely used theories, key issues and advanced models in macroeconomics.

Description:

Recent development in  macroeconomics, Post Keynesian Macroeconomics, Mundel –Flemming model: macroeconomic policy with fixed and floating exchange rate, Theories of growth  – Solow Model, The Ramsey-Cass-Koopmans Model, Endogenous growth model, Extending the Solow Model to Include Human Capital, Empirical Application: Accounting for Cross-Country, Income Differences, Social Infrastructure, Empirical Application: Social Infrastructure and Cross-Country Income Differences, Real Business Cycle Theory, Consumption under Certainty: The Permanent-Income Hypothesis, Consumption under Uncertainty: The Random-Walk Hypothesis, The Interest Rate and Saving, Investment and the Cost of Capital, A Model of Investment with Adjustment Costs, Tobin’s q Analyzing the Model, Theories of Unemployment, A Generic Efficiency-Wage Model, A More General Version, The Shapiro–Stiglitz Model, Inflation, Money Growth, and Interest Rates, Monetary Policy and the Term Structure of Interest Rates, The Microeconomic Foundations of Stabilization Policy, Optimal Monetary Policy in a Simple Backward-Looking Model, Optimal Monetary Policy in a Simple Forward-Looking Model, The Government Budget Constraint, The Ricardian Equivalence Result, Ricardian Equivalence in Practice,Tax-Smoothing.

Objective:

The main objective of the course is to provide students with the knowledge and skills to conduct research including preparing research proposals, conducting a literature review, collecting and analyzing data and writing research reports and research papers.

Description:

Introduction of Research, Steps of research process, different research paradigms, research approaches, types of research, dissertation types, and research ethics, Experimental method, randomized/controlled field trials, case-study method, Action research, grounded-theory-method, discourse analysis, content analysis, key-informant analysis, Panel discussions, Primary data, secondary data and data collection methods including probability and non-probability sampling, Quantitative analytical methods, qualitative analytical methods and mixed methods, Structure of a research proposal; choosing a tentative research problem and search the literature to find the research gap related to it; writing the precise research problem, Aim, objectives, methodology, chapter organization, time-frame and reference methods, Scientific method under deductive approach; null-hypothesis, alternative hypothesis and formulation of hypothesis, Developing a questionnaire, developing a schedule, scaling, forming categorical data and continuous data, Forming variables, categorical and continuous variables, quantitative methods of data analysis, Qualitative methods of data analysis, Triangulation of data and analytical methods, Basics of scientific writing, plagiarism, quoting, paraphrasing and reference methods, Technical requirements of completing research report/dissertation; guidelines of the department and submission of thesis.

Objective:

The objectives of this course is to develop an understanding of economic policies aimed at achieving economic growth and development in developing countries.

Description:

Introduction, Scope of the course unit and expected outcomes and skills, Economic policy during the colonial period in LDCs, Characters of LDCs, Colonial period, Economic policies in colonial period, Import substitution policies in LDCs, Import substitutions, Advantages and disadvantages and Issues, Export-led industrializations in LDCs, Weakness and strengths , Foreign direct investment (FDI), Conditions Issues and Necessity of FDI, Industrial policy and development planning , Agricultural policy and development planning , Population policy in LDCs, Population issues, Planning, Environment and development planning, Feasibility studies, Regional policy & Small and Medium Industry sector, Introduction to development planning, Objectives and achievements of economic planning, Types of planning, Planning of India, Planning of China

Objective:

The main objective of this course unit is to develop an understanding of the process of economic policy making in the global economy. This course introduces the evolution of trade since the days of mercantilism to the era of the rule based under the WTO

Description:
Scope of the course unit and expected outcomes and skills, Main argument of mercantilism, New trends of mercantilism policy, Trade policy changes in the inter-war period , British trade policy, Norwegian trade policy, American trade policy, Asian trade organizations, Non-Asian Organizations, World bank trade policies, IMF trade policies, Economic policy since establishment of WTO, History of WTO, Functions and Policy changers of WTO, Establishment & function of and its impact on trade with special reference to the developing countries.

Objective:

An understanding of international business is essential for students in today’s interdependent global world. This course will provide students with the knowledge, skills, and abilities to understand the global economic, political, cultural and social environment within which firms operate. It will examine the strategies and structures of international business and assess the special roles of an international business’s various functions.

Description:

 Course Specification, Introduction to International Business, Understand what is meant by the term globalization, The main drivers of globalization, The changing nature of the global economy, Main arguments in the debate over the impact of globalization, Overview of the trade theory, Absolute and comparative advantage theories, HO theory, New trade theory, Porters diamond, Foreign Direct investment and multilateral cooperation, Trends, direction and Source of FDI, The forms of FDI, Theories of FDI, Political ideology and FDI, Benefits and costs of FDI, Government policy, Instruments and FDI, Growth of global capital market, Risk of global capital market, Eurocurrency market, Global bond market, Foreign exchange risk and the cost of capital, Fords global strategy, Strategy and the firm, Global expansion, profitability and profit growth, Cost pressures and pressures for local responsiveness, Global standardization strategy, Localization strategy, Transnational strategy, International strategy, Organization of international business, Organizational architecture, Organizational structure, Vertical differentiation, Control systems and incentives, Creating and maintaining the organizational culture, Entry Strategies, Basic entry decisions, Exporting, Export, import and countertrade: LC & other payment methods, The promise and pitfalls of exporting, Export strategy, Export and import financing, countertrade, Incoterms, The 13 incoterms, Different types of incoterms, Inco terms and shipping, Global Production and Logistics, Strategy, production and logistics, Technological factors, Product factors, Managing a global supply chain, Global marketing and R&D, Globalization of market and brands, Market segments, Distribution strategy, Communication strategy, Pricing strategy

Objective:

The primary aim of the course is a broad introduction to banking and financial law at Local international level. Additionally, the course aims to provide the student with a comprehension of the legal framework on banking and securities law.

Objective:

This course will examine the role of central banks and monetary policy in the global economy and the effects of their policies on countries, companies and global financial markets. The course will help students acquire the analytical tools needed to understand and predict central bank decisions on the basis of economic developments and projections, and to assess the likely impact of monetary policy decisions on global financial markets

Description:

Introduction, Structure and Independence of Central Banks, Multiple Deposit Creation and the Money Supply Process, Four Players in the Money Supply Process, The Central Bank’s Balance Sheet, The Money Supply Model and the Money Multiplier, Factors that Determine the Money Multiplier, Additional Factors That Determine the Money Supply, Tools of Monetary Policy, Open Market Operations, Discount Policy, Goals of Monetary Policy, Interest-Rate Stability, Stability of Financial Markets, Stability in Foreign Exchange Markets, Conflict Among Goals Criteria for Choosing, Intermediate Targets Criteria for Choosing, Operating Targets, Foreign Exchange Market, Exchange Rates in the Long Run, Exchange Rates in the Short Run, Shifts in the Expected-Return Schedule for Foreign Deposits, Shifts in the Expected-Return Schedule for Domestic Deposits, The international financial system, International Considerations and Monetary Policy, Capital Controls, The Role of the IMF, Direct Effects of the Foreign Exchange, Market on the Money Supply Balance-of, Considerations Exchange Rate Considerations, Transmission mechanisms of monetary policy, The Role of a Nominal Anchor, Exchange-Rate Targeting, Monetary Targeting, Inflation Targeting, The European Central Bank’s Monetary Policy Strategy, Monetary Policy Strategy of CBSL, Origins of Inflationary Monetary Policy, High Employment Targets and Inflation, Budget Deficits and Inflation, The Effects of Quantitative Easing on Interest Rates.

Objective:

The main objective of the course unit is to provide the student with a basic understanding of the various tools and techniques available for elucidating economic values of environment/ environmental pollution.

Description:

Introduction, Importance of the subject matter, Types of environmental values, Shadow price, Cost-benefit analysis of environment, Conceptual foundations, Discounting for the future, Welfare measures revisited, Principles of market-based valuation, Consumer surplus, Producer surplus, Allocative efficiency, Valuing opportunity costs, Price effects, Compensating variation, Equivalent variation, Economic approaches to environmental valuation, Environment quality as an input in production, Household production function, Productivity change method, Valuing health effects, Opportunity cost method, Defensive expenditure method, Preventive expenditure, Replacement cost, Relocation cost, Shadow projects, Hedonic pricing method, Travel cost method, Contingent Valuation, Different CVM methods, Survey types, Elicitation methods, Criticisms of CVM, Valuing risk and uncertainty, Expected value analysis, Sensitivity analysis, Option price and option value,

Objective:

To provide students with a better understanding of the workings of labour markets, and a framework for the analysis of the appropriateness of employment, wage and other policies that affect outcomes in the labour market.

Description:

Introduction to Labour markets, Shifts in labour market supply, Supply side reforms, Long run aggregate supply, Labour Demand and Firm Behaviour, Labour Market Equilibrium, competitive and non-competitive labour markets, Job amenities and compensating wage differentials, The Market for Risky Jobs, The Wage Structure, Economics of Aging, Human Capital, Contribution of education and skills to labour productivity and earnings, Earnings Inequality, Labour Mobility, Migration globalisation and economic contribution of immigrants to labour markets, Gender and Ethnicity: effective measures of labour market discrimination, Union and management negotiators, collective bargaining negotiations, negotiation anchoring, Incentive pay and compensation mechanisms, Compensation Management, Compensation and Non-compensation Dimensions, Concept in Compensation Management, Compensation mechanism as Retention Strategy, Compensation Issues, Theories of unemployment at the macroeconomic level, Theories of unemployment at the macroeconomic level, Employment unemployment and labour market policies, Sources of unemployment, Impacts of unemployment, Public policies and programmes.

Objective:

The main objective of this course unit is to allow the students to analyze current economic problems and issues within the theoretical framework of Economics.

Description:

Introduction, Nature of the global economy, Transition trends in the global economy, Liberalization of economies, Social market economy, Globalization debate, Global economic integration, WB IMF WTO UN related organizations, Global value chain (GVCs) & Global production networks (GPNs), Creation of economic political integrations in the globe, consequences of regional integration, International poverty line, Poverty trends and Data Income based categorization of countries, Poverty issues, Urban housing, Standard of a house, Causes of housing problem and solutions, Food security, Importance of food security, Disturbances on food security and Gender issues, Undernourishment Nature of food waste in the world, Strategies to reduce food waste, Bio-diversity & eco system, Ecosystem services, Impact of loss of biodiversity and Intervention, Population aging, Global challenges of po;ulation aging, Key issues of population aging, Measures  Consequences Issues and remedial actions related to elderly, Global migration, Migration trends and refugees, Change in world demand for energy, Sustainable energy, Power and inequality in global political economy, Transforming global power balance, Driving forces for the global power transmission.

Objective:

To get students acquainted with the main concepts of Time Series theory and methods of analysis  in using analysis and modelling of stochastic processes of ARMA , co-integration,  error correction models, autoregressive models with distributed lags while understanding their application in economics.

Description:

Course Specification, Time series as a discrete stochastic process, Main characteristics of stochastic processes, Stochastic process and its main characteristics, Stationary stochastic processes, Wald decomposition, Lag operator, Autoregressive-moving average models ARMA, Moving average models МА, Condition of invert ability, Yull-Worker equations, Autoregressive models, Autoregressive-moving average models ARMA, Coefficient estimation in ARMA, Box-Jenkins’ approach, Coefficients estimation in autoregressive models, Quality of adjustment of time series models, AIC information criterion, BIC information criterion, “Portmonto”-statistics, Forecasting in the framework of Box-Jenkins model, Non-stationary time series, Time series with non-stationary variance and  Non-stationary mean, The unit root problem, Spurious trends and regressions, Unit root tests (Dickey-Fuller), ADF test and the choice of the number of lags, Other unit root tests, Unit root and structure changes, TSP or DSP: methodology of research, Regressive dynamic models, Autoregressive models with distributed lags (ADL), Time series co-integration, Co-integration regression, Testing of co-integration, Vector auto regression and co-integration, Co-integration and error correction model, Causality in time series, Granger causality, Hypothesis testing on rational expectations, Hypothesis testing on market efficiency.

Objective:

The main objective of this course unit is to help students to develop hands-on skills and experience in computational economics for the analysis of data and make confident them to work with digital environment

Description:

Course Specification, Introduction to statistical packages, Microsoft Word techniques (Explore Word, Editing and Proofread Text, Organizing Information in Columns and Tables, Add Simple Graphic Elements, Creating Diagrams, Use other Visual Elements), Working with Excel(Working with Data and Excel Tables, Basic Functions, Basic Formulae, Changing Workbook Appearance, Performing Calculations, Reordering and Summarizing Data, Combining Data from Multiple Sources, Data analysis, Interpretation of data), Working with the internet (Internet Introduction, Browser Basics, Searching, Internet Safety), Web Designing (Introduction to Web Technologies, How the Website Works?, Types of Websites , Client and Server Scripting Languages,  Web Standards and W3C recommendations, Responsive Web Designing), Web Hosting(Types of Hosting Packages, Registering domains, Defining Name Servers), Online Data Collection (Introduction to data types, Data collection methods, Creation of google forms, Modification of google forms)

Objective:

The main objective of this course unit is to make students familiar with imposing taxes, their effects and governance policies prevail in the country.

Description:

Introduction, Definitions of taxation, Purposes of taxation, Principles of taxation, Economic and social function of taxation, Explain the difference between accounting profit and taxable profit, Difference between direct tax and indirect tax, Imposition of Income tax, Chargeability of income tax, Different source of statutory provisions, Sources of profits and income chargeable with income tax, Taxation of Individuals & Partnership, Ascertainment of profits and income of an individual, Ascertainment of Taxable income of an individual, Value Added Tax, Nation Building Tax, Introduction to tax planning, Tax Incentives and concessions, Concepts of tax incidence, Levying New Taxes on Inelastic and Elastic Goods, Elasticity and Tax Incidence, Introduction to International taxation, Causes for double Taxation, Tax havens and Treaty Shopping, Introduction to tax treaties, New Trends in Taxation (E-commerce, Digital Taxation), Nature of taxation in Sri Lanka and current trends and perspectives, Importance and Issues of Taxation in Sri Lanka, How are positive tax –governance linkages likely to emerge in practice?( Demonstration effects, Spillover effects, Information sharing effects), Taxation and accountability( Direct tax bargaining, Sustained tax resistance, Strengthened civil society).

Objective:

Objective:

To provide students with an understanding of the nature of enterprise, entrepreneurship and introduces the role of the entrepreneur, innovation and technology in the entrepreneurial process.

Description:

Course Specification, Define what is meant to be an entrepreneur risk and rewards, Describe who becomes an entrepreneur – Product redesign, Key characteristics of an entrepreneur, Value of learning about entrepreneurship, Entrepreneurs’ responsibilities to individuals, Entrepreneurs’ environmental responsibilities, Identify entrepreneurs’ community responsibilities, The influence relationships between the global economy and the local economy, Importance of global economy and the effects on the production of their product/service, Rewards and risks entrepreneurs may experience in international trade, Four main types of business based upon their primary, Trends in business start-ups in recent decades, Growth expectations for business, Liability and its legal obligation from entrepreneurs, Four types of business ownerships, Non-profit organizations, Opportunity Recognition and Market Analysis, Purpose of a business plan, Types of business plan, Parts of a business plan, Recognizing business opportunities, Methods used to evaluate business opportunities, Important factors when targeting a market, Identify market research methods, Competitive advantage, Steps in researching a market, Identify business plan models, Similarities and differences between business plans, SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats) analysis, Components of a marketing plan, Various types of product strategies, Determine place (distribution) strategies, Examine methods used in developing price strategies, Basic principles of promotion, define elements in a promotional plan, ways to budget for promotion, Personal selling, characteristics of successful salespeople, main components of the selling process, key documents and forms used in selling, Costs related to a sales force, methods used to estimate sales, Differences between fixed and variable expenses, Define economics of sale, Define a unit of sale, Calculate the economics of one unit of sale, Importance of an income statement, Understand how cash flow affects entrepreneurs, Analyze a balance sheet, Define financial ratio, How income statements are used for financial analysis, Compare operating ratios and return on sale ratios, Ratios developed by using balance sheets, Importance of return on investment, Importance of break-even point, Perform break even analysis, Examine start-up investment, Explore obtaining financing, Understand record keeping, Explore accounting systems.

Objective:

To develop student’s intellectual understanding of business strategy management, economics, and markets in which they operate.

Description:

The Nature of strategic management, Basics of strategic management, Introduction of Financial Management, Risk and return trade-off, Corporate decision making, What Is Organizational Behaviour? Values, Attitudes, and Their Effects in the Workplace, Motivating Self and Others, Working in Teams Communication, Conflict, and Negotiation, A brief background/history of the chosen technology, How to monitor and measure performance metrics on this technology, Introduction    to    Operations    Management, Product    and    Service    Design, Introduction to Marketing, Marketing Environment, Marketing Communication and Branding, Entrepreneurial Thinking, Opportunity Spotting, Strategy and Business Models, Strategy and Business Models, Negotiating Deals, Introduction to economics of industry, Firm as part of the sector, Horizontal relationships in the industry, Vertical relationships in the industry.