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School of Social Sciences

PhD/MRes Areas and MSc-topics

The Discipline Area of Economics has a wide range of research interests, and hence a wide range of areas and topics within which we may be able to supervise PhD's.  It is our policy to allocate at least two supervisors to each student in order to cover required specialisms within the research.

If you follow the links below you will be able to find outlines of PhD areas and topics in which individual staff members would be particularly keen to supervise PhD students.

Econometrics and Applied Economics

Econometrics and Applied Economics: Econometrics research encompasses theory and applied work, with both having micro and macroeconomic dimensions, including misspecification analysis and structural stability tests of econometric models, seasonal unit root tests, predicting business cycle regimes and financial econometrics. Applied research is primarily focused on youth employment, job matching, employment among ethnic minorities, household behaviour and the economics of ageing. Empirical work engages with researchers in both the Macroeconomics and Environmental groups (within Economics) and the Sustainable Consumption Institute whilst there is emerging collaborative research (theory and applied) with colleagues in Statistics and Health Economics.

Macroeconomics, Growth and Development

Macroeconomics, Growth and Development: Research is both theoretical and empirical, covering a wide range of topics in the broad areas of growth and development, business cycles and macroeconomic policy. The key vehicle for research activity is the Centre for Growth & Business Cycles Research (CGBCR), co-directed by Agénor and Blackburn. The Centre publishes its own discussion paper series and organises regular international conferences.

Microeconomics and Mathematical Economics

Microeconomics and Mathematical Economics: Research covers topics from the fundamentals of individual decision making and the operation of markets to applications in financial economics, industrial organisation, public economics and social choice. Some of the research lies on the boundary between economics and other disciplines, leading to publications in top international journals in Mathematics and Operations Research.

Environmental and Resource Economics

Environmental and Resource Economics: Research covers a range of foci at the frontiers of environmental and resource economics including climate change economics; environmental economics and politics of food, water and agro-ecosystems; food safety economics; economics of biodiversity conservation and ecosystem services; policy uncertainty; social capital  and policy analysis; sustainable technology and consumption; environmental efficiency and technical change; environmental valuation; parametric and non-parametric econometrics. This research group has developed strong links with researchers across the Faculty of Humanities and, in particular, with the Sustainable Consumption Institute at Manchester.

Development Economics and Policy

Development Economics and Policy: Research is both theoretical and empirical, covering a wide range of topics in the broad areas of development and poverty of less developed countries. Specifically it includes industrial policy reform in Latin America and industrialisation strategies; the evolution of the transition economies with an emphasis on poverty and inequality; poverty dynamics and vulnerability in India, Vietnam, and Bangladesh; measurement of well-being and deprivation; political economy and theoretical modelling of poverty, inequality and corruption; and economic development, structural change and income distribution in China. This research group is part of a larger cross-school research area which includes researchers from the Institute for Development Policy and Management (IDPM), in the School of Environment and Development and also the Brooks World Poverty Institute (BWPI).

Others