Honour School of Philosophy, Politics, and Economics

Differences from 2013/14 to 2022/23

A

  • 1. The subject of the Honour School of Philosophy, Politics, and Economics shall be the study of modern philosophy, and of the political and economic principles and structure of modern society.

  • 2. Candidates must offer Philosophy, Politics, and Economics or such combination of these subjects as may be determined by the Division of Social Sciences.

  • 3. No candidate shall be admitted to examination in this school unless hethey or she either (a) hashave passed or been exempted from the first Public Examination. 

  •  
  • 3. orThe (b)length has successfully completedof the Foundationprogramme Courseof in Social and Political Science at the Departmentstudy for Continuingthis Educationschool shall normally be six terms of full-time study.

     
  • 4. The examination for this school shall be under the joint supervision of the Social Sciences Board and the Humanities Board which shall appoint a standing joint committee to make regulations concerning it subject always to the preceding clauses of this sub-section.

B

Candidates maymust offer either Philosophy, Politics, and Economics or Philosophy and Politics or Politics and Economics or Philosophy and Economics.

The highest Honours can be obtained by excellence in a minority of subjects offered provided that adequate knowledge is shown throughout the examination.

Candidates must take eight subjectscourses in all, and must satisfy requirements of particular branches of the school, including, in Philosophy, those set out in the Regulations for Philosophy in all Honour Schools including Philosophy, and, in Politics and Economics, requirements to take core subjects. In Politics, the core subjects are any two of 201, 202, 203, 214, and 220; in Economics the core subjects are 300, 301 and 302. In Politics, any of 201, 202, 203, 214, and 220 which are not offered as core subjects may be offered as further subjects.

On entering his or her name for the examination by the date prescribed, each candidate must give notice to the Registrar of the papers being offered. 

For all Economics paperscourses assessed by examination, candidates are permitted the use of one hand-held pocket calculator from a list of permitted calculators published annually by the Department of Economics on its undergraduate website, which will be updated annually in the week prior to the first full week of Michaelmas Term.

  • A. Philosophy, Politics, and Economics.

    Candidates must take (i)  one of subjectsthe courses 101, 102, 115, and 116, and (ii) subjectcourse 103, any two of subjects 300, 301, and 302 and(iii) any two of 201, 202, 203, 214, and 220, and (iv) at least two courses in Economics.

  • Their other two subjectscourses may be chosen freely from those listed under Philosophy and, under Politics, and under Economics, except that (i) ifthe anyRegulations subjectsfor Philosophy in Economicsall areHonour chosenSchools theyincluding Philosophy must includebe theadhered thirdto; core subject;and (ii) certain combinations of subjectscourses maymust not be offered (see List of SubjectsCourses below); and (iii) not all Economics subjects may be available in any particular year (see below for details). There may also be restrictions on numbers permitted to offer some Economics subjects in any particular year.

     
  • B. Philosophy and Politics.

    Candidates must take (i) one  of subjectsthe courses 101, 102, 115, and 116, and (ii) subjectcourse 103, and (iii) any two of 201, 202, 203, 214, and 220.

    Their other four subjectscourses may be chosen freely from those listed under Philosophy and under Politics, except that (i) at least one must be a subjectcourse in Philosophy and the Regulations for Philosophy in all Honour Schools including Philosophy must be adhered to; (ii) at least one must be a further subjectcourse in Politics (other than the thesis (or the supervised dissertation) if offered); (iii) one but only one may be a course in Economics, selected from the following list: 300, 301, 302, 311, (iv) certain combinations of subjectscourses maymust not be offered (see List of SubjectsCourses below).

  • C. Politics and Economics.

    Candidates must take subjects 300, 301, and 302 and(i) any two of 201, 202, 203, 214, and 220, and (ii) at least three courses in Economics.

  • Their other three subjectscourses may be chosen freely from those listed under Politics and under Economics except that (i) at least one must be a further subjectcourse in Politics (other than the thesis (or the supervised dissertation) if offered); (ii) one but only one may be a subjectcourse in Philosophy; and (iii) certain combinations of subjectscourses may not be offered (see List of SubjectsCourses below); (iv) not all Economics subjects may be available in any particular year (see below for details). There may also be restrictions on numbers permitted to offer some Economics subjects in any particular year.

  • D. Philosophy and Economics.

    Candidates must take (i) one  of subjectsthe courses 101, 102, 115, and 116, and (ii) subjectscourse 103, 300, 301, and 302(iii) at least three courses in Economics.

  • Their other three subjectscourses may be chosen freely from those listed under Philosophy and under Economics, except that (i) at least one must be a subjectcourse in Philosophy and the Regulations for Philosophy in all Honour Schools including Philosophy must be adhered to; (ii) one but only one may be a subjectcourse in Politics, selected from the following list: 201, 202, 214, 215, 216, 217, 220, 229; and (iii) certain combinations of subjectscourses maymust not be offered (see List of Subjects below); (iv) not all Economics may be available in any particular year (see below for details). There may also be restrictions on numbers permitted to offer some Economics subjects in any particular year. 

List of SubjectsCourses

Certain combinations of furthercourses subjects maymust not be offered: in parentheses after the title of each further subjectcourse is the number of any other subject or subjectscourse with which it may not be combined.  

Philosophy

The syllabuses for the subjects in this List are given in Regulations for Philosophy in all Honour Schools including Philosophy or in the schedule below.

Philosophy

  • 101. Early Modern Philosophy

  • 102. Knowledge and Reality

  • 103. Ethics

  • 104. Philosophy of Mind

  • 106. Philosophy of Science and Social Science (105, 124)

  • 107. Philosophy of Religion

  • 108. The Philosophy of Logic and Language

  • 109. Aesthetics and the Philosophy of Criticism

  • 110. Medieval Philosophy: Aquinas (111)

  • 111. Medieval Philosophy: Duns Scotus, Ockham (110)

  • 112. The Philosophy of Kant

  • 113. Post-Kantian Philosophy

  • 114. Theory of Politics (203)

  • 115. Plato Republic

  • 116. Aristotle Nicomachean Ethics

  • 117. Frege, Russell, and Wittgenstein (118)

  • 118. The Later Philosophy of Wittgenstein (117)

  • 120. Intermediate Philosophy of Physics

  • 122. Philosophy of Mathematics

  • 124. Philosophy of Science (105, 106)

  • 125. Philosophy of Cognitive Science

  • 126. The Philosophy and Economics of the Environment (321)

    127. Philosophical Logic

  • 128. Practical Ethics

  • 129. The Philosophy of Wittgenstein

  • 137. Plato on Knowledge, Language, & Reality in the Theaetetus & Sophist (in translation)

    138. Aristotle on Nature, Life and Mind (in translation)

  • 139. Knowledge and Scepticism in Hellenistic Philosophy (in translation)

    150. Jurisprudence

  • 151. Set Theory Logic (Thetwo changecourses tofrom thepart methodB of examination by long essay under (b) as specified in the regulations for the Honour School of JurisprudenceMathematics, willcounting applyas toone PPE candidates in the following manner:

    • (i) All Year 2 students in 2013-14 will undertake the long essay in the summer of 2014;

    • (ii) Year 3 students in 2013-14 will have been taught the traditional JurisprudencePhilosophy course in 2012-13 (Year 2), and will sit an unseen written examination in 2013-14) (114, 203).

     
  • 198. Special Subjects

  • 199. Thesis (298, 299, 399)

Politics (including Sociology)

Candidates should note that the Politics subjectscourses available in any particular year will depend on the availability of teaching resources. Not all subjectscourses will be available in every year and restrictions may be placed on the number of candidates permitted to offer certain subjectscourses in any particular year.

The syllabuses for the courses in Politics listed below are given on the Department of Politics and International Relations undergraduate website. 

  • 201. Comparative Government

  • 202. British Politics and Government since 1900

  • 203. Theory of Politics (114)

  • 204. Modern British Government and Politics

  • 205. Government and Politics of the United States

  • 206. Politics in Europe

  • 207. Politics in Russia and the Former Soviet Union

  • 208. Politics in Sub-Saharan Africa

  • 209. Politics in Latin America

  • 210. Politics in South Asia

  • 211. Politics in the Middle East

  • 212. International Relations in the Era of Two World Wars

  • 213. International Relations in the Era of the Cold War

  • 214. International Relations

  • 215. Political Thought: Plato to Rousseau

  • 216. Political Thought: Bentham to Weber

  • 217. Marx and Marxism

  • 218. Sociological Theory

  • 219. The Sociology of Post-Industrial Societies

  • 220. Political Sociology

  • 222. Labour Economics and Industrial RelationsInequality (307)

  • 223. The Government and Politics of Japan

  • 224. Social Policy

  • 225. Comparative Demographic Systems (315)

  • 226. Quantitative Methods in Politics and Sociology (313)

  • 227. Politics in China

  • 228. The Politics of the European Union

  • 229. Advanced Paper in Theories of Justice

  • 230. Comparative Political Economy

  • 297. Special subject in Politics (199, 298, 299, 399)

  • 298. Supervised dissertation (199, 297, 299, 399) 

  • 299. Thesis (199, 298, 399)

  • Thesis regulations as for course 399 below. 

Economics

Courses 300, 301, 302, and 311 must be studied in the first year of the candidate’s enrolment for the Honour School. The rest of the courses may be studied only in the second year of the candidate’s enrolment for the Honour School.

Not all Economics subjectscourses may be offeredavailable in any particular year. There may also be restrictions on numbers permitted to offer some Economics subjectscourses in any particular year.

EconomicsMore subjectsthan availableone toSpecial candidatesSubject in anyEconomics particular(course year398) willmay dependbe onoffered.

The the availability of teaching resources. Details of the choices availablesyllabuses for the followingcourses year will be announced at thein Economics Department'slisted ‘Optionsbelow Fair’are at the beginning of the fourth week of the first Hilary Full Term of candidates' work for the Honour School, and will be postedgiven on the Department's of Economics undergraduate web-site at the same timewebsite. 

  • 300. Quantitative Economics

  • 301. Macroeconomics

  • 302. Microeconomics

  • 303. Microeconomic Theory

  • 304. Money and Banking

  • 305. Public Economics

     
  • 306. Economics of Industry

  • 307. Labour Economics and Industrial Relations (222)

  • 308. International Economics

  • 309. Command and Transitional Economies

  • 310. Economics of Developing Countries

  • 311. British Economic History sinceof 1870the World Economy 

  • 314. Econometrics

  • 315. Comparative Demographic Systems (225)

  • 316. Economics of OECD Countries

  • 317. Economic Decisions within the Firm

  • 318. Finance

  • 319. Game Theory

  • 320. Mathematical Methods

     
  • 321398.  Special Thesubjects Philosophy andin Economics of the Environment (126)

  • 399. Thesis (199, 298, 299)

  • The(a) Department of Economics should be consulted to confirm numbering and titles in the above list.Subject 

Schedule

The schedule of subjects in Philosophy is given in the Regulations for Philosophy in all Honour Schools including Philosophy

  • 201. Comparative Government

    Candidates may be expected to show knowledge of the following topics: political parties and party systems; electoral systems; political executives; legislatures; bureaucracies; federalism and other forms of territorial decentralisation; judiciaries; interest groups; forms of government and the constitutional allocation of power between institutions; democratisation. Questions may be set regarding the nature, origins, and political effects of the individual institutions in the preceding list. Candidates should answer all questions comparatively. They should show knowledge of relevant empirical material, and use evidence, comparative methods, and theoretical perspectives appropriately.

  • 202. British Politics and Government since 1900

    British politics (including the major domestic political crises, ideologies and political issues) and the evolution of the British political and constitutional system (including elections and the electoral system, political parties, parliament, the cabinet system, and machinery of government). ‘Political issues’ will be taken to include the political implications of social and economic development and the domestic implications of foreign and imperial policy. Candidates will be expected to show knowledge of developments both before and since 1951.

  • 203. Theory of Politics1

    The critical study of political values and of the concepts used in political analysis: the concept of the political; power, authority, and related concepts; the state; law; liberty and rights; justice and equality; public interest and common good; democracy and representation; political obligation and civil disobedience; ideology; liberalism, socialism, and conservatism.

  • 204. Modern British Government and Politics

    A study of the structure, powers, and operations of modern British Government, including its interaction with the European Union: the Crown, Ministers, Parliament, elections, parties and pressure groups, the legislative process; Government departments, agencies, and regulatory bodies; local authorities; administrative jurisdiction and the Courts. Candidates will be expected to show familiarity with certain prescribed documents, a schedule of which may be revised annually. Any revisions to the schedule shall apply only to candidates taking the Final Honour School five terms hence, and if no proposals for revising the schedule have been received by noon on Friday of Week One of Hilary Term, the previous year's list shall stand. The revised schedule will be displayed on the PPE syllabus notice-board at the Department of Politics and International Relations, Manor Road Building, and on the Department's website.

  • 205. Government and Politics of the United States

    The constitution; federalism and separation of powers; the presidency; congress; the federal courts; the federal bureaucracy; parties and the party system; electoral politics; mass media; interest groups; state and local politics; processes of policy-formation and implementation; political culture.

  • 206 Politics in Europe

    This paper is a comparative study of the national party and institutional systems of Europe, and of comparative issues in European politics, including democratisation, institutional relations, political economy and party politics. Candidates are expected to show a broad knowledge of European politics, and may where appropriate include reference to the UK in answers, but should not answer any question mainly or exclusively with reference to the UK.

  • 207. Politics in Russia and the Former Soviet Union

    Candidates will be required to show knowledge of the transformation of the Soviet system from 1985, and an understanding of the politics of countries of the former Soviet Union with respect to their formation, post-Soviet transitions, regime types, institutional arrangements, party systems, electoral processes, ethnic and clan composition, political economy, corruption, and the influence of external factors.

  • 208. Politics in Sub-Saharan Africa

    Candidates will be required to show knowledge of the politics of the countries of sub-Saharan Africa with respect to their political institutions, political sociology, and political economy. The following topics may be considered: nationalism; forms of government, civilian and military; parties and elections; conditions for democracy; class, ethnicity, religion, and gender; business, labour, and peasantries; structural adjustment and agricultural policies; the influence of external agencies.

  • 209. Politics in Latin America

    Candidates will be required to show knowledge of politics in Latin America; of the structure of government of the major states of the area; and of their political sociology and political economy. The following topics may be considered: presidential systems; the role of congress; public administration; party and electoral systems; the politics of major groups such as the military, trade unions and business groups, and the churches; political ideologies; political movements; the politics of economic stabilization; the politics of gender; theories of regime breakdown, and of democratic transition and consolidation; the influence of external factors.

  • 210. Politics in South Asia

    Candidates will be expected to show knowledge of political developments in South Asian countries since their independence, with regard to their political institutions, political sociology, and political economy. The following topics may be considered: the nature of the state; government and political institutions; party and electoral systems; politics in the provinces or states of a federation; the evolution of political ideologies; the politics of gender, caste, religion, language, ethnic regionalism, and national integration; the political economy of development, social change, and class relations; ‘New’ social movements and Left politics; regional conflicts in South Asia and the influence of external factors on South Asian politics. South Asia is taken to include India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh.

  • 211. Politics in the Middle East

    Candidates will be expected to show knowledge of the politics of the Middle East with regard to their political institutions, political sociology, and political economy. The following topics may be considered: the emergence of the state system in the modern Middle East; the influence of colonialism and nationalism in its development; the military in state and politics; party systems and the growth of democratic politics; the politics of religion; women in the political sphere; the influence of major inter-state conflicts and external factors on internal politics. The Middle East is taken to comprise Iran, Israel, Turkey, and the Arab States.

  • 212. International Relations in the Era of Two World Wars

    The relations between the major powers; the twentieth-century origins of the First World War and the origins of the Second World War; war aims, strategies, and peace-making; the disintegration of war-time alliances; the League of Nations and the establishment of the United Nations; the impact of major political movements (Communism, Fascism, nationalism) on international society; monetary and economic developments as they affected international politics.

    Knowledge of events before 1900 and after 1947 will not be demanded, nor will questions be set on extra-European developments before 1914.

  • 213. International Relations in the Era of the Cold War

    The relations among the major powers, 1945-91, including domestic and external factors shaping foreign policy; the origins and course of the cold war, including detente and the end of the cold war; East-West relations in Europe with particular reference to the foreign policies of France and the Federal Republic of Germany; European integration; the external relations of China and Japan, particularly with the Soviet Union and the United States; the Soviet Union's relations with Eastern Europe; decolonization and conflict in the developing world.

  • 214 International Relations 

    The primary topics will be: the competing approaches to the study of international relations; global governance and the world economy; and global governance and security. Other topics will include: international law; regional organizations; economic integration; globalization; ethnic, national, and cultural sources of insecurity; power, interdependence, and dependency. Candidates will be required to illustrate their answers with contemporary or historical material. They will be expected to know the major developments in international affairs from 1990 onwards, and to cite these wherever appropriate. They may also be given the opportunity to show knowledge of earlier developments; but questions referring specifically to events before 1990 will not be set.

  • 215. Political Thought: Plato to Rousseau

    The critical study of political thought from Plato to Rousseau. Candidates will be expected to show knowledge of at least three of the following authors, with a primary though not necessarily exclusive focus on the following texts: Plato, The Republic; Aristotle, Politics; Aquinas: Political Writings, ed. R. W. Dyson 2002; Machiavelli, The Prince, The Discourses ed. Plamenatz 1972; Hobbes Leviathan Parts I and II; Locke, Second Treatise of Civil Government; Montesquieu, The Spirit of the Laws, Books I-VIII, XI, XII, XIX; Hume, Moral and Political Writings ed. Aiken 1948; Rousseau, Discourse on the Origin of Inequality, The Social Contract. Questions will also be set on the following topics: theories of political stability and civic virtue; the relationship between the personal and the political; utopian political thought; theories of natural law and justice. In answering examination questions, candidates are expected to discuss the primary texts identified in this rubric, but may also draw on their knowledge of a range of other primary texts from the canon of political thought to the end of the eighteenth century, as indicated in the bibliography issued by the Department of Politics and International Relations.

  • 216. Political Thought: Bentham to Weber

    The critical study of political and social thought from Bentham to Weber. Candidates will be expected to show knowledge of at least three of the following authors, with a primary though not necessarily exclusive focus on the following texts: Bentham, Political Thought ed. Parekh; J. S. Mill, On Liberty, essays ‘The Spirit of the Age’, ‘Civilization’, ‘Bentham’, ‘Coleridge’; Hegel, The Philosophy of Right, Lectures on the Philosophy of World History (Introduction) (CUP edn.); Saint-Simon, Selected Writings 1760-1825, ed. Taylor 1975; Tocqueville, Democracy in America - Everyman edition (Vol. I: Introduction, chapters 2-6, the last section of chapter 8, chapters 11, 12, the first section of chapter 13, chapters 14-17; Vol II: Book II, chapters 1-8, 16-20, Book III, chapters 1, 2, 13-21, Book IV, chapters 1-8); Marx, Selected Writings, ed. McLellan, nos. 6-8, 13, 14, 18, 19, 22, 23, 25, 30, 32, 37-40; Weber, From Max Weber, eds. Gerth and Mills; Durkheim, The Division of Labour in Society (Prefaces, Introduction, Book I, chapters 1-3, 7; Book 2, chapters 1, 3; Book 3, chapters 1, 2; Conclusion), Professional Ethics and Civic Morals, chapters 4-9. Questions will also be set on the following topics: state, society, and the family; individual and community; history and social change; science and religion. In answering examination questions candidates are expected to discuss the primary texts identified in this rubric, but may also draw on their knowledge of other primary texts from the canon of modern social and political thought, as indicated in the bibliography issued by the Department of Politics and International Relations.

  • 217. Marx and Marxism

    The study of the ideas of Marx and Engels, of later Marxists and critics of Marxism. Candidates will be expected to study Marxism as an explanatory theory, and also to examine its political consequences. They will be required to show knowledge of the relevant primary texts as specified in the bibliography issued by the Department of Politics and International Relations. Questions will also be set on some later Marxists, as indicated in the bibliography.

  • 218. Sociological Theory

    Theoretical perspectives including rational choice; evolutionary psychology; interpersonal interaction; social integration and networks; functionalism. Substantive problems including stratification; gender; race and ethnicity; collective action; norms; ideology. Candidates will be expected to use theories to explain substantive problems.

  • 219. The Sociology of Post-Industrial Societies

    Candidates will be expected to show knowledge of the following aspects of the social structure of urban-industrial societies: occupation and economic structure; social stratification and mobility; education; the social significance of gender and ethnicity; demography and the family; the social structure of religion; and the impact on society of the state and politics. They must show knowledge of modern Britain and at least one other industrial society, and of the main general theories of industrial society.

  • 220. Political Sociology

    The study of the social basis of political competition (including social cleavages and identities), social and political attitudes (including political culture), processes of political engagement and competition (including elections, protest politics, elite formation and the mass media), the social basis for the formation, change, and maintenance of political institutions (including democracy and welfare states).

  • 222. Labour Economics and Industrial Relations

    As specified for 307 below.

  • 223. The Government and Politics of Japan

    The constitutional framework and structure of government; parliamentary and local politics; the electoral and party systems; the role of corporate interests and pressure groups; the bureaucracy; foreign policy. Candidates will be expected to show knowledge of Japanese political history since 1945 and of the social context of Japanese political institutions and policy-making.

  • 224. Social Policy

    The nature and development of social policy and welfare states. Public, private and informal systems of welfare. Alternative definitions and explanations of poverty and deprivation. The sources, growth, organisation and outcomes of British social policy with special reference to health, housing, social security, and education.

  • 225. Comparative Demographic Systems

    As specified for 315 below.

  • 226. Quantitative Methods in Politics and Sociology

    Candidates will be expected to show an understanding of applications of quantitative methods in politics and sociology including the following: the principles of research design in social science: data collection, the logic of casual inference, and comparative method; major statistical methods and concepts: types of random variables, independence, correlation and association, sampling theory, hypothesis testing, linear and non-linear regression models, event-history analysis, and time-series. Candidates will also be expected to interpret information and show familiarity with major methodological debates in politics and sociology.

  • 227. Politics in China

    Candidates will be required to show knowledge of the government and politics of China since 1949, and with particular reference to the period since 1978, with respect to its political institutions, political sociology, and political economy. The following topics may be considered: the Communist party and its structure, urban and rural reform since 1978, foreign relations, nationalism, elite politics, gender, legal culture, and the politics of Hong Kong and Taiwan.

  • 228. The Politics of the European Union

    This paper focuses on the study of the history, institutions, and policy processes of the European Union. It includes analysis of the history and theories of the European integration process. Candidates are expected to show knowledge of politics of the European Union, including the main institutions of the EU, decision making procedures and specific policies, as well as relations between the EU and the rest of the world. The paper also focuses on democracy in the European Union and the impact of European integration on the domestic politics and policies of the member states.

  • 297. Special Subject in Politics (199, 298, 299, 399)

    Special Subjects will be examined by examination paper. No candidate may offer more than one Special Subject. A Special Subject may not be offered by candidates also offering a thesis (199, 299, 399) or Supervised dissertation (298). Depending on the availability of teaching resources, not all Special Subjects will be available to all candidates in every year. Candidates may obtain details of the choice of Special Subjects for the following year by consulting lists posted at the beginning of the fourth week of Hilary Term in the Department of Politics and International Relations and circulated to Politics tutors at colleges admitting undergraduates.

  • 298. Supervised dissertation2

    With the approval of the Politics sub-faculty, members of staff willing to supervise a research topic shall through the Administrator of the Department of Politics and International Relations place on the noticeboard of that Department not later than Friday of fourth week of Hilary Term a short description of an area of politics (including international relations and sociology) in which they have a special interest, a list of possible dissertation topics lying within that area, an introductory reading list, and a time and place at which they will meet those interested in writing a dissertation under their supervision for assessment in the following year's examination. Members of staff agreeing to supervise an undergraduate shall provide him or her with tutorials or intercollegiate classes equivalent to a term's teaching for a normal paper, the cost of such tutorials or classes to be met by the college. They shall notify the colleges of the undergraduates involved and the Administrator of the Department of Politics and International Relations. Candidates offering a thesis (199, 299, or 399) or a Special Subject in Politics (297) may not also offer a supervised dissertation. The regulations governing the length, the format, and the time, date and place of submission of a supervised dissertation shall be the same as those for the thesis. Every candidate who wishes to submit a supervised dissertation shall give notice of his or her intention to do so to the Registrar on his or her examination entry form. Every candidate shall sign a certificate to the effect that the supervised dissertation is his or her own work and that it has not already been submitted, wholly or substantially, for another Honour School of this University or for a degree of any other institution. The supervisor(s) shall countersign the certificate confirming that to the best of his, her or their knowledge and belief these statements are true, and shall also submit a short statement of the supervision provided, together with the original specification of the research topic and any other course material provided. The candidate's certificate and the supervisor's or supervisors' statements shall be presented together with the supervised dissertation. Candidates are warned that they should avoid repetition in papers of material in their supervised dissertation and that substantial repetition may be penalized. Every candidate who wishes to have his or her supervised dissertation returned is required to enclose with the thesis, in an envelope bearing only his or her candidate number, a self-addressed sticky label.

  • 299. Thesis

    As specified for 399 below.

  • 300. Quantitative Economics

    Unconditional Modelling: Descriptive statistics, basic statistical distributions and applications to economic data, sampling and hypothesis testing.

    Conditional Modelling: Binary data with regressors, regression analysis with two and three variables, testing and interpretation of regression results.

    Time series Modelling: introduction to issues of temporal correlation and regression analysis.

    Empirical applications in micro and macroeconomics: Interpretation of current literature in two areas of microeconomics and two areas of macroeconomics. Topics will be announced at the beginning of Michaelmas Term for examination in Trinity Term two years later.

    The examination will include questions covering theoretical issues and interpretation of econometric results.

  • 301. Macroeconomics

    Macroeconomic theories and their policy implications; macroeconomic shocks and fluctuations; unemployment and inflation; exchange rates; interest rates and the current account; intertemporal adjustment, growth theory; monetary and fiscal policy.

    The paper will be set in two parts. Candidates will be required to answer questions from both parts. Part A will consist of short questions and Part B will consist of longer questions.

  • 302. Microeconomics

    Risk, expected utility theory; welfare economics and general equilibrium, public goods and externalities; game theory and industrial organisation; information economics; applications of microeconomics.

    The paper will be set in two parts. Candidates will be required to answer questions from both parts. Part A will consist of short questions and Part B will consist of longer questions.

  • 303. Microeconomic Theory

    Rigorous study of core elements of microeconomic theory. Topics may (but not necessarily) include: decision making under risk and uncertainty; theory of search under uncertainty; models of contracting under asymmetric information; theory of general economic equilibrium; theory of social choice. A descriptive list of the topics will be published on the Economics website before the beginning of the year in which the course is taught and examined.

    Questions will be set requiring candidates to solve problems and demonstrate conceptual understanding of core elements of microeconomic theory.

  • 304. Money and Banking

    The role of money in general equilibrium models. Aggregate models of price and output fluctuations. The role of banks and other financial intermediaries. Models of monetary policy. Inflation targeting and other policy regimes. Money and public finance. The transmission of monetary policy to asset prices and exchange rates.

    The paper will be set in two parts. Candidates will be required to show knowledge on both parts of the paper. Part A will comprise questions requiring analysis of specific models. Part B will comprise essay questions requiring discussion of the theoretical and empirical literature.

  • 305. Public Economics

    Welfare measurement and cost-benefit analysis, with applications to healthcare and the environment; taxes and transfers; optimal income and commodity taxation, and intertemporal public finance including pensions provision; government expenditure, including healthcare and education; political economics.

  • 306. Economics of Industry

    Market structures, costs and scale economies, oligopoly and the theory of games, entry, empirical studies of pricing and profitability, advertising, product differentiation, managerial theories of the firm, mergers and vertical integration, innovation, public policy towards market structure and conduct, regulation.

    Candidates will be expected to show knowledge of empirical studies relating to one or more of the advanced industrial economies, but questions relating to specific industrial economies will not be set.

  • 307. Labour Economics and Industrial Relations3

    The analysis of labour markets from both microeconomic and macroeconomic perspectives; collective bargaining and trade unions; personnel economics; the economics of education and human capital; wage determination and inequality.

  • 308. International Economics

    Theories of international trade and factor movements, positive and normative, and their application to economic policy and current problems. Theory and practice of economic integration. Current problems of the international trading system. Methods of balance of payments adjustment and financing; policies for attaining internal and external balance. Behaviour of floating exchange rates: theory and evidence. Optimum Currency Areas and Exchange Rate Regimes. International Policy Co-ordination and the International Monetary System.

  • 309. Command and Transitional Economies

    This paper covers the traditional command economy, attempts to reform it in the direction of market socialism, and transition to a market economy. Candidates will be expected first to be familiar with the evolution of the command economy in the pre-war USSR (War Communism, New Economic Policy, Stalinist central planning) and in the post-war period in the USSR, Eastern Europe and China. But emphasis is placed on knowledge of the features and policies of the main variants of the command system (e.g. central planning, performance of state enterprises, fiscal and monetary policies, foreign trade), rather than of the details of economic history or experiences of countries. The second area includes the 1965 reform and perestroika in the USSR, the New Economic Mechanism in Hungary, self-management in Yugoslavia, and post-1978 reforms in China. The third area comprises the theory of the transition from command to market systems, as well as policies and economic developments in the major countries after 1989. Although most questions will deal with the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, at least two will relate fully or partially to the economy of China.

  • 310. Economics of Developing Countries

    Theories of growth and development. Poverty and income distribution. Human resources. Labour markets and employment. Industrialisation and technology. Agriculture and rural development. Monetary and fiscal issues; inflation. Foreign trade and payments. Foreign and domestic capital; economic aid. The role of government in development; the operation of markets.

    Where appropriate, candidates will be expected to illustrate their answers with knowledge of actual situations.

  • 311. British Economic History since 1870

    Trends and cycles in national income, factor supplies, and productivity; changes in the structure of output, employment, and capital; management and entrepreneurship; the location of industries, industrial concentration, and the growth of large firms; prices, interest rates, money, and public finance; wages, unemployment, trade unions, and the working of the labour market; the distribution of incomes, poverty, and living standards; foreign trade, tariffs, international capital movements, and sterling; Government economic policy in peace and war.

    Questions concerned exclusively with the periods before 1900 or after 1973 will not be set.

  • 314. Econometrics

  • A variety of econometric topics will be covered, drawn from the following list: maximum likelihood, endogeneity and instrumental variables, unit roots and cointegration, limited dependent variable models, duration models and panel data models. Application of the introduced econometric methods to economic problems will also be discussed.

  • A descriptive list of the topics will be published on the Economics website before the beginning of the year in which the course is taught and examined.

  • 315. Comparative Demographic Systems4

    Candidates will be expected to show knowledge of controversies in demographic theory (Malthus and his critics, Easterlin, Caldwell, the New Home Economics school and others) and to illustrate their answers with varied and specific examples. The paper will comprise two sections. Section 1 will test the candidate's ability to interpret quantitive results and the methods of demographic analysis. Section 2 will test the candidate's knowledge of substantive trends and their explanation. Candidates will be required to answer three questions, one from Section 1 and two from Section 2.

    • I Demographic analysis and techniques: data sources, adequacy and remedies. Statistical analysis of fertility, mortality, and other demographic phenomena. The life table, stable population, and other models of population structure and growth. Population dynamics, projections and simulations.

    • II Demographic trends and explanations. Limits to fertility and the lifespan. Contrasts between stable and transitional population systems in historical European and current non-European societies: the decline of mortality, fertility patterns in relation to systems of household formation, kin organization and risk environments, marital fertility decline and the current status of transition theory. Social, economic, and political consequences of rapid population growth at the national level and the local level.

      Demographic systems in post-transitional societies (modern Europe and other industrial areas): low fertility, trends in health and survival, and age structure change; their economic and social causes and consequences. New patterns of marriage and family, women in the workforce, labour migration and the demography of ethnic minorities, population policies.

  • 316. Economics of OECD Countries

    Main phases of development since 1945. Institutional framework of policy formation; conduct of demand management policies; the welfare state and public expenditure; experience of policies and strategies. The behaviour of major macroeconomic aggregates; the labour market and industrial relations. Development of external trade and financial relations; competitiveness and exchange rates; economic integration and the international coordination of economic policies.

    Questions will be set requiring knowledge of one or more of the following countries: France, Germany, Italy, Japan, UK, and US. Candidates will be expected to answer at least one question (out of three) from Part A.

    Part A. Comparative analysis of the OECD countries

    Part B. The Major Areas

    • Section 1: Western Europe

    • Section 2: the United States

    • Section 3: Japan.

  • 317. Economic Decisions within the Firm

    Linear economics models, simplex method for linear programming, duality, and sensitivity analysis. Network models, including the transportation and assignment problems, shortest path problems, project scheduling. Dynamic and integer programming.

    Expected utility theory and decision trees. Markov chain models. Queuing systems. Stochastic dynamic programming. Inventory control. Monte Carlo methods and simulation. Two-person, zero-sum games.

  • 318. Finance

    As specified in Paper 3, Finance, in the Honour School of Economics and Management.

  • 319. Game Theory

    Strategic-form games and extensive-form games. Solution concepts. Games with incomplete information. Applications and topics which may (but not necessarily) include bargaining, auctions, global games, evolutionary games, co-operative games, learning, games in political science.

    The paper will be set in two parts. Candidates will be required to show knowledge on both parts of the paper.

    • Part A. Questions will be set requiring candidates to solve problems involving the core elements of game theory.

    • Part B. Questions will be set requiring candidates to solve problems in and show knowledge of specific applications and topics in game theory.

  • 320. Mathematical Methods

    The paper will cover mathematical tools such as Calculus, Linear Algebra, Differential and Difference Equations, Probability and Statistical Inference and their applications to Economics. Applications will not require knowledge of material covered in other optional papers but will assume knowledge of the core first and second year papers. A detailed syllabus will be published every year.

  • 321. The Philosophy and Economics of the Environment (126)5 [NB: This paper may not be taken by bipartite Politics and Philosophy candidates.]

    Philosophical foundations: justice and goodness, theories of value; decision-making under uncertainty. Economics foundations: externalities, public goods, international environmental agreements. Politics and the environment. Inter-generational ethics, discounting. The choice of instruments: taxes, permits and command-and-control; environmental instruments in practice. Valuing human life. Valuing nature. Cost-benefit analysis: foundations and critiques; valuation methods.

  • 399. Thesis

    • (a) Subject

      The subject of every thesis should fall within the scope of the Honour School. The subject may but need not overlap any subject on which the candidate offers papers. Candidates are warned that they should avoid repetition in papers of material used in their theses and that substantial repetition may be penalizedpenalised. 

      Every candidate shall submit through histhe or hercandidate’s college for approval to the Director of Undergraduate Studies for Philosophy, Politics and International Relations, or the Director of Undergraduate Studies for Economics, as appropriate, the title hethe or shecandidate proposes together with 

      • (i)  an indication as to the branch of the school in which the subject falls, e.g. Economics; 

      • (ii) an explanation of the subject in about 100 words; 

      • (iii) a letter of approval from his or her thesis tutor;

      not earlier than the first day of the Trinity Full Term of the first year beforeof thatthe incandidate’s whichenrolment hefor orthe sheHonour is to be examinedSchool and not later than the date prescribed for entry to the examination. The relevant chairDirector of Undergraduate Studies shall decide as soon as possible whether or not to approve the title and shall advise the candidate immediately. No decision shall be deferred beyond the end of the fifth week of Michaelmas Full Term of the final year of the candidate’s enrolment for the Honour School. 

      Proposals to change the title of the thesis may be made through the collegerelevant Department administrator and will be considered by the chairrelevant Director of theUndergraduate relevant sub-facultyStudies until the first day of the Hilary Full Term of the final year in which the student is to be examined, and by the chair of the examiners thereafter.

    • (b) Authorship and origin

      Every thesis shall be the candidate's own work. His or her thesis tutor may, however, discuss with him or her the field of study, the sources available, and the method of presentation; the thesis tutor may also read and comment on a first draft. The amount of assistance that may be given is equivalent to the teaching of a normal paper. Theses previously submittedenrolment for the Honour School of Philosophy, Politics, and Economicsby maythe berelevant resubmitted. No thesis will be accepted if it has already been submitted, wholly or substantially, for another Honour School or degreechair of thisexaminers University, or for a degree of any other institutionthereafter. Every candidate shall sign a certificate to the effect that the thesis is his or her own work and that it has not already been submitted, wholly or substantially, for another Honour School or degree of this University, or for a degree of any other institution. This certificate shall be presented together with the thesis. No thesis shall, however, be ineligible because it has been or is being submitted for any prize of this University. 

    • (cb)  Length and format 

      No thesis shall exceed 15,000 words,. theCandidates limitshould refer to include all notes and appendices, but not bibliographies; no person or body shall have authority to permit any excess. There shall be a select bibliography or a list of sources. All theses must be typed in double spacing on one side of quarto or A4 paper. Any notes and references may be placed either at the bottom of the relevant pagesDepartment orfor allguidance togetheras atto the end of the thesisformatting, but in the latter case two loose copies of the notescontent, and referencessubmission must be suppliedrequirements. The thesis must be bound or held firmly in a stiff cover. Two bound copies shall be submitted to the examiners, along with one electronic copy; they shall be returned to the candidate's college after the examination. 

    • (dc)  Notice of submission of thesis 

      Every candidate who wishes to submit a thesis shall give notice of his or herthe intention to do so on histhe or hercandidate’s examination entry form (in addition to seeking approval of the subject from the relevant ChairDirector of theUndergraduate sub-faculty or head of departmentStudies under (a) above); and shall submit his or herthe thesis using the University approved assessment platform not later than noon on Thursday of the week before the Trinity Full Term of the examinationfinal to the Chairyear of the Examiners,candidate’s enrolment for the Honour School of Philosophy, Politics, and Economics, Examination Schools, High Street, Oxford. Every candidate who wishes to have his or her thesis returned is required to enclose with the thesis, in an envelope bearing only his or her candidate number, a self-addressed sticky label. 

        •