School of Economics and Finance

• Welcome
• Areas of Expertise
• Locations
• History

Welcome

Welcome to the School of Economics and Finance, part of the College of Business at the University of Western Sydney.

For students who care about how the world works, economics should be one of the most relevant and exciting courses they study.

Economics is the study of the economic performance of nations and the effectiveness of policies that governments use to try to improve that overall performance and to ensure the efficient and equitable operation of markets. Among the issues that economists study are the sources of our increasing material standard of living and how to promote environmentally sustainable development, the causes of economic instability reflected in high unemployment and inflation, and the impact globalisation has on the management of our economy. The performance of our economy impacts on the availability of jobs, mortgage interest rates, the value of the Australian dollar, the prices we pay in the supermarket and our overall standard of living. As such, economic performance affects everyone.

In many of our units, we explore simplified models of the economy, and use deductive reasoning and available data, to try to understand how the various economic variables interact and produce the outcomes that so concern society as a whole. Some of the issues we will examine are hotly contested and we introduce controversies among economists regarding economic theory and policy.

The school aims to provide students with an understanding of the theoretical and methodological variety that exists in approaches to understanding economic and financial phenomena, as well as the comprehensive technical skills in economic analysis and statistical techniques. Our school is committed to pluralism in theory and methodology.

Our students benefit from an educational experience both rich in content and strong on skill development. Our courses provide opportunities for students to learn to think critically and communicate effectively on a wide spectrum of issues in economics, finance and property. Among the various graduate attributes we hope to impart on students are the skills involved in scholarly enquiry, the capacity for analytical and critical thinking and for creative problem solving, and the ability to engage in independent and reflective learning. We encourage students to further develop skills of independent policy formulation, evaluation and intelligent decision-making in the context of contemporary problems and real world dilemmas.

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Areas of Expertise

Economics provides the foundation for all further study in finance, accounting, management and marketing. In teaching economics, finance and property, we are fully cognisant of the role of these disciplines in spanning business and the social sciences.

Our staff has diverse interests which are reflected in the programs offered by the school. These include core studies in microeconomics, macroeconomics and econometrics. We have very strong programs in property economics, valuation studies and the planning and financing of property development. In addition, the school has specific expertise in areas such as applied finance and corporate financial management.

Other areas of strength include globalisation studies and development economics with special application to Asian economies, the history and methodology of economics, heterodox economics and evolutionary modelling, applied labour studies including feminist economics, urban and regional issues and international trade and finance.

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Locations

The school offers programs on Campbelltown and Parramatta campuses. For information about the programs we offer and their availability, please see the College of Business course directory.

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History

The School of Economics and Finance was created in January 2001 through the consolidation of the Department of Economics and Finance on Campbelltown campus, the Economics Group on Blacktown campus and the School of Economics and Finance on Parramatta campus. The former Property Group on Blacktown campus also joined the school in January 2006.

Having economics, finance and property in the one School gives us an advantage that is not shared by most universities. In other places these groups are fragmented in separate institutional structures, often preventing student choice and the study of these interrelated specializations. This is not the case at UWS and this is to the enormous benefit of our students.

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