SAM4A Applied Economics

• Topics

  The course illustrates how theories and tools from other mandatory economics and methodology courses are combined with data to understand current issues, measure causal relationships, and develop policy measures.

  The course consists of four modules: (i) individuals, (ii) firms, (iii) markets, and (iv) society. Part (i) analyzes incentives and motivation among individuals, the labor market, and how income disparities arise. Part (ii) examines innovation, incentives for firms, industry structure, and the design of competition strategy and policy. Part (iii) explores global markets and firms, including the rise of large digital companies, as well as international trade and its impact on a country's industry structure. Part (iv) highlights why and how global environmental challenges can be addressed using data analysis and economic tools.

• Learning outcome

  Upon completion of the course, the student will be able to:

  Knowledge

  • Describe and explain, at a general level, how economic theory can be used to understand and analyze current issues, such as wage formation, trade policy, or environmental regulations.
  • Gain insight into different ways of combining economic theory and data to measure causal effects.
  • Describe and explain how various types of data can be used to analyze the decision-making processes of individuals, firms, and society.
  • Explain the role of motivation and incentives in wage setting.
  • Explain the policy implications of different forms of market failures for competition and innovation.
  • Explain the significance of international trade.
  • Discuss the effects of trade, industrial, and environmental policies.

  Skills

  • Structure current issues, such as wage formation and trade policy.
  • Use theory to formulate predictions and apply theoretical frameworks to understand contemporary issues, such as tariffs or environmental policy.
  • Assess how theory should be combined with empirical observations, ranging from case studies and surveys to experiments and large datasets.
  • Develop an empirical model to analyze the effects of an intervention, such as a pricing strategy for a company.

  General Competence

  • Critically reflect on how economic models and methods can be applied to gain a better understanding of current issues, such as wage formation, trade policy, or environmental regulation.
  • Evaluate and critique methodological choices, execution, and interpretation of empirical arguments in economic debates.
  • Explain the policy implications of various types of market failures, particularly how they should be corrected to support the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
  • Assess the extent to which the market economy contributes to achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

• Teaching

  The course consists of plenary lectures, class discussions, data labs, and a mandatory group assignment.

  The course offers regular teaching and emphasizes physical interaction between students, as well as between students and the course instructors.

• Recommended prerequisites

  SAM1A, SAM2, and MET2 should be completed no later than the semester before the student begins SAM4A.

  Parts of MET4 are relevant for SAM4A. Ideally, MET4 should be taken before or concurrently with SAM4A.

  In particular, this includes microeconomics (theory of consumer behavior, theory of producer behavior, and market theory), statistics for economists (probability theory, conditional probability, random variables, mean and variance, joint distributions, common probability distributions, estimation and estimators, hypothesis testing, linear regression in one and several variables), and empirical methods (writing scripts in R, interpretation of economic and behavioral data).

• Credit reduction due to overlap

  SAM4

• Compulsory Activity

  • Approved case assignment in groups.
  • Oral presentation of the case assignment in groups.

  Approved compulsory activity is valid in both semesters.

  Previously approved compulsory activities (work requirements) from SAM4 are valid in SAM4A.

• Assessment

  Digital school exam (3 hours).

• Grading Scale

  A-F

• Computer tools

  R

• Literature

  Austan Goolsbee, Steven Levitt, and Chad Syverson. Microeconomics, Macmillan.

  Marc Melitz, Paul Krugman, and Maurice Obstfeld. International Trade: Theory and Policy, Global Edition

  Kjetil Bjorvatn. Mikroøkonomi: en abc på 123

  Norman og Orvedal. En liten, åpen økonomi

• Permitted Support Material

  Calculator

  One bilingual dictionary (Category 1)

  All in accordance with the Supplementary Regulations to the Regulations on Full-Time Studies at the Norwegian School of Economics (NHH), Chapter 4: https://www.nhh.no/for-studenter/forskrifter/https://www.nhh.no/for-studenter/forskrifter/ og informasjonen som er gitt her: https://www.nhh.no/for-studenter/eksamen/hjelpemidler-ved-eksamen/https://www.nhh.no/for-studenter/eksamen/hjelpemidler-ved-eksamen/

• Retake

  SAM4A is offered both in the spring and autumn semesters, and does not have any retake opportunities beyond the regular examination.