BACHELOR OF COMMERCE IN ECONOMICS HONOURS DEGREE

Overview

INTRODUCTION

1.1 These regulations shall be read in conjunction with the Faculty Regulations and the General Regulations.

1.2 The degree will be awarded to candidates who have successfully completed the programme and passed examinations in accordance with regulations set in the Faculty Regulations.

1.3 The duration of the degree programme shall normally be a minimum of four levels including a period of Work Related Learning in a relevant industrial/commercial setting during the third level.

2. CAREER PROSPECTS

Bachelor of Commerce Economics Honours Degree graduates can be absorbed in some of the following organizations and areas; Financial Institutions, Government Departments, Parastatals, Central Bank, private sector firms, non- governmental organizations, regional and international organizations, institutions of higher learning, consultancy firms and high schools among others.

Entry Requirements

3. ENTRY REQUIREMENTS
3.1 Normal Entry

3.1.1 To qualify for normal entry into the Bachelor of Commerce Economics Honours Degree programme, a candidates, in addition to satisfying the minimum requirements as prescribed under the General Regulations and the Faculty Regulations for English and Mathematics at `O’ Level, must have obtained at least two passes at `A’ level in the following subjects: Economics, Accounting, Mathematics and Management of Business.

3.2 Mature Entry

3.2.1 Over and above the requirements stipulated in the General Regulations, students who get into the Economics Department through mature entry should at least have a `B’ in Ordinary Level Mathematics.

4. GENERAL PROVISIONS

4.1. A candidate is required to undertake a minimum of five (5) modules per semester unless one is carrying over or retaking certain modules from the previous academic level or semester, respectively.

4.2. Each module is worth four (4) credits, except for the Work Related Learning level which is worth forty (40) credits and the dissertation which is worth 8 credits.

4.3 The department may accept students who have been discontinued from other programmes on condition that they meet the entry requirements of the department and subject to availability of places.

Assessment

5. ASSESSMENT

Refer to Section 6 of the General Regulations and Section 5 of the Faculty Regulations.

6. FAILURE TO SATISFY THE EXAMINERS

Refer to Section 9 of the General Regulations.

7. PROVISION FOR PROGRESSION

Refer to Section 6 of the Faculty Regulations.

8. WORK RELATED LEARNING GENERAL GUIDELINES

Refer to Section 8 of the Faculty Regulations.

9. GRADING AND DEGREE CLASSIFICATION

Refer to Section 10 of the Faculty Regulations.

10. DEGREE WEIGHTING

Refer to Section 11 of the Faculty Regulations.

Programme Structure

11. PROGRAMME STRUCTURE
Level 1 Semester 1
Code Module Description Credits
EC101 Microeconomics1 4
EC102 Economic Statistics A 4
ACC105 Financial Accounting for Business 1A 4
EC 103 Mathematics for Economists 4
BM101 Principles of Management 4
HCS115 Introduction to Information Technology 4
CS 101 Communication Skills 4
Level 1 Semester 2
EC105 Economic Statistics B 4
BM 105 Business Law 1 4
EC104 Macroeconomics 1 4
ACC106 Financial Accounting for Business 1B 4
MM101 Principles of Marketing 4
Level 2 Semester 1
(Prerequisites) Credits
EC201 Macroeconomics II (EC101) 4
EC203 Quantitative Methods (EC103) 4
EC209 Investment Analysis A (EC103) 4
EC 206 Statistical Analysis and Applications 4
GS201 Introduction to Gender Studies 4
EC 205 International Trade Theory and Policy 4
Level 2 Semester 2
EC204 Macroeconomics II (EC104) 4
EC210 Investment Analysis B 4
EC 402 Econometrics A 4
EC 202 Monetary Economics 4
EC 208 Environmental Economics 4
Level 3 Semester 1 and 2 : Work Related Learning
EC301 Work Related Learning Report 15
EC302 Academic Supervisor’s Report 15
EC303 Employer’s Assessment Report 10
Level 4 Semester 1
EC401 Microeconomics 111 (EC201) 4
EC409 Econometrics B 4
MM403 International Finance 4
EC406 Industrial Economics 4
EC408 Public Sector Economics 4
Level 4 Semester 2
EC404 Macroeconomics 111 (EC204) 4
EC403 Managerial Economics 4
EC 207 Agricultural Economics 4
EC411 Dissertation 8
EC405 Development Economics 4
12. MODULE SYNOPSES

EC101 MICROECONOMICS I

This module covers the basic economic questions, scarcity and opportunity cost, partial equilibrium analysis of markets, introduction to consumer behavior, productions costs long run and short run, and price and output determination under different market structure; perfect competition, monopoly, monopolistic competition, and oligopoly, and the theory of distribution and pricing of factors of production

EC102 ECONOMIC STATISTICS A

This module introduces the student to the operations of statistics in business. The basic introductory framework includes: nature and scope of statistical enquiry, representation of statistical data, frequency distribution, measure of central tendency and dispersion, data spread and probability theory. The module also helps in decision-making and information presentation.

EC105 ECONOMIC STATISTICS B

The module provides a theoretical and practical approach to decision-making and business forecasting. The topics covered include: hypothesis testing, goodness of fit, linear regression, indexation and time series analysis. The half module forms a strong foundation for the fourth year qualifying course for the programme EC402.

EC103 MATHEMATICS FOR ECONOMISTS

A firm understanding and appreciation of mathematics is now of paramount importance for any serious student living in a dynamic world of economics and business. The module seeks to show the relevance of mathematical tools/concepts such as linear algebra, differentiation, integration, and optimization theory in the field of economics.

EC104 MACROECONOMICS I

The module covers fundamental macroeconomic ideas: definition of macroeconomics, major macroeconomic issues, national accounts, simple theory of national income distribution, national income in an open economy, changes in the demand side, the multiplier process, supply side equilibrium, role of money in macroeconomics, monetary policy, bank rate, open market operations, variable reserve rations, moral suasion, international trade and balance of payment theories, foreign exchange markets.

GS201 INTRODUCTION TO GENDER STUDIES

Refer to the Department of Gender Studies

EC201 MICROECONOMICS II

The module will cover the following major topics: the budget constraint, utility choice, demand, revealed preference, technology, profit maximization, market structures; perfect competition, monopolistic competition, monopsony and oligopoly.

EC 203 QUANTITATIVE METHODS

It is a pre-requisite for students taking this module to have done basic mathematics for economists. Quantitative methods seek to strengthen the use of mathematics in analyzing and interpreting economic phenomena. The module covers areas like, comparative statistics, optimization theory, difference and differential equations, matrix algebra etc.

EC 202 MONETARY ECONOMICS

The module explains the nature, definitions and value of money, role of money in economic activity, the nature of financial intermediation, role of financial intermediation, the demand and supply for money; theoretical and empirical issues, monetary policy and money supply control; Zimbabwe monetary policy since 1980, money and inflation, international monetary relations.

EC 204 MACRO ECONOMICS II

The module reviews national income accounts, consumption theories, investment theory, equilibrium in the goods and money market (IS-LM model) and macro-dynamics, balance of payment constraint.

EC 205 INTERNATIONAL TRADE THEORY AND POLICY

The module covers an understanding of trade theories that form the basis for trade policy analysis. These theories include: classical theories, neoclassical theories and `new’ trade theories. The theory of trade protection, exchange rates and the Balance of Payments are also covered in this module. The policy section covers such topics as terms of trade and economic development, the role of industrial policy in the creation of comparative advantage, trade liberalization in Zimbabwe, the global trading environment, regional co-operation and integration and the role of the WTO in the 21st century.

EC 206 STATISTICAL ANALYSIS AND APPLICATIONS

The module forms an enhanced strong prelude to EC402. It includes the following topics: descriptive statistics, probability theory and probability models, univariate probability distribution, multivariate probability distribution, testing and estimation, sampling distribution, asymptotic distributions, statistic estimation and ANOVA and regressions.

EC 207 AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS

The module looks at definitions of agriculture economics and related ideas, subject matter of agricultural economics, production theory and agriculture, agricultural economics models: household models-decision theory and risk analysis in agriculture, issues of technological change-innovation transfer and diffusion; food policy food security, self-sufficiency; agricultural trade issues drought mitigation and disaster management policies; agricultural policies and incentives with special reference to Zimbabwe.

EC 208 ENVIRONMENTAL ECONOMICS

This module seeks to equip students with skills to utilize the techniques covered in core courses such as microeconomics, macroeconomics and quantitative methods to analyze environmental problems. The module explains the role of environmental economics in the development process in general and in the integrated management of ecological economic systems in particular. It covers topics such as history of environmental economics, sustainable development, environmental accounting and valuation of natural resources.

EC 209 INVESTMENT ANALYSIS A

The module is designed to cover an understanding of the financial markets, sources and uses of funds in investment, risk-return relationships, the efficiency of capital markets, introduction to securities valuation as well as investment appraisal.

EC 210 INVESTMENT ANALYSIS B

This module builds from the principles laid down in Investment Analysis A. It covers the taxonomy of debt and equity markets in Zimbabwe, the basic portfolio theory, asset pricing models and an introduction to derivatives markets and securities.

EC 401 ADVANCED MICROECONOMICS

Topics covered in this module include Game theory: payoff matrix of game, types of games, equilibrium, enforcing cartel and entry deterrence. General equilibrium and exchange: the Edgeworth box, Pareto efficiency, the algebra of efficiency and implications of welfare theorems. Welfare: social welfare functions, welfare maximization, fair allocations, envy and equity, Externalities: smokers and non-smokers, production externalities, tragedy of commons, automobile pollution. Public goods: when to provide a public good; private provision of public goods, property rights and coarse theorem, the free rider problem.

EC 402 AND EC409 ECONOMETRICS A AND B

The modules cover univariate and bi-variate analysis and related topics. These include the two variable model, the three variable regression model, specification testing, weaknesses of regression models, general linear model, problems of single equation models and simultaneous equation models. The module content focuses on econometric techniques that provide students with the understanding they need in modern economics. Students will be given an opportunity to use modern statistical packages like STATA, PC Give, E-Views, SPSS and these form part of their methodological toolkit for economic and development research.

EC 404 ADVANCED MACROECONOMICS AND POLICY

The module considers Zimbabwe macroeconomic history since 1980s, review of national income accounts, closed economy macroeconomics, determination of aggregate demand and aggregate supply, inflation unemployment and the Phillips curve. Components of consumer behaviour models, investment models, money demand and supply, open economy macroeconomics, BOP and the Keynesian analysis, Mundell-Flemming model, monetary approach to BOP (The POLAK Model), Government, money supply and signorage, theory of macroeconomic policy.

EC 407 MANAGERIAL ECONOMICS

The module considers Business Objectives: optimization, The Principle of Margin, Decision Analysis, Demand Measurement and Forecasting, Cost Measurement, Economies of Scale, The Learning Curve, Pricing Policies: Joint Product Pricing, Transfer Pricing, Loss Leaders, Price Discrimination, Public Utility Pricing, Advertising and Promotion Decisions: Dorfman Steiner Theorem, The Advertising Sales Relationship, Corporate Strategies: Vertical Integration, Diversification, Growth and Market Share, The Location Decision, Profit Planning and Control. Game Theory for Managers.

EC 405 DEVELOPMENT ECONOMICS

Concepts covered include Industrial, Development and Growth in the 19th Century. The following topics are studied: Economic Growth and Development; Industrialization and Modernization: Agrarian Change and Agricultural Revolutions, Technological Change and Innovation; Infrastructural Developments; Demographic Change, Commercial and Financial Changes. These topics will be examined with reference to Zimbabwe and other developing countries.

EC 406 INDUSTRIAL ECONOMICS

Competition, Oligopoly and Monopoly: Collusion sealed bid Pricing Cartels. Market concentration. Barriers to Entry. Predatory Pricing. Concentration and Profits. Concentration and Inflation. Monopoly Welfare Loss and Rent Seeking. Price Discrimination. Public Policy Towards Business. Privatization. Competition Policy. Property Rights and Transaction Costs. The Coarse Theorem. The Principal Agent Problem. Ownership and Control. Vertical Integration. Franchising. Exclusive Territories. Exclusive Dealing. Insider Trading. Social Responsibility of Business.

EC 408 PUBLIC SECTOR ECONOMICS

The economic basis for government activity Efficiency markets and Governments, Externalities and Government Policy, Public goods Government expenditure and policy, Budget deficits and the government taxation theory and structure. Taxes on consumption and sales, State and Local Government Finance. State and Local Government Fiscal issues and Intergovernmental Fiscal Relations.

ACC105 AND ACC106 FINANCIAL ACCOUNTING I A AND B

-Refer to the Department of Accounting

MM101 PRINCIPLES OF MARKETING

-Refer to the Department of Marketing Management

MM403 INTERNATIONAL FINANCE

-Refer to the Depatment of Marketing Management

BM101 PRINCIPLES OF MANAGEMENT, BM105 BUSINESS LAW 1,
BM202 SMALL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT