BSc Economics

How can we tackle widening economic inequalities? Why does a gender pay gap persist? How can deal with climate change? These are just some of the questions we’ll explore on this wide-ranging programme.

You’ll gain a solid grounding in analytical techniques, statistical theory and quantitative methods and apply your learning to complex real-world problems. Throughout, you’ll take an open-minded and scientific approach to problems, using formal modelling of economic relationships and testing hypotheses against data.

After a core foundation in microeconomics, macroeconomics and econometrics, you can select from specialist economics courses and external options from outside the department. You’ll learn how to develop and communicate complex arguments effectively – equipping you with invaluable skills for your future career.

LSE has one of the largest economics departments in the world and our academics lead global thinking and research in the field. Our department is regularly ranked number one (outside the USA) for published research in economics and econometrics.

Accredited by the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) for the purpose of exemption from all 4 certificate level CIMA modules through the Accredited degree accelerated route.

Graduates from this programme will be exempt from the following certificate level CIMA modules:

• BA1 Fundamentals of Business Economics
• BA2 Fundamentals of Management Accounting
• BA3 Fundamentals of Financial Accounting
• BA4 Fundamentals of Ethics, Corporate Governance and Business Law

If you'd like to gain further insight into what economists study, we suggest looking at one or more of the following popular books or others like them:

• A V Banerjee and E Duflo Poor Economics: barefoot hedge-fund managers, DIY doctors and the surprising truth about life on less than $1 a day (Penguin, 2012)
• D Coyle GDP: a brief but affectionate history (Princeton University Press, 2014)
• T Harford The Undercover Economist (Abacus, 2007)
• T Harford The Logic of Life (Little Brown, 2009)
• P Krugman End This Depression Now! (W W Norton, 2012)
• S D Levitt and S J Dubner Freakonomics (Penguin, 2007)
• S D Levitt and S J Dubner Superfreakonomics (Penguin, 2010)

Some of these books were launched at LSE. Listen to podcasts of these launches (and many other talks).

It's also a very good idea to have a look at one or more economics textbooks, to have a clear idea of what the serious university study of the subject involves, which will differ from these popular presentations. Although the texts and editions listed below are currently recommended for the first year, other editions of these books and other university-level textbooks are also entirely valid for this first investigation.

• N G Mankiw Macroeconomics (9th edition, Worth Publishers, 2015)
• D Acemoglu, D I Laibson and J A List, Microeconomics (2nd edition, Pearson, 2018)