How can economic ideas and principles help us to understand how organisations work and industries function? What role do economic principles play in management decisions and in the analysis of strategic interactions among businesses and organisations? Unlike conventional management courses, at Essex you analyse the economics of a business or organisation and investigate how they operate and behave.

You develop your abilities in economics and gain confidence in applying them to organisational management, as well as receiving expert training in quantitative research methods. You gain a thorough understanding of how businesses function and develop your analytical, modelling and research skills through studying topics including:

Managing people and practices

Marketing

Monopoly power and regulation

Applying economic techniques to managing new technologies

The impact of business decisions on products, prices, and social welfare

We are 4th in UK for research power in economics and econometrics (Times Higher Education research power measure, Research Excellence Framework 2021).

Management economics gives you a valuable grounding in economics, with a particular focus on how companies work. We provide you with a greater understanding of the how firms operate, teaching you how resources are allocated within a company, why a company is structured in a particular way, and how these structures affect the overall economy.

This ensures that you graduate having received a strong training in management economics.

Study abroad

Your education extends beyond the university campus. We support you in expanding your education through offering the opportunity to spend a year or a term studying abroad at one of our partner universities. The four-year version of our degree allows you to spend the third year abroad or employed on a placement abroad, while otherwise remaining identical to the three-year course.

Studying abroad allows you to experience other cultures and languages, to broaden your degree socially and academically, and to demonstrate to employers that you are mature, adaptable, and organised.

If you spend a full year abroad you'll only pay 15% of your usual tuition fee to Essex for that year. You won't pay any tuition fees to your host university.

Placement year

Alternatively, you can spend your third year on a placement year with an external organisation, where you learn about a particular sector, company or job role, apply your academic knowledge in a practical working environment, and receive inspiration for future career pathways. You will be responsible for finding your placement, but with support and guidance provided by both your department and our Employability and Careers Centre.

If you complete a placement year you'll only pay 20% of your usual tuition fee to Essex for that year.