Why are Economists

in Demand?
John Sloman
Director, Economics Network
Visiting Professor, UWE

Overview
Why is economics important?
What do economics graduates do?
Why do employers like them?
What do economics graduates say about their
degrees?

What could I earn with an economics degree?

What do students say about studying Economics?
www.whystudyeconomics.ac.uk

Why is Economics important?

Because it helps us to understand many forms of
human interaction. Examples include the
production and sale of goods and services, the
employment of workers, trade between nations
and the flows of finance around the world.
It also helps us to predict the economic
consequences of human actions and thus
provides information to governments, firms and
other decision makers.
www.whystudyeconomics.ac.uk

What do economists do?

Economics graduates are employed in a range
of posts which may, or may not, be related to the
discipline they studied.
They work in manufacturing, transport,
communications, banking, insurance,
investment and retailing industries, as well as in
government agencies, consulting and charitable
organisations.
www.whystudyeconomics.ac.uk

What do economists do?

According to Andy Ross, the Deputy Director
of the Government Economic Service, the
largest employer of economists in the UK:
Most of the things that economists do dont
even look like economics: adoption policy;
money laundering (detecting!) The range of
topics is truly astonishing.
www.whystudyeconomics.ac.uk

What do economists do?

Economists help firms or the public sector in
decision making and weighing up the costs
and benefits of various policies.

www.whystudyeconomics.ac.uk

 Economists often address the following issues

The quality of education
What you can and cant get on the NHS and why
Discrimination by sex, race, age, etc.
The role of sport in society
The value of time and even life

The meaning of happiness and how to achieve it

Inner-city dynamics
Passenger safety
How to tackle traffic congestion
www.whystudyeconomics.ac.uk

 Marriage and divorce: which partner gets the most?

Should drugs be made legal? Would it reduce crime?
The causes and effects of social exclusion
Immigration: does it make us better off?
Does performance-related pay make people work harder?
Are we taxed too much?
Is competition always good?
Do people gamble rationally on the
lottery and on quiz shows on television?
What causes wars? How can we stop them?
Why is obesity on the rise and what can be done?
Should people be allowed to sell their kidneys?
What is the value of education?
www.whystudyeconomics.ac.uk

How do people respond to incentives?

Voting behaviour
What causes social mobility or a lack of it?
Why arent there petrol stations in the
centre of cities?

Are cities green?

Why are cities so astonishingly productive? What are
the effects of human beings huddled together?
Should we generate more electricity from wind farms?
Why are there so many junk media
channels, all the same?
Should we put folic acid in bread or
floride in water?
Should nursery care be subsidised?
www.whystudyeconomics.ac.uk

Climate
Change

Who did the government employ to write a

report on the effects of climate change and
what can be done about it?
Answer: Sir Nicholas Stern: then Head of the GES
Climate change will affect the basic elements of life for people
around the world access to water, food production, health, and
the environment. Hundreds of millions of people could suffer
hunger, water shortages and coastal flooding as the world warms.
Using the results from formal economic models, the Review
estimates that if we dont act, the overall costs and risks of climate
change will be equivalent to losing at least 5% of global GDP each
year, now and forever. If a wider range of risks and impacts is
taken into account, the estimates of damage could rise to 20% of
GDP or more.
In contrast, the costs of action reducing greenhouse gas
emissions to avoid the worst impacts of climate change can be
limited to around 1% of global GDP each year.
www.whystudyeconomics.ac.uk

Why do employers like economists?

Firms sometimes employ economists to make
use of specialist skills such as economic
forecasting, but they also employ economists
because the subject gives a good grounding of
skills.

Since economists are literate, numerate and can

analyse and evaluate, they are very useful to
employers.
Source: Atkinson, B. and Johns, S. Studying Economics (Palgrave, 2001)

www.whystudyeconomics.ac.uk

Why do employers like economists?

Quote from Prospects
Employers value:
economics graduates' understanding of decisionmaking
their research and analytical skills
their experience of viewing problems in their national
and international context.

These skills will be tested through any graduate

job selection process.
www.whystudyeconomics.ac.uk

Strengths of Economics Graduates

Analytical way of thinking
Problem-solving
Recognition and clarifying
Problem analysis
Identifying and comparing alternative solutions
to problems

Scepticism over possible misuse of data

www.whystudyeconomics.ac.uk

Economists as Problem Solvers

Im looking for people
withjoined-up thinking ...
people who think and
breathe economics.
Government Economic Service
Recruiter

[Were looking for] graduates

who see economics in the world
around them and dont need the
parameters spelt out.

[Were looking for] an

ability to think about novel
situations in relation to
economic theory.

I need people who have

the building blocks of
economics .. who will see
a problem in terms of basic
economics and develop
analysis from there.
Greater London Authority
Recruiter

Economists as Problem Solvers

We employ specialist
modellers who obviously need
strong econometric skills, but
generally don't work under
time constraints, and analysts
who are required to produce
readable, accurate and precise
reports, often at very short
notice. You need to think and
to be fluent in economics.
Moody's Investors Services Ltd

What we are looking for in

Economics graduates is how they
apply economic theory to realworld problems, find the theory
and the evidence to support it
and dissect the problem before
looking for its solution.
HM Revenue and Customs

In problem-solving we are
looking to see if applicants are
able to quickly recognise
problems, clarify the problem,
analyse the problem, come up
with different options and
solve the problem effectively.
Private-sector consultancy firm

Source: Employers of Economists Survey, Economics Network, 2004

UK Employers Views on Graduate Skills (all graduates)

Most employers consider:

problem-solving to be a very important

attribute but one with which they are only
moderately satisfied because of graduates'
lack of real-world application.

that understanding of core principles, technical

ability, potential and willingness to learn and
continually updating knowledge are more
important than a stock of knowledge.

that graduates are not particularly good at applying

knowledge or understanding to practical work situations
because of (i) inability to improvise, (ii) lack of commercial
awareness and (iii) lack of appreciation of the human or
cultural context within which they are working.
Employability Backpack (U of Central Lancashire)

Views of Economics graduates

www.whystudyeconomics.ac.uk

What did graduates like best about

studying Economics?
Understanding how the elements of the economy fit
together.

It was interesting, challenging and could be applied

to real-world scenarios.

It encompassed an enormous variation of subjects

such as maths, history, geography, politics,
philosophy and business.

The job opportunities after

The real-world applications. The fact that the
subject is actually useful.

Applying concepts to real-life business issues

How do you rate your study of Economics

in developing skills for your current job?

Source: Economics Alumni Survey, Economics Network, 2005

Looking back on your time as a student and knowing what you do

now about careers and the workplace, would you still choose to
study Economics at degree level?

Source: Economics Alumni Survey, Economics Network, 2005

What can I earn by doing an

Economics degree?

You can earn considerably more than

graduates in virtually all other subjects.

www.whystudyeconomics.ac.uk

Earnings for males in 1996 (in 2007 prices)

5 years after
graduation

10 years after
graduation

Economics

35,772

55,787

Accounting

35,231

47,492

Bus/Man.

33,631

52,287

Physics

47,142

History

29,764

Geography

27,901

37,241

35,435

27,228

35,532

Biology
Education

Source: Belfield, C. R. et al. (1997) Mapping the Careers of Highly Qualified Workers, HEFCE Research Series,
University of Birmingham.

Earnings premia over 2 A-levels by degree subject, 19942006

Men
Women

70
60
50
40
30
20
10

Arts/Hums

Class/Lang

SocSci

Education

Science

Eng/Tech

Math/Stat

Law

Bus/Man

Health

0
Economics

% premium relative to someone with two or more A-levels

80

Source: Yu Zhu (Dept of Economics, University of Kent), based on data in the Labour Force Survey, HMSO, 2007.

What do students say?

Two clear messages come from our surveys:
Students like studying economics
It gives them useful skills which will help them in
employment when they graduate

www.whystudyeconomics.ac.uk

What do UWE students say?

Economics is a really useful science,
helping me understanding my
surrounding, and analysing some political
speeches and being more critical about
them, not taking them for granted.

I like the level of tutor support

and the emphasis on real world
applications.

I like the fact that we learn

how the economic market
works because it will be helpful
for me in the future.

The teaching has always

been conducted in a positive
and lively manner.

I can go and talk to my lecturers if I

encounter a problem in the subject, and that
they are always prepared to help.
Source: Student Survey, Economics Network, 2006

What do UWE students say?

Seminar classes,
just really good

Lecturers manage to maintain

interest. The enthusiasm of
lecturers is extraordinary excellent for creating a good
learning environment.

Lecture structure-easy to
understand and follow, exam and
essay proportions - gives a good
chance of getting a good grade

Seminar discussion, to learn

about other students
insights and understanding
of the subjects

I hadn't considered economics as a degree before I

came to university (I do business and economics) but
the economics part of it has been so much more
interesting than i had expected, and much more
interesting than business.
Source: Student Survey, Economics Network, 2006

www.whystudyeconomics.ac.uk
www.whystudyeconomics.ac.uk

What economics degrees

are available?
Straight economics degrees, with a strong focus on
core theory, or ones that are more applied
Most have various options in particular branches of
economics, such as environmental economics,
labour economics, public-sector economics or
monetary economics

Business economics degrees

Joint economics degrees with another subject,
such as Politics, Business, Marketing, Mathematics,
Sociology, History, Geography
www.whystudyeconomics.ac.uk