About the Department of Economics

The Department of Economics is one of the largest in the School of Economics and Management at Lund University. Every year about 2,000 students register at the department. More than 50 people are on the payroll more or less permanently as teachers, researchers and administrative personnel. There are at the moment twelve full professors, twenty associate and assistant professors and about 40 full time PhD students.

Teaching at the department covers all levels of university education, from basic courses to advanced PhD courses. Since our research also covers many areas of economics, we are able to provide a wide range of courses. The following areas of research are particular specialisations of the department.

Financial Economics

In Financial Economics we study securities and portfolios of securities. Using the theory of stochastic processes in portfolio analysis allows us to study price formation in financial markets. Inside this area of research we also study how financial instruments are used to manage risk.

International Economics and Development Economics

In International Economics we especially treat the questions of international specialisation, South-North trade, localisation of production, the relationship between working conditions and trade and the effect that economic integration has on competitiveness. In Development Economics we study poverty, the integration of developing countries into the world trade system and the role played by certain sectors in the development process.

Macroeconomics

In Macroeconomics we study phenomena connected with the business cycle and economic growth. In Lund this research has mainly been empirical and with an emphasis on policy making. During recent years several researchers and PhD students have studied questions concerned with financial policy, some of them also developing econometric methodology at the same time. There is also active research in the areas of unemployment, wage formation and monetary economics.

Microeconomics

In Microeconomics we study basic concepts such as the behaviour of individuals and firms, but we also study such phenomena as the workings of the market. Experimental methods are sometimes used in this analysis. Microeconomics is applied inside "industrial organisation" to such phenomenon as oligopoly and questions concerning the role of markets on the one hand and firms on the other. Collective bargaining and game theory are other active fields of research.

Public Economics

In Public Economics we study how the public sector is organised and financed. This is done partly with an emphasis on internal control, partly with respect to how taxation affects the workings of the whole economy.

Other Areas

Other areas of research at the department are, for example, the Economics of Antique Civilisations, Labour Economics and Human Capital Theory, Econometrics, Health Economics and Environmental Economics.

Professors

At the moment there are 13 professorer at the department: Fredrik Andersson, Anders Borglin, Hans Carlsson, David Edgerton, Ulf Gerdtham, Björn Hansson, Göte Hansson, Jerker Holm, Carl Hampus Lyttkens, Sonja Opper, Inga Persson, Lars-Gunnar Svensson and Lars Söderström.

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