Department of Economics (ECO)
Department of Economics (ECO)
Research at the Department of Economics aims at discussing enterprises from a social point of view and society regarded as the scope for action of private enterprises and other organisations. Focus is on the interaction between business and society.
Economics is way too important to be left to economists! Economics issues concern many things that we know from everyday life, e.g.
- Consumers' choices in the shops
- Companies' conduct on the markets
- Workers' decisions on where and how much to work
- Currency markets' reactions to changes in interest rates
- The effect of globalisation on business
- Government's determination of economic policy
- Citizens' voting behaviour.
These things interact in exciting ways and are discussed daily in television, in newspapers, in boardrooms, in ministries, in political parties and at the hairdresser's!
Highlights of 2005
Internationalisation
- The Department researchers collaborate with a large number of international researchers and are often invited to research institutions in other countries. Several Department researchers visited the University of California at San Diego, Northwestern University (Kellogg), New York University (Stern) and the University of East Anglia for extended periods in 2005. At the same time, the Department invited international researchers, often in connection with a research seminar. In 2005, the Department had visitors from the University of Nottingham and the Human Sciences Research Council of South Africa for extended periods of time as well as shorter visits by seminar presenters from Bielefeld, Bocconi, DIW Berlin, Erasmus University/Rotterdam, Iceland, the Research Institute of Industrial Economics in Stockholm, Northwestern University, the University of Nottingham, the University of St. Gallen, the University of Zürich and the World Bank Institute. Finally, a researcher from Valladolid visited the Department as a member of the Erasmus Teaching Staff Mobility programme and participated in courses
- The Department organised three international conferences and workshops in 2005: a conference on Corporate Governance in Closely Held Companies with the participation of recognised researchers from e.g. Alberta, Harvard, Korea, Madrid, Wharton, Yale; a conference on The Economics of Law Enforcement under the auspices of the Scandinavian Association for Law & Economics with participants from Europe, Russia and the US; and a conference under the auspices of the Association for Competition Economics with the participation of academics, consultants and competition authorities from all over the world. Furthermore, the Department co-organised a conference in Mexico City in connection with the ten-year anniversary of DEGIT (Dynamics, Economic Growth, and International Trade). In 2005, the Department and DEGIT established a virtual research center together with the Kiel Institute for World Economics (www.ifw-kiel.de/VRCent/DEGIT/).
Partnership with the business community
- The Department turned out an industrial PhD in hotel revenue management. The industrial researcher is employed by HORESTA, the Danish industry organisation of the Hotel, Restaurant and Tourism Industry, and is now putting his knowledge into circulation in the industry through modular teaching activities. At the same time, a new candidate employed with the consultancy company Copenhagen Economics ApS started an industrial PhD programme on regional economics, which may be used for consultancy services in connection with the Danish local government reform.
The learning university
- In early 2006, two international evaluators from Humboldt Universität zu Berlin and the Stockholm School of Economics visited the Department. The evaluation resulted in a report to the Faculty, which concluded that 1) the Department could make better use of research-promoting incentives; 2) the Department should expand its scientific staff, including the number of PhD students; and 3) the Department should attempt to increase the market share of economics in CBS' BA programmes by offering more innovative, research-related courses. Subsequently, the Department held a symposium to develop a strategy to handle the proposals. This led to the acceptance of research incentives, an increase in the number of PhD students and new courses. Thus, the Department's new elective course entitled "Economic strategy at work" has been a success. The course demonstrates how economic theory can help decision-makers develop strategies in relation to suppliers, distributors, competitors, advertising, research and development and the internal organisation of the enterprise
- The Department launched a six-months PhD workshop for ECO PhD students to present their unfinished research and receive criticism, advice and guidance from the Department's senior researchers. This initiative aims to promote the research process and enhance quality.
Academic profile
The Department of Economics has a staff of 18 researchers. We conduct research in applied economics and economic theory. The aim of our research is to create knowledge about the interaction between society, markets and business. We do this by publishing in international and domestic journals, by participating in research networks, by educating new researchers (PhDs), by entering into a fruitful dialogue with business and government, and by teaching. Our research includes "classical economics" that analyses how consumers, corporations and governments interact and constitute "society". Nevertheless, a great deal of the research takes concrete business problems as its point of departure.
Our core areas are: 1) macroeconomics and economic policy, and 2) applied microeconomics.
The difference between macroeconomics and microeconomics lies primarily in the perspective on economics: macroeconomics focuses on the grand picture of the economy and the interplay between aggregate markets. Microeconomics starts out by analysing individual decision-making by consumers, enterprises, institutions and governments. It is important to understand microeconomics in order to analyse macroeconomics, so there is a gradual transition between the core areas, and some researchers operate under both.
In the area of macroeconomics and economic policy, the Department's research is mainly concerned with issues of public economy, international economy and labour market theory, empirical macro theory and growth theory. Macroeconomics' research is of socioeconomic relevance and also important to enterprises in general.
In the area of applied microeconomics, research focuses on topics of industrial economics, public and international economics and corporate governance. It is application-oriented and usually has a clear corporate perspective.
Research strategy
The Department of Economics (ECO) has a constructive dialogue on economics topics with all interested parties. With its activities, the Department aims to discuss enterprises from a social point of view and society regarded as the scope for action of private enterprises and other organisations. The Department increasingly focuses on research topics of clear corporate relevance, but it also prioritises research in topics of a more socioeconomic nature. The Department's research activities are firmly anchored in economic theory.
Research results
In 2005, the Department of Economics published a total of 79 publications, a slight increase since the previous year. The Department's publication averaged about 60 publications in the previous four years. The number of foreign-language articles in journals fell compared to the particularly substantial number in 2004, which was to be expected as only 11 of the year's 12 months were included in 2005 as opposed to previous years. Department researchers published articles in the following international journals: Journal of Economics, International Economic Journal, Contributions to Macroeconomics, The B.E. Journals of Macroeconomics, Revista Economia, Review of International Economics, Economic Theory, Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Labour Economics, and (in English in) the Danish economics journal Nationaløkonomisk Tidsskrift.
The research results illustrated below show that the Department has achieved a reasonable outcome in terms of publication in international journals. The high number of working papers and proceedings holds out every promise of even better results in the years to come.
Research relations to practice
The Department's research is applied in practice, not only by the business community, for which several members of the Department staff act as consultants, experts and board members, but also by various public authorities, where the staff are members of councils and commissions, for example, contributing with discussion papers in the Globalization Council and participating in supervisory boards (e.g. Energinet.dk), in the Danish Economic Council, in the Competition Council and a large number of forums ensuring a close dialogue with wide sections of the business community.
Last updated by Martin Iskou Olsen 26/11/2008
