Economics of Gender and the Family (L1105)

15 credits, Level 6

Spring teaching

In this module you will explore how economists think about gender and the family.

In many cases, individuals make decisions while being part of a household. These joint decisions taken with other family members drive outcomes that are important for the economy, such as labour supply, consumption, fertility, and housing. Economists study these decisions by thinking about how relative bargaining power within the household affects choices.

You will study microeconomic models of household decision making. You’ll explore how individuals form and dissolve households, decide on how many children to have and allocate resources over time.

You will touch on policy-relevant topics such as:

• the gender wage gap,
• children’s wellbeing,
• inequality,
• time inconsistency.

You’ll also examine issues especially relevant to lower income countries such as dowry and bride price.

You’ll need a strong background in calculus, microeconomics and econometrics/statistics to successfully complete the module.

Contact hours and workload

This module is approximately 150 hours of work. This breaks down into about 30 hours of contact time and about 120 hours of independent study. The University may make minor variations to the contact hours for operational reasons, including timetabling requirements.

We regularly review our modules to incorporate student feedback, staff expertise, as well as the latest research and teaching methodology. We’re planning to run these modules in the academic year 2024/25. However, there may be changes to these modules in response to feedback, staff availability, student demand or updates to our curriculum.

We’ll make sure to let you know of any material changes to modules at the earliest opportunity.