Dissertation Title: Examples
1. Public Sector Economics: public transport, health care system, pension scheme, education, welfare, etc.

• A look at the various differences between the UK and the Middle East: Taxation.

• Rail transport in Europe • Recent railway accidents and how it has affected the railway industry.

• Is the UK benefit system an incentive to find work? Case studies: Young single parents and college leavers • The cost of education in the UK.

• The effect of an ageing population upon an economy.

• With the increasing ageing population, will the current pension scheme able to cope?

• UK pensions policy: economic effects and future changes.

• Inefficiency within the NHS.

• Is the NHS fulfilling its objective? Could the NHS do better?

• The cost and benefits of road transport.

• The economics of tolled motorways.

• The funding and financial structure of the NHS: A critique.

• Income inequality in current China: its implications on the social economy and some suggestions.

• Gender inequality in education and its effect on poverty: A cross-state study of India.

• A critical evaluation of how the NHS is financed and alternative models.

• Pension schemes in the UK: Is there a problem with publicly funded/state pension?

• A comparative analysis of higher education funding in countries in Europe.

• Privatisation: A case study on British Rail.

• The rationale and effectiveness of family planning programs.

• The optimal balance between an efficient and fair allocation of health care in a national context.

• Investigating participation rates of post-compulsory education in the UK.

• The privatisation of the British Rail: A social welfare analysis.

• An econometric analysis of the demand for road transport within the united Kingdom from 1965 to 2000 • Investigating the trade-off between defense, health and education expenditures:

A time series analysis of the US economy 1970-2002.

• How different are income and consumption taxes.

• When and to what extent is PFI appropriate as a method of public sector service provision?

• A comparison between health services in the United Kingdom and France.

• Pension plans and their effect on personal savings: Evidence from the UK.
2. Finance, Investment, Banking, Monetary Economics: modelling financial series, portfolio management, financial crisis, monetary policy, etc.

• The role of monetary policy and its effectiveness in controlling the rate of inflation.

• The effect of debt crisis in Argentina • Analysis of the strategy undertaken by a Cypriot bank.

• Does asset price volatility affect the real economy?

• The Asian tigers economic crisis.

• Implications of the Government debt on crowding out in the UK economy.

• How effective are monetary and fiscal policy 1.
• The effectiveness of some simple stock market investment strategies.

• Monetary policy in developing countries.

• Testing the validity of the Efficient Market Hypothesis.

• The use of bond future in portfolio management: An empirical analysis of the effectiveness of the theoretical portfolio hedge • The determinants of investment: an econometric study.

• The ups and downs of the stock markets and trying to come up on top.

• A critical analysis of portfolio investment theories.

• Is it financially viable to insure against the risks of the stock market?

• The German and English banking systems: A comparison; which one is better for customers? Which one is better for firms?

• Argentina’s disaster, the IMF and the World Bank.

• Tax evasion and the government revenue.

• What similarities are there in the types of firms in the FTSE 100 and NYSE? • How does the central bank work in financial markets in the US?

• Factors affecting the performance of shares in Hong Kong after the Asian financial crisis.

• Japan’s financial crisis and its banking system.

• Evaluation of the efficient market hypothesis (EMH) in the stock market.

• The economic impact of mandatory provident fund (MPF) in Hong Kong.

• The examination of CEO compensations of US banks and bank holding companies (financial services)

• Stockholding in Cyprus.

• The link exchange rate system in Hong Kong.

• Major market shocks and their implications.

• To what extent does payment card fraud affect UK bank profitability and bank stakeholders? Does this justify fraud prevention?

• The impact of Central Bank independence on price stability: Does independence lead to increased price stability?

• Analysis of the weak and semi-strong forms of efficiency in SGX (Singapore Exchange)

• An assessment of financial assets.

• A study of managing risk using financial futures (behaviour approach) • Inflation targeting and its economic impact in the UK.

• A review of UK stock market efficiency using the random walk model.

• Optimal rate of inflation for transition economies:

Case study; the central bank of Armenia.

• Evaluating the Swedish monetary policy using the Taylor rule as a guideline for the time period 1995M1-2000M6.

• Are macroeconomic variables such as GDP, inflation, interest rate, unit wage cost, play significant role in determining UK’s unemployment rate? Is China heading towards a financial crisis?

• The determinant factors on stock prices: How debt, dividends, insider share holdings and institutional investors ownership and firm size affect the stock price.
3. International Trade.

• Trading with China.

• Does international trade and integration lead to economic growth?

• Developing countries’ gains and losses from international trade.

• Currency unions and trade: To what extent does a currency union affect trade?

• Economic effect of a dictatorship upon the country in question and international trade 2
• Gains and losses from International trade for the UK.

• The impact on China and other countries after China entered the World Trade Organization.

• The importance of international trade in developing countries.

• Foreign direct investment in China: Determinants and impact.

• The economic implications of opening borders to Cyprus.

• The effect of the banana crisis on the Jamaican and British economies.

• Export and import trade in garments between UK and Hong Kong.

• To what extent are the gains to developing countries from trade liberalisation exaggerated?

• Foreign direct investment and wages: Evidence from USA and China.

• Evaluating the effect of exchange rate changes on trade balances in the short and long run in China and the UK.

• The roles of exchange rate and exchange rate regime in China’s export.
4. Economic Development and Growth.

• Poverty in Nigeria. what should be done?

• Estimating the effect of international aid on development in Uganda or Malawi.

• The effects of a multinational cooperation on a developing country.

• The impact of external debt on economic growth in Uganda in the 1980s and 90s.

• The problems faced by Brazil in achieving economic growth: the constraints on reform.

• To what extent have the Labour’s measures to reduce poverty within the UK been successful?

• What are the economic and environmental implications of the regional airport expansions at Nottingham East Midlands airport and West Midlands International airports for the Midlands.

• How successful have international financial institutions such as the World Bank and IMF been in helping economies recover from financial crises?

• Population growth and economic development.

• The role of multinationals in economic development.

• The impact of education on economic growth in China.

• WTO and economic development in China.

• The effects of foreign investment on the Chinese economy.

• Trade policies and economic growth.

• Examining the effects of a debt burden whilst trying to achieve economic growth in Mexico (1970-2000)

• The economic consequences of child labour.

• What influence does income inequality, foreign aid and poverty have on economic growth in the Brazilian economy?

• The future economic growth in China as a result of recent and proposed policy implementation.

• Foreign aid and economic growth in India: An econometric analysis using time series data.

• An empirical investigation testing the predictions of the SOlow Model to the recent economic growth experienced in India.

• ‘Super’ casinos will be built in the UK in 2006: Will they reduce unemployment and promote economic growth?

• Analysing the extent to which the oil reserves in Nigeria have contributed to its current state of poverty.

• Has the foreign aid donated to Tanzania been a significant factor in the achievement of economic growth over the past two decades?

• An investigation into the poverty reduction methods used in India: Are they successful in alleviating poverty?
• Does the central bank independence affect the economic growth rates in African countries in the period 1990-1997? • Immigration in the UK over the period 1971-2001: Causes and impact on GDP and GDP per capita • The key to development in Nigeria: Resource curse or debt overhang?

• Analysis of the Bulgarian Foreign trade after the years of economic transition: Development, tendencies and impact on the economy.
5. Labour Economics

• The European labour force

• A study on the effects of the introduction of the minimum wage.

• Discrimination against women in the labour market.

• European unemployment.

• Employment in the UK.

• Causes of unemployment in the UK and the trade-off with inflation.

• Different patterns in occupations and and earning throughout the labour market.

• Henry Ford’s $5 workday: A discussion of the theory of efficiency wages.

• The changing role of women in the labour force and its effect on society: Comparing UK, USA & Africa

• The change in working practices within the UK.

• The role of racial discrimination in the labour market.

• Human capital: what determines individuals’ wage rate.

• To what extent does there appear to be discrimination in the labour market, and if so what are the economic effect of such a bias?

• Assessing the determinants of earning for single parents using the UK family resource survey 1999/2000.

• The effect of minimum wages on foreign domestic helpers’ employment in Hong Kong.

• Immigrants and factors affecting their hourly wages in the UK.

• The effect of immigration on wages in the UK: 1996-2000 • Is child labour unambiguously ruinous for a country, purely in an economical context?

• What effect has the introduction of a National Minimum Wage had on employment in the United Kingdom?

• Regional unemployment disparities in the UK: A case based on the South East region.

• Analysis of minimum wage policy on employment and its feasibility in Hong Kong.
6. Microeconomics: oligopoly, collusion, cartel, competition policy, etc.

• Collusion and law.

• How effective is advertising as a barrier to entry?

• The advantages of R & D and innovation in competitive markets • Marketing strategies and research as a business approach.

• The theory behind mergers and benefits to industry.

• Economic regulation of monopolies in the UK and USA.

• Price discrimination in the UK car industry.

• Industrial concentration with the record industry.

• The use of internet as a marketing and sales device.

• Competition in the British wine market 4.
• Does empirical evidence back up the point of theoretical barriers to entry?

• Price discrimination in the European car market.

• Hostile takeovers

• The effects that government regulations have on monopoly power.

• The strategy and managerial turnaround of Marks and Spencer.

• The effect of mergers on the UK banking sector.

• Profitability related to market structure.

• Strategic profile of the BMW motor group and selected acquisitions.

• Copyright in the entertainment industry.

• Barriers to enter in the UK competitive market.

• Are the firms in the mobile phone industry oligopolies?

• The role of information in product selection and advertising.

• Competitiveness of Hong Kong among the Tigers.

• The announcement of mergers and acquisitions on shareholder value.

• Reputation, predation, management and strategic behaviour of supermarkets.

• The theory of asymmetric information with financial markets: The principle-agent and rogue trader problems.

• OPEC: Group behaviour and bounded rationality.

• A theoretical and empirical survey into the effects of asymmetric information on the automobile insurance markets, and the role that experience rating plays.

• The impact of low-cost carrier entry to the air-transport market: Competitive advantage, efficiency gains and future implications.

• Geographical price discrimination in the English car market.

• Through the evolution and application of Game Theory can we understand more clearly utility as a measure of psychological fulfillment?

• Entry deterrence in imperfectly competitive supermarket firms in Hong Kong.

• Barriers to entry: Theory and evidence, corporate diversification, motivation and outcomes.

• Competition in the fixed line telecommunication market.
7. European Union: economics of integration, EU policy, single currency, etc.

• Should the UK enter the single currency? • Monetary integration: costs and benefits to the UK.

• Analysing the economic rationale for the UK’s membership of the European single currency.

• The UK and EU: economic gains and losses.

• Pressure to reduce car prices in the UK to match the European norm.

• UK and the European Monetary Union: A discussion of the economic benefits and costs.

• Should Britain enter the EU or adopt Euro?

• The effects of a single currency on an economy.

• Will entering the single currency affect the NHS?

• The economic implications of the UK entering into the European single currency.

• How joining and staying out of the single currency will affect the UK’s economy and prosperity

• An economic analysis of the EU common agricultural policy (CAP)

• Should Britain join the Euro? Is the economic and monetary union economically viable for Britain?

• How might EU enlargement affect the UK’s economy in the short-run and in the long-run?

• The effects of European economic integration on FDI determinants: The impact of Euro on UK level of FDI
• Are the broad restraints of the European single currency too restrictive to allow a group of nations to flourish?

• The impact of the EU enlargement during 2000-2004 on the wages in the UK.

• Have European business cycles converged due to monetary integration?
8. Environmental Economics and Tourism.

• Tourism in Ghana (the land of hospitality)

• The externalities that arise from landfill and incineration.

• Environmental pollution (externalities) as a result of global warming.

• International terrorism and its economic impact on tourism in the UK and USA.

• The economics of traffic congestion and an analysis of the solution.

• Live music: excess volume as an externality.

• Sustainable development: The transposition of the end of life vehicles directive in the UK.

• The economics of congestion.

• The dynamic nature of holiday markets in the UK.

• A study of the London traffic congestion charge.

• The effect of congestion charges in major cities.

• Road usage in the UK: An empirical and econometric analysis.

• Tourism in Kenya: An empirical analysis on the effect of tourism on economic growth in the country.

• Economics of tourism: a case study on the impact of environmental issues in Malta
9. Property Market • The UK property market.

• Fluctuations in house prices • What factors influence the differences in regional house prices across the UK?

• A study of how the increase in the UK house prices over the last fifteen years affected the ability of first time buyers to get onto the property ladder.

• Property market in Hong Kong.

• A look at boom and bust: examining factors which affect UK house prices • Explaining house price variations between regions across the UK via the ripple effect hypothesis: How do the labour market structure and government policies affect such variations?

• Regional variations in the UK house prices: An empirical and comparative analysis of panel data between 1985-2003 • The effects of demographic age structure upon UK house prices.

• Causes of UK house price volatility and its macroeconomic effects.

• The relationship between oil prices and house prices in the Uk economy • The impact of rising house prices on the UK economy
10. Alcohol, Tobacco, Black Markets and Piracy: drugs market, illicit distilling, illegal immigration, pirate software and CDs etc.

• The economics of the illegal immigrant problem (in the UK)

• Has the introduction of home CD writers had a significant effect on the UK music industry?

• Underground economics: A study into the illegal re-sale of event tickets.

• Economic effects and consequences of alcohol/cigarette consumption in the UK 6
• Entry of pirated compact discs into the music/software industry in Singapore.

• The economic viability of legalizing cannabis in the UK

• Alcohol and tobacco: strain or gain to the United Kingdom’s economy?

• The effect of supply side enforcement policies on the illicit drugs market

• The illicit drugs market in the UK: Social costs and the government intervention.

• Tobacco consumption in the UK • The economics of tobacco taxation: How does excise tax affect the level and dem and of smoking in the United Kingdom?

• How does alcohol consumption affect the labour force participation rate in the US?

• Analysis and solutions for UK binge drinking.

• Unemployment and criminal activity: Is there a significant relationship?

• Piracy and the copyright industry.

• Change in income and consumption of tobacco in the US in the last 30 years.

• Illicit drug use and the UK labour market: An empirical analysis of its effect on the productivity and wages of young adults.
11. Others

• Restructuring a state-run economy through privatisation: Zambia as a case study.

• Does the “North-South divide” still exist? If yes, then where is the divide?

• The UK car market.

• The effect of the world trade tower disaster on American Airlines.

• The problems of an ageing population.

• The economic consequences of the September 11 attacks in America.

• HBSO: an agency problem or a business strategy?

• The economic effects of tobacco regulations.

• Diversification of KEO wine company in Cyprus.

• Economics of gambling • Immigration and the domestic economy.

• Does the Catholic Church behave as a multinational firm?

• How does SARS affect the Hong Kong business economy?

• The role of oil in Nigeria.

• The economic implications of the foot and mouth disease.

• The economics of terrorism.

• High street clothing stores vs. designer labels.

• The impact of oil discovery in Nigeria on the country’s agricultural industry.

• The effect of oil prices on the British economy.

• Efficiency in sports betting markets.

• The implementation and implication of a cashless economy.

• An essay on the economics and politics of prison privatization.

• Economics of gangsters.

• Film entertainment industry in the USA.

• Are Western countries such as the US and the UK still at risk of stagflation and a higher unemployment rate given OPEC’s ability to increase oil prices?

• The effect of demographic transition on an economy, with special reference to the UK economy.

• The impact of the BSE crisis of 1996 on beef and milk prices in the UK.

• The economic regeneration of London Docklands.

• Mining vs. the Zambian economy: The impact of copper mining on Zambia 7.
• The internet and its economic impact on the UK music industry.

• A critical introduction to hyperbolic discounting: several applications.

• Migration of Jews and the growth and stability of Israel.

• Analysis of non-durable luxury good industry

• Overall view of the Macau industry: how much impact does the gaming industry have on the economy and country?

• Evaluating the effects of 2008 Olympic Games to Beijing economy.