Political Economy major? (1 Viewer)

[4Indigoo]

Is there anyone doing this major that could comment on the content? Is it more politics or economics, is it heavy on maths, and are you finding it interesting and worthwhile?
I've read on a few posts that the lecturers are biased (favouring Marxism to the extent that they discriminate in marking if you disagree with their stance and that discussions mostly centre around their personal ideologies).. not sure if this is true or not and does it get better further into the major? I'm sort of stuck between a few social sciences: economics (a little afraid it would be too mathematical and that I'd get bored) and politics.

Thanks!

 

[sida1049]

Political economy, from what I understand, has no maths whatsoever. With regards to economics (one of my majors), if you did/are doing okay at HSC 2U maths or are willing to catch up with some 2U content, you'll be fine.

With any discussion-based kind of study, there may be some bias (lecturers/tutors are usually experts in only some specific theories, so you can expect that they have more to say about some things more than others), but I doubt that political economy is that bad (that said, I've never taken it). Usually when you see posts complaining about bias or whatever on USYD rants, it's probably exaggerated - about half of it may be factual, but the rest is usually just bias from whoever submits it. If you're interested, give it a try.

Good luck!

 

[4Indigoo]

Political economy, from what I understand, has no maths whatsoever. With regards to economics (one of my majors), if you did/are doing okay at HSC 2U maths or are willing to catch up with some 2U content, you'll be fine.

With any discussion-based kind of study, there may be some bias (lecturers/tutors are usually experts in only some specific theories, so you can expect that they have more to say about some things more than others), but I doubt that political economy is that bad (that said, I've never taken it). Usually when you see posts complaining about bias or whatever on USYD rants, it's probably exaggerated - about half of it may be factual, but the rest is usually just bias from whoever submits it. If you're interested, give it a try.

Good luck!

Thank you so much for the response. Would you be able to shed some more light on your economics major? Do you feel like it helps you with understanding the ideas behind policy and what goes on in the political arena? Would you recommend the pre-Honours track or just a regular economics major. I'm not too bad with maths so I haven't given up on economics entirely. The reason I thought of political economy is because I felt it was at the intersection of economics and politics which was appealing but at the same time I wonder if I'm better off just doing straight economics or politics and then doing a postgraduate degree in political economy if necessary.

 

[sida1049]

Thank you so much for the response. Would you be able to shed some more light on your economics major? Do you feel like it helps you with understanding the ideas behind policy and what goes on in the political arena? Would you recommend the pre-Honours track or just a regular economics major for someone not intending to work as an economist. I'm not too bad with maths so I haven't given up on economics entirely. The reason I thought of political economy is because I felt it was at the intersection of economics and politics which was appealing but at the same time I wonder if I'm better off just doing straight economics or politics and then doing a postgraduate degree in political economy if necessary.

I'm currently in the middle of the pre-honours stream,and will be continuing the rest of my economics major via the pre-honours units. That said, I might not taking an honours year in economics, as I'm finding myself enjoying and gearing towards mathematics and statistics.

I think a person's experience of an economics major really varies: the kind of economics I study is more geared towards research, and is more theoretical than it is practical, whereas other students who want to get into policy-making/analysis would study more macro-based units, e.g. monetary economics, public finance, et cetera. Hence I would only recommend the pre-honours stream if you're interested in maths and more theoretical content. The pre-honours stream has more microeconomics, which can be harder to associate with policy. An important thing to note about economics is that it's not restricted to macroeconomic policy-making, which the field is generally seen to associate with; economics is actually often defined to be the study of decision-making, as a lot of economic analysis is applied to individuals and firms (e.g. how do individual make choices under risk, or over a time period?), and not just the aggregate economy as a whole.

I recommend taking taking a mix of social sciences in your first year to get a taste, and expand on what you prefer from second year and on-wards.

Hope this helps!

 

[4Indigoo]

I'm currently in the middle of the pre-honours stream,and will be continuing the rest of my economics major via the pre-honours units. That said, I might not taking an honours year in economics, as I'm finding myself enjoying and gearing towards mathematics and statistics.

I think a person's experience of an economics major really varies: the kind of economics I study is more geared towards research, and is more theoretical than it is practical, whereas other students who want to get into policy-making/analysis would study more macro-based units, e.g. monetary economics, public finance, et cetera. Hence I would only recommend the pre-honours stream if you're interested in maths and more theoretical content. The pre-honours stream has more microeconomics, which can be harder to associate with policy. An important thing to note about economics is that it's not restricted to macroeconomic policy-making, which the field is generally seen to associate with; economics is actually often defined to be the study of decision-making, as a lot of economic analysis is applied to individuals and firms (e.g. how do individual make choices under risk, or over a time period?), and not just the aggregate economy as a whole.

I recommend taking taking a mix of social sciences in your first year to get a taste, and expand on what you prefer from second year and on-wards.

Hope this helps!

Yes this helps! Thank you.

I'm not very familiar with everything economics covers. That being said I remember enjoying watching the lectures from an introductory economics course posted online by Berkeley (I wanted to get an idea of what economics was about because it seemed interesting but I didn't take it in the HSC). My favourite topics (of what was covered) were competition, collusion, and regulation while I wasn't too fond of the fiscal vs monetary policy discussions. Not sure which of these are micro and which are macro.

I will definitely take a mix in first year bur I'm trying to narrow it down a bit now because I don't want to waste units. I'm thinking maybe taking econ + politics is better than political economy. It's worth noting I plan on doing a finance major so I have to be careful with the units I take if I want a second major (which I do).

 

[Rileh]

I do Political Economy and Economics.

I find they compliment each other quite nicely. It is essay based so no maths really needed. You learn the limitations and appropriate uses for the economics theories you do practice and their true practical meaning.

It allows for a more nuanced understanding of world economic systems. Take ECOP1001 and see if you like it and go from there.

Don't worry about 'wasting' units (if you are passing lol). You get some elective units spare anyway.

As said above, Political Econ is more policy based but I find it allows for a greater understanding of theories learnt in economics and their actual relevance.