The Department of Economics is as old as the college which was established in 1948. It is a four member department. The department has been catering to students in the Commerce stream along with the Humanities stream since 1980. The first head of the department was Mr. Gajra followed by Mrs. Maya Mirapuri, Dr. Harver, Mrs. Adarsh Suri and Dr Anuradha Kalhan Siddique. The department is currently headed by Ms Sarita Jai Shankar. The department offers a full majors program in the final year to the cream of students enrolled in the BA program which enhances their theoretical and practical knowledge of the subject and equips them for further specialization in the field. It also increases their employability. The department has a record of a hundred percent passing at the University examinations for the Economics majors besides a majority passing with a first division.

 

About the Department

The Department of Economics caters to students of both the Commerce and Humanities streams. It offers a full majors program in the final year of BA only to the best. The syllabus taught by the faculty includes nine papers of Economics at the BA level and three papers of Business Economics at the B Com level. The department has also started catering to the MCom students from the current academic year.

 

Current Achievements of the Department

A vibrant Economics Association, which is almost twenty years old now, is the chief source of the department’s pride. It organizes seminars, book reviews, film shows, talks and lectures by scholars, industry experts, bankers, ex-students etc. It ensures active participation by students in Inter College Festivals - both at local and national level, with outstanding performances by the students- Econundrum (St Xaviers’), Gnaritas (Mithibhai), Ka Ching (NMIMS), Econovista (LSR), Altius and Esprit (Christ), Zenith (Miranda house) to name a few. The association organized its first intra-college Economics festival – Arthanomics in 2013-14 and turned this event into a highly successful Inter-college National Economics festival in the year 2014-15. Colleges from all over the country including IIT Bombay, Lady Shri Ram College, Christ College, Symbiosis School of Economics, Miranda House, St. Xavier's College, HR College participated in the event. 2015-16 saw the event go to bigger heights with an increased participation from outside colleges such as Loyla –Chennai and Jhadhavpur University. The association is aiming to convert this into an international event this academic year. The association also comes out with its annual magazine The Contrarian which consists of articles and trivia written by the students on a variety of topics. The latest edition of the magazine can be found here – http://issuu.com/thecontrarian_2015

The department has also been sending their contingent for The International Economics Convention organized by the HSNC Board annually which gives the students the unique opportunity to undertake research at Under-graduate level. The students of our college were the proud winners of the coveted trophy for the year 2012-13.

Many of our students secure admission at prestigious institutions like London Business School, Stern, Delhi School of Economics, Jawaharlal Nehru University, London School of Economics and Political Science, University of Warwick, Barcelona Graduate School of Economics and pursue further studies in Economics, Finance, and Management.

On the placements front, our students have been picked up by companies like Google, RBI, Ernst & Young, KPMG, JLL, Edelweiss, Tres Vista, Zomato, Crisil, Royal Bank of Scotland and successful NGOs like Teach for India from campus and have thus made entry into the diverse fields of finance, research, social work, banking, start-ups, teaching, and civil services at the professional level. In the year 2013-14, 48% of the aspiring students from the department were successfully placed in aforementioned companies. Our students have also been awarded fellowships at Young India Fellowship (YIF), Legislative Assistants to Members of Parliament (LAMP)

 

Key achievements by students in the year 2014-15:

• JaaiVipra won Global Debate and Public Policy challenge organized by Global public policy Institute, Open Society Foundations and Central European University organized at Budapest, Hungary and won a scholarship of $10,000.
• Anjali Taparia secured admission at London School of Business as well as Stern (Ivy league) with scholarship, a first in the history of the department.
• Prashant Maheshwary was awarded the Priyadarshini Scholarship, a scholarship given to only 200 students from across the country, for all round excellence.
• DhritiJhaveri secured 96 percentile in CAT and received call for interview from 4 IIMs

 

Activities of the department

Economic Association

Objectives:

• Make the subject interesting by taking learning out of the classrooms
• Develop the overall personality and confidence of the students
• Build organizational skills and other soft skills
• Inculcate team work

Annual Activities:

• Arthanomics
• Intra department seminars
• Book review
• Guest lectures
• Movie / Documentary viewing
• Paper presentation
• Debates
• Field trip/ Industrial Visit

Structure:

• Democratic - run by students, for the students and of the students
• Office bearers, selected from each year, have a one year term
• Certificates given to office bearers on successful completion of term
• Nominal membership fee charged from members which makes it self-financed
• Membership extended to students from other streams. 2014-15 saw the largest enrolment with 163 members from across faculties

Future objective:

• To increase the scope and reach of the activities
• Greater student participation through constant motivation

 

Our USP

"Add economic value in everything we do"

Faculty - Dept. of Economics - Senior College

• Sarita Jai Shankar – Assistant Professor
  MA, Delhi School of Economics
  
  
• Vaidehi S Dhamankar - Assistant Professor
  MA, MPhil, School of Social Sciences, Gujarat University
  
  
• Mousumi Mazumdar - Assistant Professor
  MA, Mumbai University
  
  
• Oindrila Dey - Assistant Professor
  MA, PhD (submitted), Jadavpur University
  

F.Y. B.Com. BUSINESS ECONOMICS –I Syllabus for semester I and II

SEMESTER‐ I

Module – I - Demand Analysis
Demand Function and determinants of demand – Concept and Importance of Elasticity of Demand: Income, Cross and Promotional – Consumer’s Surplus – Demand Forecasting: meaning, significance and methods –Case Studies. (15 Lectures)

Module – II - Theory of Production and Cost
Production function; Short Run and Long Run – Law of Variable Proportions – Iso‐quants – Producer’s Equilibrium – Returns to Scale – Economies of Scale – Case Studies. Cost Concepts: Social and Private costs, Economic and Accounting Costs, Fixed and Variable Costs, Opportunity Cost – Behavior of Cost Curves: Short Run and Long Run – Producer’s Surplus ‐ Case Studies. (15 Lectures)

Module – III - Revenue Analysis

Revenue Concepts: Total Revenue‐ Average revenue and Marginal Revenue under Perfect Competition and Monopoly – Objectives of a Firm: Profit, Sales and Growth Maximization – Types of Profit – Break‐Even Analysis – Case Studies. (15 Lectures)

SEMESTER‐ II

Module – I - Market Structure

Short‐run and long‐run equilibrium of a firm and Industry under perfect competition – Sources of monopoly – Short‐run and long‐run equilibrium of a firm under monopoly – Features: Monopolistic Competition and Oligopoly – Case studies (15 Lectures)

Module – II - Pricing Practices and Market Failure

Pricing Practices: Price Discrimination, Dumping, Marginal‐cost pricing, Cost‐plus pricing, Multiple‐product pricing. Market Failure: Concept of market failure and inefficiency (Productive and allocative inefficiency using PPC) – Causes of market failure (Public goods, Market power, Externalities , Information asymmetry and Equity) – Government intervention and market efficiency – Case studies (15 Lectures)

Module – III - Capital Budgeting

Capital Budgeting: Meaning and Importance‐ Investment Criteria: Pay Back Period Method, Net Present Value Method, and Internal Rate of Return Method ‐ Case Studies. (15 Lectures)

S.Y. B.Com. BUSINESS ECONOMICS II - SYLLABUS FOR SEMESTER III and IV

SEMESTER – III

1. Macroeconomics: Theory of Income and Employment, Circular Flow of Income: Closed (two and three sector models) and Open Economy Models – Trade Cycles: Features and Phases – Concept of Aggregate Demand – Keynes’ Theory of Income Determination – Theory of Multiplier – Acceleration Principle – Super-multiplier (15 Lectures)

2. Monetary Economics: Supply of Money: Concept, Constituents and Determinants of Money Supply – Velocity of Circulation of Money: Meaning and Factors Determining – Demand for Money: Keynes’ Theory of Demand for Money – Liquidity Preference Theory of Rate of Interest – Inflation: Concept and Rate of Inflation – Demand Pull and Cost Push Inflation – Phillips Curve – Causes, Effects and Measures to Control Inflation. (15 Lectures)

3. Banking and Integration of Product and Money Market Equilibrium: Commercial Banking: Assets and Liabilities of a Commercial Bank – Tradeoff between Liquidity and Profitability – Money Multiplier – Monetary Policy: Objectives and Instruments – Fiscal Policy: Objectives and Instruments – IS-LM Model: Framework, Impact of Fiscal and Monetary Policy Changes. (15 Lectures)

SEMESTER – IV

1. Basic Issues in Economic Development:
New Economic Policy 1991: Rationale and Key Policy Changes – Trends in National Income and Per Capita Income – Sectoral Composition of National Income and Occupational Structure – Inclusive Growth – Progress of Human Development Index in India (Post 1991): Health, Gender Related Development and Economic Indicators – Government Policy with respect to Education and Health – Recent Trends in Employment – Problems of Unemployment. (15 Lectures)

2. Agriculture, Industry and Service Sectors:
Trends in Agricultural Production and Productivity – New Agricultural Policy, 2000 and Recent Policy Measures – Public Distribution System and Food Security – WTO and Indian Agriculture – Industrial Development since 1991: Growth and Diversification – MRTP and Competition Act – Comprehensive Policy Package for SSIs, 2000 and Recent Policy Measures – Service Sector: Growth & Performance since 1991. (15 Lectures)

3. Banking and Monetary Policy Since 1991:
Banking Sector Reforms since 1991: Rationale and Measures – Structure of Banking in India – Performance of Commercial Banks – Developmental and Promotional Functions of RBI – RBI’s Recent Measures of Money Supply – Inflation: Trends and Causes – Recent Changes in Monetary Policy in India.

Revised Syllabus T.Y.B.Com: Business EconomicsIII ‐ Paper V & VI w.e.f. Academic Year 2014-15

SEMESTER‐V

Module I‐Introduction to Public Finance

Concept of Public Finance: Meaning, Scope and Functions, Distinction between Public and Private Finance- Principles of Maximum Social Advantage: Dalton & Musgrave versions-Modern Trends in Public Finance: Sound Finance v/s Functional Finance, Redistributive Taxation, Anti-Inflationary Taxation. (15 Lectures)

Module II ‐Public Revenue

Public Revenue : Sources of Revenue (Tax & Non – Tax Revenue) – Merits and Demerits of Direct & Indirect Tax- Impact and Incidence of Taxation (10 Lectures)

Module III –Public Expenditure and Public Debt

Public Expenditure: Classification and Causes of increase in Public Expenditure – Budget and Types of Budget - Public Debt :Types, Burden and Management - Concepts of deficit- FRBM Act 2003 - Fiscal Federalism: Concept& Key Issues (10 Lectures)

Module IV ‐Financial Markets

Money Markets – Components - Features of Indian Money Market – Money Market Reforms in India since 1991. Capital Markets – Meaning, Role, Structure and Reforms in India since 1991. (10 Lectures)

SEMESTER‐ VI

Module I‐International Trade

Theories of International Trade: Comparative Cost Theory, Heckscher Ohlin Theory, Terms of Trade: Meaning & Types – Gains from Trade (with Offer Curves) (15 Lectures)

Module II‐Balance of Payments and WTO

Concept & Structure of BOP, Causes of Disequilibrium, Measures to Correct Disequilibrium in BOP- India’s BOP Position since 1991- WTO Agreements with reference to TRIPS, TRIMS and GATS (10 Lectures)

Module III‐Foreign Exchange Market

Concept of Foreign Exchange Market: Functions and Dealers – Exchange Rate Systems - Spot and Forward Exchange Rate - Hedging, Arbitrage and Speculation. (10 Lectures)

Module IV‐Exchange Rate Management

Exchange Rate Determination -Purchasing Power Parity Theory – Role of Central Banks in Foreign Exchange Market -RBI’s Intervention in Foreign Exchange Rate Management Since 1991 (stages) (10 Lectures)