EC4434 Personnel Economics

Academic year

2025 to 2026 Semester 2

Further information on which modules are specific to your programme.

Key module information

SCOTCAT credits

20

The Scottish Credit Accumulation and Transfer (SCOTCAT) system allows credits gained in Scotland to be transferred between institutions. The number of credits associated with a module gives an indication of the amount of learning effort required by the learner. European Credit Transfer System (ECTS) credits are half the value of SCOTCAT credits.

SCQF level

SCQF level 10

The Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework (SCQF) provides an indication of the complexity of award qualifications and associated learning and operates on an ascending numeric scale from Levels 1-12 with SCQF Level 10 equating to a Scottish undergraduate Honours degree.

Planned timetable

When confirmed, check online https://timetables.st-andrews.ac.uk/.

This information is given as indicative. Timetable may change at short notice depending on room availability.

Module Staff

To be confirmed

This information is given as indicative. Staff involved in a module may change at short notice depending on availability and circumstances.

Module description

This module takes an economic approach to the two key problems of human resource management: employee selection and employee motivation. The module combines elements of microeconomic theory, behavioral economics, and evidence from lab, field, and natural experiments. Students will apply the basic theory and empirical methods to understanding how firms may decide to choose workers and how they get work out of them and will develop basic familiarity with the empirical techniques used in the study of personnel economics. Lectures will include discussions of some of the key articles in personnel economics as well as in-class experiments to illustrate ideas.

Relationship to other modules

Pre-requisites

PERMISSION OF THE ECONOMICS HONOURS ADVISER.

Assessment pattern

50% Written Examination, 50% Course Work (2 Class tests x 25% each)

Re-assessment

100% Written Examination

Learning and teaching methods and delivery

Weekly contact

20 hours of lectures over 11 weeks, 1-hour tutorial (x 5 weeks).

Scheduled learning hours

25

The number of compulsory student:staff contact hours over the period of the module.

Guided independent study hours

155

The number of hours that students are expected to invest in independent study over the period of the module.

Intended learning outcomes

  • Be able to solve basic theoretical models related to worker selection, worker compensation, and managing teams of workers.
  • Understand the empirical methods (lab experiments, field experiments, and observational natural experiments) used in research in personnel economics.
  • Be familiar with some of the important research articles in personnel economics.
  • Be able to think critically about employee recruitment, productivity, and compensation.