|
4. Microeconomics for public management |
3 |
|
Microeconomics course introduces the fundamentals of microeconomics. This course provides a strong foundation for economic analysis and thinking that can be used throughout other subjects and for professional careers. This course begins with an introduction to a framework for the study of consumer behavior and consumer decision analysis. Then turn the attention towards production decisions. The final section of the course provides an introduction to several advanced topics that can be analyzed using microeconomic theory, including the effects of uncertainty on consumer behavior, general equilibrium, game theory and industry economics, asymmetric information, externalitsies, and public goods. By the end of the course, learners are able to understand the microeconomic theory at a basic level, solve basic microeconomics problems, analyze some advanced microeconomic problems, and use techniques to analyze policy related to the activity of the public management. |
|
5. Macroeconomics for public management |
3 |
|
Macroeconomics studies the economy in the manner of overall. Thus, the aggregated variables and average index play an important role in the analyses. This course clarifies the influencing factors and the relationship between aggregated variables and average index such as output, price index, unemployment rate, exchange rate, interest rate through indicators in the macroeconomic model. Moreover, this course emphasizes the role of financial markets including aspects of asset prices, securitization, financial leverage, causes and effects of financial crises through theoretical models. This helps learners better understand the economic situation and be able to analyze macroeconomic policy. |
|
6. Quantitative method |
4 |
|
Quantitative method in economic research (econometrics) is an important subject for learners of economics majors. The use of observed data to quantify and verify socio-economic relationships is a fundamental part of the study, research, and application of economics. Econometrics has never been a simple subject, but applying the principles and techniques of this subject helps economics learners to test the theories and arguments they encounter (although it also takes a critical mind strong enough to make them doubt what is being communicated), and give answers to the questions raised (even though it is an important task such as a thesis, research project, or project, or it is simply a product of personal curiosity) which based on empirical data and scientific background. In addition to introducing learners to popular econometric theories and models, the lectures also guide how to collect, manage and analyze data for quantitative research using statistical software, R. Learners are guided by descriptive statistics using tables, graphs, and numerical quantities; the probability distribution of the sample mean; interval estimation and hypothesis testing. R is a well-known statistical and calculation software, widely used in learning, research and business. R is not new, but for many reasons it does not seem to be used in econometrics as widely as other software such as Eviews, SPSS or STATA. R has many advantages: powerful, flexible operation, rich in resources (thanks to its open source code and contributed by a large number of users), and free. In terms of teaching and learning econometrics in a developing country like Vietnam, R is easily accessible and should be used widely. That's not to say to extremely promote for a certain instrument. The lecturers and those who are involved in drafting the course content also depend on different software to deliver the most appropriate content for learners. Learners are encouraged to use different instruments to compare their effectiveness and suitability in performing the analytical manipulations covered by the course if conditions permit. |
|
7. Development economics |
3 |
|
Development Economics focuses on studying topics related to the economy - society - environment - education - health - administration - institutions. These topics will be approached from a development perspective with the aim of helping learners find relevant policy analysis frameworks. This lays the groundwork for the analysis to find out development policy implications for developing countries such as Vietnam that face diverse challenges in the process of industrialization. The course exposes learners to the main themes of development economics by exploring the policy implications of development theory from empirical research in developing countries in the globalization context. |
|
8. Project appraisal |
3 |
|
The scarcity principle - the infinite needs and wants of people compared to limited available resources - is one of the inherent properties of nature that affects the behavior of all people in society and is the central research problem of economic science. Because of limited resources, economic decision makers have to choose (consciously or unconsciously) between different choices to allocate resources (resources allocation), in other words, trade-offs or make an economic decision. Economists solve these trade-offs based on the cost-benefit principle. Specifically, comparing the costs and benefits between alternative options, choosing the option with net benefits, also known as economic surplus – the highest difference between benefits and costs. Economic decisions often imply intertemporal allocation, thus the concept of net benefit must be understood as the net present value of a resource allocation option. The “appraisal of investment projects” (more precisely, appraisal of investment projects from a social point of view) applies principles of economics to build a framework for analyzing the costs and benefits of different projects (also known as investment projects). This is to support decision makers properly and fully identify the costs and benefits of investment projects to support rational decision-making. The decision-makers in the economy can be individuals, households, businesses, or governments. Individuals, households, or businesses analyze the project from the point of view of different benefit groups, and the government analyzes the project from the point of view of the benefits of the whole economy. Based on different perspectives of decision-makers, the benefits and costs of the project will also be recognized differently. Therefore, the results of the project analysis may be similar or contradictory from different analytical points of view. Particularly, a project is considered good from the point of view of a group that is unlikely considered good from the point of view of both the economy and vice versa. The content of the course is not only limited to the project financial appraisal (or project appraisal from a private point of view), but also extends to the project economic appraisal (or project appraisal from a social point of view). Project financial appraisal is widely used as an effective tool to support decision-making in: (1) Business enterprises (deciding whether or not to invest in a project), and (2) Credit providers (deciding whether or not to loan), and economic appraisal should be used by competent state agencies to assist in the decision-making of whether or not to license an investment project (both public and private). For any project, information from the financial appraisal is the basic input for the economic appraisal. Therefore, the concepts, principles and tools used in financial appraisal are a prerequisite for learners to study economic appraisal. In addition, project appraisal relies solely on reasonable current estimates for benefits and opportunity costs araise in the future. But the future is uncertain. Therefore, risk analysis becomes an indispensable fator of project appraisal. Nowaday, project appraisal practitioners approve to use the concept of integrated project appraisal instead of the traditional concept of project appraisal (i.e. financial appraisal for private project and economic appraisal for public project). |
|
- Elective: Select 7 out of 10 |
21 |
|
|
|
9. Policy impact evaluation |
3 |
|
Policy impact evaluation course introduces quantitative and qualitative methods for evaluating the impact of public sector programs/projects. At the end of the course, learners gain with knowledge and skills to have an overview of how to develop and evaluate programs/projects in the public sector. |
|
10. Public economics |
3 |
|
Public economics course covers the role and scale of the public sector, including the theoretical basis for state intervention such as correcting market failures and unequal distribution. The course also introduces political economic aspects with the government intervention through public choice theory. Next, we will discuss the expenditure policy of the government, the efficiency and performance of the public sector, budget balance and deficit financing, and the measures to evaluate the government expenditure policy. The next topic is mobilizing public resources through direct and indirect taxes, including the aspects of economics and political economics of tax, income tax, property tax, consumption tax, tax incentives, compliance, enforcement, tax reform, and domestic usage fees. Finally, the course examines budgetary hierarchies and budget relationships among different levels of governments. The course focuses on applying theory in a comparative context to evaluate the impact of resource mobilization and spending policies on allocative efficiency, social equity and economic stability. |
|
11. Public governance |
3 |
|
State institutions and governance become important not only for economic development, but also in the development of social security, establishing justice and equality, and protecting human rights and human dignity. The public governance course analyzes the relationship between law and institutions which is the participation of the parties in the public governance with the objective towards sustainable development. The course examines the impact of factors on the effectiveness of public governance which is considered as the foundation for sustainable development. |
|
12. Financial administration and public budgeting |
3 |
|
Government has a responsibility to use of public resources such as taxes, fees, charges or other revenues through budgeting and managing the government finance. The process of budgeting and public finance management varies from country to country, but should always be underpinned by principles of good financial governance. This course introduces budgeting and fiscal management as a tool to use the public resources effectively and legally. The focus is on the budgetary process, the principles for good management of public resources and public financing, and the adoption of private sector practices in managing cash, accounts receivable, and analyzing financial statements. |
|
13. Natural resources and environmental economics |
3 |
|
From the basis of environmental economics, natural resources and environmental economics course improves the basic knowledge of economic theory of environmental pollution control. The course explains the behavior of individuals and manufacturers in the process of production and consumption cause pollution and the relationships between pollution and welfare. Learners implement the methods of optimizing social welfare subject to the elimination in pollution and the economic growth. The course focuses on pollution types and their respective policies. In addtion, this course provides methods for analyzing and modeling the use and exploitation of resources. The course divides natural resources into two categories: renewable resources (forest, fishery…) and non-renewable resources (minerals, petroleum, coal...). This course introduces economic models to analyze the optimal and sustainable exploitation of these two groups of resources. Learners can understand how to determine the optimal level of resource exploitation, and the factors affecting the optimal exploitable level. These insights will serve as the basis for empirical research, and for appropriate decision-making in environmental and natural resource management. |
|
14. Agricultural and rural development policy |
3 |
|
The key content of the course is knowledge and policy application in the agricultural and rural development sector over the past 5 decades, including the successes, failures and challenges in the field of rural development that countries have experienced, methods to develop policies and strategies for agricultural and rural development in transition economies. |
|
15. Economics of local and regional development |
3 |
|
Regional and Local Development course focuses on 3 main topics: principles and values that found regional development perspectives and strategies, conceptual frameworks and analytical frameworks for regional and local development, and the major regional and local development policies. These key problems are presented and discussed in the context of transition economies. Learners gain scientific reasoning thinking and basic skills to analyze the current socio-economic development in the locals. Learners can analyze the strengths and weaknesses of the local in the process of socio-economic development. |
|
16. Law and development |
3 |
|
The law and development course introduces the role of law in encouraging a country's development. In particular, the course compares the diversity of the legal system, of the legal conception, of the legal attitudes. The course also provides the constructing process of law in different countries in many periods of time and how it promotes or constraints on the country development. Finally, students are able to generalize the construction principles of law and use the law in the most effective way. |
|
17. Management information system |
3 |
|
Management information systems play an important role in many aspects of business activity, which is one of the most central functionally parts that contributed to the success of all modern socio-economic organizations. The course introduces to students about information systems, their roles of that in the modern business environment. This course also presents the considered problems in the development and management of information systems, in order to generate high-quality goods and services and obtain competitive advantages. Moreover, the course provides the information technology facility, the problems of personal and information securities, ethically and socially relevant. |
|
18. Value chain analysis of agricultural products |
3 |
|
The course focuses on introducing the main contents of the value chain, industry and methods of modeling and evaluating the value chain or industry. The course is mainly oriented towards the content of application for agricultural goods; and ways of application in the analysis of agricultural production/policy policies at industry, regional and international levels. The course also introduces applied tools for building value chains or commodities and applying qualitative analysis techniques, quantitative analysis to specific commodity disciplines and policy analysis. The course includes both theoretical content and applied exercises, analysis of empirical studies to illustrate the analysis of agricultural policy. |
