Ph.D. in Economics
Introduction:
When King Saud University was established in 1377 AH (1957 AD), the College of Commerce was one of the first colleges opened successively and that was in the year 1379 AH (1959 AD), and after four decades in which the College evolved and expanded, and several academic departments were established, the College changed its name to the College of Administrative Sciences in 1398 (1978 m). After three decades of major developments, the College has been restructured and carried the new name which is the College of Business Administration, and that was in 1427 AH (2006 AD).
The Department of Economics at the College of Business Administration in King Saud University, which was established in 1376 AH (1957 AD), as the first Economics Department in Saudi Arabia, offers since its establishment a program for a BA in Economics. As of the academic year 1409/1410 AH (1988/1989 AD), the Department launched the first program in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia gives master's degree in economics.
The number of students enrolled in the master's program has reached in the current academic year 1442 AH (2020/2021 AD) 62 (14 males and 48 females), all of them in the regular program, the parallel program is pending for updating. In the last academic year, 1441/1442 AH (2019/2020 AD), 35 students graduated from the regular program. This year 1442 AH (2020/2021 AD), the expected number of graduates is 27 students.
The Department is responsible for teaching all economic courses at the department, college, and university levels. It also provides teaching to colleges and other outside institutions in accordance with their needs and contributes to the academic activities in general. In addition, the
Department undertakes research activities and provides community services to both government and private sector.
The Department is eager to launch its Ph.D. program in economics that would cover major fields in economics, including resource and energy economics, labor economics, international economics, financial and monetary economics, economics of development, and Islamic economics and finance.
Degree's Name:
Doctorate of Philosophy (Ph.D. in Economics).
Program's Teaching Language:
English
·Significance and Justifications of Program Creation:
To provide high-quality education in line with the values and traditions prevailing environment.
To carry high-level research in economics especially in fields related to the needs of the Saudi economy and business.
To satisfy the high level of domestic and regional demand for post Master education in economics.
To keep pace with the fast developments in the fields of economics and business.
To satisfy the needs of the Saudi public and private sectors for post graduates in economics.
Program’s Vision
Leadership in graduating highly skilled economists and researchers.
Program’s Mission
To provide students with the advanced concepts, tools, and skills necessary to identify, define, analyze, solve, and predict economic
problems through a rigorous educational program that integrates theory and applied research tools with applications in a wide variety of fields within economics relevant to comprehensive development
.
·Program’s Objectives:
To enable students to learn and comprehend advanced economic theory.
To equip students with advanced economic tools of analysis.
To qualify students to be capable researchers and to adopt economic theory and tools to formulate and test hypotheses.
To enable students to use advanced economic theory, methods, and research tools to study and explain economic phenomena, analyze economic problems, evaluate and predict public policy impacts.
To equip students to communicate their economic ideas using the latest information techniques.
To prepare students to serve local, national and international communities over the solution to the economic problems and their social, political, administrative, cultural, legal extensions.
Program’s Outcomes:
A- Knowledge and Comprehension
Demonstrate mastery of economics, both in its theoretical and applied aspects.
Demonstrate ability to conduct high quality research through the application of economic theory to specific topics involving the formulation and empirical evaluation of the considered topics.
Expose students to core economic theories, required mathematical and quantitative tools, and empirical materials.
Acquire ability to demonstrate mastery of the issues, theories and developments in one of the specializations offered by the program.
B- Mental Skills:
Identify and synthesize existing materials in economics at an advanced level.
Develop models of high importance and apply them to specific areas of research.
C- Professional and Practical Skills:
Preparing students to become experts in economics.
Produce a high quality doctoral thesis which can be published, in whole or parts of them, in prestigious academic journals.
D- General Skills:
Apply employable skills (i.e. teaching experience) to further professional endeavors.
Contribute to the economics literature through both theoretical and empirical research.
Enhance critical and creative thinking skills.
Enhance technical and quantitative skills in conducting research on economic issues.
Develop ability to communicate effectively in written and oral presentations.
·Program’s Beneficiaries:
* The beneficiaries of the program include:
Master's degree holders in economics (or equivalent), from Saudi or any other accredited universities.
Private and government sectors’ employees who fulfill the program requirements.
·Employment Opportunities:
There are many employment opportunities for the graduates of the Ph.D. program. These opportunities include:
Faculty members (assistant professors) at universities and colleges in the Kingdom and other countries.
Researchers at universities and colleges and at research institutions.
Economic professionals at banks and financial institutions.
Economic professionals at government’s economic and planning agencies and at the private sectors.
Economists qualified to work for local, regional and international institutions.
·Admission Requirements
In addition to the admission requirements enumerated in the "Unified Law Organizing the Graduate Studies in Saudi Universities", and the rules and procedures of the regulatory and execution of graduate studies in King Saud University; The followings are further admission requirements by the Department:
The applicant should be a university degree holder in economics from a Saudi or any accredited university.
The applicant must pass the TOEFL with a minimum score of 520 paper-based test, or equivalent. The examinations results should not exceed two years from the date of submitting the application.
The applicant must submit GRE aptitude test results prior to admission.
The applicant must pass an interview conducted by the Department.
·Requirements for Obtaining the Degree:
* Courses and Thesis Option
Students must be enrolled as a full–time student.
Passing 46 Units of the program; as follows:
(22) Compulsory (8 courses).
(18) Electives (6 courses).
(6) Seminars (2 courses).
Passing comprehensive examinations after completion of all courses.
Successful completion of a doctoral thesis.
·Program’s General Structure:
*Courses and Thesis Option
The number of required units is (46) Units for courses in addition to the (12) Units for thesis; as follows:
Type of Courses | No. of Courses | Units |
Compulsory Core Courses | 8 | 22 |
Elective Courses | 6 | 18 |
Elective Seminars | 2 | 6 |
Comprehensive Exam | 1 | 0 |
Thesis* | 1 | 12 |
Total | 18 | 46 Units + 12 Units for Thesis |
*Comprehensive Exam is a requirement for Thesis proposal registration.
List of Compulsory Core, Elective and Seminar Courses
1-Compulsory Core Courses:
Code | Course | Units | Total |
ECON 601 | Microeconomics Theory (1) | 3(3+0) | (22) Units + (12) units of Thesis |
ECON 602 | Macroeconomics Theory (1) | 3(3+0) | |
ECON 611 | Microeconomics Theory (2) | 3(3+0) | |
ECON 612 | Macroeconomics Theory (2) | 3(3+0) | |
ECON 603 | Mathematical Economics | 3(3+0) | |
ECON 604 | Econometrics (1) | 3(3+0) | |
ECON 614 | Econometrics (2) | 3(3+0) | |
ECON 699 | Thesis proposal preparation | 1 | |
ECON 700 | Thesis * | 12 Units |
*Comprehensive Exam is a requirement for Thesis proposal registration.
Elective Courses:
Students must choose (6) elective courses, totaling (18) Units. The courses choice will be in accordance of the Ph.D department advisor.
Code | Courses | Units | Total |
ECON 664 | Natural Resources Economics | 3(3+0) |
Student can select (6) Courses (18 Units as total) |
ECON 686 | Energy Economics | 3(3+0) | |
ECON 624 | Environmental Economics | 3(3+0) | |
ECON 680 | Organizational Economics | 3(3+0) | |
ECON 684 | Labor Economics (1) | 3(3+0) | |
ECON 685 | Labor Economics (2) | 3(3+0) | |
ECON 687 | Labor Relations | 3(3+0) | |
MGT 614 | Seminar in Human Resources Management | 3(3+0) | |
ECON 650 | International Trade Theory | 3(3+0) | |
ECON 652 | International Finance | 3(3+0) | |
ECON 651 | International Trade Policies | 3(3+0) | |
ECON 653 | Economics of Financial Markets | 3(3+0) | |
ECON 630 | Economics of Development | 3(3+0) | |
ECON 632 | Economic Planning | 3(3+0) | |
ECON 631 | Economic Growth | 3(3+0) | |
ECON 633 | Regional Economics | 3(3+0) | |
ECON 655 | Monetary Economics | 3(3+0) | |
ECON 609 | Financial Econometrics | 3(3+0) | |
ECON 661 | Islamic Finance | 3(3+0) | |
ECON 662 | Islamic Economics Thought | 3(3+0) |
3-Seminar Courses:
Students must choose (2) seminar courses, totaling (6) Units, in accordance of the Ph.D department advisor.
Code | Course | Units | Total |
ECON 690 | Seminar in Resources and Energy Economics | 3(3+0) | Student can select (2) Seminars (6 Units as total) |
ECON 691 | Seminar in Labor Economics | 3(3+0) | |
ECON 692 | Seminar in International Economics | 3(3+0) | |
ECON 693 | Seminar in Economics of Development | 3(3+0) | |
ECON 694 | Seminar in Financial and Monetary Economics | 3(3+0) | |
ECON 695 | Seminar in Islamic Economics and Finance | 3(3+0) |
·Program’s Study Plan:
oFirst Level:
# | Course Code | Course Title | Units |
1 | ECON 601 | Microeconomics Theory (1) | 3(3+0) |
2 | ECON 602 | Macroeconomics Theory (1) | 3(3+0) |
3 | ECON 603 | Mathematical Economics | 3(3+0) |
4 | ECON 604 | Econometrics (1) | 3(3+0) |
Total | 12 Units |
Second Level:
# | Course Code | Course Title | Units |
1 | ECON 611 | Microeconomics Theory (2) | 3(3+0) |
2 | ECON 612 | Macroeconomics Theory (2) | 3(3+0) |
3 | ECON 614 | Econometrics (2) | 3(3+0) |
Total | 9 Units |
Third Level:
# | Course Code | Course Title | Units |
1 | ECON… | Elective course (1) | 3(3+0) |
2 | ECON…. | Elective course (2) | 3(3+0) |
3 | ECON…. | Elective course (3) | 3(3+0) |
Total | 9 Units |
Fourth Level:
# | Course Code | Course Title | Units |
1 | ECON… | Elective course (4) | 3(3+0) |
2 | ECON…. | Elective course (5) | 3(3+0) |
3 | ECON…. | Seminar course (1) | 3(3+0) |
ECON 699 | Thesis proposal preparation | 1 | |
Total | 10 Units |
Fifth Level:
# | Course Code | Course Title | Units |
1 | ECON… | Elective course (6) | 3(3+0) |
2 | ECON…. | Seminar course (2) | 3(3+0) |
Total | 6 Units |
Sixth Level:
# | Course Code | Course Title | Units |
1 | Comp 700 | Comprehensive Exam | - |
2 | ECON 700 | Thesis* | 12 Units |
Total | 46 Units + 12 Units for Dissertation |
*Comprehensive Exam is a requirement for Thesis proposal registration.
·Courses Description:
ECON 601 | Microeconomics Theory (1) | 3(3+0) |
Economic theory and methodology; theory of consumer behavior, theory of the competitive firm, supply and factor demand; duality relations in consumer and producer theory, welfare change measures; partial equilibrium analysis, perfect competition, monopoly; choice under uncertainty, the expected utility model, risk aversion; insurance, portfolio and production decisions under risk. |
ECON 611 | Microeconomics Theory (2) | 3(3+0) |
Infinitely Repeated Games, Games of Incomplete Information and associated notions of Perfect-Bayesian equilibrium and Sequential equilibrium, General Equilibrium Theory including Markets under Uncertainty, Imperfect Competition, Adverse Selection, and Moral Hazard. |
ECON 602 | Macroeconomics Theory (1) | 3(3+0) |
Neoclassical aggregate growth models; the overlapping generations model; endogenous growth models; equilibrium business cycle theories; equilibrium job search and matching; models of money; fiscal and monetary policies; income and wealth distribution. |
ECON 612 | Macroeconomics Theory (2) | 3(3+0) |
New Keynesian approaches to business cycle theory; endogenously generated business cycles; models of credit and financial intermediation; mechanism design and time; political economy models; heterogeneous-agent models with strategic interaction; economies as evolving self-organizing systems. |
ECON 603 | Mathematical Economics | 3(3+0) |
Linear and non-linear programming, dynamic optimization techniques of the calculus of variations and optimal control theory, Kuhn–Tucker theory, continuous time planning problems in a deterministic setting, computer solutions. |
ECON 604 | Econometrics (1) | 3(3+0) |
Single equation models: Estimation, inference and prediction, Simultaneous equations models: Estimation methods, Instrumental variables, identification and seemingly unrelated regressions, Univariate and multivariate times series analysis: Unit root, cointegration, Granger causality and error correction models. Limited dependent variables: Binary choice and count data models. |
ECON 614 | Econometrics (2) | 3(3+0) |
Times series analysis: volatility model, models with Markov switching, structural change. Panel data: Specification, fixed and random effects estimators. Dynamic panel data models: Estimation. Nonstationary panel: Unit root, cointegration and error correction model. |
ECON 633 | Regional Economics | 3(3+0) |
Tools and methods of regional economics including supply and demand analysis, factors and impacts of externalities. Regional and urban contemporary applied issues. Methodological tools of regional economics: general equilibrium, general equilibrium models, input output tables, combined general equilibrium models, social accounting matrix. |
ECON 653 | Economics of Financial Markets | 3(3+0) |
The behavior of capital market agents, international capital movements, and the merchandise trade balance. Stock markets function and agents assess the value of stocks. The derivatives markets: futures, options, and swaps. Multi-period models. Stochastic dominance, arbitrage portfolio theory, efficient markets, contingent claims pricing and the term structure of interest rates. Game theoretic models of finance. |
ECON 664 | Natural Resources Economics | 3(3+0) |
Economic and quantitative analysis of renewable and exhaustible natural resources, such as energy, minerals, fisheries, and water. Inter-temporal resource allocation and the role of public policies. |
ECON 680 | Organizational Economics | 3(3+0) |
Theoretical and empirical methods related to: market structure, pricing, and problems of market failure in industries. Public utilities regulation and network industries such as electricity, gas, telecom and water. |
ECON 686 | Energy Economics | 3(3+0) |
Economic and quantitative analysis of energy demand, energy supply, and public policies affecting energy markets, with focus on oil, natural gas and electricity.. |
ECON 624 | Environmental Economics | 3(3+0) |
Theoretical and empirical economic tools to analyze environmental issues using concepts of externalities, public goods, property rights, market failure, and social cost-benefit analysis. National and international policies in managing and enforcing environmental regulations. |
ECON 684 | Labor Economics (1) | 3(3+0) |
Supply of labor from the prospective of individual and family, labor demand, market equilibrium, human capital investment, the determination and the distribution of wages and earnings, Job mobility, Immigration, wage differentials, labor market discrimination. |
ECON 685 | Labor Economics (2) | 3(3+0) |
Static and dynamic models of: labor supply, labor demand, human capital wage function estimation, firm specific training, compensation wage differentials, discrimination, efficiency wage theory, household production, and intergenerational earning and mobility. |
ECON 687 | Labor Relations | 3(3+0) |
Labor unions, non-union, collective bargaining process, theories of labor movement, relationships with human resource management models, various models of dispute resolution, differences and similarities between public and private sector industrial relations, models of strikes, empirical evidence of the impacts of new technology. |
ECON 650 | International Trade Theory | 3(3+0) |
Advanced theoretical and empirical topics concerning the determinants of world trade patterns, behavior of individual producers in international markets, welfare gains from trade, trade dynamics, networks and trade, and the interaction of international trade with income distribution and economic growth. |
ECON 652 | International Finance | 3(3+0) |
Advanced theoretical and empirical analysis of contemporary international macroeconomic policy issues in both industrialized and developing economies. Topics include exchange rates determination, international capital flows, debt crises, policy coordination, and international business cycles transmission in general equilibrium models. |
ECON 651 | International Trade Policies | 3(3+0) |
Free trade versus protectionism policies, trade arrangements, World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreements, role of tariffs, quotas, and other trade policies; endogenous growth; and new material including the gravity equation and the organization of the firm in international trade. |
ECON 655 | Monetary Economics | 3(3+0) |
The Classical model, flexible price economies and monetary policy, Rational expectations, representative agents and real business cycle theory. Lucas supply function. Monetary policy rules: interest rate targeting and money targeting. The Lucas Critique, rules versus discretion. The welfare effects of inflation and monetary policy, Neutrality and super neutrality of money, welfare costs and the Friedman rule, seigniorage and the inflation tax. The new Keynesian models. |
ECON 609 | Financial Econometrics | 3(3+0) |
Asset returns and efficient markets, Linear time series and dynamics of returns, Discrete time volatility models of returns, Efficient portfolio and CAPM, Multifactor pricing models, Portfolio allocation and risk assessment, Intertemporal equilibrium models, Present value models, Simulation methods for financial derivatives, Econometrics of continuous time finance, Forecast and management of market risks, Multivariate time series and volatility, Nonparametric methods in financial econometrics. |
ECON 661 | Islamic Finance | 3(3+0) |
The theoretical and practical models of the Islamic financial system, risk assessment and mechanisms for balancing profit and social needs. Islamic money and capital markets, financial instruments, financial innovations and performance analysis. |
ECON 662 | Islamic Economic Thought | 3(3+0) |
The evolution of Islamic economic science, Fiqh foundations of transactions and theory of Islamic economics. The roles of individuals, society and social choice in Islamic economic science. |
ECON 630 | Economics of Development | 3(3+0) |
Characteristics of developing countries. Theories of economic growth. Demographic issue. Income distribution and Poverty. Environment and development. Education and development. International trade and development. Foreign assistance, aid and debt. Financing development. |
ECON 632 | Economic Planning | 3(3+0) |
Planning Techniques, growth modelling, input output tables, social accounting matrices, general equilibrium models, linear programming, cost- benefit analysis and econometric models. |
ECON 631 | Economic Growth | 3(3+0) |
Factors, theories and models of economic growth; health and education; risk and insurance; microfinance; savings and investment, domestic and external debt, fiscal, monetary, trade and exchange rate policies. Country experiences of economic growth. |
MGT 614 | Seminar in Human Resource Management | 3(3+0) |
This course focuses on contemporary research on human resource management as it relates to theories in organizational studies, sociology, and labor economics. The course analyzes these issues from both individual and organizational levels. Current research subjects in HRM are thoroughly discussed. Students participate in the critique of the methods used in outstanding current research, and in evaluating it in terms of underlying theory, hypotheses, measurements, data analysis, hypotheses testing, findings, and interpretation. Prerequisite: BA 512. |
ECON 690 | Seminar in Resources and Energy Economics | 3(3+0) |
Readings and discussion of selected topics in economics of natural resources and energy, and the application of that field in research points of interest to produce a publishable type paper by the student. |
ECON 691 | Seminar in Labor Economics | 3(3+0) |
Readings and discussion of selected topics in economics of labor, and the application of that field in research points of interest to produce a publishable type paper by the student. |
ECON 692 | Seminar in International Economics | 3(3+0) |
Readings and discussion of selected topics in international economics; however, trade and finance, and the application of that field in research points of interest to produce a publishable type paper by the student. |
ECON 693 | Seminar in Economics of Development | 3(3+0) |
Readings and discussion of selected topics in in Economics of Development and the experiences of some countries in the field of development and planning, and the application of that field in research points of interest to produce a publishable type paper by the student. |
ECON 694 | Seminar in Financial & Monetary Economics | 3(3+0) |
Readings and discussion of selected topics in Monetary & Financial Economics, and the application of that field in research points of interest to produce a publishable type paper by the student. |
ECON 695 | Seminar in Islamic Economics & Finance | 3(3+0) |
Readings and discussion of selected topics in Islamic Economics & Finance, and the application of that field in research points of interest to produce a publishable type paper by the student. |
ECON 699 | Thesis proposal preparation | 1 |
Direct students to choose and write the subject of a thesis proposal on the subject from the field of specialization, characterized by originality and innovation. |
ECON 700 | Thesis | 12 Units |
Prepare a thesis on the subject from the field of specialization, characterized by originality, innovation, and contribute effectively to the development of specialized theoretical and practical knowledge and analytical. |