The Undergraduate Economics Program
Kazakh Institute of Management, Economics, and Forecasting
(KIMEP)
The purposes of the Economics Department's undergraduate major are to acquaint students with the economic aspects of modern society, to familiarize them with techniques for the analysis of contemporary economic problems, and to develop in them an ability to exercise judgment in evaluating public policy.
While many economics majors ultimately seek a postgraduate degree in business, law, or economics, some enter the labor market immediately after graduation. Undergraduate economics is typically offered as a liberal arts subject, but the training it offers in systematic analysis of costs and benefits and in rational decision-making by individuals and organizations provides good preparation for careers in law, education, business and government.
At KIMEP, the undergraduate economics program has an especially ambitious goal of training the professionals that will lead Kazakhstan’s continued transformation to a fully developed market economy. As the economy develops and gains competitiveness in the world economy, well-trained economists will come into demand in the private sector as well. Firms will need employees with knowledge of how this new economy functions.
KIMEP is a unique institution in Kazakhstan. There may be no institution in Central Asia that is better prepared to train students for a career in economics. The tradition of KIMEP’s masters program in economics guarantees that the resources and know-how are truly at an international level. The faculty at KIMEP is fully qualified, experienced, and western trained—and bound to become students’ proudest resource as they prepare for their future careers.
Curriculum
The curriculum of Bachelors degree program in Economics consists of courses divided into three categories: General Education courses, mandatory courses, economics electives, and non-economics electives. All courses could be taken in one of the two regular 15-week terms in the fall or spring, while several are offered again during the 7-week intensive summer term each academic year. All courses offered in Economics department are 3 credit courses.
All students must have acquired a minimum of 120 credits, and a minimum of 42 credits from general education courses. All Economics majors must have acquired a minimum of 60 credits in Economics (Courses whose course ID starts with "Econ"). Up to 18 of the 120 required credits can be from any course offered at KIMEP.
There are sets of mandatory courses that all KIMEP students should fulfil. All students in KIMEP should meet the minimum requirements of English proficiency. If students fail to do meet this requirement in two years, they must take extra English courses that will not be counted toward the credits for graduation. The maximum credits for English courses are 12. All students in KIMEP should also fulfil the requirements that the Ministry of Education has specified: History of Kazakhstan, Law in Kazakhstan, and Kazakh Language.
The following nine courses constitute the mandatory courses
33 additional credits should be acquired from Econ3xxx or Econ4xxx level courses.
Special degree
The Bachelors program in Economics offers two special degrees: specialization and Honorary degree.
Students must acquire minimum 15 credits from specialized courses in order to graduate with specialization. The program currently offers three specializations: Business Economics, Resource and Environmental Economics, and Public Policy Economics.
Only students with a GPA of 3.4 or above may take honors courses (Econ4xxx). A total of 12 credits in honors courses are required for a Diploma with Honors. An Honors Thesis is also required, with its corresponding 3 to 6 credits.
Administration in the Department
Cheong-Hwan Oh
, Ph.D., Chair of the Department, Office 220Erzhan Mukashev, MA, Graduate Supervisor, Office 218
Olga Shemyakina, MA, Undergraduate Supervisor, Office 208
Sabira Kozhemculova, Secretary, Office 217
Faculty
Camilla Chaudhary
, MA, Williams College, USAKarlygash Kuralbayeva, MA, New Economic School-Moscow, Russia
Phillip Leatherwood, MA, University of New Mexico, USA
Kairat Mynbaev, Doctorate, Institute of Mathematics and Mechanics in Almaty, Kazakhstan
MS, Oregon State University, USA
Erzhan Mukashev, MA, University of Colorado at Boulder, USA
Cheong-Hwan Oh, Ph.D., Chair of the Department, Office 220
Bojan Popovic, Ph.D., University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA
Olga Shemyakina, MA, University of Massachusetts, USA
Svetlana Ten, MBA, KIMEP, Kazakhstan
Guzel Tulegenova, MBA, Maastricht School of Management, Holland
Course Descriptions
1101/1181 Principles of Economics I (Micro)
3 cr.Features of the American economy; demand, supply and the price system; consumer theory, theory of the firm, market structure; distribution of income; environmental and energy problems; comparative economic systems.
1102/1182 Principles of Economics II (Macro) 3 cr.
Economic role of the government sector; government expenditures and taxation; national income analysis; economic fluctuations; money and banking; economic growth; international economics.
1183 Introduction to Statistics 3 cr.
Descriptive methods; probability and inference; regression and correlation; index numbers; time series.
2101 Introduction to the World Economy
A survey of status and trends in the world’s economy, and in various countries and regions--development and growth strategies in the developing world, IMF and World Bank policy, trade and finance in the developed countries, and the growing interdependence of economies internationally.
2109/2189 Economy of Kazakhstan3 cr.
A survey of the Kazakh economy—its history and its development in the post-Soviet era including descriptions of the monetary system, industry, major exports, the labor market, and other resources and institutions.
2181 Intermediate Microeconomic Theory 3 cr.
Theory of demand; pricing and output; allocation of resources; income distribution.
2182 Intermediate Macroeconomic Theory 3 cr.
Fundamentals of national income and product accounting; theory of the determination of income, output, employment, interest rate and price level; survey of economic growth models; application of fiscal and monetary policy.
2183 Econometric Methods
An introduction to the statistical regression techniques widely used by researchers in Economics and Business Finance. Single and multiple regressing of time-series and cross sectional data.
2184 Quantitative Methods
Mathematical applications in economics. An introduction to the use of mathematical tools in modeling economic concepts and in measuring and anylizing economic variables.
3101/3181 Economic History
History of economic institutions world-wide and the influence of economic concerns on politics and culture.
3102/3182 History of Economic Thought
Development of economic ideas from early mercantilism through the twentieth century.
3111 International Finance
Discussion of the international monetary system includes the balance of payments, exchange markets and the domestic monetary policy implications of an open economy.
3112 International Trade
The international trade portion presents the theory of free trade, impact of trade barriers and international trade organization.
3121 Public Finance
Economics of federal, state and local governments; analysis of the effects of expenditures, taxes and subsidies; intergovernmental fiscal relations; efficiency and decision making in the public sector.
3122 Labor Economics
Analysis of the economy's labor resource. Major topics include labor markets, manpower programs, economic security arrangements, the labor movement, and collective bargaining.
3123 Taxation
An introduction to study of modern taxation. This course commences with an overview of the necessity for taxes as the base of a country’s fiscal affairs and its economic development.
3125 Monetary Economics
This course develops the basic analytical methods in this field, such as the money supply aggregates, demand and supply of money, and effectiveness of monetary policy.
3126 Institutional Economics
This course examines different institutions that exist in society and how they influence or are influenced by economics. Emphasis will be placed on free market approaches to solving economic problems rather than more traditional approaches.
3127 Urban and Regional Economics and Policy
Location theory of economic activities; economics of urban sites and regions; analysis of urban-regional problems and policies.
3128 Health Care Economics 3 cr.
A study of the economic structure of the health care industry and health care problems in Central Asia. Emphasis on the delivery and pricing of health care as well as alternative public policies dealing with cost and distribution problems.
3129 Transportation Economics 3 cr.
Analysis of organizational structures, operational characteristics, and managerial policies of railroads, motor carriers, domestic barge lines, airlines, and pipe lines. Emphasis on rates, services and public regulation.
3142 Economic Growth Theory
Introduction and application of modeling tools for various growth theories.
3145 Mathematical Economics
The application of mathematical tools to economics with emphasis on the description and use of the tools; mathematical models of decision making and optimization.
3151 Managerial Economics
This course applies microeconomic theory to decision making in the business world. Case studies of the "real world" are extensively used. Optimisation techniques, estimating demand functions, business forecasting, linear programming, oligopoly and strategic behavior, pricing techniques, risk analysis, capital budgeting, and anti-monopoly laws are some of the topics of the course.
3152 Industrial Organization
This course will examine the market structure and economic performance relationship. Cartels, price fixing, anti-trust policies, regulation of natural monopolies, imperfect information and competition, business strategic behavior, corporate takeovers, and agency theory will also be covered.
3153 Law and Economics
This course uses economic methodology in analysing legal issues. Contracts, torts, property, and crime will be viewed as an optimising process. The effects of property rights on allocation of resources and distribution of income will also be dealt with.
3154 Government and Business
Regulatory and promotional policies and programs of the Federal Government affecting the operation of the market system
3155 Money and Banking 3 cr.
Monetary systems and monetary policy; emphasis on the banking system and the reserve system.
3156 Financial Economics
Analysis of financial markets, capital growth, and the influence of money and finance policy on growth and productivity.
3157 Human Resource Economics
Examinations of optimal use of labor resources, labor productivity, and the effects of policy and technological change.
3161 Natural Resource Economics 3 cr.
An application of microeconomic principles to optimum use of land, water, energy, and other more specific resources. Alternative public policies are evaluated for the solution of resource allocation problems.
3162 Energy Economics
Application of models to understand markets for oil, gas, coal, electricity, and renewable energy resources. Models, modeling techniques, and issues included in the course are: supply and demand, energy taxation, market structure, transportation models, game theory, future options markets, environmental issues relating to energy markets, energy policy, energy regulation, input output models, linear and nonlinear programming models, energy conservation, and dynamic optimization.
3165 Environmental Economics
A study of environmental problems and their causes in a free market context.
3166 Environmental Policy 3 cr.
Economic policy alternatives are evaluated for solving pollution and other environmental problems
3169 Economics of Less Developed Countries 3 cr.
Economic and institutional conditions of less developed countries; ideas and performance records of promoting socio-economic development.
3183 Comparative Economic Systems
An evaluation of existing and experimental economic systems in Europe, United States of America, former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, China and the Third World for their potential to meet anticipated future economic problems
4181 Special Topics in Economics 3 cr.
The study of a current topic of Economic interest, not normally covered in our curriculum. Course details will be available in the department office.
4183 Honors: Thesis 1-6 cr.
Prerequisites: University scholar status and junior standing. Honors thesis projects include any advanced independent endeavor in the student's major field of study e.g. a written thesis, scientific experiment or research project, or creative arts exhibit or production. Proposals (attached to Independent Study contract) must show clear promise of honors level work and be approved by a faculty sponsor. Course title for transcript will be "Honors Thesis." Completed projects will be announced and presented to interested students and faculty. Maximum of 6 credits.
4182 Senior Seminar in Economics 3 cr.
A seminar in applied economics which focuses on selected current economic problems.
4189 Internship in Economics 1-6 cr.
A combination of individually guided study in economics and applied economic analysis in an internship experience. Prerequisites: Application and approval of department chair.