Dissertation topic!

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toffeebanana

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Hi,

I am struggling to find an economics related dissertation topic. I am studying Business Management and Economics, and need an Economics dissertation topic. So far my ideas include mergers or macro economic topics. Yet, I still haven't found one good enough. Any ideas?

Thanks
 
toffeebanana said:
Hi,

I am struggling to find an economics related dissertation topic. I am studying Business Management and Economics, and need an Economics dissertation topic. So far my ideas include mergers or macro economic topics. Yet, I still haven't found one good enough. Any ideas?

Thanks
Click to expand...

Hi, I've just started my first year doing maths and economics.
Found this website other day while surfing!
http://studyingeconomics.ac.uk/dissertation/
 
toffeebanana said:
Hi,

I am struggling to find an economics related dissertation topic. I am studying Business Management and Economics, and need an Economics dissertation topic. So far my ideas include mergers or macro economic topics. Yet, I still haven't found one good enough. Any ideas?

Thanks
Click to expand...

You might find it helpful to jot down the topics and areas of interest that have really enthused you during your course (sad to say if that hasn't happened perhaps you're on the wrong course!)

Perhaps you've done this already and feel they're beyond you? [I don't know of any topic where i could write a minimum of 8000 words! help!] There is an easy way to find out if this is the case - start writing it. I don't mean the full detailed works - just the outline sketch plan. Obviously there will be areas where your knowkedge is deficient and you'll need to do some research, but that's what a dissertation is all about.

Your "mergers" (and aquisitions?) sounds like a brilliant topic - especially in the current climate. Eg. How has the last couple of years affected things - you'll be hard pressed to deal with that effectively in just 8000 words. You'll find it easier once you get started - don't keep putting it off: that is always my problem. :LOL:
 
0007 said:
You might find it helpful to jot down the topics and areas of interest that have really enthused you during your course (sad to say if that hasn't happened perhaps you're on the wrong course!)

Perhaps you've done this already and feel they're beyond you? [I don't know of any topic where i could write a minimum of 8000 words! help!] There is an easy way to find out if this is the case - start writing it. I don't mean the full detailed works - just the outline sketch plan. Obviously there will be areas where your knowkedge is deficient and you'll need to do some research, but that's what a dissertation is all about.

Your "mergers" (and aquisitions?) sounds like a brilliant topic - especially in the current climate. Eg. How has the last couple of years affected things - you'll be hard pressed to deal with that effectively in just 8000 words. You'll find it easier once you get started - don't keep putting it off: that is always my problem. :LOL:
Click to expand...

Hi,

I am really passionate about mergers as I feel like i know where i'm going with it. Unfortunately, I don't think my tutor is too keen on the topic. I also worry about the extent to which i can write about it. If i pursue this topic, i have to limit it to an industry (and banking industry has been done many times before- and i worry about plagarism)...
If i was to pursue this topic... what areas could i discuss?
 
toffeebanana said:
Hi,

I am really passionate about mergers as I feel like i know where i'm going with it. Unfortunately, I don't think my tutor is too keen on the topic. I also worry about the extent to which i can write about it. If i pursue this topic, i have to limit it to an industry (and banking industry has been done many times before- and i worry about plagarism)...
If i was to pursue this topic... what areas could i discuss?
Click to expand...

Just a few thoughts on your comments:
1. Don't get hung up on plagiarism - may sound trite but if you don't plagiarise, they can't do you for it! It's only stealing someone's ideas and quotes without acknowledgement that is an offence - after all, unless you are a potential genius (apparently there are a few on T2W according to their postings) it's unlikely that you will come up with that many theories or analysis that is completely original. You've almost certainly got a guide to plagiarism but if not, there's a good and simple one here http://www.york.ac.uk/teaching/history/pjpg/plagiarism.htm

2. Why isn't your tutor keen on mergers? Have you asked him? Has it been done to death/badly etc etc or is he a rampant socialist?(there's no cure for that, regrettably). If you can do what he feels has been left out you might impress him, especially if you can transmit the "I am really passionate about mergers" vibes.

3. If you like mergers, why not stand it on its head and do de-mergers? Eg the UK's railways. They started off as numerous 19thC private concerns, gradually merged until complete merging in 1948 (ie Nationalisation) and then reverted to original status through demerging (privatisation) in the late 20thC. You aslo have significant political input throughout their history.

There's probably far too much for 8000 words - I would be tempted to concentrate on one period eg the 1923 merger of numerous private rly companies OR the 1948 nationalisation which also included the merger of the railways' docks/road transport/hotels and various other ancillary services.

If you prefer planes to trains what about (A) the late 1930s merger of Britain's many airlines (including those owned by the railways) in to BOAC & BEA who (B) in turn merged into British Airways.

A good primer for all of this is Bagwell and Lyth: Transport in Britain 1750-2000 (your uni Lib should have a copy)- the authors are both academically acknowledged experts and Lyth is an economic historian. A quick skim read of the relevant chapters will enable you to decide if any of these ideas are goers.

Hope this helps, if you need a reading list I can suggest some titles. And of course, if you go this route you'd better run it by your tutor!
 
toffeebanana said:
Hi,

I am struggling to find an economics related dissertation topic. I am studying Business Management and Economics, and need an Economics dissertation topic. So far my ideas include mergers or macro economic topics. Yet, I still haven't found one good enough. Any ideas?

Thanks
Click to expand...

How about "Public Sector Pensions" and how they are completely unaffordable and unsustainable....especially for uni and college lecturer types and other non producing/contributing jobs.
 
Last edited:
Since you are studying Business Economics and are interested in mergers and acquisitions, you can combine it with Game Theory. Not sure if you've studied game theory, but it is insanely popular within business economics. Basically, game theory studies optimal strategic decision making on the part of agents in an economy. In this case, the agents would be the two companies: the acquirer and the target.

Off the top of my head, here are some topics you could investigate:

1) Provide real world examples of acquisitions within industries that have led the industry to become an oligopoly market. What happened after the acquisitions? How did prices within the industry respond? How does this all compare with predicted economic theory? Do the Nash Equilibrium results hold for the Cournot, Bertrand, and Stackleberg models? Just to keep things simple, look at one or two major acquisitions in the past and study their affect in detail.

2) Take a theoretical game model and apply it to merger and acquisition data. Do the results still hold? What's different? How do the assumptions of the model hold up in real life? To help you with this, check out a paper by Robin C. van den Honert and Theodor J. Stewart (2003) entitled "A game theoretic model for mergers and acquisitions". I've pasted the abstract here: "The corporate merger process is modelled as a bargaining game under certainty. The distribution of gains between target and acquiring companies that would be consistent with the Nash-Kalai axioms is determined in principle. An operational version of the resulting game-theoretic model is fitted to empirical results from 24 recent mergers of companies quoted on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. The model is shown to have good predictive power within this set of data." So basically, they are trying to determine whether or not the distribution of gains, as predicted by the model, hold in reality between the target and the acquirer.

3) Finally, the topic I personally find the most interesting: investigate the effect of a merger/acquisition on the target and acquirers share price. This should be simple enough using basic statistical analysis, but not enough for a dissertation. Do the bidding companies have a greater effect in the share price than the takeover targets, or vice versa? Extend the analysis with some game theoretical results: do the final transaction prices over pay or under pay for the target company? How does this affect shareholder value for both companies? I have attached a PDF that should help you in this particular topic if you are interested. Quite an interesting leisurely read as well! If you find this topic is what you want to do and extend the empirical analysis, then you can simply follow the paper attached but just change the data set and do your own analysis. Compare your findings to the one in this paper and explain why they are different/same.

Hope the above gives some food for thought!
 

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amit1986 said:
Since you are studying Business Economics and are interested in mergers and acquisitions, you can combine it with Game Theory. Not sure if you've studied game theory, but it is insanely popular within business economics. Basically, game theory studies optimal strategic decision making on the part of agents in an economy. In this case, the agents would be the two companies: the acquirer and the target.

Off the top of my head, here are some topics you could investigate:

1) Provide real world examples of acquisitions within industries that have led the industry to become an oligopoly market. What happened after the acquisitions? How did prices within the industry respond? How does this all compare with predicted economic theory? Do the Nash Equilibrium results hold for the Cournot, Bertrand, and Stackleberg models? Just to keep things simple, look at one or two major acquisitions in the past and study their affect in detail.

2) Take a theoretical game model and apply it to merger and acquisition data. Do the results still hold? What's different? How do the assumptions of the model hold up in real life? To help you with this, check out a paper by Robin C. van den Honert and Theodor J. Stewart (2003) entitled "A game theoretic model for mergers and acquisitions". I've pasted the abstract here: "The corporate merger process is modelled as a bargaining game under certainty. The distribution of gains between target and acquiring companies that would be consistent with the Nash-Kalai axioms is determined in principle. An operational version of the resulting game-theoretic model is fitted to empirical results from 24 recent mergers of companies quoted on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. The model is shown to have good predictive power within this set of data." So basically, they are trying to determine whether or not the distribution of gains, as predicted by the model, hold in reality between the target and the acquirer.

3) Finally, the topic I personally find the most interesting: investigate the effect of a merger/acquisition on the target and acquirers share price. This should be simple enough using basic statistical analysis, but not enough for a dissertation. Do the bidding companies have a greater effect in the share price than the takeover targets, or vice versa? Extend the analysis with some game theoretical results: do the final transaction prices over pay or under pay for the target company? How does this affect shareholder value for both companies? I have attached a PDF that should help you in this particular topic if you are interested. Quite an interesting leisurely read as well! If you find this topic is what you want to do and extend the empirical analysis, then you can simply follow the paper attached but just change the data set and do your own analysis. Compare your findings to the one in this paper and explain why they are different/same.

Hope the above gives some food for thought!
Click to expand...


Hi you're suggestions are great! thanks!
I have stuided a bit of game theory- we studied a senario where two prisoners are in two different rooms, and how game theory is used to get them to confess. Not sure how I am essentially use it for mergers and acquisitions, but I suppose it would be a good topic to combine!
 
Hi,

THank you all for you're suggestions! they are very helpful! So thinking more on the mergers topic- i thought it would be best to pick one company and view performance pre and post merger, and talk about the factors that push a company to merge.
However, I am concerned with (again) the number of words, as i Doubt i would reach the limit with this topic, and also, is there enough economics in this to get a good mark? I would like to get above 75%....
 
I wouldn't worry too much about the word count - once you start, you will find that you can add things that you never thought possible. I often went over word limits even when I thought I couldn't make them initially.

As for the mark, it shouldn't be a problem. But I would recommend asking your professor before you begin your paper.

Good luck.
 
Great to see a lulz-free thread for a change with people being really helpful.
 
If I see things that Amit has posted I usually read them. Listen to him.
As a new member you clearly don't know how most threads are ruined by either trolls, morons or lulz producers, so my comment merely signified what a pleasure it is to read such a sensible thread; there are precious few on t2w these days.
Good luck with your dissertation.
Richard
 
Mr. Charts said:
If I see things that Amit has posted I usually read them. Listen to him.
As a new member you clearly don't know how most threads are ruined by either trolls, morons or lulz producers, so my comment merely signified what a pleasure it is to read such a sensible thread; there are precious few on t2w these days.
Good luck with your dissertation.
Richard
Click to expand...

Hi,

Apologies I haven't really been surfing the threads much! but i appreciate your comments. Yeah, Amit's comments are really helpful, I just hope that a) I can incorporate them into a good dissertation and b) My tutor lets me pursue this topic as I can see it expanding to other economic theories.

:D
 
amit1986 said:
I wouldn't worry too much about the word count - once you start, you will find that you can add things that you never thought possible. I often went over word limits even when I thought I couldn't make them initially.

As for the mark, it shouldn't be a problem. But I would recommend asking your professor before you begin your paper.

Good luck.
Click to expand...

Hi,

Thanks for you're responses! they are soo helpful! :D
I have asked my tutor, and he hasnt given me a yes or a no at the moment...so for now i think i shall keep with it.

So far, this is the ideas i have for my dissertation

  • pre and post merger peformance
  • reasons to merge
    • reasons to merge
    • game theory
    • effects of the merger

is there anything else i should mention?
 
I'm not authority in telling you what you should include in your paper, but your paper should be organized as follows:

1) Introduction
2) Literature Review
3) Game Theoretic Models
4) Data Description
4) Empirical Models and Statistical Analysis
5) Results
6) Conclusion

The PDF I have attached to my post #8 should be used as a guide to your paper. The only difference can be the discussion on data (since your data will be different to the paper), results, and conclusion.

I strongly recommend you do a detailed statistical analysis on various factors of the companys, not just the share price. A good grade will only be awarded if you present an interesting finding. Anyone can download stock price data and conduct a 'before and after' test.

Once again, read the paper and try to follow it.
 
Hi,

So I really really want to go with this merger and acquistions topic, and don't mind what industry I focus on (although entertainment industry would be nice!)

the problem is...

I can't seem to find raw figures to support this topic.... i can't find the trend over the years within a industry etc.

I've tried google and national statistics. What else can i try?
 
How about a topical topic like

How the EU wastes billions but as in the case of the Emperor's clothes hardly anyone notices its bankrupt.
 
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