Postgraduate Entrance Economics Syllabus

University of Kashmir

The Department of Economics at the University of Kashmir conducts a Postgraduate Entrance Test (PGET) to screen candidates for admission to its two-year Master of Arts (M.A.) Economics program. The entrance examination is designed to assess the candidate's fundamental understanding of economic concepts, quantitative techniques, and contemporary economic issues. The syllabus is comprehensive, drawing heavily from the standard undergraduate economics curriculum.

Unit I: Microeconomics

This section tests the candidate's ability to understand the behavior of individual economic units, such as consumers and firms. It covers the core theories that determine price and output in different market structures.

• Theory of Consumer Behavior: Cardinal and Ordinal Utility approaches (Indifference Curve analysis), Price Income and Substitution effects, Slutsky theorem, Revealed Preference Hypothesis, and Consumer Surplus.
• Theory of Production and Cost: Production functions (Cobb-Douglas, CES), Laws of returns, Isoquants and Isocosts, Economies of Scale, and Cost curves (Short-run and Long-run).
• Theory of Firm and Market Structures: Perfect Competition, Monopoly, Monopolistic Competition, and Oligopoly (Kinked demand curve, Collusion). Price determination under these markets.
• Factor Pricing: Marginal Productivity Theory, Rent, Wages, Interest, and Profit theories.
• General Equilibrium and Welfare Economics: Pareto optimality, Edgeworth Box, Social Welfare functions, and Arrow's Impossibility Theorem.
• Market Failure: Externalities, Public goods, and Asymmetric Information.

Unit II: Macroeconomics

Macroeconomics deals with the economy as a whole. This section focuses on national income accounting, economic growth, and the determination of aggregate variables.

• National Income Accounting: Concepts of GDP, GNP, NNP, Disposable Income, and methods of measuring National Income.
• Classical and Keynesian Economics: Says Law of Markets, Quantity Theory of Money, Keynesian Theory of Employment and Effective Demand, Consumption Function, Investment Multiplier, and Accelerator.
• Post-Keynesian Developments: IS-LM Model analysis, Demand and Supply of Money, Liquidity Preference Theory.
• Inflation and Unemployment: Types and causes of Inflation (Demand-pull and Cost-push), Phillips Curve, and the concept of Stagflation.
• Business Cycles and Economic Growth: Harrod-Domar Model, Solow Model of Growth, Business Cycle theories.
• Open Economy Macroeconomics: Balance of Payments, Foreign Exchange Rate systems (Fixed and Flexible), and Mundell-Fleming Model.

Unit III: Statistics and Econometrics

A strong foundation in quantitative methods is essential for economics students. This section evaluates the candidate's proficiency in statistical tools and basic econometric techniques.

• Measures of Central Tendency and Dispersion: Mean, Median, Mode, Standard Deviation, Variance, Quartiles, and Percentiles.
• Correlation and Regression: Simple and Multiple correlation, Linear Regression (Ordinary Least Squares method), Properties of estimators, and Coefficient of Determination.
• Probability and Sampling: Probability distributions (Normal, Binomial, Poisson), Hypothesis Testing (t-test, F-test, Chi-square), and Sampling distributions.
• Index Numbers: Construction of Price and Quantity Index Numbers (Laspeyres, Paasche, Fishers Ideal), Time Series analysis, and Components of Time Series.
• Basic Econometrics: Assumptions of Classical Linear Regression Model (CLRM), Multicollinearity, Heteroscedasticity, and Autocorrelation.

Unit IV: Mathematical Economics

This section tests the application of mathematical tools to economic theories. It requires knowledge of calculus and linear algebra.

• Fundamental Methods: Sets, Functions, Equations, and Inequalities.
• Calculus: Derivatives (Rules of differentiation), Partial derivatives, Maxima and Minima of functions of one and several variables, Unconstrained and Constrained optimization (Lagrangian Multiplier).
• Linear Algebra: Matrices, Determinants, Inverse of a matrix, and their application in solving linear equation systems (Input-Output analysis basics).
• Differential and Difference Equations: Basic concepts and applications in economic dynamics.
• Linear Programming: Formulation of Linear Programming Problems, Simplex method, and Duality.

Unit V: Indian Economy

A thorough understanding of the structural and developmental issues characterizing the Indian economy is crucial. This section covers both historical perspective and current policy frameworks.

• Structural Changes in Indian Economy: Evolution of the Indian economy since Independence, Sectoral shifts (GDP and employment), and Demographic features.
• Planning and Development: Major features of Five Year Plans, NITI Aayog, and Regional Imbalances.
• Agriculture: Land reforms, Green Revolution, Agricultural Finance and Marketing, Food Security, and issues related to farmers' income.
• Industry: Industrial Policy Resolution (1948, 1956, 1991), MSME sector, Liberalization, Privatization, and Globalization (LPG).
• Public Finance: Fiscal Policy, Taxation structures (Direct and Indirect), Center-State Financial Relations, and Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM).
• Money and Banking: Structure of Banking in India, RBI and its functions, Monetary Policy, Inflation targeting, and Financial Inclusion.
• External Sector: Foreign Trade Policy, Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), Exchange Rate management, and External Debt.
• Contemporary Issues: Poverty, Unemployment, Inequality, Environment and Sustainable Development, and Digital Economy.

Unit VI: International Economics

This section deals with trade theories and international monetary systems.

• Theory of International Trade: Absolute Advantage, Comparative Advantage (Ricardian Model), Heckscher-Ohlin Theory, Factor Price Equalization, and Terms of Trade.
• Trade Policy: Tariffs and Quotas, Arguments for and against Protectionism, Free Trade vs. Protectionism, and Regional Trading Blocs (WTO, SAARC, etc.).
• International Finance: Balance of Payments (Current and Capital Account), Adjustment mechanisms (Price, Income, and Monetary approaches), and Foreign Exchange markets.

Unit VII: Public Economics

Focusing on the government's role in the economy, this section covers public goods and fiscal theory.

• Public Goods and Externalities: Pure public goods, Private vs. Public goods, and Efficient allocation of resources.
• Theory of Taxation: Benefit vs. Ability to Pay approach, Principles of Taxation (Adam Smith), Progressive and Proportional taxation, Excess Burden of Taxation.
• Public Expenditure: Growth of public expenditure (Wagners Law, Peacock-Wiseman Hypothesis), and Cost-Benefit Analysis.
• Fiscal Federalism: Principles of federal finance, Grants-in-aid, and Finance Commission.

Note: The syllabus provided here is indicative and corresponds to the standard curriculum set by the Department of Economics, University of Kashmir. Candidates are advised to check the official admission notification for any specific weightage or changes in the pattern for the academic year they are applying for.