AØKK08454U Seminar: Topics in Feminist Economics

Volume 2026/2027
Education

MSc programme in Economics

The seminar is primarily for students at the MSc of Economics.

Content

The aim of the seminar is to give students a broad introduction to the key elements of Feminist Economics. Feminist Economics includes both studies of gender roles in the economy and provides critiques of the content, methodology, and practices of the economics discipline.

Possible topics for seminar papers include (but are not limited) to:

  • The concept of “economic man” and alternative views of human behaviour
  • Feminist philosophy and the methodology of economics
  • Feminist perspectives on development and wellbeing
  • History of economic thought considering most economists being male
  • Time allocation and wellbeing
  • Unpaid household labour and its economic value
  • Care work and caring labour
  • Gender roles in labour markets
  • Gender wage gaps and occupational segregation
  • Household bargaining, intra-household distribution, and decision-making
  • Marriage, divorce, fertility, and the economics of the family
  • Structural adjustment, globalization, and gender inequality
  • Gender-responsive budgeting and public policy
  • GDP, national income accounting, and the invisibility of unpaid work
  • Gender, race, class, caste, and intersectionality in economics
  • Women in the economics profession
  • Methodological considerations regarding queerness in economic research

 

The seminar will start with a session which introduces students to key concepts in Feminist Economics and offers suggestions on the choice of topics for seminar papers.

Learning Outcome

After completing the seminar, the student is expected to be able to fulfil the learning outcome specified in the Master curriculum and to be able to:

 

Knowledge:

  • Understand what feminist economics is and have a general understanding of current developments in the research field.
  • Account for the relevant literature within the chosen topic of the seminar paper.
  • Critically examine the empirical methods in the relevant literature and the seminar paper 


Skills:

  • Consider how to conceptualize gender in empirical analysis.

  •  

  • Identify literature relevant to the chosen topic of the seminar paper.
  • Improved writing, both in terms of the writing process and the quality of the output.
  • Use existing knowledge and skills to analyze new theoretical or empirical problems.
  • Find and analyze the relevant data for the purpose of answering the chosen research question.
  • Improvement in the written and oral presentation of the analysis and findings
  • Constructively and critically evaluate and discuss the work of other students

 

Competences:

  • Independently plan and carry through a research project in Feminist Economics
  • Identify and critically analyze the key elements of scientific articles, including, but not limited to, the research question, empirical strategy, and contributions to the related literature
  • Interpret and discuss the limitations of empirical analyses and data

Jacobsen, J. P. (2020). Advanced introduction to feminist economics. Edward Elgar Publishing.

Jacobsen, J. P. (2021). Feminist use of quantitative methods. In The Routledge Handbook of Feminist Economics. Routledge.

Additional literature will be shared on Absalon.

You are encouraged to look at the Feminist Economics Journal to see what types of articles and research topics are in this field and to find inspiration for your own topic before the first session.

BSc in Economics or similar
Students will benefit from previous or current participation in courses with a focus on applied microeconometric research approaches, as well as courses that focus on interdisciplinary research skills. For example, the courses Development Economics, Advanced Development Economics - Microaspects, Economics of Gender, Health Economics, Economics of Education, and the course Capitalism and It's Critiques: Colonialism, Gender and Economics.
Students receive individual guidance from the instructor.
Students prepare a draft assignment, which they present to the teacher and the other students. The students take turns acting as opponents during each other’s presentations. The feedback should especially focus on the written presentation in the draft assignment, with particular emphasis on the introduction.
Exact dates will be available in the seminar’s course room no later than 14 days before the start of the semester

• Kick-off meeting: Week 6 / 36. See exact date in Absalon.

• Additional meetings/introductory teaching/guidance: Optional. See Absalon.

• Deadline for submission of commitment paper/project description:
No later than February 28 / September 30.

• Deadline for uploading seminar paper draft in Absalon: No later than one week before the presentations. See exact date in Absalon.

• Presentations: In the period November 20 – December 11 for the autumn semester and May 1 – 23 for the spring semester.
See exact dates in Absalon.

• Common submission date for all seminars: December 20 at 10:00 for the autumn semester and June 1 at 10:00 for the spring semester.
  • Category
  • Hours
  • Project work
  • 186
  • Seminar
  • 20
  • Total
  • 206
Oral
Collective
Peer feedback (Students give each other feedback)

 

Examples of the feedback given:

  • The teacher gives the students individual guidance on formulating a feasible research question and strategy.
  • Each student receives individually oral feedback on a written outline and presentation of the project from peers and teacher.
  • The teacher gives the students individual guidance during the execution of the project.
  • Each student receives individually oral feedback on the paper and at the presentation from peers and teacher.
Credit
7,5 ECTS
Type of assessment
Home assignment
Type of assessment details
Individual or in groups of up to 3.
A seminar paper of 15 standard pages for one person, 22.5 standard pages for 2 and 30 standard pages for 3 students.
See further exam information in the Masters Programme Curriculum.
Examination prerequisites

Attendance in all seminar activities as stated in the Master curriculum.

Reexam: Hand in and have approved a synopsis.

Aid
All aids allowed

Use of AI tools is permitted. You must explain how you have used the tools. When text is solely or mainly generated by an AI tool, the tool used must be quoted as a source.

Marking scale
7-point grading scale
Censorship form
External censorship
Exam period

The seminar paper must be uploaded in Digital Exam.

Common submission date for all seminars: June 1 at 10:00 for the spring semester.

For enrolled students more information about examination, rules, aids etc. is available at the intranet for  Master (UK) and  Master (DK ).

Re-exam

Individual seminar paper of 15 standard pages. See further exam information in the Masters Programme Curriculum.

Deadline and more information is available at  MSc in Economics - KUnet

More information about reexam etc. is available at  Master(UK) and  Master(DK).

 

Criteria for exam assesment

Students are assessed on the extent to which they master the learning outcome for the seminar and can make use of the knowledge, skills and competencies listed in the learning outcomes in the Curriculum of the Master programme.