Advanced Diploma in Microeconomics

Course Overview

The Advanced Diploma in Microeconomics at the London School of International Business and Management (LSIBM) is a senior-track Level 5 qualification for practitioners already working on pricing, competition or regulatory questions and ready to lead a piece of work end-to-end — a senior pricing analyst at a UK utility, a case-team economist at a competition consultancy, or a step-up analyst inside a UK regulator. Sitting inside the Accounting, Finance & Economics faculty, it covers applied pricing models, competition economics, merger analysis, regulatory design and quantitative technique appropriate for a senior desk brief.

The Advanced Diploma runs over 12 to 15 months and is available on-campus in central London, fully online, or by distance learning. Tutors include practising economists from City consultancies and the Society of Business Economists, and the closing brief asks each student to write a full competition-economics submission for a simulated UK CMA case. The sections below cover modules, audience and progression.

Key Features

• Curriculum reviewed against Government Economic Service (GES) working-analyst standards and Society of Business Economists senior reading.
• Applied focus — recent UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), Ofgem, Ofwat and Ofcom cases.
• Three study modes — central London campus, fully online, or distance learning — with UK/APAC cohort calls.
• Closing brief: a full competition-economics submission for a simulated UK CMA case.
• Direct articulation into the LSIBM Higher Diploma or BSc top-up in Microeconomics.

What You Will Learn

The Advanced Diploma builds a senior micro analyst. You will finish able to lead a pricing study, run a small merger analysis, structure a regulatory submission and defend a quantitative model in front of a senior client or regulator.

• Applied demand estimation — log-log, log-linear, discrete-choice basics.
• Cost estimation and short-run vs long-run cost structures.
• Merger analysis — SSNIP test, unilateral effects, coordinated effects.
• Diversion ratios, GUPPI and horizontal-merger simulation basics.
• Vertical restraints, market power and abuse of dominance.
• Regulatory design — RPI-X, RIIO-2/3 and hybrid incentive schemes.
• Cost-benefit analysis under HM Treasury Green Book conventions.
• Behavioural economics — CMA Behavioural Insights work and nudges in policy.
• Writing an economics submission a regulator or client will engage with.

Who This Course Is For

• Diploma-level economics practitioners stepping into senior analyst seats.
• Pricing and revenue analysts inside UK utilities, telecoms and transport firms.
• Case-team members at economics consultancies preparing lead-analyst promotion.
• Regulatory-team analysts inside UK regulators or trade bodies.
• Career changers with strong numerate backgrounds moving into economics consulting.

Career Pathways

Advanced Diploma graduates step into senior analyst and lead-analyst roles across UK economics consultancies, regulators, utilities and industry policy teams. Outcomes remain individual.

• Senior Pricing Analyst
• Competition Economist (case team lead)
• Regulatory Economist
• Economic Consultant (senior)
• Revenue Analyst (senior)
• Policy Analyst (economics, senior)

The Advanced Diploma is a direct feeder into the LSIBM Higher Diploma, BSc top-up, GES applications and applied MSc routes.

Entry Requirements

• A relevant Diploma (Level 4), Foundation Year, or two years of substantive economics or analytical experience — comfort with regression and Excel-based modelling is expected.
• GCSE English Language at grade 4/C and Mathematics at grade 4/C (or equivalent).
• IELTS 6.0 overall (no band below 5.5) for non-native English speakers.
• A short statement of intent and one academic or professional reference — applicants with a Society of Business Economists membership should mention it on application.

Why Study at LSIBM

The London School of International Business and Management (LSIBM) is a specialist business-education provider based in central London and part of Harold International College. Advanced Diploma cohorts sit in small groups so tutors track progress course by course, and every route is mapped to UK professional-body competencies — ACCA, CIMA, CIM, CIPD, CMI, CIPS, IOE&IT, CFA UK — so employers recognise the credential.

London puts the City, Canary Wharf, Whitehall, Companies House, the FCA, the Bank of England and the West End within a short tube ride of every classroom. Advanced Diploma students access a fortnightly practitioner clinic, an industry-careers day each cohort and structured application coaching in the final term.

Apply for the Advanced Diploma in Microeconomics

Step up into the senior track with the Advanced Diploma in Microeconomics. Click Enrol Now and our admissions team will respond within one working day with intake dates, credit-transfer guidance and current fees. Advanced Diploma graduates articulate directly into LSIBM Higher Diploma or Bachelor's top-up routes.