phd topics on economics

• School of Economics
• Postgraduate study
• PhD Programme in Economics

PhD research topics

Applications are welcomed in all Economics topics. We particularly welcome applications from candidates with research interests in the following speciality areas of our research-active staff:

Behavioural Economics

• Behavioural Health Economics and Policy
• Behavioural Labour and Organisational Economics
• Decisions under Risk and Uncertainty
• Experimental and Behavioural analyses of markets
• Charitable Behaviour
• Analysis of Conflict and Conflict Resolution
• Behavioural Welfare Economics (including subjective wellbeing)

Financial Economics and Household Finance

• Banking and financial stability
• Household portfolios
• Household wealth inequality
• Household saving
• Household financial vulnerability and asset accumulation

Gender, Race and Inequality

• Domestic violence
• Discrimination and Wellbeing
• Identity Economics (gender, ethnicity, inequality)
• Wealth inequality and racial wealth gap
• Affirmative Action Policies

Health Economics

• Healthcare and demographics
• Health, wellbeing and employment
• Long-run impact of COVID
• Aversion to inequality in multidimensional wellbeing
• Health state valuation and stated preferences

Industrial Organization 

• Competition Policy
• Innovation, industrial policy and mixed markets
• Networks and Regulation
• Firms Productivity
• Tax compliance and administration

International Economics and Development

• Empirical development economics
• Foreign aid and development finance institutions
• Foreign Direct Investment and Economic Growth
• Trade models with heterogeneous firms, trade gravity and productivity growth
• Trade policies and public economics

Labour and Education Economics

• Empirical studies on the relationships between labour, health and wellbeing
• Education Economics
• Gender differences in human capital accumulation
• Labour market transitions of (young) workers
• Social mobility
• Vocational education
• Wages, employment and contract type

Macroeconomics

• Open Economy Macroeconomics
• Business Cycles
• Dynamic Stochastic General Equilibrium Modelling
• Labour Market Dynamics
• Search and Matching

Political Economy

• Elections, political ideology, institutions and economic policy
• Immigration: causes and consequences
• Terrorism, public attitudes and behavioural outcomes
• Rent-seeking and other contests

Time Series Econometrics

• Econometric detection of bubbles and crashes
• Specification testing and forecasting in non-linear Econometric/Time-Series models
• Theoretical econometrics and statistical inference

Urban and Environmental Economics

• Environmental economics and environmental policy 
• Environmental reporting
• Real estate economics
• Local labour markets
• Agglomeration externalities
• Spatial distribution of economic activities and innovation
• Transport economics
• Local economic impacts and drivers of internal and external immigration 
• Local and regional determinants of social mobility and inequality
• Levelling-up: drivers of local productivity and growth

Related information

How to apply for a PhD

Search for PhD opportunities at Sheffield and be part of our world-leading research.

Doctoral Program

The Ph.D. program is a full time program leading to a Doctoral Degree in Economics.  Students specialize in various fields within Economics by enrolling in field courses and attending field specific lunches and seminars.  Students gain economic breadth by taking additional distribution courses outside of their selected fields of interest.

General requirements

Students  are required to complete 1 quarter of teaching experience. Teaching experience includes teaching assistantships within the Economics department or another department .

University's residency requirement

135 units of full-tuition residency are required for PhD students. After that, a student should have completed all course work and must request Terminal Graduate Registration (TGR) status.

Department degree requirements and student checklist

1. core course requirement.

Required: Core Microeconomics (202-203-204) Core Macroeconomics (210-211-212) Econometrics (270-271-272).  The Business School graduate microeconomics class series may be substituted for the Econ Micro Core.  Students wishing to waive out of any of the first year core, based on previous coverage of at least 90% of the material,  must submit a waiver request to the DGS at least two weeks prior to the start of the quarter.  A separate waiver request must be submitted for each course you are requesting to waive.  The waiver request must include a transcript and a syllabus from the prior course(s) taken.  

2.  Field Requirements

Required:  Two of the Following Fields Chosen as Major Fields (click on link for specific field requirements).  Field sequences must be passed with an overall grade average of B or better.  Individual courses require a letter grade of B- or better to pass unless otherwise noted.

Research fields and field requirements :

• Behavioral & Experimental
• Development Economics
• Econometric Methods with Causal Inference
• Econometrics
• Economic History
• Environmental, Resource and Energy Economics
• Industrial Organization
• International Trade & Finance
• Labor Economics
• Market Design
• Microeconomic Theory
• Macroeconomics
• Political Economy
• Public Economics

3.  Distribution

Required:  Four other graduate-level courses must be completed. One of these must be from the area of economic history (unless that field has already been selected above). These courses must be distributed in such a way that at least two fields not selected above are represented.  Distribution courses must be passed with a grade of B or better.

4.  Field Seminars/Workshops

Required:  Three quarters of two different field seminars or six quarters of the same field seminar from the list below.   

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• PhD Program

The Ph.D. Program in the Department of Economics at Harvard is addressed to students of high promise who wish to prepare themselves in teaching and research in academia or for responsible positions in government, research organizations, or business enterprises. Students are expected to devote themselves full-time to their programs of study.

The program prepares students for productive and stimulating careers as economists. Courses and seminars offered by the department foster an intellectually active and stimulating environment. Each week, the department sponsors more than 15 different seminars on such topics as environmental economics, economic growth and development, monetary and fiscal policy, international economics, industrial organization, law and economics, behavioral economics, labor economics, and economic history. Top scholars from both domestic and international communities are often invited speakers at the seminars.  The Harvard community outside of the department functions as a strong and diverse resource. Students in the department are free to pursue research interests with scholars throughout the University. Faculty of the Harvard Law School, Kennedy School of Government, and Harvard Business School, for example, are available to students for consultation, instruction, and research guidance. As a member of the Harvard community, students in the department can register for courses in the various schools and have access to the enormous library resources available through the University. There are over 90 separate library units at Harvard, with the total collections of books and pamphlets numbering over 13 million.  Both the department and the wider University draw some of the brightest students from around the world, which makes for a student body that is culturally diverse and likely unequaled in the range of intellectual interests of its members. These factors combine to add an important dimension to the educational process. Students are able to learn from one another, collaborate on research projects and publications, and form bonds that are not broken by distance once the degree is completed and professional responsibilities lead them in different directions.

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Economic Analysis & Policy

Our doctoral program in the field of economic analysis and policy prepares students for research careers in economics. The program offers rigorous training and has several distinct advantages:

Low Student-to-Faculty Ratio

First, enrollment in the program is small. This encourages close faculty-student contact and allows students to become involved in research very early. Students work first as assistants on faculty research projects and, as their interests and skills develop, on their own research. Students often begin their publishing careers before completing their degrees.

Flexible and Innovative Program

Second, the program is flexible and innovative; students can draw on both the school’s and the university’s distinguished faculty. In addition to the faculty in the economics group at Stanford GSB and in the university’s economics department, students have access to faculty in political and behavioral sciences; accounting and finance; mathematics, statistics, and computer science; and many other disciplines.

A Top-Ranked School

Third, the program is part of a top-ranked professional school. This setting allows students to gain a deeper understanding of the actual processes of business decision-making and public policy formulation.

Preparation and Qualifications

Students who enroll in this program have a substantial background in economics and mathematics. They are expected to have, minimally, mathematical skills at the level of one year of advanced calculus and one course each in linear algebra, analysis, probability, optimization, and statistics.

The faculty selects students based on predicted performance in the program. Evidence of substantial background or ability in the use of mathematical reasoning and statistical methods is important. Most successful applicants had quantitative undergraduate majors in economics, mathematics, or related sciences.

In addition to evidence of ability and letters of recommendation, the faculty considers carefully the applicant’s statement of purpose for pursuing the PhD degree. The successful applicant usually has clearly defined career goals that are compatible with those of the program.

Acceptance into the program is extremely competitive. Admitted applicants compare very favorably with students enrolled in the top economics departments of major universities.

Economic Analysis & Policy Faculty

Mohammad akbarpour, claudia allende santa cruz, susan athey, lanier benkard, jeremy i. bulow, modibo khane camara, sebastian di tella, rebecca diamond, yossi feinberg, guido w. imbens, charles i. jones, jonathan levin, michael ostrovsky, garth saloner, yuliy sannikov, kathryn shaw, andrzej skrzypacz, paulo somaini, juan carlos suárez serrato, takuo sugaya, christopher tonetti, shoshana vasserman, ali yurukoglu, weijie zhong, emeriti faculty, alain c. enthoven, robert j. flanagan, david m. kreps, peter c. reiss, john roberts, a. michael spence, robert wilson, recent publications in economic analysis & policy, trading stocks builds financial confidence and compresses the gender gap, drivers of public procurement prices: evidence from pharmaceutical markets, redistributive allocation mechanisms, recent insights by stanford business, if/then: why research matters, at what point do we decide ai’s risks outweigh its promise, nine stories to get you through tax season, placement director.

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PhD in Economics

The PhD in Economics program offers a thorough grounding in the basic tools of economics, statistics, and mathematics through a series of core courses followed by a series of well-defined seminars that cover areas of specialization within economics.

In addition to gaining basic analytical tools, candidates learn to develop economic intuition into economic problems and acquire the necessary mind-set to teach and conduct independent research as a university professor.

The curriculum consists of four components: required courses, an independent research paper, a comprehensive exam, and a dissertation.

The PhD in Business Administration consists of a core sequence of classes in a variety of business fields, and an area of concentration consisting of a minimum of 18 hours of classes within a particular field.

The Economics concentration consists of two semesters of microeconomic theory, two semesters of econometrics, one semester of macroeconomic theory, and one semester of mathematical economics. Students will take an additional two-semester seminar sequence in an area of specialization within economics.

Course requirements

Students complete a program of study that leads to competency in three areas: quantitative methods, economics, and a subfield of specialization within economics. The requirements of the program of study are typically satisfied by completing 18 courses in the first two and a half years of the program. Required courses include seven courses in quantitative methods and econometrics, six in economics, and several electives. In some cases, coursework prior to entering the program may be substituted for required courses.

Research paper

Students are expected to engage in research early in the program. All students work at least part-time as research assistants during the first two years of the program. By the end of their second year, students are required to submit a research paper as part of the ECON 9099: Doctoral Special Topics in Economics seminar.

Comprehensive examination

Satisfactory performance on a written comprehensive examination marks the student's transition from coursework to full-time thesis research. The examination is intended to allow the student to demonstrate substantial knowledge of economics, econometrics and quantitative methods.

The candidate will have completed most course work, including all economics coursework, and submitted a satisfactory research paper prior to taking the comprehensive examination.

Dissertation

The doctoral dissertation is expected to be a substantial, significant and original contribution to knowledge. It is prepared under the guidance of a thesis committee of three or more faculty members (including one from outside the Economics department) selected by the candidate in consultation with his or her thesis advisor. Early in the process, the candidate submits a thesis proposal. The proposal is presented in a seminar to which the economics faculty and doctoral students are invited. The purpose of the presentation is to give the student an opportunity to hear the suggestions and comments of members of the UC economics community while the research plan is still fluid.

A thesis-defense seminar, open to the entire University of Cincinnati academic community, is held when the research is completed.

Required coursework

*Many prerequisite courses can be waived for students with master’s degrees in business disciplines.

Required introductory courses

• Introduction to Research and Teaching: taken the first semester in the program.
• Business Core: if you do not have an MBA degree or you have not satisfied the Basic Business Knowledge (BBK) requirements, you are required to become familiar with the basic body of knowledge (e.g, marketing, management, and accounting). Many of these courses can be waived if you have a master's degree in a business discipline.

Core quantitative methods (five courses)

• Probability Models (BANA 7031)
• Statistical Models (BANA 7041)
• Econometrics I and II (9010 and 9011)
• Mathematical Economics (9018)

Typical PhD electives (five courses)

• Forecasting/Time Series Analysis
• Asset Pricing Theory
• Foundations of Finance
• Corporate Finance Theory
• Real Estate Analysis
• SAS Programming
• Data Mining
• Financial Mathematics I and II
• Applied Probability and Stochastic Processes
• Linear Algebra

Economics seminars (six courses):

ECON 9019: Advanced Macroeconomic Theory

• Macroeconomic theory taught at the PhD level. Three credit hours.

ECON 9020: Advanced Microeconomic Theory I

• Microeconomic theory taught at the PhD level. This course introduces students to consumer theory, producer theory, industrial organization, game theory, risk and uncertainty, general equilibrium analysis and welfare economics. Three credit hours.

ECON 9021: Advanced Microeconomic Theory II

• Microeconomic theory taught at the PhD level. A continuation of ECON 9020. Three credit hours.

ECON 9022: Advanced Topics in Econometrics I

• Econometric theory taught at the PhD level. This course covers the theory of econometrics including coverage of the empirical methodologies used in testing and investigating economics topics, and empirical examinations of important economic issues. Three credit hours.

ECON 9030: Advanced Topics in Economics I

• This course introduces students to current economic research. Each topic will be addressed in three respects: 1) commonly used empirical methodologies; 2) main empirical findings; and, 3) the relation between empirical research and theory. Three credit hours.

ECON 9031: Advanced Topics in Economics II

• This course covers a series of selected research topics that are not currently addressed within the department's other semester-length courses. Representative topics that may be covered include urban and regional economics, labor economics, industrial organization, real estate economics, and public finance. Three credit hours.

ECON 9099: Doctoral Special Topics in Economics

• Most students take this course during their second year in the program. In this colloquium the student develops an independent, original research idea under the supervision of one or more faculty mentors. During the course the student carries out all the theoretical analysis and empirical tests required to convert their research question into an original paper. The colloquium culminates with the circulation of the finished research paper and a professional presentation of the research to the entire faculty. Three credit hours.

Names of Lindner faculty appear in bold . Names of Lindner PhD candidates are underlined .

Cornwall Gary J., Jeffrey A. Mills , Beau Sauley , and Huibin Weng . “Predictive Testing for Granger Causality via Posterior Simulation and Cross Validation.” Advances in Econometrics, forthcoming.

Jeffrey Strawn , Jeffrey Mills , Gary Cornwall , Sarah Mossman, Sara Varney, Brooks Keeshin, Paul Croakin,  (2018). Buspirone in Children and Adolescents with Anxiety:  A Review and Bayesian Analysis of Abandoned Randomized Controlled Trials. Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology , 2-9.

Chang, L.V ., Shah, A.N., Hoefgen, E.R., Auger, K.A., Weng, H ., Simmons, J.M., Shah, S.S., Beck, A.F. (2018), “The economic burden of lost earnings and non-medical expenses of pediatric hospitalizations”, Pediatrics, Volume 142, number 3.

Strawn, J. R., Mills, J. A ., Sauley, B. A ., & Welge, J. A.. (2018) "The impact of antidepressant dose and class on treatment response in pediatric anxiety disorders: a meta-analysis." Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry 57.4: 235-244.

Jeffrey Strawn, Eric Dobson, Jeffrey Mills , Gary Cornwall , Dara Salosky, Boris Birmaher, Scott Compton, John Piacentini,  (2017). Placebo Response in Pediatric Anxiety Disorders:  Results from the Child/Adolescent Anxiety Multimodal Study. Journal Adolescent and Child Psychopharmacology, 501-508.

Cornwall, Gary , and Olivier Parent ,  (2017). Embracing Heterogeneity:  The Spatial Autoregressive Mixture Model. Regional Science and Urban Economics , 148-161.

Cornwall, Gary , Changjoo Kim, and Olivier Parent (2017). “At the Frontier Between Local and Global Interactions in Regional Sciences.” Regional Research Frontiers-Vol. 2, pp. 141-149. Springer, 2017.

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PhD in Economics

Producing about 10 graduates each year, the PhD in Economics program is a close community of scholars from around the world. Coursework ranges from microeconomics, macroeconomics and econometrics to the economics of industry and labor.

PhD students engage in research with faculty as research assistants and publish their own work in respected journals including Economics Letters , Journal of Macroeconomics and European Economic Review . 

The PhD in Economics is a U.S. Department of Homeland Security STEM-designated degree program.  

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PhDs on the Job Market

PhD Graduate Placements

"I greatly benefitted from the doctoral program at GW, both as an economist and as a researcher. The program played an instrumental role in advancing my understanding of economic theory and empirical methodologies, cultivating my research interests and honing my ability to apply these skills in real-world settings. I now work as a development economist at a multilateral organization, where I conduct research on topics like inequality, unemployment, property rights and social protection and contribute to evidence-based policy making."

Abhilasha Sahay PhD '20

Program Timeline

The program is divided into two stages:

• Pre-candidacy stage: The student completes coursework and general examinations in microeconomic and macroeconomic theory as well as a research paper proposal. 
• Candidacy stage: The student participates in a dissertation seminar, completes the written dissertation and conducts an oral defense.

The PhD program is offered primarily on a full-time basis, and students are expected to complete the degree in five to six years. Occasionally, the department will admit highly qualified part-time doctoral students.

View detailed year-by-year timeline of program rules and requirements .

Degree Along the Way Options

Students in the PhD program can earn either a Master of Science (MS) in Economics or a Master of Philosophy (MPhil) in Economics degree while pursuing the PhD degree.

Students in good standing may apply for the MS once they have completed the 30 required credits: ECON 8301, 8305 and 8375; two courses chosen from 8302, 8306 and 8376; and five 8000-level economics courses. Students may apply for the MPhil degree after they have successfully entered Candidacy.

Degree Along the Way Application

Course Requirements 

Pre-candidacy requirements

Pre-candidacy requirements include satisfactory completion of 48 credits, including 18 credits in required courses and 30 credits in elective courses. Students must also earn a grade of Pass or Pass with Distinction on each part of the general examination, as outlined below.

General Examination

The general examination has three parts: two preliminary examinations taken in the first year—one in microeconomic theory and one in macroeconomic theory—and a research paper due in the sixth semester. To pass the general examination, students must earn a grade of  Pass  or  Pass with Distinction  on both preliminary examinations and on the research paper.

Students who earn a GPA of 3.0 or above in the microeconomic theory course sequence ( ECON 8301 and ECON 8302 ) are considered to have earned a grade of Pass on the preliminary examination in microeconomic theory; students who earn a GPA of 3.0 or above in the macroeconomic theory course sequence ( ECON 8305 and ECON 8306 ) are considered to have earned a grade of Pass on the preliminary examination in macroeconomic theory. Other students must sit the preliminary examinations at the end of the first year.

Students who do not earn a grade of Pass or Pass with Distinction on both preliminary examinations may, with departmental approval, retake one or both examinations before the start of the following semester. Both preliminary examinations must be passed by the second attempt.

Students are also required to earn a grade of Pass or Pass with Distinction on the research paper, which constitutes the second half of the general examination. Students must submit the research paper and deliver a presentation of the content to at least two faculty members for evaluation by the end of their sixth semester in the program. (Part-time students may submit the research paper later, subject to departmental approval.) Students who do not pass the research paper by the end of the sixth semester will receive an academic warning and must pass it by the end of the following semester.

Post-candidacy requirements

Post-candidacy requirements include successful completion of 24 credits at the 8000 level, the formulation of a dissertation proposal, a formal presentation of the proposal by the student to a prospective dissertation committee for approval (where approval of the proposal formalizes the creation of the dissertation committee), and completion of a dissertation that demonstrates the candidate's ability to do original research as determined by the dissertation committee.

Students should successfully defend the dissertation proposal by the end of the eighth semester in the program. Students who do not successfully defend the dissertation proposal by the deadline will receive an academic warning and must successfully defend the proposal by the end of the following semester. Part-time students may defend later, subject to departmental approval.

The 24 credits must include a minimum of 6 credits in  ECON 8999 Dissertation Research .

Once a student successfully completes the 72 credits required for the program, they must register for 1 credit in  CCAS 0940 Continuing Research - Doctoral each subsequent fall and spring semester until they have successfully defended their dissertation to the dissertation oral examination committee, thereby completing the degree program.

Students may apply for the master of philosophy (MPhil) degree after successfully defending a dissertation proposal.

Time limits

The pre-candidacy stage must be concluded within six semesters of matriculation in the program; part-time students may conclude the pre-candidacy stage within ten semesters of matriculation, subject to departmental approval. Upon successful completion of pre-candidacy, students are considered for admission to candidacy, i.e., the dissertation stage. The dissertation stage must be completed within five years of entry into candidacy, or within eight years of matriculation in the program, whichever comes first.

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PhD in Economics

• Advanced Diploma in Economics
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This is the most advanced programme of graduate studies in Economics at Cambridge. Upon its completion, candidates are awarded a PhD degree for producing a thesis of high-quality, original, and publishable research over a period of four years (full-time) and seven years (part-time).

A good number of our PhD students receive full or partial funding for their studies, from a variety of funding bodies, such as the ESRC and the Gates Foundation .

Our PhD students receive high quality training on a variety of research methods and are exposed to cutting edge research conducted by our own Faculty members, as well visitors to the Faculty (via the Cambridge-INET Institute , seminars, PhD workshops, locally organised conferences, etc.). Faculty members can supervise a wide range of topics from six broadly defined research areas: microeconomic theory, macroeconomics, econometrics, applied microeconomics, economic history and alternative approaches to economics.

PhD students in Cambridge benefit from a high faculty-to-student ratio and therefore form close relationships with many Faculty members. They also forge strong links with our post-doctoral researchers, and they actively participate in the Faculty’s vibrant research life. They have access to a wide range of facilities, such as their own desk/office space in the same building as regular Faculty members, computing equipment, a variety of software and access to a wide range of databases.

PhD students are encouraged to attend academic conferences and showcase their research work in a variety of ways. Upon completions of their studies, many of our PhD students become academics, or researchers at international or government research institutions (see recent job market placements here ).

Explore here the profiles of our current PhD students.

To obtain the degree of PhD in Economics, students need to:

1. Obtain the Certificate of Postgraduate Study (CPGS) . If accepted for the PhD degree, you will be registered initially for the Certificate of Postgraduate Study (CPGS) in Economics. Students registered for the CPGS are required to:

• Attend the 'How to do Economics' lecture course. Other postgraduate courses in research methods are organised by the Schools of Humanities and Social Sciences and the Physical Sciences, and are available to all PhD students.  
• Undertake a minimum of four courses from PhD or MPhil Modules from at least two subject areas. You must achieve a pass mark (60%) on each component of the coursework. Students who fail any examinations will be called for a viva on the coursework.

• Write a research proposal (maximum length 10,000 words) that should include a review of the relevant literature, a research question, and outline of a research design and methods. The expectation is that this proposal will be for a piece of research that could form the basis of one chapter of a PhD dissertation. You will be given an oral examination on this piece of work and must perform to a satisfactory standard.  
• Attend (a) one of the three research workshops (on microeconomics, macroeconomics or econometrics) at which research students present both their own work and recent papers in the literature - assessment of workshops will be arranged by course organisers; (b) attend at least one of the Faculty's general seminars in which papers are given both by outside speakers and Faculty members;  
• To be registered for the PhD submit an acceptable piece of research (first year chapter) of not more than 20,000 words. The piece of research submitted must be of a standard that would enable it to form the basis of one-third of your eventual PhD thesis. This means that it must contain research that could be expanded upon to constitute one-third of the PhD thesis.

2. Once upgraded to PhD status, a student concentrates on her or his PhD dissertation. In general the thesis format is either in the form of a book divided into chapters, or of three or more connected articles; in either case, the Faculty has a strict limit of 60,000 words. As research progresses, there will be opportunities to present work in progress at research workshops attended by Faculty members and research students. PhD students will also be required to attend research seminars given by outside speakers and Faculty members. 

Upon completion and submission of the PhD thesis, students do an oral examination (viva) with two examiners, one internal to the University of Cambridge (not the supervisor or research advisor), and one external (from any other University in the UK or the rest of the world).

After a successful thesis defence, the examiners recommend awarding the degree of PhD.

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Research - PhD Economics Programme

We take pride in the Department of Economics’ outstanding placement record and it’s our ambition to place our PhD students in the best institutions worldwide. Our placement record is comparable with the top economics departments in the world, as shown by some of our recent placements which include MIT, UC Berkeley, Columbia, Stanford and Northwestern.

Professor Robin Burgess

The LSE Department of Economics is committed to an individualised and contextual review of each application to the MRes/PhD Economics programme. 

Each year the Department of Economics admits around 20 funded students to join our vibrant doctoral programme, consisting of over 100 students from many countries and backgrounds. Our PhD students pursue research in all economic fields, closely supervised by a variety of faculty . We have a Chair and committee for both PhD Admissions and PhD Recruitment, as well as a dedicated professional staff at School and Department level managing funding and admissions.

The  LSE Economics PhD Programme  is grounded in two years of rigorous coursework through the MRes component and by a strong research element. You can find information about the individual  research courses  offered through our programmes.

As is the norm with top economic departments in the US, students entering the LSE PhD Economics programme are typically offered five years financial support; for more information please visit our Cost and Financial Aid page.

Research Centres in the Department of Economics

The LSE Department of Economics is somewhat unique for its major  Research Centres . PhD students benefit from these centres both in terms of getting access to research funds as well as other facilities which complement their doctoral research.

Suntory and Toyota International Centre for Economics and Related Disciplines  (STICERD)

Centre for Economic Performance  (CEP)

Financial Markets Group  (FMG)

Centre for Analysis of Social Exclusion  (CASE)

International Growth Centre  (IGC)

Centre for Macroeconomics  (CFM)

Programme Requirements

Follow the link below to access information about the PhD routes and coursework.

Programme and School Regulations for research students

Find out more .

Further information

How to apply.

PhD Economics - Admissions FAQs

How to Apply

General Information for prospective research students

Guidelines for submitting Research Statement

An application for 2024 entry to the PhD Economics should include a Research Statement, along with other required information (Note: A separate sample of Written Work is not required as part of the PhD Economics application).

Your Research Statement should be submitted in place of the Outline Research Proposal, along with your application form and other required supporting documents, via the LSE online application system (see the  PhD Economics Admissions FAQs ).

What should my Research Statement contain?

Please answer the following questions clearly and concisely. Max 200 words per question.

1.      Why do you want to do research in economics?

2.      Can you explain how your studies and experience make you suitable to do research in economics?

3.      Which aspect of the PhD do you think you will like the most? Which will you dislike the most? Why?

4.      Tell us about your favourite paper in economics. What do you like about it? How would you improve it?

5.      Write a comment for a general audience on ONE of the following topics (i) Is inequality good for growth?  (ii) Do immigrants take the jobs of native workers?  (iii) Is CEO compensation excessive? (iv) Is universal minimum income a good idea? (v) Overall, has central banks' move to inflation targeting been a success? (vi) Is culture an important determinant of differences in income per capita across countries? (vii) Markets function well as information is aggregated efficiently through prices. (viii) Elections are effective at disciplining politicians who do not have the public interest as their main goal.

How can I demonstrate research potential?

If you have served as research assistant for an economist please ask that person to write a letter focussing on your research skills and describe your experience – reference point 2 (above) of the research statement.

If not, please list any evidence you think would be valuable. Examples include but are not restricted to: experience working autonomously under stress without any guidance, demonstration of creativity in any form, experience of writing original research.

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Class Teaching Opportunities

Class teaching opportunities are available during the course of research degrees. They represent useful professional training and can be a valuable and important experience. For more information, click here.  

PhD Job Market

Towards the completion of a research degree the Department organises an orientation meeting for prospective job market candidates and offers advice as well as a platform for candidates to present their experience and research. Available soon: the page with our current job market candidates.

Current students

• MRes/PhD Programme Director:  Professor Maitreesh Ghatak
• MRes/PhD Programme Manager: Emma Taverner
• PhD Placement Officer:  Matthias Doepke

You can find more information about the profiles of Faculty and Teaching Fellows or Graduate Teaching Assistants, in the People section.

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Applied Economics

Wharton’s highly selective phd program in applied economics offers students many resources not available at other institutions, such as 1:1 faculty to student ratio, five years of funding, and minimal teaching requirements..

Combining the faculties of the departments of Real Estate and Business Economics & Public Policy, Wharton’s Applied Economics program leverages the breadth and depth of its faculty to prepare students for careers doing frontier theoretical and empirical research. Students can focus on a variety of research areas, including Behavioral Economics, Development and International Economics, Energy and Environmental Economics, Health Economics, Industrial Organization and Regulation, Labor Economics, Law and Economics, Market Design, Public Economics, Risk and Insurance, Urban Economics and Real Estate. You can find the list of Applied Economics Faculty here.  Students may also develop an inter-disciplinary focus by taking courses and working with faculty in some of the other departments at Wharton such as Finance, Health Care Management, Management, and Marketing.

For more information on courses, please visit the University Graduate Catalog .

Sample Schedule

The course of study for the Ph.D. in Applied Economics requires the completion of 15 graduate course units. The common core consists of 3 theory courses and 3 statistics/econometrics courses. Students are also expected to master two field areas by passing two courses in each (total of 4 courses units). The remaining course units necessary to achieve 15 are split between the mandatory graduate student research seminars and other electives.

ADMISSIONS AND FINANCIAL AID

Students will apply for admission to the Wharton Program in Applied Economics, and may, if they wish, indicate a preferred field of study in their application. All else equal, the admissions committee may consider field choice in determining admission. Fellowship support will be in accordance with usual Wharton and University guidelines.

CORE REQUIREMENTS

Students will be required to master core materials in economic theory covering the topics of household decision-making, production theory, theory of markets and market failure, game theory, decision-making under uncertainty, and resource allocation in dynamic economies. The following courses will satisfy the three-course economic theory requirement:

Microeconomic Theory I: ECON 7010 Microeconomic Theory II: ECON 7110 Macroeconomic Theory: ECON 7200 or 7210 or FNCE 9240

Students will be required to master core materials in applied econometrics covering the topics of statistical inference, linear regression analysis, panel regression analysis, and estimation of models using discrete dependent variables. The following courses will satisfy the three-course econometric/statistics requirement:

Econometrics: ECON 7300, FNCE 9260, ECON 8310 or ECON 7310, BEPP 9110 and BEPP 9310

FIELD REQUIREMENTS

In addition to the core theory and econometrics materials, students will be required to master two applied fields by passing two courses in each field. Students will be free to offer their own field as a substitute with approval of the graduate group chair and (when relevant) an appropriate advisor from another Wharton graduate group.

• Development Economics BEPP 9410: Development Economics • Industrial Economics and Business Regulation: BEPP 9870: Industrial Organization and Competition Policy HCMG 9020: Special Topics of Health Services Research: Industrial Organization of Health Care ECON 8450: Empirical Methods in Industrial Organization • Market Design BEPP 9710: Market Design • Public Economics and Political Economy: BEPP 9330: Public Economics: Social Insurance & Government Expenditures HCMG 9030: Public Policy ECON 8410: Public Economics I ECON 8411: Public Economics II • Urban Economics and Real Estate: REAL 9450: Urban and Real Estate Economics REAL 9460: Advanced Topics in Urban Economics REAL 9470: Advanced Real Estate and Urban Economics • Behavioral Economics: BEPP 9040: Experimental Economics: Methods and Applications OIDD 9000: Foundation of Decision Processes OIDD 9040: Experimental Economics

In addition, all students must take elective courses to achieve the necessary 15 Course Credits to be eligible for Dissertation Status.

During the second and third year of the program students will be required to attend and actively participate in the graduate student research seminar. Students will also be responsible for presenting a paper of original research to the seminar before entering dissertation status. All students will also be required to attend the faculty Applied Economics Workshop during the 2nd and 3rd years.

BEPP 9000: Research Seminar BEPP 9620: Applied Economics Seminar

QUALIFYING EXAM

At the end of first year (usually in last week of May or first week of June), students are expected to take and pass the qualifying exam for Microeconomic Theory and the qualifying exam for Econometrics. These exams are written and graded by the Wharton Applied Economics PhD Committee. If a student fails in one qualifying exam, another opportunity to take that exam will be given at the end of the second year.

Students can also request a waiver for one or both exams if they perform well in the courses associated with each exam. A satisfactory performance for Microeconomic Theory, for example, corresponds to having at least a B- or better in each micro course, and an average of B or better.

FACULTY ADVISORS

Students are required to select or are assigned two faculty advisors in the beginning of the second year in the program. Because the student will not have had all of the major field courses at that time, it is possible that a student will later decide to change advisors; such an eventuality will be considered a normal outcome. In addition, since students will not have had all of the major field course work by June of their first year, they should “read ahead” in their chosen fields to begin identifying a research topic for the Second Year Paper. Students are expected to initiate meetings with faculty members to discuss possible research topics, and these meetings should begin as early as possible after the student enters the program and are part of the process of getting to know the faculty and learning about the field.

CANDIDACY PAPER

The Program in Applied Economics provides students with several opportunities to conduct research. All students are required to write a candidacy paper in their second year to be submitted in the summer of the second year in the program. This paper should demonstrate the student’s ability to conduct PhD quality research. This is often used as the Master’s Thesis submission- and, as the title implies, it is one of the requirements for admission to Doctoral candidacy.

The deadline for submission of the Candidacy Paper is strictly enforced, and failure to complete and submit the paper by the deadline (July 15 of the end of the student’s second year in the program) is grounds for dismissal from the program. The paper must be submitted to the faculty members who are the student’s principal advisors for the project, as well as to the Doctoral Coordinator. A copy of the candidacy paper, together with letters from two faculty members noting approval of it, must be in each student’s file in the Program office prior to the start of the student’s fifth term (typically the start of the third year). Failure to fulfill this requirement may result in the student being dropped from the program.

The main objective of the candidacy paper is to demonstrate the student’s ability to do original research. Often the Candidacy Paper is submitted for publication, and it can also serve as the foundation for PhD research, possibly as a dissertation essay. The Candidacy Paper must be solely authored by the student, not co-authored with the faculty advisor.

Milestones on the road to the candidacy paper are as follows:

September of 2nd year in the program Fall semester, 2nd year Spring semester, 2nd year Faculty advisors selected Candidacy Paper proposal Work on Candidacy paper Submit final version of Candidacy Paper

ADMISSION TO CANDIDACY Before admission to candidacy, the student is required to:

• Complete all required coursework, including all core courses, with at least a B + or better in each course and with an average GPA of B+ or better. (For some courses, a passing grade on a qualifying exam can substitute for a grade below B.)
• Pass both qualifying exams or request exam waivers.
• Submit a satisfactory candidacy paper

THE PHD DISSERTATION The best ways to find a dissertation topic is to talk to the program faculty and read the literature. Discussions with faculty can range from “cold calls,” where the student asks the faculty member for topic suggestions, to more proactive visits where the student discusses potential topic ideas that have come up in course work or research seminars. Students should also take a close look at recent dissertations written by students in their major field as well as dissertations written by students from other Wharton departments.

There are two primary models for the organization of dissertations. The “single study” traditional dissertation, and the essay approach. In the latter approach, two or three essays are generally found acceptable by the student’s dissertation committee, depending on length and quality. Dissertation essays are more prevalent for a number of reasons, including most importantly, (a) the Candidacy Paper may be permitted to constitute a substantial part of one essay, (b) an essay can be used as an interview paper (see discussion below), and (c) if properly structured, an essay can often be converted into a paper to be submitted to a journal. Whether two or three essays are appropriate depends on the length and complexity of the research undertaken and is determined by the student’s dissertation committee.

Dissertation essays may be co-authored, although the extent to which this is appropriate will depend on each student’s topic, doctoral committee, and faculty advisor. A circumstance where a co -authored essay might be appropriate could arise from a joint research project with a faculty member. However, the student’s dissertation must include at least one essay that is solely authored by the student. The dissertation process must begin with the selection of a principal advisor or co-advisors. Each student is responsible for this selection, and then the student works with the advisor(s) to select the dissertation topic and begin exploratory research. The student and advisor then work together to select committee members. Committee members can be approached to join the committee by either the student or the principal advisor(s). The student should work with the advisor(s) to arrange a mutually agreeable procedure. The student should review the Wharton Doctoral Programs Policies and Procedures, to be sure that the committee structure satisfies the overall requirements of the Wharton Doctoral Program.

Important: the PhD Dissertation proposal must be defended before the end of the fourth year in the program. Failure to defend can result in dismissal from the program.

GOING ON THE JOB MARKET The ultimate objective of the Wharton Doctoral Program is to prepare our students for a teaching and research career, ideally at a college or university. Because the placement process for academic jobs is lengthy, students should become familiar with it well in advance of the “job market year.” The program provides full support for students going on the job market, and a series of meetings and timelines are provided to the students during the fourth and fifth years in the program.

PROGRAM ADMINISTRATION The program will be administered by the graduate group in Applied Economics. Primary appointments in the Departments of Business Economics and Public Policy and Real Estate will be automatic members of the graduate group and comprise the initial membership of the graduate group. The graduate group can extend membership to other Wharton and University faculty as they consider appropriate. The graduate group will decide on its preferred administrative structure. Currently, the chairs of the departments of Real Estate and Business Economics and Public Policy are responsible for jointly appointing a PhD Coordinator that will serve a two-year term, with the option to renew it for another two years. The PhD Coordinator is also the representative for the group to the Doctoral Executive Committee.

STUDENT INVOLVEMENT Students are expected to spend full-time on their coursework and research during the first two years of the program. In subsequent years, students are expected to work with faculty, preferably as research assistants or co-authors, thereby gaining the experience required to be successful researchers. Students are also required to TA a core course (any alternatives will need to be approved by the PhD Coordinator) each in their 3rd year and 4th year of the program as a funding requirement. Other activities that further the student’s research careers are encouraged, subject to the approval of the doctoral coordinator (this includes teaching assistant positions). Failure to communicate with the doctoral coordinator about a research assistant or teaching job may result in cancellation of your scholarship.

Get the Details.

Visit the Applied Economics site for details on program requirements and courses. Read faculty and student research and bios to see what you can do with an Applied Economics PhD.

PhD in Economics

PhD students take 16 courses, roughly half of which are spent acquiring the core analytic tools of the profession (microeconomics, macroeconomics, and quantitative methods), with the balance spent applying those tools in particular fields of specialization. All PhD students must complete a doctoral dissertation (thesis).

The PhD in Economics is a STEM designated degree program.

View the complete PhD Rules here

Program Requirements

Doctoral students must complete a minimum of 16 semester courses (64 credits). They are required to successfully complete the core courses by the end of the first year.

Theory and Quantitative Core Requirements

These core courses must be passed by the end of the first year with a grade of at least B- in each course.

• EC 701 Advanced Microeconomics I (4 credits)
• EC 702 Advanced Macroeconomics I (4 credits)
• EC 703 Advanced Microeconomics II (4 credits)
• EC 704 Advanced Macroeconomics II (4 credits)
• EC 707 Advanced Statistics for Economists (4 credits)
• EC 708 Advanced Econometrics I (4 credits)

Students must also take EC 705 Mathematical Economics in the first semester, unless a waiver is granted, and EC 709 Advanced Econometrics II (4 credits) in the third semester.

In addition, students must pass a qualifying examination in both microeconomics and macroeconomics. Students have at most three opportunities to take the qualifying examinations; failing may result in termination from the PhD program.

Field Requirements

All students must pass 2 2-course fields, each with a minimum grade average of B.

In addition, students must take at least 2 other courses. The following fields are generally offered each year:

• Development
• Econometrics
• Economic Theory
• Empirical Finance
• Financial Econometrics
• Industrial Organization
• International Economics
• Labor Economics
• Money/Macroeconomics
• Public Economics

GPA Requirements

All courses must be passed with a grade of B– or higher. An overall grade point average (GPA) of 3.0 must be attained in all courses taken after enrollment in the Graduate School of Arts & Sciences.

Time Requirement

The PhD program is designed so that a typical student can complete all requirements within 5 to 6 years. International students may be subject to additional restrictions imposed by the terms of their visas, as governed by the International Students & Scholars Office (ISSO).

Students are expected to meet the following milestones each year:

By the end of the 1st year:

• Finish and pass all core first-year courses, as well as EC 705 (unless exempted through placement exam).
• Sit for the first attempt at the micro and macro qualifying exams in June. The second attempt, if necessary, is in August.

By the end of the 2nd year:

• Pass EC 709, a required course in Advanced Econometrics.
• Continue and, if possible, complete remaining coursework, including a two-course sequence in each of two fields. A B average (3.0) is required in each of the field course sequence.
• Achieve an overall GPA of at least 3.0.
• If both qualifiers are not passed, the third and final attempt is in June of the second year.
• Each student must prepare a research paper during the second year and the following summer. By April 1 of the second year, the student must ask a faculty member to serve as an advisor on this paper; have this faculty member agree to serve in this manner; and inform the DGS of the topic of the paper and the advisor’s name. The paper is due in the third year as described below.

By the end of the 3rd year:

• Submit the second-year paper by October 1. By October 15, the faculty advisor must provide (i) a grade for the paper; and (ii) a brief written evaluation the paper. These documents will be sent to the DGS and the student. A student must receive a passing grade on the research paper.
• Complete all coursework with GPA of at least 3.0.
• Continue work on research for the dissertation.
• Attend and present at least annually in one of the research workshops until completion of all degree requirements.

Years 4, 5, and (if necessary) 6:

• Student carries out thesis research, defending the thesis no later than the end of the sixth year.

Dissertation

Under the supervision of two faculty advisers, a student prepares a dissertation proposal for presentation at a proposal seminar. If the proposal is approved, the student proceeds to research and write the dissertation. When the dissertation is completed, the student must defend it at a final oral examination. The Graduate School of Arts & Sciences requires that the dissertation be completed within seven years of initial enrollment in the program.

For more details, view the complete PhD Rules here and check out our past PhD Placements here .

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PhD in Economics

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Our PhD Program in Economics is widely recognized for our faculty, whose insights have changed the course of modern-day economic research.

The Chicago School of Economics. It all started here at the University of Chicago.

Fields of specialization in the Economics Stevens Doctoral Program include price theory, market design, industrial organization, behavioral economics, development economics, labor economics, public economics, health economics, urban economics, financial economics, and economic history.

Our Distinguished Economics Faculty

Chicago Booth faculty have been responsible for many of the pioneering economic concepts that inform today’s global businesses and policymaking. And they’ll be your teachers, mentors, and research collaborators. For our macroeconomics faculty, visit the Booth faculty directory  and select “Macro/International Business” under “Academic Area.”

Milena Almagro

Assistant Professor of Economics, Liew Family Junior Faculty Fellow, George G. Rinder Faculty Fellow

Marianne Bertrand

Chris P. Dialynas Distinguished Service Professor of Economics

Eric Budish

Paul G. McDermott Professor of Economics and Entrepreneurship and Centel Foundation/Robert P. Reuss Faculty Scholar

Christopher Campos

Assistant Professor of Economics

Rebecca Dizon-Ross

Associate Professor of Economics and Charles E. Merrill Faculty Scholar

Alexander P. Frankel

Professor of Economics

Robert H. Gertner

Joel F. Gemunder Professor of Strategy and Finance; John Edwardson Faculty Director Rustandy Center for Social Sector Innovation

Austan D. Goolsbee

Robert P. Gwinn Professor of Economics

Richard Hornbeck

V. Duane Rath Professor of Economics and Neubauer Family Faculty Fellow

Anders Humlum

Assistant Professor of Economics and Fujimori/Mou Faculty Scholar

Emir Kamenica

Richard O. Ryan Professor of Economics

Jacob Leshno

Associate Professor of Economics and Robert H. Topel Faculty Scholar

Andrew McClellan

Jack Mountjoy

Sendhil Mullainathan

Distinguished Fellow

Matthew Notowidigdo

David McDaniel Keller Professor of Economics and Business and Public Policy Fellow

Canice Prendergast

W. Allen Wallis Distinguished Service Professor of Economics

Daniel Rappoport

Associate Professor of Economics

Elisa Rubbo

Assistant Professor of Economics and Liew Family Junior Faculty Fellow

David W. Johnson Professor of Economics

Chad Syverson

George C. Tiao Distinguished Service Professor of Economics

Richard H. Thaler

Charles R. Walgreen Distinguished Service Professor of Behavioral Science and Economics

Thomas Wollmann

Associate Professor of Economics and William Ladany Faculty Scholar

Alumni Success

Alumni have written dissertations in industrial organization, labor economics, microeconomics, and other related areas. Upon graduation, they go onto Career Outcomes in academics, government, and industry.

Nick Tsivanidis, PhD '18

Assistant Professor in the Real Estate Group Haas School of Business, University of California, Berkeley Nick researches topics related to urbanization in developing countries. His current interests center on policy issues around transport and housing, with projects in India, Nigeria, Colombia and Brazil. His dissertation area is in economics.

A Network of Support

Doctoral students at Booth have access to the resources of several high-powered research centers that offer funding for student work, host workshops and conferences, and foster a strong research community.

Becker Friedman Institute for Economics Bringing together researchers from the entire Chicago economics community, the Becker Friedman Institute fosters novel insights on the world’s most difficult economic problems.

George J. Stigler Center for the Study of the Economy and the State Dedicated to examining issues at the intersection of politics and the economy, the Stigler Center supports research by Doctoral students and others who are interested in the political, economic, and cultural obstacles to better working markets.

Rustandy Center for Social Sector Innovation Committed to making the world more equitable and sustainable, the Rustandy Center works to solve complex social and environmental problems. The center’s student support includes fellowships, research funding, and networking opportunities.

Fama-Miller Center for Research in Finance Tasked with pushing the boundaries of research in finance, the Fama-Miller Center provides institutional structure and support for researchers in the field.

Center for Research in Security Prices CRSP maintains one of the world’s largest and most comprehensive stock market databases. Since 1963, it has been a valued resource for businesses, government, and scholars.

The Kent A. Clark Center for Global Markets Enhancing the understanding of business and financial market globalization, the Clark Center for Global Markets positions Chicago Booth as a thought leader in the understanding of ever-changing markets and improves financial and economic decision-making around the world.

Scholarly Publications

Chicago Booth is home to some of the most prestigious academic journals in economics.

The Journal of Labor Economics presents international research on the relationship between labor and the economy.

The Journal of Law and Economics has published some of the most influential and widely cited articles on a broad range of economic topics.

The Journal of Political Economy , one of the oldest economics journals in the world, focuses on the relationship between government and the economy.

Spotlight on Research

Our faculty and PhD students continually produce high-level research. The Chicago Booth Review frequently highlights their contributions in economics.

To Keep Students Focused, Try Paying Their Parents

A study of subsidized training programs and incentives. Research from Hamna Ahmed (Lahore School of Economics), Zunia Tirmazee (Lahore), Rebecca Wu (UChicago PhD), and Emma Zhang (Chicago Booth PhD), suggest that including parents in decision-making may be most effective.

How Demolishing Public Housing Increased Inequity

A study by Chicago Booth's Milena Almagro, Eric Chyn (University of Texas), and Bryan A. Stuart (Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia) investigate what happened to Chicago's public housing system and find that demolishing public housing increased inequality.

Why Medical Tourism Could Be Good Policy

Rather than investing in putting more medical facilities in remote areas, it could be more effective to pay for patients to visit healthcare facilities, according to research by Chicago Booth's Johnathan Dingel, Joshua D. Gottlieb (UChicago Harris School), Maya Lozinski (Harris PhD) and Pauline Mourot (Chicago Booth PhD). 

NBER Dissertation Fellowship in Consumer Financial Management

The National Bureau of Economics (NBER) awarded PhD Student, Benedict Guttman-Kenney, a dissertation fellowship to support his research in the economics of credit information.

Inside the Booth PhD Experience

Nick Tsivanidis, PhD ’18, talks about the culture of interdisciplinary study he found at Booth.

Video Transcript

Nick Tsivanidis, ’18: 00:03 My PhD thesis was about how commute costs shape economic organization in cities. Billions of people over the next 50, 100 years, they're going to be moving into mostly developing cities. Governments are going to spend huge amounts of money on providing new infrastructure to try and accommodate them. My project had both macro and applied micro elements. One of the benefits of Booth is that you have access to people from a wide range of areas who are very happy to encourage you to work on interdisciplinary topics.

Nick Tsivanidis, ’18: 00:38 I've always been interested in development and in particular how cities and countries can use evidence-based policy to try and improve welfare of their citizens. I've decided that pursuing a PhD would allow me to research and help translate that research into policy. What attracted me to the PhD program here at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business was this culture of interdisciplinary study. People at Chicago certainly aren't scared or will shy away from trying to think at the intersection of different areas. This is where a lot of very fruitful and productive new research actually takes place, which is at the border of frontiers. That really attracted me to come here.

Current Economics Students

From the effects of government regulation on economies to the impact of urban transit infrastructures, our PhD students examine a wide range of economic issues. When they graduate, they go on to positions at some of the top universities and companies in the world.

Current Students

Franco Calle

Emily Crawford

Paulo Henrique de Alcantara Ramos

Camille Hillion

Tyler Jacobson

Nidhaanjit Jain

Lucy Msall Jeffrey Ohl

Fern Ramoutar

Pengyu Ren Gabriele Romano

Jorge Tello Garza

Emily (Emma) Zhang

Program Expectations and Requirements

The Stevens Doctoral Program at Chicago Booth is a full-time program. Students generally complete the majority of coursework and examination requirements within the first two years of studies and begin work on their dissertation during the third year. For details, see General Examination Requirements by Area in the Stevens Program Guidebook below.

Download the 2023-2024 Guidebook!

Curriculum and Thesis

In their first and second years, PhD students are required to complete a series of core classes, coursework in their major and minor fields of study, and an advanced research methods course before proceeding to the thesis-writing stage.

Core courses

Students must satisfy the requirements in at least 10 of 12 half-semester first-year core courses (14.384 and 14.385 are considered second-year courses). The requirements can be met by earning a grade of B or better in the class or by passing a waiver exam.

Waiver exams are offered at the start of the semester in which the course is offered and graded on a pass-fail basis. Students who receive a grade of B- or below in a class can consult the course faculty to determine whether to take the waiver exam or re-take the course the following year. These requirements must all be satisfied before the end of the second year.

Course list

• 14.121: Microeconomic Theory I
• 14.122: Microeconomic Theory II
• 14.123: Microeconomic Theory III
• 14.124: Microeconomic Theory IV
• 14.380: Statistical Methods in Economics
• 14.381: Estimation and Inference for Linear Causal and Structural Models
• 14.382*: Econometrics
• 14.384*: Time Series Analysis (2nd year course)
• 14.385*: Nonlinear Econometric Analysis (2nd year course)
• 14.451: Dynamic Optimization Methods with Applications
• 14.452: Economic Growth
• 14.453: Economic Fluctuations
• 14.454: Economic Crises

*Courses 14.382, 14.384, and 14.385 are each counted as two half-semester courses.

Most students will also take one or more field courses (depending on whether they are waiving core courses) during their first year. Feel free to ask your graduate research officer, field faculty, and advanced students for advice on how you structure your first-year coursework.

Second year students must also successfully complete the two-semester course 14.192: Advanced Research Methods and Communication. The course, which is graded on a pass-fail basis, guides students through the process of writing and presenting the required second-year research paper.

Major field requirement

By the end of year two, PhD students must complete the requirements for two major fields in economics. This entails earning a B or better in two designated courses for each field. Some fields recommend additional coursework or papers for students intending to pursue research in the field.

Major fields must be declared by the Monday following the spring break of your second year. Your graduate registration officer must approve your field selections.

Minor field requirement

PhD students are also required to complete two minor fields, taking two courses in each field and earning a grade of B or better. Your graduate registration officer must approve your field selections.

Minor coursework is normally completed by the end of year two, but in some cases students can defer the completion of one field until after general exams. Students must consult with their graduate registration officer before making a deferment.

Options for minor fields include the eleven economics major fields, plus computation and statistics (from the interdisciplinary PhD in Economics and Statistics).

Students who wish to satisfy one of the minor field requirements by combining two courses from different fields–for example, environmental economics and industrial organization II–can petition the second-year graduate registration officer for permission.

At least one minor field should be from the department’s standard field list.

The fields in which the Department offers specialization and the subjects that will satisfy their designation as a minor field are given in the chart below. Some fields overlap so substantially that both cannot be taken by a student. In any event, the same subject cannot be counted towards more than a single minor field. Students must receive the approval of their Graduate Registration Officer for their designated major and minor fields.

List of fields

Behavioral economics.

• Development
• Econometrics
• Industrial organization
• International
• Macroeconomics
• Organizational
• Political economy
• Public finance
• Computation and statistics (minor only)

Subjects satisfying major and minor requirements

Advanced economic theory.

Major: At least two of 14.125, 14.126, 14.281, and Harvard Ec 2059. Recommended for major: 14.126, 14.281, and at least one of 14.125, 14.127, 14.130, 14.147, and Harvard Ec 2059.

Minor: Any subset adding up to two full semesters from 14.125, 14.126, 14.127, 14.130, 14.137, 14.147, 14.160, 14.281 and Harvard Ec 2059. 

*Effective academic year 2025-26, students may also complete a minor in economic theory by completing all four micro core courses 121-124 plus one of 125, 126, 281

Major and minor: 14.160 and 14.163

Econometrics and Statistics

Major: Any one of 14.386, 14.387, 14.388 in addition to one of 14.384 or 14.385. Recommended for major: 14.384 and 14.385. 

Minor: 14.382 in addition to one of 14.384 or 14.385. 

*Dual PhD in Economics and Statistics has an additional requirement of 14.386.

Economic Development

Major and minor: 14.771 and 14.772 or 14.773

Major: 14.416J and 14.441J

Minor: Any two of 14.416J, 14.440J, 14.441J, 14.442J, 14.448. 

Industrial Organization

Major: 14.271 and 14.272 or 14.273. Recommended for major: 14.271, 14.272, and 14.273.

Minor: 14.271 and 14.272 or 14.273. 

International Economics

Major and minor: 14.581 and 14.582

Labor Economics

Major: 14.661 and 14.662A. 

Minor: Two subjects chosen from 14.193, 14.661, and 14.662

Monetary Economics

Major and minor: Two subjects chosen from 14.461, 14.462, and 14.463

* Effective academic year 2025-26, students may also complete a minor in macroeconomics by completing all four macro core courses 451-454 plus either 461 or 462

Organizational Economics

Major and minor: 14.282 and one of 14.283-284, 14.441J, or an approved substitute

Political Economy

Major and minor: 14.770 and 14.773

Public Economics

Major and minor: 14.471 and 14.472

Minimum class requirement

Effective for students entering the program in 2025 or later, students must complete a total of 13 semester long classes plus 14.192 during their time in the PhD program. Subjects that are waived will not count towards this requirement.  Classes counting towards this requirement include classes in Course 14, classes that count for any major or minor field or interdisciplinary program requirement, and classes approved by the 2nd-year GRO.

General exams

MIT requires doctoral candidates to complete an advanced course of study that includes general exams at its completion. Beginning in 2019-20, the Economics Department will operationalize this requirement to include successful completion of: the core and other required courses; course exams and other requirements of courses in each of a student’s two major and two minor fields; the written research paper and oral presentation components of 14.192. Students may present for the general exams while having one remaining minor field to complete. The faculty will review these components together with the candidate’s overall course record to determine whether students have passed the general exam requirement and can proceed to the thesis writing stage.

Typical course schedule

Math Camp begins on the second Monday in August.

Fall Semester

14.121/14.122 (Micro Theory I/II) 14.451/14.452 (Macro Theory I/II) 14.380/14.381 (Statistical Method in Economics & Applied Econometrics) Field Course (major or minor)

Spring Semester

14.123/14.124 (Micro Theory III/IV) 14.453/14.454 (Macro Theory III/IV) 14.382 (Econometrics) Field Course (major or minor)

2-3 Field Courses 14.192 (Advanced Research and Communication) 14.384  or  14.385 (Advanced Econometrics)

3 Field Courses 14.192 (Advanced Research and Communication)

Years 3 and up

Field workshop Field lunch Thesis writing

Upon satisfying the core and field requirements, PhD candidates embark on original research culminating in a completed dissertation. A PhD thesis normally consists of three research papers of publishable quality. The thesis must be approved by a student’s primary and secondary thesis advisors, and by an anonymous third reader. These three faculty members will be the candidate's thesis committee and are responsible for its acceptance. Collaborative work is acceptable and encouraged, but there must be at least one paper in the dissertation without a co-author who was a faculty member when the research started.

Criteria for satisfactory progress

Third-year students.

• Meet regularly with their advisor
• Participate consistently in their primary field advising lunch, their primary field workshop, and the third-year student research lunch
• Participate in third-year meetings organized by the thesis graduate research officer

Students should present on their research in progress at least once in both the third-year student research lunches and their field advising lunch. Presentations provide opportunities for early and broad feedback on research ideas and the chance to develop oral presentation skills. Research ideas or early stage work in progress is encouraged and expected.

Fourth-year and later students

• Participate consistently in their primary field advising lunch and their primary field workshop
• Present at least once per year in their field advising lunch or field workshop. A presentation each semester in the field advising lunch is strongly recommended by most fields; consult your advisors for more information

Satisfactory progress toward a dissertation will be evaluated based on progress assessments by the student’s primary advisor, regular participation in the lunches and workshops, and field lunch or workshop presentations that show continued progress.

134 Economics Thesis Topics: Ideas for Outstanding Writing

Writing a thesis is not an easy task. For most of the students, it can be even intimidating, especially when you do not know where to start your research.

Here, we have provided an economics thesis topics list. After all, everyone knows that choosing the right idea is crucial when writing an academic paper. In economics, it can combine history, math, social studies, politics, and numerous other subjects. You should also have solid foundations and a sound factual basis for a thesis. Without these elements, you won’t be able to master your research paper.

The issue is:

It is not always clear what could be seen as an excellent economics thesis topic. Our experts can assist you with this challenge. This list contains some outstanding examples to get you started.

• ⭐ Thesis in Economics
• 🔥 Supreme Thesis Topics
• 👍 Bachelor’s Thesis
• 😲 Master’s Thesis

📊 Microeconomics

📈 macroeconomics.

• 🤔 Developmental
• 👨‍💼 Behavioral
• 💼 Financial
• 🌱 Agricultural
• 🤝‍ Sociology
• 📚 Ph.D. Topics
• 📝 How to Pick a Topic

⭐ What Does a Thesis in Economics Look Like?

A good thesis in economics is a blend between an empirical paper and a theoretical one. One of the essential steps in choosing a topic in economics is to decide which one you will write.

You may write, research, analyze statistical data and other information. Or build and study a specific economic model.

Or why not both!

Here are some questions you can ask when deciding what topic to choose:

• What has already been written on this topic?
• What economic variables will my paper study?
• Where should I look for the data?
• What econometrics techniques should I use?
• What type of model will I study?

The best way to understand what type of research you have to do is to write a thesis proposal. You will most probably be required to submit it anyway. Your thesis supervisor will examine your ideas, methods, list of secondary and primary sources. At some universities, the proposal will be graded.

After you get the initial feedback, you will have a clear idea of what to adjust before writing your thesis. Only then, you’ll be able to start.

🔥 Supreme Economics Thesis Topics List

• Fast fashion in India.
• The UK housing prices.
• Brexit and European trade.
• Behavioral economics.
• Healthcare macroeconomics.
• COVID-19’s economic impact.
• Global gender wage gap.
• Commodity dependence in Africa.
• International trade – developing countries.
• Climate change and business development.

👍 Economics Bachelor’s Thesis Topics

At the U.S. Universities, an undergraduate thesis is very uncommon. However, it depends on the Department Policy.

The biggest challenge with the Bachelor’s Thesis in economics concerns its originality. Even though you are not required to conduct entirely unique research, you have to lack redundant ideas.

You can easily avoid making this mistake by simply choosing one of these topics. Also, consider visiting IvyPanda essays database. It’s a perfect palce to conduct a brainstorming session and come up with fresh ideas for a paper, as well as get tons of inspiration.

• The impact of the oil industry on the economic development of Nigeria. The oil industry is vital for the economic development of Nigeria. In this thesis, students can discuss the notion of the resource curse. Analyze the reasons why general people are not benefiting from the oil industry. Why did it produce very little change in the social and economic growth of the country?
• Sports Marketing and Advertising: the impact it has on the consumers.
• Economic opportunities and challenges of investing in Kenya .
• Economic Development in the Tourism Industry in Africa. Since the early 1990s, tourism significantly contributed to the economic growth of African countries. In this thesis, students can talk about the characteristics of the tourist sector in Africa. Or elaborate on specific countries and how their national development plans look like.
• Globalization and its significance to business worldwide .
• Economic risks connected to investing in Turkey .
• The decline in employment rates as the biggest American economy challenge .
• The economics of alcohol abuse problems. In this thesis, students can develop several essential issues. First, they can examine how poverty is connected to alcohol abuse. Second, they can see the link between alcohol consumption and productivity. To sum up, students can elaborate on the economic costs of alcohol abuse.
• Causes and solutions for unemployment in Great Britain.
• Parallel perspective on Global Economic Order: China and America. This thesis can bring a comparative analysis of the economies to a new level. China and The US are the world’s two largest economies. These two countries have a significant impact on the global economic order. So, looking at the set of institutions, policies, rules can be constructive.
• The new international economic order after COVID-19
• Financial stability of the banking sector in China.
• New Electronic Payment Services in Russia.
• The influence of culture on different entrepreneurial behaviors.
• The impact of natural cultural practices on entrepreneurial activity.
• The relationships between national culture and individual behavior.
• The main reasons for salary inequalities in different parts of the U.S.

😲 Economics Master’s Thesis Topics

Student life can be fascinating, but it comes with its challenges. One of which is selecting your Master’s thesis topic.

Here is a list of topics for a Master’s thesis in economics. Are you pursuing MPhil in Economics and writing a thesis? Use the following ideas as an inspiration for that. They can also be helpful if you are working on a Master’s thesis in financial economics.

• The impact of visual aid in teaching home economics.
• The effect of income changes in consumer behaviors in America.
• Forces behind socio-economic inequalities in the United States. This thesis can explore three critical factors for socio-economic differences in the United States. In the past 30 years, social disparities increased in the United States. Some of the main reasons are technology, trade, and institutions.
• The relationships between economic growth and international development.
• Technological innovations and their influence on green and environmental products.
• The economics of non-solar renewable energy .

• The economic consequences of terrorism . Terrorism not only takes away lives and destroys property but also widely affects the economy. It creates uncertainty in the market, increases insurance claims, slows down investment projects, and tourism. This thesis can address all of the ways in which terrorism can affect economies.
• Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) implementation in the Oil and Gas Industry in Africa.
• Use of incentives in behavioral economics.
• Economic opportunities and challenges of sustainable communities .
• Economics of nuclear power plants.
• Aid and financial help for emerging markets. This topic is very versatile. Students can look at both the positive and the adverse effects that funding has on the development. There are plenty of excellent examples. Besides, some theories call international help a form of neocolonialism.
• Multinational firms impact on economic growth in America .
• The effect of natural disasters on economic development in Asia.
• The influence of globalization on emerging markets and economic development.

📑 More Economics Thesis Topics: Theme

For some students, it makes more sense to center their search around a certain subject. Sometimes you have an econ area that interests you. You may have an idea about what you want to write, but you did not decide what it will be.

If that’s the case with you, then these economics thesis topics ideas are for you.

• An analysis of the energy market in Russia.
• The impact of game theory on economic development.
• The connection between minimum wage and market equilibrium.
• Gender differences in the labor market in the United States. This topic can shed light on gender differences in the labor market in the United States. In the past years, the overall inequality in labor in the markets decreased. However, there is still a lot of work that can be done.
• Economic reasons that influence the prices of oil .
• Relationship between the Lorenz curve and the Gini coefficient.
• Challenges of small businesses in the market economy.
• The changes in oil prices: causes and solutions . Universal economic principles do not always apply to the sale and purchase of the oil. The same happens with its cost. In the thesis, talk about what affects the prices. What are the solutions that can be implemented?
• The economic analysis of the impact of immigration on the American economy.

• Economic inequality as a result of globalization . Economic inequality becomes even more apparent on the global level. There is a common belief that globalization is the cause of that. Discuss what can be the solutions to these problems. This topic is vital to minimize the gap between the rich and the poor.
• The economic explanation of political dishonesty .
• Effect of Increasing Interest rates costs in Africa .
• The connection between game theory and microeconomics.
• Marketing uses in microeconomics.
• Financial liability in human-made environmental disasters.
• Banks and their role in the economy. Banks are crucial elements of any economy, and this topic covers why. You can explain how banks allow the goods and services to be exchanged. Talk about why banks are so essential for economic growth and stability.
• Inflation in the US and ways to reduce its impact.
• The connection between politics and economics.
• Income Dynamics and demographic economics.
• US Market Liquidity and macroeconomics.
• Macroeconomics and self-correction of the economy .
• The American economy, monetary policy, and monopolies .
• The importance of control in macroeconomics. One of the central topics in macroeconomics is grouped around the issue of control. It is quite reasonable that control over money and resources should become a topic of discussion.
• Analysis of Africa’s macroeconomics and its performance.
• Economics of education in developing markets.
• Problems and possible solutions for Japan macroeconomics .
• Comparative analysis of British macroeconomics concerning the US .
• Public policies and socio-economic disparities.
• The world problems through macroeconomic analysis. Indeed, macroeconomics is very complicated. There are many influences, details, and intricacies in it. However, it allows economists to use this complex set of tools to examine the world’s leading problems today.

• The connection between employment interest and money.

🤔 Development Economics

• Economics of development . This topic is very rich in content. First, explain what it is. Then pay particular attention to domestic and international policies that affect development, income distribution, and economic growth.
• The relation between development and incentive for migration.
• The impact of natural disasters on the economy and political stability of emerging markets.
• The economic consequences of population growth in developing countries.
• The role of industrialization in developing countries . The industrialization has been connected with the development. It promotes capital formation and catalyzes economic growth in emerging markets. In this thesis, you can talk about this correlation.
• Latin American economic development.
• Gender inequality and socio-economic development .
• Problems of tax and taxation in connection with economic growth.
• The economic impact of terrorism on developing markets.
• Religious decline as a key to economic development. Not everyone knows, but a lot of research has been done in the past years on the topic. It argues that decreased religious activity is connected with increased economic growth. This topic is quite controversial. Students who decide to write about it should be extra careful and polite.

👨‍💼 Behavioral Economics

• Risk Preferences in Rural South Africa.
• Behavioral Economics and Finance .
• Applied behavioral economics in marketing strategies. If you want to focus your attention on marketing, this topic is for you. Behavioral economics provides a peculiar lens to look at marketing strategies. It allows marketers to identify common behaviors and adapt their marketing strategies.
• The impact of behavioral finance on investment decisions.
• Behavioral Economics in Child Nutrition Programs in North Texas.
• Guidelines for Behavioral Economics in Healthcare Sector.
• Cognitive and behavioral theories in economics .
• Cross-cultural consumer behavior and marketing communication. Consumers are not only affected by personal characteristics, but also by the culture they are living in. This topic focuses on the extent it should determine marketing strategy and communication.
• Behavior implications of wealth and inequality.

• Optimism and pessimism for future behavior.

💼 Financial Economics

• Financial Economics for Infrastructure and Fiscal Policy .
• The use of the economic concept of human capital. Students can focus on the dichotomy between human and nonhuman capital. Many economists believe that human capital is the most crucial of all. Some approach this issue differently. Therefore, students should do their research and find where they stand on this issue.
• The analysis of the global financial crisis of 2020s. Share your thoughts, predictions, ideas. Analyze the economic situation that affects almost everyone in the world. This thesis topic will be fresh and original. It can help to start a good and fruitful conversation.
• The big data economic challenges for Volvo car.
• The connection between finance, economics, and accounting.
• Financial economics: Banks competition in the UK .
• Risk-Taking by mutual funds as a response to incentives.
• Managerial economics and financial accounting as a basis for business decisions.
• Stock market overreaction.

🌱 Agricultural Economics

• Agricultural economics and agribusiness.
• The vulnerability of agricultural business in African countries.
• Agricultural economics and environmental considerations of biofuels .
• Farmer’s contribution to agricultural social capital.
• Agricultural and resource economics. Agricultural and resource economics plays a huge role in development. They are subdivided into four main characteristics which in this topic, students can talk about: – mineral and energy resources; – soil resources, water resources; – biological resources. One or even all of them can be a focus of the thesis.
• Water as an economic good in irrigated agriculture.
• Agriculture in the economic development of Iran.
• The US Agricultural Food Policy and Production .
• Pesticides usage on agricultural products in California.

• An analysis of economic efficiency in agriculture. A lot of research has been done on the question of economic efficiency in agriculture. However, it does not mean there is no place for your study. You have to read a lot of secondary sources to see where your arguments can fit.

🤝‍Economic Sociology

• Theory, approach, and method in economics sociology.
• Economic sociology of capitalism. While economists believe in the positive effect capitalism has on the economy, the social effect is quite different. The “economic” part of the issue has been studied a lot. However, the sociology of it has been not. This thesis can be very intriguing to read.
• Political Economy and Economic Sociology.
• Gender and economic sociology .
• Progress, sociology, and economics.
• Data analysis in economics, sociology, environment .
• Economic sociology as a way to understand the human mind.
• Economic sociology of money.
• Economics, sociology, and psychology of security.
• Major principles of economic sociology. In the past decade, economic sociology became an increasingly popular field. Mainly due to it giving a new view on economics, human mind, and behavior. Besides, it explores relationships between politics, law, culture, and gender.

📚 The List of Ph.D. Topics in Economics

If you decide to go to grad school to do your Masters, you will likely end up getting a Ph.D. as well. So, with this plan in mind, think about a field that interests you enough during your Masters. Working with the same topic for both graduate degrees is easier and more effective.

This list of Ph.D. Topics in Economics can help you identify the areas you can work on.

• Occupational injuries in Pakistan and its effect on the economy. Injuries are the leading cause of the global burden of disability. Globally, Pakistan was ranked 9th populated country with a large number of unskilled workers. In this dissertation, consider the link between occupational injuries and their effects on the economy.
• The study of the Philippines’ economic development.

• Financial derivatives and climate change .
• Econometric Analysis of Financial Markets.
• Islamic Banking and Financial Markets .
• Health economics and policy in the UK.
• Health insurance: rationale and economic justification. In this dissertation, students can find different ways to explain and justify health insurance. Starting to philosophical to purely economic grounds. In the past years, there was a lot of discussion regarding the healthcare system for all. What are some of the economic benefits of that?
• Colombian economy, economic growth, and inequality.
• Benefits of mergers and acquisitions in agribusiness.
• Methods to measure financial risks when investing in Africa.
• The significance of financial economics in understanding the relationship between a country’s GDP and NDP.
• Network effects in cryptocurrency. Cryptocurrencies are not new anymore. However, it is still an original subject for a dissertation. Students can decide to choose several crypto coins and evaluate the importance of the network effect. This effect is particularly significant for Bitcoin. Explain why.
• The comparison of the Chinese growth model with the American growth model.
• An economic justification versus political expediency.
• Pollution Externalities Role in Management Economics .

📝 How to Select an Economics Thesis Topic

As your academic journey is coming to an end, it’s time to pick the right topic for your thesis. The whole academic life you were preparing to undertake this challenge.

Here is the list of six points that will help you to select an economics thesis topic:

• Make sure it is something you are genuinely interested in. It is incredibly challenging to write something engaging if you are not interested in the topic. So, choose wisely and chose what excites you.
• Draw inspiration from the previous student’s projects. A great place to start is by looking at what the previous students wrote. You can find some fresh ideas and a general direction.
• Ask your thesis advisor for his feedback. Most probably, your thesis advisor supervised many students before. They can be a great help too because they know how to assess papers. Before meeting with your professor, do some basic research, and understand what topic is about.
• Be original, but not too much. You do not want to spend your time writing about a project that many people wrote about. Your readers will not be interested in reading it, but your professors as well. However, make sure you do not pick anything too obscure. It will leave you with no secondary sources.
• Choose a narrow and specific topic. Not only will it allow you to be more original, but also to master a topic. When the issue is too broad, there is just too much information to cover in one thesis.
• Go interdisciplinary. If you find yourself interested in history, philosophy, or any other related topic, it can help you write an exceptional thesis in economics. Most of your peers may work on pure economics. Then, the interdisciplinary approach can help you to stand out among them.

Thank you for reading the article to the end! We hope this list of economics thesis topics ideas could help you to gather your thoughts and get inspired. Share it with those who may find it useful. Let us know what you think about it in the comment section below.

🔗 References

• Economics Thesis Topics List: Seminars Only
• How To Pick A Topic For Your Economics Research Project Or Master’s Thesis: INOMICS, The Site for Economists
• What Do Theses and Dissertations Look Like: KU Writing Center, the University of Kansas
• Writing Economics: Robert Neugeboren with Mireille Jacobson, University of Harvard
• Economics Ph.D. Theses: Department of Economics, University of Sussex Business School, IDEAS_RePEc
• World Economic Situation and Prospects 2018: United Nations
• Undergraduate Honors Theses: Department of Economics, University of California, Berkeley
• Economics Department Dissertations Collection: Economics Department, University of Massachusetts Amherst
• Topics for Master Theses: Department of Economics, NHH, Norwegian School of Economics
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The dilemma I faced in getting Thesis proposal for my M Phil programme is taken away. Your article would be a useful guide to many more students.Thank you for your guidance.

Thanks for the feedback, John! Your opinion is very important for us!

I wants it for msc thesis

These are very helpful and concise research topics which I have spent days surfing the internet to get all this while. Thanks for making research life experience easier for me. Keep this good work up.

Thank you, Idris!

Glad to hear that! Thank you for your feedback, Idris!

Excellent research

For research

A very well written, clear and easy-to-read article. It was highly helpful. Thank you!

Thanks for your kind words! We look forward to seeing you again!

• Schools & departments

What topics can I study?

There is a broad range of topics that you can study for your PhD in Economics. This page contains some examples of areas we cover. Staff Profiles also give information on research areas covered by specific members of faculty.

We offer supervision on a range of topics in economics from social and behaviour economics to game theory and contract theory, from sports economics and neuroeconomics to health economics and family economics, from search and matching and international economics to political conflict and occupational mobility. Our strengths, in particular, are in:

• Economic Theory (contract theory, game theory, micro and macro)
• Labour Economics (micro and macro)
• Applied Econometrics (micro, macro, health and education)
• Behavioural and Experimental Economics

The ability to match your topic with our supervision team is equally as important as your topic. We will not admit a student where we cannot provide the very best supervision. Therefore, you should think carefully about whether your topic matches our research interests. You will be asked to address this during the application process.  The School is committed to providing the best possible experience to our PhD students, this can only be done by ensuring students receive the very best supervision and support.

If, before applying, you would like to check whether we can offer supervision in your proposed area of research, then please contact us by completing the supervision contact form .

To help you see the sorts of topics that you could study here at Edinburgh, the following list of topics with suggested reading may help. It is intended to be indicative rather than exhaustive or prescriptive. We encourage all applicants to visit our academic staff list and the profiles of our current PhD students to get a flavour of the research topics we can offer.

Agricultural Productivity

Developing countries are typically characterised by large agricultural employment shares, and low labour productivity in agriculture relative to non-agriculture. This is an old topic that has received renewed interest recently with the advent of macroeconomic models featuring heterogeneity in agriculture and embedding agriculture into the aggregate economy.

• Douglas Gollin, Steven Parente, and Richard Rogerson (2002). “The Role of Agriculture in Development.” American Economic Review.
• David Lagakos and Michael Waugh (2013). “Selection, Agriculture, and Cross-Country Productivity Differences. American Economic Review.
• Tasso Adamopoulos and Diego Restuccia (2014). “The Size Distribution of Farms and Agricultural Productivity Differences.” American Economic Review.

Explaining trade growth

Quantitative trade models struggle to account for the growth of world trade in the period 1950-­?2010. Several extensions of quantitative trade models have been proposed to solve this “puzzle”. All of them are partially successful on their own, but they have not been explored jointly to determine how much of the puzzle remains.

• Zymek, R., 2014. “Factor Proportions and the Growth of World Trade”, Journal of International Economics, forthcoming.
• Yi, K.-M., 2003. “Can Vertical Specialization Explain the Growth of World Trade?,” Journal of Political Economy.Bridgman, B., 2008.
• “Energy Prices and the Expansion of World Trade,” Review of Economic Dynamics.

Firms and Aggregate Productivity

A large fraction of the variation in aggregate productivity across the world can be traced back to differences in the evolution and organization of firms. Firms differ in their access to credit, quality of management, innovation, factor choices, etc. Current macroeconomic models are a useful tool to determine the optimal distribution of firms and from there measure the impact of misallocation within firms as well as across firms. In particular, they can be used to study the effect of economy-specific policies, institutions, and endowments on the aggregate economy through the evolution of firms.

• Hugo Hopenhayn (1992). “Entry, Exit, and Firm Dynamics in Long Run Equilibrium.” Econometrica.
• Francisco Buera, Joseph Kaboski and Yongseok Shin (2011). “Finance and Development: A Tale of Two Sectors.” American Economic Review.
• Nicholas Bloom, Raffaela Sadun, and John Van Reenen (2012). “The Organization of Firms Across Countries.” Quarterly Journal of Economics.
• Jan Grobovsek (2014). “Managerial Delegation, Law Enforcement, and Aggregate Productivity.” Mimeo.

Intermediate Inputs and the Macroeconomy

Distinct economic sectors are cross-linked through the exchange of intermediate inputs, which are important production factors that are typically ignored when sectoral output is defined by value added. As economies differ substantially in their relative sectoral TFP levels, these differences feedback non-trivially into other sectors. There is scope to improve our understanding of the effect of sector-specific distortions on aggregate productivity via the incorporation of intermediate inputs.

• Charles Jones (2011). “Intermediate Good and Weak Links in the Theory of Economic Development.” American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics.
• Chang-Tai Hsieh and Peter Klenow (2007). “Relative Prices and Relative Prosperity.” American Economic Review.
• Jan Grobovsek (2013). “Development Accounting with Intermediate Goods.” Mimeo.

Costs of sovereign default

The costs of sovereign default are important for our understanding of why countries repay their foreign debts. A recent literature has started to explore the economic and legal costs of sovereign default empirically but there is still a lot of scope for data?driven projects in this area.

• Ugo Panizza, Federico Sturzenegger, and Jeromin Zettelmeyer, 2009, “The Economics and Law of Sovereign Debt and Default” Journal of Economic Literature.
• Bulow, J., and K. Rogoff, 1989, “A Constant Recontracting Model of Sovereign Debt,” Journal of Political Economy.

Information transmission in principal-agent models

Information is fundamental to rewards and punishments. An important question in principal-agent models is what information is created, communicated, hidden, fabricated, verified, or destroyed.

• Clausen, A., 2013. “Moral Hazard with Counterfeit Signals” mimeo.
• Townsend, R. M., 1979. Optimal contracts and competitive markets with costly state verification, Journal of Economic Theory.
• Crocker, J., and Morgan, J., 1998. Is honesty the best policy? Curtailing insurance fraud through optimal incentive contracts. Journal of Political Economy.

Two-sided matching in labour markets with heterogeneous agents

With heterogeneous agents on the both sides of the market it is possible to address not only unemployment, but also match quality and therefore whether government interventions such as unemployment benefits would improve matching.

• Eeckhout, J. and P. Kircher, 2010, Sorting and Decentralized Price Competition, Econometrica.
• Shimer, R., and L. Smith, 2000. Assortative Matching and Search, Econometrica.

Two-sided matching

• Hopkins, E. and V. Bhaskar, (2014): “Marriage as a Rat Race: Noisy Pre-Marital Investments with Assortative Matching”. Mimeo.
• Chakraborty, A., A. Citannay and M. Ostrovskyz (2007): "Two-sided matching with interdependent values," mimeo.
• Clark, S., (2006). The Uniqueness of Stable Matchings, Berkeley Journal in Theoretical Economics.
• Greenwood, J., N. Guner, G. Kocharkov, C. Santos (2014): “Marry Your Like: Assortative Mating and Income Inequality” NBER Working Paper.

Housing Markets

House prices and house sales are positively correlated. Yet time on the market is negatively correlated with prices. Search theory is a natural paradigm to study housing markets since it captures the illiquidity of houses and the fact that the degree of liquidity may vary with market conditions.

• Díaz, A. And Jerez, B. (2013), House Prices, Sales, and Time On The Market: A Search-Theoretic Framework. International Economic Review.
• Moen, E. R. and P.T., 2014. "Buying First or Selling First in Housing Markets," CEPR Discussion Papers.

Directed Search

In directed search models, workers do not encounter firms completely at random but try to locate those posting attractive positions. Age, experience and employment position of a worker will all help determine a worker’s optimal search strategy.

• Menzio,G., I. Telyukova and L. Visschers (2012) “Directed Search over the Life Cycle”, mimeo.
• Galenianos, M. and Kircher, P. (2009) Directed search with multiple job applications. Journal of economic theory.
• Mortensen, D., and C. Pissarides. 1994. “Job Creation and Job Destruction in the Theory of Unemployment.” Review Economic Studies.
• Bagger, J., F. Fontaine, F. Postel-Vinay and J.-M. Robin, 2014, “Tenure, Experience, Human Capital and Wages: A Tractable Equilibrium Search Model of Wage Dynamics”, American Economic Review.

Health Economics

How does economic activity impact health and how does health affect economic activity. For example, it has been found that unemployment may cause depression, suicide, and bad health outcomes in general. How does this affect other members of the family? If the primary earner is unemployed, does this translate to worse health outcomes / health behaviours of the family members? How does life expectancy impact on consumption decisions for durable and other goods?

• Kuhn, A., R. Lalive, J. Zweimüller (2009): “The public health costs of job loss”, Journal of Health Economics.
• Bíró, A. (2013): “Subjective mortality hazard shocks and the adjustment of consumption expenditures”, Journal of Population Economics.
• Cutler, D., and E. Glaeser. (2005): “What Explains Differences in Smoking, Drinking, and Other Health Related Behaviors?”, American Economic Review.

Information design

There are two ways of creating incentives for interacting agents to behave in a desired way. One is by providing appropriate payoff incentives, which is the subject of mechanism design. The other is by choosing the information that agents observe: information design. Much work has been done on mechanism design. Information design is a more recent topic of interest.

• Taneva, I. (2014): “Information Design” working paper.
• Kamenica, E. and M. Gentzkow (2011): “Bayesian Persuasion”, American Economic Review.

The effect of political and economic institutions/outcomes on culture/beliefs

While most works in economics takes preferences as exogenously given, recent evidence suggests that personal experiences have the potential to shape certain parameters (e.g. people growing up during a recession being more risk averse in their investments). Meanwhile, the proposed effects of culture (i.e. individualist versus collectivist) on political and economic institutions beg the question of whether culture/beliefs themselves can be influenced by institutions such as curriculum and media.

• Gorodnichenko Y., and G. Roland, 2014: Culture, Institutions and Democratisation. Mimeo.
• Cantoni, D., Chen, Y., Yang, D. Y., Yuchtman, N. and Zhang, Y. J, (2014), Curriculum and Ideology.

Information Disclosure in Auctions

Much work has been done on auctions and auction design. An important topic in auction theory is the disclosure of information.

• Ganuza, J-J. and J. S. Penalva (2010): “Signal Orderings Based on Dispersion and the Supply of Private Information in Auctions”, Econometrica.
• Eso, P. and B. Szentes (2007): “Optimal Information Disclosure in Auctions and the Handicap Auction”, Review of Economic Studies.

Information transmission in games

Is there a trade-off between the quality and quantity communication when respondents have a strategic incentive to misreport?

• K. Kawamura (2013): Eliciting Information from a Large Population, Mimeo.

Dynamic contracting

Relational contracting between two or more agents, with and without complete information is an important topic for understanding how investment and transactions within a relationship change over time.

• Thomas, J. and T. Worrall (2014): “Dynamic Relational Contracts under Complete Information”, Mimeo.
• Clementi, G.L. and H. A. Hopenhayn (2006): “A Theory of Financing Constraints and Firm Dynamics“, The Quarterly Journal of Economics.
• M. Halac (2012): “Relational Contracts and the Value of Relationships,” American Economic Review.

Wage Setting

An important topic for macroeconomics is to understand how wages are set over the cycle and how wages evolve over time and how that interacts with productivity and unemployment.

• Snell, A., and J. Thomas, (2010): “Labour Contracts, Equal Treatment, and Wage-Unemployment Dynamics” AEJ: Macroeconomics.

Global Games

Global games can be applied to understand financial and macroeconomic problems, in which agents may be prone to self-fulfilling panics, such as in bank runs.

• Sakovics, J. and J. Steiner (2012), “Who Matters in Coordination Problems”, American Economic Review.
• Morris , S.and H. Shin, (2003): “Global Games: Theory and Applications”, in: Dewatripont, M., Hansen, M., Turnovsky, S. (Eds), Advances in Economics and Econometrics (Proceedings of the Eighth World Congress of the Econometric Society), Cambridge University Press.

Inequality, relative income, status and economic growth

How does risk-taking vary with gender, relative position and inequality? How does it impact on economic performance?

• Hopkins, E. and T. Kornienko (2004): “Running to Keep in the Same Place: Consumer Choice as a Game of Status”, with Tatiana Kornienko, American Economic Review.
• E. Hopkins (2014): “Inequality, Gender and Risk-Taking Behaviour:”, Mimeo.

Imperfect competition among traders

How do sellers compete in attracting buyers? How do buyers decide where and what to bid? There are many ways of thinking about this problem, some ideas can be found in the following:

• Burguet, R. and J. Sákovicsz (2014): “Bertrand and the long run”, Mimeo.
• De Fraja, G. and J. Sákovicsz (2012) “Exclusive Nightclubs and Lonely Hearts Columns: Non-monotone Participation in Optional Intermediation” Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization.
• J, Sákovics (2014): “Price formation in a matching market with targeted offers” Games and Economic Behavior.

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Economics Dissertation Topics

Published by Alvin Nicolas at January 11th, 2023 , Revised On April 16, 2024

The field of economics has changed entirely in recent times. Today, the field holds an extremely important place in every economy, with individual choices, spending, borrowing, production, occupations, markets, trading, employment, and a lot more being predicted and planned by economists.

Today, economists view economics from a modern and slightly different perspective than traditional economics. Different approaches in economics include perspectives like anthropology, sociology, geography, and various institutions.

Studying economics involving these perspectives provides a clearer view of the issues and problems related to the modern economic world. In contrast, focusing on the traditional economic approaches while selecting a topic will result in vague outcomes according to modern economics.

The most difficult task with respect to economics dissertations involves the  collection of data . Mostly the data required by the researcher must be in quantitative form. However, once data is collected, the researcher can focus on performing the analysis.

There are a number of economic perspectives that can be studied in detail. As your final project, you will want to select the most recent and relevant economics topic for your dissertation.

To help you get started with brainstorming for economics topic ideas, we have developed a list of the latest topics that can be used for writing your economics dissertation.

These topics have been developed by PhD-qualified writers of our team , so you can trust to use these topics for drafting your dissertation.

You may also want to start your dissertation by requesting  a brief research proposal  from our writers on any of these topics, which includes an  introduction  to the problem,  research question , aim and objectives,  literature review  along with the proposed  methodology  of research to be conducted.  Let us know  if you need any help in getting started.

Check our  example dissertations to get an idea of  how to structure your dissertation .

You can review step by step guide on how to write your dissertation.

Check our  example dissertation to get an idea of  how to structure your dissertation .

2024 Economics Dissertation Topics

Topic 1: the influence of price and brand on consumer preference during an economic recession: a case of the clothing market in greece.

Research Aim: The research will aim to examine the impact of prices and brands on consumer buying behaviour during an economic recession in Greece’s clothing market. During an economic crisis, not all types of products suffer the same consequences. During a recession, people are more sensible in their buying decisions, and they frequently continue to choose known product brands that meet their demands. The study will look at the impact of the recession on consumer purchasing preferences, taking into account variations in spending on various apparel brands based on price.

Topic 2: The financial and non-financial support of the family members in the growth of a successful entrepreneurship

Research Aim: The research will aim to investigate the importance of financial and non-financial support of family members in the growth of successful entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurship is a driving force in economic growth, social transformation, and organizational change. Private businesses (entrepreneurship) not only support a state’s social and economic growth but it also develops intellectual competition and innovation. Family members who are involved in business ventures can influence individuals’ goals to start new businesses, and they can also be considered as a means of economic and motivational strength.

Topic 3: The impact of transaction cost on economic development

Research Aim: The research will aim to explore the impact of transaction cost on the economic development of a country. The study will try to find the impact by using different methods and analyses. This article will investigate the difficulties of economic growth as they relate to transaction costs and how the latter produce various sorts of market failures. The study also explores several major contributions to the field of economic development, including market failure and growth barriers. Alternative perspectives on the failure of government and the market-government duality will also be examined.

Topic 4: What effect does oil price fluctuation have on business activity in oil-importing and exporting states?

Research Aim: The research will aim to find the influence of oil rate fluctuation on businesses of oil-importing and exporting countries. Change has a significant influence on the production costs of oil-importing countries and changes in pricing levels changes. At the same time, oil price variations have a significant impact on energy export profits and government budget revenues in energy-exporting economies.

Topic 5: The impact of gender inequality on work productivity and economic growth: A case study on developing countries

Research Aim: The research will aim to find the impact of gender inequality on work productivity and economic growth in developing countries. Gender inequality is not solely a concern in developing countries. Males earn more than women in practically every society. Differences in health, education, and negotiating power within marriage, on the other hand, tend to be bigger in countries with low Per capita income. Gender inequality in the office contributes to females’ lower socio-economic standing. Furthermore, such gender inequality may be associated with human resource rules and human resource related decision-making.

Topic 6: Research to identify the impacts of Coronavirus on the economy

Research Aim: This study will focus on identifying the impacts of coronavirus on the global economy.

Topic 7: Research to study the impacts of Coronavirus on the real estate sector

Research Aim: This research aims at identifying the impacts of coronavirus on the real estate sector. Is real estate a better option for investment during COVID-19?

Topic 8: Research to study the impacts of Coronavirus on the stock market

Research Aim: This research aims at identifying the impacts of coronavirus on the stock market.

Topic 9: Research to identify the impacts of Coronavirus on banking and the future of banking after the pandemic

Research Aim: This research aims at identifying the impacts of coronavirus on banking and the future of banking after the pandemic. What are the predictions? What challenges may come across? How to overcome those challenges?

Dissertation Topics on Economics 2023

Topic 1: economic expansion in bioenergy: a case study.

Research Aim: This research aims to conduct a case study on the economic expansion in bioenergy

Topic 2: Factors responsible for job creation and job destruction in the UK

Research Aim: This research aims to identify the factors responsible for job creation and job destruction in the UK.

Topic 3: Impacts of wars on the economy of both nations

Research Aim: This research aims to address how do wars impact the economy of both nations?

Topic 4: The role of banks in the economy of a country

Research Aim:  This research aims to highlight the role of Banks in the economy of a country. Students can choose any country to conduct the study.

Topic 5: Is an unhealthy country considered an emerging country?

Research Aim:  This research will answer the question: Is an unhealthy country considered a poor country?

Dissertation Topics Related to Economic Geography

Economic geography studies human economic activities with respect to various conditions such as location, distribution, production, consumption, exchange of resources, etc. Thus, studying the availability of all these resources, their development, and utilization is the main subject matter of economic geography.

In addition to studying these resources and their relationship with human economic activities, economic geography also helps study the interaction of these resources and variables with respect to nature and economic activities.

Economic geography is studied within different regions and localities in order to assess various human economic activities. Here are some economic geography dissertation topics to help you explore this field.

Topic 1: Role of local ethics and culture in shaping entrepreneurial economic development in various businesses.

Research Aim: This study will talk about the role of culture and ethics in shaping economic entrepreneurial attitudes in different fields of business.

Topic 2: Diversity in entrepreneurial approaches brought up by emigrants in the economics of a place: A critical analysis

Research Aim: This research will discuss whether entrepreneurial approaches be exported when emigrants move to a new place.

Topic 3: Assessing factors involved in facilitating knowledge transfer in a specific locality or place

Research Aim: This research will understand the various factors that play a role in transferring knowledge from one place or locality to another.

Topic 4: Economic opportunities provided within local boundaries. A case study of any specific area

Research Aim: This study will talk about the economic opportunities provided by local boundaries. This dissertation can be customised according to an area/region of your choice.

Topic 5: To discuss the role of the “European regional policy” in shaping or modifying places in the UK

Research Aim: This study will talk about the role of European regional policy in shaping and modifying UK places.

Topic 6: Location of top IT firms in the UK, the role of location on economics linked to a particular firm

Research Aim: This study will assess the economic geography of top IT firms in the UK that are linked to different firms.

Topic 7: Causes of regional diversity. Analysis and comparison between the richest and poorest places of the UK

Research Aim: This will be a comparative study between the richest and poorest places in the UK based on regional diversity.

Topic 8: Economics and expansion in bioenergy: A Case Study

Research Aim: This study will talk about economics and expansion in bioenergy, and a specific case will be under analysis.

Topic 9: Economic modifications faced by emigrants, causes and impacts

Research Aim: This research will talk about the various economic modifications that emigrants have to face and will also assess its causes and impacts.

Topic 16: A critical analysis of diversity in entrepreneurial attitudes in rural and urban areas

Research Aim: This will be a critical study that will assess diversity in entrepreneurial attitudes in both rural and urban areas.

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Dissertation Topics on Microeconomics

This branch of economics deals with economic perspectives on an individual level. It takes into account the allocation of various resources that are limited in nature. Different theories of microeconomics can be applied to markets where different products are bought and sold out.

In order to complete your graduation program, you will have to select the right economics topic that not only interests you but is relevant in today’s world. The suggested topics for you to choose from are listed below:

Topic 1: Difference in consumer attitudes in the UK over the past 15 years – Critical analysis of customer behaviour trends.

Research Aim: This research will compare the consumer attitude in the UK over the past 15 years and will study the trends.

Topic 2: Understanding to what extent does the concept of oligopoly exists in markets of the UK – A critical analysis

Research Aim: This study will first talk about oligopoly, and will then build and critically discuss how this concept exists in the UK market.

Topic 3: Laws and their impact on British firms.

Research Aim: This study will talk about the various laws in the UK that have an impact on various industries as a whole.

Topic 4: “European regional policy” and its effects on British small and medium enterprises

Research Aim: This research will study the European regional policy and the impacts this has on SMEs in the UK.

Topic 5: To discuss specific traits of the UK innovation organisation

Research Aim:  This research will understand the various traits of UK organisations that innovate.

Topic 6: Study of the characteristics of the energy market in the UK – A microeconomic approach

Research Aim: This study will undertake a microeconomic approach in order to understand the characteristics of the energy market in the UK.

Topic 7: Common traits of the top internet technology firms in the US – Analysis of the approaches adopted by different successful technology firms

Research Aim: This research will talk about the various traits of leading internet firms in the US and will analyse their different approaches

Topic 8: How is the concept of “economic convergence” linked to salary levels in the United States? – A critical analysis

Research Aim: This study will critically discuss economic convergence and how it is linked to salary levels in the US.

Topic 9: A Discussion on the use and role of various “pricing models” in making investment decisions.

Research Aim: This research will analyze the various pricing models that companies use to make decisions with respect to their investment.

Topic 10: Analysing salary inequalities in the United States and the forces behind such inequalities? – A Critical analysis

Research Aim: This study will talk about an important issue, i.e., salary inequalities in the US, and will also discuss the various forces that drive such inequalities.

Dissertation Topics on Employment Economics

Employment is a very important aspect that is studied in economics. Employment is interconnected with other academic subjects as well and affects people’s finances, which further determines their type of relationship with their environment or society.

Moreover, with the passage of time, technological advancements in various fields have impacted the labor market, which directly influenced the employment rate.  Dissertation topics  related to the field of employment economics are listed as under:

Topic 1: Factors responsible for the job creation and job destruction in the United Kingdom

Research Aim: This research will talk about the different factors that are responsible for job creation and destruction in the United Kingdom.

Topic 2: Analysing to what extent the concept of self-employment prevails in the United Kingdom – Discuss the factors that determine it

Research Aim: This research will determine the extent to which the concept of self-employment prevails in the UK. Furthermore, the factors determining self-employment will also be explored.

Topic 3: Link between minimum wages and British employment. A critical analysis

Research Aim: This study will critically analyze the link between wages minimum wages and employment in Britain.

Topic 4: Understanding In what ways technological advancements have paved the way for a rise in British employment levels

Research Aim: This research will talk about the various ways through which technological advancements have helped increase employment in the British economy.

Topic 5: Exploring the value of labour in the United Kingdom– Skilled or unskilled labour? A Critical Analysis

Research Aim: This study will talk about the value of both types of labour, skilled and unskilled, in the UK. A critical analysis will be conducted as to which type of labour is more in demand in the economic system.

Topic 6: Analysing the levels and prevalence of self-employment in various parts of Europe. An Analysis of the United Kingdom

Research Aim: This research will discuss and analyse the levels and prevalence of self-employment in various parts across Europe. Special attention will be given to the UK in the study to understand the self-employment system.

Topic 7: In what ways does immigration affects British employment levels and productivity? Discuss

Research Aim: This research will talk about the various ways through which immigration affects British employment levels and productivity.

Topic 8: How can professional training impact British employment? Discuss

Research Aim: This study will talk about the impact of professional training on employment in the UK. The research will discuss if the impact was negative or positive.

Topic 9: Analysing the impact of gender inequality in employment on economic growth in the UK

Research Aim: This research will analyse the impact of gender inequality in employment on economic growth in the UK.

Topic 10: Economic productivity and Innovation – Are they both related? A study of the UK services industry

Research Aim: This research will help understand the relationship (if any) between economic productivity and innovation. The UK Services industry will be analyzed.

Dissertation Topics on Economic Sociology

This field refers to the study of sociological aspects from an economic perspective. Social networks are also one of the more important features in the economic world because they can contribute greatly to promoting a particular brand.

Different social gatherings are a source to highlight a particular industry, firm, and even a private setup. They can contribute greatly to building successful businesses. Following are some economic sociology dissertation topics for you to choose from:

Topic 1: Exploring Innovation Activities for the promotion of a particular firm/industry/brand

Research Aim: This research will talk about all the innovative activities that take place while promoting a brand or a company in an industry. This topic can be customised according to a brand/company of your choosing.

Topic 2: Understanding the role of families in funding a particular firm

Research Aim: This research will talk about the family funding of businesses, the whole process and how it takes place. You can choose an industry of your choice to base your dissertation on.

Topic 3: Can a blend of different cultures contribute to increasing the level of productivity? Evidence from a UK firm

Research Aim : This research will discuss how various cultures contribute to increasing productivity levels. A UK firm will be chosen for this research.

Topic 4: Social capital plays its role in the rural areas in the UK – A critical analysis

Research Aim: This research will talk about social capital and its role in the rural areas of the UK.

Topic 5: Youth as one of the biggest supports in the promotion of economic agents

Research Aim: This research will help understand the relationship (if any) between economic productivity and innovation. The UK services industry will be analysed.

Topic 6: Exploring the role of university networks in shaping entrepreneurial behaviours and actions

Research Aim: This study will help explore the role of university networks in shaping entrepreneurial actions and behaviours.

Topic 43: Role of social entrepreneurship in the United Kingdom

Research Aim: This study will talk about the role of social entrepreneurship in the UK and how it has emerged.

Topic 8: Diverse culture and productivity enhancement – How are the two related?

Research Aim: This study will talk about whether diverse culture has an impact on productivity enhancement in the UK or not.

Topic 9: Exploring the Impact of social networks on the success of Brands

Research Aim: This study will talk about the impact of social networks on the success of brands and how they impact businesses. You can choose a brand for this dissertation.

Topic 10: Understanding the ‘peer’ factor in setting up businesses

Research Aim: Setting up a business involves various factors, and an essential one is a support from peers. This research will explore this aspect of support when starting a business and the impact it has.

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Dissertation Topics on Institutional Economics

Institutional economics helps in understanding the role of institutions in shaping economic behaviour. Certain institutions promote certain values, beliefs and norms, and they impact the public in a certain way.

These institutions can affect the economics of a certain region and help shape economic life and behaviour. Institutional economics is still an emerging field. Following are some institutional economics dissertation topics that you can base your dissertation on.

Topic 1: Assessing the factors behind the power of a successful firm. How is it built?

Research Aim: This research will discuss the various factors that help companies build power in the industry and impact the economy.

Topic 2: Analysing the impact of cultural mix on the organisation of firms in the United Kingdom

Research Aim: This study will analyse the impact of diverse cultures on organisations in the UK.

Topic 3: Evaluating the role of bureaucracy in the productivity levels of the United Kingdom

Research Aim: This research will help in evaluating the role of bureaucracy on productivity levels in the UK.

Topic 4: Understanding various methods to ensure economic efficiency in the property markets of the United Kingdom

Research Aim: This study will understand the different ways through which economic efficiency is ensured in the UK property markets.

Topic 5: Impacts of transaction costs on economic development?

Research Aim: This research will evaluate how economic development is impacted by transaction costs.

Topic 6: Analysing the major forces operating behind the concept of control and ownership in the United Kingdom

Research Aim: This study will help analyse the major forces that control and own institutions in the UK and how they impact the economy.

Topic 7: Traits of British managers and investors. A Comparative analysis

Research Aim: This will be an interesting study as it will talk about the various traits of British managers and investors.

Topic 8: Role of educational aspects in entrepreneurship

Research Aim: This research will explore the role of education concerning entrepreneurship, i.e. how does education help build entrepreneurs, which in turn benefits the economy.

Topic 9: The concept of latent entrepreneurship – A comparison between the United Kingdom and Europe

Research Aim: This study will understand the concept of latent entrepreneurship by comparing the UK environment with that of Europe.

Topic 10: Is the profit of a firm dependent on its size? Evidence from the manufacturing firms in the UK

Research Aim: This research will help in understanding whether the profit of a company is dependent on the business’ size or not. The UK Manufacturing industry will be explored.

Dissertation Topics on Environmental Economics

Environment and economics share a unique and close relationship. The environment can affect economics in a good or bad way. There are various environmental economic issues that should be addressed. Following are some of the pressing issues pertaining to environmental economics that you can choose as your dissertation topic.

Topic 1: To what extent is the environment responsible for shaping business behaviours? A critical analysis

Research Aim: This research will talk about the extent to which the environment is responsible for building business behaviours.

Topic 2: Economics in relation to biodiversity and nature conservation. An evidence-based study

Research Aim: This research will discuss economics in relation to biodiversity and nature conservation.

Topic 3: Assessing the role of NGO’s and organizations to promote a healthy environment through fundraising programs

Research Aim: This research will help in assessing the role of NGOs and organisations in promoting healthy environments through various fundraising programs.

Topic 4: Willingness to pay for various recycling programs – A case study of the United Kingdom.

Research Aim : This research will help understand the different recycling programs by evaluating a UK-based case study.

Topic 5: Incentives regarding land and water management – A case study of the United Kingdom

Research Aim: This research will talk about various incentives relating to land and water management. A UK-based case study will be chosen.

Topic 6: Economic value of historical places: A critical analysis

Research Aim: This research will talk about the economic value of historical places and will present a critical analysis.

Topic 7: In which field is it cheapest to reduce or cut carbon emissions? Discuss.

Research Aim: This research will talk about the impacts of carbon emissions and will discuss in which field it will be cheapest to reduce or eliminate such emissions.

Topic 8: Ethanol production from an economic perspective. Discuss.

Research Aim: This research will help in exploring ethanol production with respect to economics.

Topic 9: Environmental improvements in regards to locational differences in communities Discuss in an economic approach

Research Aim: This research will present various environmental improvements with respect to locational differences in communities.

Topic 10: Climate change in relation to economics. Discuss

Research Aim: This research will talk about an important issue, i.e. climate change and the impact it has on economics.

Dissertation Topics on Regional Development

Economic growth can also be studied at a regional level. This field considers economic perspectives on a smaller level with a focus on trade between regions. Suggestions for dissertation topics in this field are listed as follows:

Topic 1: Evaluating the link between profit and regional development?

Research Aim: This research will evaluate the link between profit and regional development with respect to economics.

Topic 2: Assessing the “regional development policy” in the United Kingdom

Research Aim: This study will talk about the regional development policy in the UK.

Topic 3: Discussing the role of learning or knowledge gaining involved in regional development?

Research Aim: This research will explore the role of knowledge and learning that helps promote regional development.

Topic 4: Assessing the existence of location theories that contribute towards the development and understanding of regional development

Research Aim: This research will assess the existence of locational theories that help contribute towards the development and understanding of regional development.

Topic 5: Evaluating the role that technology plays in regional development? A UK case study

Research Aim: This research will evaluate the role that technology plays in promoting regional development.

Topic 6: Exploring entrepreneurship and its regional aspects in the United Kingdom

Research Aim: This research will help explore entrepreneurship and entrepreneurship network with respect to regional development in the UK.

Topic 7: Role of Institutional setups in regional development

Research Aim: This study will talk about the role of institutional setups in regional development.

Topic 8: Assessing the relationship between unemployment and entrepreneurship in the light of evidence from British relationship

Research Aim: This research will assess the relationship between unemployment and entrepreneurship in the UK.

Find 100s of dissertation topics for other research areas.

Topic 9: In what ways the UK and the European firms are different in terms of innovation – A critical analysis

Research Aim: This research will help in understanding the various ways in which the UK and European firms are different with respect to innovation.

Topic 10: Assessing the role of regional co-operation in developing sustainable advantage

Research Aim: This research will help in assessing the role of regional cooperation in developing sustainable advantage amongst regions

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Important Notes

As a student of economics looking to get good grades, it is essential to develop new ideas and experiment on existing economics theories – i.e., to add value and interest in your research topic.

The field of economics is vast and interrelated to so many other academic disciplines like civil engineering ,  construction ,  law , engineering management , healthcare , mental health , artificial intelligence , tourism , physiotherapy , sociology , management , marketing and nursing . That is why it is imperative to create a project management dissertation topic that is articular, sound, and actually solves a practical problem that may be rampant in the field.

We can’t stress how important it is to develop a logical research topic; it is the basis of your entire research. There are several significant downfalls to getting your topic wrong; your supervisor may not be interested in working on it, the topic has no academic creditability, the research may not make logical sense, there is a possibility that the study is not viable.

This impacts your time and efforts in  writing your dissertation  as you may end up in the cycle of rejection at the very initial stage of the dissertation. That is why we recommend reviewing existing research to develop a topic, taking advice from your supervisor, and even asking for help in this particular stage of your dissertation.

Keeping our advice in mind while developing a research topic will allow you to pick one of the best economics dissertation topics that not only fulfil your requirement of writing a research paper but also adds to the body of knowledge.

Therefore, it is recommended that when finalizing your dissertation topic, you read recently published literature to identify gaps in the research that you may help fill.

Remember- dissertation topics need to be unique, solve an identified problem, be logical, and can also be practically implemented. Take a look at some of our sample economics dissertation topics to get an idea for your own dissertation.

How to Structure your Economics Dissertation

A well-structured dissertation can help students to achieve a high overall academic grade.

• A Title Page
• Acknowledgments
• Declaration
• Abstract: A summary of the research completed
• Table of Contents
• Introduction : This chapter includes the project rationale, research background, key research aims and objectives, and the research problems to be addressed. An outline of the structure of a dissertation  can also be added to this chapter.
• Literature Review :  This chapter presents relevant theories and frameworks by analysing published and unpublished literature available on the chosen research topic, in light of  research questions  to be addressed. The purpose is to highlight and discuss the relative weaknesses and strengths of the selected research area while identifying any research gaps. Break down of the topic, and key terms can have a positive impact on your dissertation and your tutor.
• Methodology:  The  data collection  and  analysis  methods and techniques employed by the researcher are presented in the Methodology chapter which usually includes  research design, research philosophy, research limitations, code of conduct, ethical consideration, data collection methods, and  data analysis strategy .
• Findings and Analysis:  Findings of the research are analysed in detail under the Findings and Analysis chapter. All key findings/results are outlined in this chapter without interpreting the data or drawing any conclusions. It can be useful to include  graphs ,  charts, and  tables in this chapter to identify meaningful trends and relationships.
• Discussion  and  Conclusion: The researcher presents his interpretation of results in this chapter, and states whether the research hypothesis has been verified or not. An essential aspect of this section is to establish the link between the results and evidence from the literature. Recommendations with regards to implications of the findings and directions for the future may also be provided. Finally, a summary of the overall research, along with final judgments, opinions, and comments, must be included in the form of suggestions for improvement.
• References:  Make sure to complete this in accordance with your University’s requirements
• Bibliography
• Appendices:  Any additional information, diagrams, graphs that were used to  complete the dissertation  but not part of the dissertation should be included in the Appendices chapter. Essentially, the purpose is to expand the information/data.

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Frequently Asked Questions

How to find economics dissertation topics.

For economics dissertation topics:

• Follow economic news and debates.
• Study emerging areas like behavioral economics.
• Analyze policy gaps or challenges.
• Review economic theories and their applications.
• Explore data-driven research opportunities.
• Seek topics aligning with your passion and career aspirations.

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• How to Prepare for a Ph.D. in Economics

First Steps

• How to prepare for a PhD in Economics
• The key thing you need to know is that PhD programs in economics are highly mathematical and the mathematics required by both our Economics and Management Science degrees is not enough to get you into a top PhD program. To be a competitive applicant, you will need to take some upper division mathematics classes such as how to write proofs (Math 109), linear algebra (Math 102), real analysis (Math 140A or 142AB), probability (Math 180A) and statistics (Math 181AB).  See more below.
• Graduate schools care a lot about the difficulty and content of the classes you’ve taken. Getting a high GPA won’t necessarily get you into a good program unless they are the right classes.
• If you want to get into a top PhD program, it is especially important to take real analysis (Math 142AB or Math 140ABC—likely Math 140A is enough) and do well in the class. Real analysis teaches you how to write and understand proofs.  These skills will be important to your success in first-year graduate courses as well as in your research career.  Since real analysis tends to be a difficult course everywhere, your grade in this course is often taken as a key signal of your ability to succeed in a PhD program by admissions committees. If possible, try to take this course when you don’t have a lot of other commitments so that you can devote a significant amount of time to this course, learn the material well and get a good grade.
• Other upper division mathematics and statistics courses are also helpful. In particular, understanding linear algebra is important in graduate-level econometrics courses. Therefore, taking Math 18 and Math 102 (lower and upper division linear algebra courses) can give you a strong foundation in these topics.
• It is also important to have a strong foundation in statistics and probability theory. You will learn a lot of this in the econometrics sequence (if you are interested in pursuing graduate school, you should consider taking the honors classes 120AH-BH-CH). Another class to add to your statistics foundation would be a course in probability (Math 180A).
• In general, if you are interested in going to graduate school in Economics, you should seriously consider majoring in Joint Mathematics-Economics. This major will undoubtedly increase your workload, but it will both make you a more attractive applicant for graduate school and give you the mathematical foundation needed to succeed in graduate school. Students who took many math classes in while in high school should consider double majoring in math and economics.
• If you have exhausted your undergraduate opportunities to take classes in math and economics, consider taking a graduate class. Taking graduate courses in economics or mathematics can send a strong signal to admissions committees. This can be slightly risky, however. Undergraduates may be at a disadvantage as graduate students tend to form study groups for first year courses. If you decide to take a graduate course, you should plan on devoting A LOT of time to the course.  Again, it is extremely important that you to do well in a graduate class.
• Coding is an essential skill to have in graduate school. Therefore, taking courses with a data analysis and coding component (for example, Econ5/Poli5D: Introduction to Social Data Analytics, Econ 112: Macro Data Analysis and Econ 121: Applied Econometrics) can help develop your coding skills. The most popular statistical packages in economics are STATA, R, and MATLAB. If you have the time, it may also be a good idea to take an introduction to programming course from the computer science department.
• Courses that have a research component (Econ 191A-B and Econ 199) will also be invaluable preparation for graduate school. By developing your own research topic, you can learn about each step of the research process: from topic selection, background research, data management all the way to analysis and writing. Selecting an empirical topic is especially encouraged as it will give you valuable experience cleaning and analyzing data and getting more comfortable with various data analysis software. This might also be a good indication of whether a career in research is a good fit for you personally. Finally, the Professor teaching Econ 191AB will get to know you and how you tackle problems very well and so be able to write the kind of informed letter of recommendation that graduate schools like to see.

To summarize, in order to prepare for graduate school, it is extremely important to take the right courses and do well in them. To be competitive, you will need to have a record of performing well in difficult mathematics and economics courses.  

• Why earn a PhD in Economics?
• Talking to a UCSD grad: ECONnected

Advice for First-Year Ph.D. Students in Economics at Cornell

First of all: welcome to Cornell and congratulations on your acceptance into the Ph.D. program in Economics! You must wonder about what the program and life at Cornell will be like, both academically and socially. The main focus of this document is to provide some information, grad student to grad student, about the academic aspects of the Ph.D. program in Economics at Cornell, though we will also get into some other aspects of life at Cornell. From your peers in the Ph.D. program, we want you to know that we are happy to talk to you and give you advice based on our own experiences. The comments and advice have been gathered from a broad spectrum of students, with varying backgrounds and experiences. We hope that this will provide you with a number of perspectives and ideas on how to handle the first year and succeed to the best of your ability.

You Are Here for a Reason

The Cornell Ph.D. program in economics admits a wide variety of students, with various backgrounds and levels of academic preparation. By some system, the faculty sifts through literally hundreds of applications, to find a broad profile of students that best fit the research interests and teaching needs of the department. It should be no surprise that many of your classmates list labor, development, theory or econometrics as primary fields of interest – these are four of the areas in which Cornell Economics is strongest. The research done in each of these areas, as well as the other economics fields, requires fairly different skill sets, and therefore the students chosen for admission will vary in their preparation for the focus of the firstyear: learning quantitative tools, basic economic modeling frameworks, and mathematical problem solving. Some of your classmates may have seen some of the material before. Don't let this discourage you – with sufficient effort and perseverance, you are all capable of succeeding in the first year. In order for you to be admitted, someone took notice of your file and saw something they liked. Remember these facts in the many challenging and difficult days you will face in the coming year. The Department does not accept students unless it believes they are capable of successfully completing the program, and differences in preparation in September will seem smaller come June.

You are also hopefully here for another reason, namely because you have decided that this is what you want to do (this being quantitatively-oriented research). For that reason, you should make the best of the opportunities here. Work as hard as you can, but enjoy the process. Yes, it is tough at times, but tough things can be made more bearable when we really enjoy the stuff and believe it is important. For this reason also, take initiative for your course of studies.

Belief is key – know that you can do this, as much as you might be tempted to doubt yourself (we all do). If you make the decision early to take the material seriously and try to master it and internalize it, and not just memorize, the dividends will be great. This takes commitment, but know that what seems confusing and abstract early on will clear up later. For example, it is quite common for students to struggle through the first semester of microeconomics, only to come out saying things like, "it was hard, but now I can see how it all fits together." The material will seem easier once you've worked at it and grasped it, and this takes time and hard work! It will be tempting to doubt yourself, as you enter a new academic setting in which nearly all of the students are accustomed to being "top of the class," so don't let early struggles get you down, and don't let yourself believe that you're not smart enough.

The Schedule

Of course, you will all get a schedule for first-year that lists your courses. However, we thought you might want a better feel for the rhythm of the first year.

Math Camp in August gives you a nice, gentle introduction to the program. For those of you who find it easy, don't get overconfident, because you will be challenged in time. For those of you who struggle, take it as a signal of things you need to work on. Just because some of the material covered in Math Camp may be difficult or new to you, it doesn't mean that you can't handle the program – but it does mean that you may have to put in extra time over the next few months ensuring that you understand the mathematical tools that you will need to know (this is part of what ECON 6170 is about). Fall semester is as much about picking up tools and mathematical skills as it is about learning economics (which is more of the focus in spring semester).

While the first week or two of classes are usually quite gentle, you will quickly hit the first wave of exams. At Cornell, almost every first-year Econ Ph.D. class has two exams (aka. prelims, midterms, quizzes), plus a final exam. The Econ Ph.D. program coordinates things, so you have two waves in the fall semester of about an exam or two per week (one wave in late September/early October, and one around November). Be prepared, and don't underestimate the classes based on the first couple of weeks. In second semester the schedule changes a little, and the focus shifts in the final run-up to qualifying exams (aka. "Qs"), which occur in early June. There are two weeks of intense studying between finals in May and the Qs in June. There are re- takes of the qualifying exams that are given at the beginning of August.

As mentioned above, the first semester courses focus a lot on building up tools and problem-solving skills. Many would say that the most important course during this semester is Econ 6090: Microeconomics I, which lays much of the foundation for what you do in later classes. It teaches you the basic structure of graduate-level economics, and also how to do fundamental things like solve an optimization problem, do comparative statics, or think about economic uncertainty in a rigorous way. Your macroeconomics sequence (Econ 6130 in the fall and Econ 6140 in the spring) is basically an introduction to dynamic modeling and a presentation of some of the key static and dynamic models in the field. Your Mathematics for Economists class (Econ 6170) is mainly focused on mathematical problem solving, though the material it conveys is also very important in other classes and for all economists to know. Your Econometrics I class (Econ 6190) is mainly focused on conveying the essential things you "need to know" in probability and statistics, both for later work in econometrics, and also for other theory courses.

In second semester, the focus shifts a little, with more emphasis on materials that can be mapped into real economic modeling and analysis. The microeconomics course in general equilibrium theory (Econ 6100), builds off of Microeconomics I, and in the end provide you with a broad look at much of the foundational material in microeconomics that is used by researchers in every imaginable area of economics. Your Econometrics II course gives a broad (and very fast) overview of many of the important topics in econometric theory (i.e. regression analysis). You may be asked to come up with, work on and present (both orally and in written form) a small empirical project, to demonstrate that you are capable of finding, organizing and analyzing economic data.

Most students take all eight of these core courses (three in micro, two each in macro and econometrics, and one in mathematical economics) during the first year. The exceptions are usually students who pass out of the math course or the first econometrics course. All course planning advice should come from the faculty, and especially our graduate director, Prof. Levon Barseghyan. Please talk to Prof. Barseghyan and/or senior faculty in the relevant area if you want to discuss your course planning further, and they can be extremely helpful in general. Remember, the department wants you to succeed.

If you are taking all four courses in you first semester, you will have two lectures per day of one hour and fifteen minutes each from Monday through Thursday. Lectures are taught by one of the faculty. On top of this, you will have four sections on Friday, again one hour and fifteen minutes each, which are taught by TAs (usually upper-years Econ Ph.D. students). Fridays give you an opportunity to look at material again from a different (often more directly applied and exam-relevant) perspective. But the biggest drain on your time will be problem sets, which are assigned on roughly a weekly basis in each class. Once you start having four problem sets a week, you may occasionally need to sacrifice a lot to get through these. Do get through them though – give each problem set the attention it deserves because solving problem sets is the primary way to learn graduate-level material.

One other thing you might not expect is the number of students in your classes. Beyond your core group of twenty-or-so first-year economics Ph.D. students, you will have about as many other students from other departments or academic levels. The next biggest group will be students from the Applied Economics and Management (AEM) department, who are required to pass our microeconomics qualifying exam, and also pass a semester of macro. There will also be small bunches of students from other Ph.D. or masters programs – in Policy Analysis and Management, Business, Finance, certain areas of engineering, etc. There are also students who are re-taking some of the first-year classes for various reasons. And finally, you'll usually see a couple of ambitious undergrads taking the Ph.D.-level courses.

How to Study

You're here, right? So you must know something about how to study. Yet sometimes the techniques that got you here may not necessarily be the ones that will carry you through successfully. Remember, Ph.D. means Doctor of Philosophy – which carries the implication that the holders of such degrees will have acquired knowledge at a level deeper than simple short- term memorization. It means the ability not just to understand material, or even to respond to specific (familiar) questions, but to compare, contrast and criticize various theories and arguments, and to be able to contribute to that knowledge and convey one's insights to others. Acquiring such mastery, especially within the mathematical framework of mainstream economics, requires time, practice and hard work, and you will need to develop a system that works best for you in your first year. Here are some things that have worked well for others:

• Take problem sets (very) seriously. Perhaps the most important skill you need to develop in the first-year is the ability to understand and solve challenging economic problems (usually with mathematical content). Your ability to learn the skill of problem solving and proving mathematical results will help you succeed in your class exams, qualifying exams, and ultimately in your future research. Whenever you are faced with a problem (or something you don't understand in a lecture or in your reading), try to figure it out yourself. Then, try to look it up. Failing that, go to your peers (eg. your study group) or the TA. Then go back to it. If all else fails, see the professor.
• Learn how topics fit together and develop your intuition. Hopefully you will notice throughout the year that some approaches and concepts reappear many times through the eight courses in your first year. The sooner that you find these links the more successful you will be. The Microeconomics qualifying exam is known for introducing material that you haven't seen before – but it is more about applying concepts you have seen to new areas. If you are able to see this link, it will make your life easier through your first year, on qualifying exams, and looking at research projects.
• Form a study group. At Cornell there is no quota on how many students can pass the qualifying exams. This means that students are not in direct (only relative or indirect) competition with each other. This means that you can leverage thetremendous learning benefit of regularly studying with peers. It is difficult to overemphasize the benefit you can derive from being able to discuss problems, see how other people do things, and get hints and help with places where you are stuck. Try to find a good group of people that you can work well with, and plan a regular (eg. weekly, bi-weekly, etc.) meeting time. Some people insist that they learned more in graduate school from their study group and peers than from their lectures.
• Work on your own before meeting your study group. Your study group should be there to leverage the knowledge of your classmates – but not to replace working out problems on your own. There is tremendous value in struggling through material on your own before going to your study group for help. If you don't try problems on your own first, you will be unable to learn from your mistakes and the same mistakes are likely to reappear on your exams. As noted before, struggling through the material to the point of defolicating yourself before you actually understand it is fairly common.
• How much should you read? This is a personal thing. Just be aware that there are (quickly) diminishing returns to underlining and highlighting. Academic economists will tell you that it is best to read (eg. textbooks, articles, etc.) with a pencil in hand and some paper close by, and to try to jump ahead and solve the math yourself whenever possible and practical while you read. Such discipline will benefit you later on. In a similar vein, don't overload yourself with study materials. While some people find it helpful to supplement their primary textbooks with other texts or resources, getting different viewpoints will not replace deeply digesting the material in one book.
• See your TAs. TAs are some of the greatest resources your courses have to offer – students experienced in the courses, and with time available to help you through your difficulties. Try to talk to them regularly, even about things you think you understand, to reinforce your knowledge and understanding. You should read their problem set solutions to learn new ways to solve problems. On the other hand, do not overtax TAs – they are also not private tutors, and as a Ph.D. student you are expected to put in the necessary effort to figure things out yourself. So, don't be surprised if a TA occasionally seems surprised at something you don't understand or says that ‘this should be obvious from …'. If it isn't obvious to you ask for clarification or another text or notes where you could find a more detailed exposition. The main thing to remember here is, don't wait until it's too late to ask for help. Better to ask early than be sorry later. Don't suffer in silence! Also, do not be embarrassed if others in your class seem to be breezing through and you are struggling. If they are it is extremely likely because they have seen this exact material before, for example in a Master's program somewhere and not because they are smart and you are dumb.
• The style of learning in a Ph.D. program is different from undergrad. You will often need multiple encounters with the material to develop mastery. This may come through lecture, TA sections, reading, problem sets, discussion with peers and further examination of the concepts. But effort spent in mastering economic theory will yield tremendous benefits in your future research career no matter what area you specialize in.
• It is important to avoid the big pitfall of looking at others' solutions to old exams (Q or in- semester) before or while trying to solve them yourself. This typically leads to memorization and not understanding. A pitfall being that you can then very easily get stuck in a new problem (in your exam) that follows the same theme as the ones you have solved but has a different twist than the previous one. This also means that you need to be able to learn from your mistakes. You will fall down at some points, but stay positive and learn to analyze what went wrong and how to fix it.
• What difference do grades make? Certainly, you shouldn't take them as seriously as you have been trained to in the past. They are definitely a nice signal of your progress and understanding of the material, and your ability to take exams under pressure (which we must all do on the qualifying exam). However, do not take them too seriously. If you do well, do not get overconfident, because there is always more to learn. If you do not do as well as you would like, know that almost everybody in the program has struggled at certain points or in certain classes. Sometimes, a bad exam is just a fluke and nothing more, which can occur for various reasons. And in the end, grades are a noisy predictor of ultimate success in research.In any case, as long as you are really learning and internalizing the material, you will be fine on the qualifying exams, and having passed those, the first-year will be largely forgotten anyway (although hopefully the material won't…).
• Time management. Of course, this is key. You must find a system that works for you. If you've made it this far, you probably have. If not, try to get advice on this from other students.
• A very good suggestion for digesting material is to review your class notes within a few hours after the lectures. One way to do this is by going through in detail, trying to "fill in the blanks" and construct many simple and complex examples based on the material. You will find that the material you learn successively builds up, so it is good to build on a solid foundation from the start, even if things seem somewhat easy at first. It is amazing how easy it is to think that you have understood something, when you really didn't, so try to work with the material frequently.
• One technique for internalizing knowledge that works well for some students is to write up a "summary" of the material leading up to an exam (or keeping a running summary). The idea is to write up a briefer summary of the material in your own words, highlighting the most important points. This can be both a great way to go over material and force yourself to write and think, and also can provide great "crib sheets" for later review.
• Don't hide under the veil of "not realistic." Many first years complain that this and that model or theory is not real-world based, or they don't make any real-world sense. Good students look to the core, find the objectives of the models, and assess the model on how it addresses such objectives. Bear in mind, there ain't no "General Theory of the Real World." We can only provide snapshots of whatever phenomena we are interested in. If you don't want to believe the theories, fine. But you should know that a lot of these works have great motivations behind them, not only mathematical curiosity.
• A big determinant of your success will be the attitude you take to your studies – try to stay positive as much as possible. Try to see ways in which the material you are learning can be useful later. A wide and deep knowledge of economic theory will benefit you no matter what future research you do (including applied or empirical work) – it will provide you with tools and structures that allow you to communicate and analyze ideas more rigorously, effectively and professionally.

The "Q's"

There are three qualifying exams (or Qs, qualifying exams, quals, etc.), one in econometrics, one in microeconomics, and one in macroeconomics. They are usually given in the second week of June and again in early August. The exams are four hours long, and consist of graduate-level economic problem solving. They will be chosen roughly from the areas of study you have covered in your core micro and macro classes, though you will usually also see stuff you "haven't seen before."

If you want to make normal progress in the program, you need to pass them by the end of your first year, and this is your primary responsibility in the first year. However, most people pass them, and you should not let yourself be overwhelmed by the thought of them.

Here are some brief suggestions on things you can do to prepare throughout the year:

• Learn the material in your classes. This is the best thing you can do. Don't just study hard leading up to prelims and finals – master and internalize material as much as possible (mainly by independently solving problems), because it is hard to review a whole year's material in the two weeks between May finals and the Qs.
• You can ask the Graduate Field Assistant to share with you a Box folder containing the past 10 years of Q exams sometime later on in the fall. One technique is to use Q problems relevant to the exams in your classes as exam-prep materials. Since 10 years of Qs means about 120 micro problems and 80 macro problems (though not all relevant), it can be useful to start early, though don't panic and start too early. Another technique is to use your breaks as time for Q prep (eg. a couple weeks in January, spring break, etc.). Another is to set aside a little time each week in second semester to study for Qs.
• Don't worry about what other people are doing. How you chose to study for the Qs is a personal choice, and everybody has their own study habits that work for them. There is no right or wrong way to study (except, of course, not studying). It is important to decide what will work for you, even if it is different from what your classmates are doing.
• Don't get stressed over the numbers. You will hear various figures about pass rates in previous years' Q exams. Remember, these are meaningless. The exam is not graded on a curve, and the faculty grading the exam does not have a target pass rate. All you can do is study as well as possible throughout the entire academic year, and set yourself up to perform at your best on the exam.
• The last two weeks before June Qs are a good time to go back over your weaknesses and prep. Use them well. One successful strategy is to regularly (eg. daily) take full 4-hour practice Q exams, especially if you are not familiar with the experience and physical challenge of taking longer exams. One part of success in the Q is the ability to deal with the time pressure in the exam and pace yourself, yet solve problems relatively quickly and efficiently. You need to learn this skill, and it takes practice. Plus, doing practice exams gets you to solve more practice problems, and gives you something to go over with your study group.
• The Qs are ultimately about showing the faculty that you're ready to move on in the program and do research. This means, as discussed above, the ability to tackle, solve and analyze original problems (broadly understood). In many cases, the professors care as much about your ability to set up a problem, and "see" the solution, or apply economic intuition, as anything. Therefore, students who get into the Q and sit down and try to simply write whatever comes to mind, as quickly as possible, tend to be less successful.
• You are allowed to take food and water into the exam, and this can also help one stay fresh and energized.
• It's not the end of the world if you don't pass in June. It happens. Don't count on passing the June Qs – i.e. don't pack your summer with plans, because that only puts on extra pressure. Do whatever you can to take the pressure off so you can go in and do your best.
• Get advice from other students and faculty on what and how to study for the Qualifying exams throughout the year if you feel that will help. You will find people very forthcoming with advice (since everyone here has gone through the Q process at some time), but remember that everyone learns differently and you will find a schedule that you are comfortable with.

Don't worry too much about Qs right now. The upper-years graduate students in the department will probably provide you with more information and advice on Qs specifically, in the spring.

Life in the Department

Hopefully, you will enjoy life in the department, and find your place. You will find that the grad students and faculty at Cornell are generally a friendly, though socially diverse, group. Quite early on you will hear about the Graduate Student Association For Economics (GSAFE), which is essentially the "student government" inside the department. GSAFE is traditionally made up of second-year students, who take on social and academic responsibilities like organizing departmental parties and grad student gatherings, representing the department on graduate student committees in the university, and acting as a liaison between the grad students and the faculty in the department. Take advantage of the events and other things that GSAFE organizes. The "graduate student union" at Cornell is the Big Red Barn, which is conveniently located within a 1-minute walk from Uris Hall. There are various grad student-oriented events held there, and the Friday afternoon T.G.I.F. ("tell grads it's Friday") is particularly popular with Econ Ph.D. students. Oftentimes upper-year students won't get to know you unless you get involved or introduce yourselves. But they do enjoy the chance to talk, so make use of their presence.

Unlike some programs, economics has quite a structured and focused first-year. Most, if not all, of your first-year courses are explicitly mapped out, and there is a specific target to focus on – passing qualifying exams. For this reason, the interaction between grad students and professors is usually not as extensive in the first year as in other doctoral programs. Sure, you may interact with your professors in regards to the courses, but serious discussions about research and advisement usually happen after the first year. So don't be disappointed about this, but still take the chance to get to know who's doing work in areas you're interested in, and what field courses you might like to take in subsequent years.

If you are empirical, talk to empirical professors once in a while too. They'll provide comforting and great advice for people heading towards that direction (even what you should look to gain from first year classes). Empirical and applied people should also find the Johnson School of Business, AEM, ILR (Industrial and Labor Relations), and PAM (Policy Analysis and Management) comforting as places to meet faculty and students with similar interests, take future classes, and perhaps find a TA-ship.

Finally, one of the department's big gifts to its graduate students is an awesome seminar program. There are weekly presentations from star economists in Micro and Macro Theory, Econometrics, Development, Labor, Applied Micro, Public Economics, Policy Analysis and more. Seminars are scheduled throughout the week, usually at 4:00 pm, and (for the most part) classes are timed so as not to conflict with seminars. Attendance at a weekly seminar is only required as of third year, but you should not view them as a chore. In first year you will not generally have the time to go to a presentation regularly, but you are certainly welcome to attend them and we would encourage you to go to at least one or two presentations in each semester. Remember that there is life after the Qs and you will ultimately be judged on your ability to make the transition from student to researcher – getting a feel for the research done by top-name economists in your area of interest is an integral part of this process.

Being Successful Isn't Just About Studying

Do not take this point too lightly. While some of you may have Herculean visions of prolific studying exploits, in reality you do need to rest, as hard as that may seem at times. First of all, from the standpoint of a simple cost-benefit analysis, you are human, and therefore to perform at your peak you need to have reasonable amounts of sleep and rest. While it is true that you can push yourself for periods of time (and this is certainly necessary at certain times), you also need to listen to your body. Secondly, some of you may come here with families, significant others, etc., and they'll still want to hear from you and spend time with you. You may have a religious affiliation, and it can be nice to stay connected to that community during a trying year. And finally, rest time gives your brain time to subconsciously absorb and digest material. So if you find yourself studying 18 hours a day, 7 days a week, you probably need to think twice about your study habits and how efficiently you are using your time. Making new friends at Cornell is also important. However, while socializing is important, partying is not. Use your Cornell friends for human contact and social support, but make sure that your social life does not take energy away from studying.

Going through a Ph.D. program is not only an academic challenge – it is a mental, emotional and psychological challenge, too. It is perfectly normal if sometime in the next few months you find yourself questioning your abilities, your decision to come here, why in the world anyone would care about the stuff you're learning, or any other common feeling. Know this: you are not alone. Don't let disappointing grades, hard material, frustrating lecturers, or personal stresses get you down too much. Remember, the first year is important for your life as economist, but it is not everything. Seek help if you need it – your fellow grad students can be good sounding boards, and in a more difficult situation you can try to talk to someone at the Counseling Centre in Gannett Health Service. There is no question that this program is hard – it should be. Do what you need to do to be at your best.

Another good habit is to try to exercise regularly. Be realistic about this – some people come here with overly ambitious plans about athletic endeavors, and in many cases you will have to choose studying over the sports or activities you enjoy. But at the same time, try to find time a couple times every week to at least get out, have a walk, go for a jog, go dancing, or play a sport. Talk to other grad students about the activities available in and around Ithaca and Cornell.

To Research Or Not to Research

Some of you will come here with a research background and will be eager to continue that work. Others might have ideas they want to start exploring early on. Ultimately, research is what we are here for – not exams, problems sets, or listening to lectures. But the research frontier in economics has high technical demands, and to reach it we need preparation and study. That is what the first-year is mostly about.

Some professors and grad students will tell you that you should be thinking about research ideas and working on things in your first year. They will say that you should try to attend seminars (see above). These are all good things to try to do, as long as you are fulfilling your primary responsibility in the first-year – preparing to pass the qualifying exam. Some would say that attending seminars and doing your own research provides extra motivation and energy to master the tools thrown at you in the classes, especially if you find places where they can overlap. Others might say that it can be a distraction, and the attitude needed for research is different than that needed to master the large body of material thrown at you in first-year. This is ultimately something you must decide on your own, but it is good to seek multiple opinions and experiment. Usually, one's first attempts at research are rather weak and unsuccessful, and so it can be nice to get such attempts out of the way early, for more successful progress in second and subsequent years. Or as some faculty and students put it, ‘the first paper is crap anyway'. Additionally, being able to get something out of seminars is something that takes time (they generally involve presentations of technical, frontier-level research, and so if you only understand 10% of what is said in your first few seminars, that is quite normal), and so again, starting early can get you ahead of the game later on.

Taking Advantage of Cornell Resources

One of the great things about being at a world-class research university is the great set of resources at your disposal, in terms of people, technology, and other support. Right when you arrive on campus, you will receive information about things like library tours and computing classes. When it comes time to write your paper for Econometrics II, you can look into taking econometric software classes in programs like Stata and SAS through CISER (Cornell Institute for Social and Economic Research), and sign up for a CISER computing account that allows you online access to most of the leading econometric software packages from almost anywhere in the world.

One thing that some graduate students do is apply to use a "carrel" at Olin library. Applications for new grad students are in late August, and a carrel is basically a desk that you get first priority over. You can see them if you go to the stacks in Olin library and walk to the sides of the library near the windows. Depending on how you like to study, this can be a convenient place to do most of your work, or at least have a place to stop by and get work done during the day. Unless you are a TA or RA in your first year, you will not have a proper office assignment in the Economics Department, so a carrel can be a useful alternative. The application is free but competitive, so look up the library web page early to find out about the application process.

In future years (or for some students, in first year), you might take advantage of courses offered in other departments like Mathematics, Statistics or Operations Research, or even Regional Planning, Sociology, Psychology, Government, Computing, Information Science or any other, within Cornell's motto of "any person, any study." You might attend lectures and talks in these other departments.

We hope that this document has provided you with a useful head start on the first year. We all know that it is challenging, but you need to know that it is worth it. To achieve excellence in any field, one needs to master the fundamentals, and that is what the first year is all about. Yes, it requires discipline and diligence, but keep the end-goal in mind – the opportunity to pursue the interests and areas that first fascinated you about economics, but now with a whole new set of tools and language with which to do so.

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About the Concentration in Health Economics and Policy

The concentration in Health Economics and Policy prepares doctoral students to address the most pressing challenges in health and health care through innovative, rigorous and interdisciplinary research in the field of health economics. This program integrates traditional training in economics with practical training in health policy and health services research to train the next generation of health economists.

The curriculum offers a broad exposure to the health economics literature and public health disciplines, and stresses the policy implications of these fields of research. The curriculum stresses a foundation in applied modern microeconomic theory, economic evaluation, quantitative methods and econometrics, including PhD-level courses from the Department of Economics in the Krieger School of Arts and Sciences.

Doctoral students are paired with a faculty adviser from the Health Economics concentration with similar research interests. Faculty in the Health Economics concentration are working in a variety of research areas including understanding health insurance design, the economic implications of health and health care disparities, market forces and health care prices, pharmaceutical economics, and payment design and access. Doctoral students will also have the opportunity to work with other faculty within the Department, as well as faculty from other Departments including International Health, Population, Family, and Reproductive Health, Biostatistics, the School of Medicine, School of Nursing, the Carey Business School, and the Department of Economics. Students also often work with various centers and initiatives across the University, including the Hopkins Business of Health Initiative.

What Can You Do With a Graduate Degree In Health Economics And Policy?

The program prepares students for successful research careers as health economists. Former students have gone onto careers in academia, government, research-oriented non-profits, and the private sector. Visit the  Graduate Employment Outcomes Dashboard to learn about Bloomberg School graduates' employment status, sector, and salaries.

View a list of selected recent graduates and dissertation titles for the PhD Concentration in Health Economics and Policy.

Curriculum for the Concentration in Health Economics and Policy

Browse an overview of the requirements for this PhD program in the JHU  Academic Catalogue  and explore all course offerings in the Bloomberg School  Course Directory .

Admissions Requirements

For general admissions requirements, please visit the How to Apply page.

Standardized Test Scores

Standardized test scores are  not required and not reviewed  for this program. If you have taken a standardized test such as the GRE, GMAT, or MCAT and want to submit your scores, please note that they will not be used as a metric during the application review.  Applications will be reviewed holistically based on all required application components.

Matthew Eisenberg, PhD, MPhil,

uses applied health economics methods to study how consumers make decisions about their healthcare.

Per the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) with the JHU PhD Union, the minimum guaranteed 2025-2026 academic year stipend is $50,000 for all PhD students with a 4% increase the following year. Tuition, fees, and medical benefits are provided, including health insurance premiums for PhD student’s children and spouses of international students, depending on visa type. The minimum stipend and tuition coverage is guaranteed for at least the first four years of a BSPH PhD program; specific amounts and the number of years supported, as well as work expectations related to that stipend will vary across departments and funding source. Please refer to the CBA to review specific benefits, compensation, and other terms.

Need-Based Relocation Grants Students who  are admitted to PhD programs at JHU starting in Fall 2023 or beyond can apply to receive a need-based grant to offset the costs of relocating to be able to attend JHU.   These grants provide funding to a portion of incoming students who, without this money, may otherwise not be able to afford to relocate to JHU for their PhD program. This is not a merit-based grant. Applications will be evaluated solely based on financial need.  View more information about the need-based relocation grants for PhD students .

Questions about the program? We're happy to help. [email protected]

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Qualifications and Student Profile

An undergraduate degree in the field of Economics is not required to enter the PhD program. However, excelling grades in upper division economics courses will be given priority in decisions made by the Economics Graduate Admission Committee. Also, applicants do not need a Master's Degree to apply nor to be admitted. In past years, most applicants recommended for graduate admission had the following profile:

• Proven independent research ability (e.g., honors thesis).
• GPA of 3.5 or higher with consideration for the degree of difficulty of the course work.
• Upper level mathematical course work, including real analysis, mathematical analysis, linear algebra, differential equations, advanced calculus and statistics with grades of A- or better.
• GRE Quantitative scores ranging from the 85th to the 99th percentile.
• Grades of A-minus or better in intermediate level theory courses (microeconomics, macroeconomics, econometrics) with a strong preference for honors or mathematical track versions of all three courses.
• Advanced undergraduate or graduate-level coursework in economics.

Individuals who have completed a three-year degree with no additional coursework typically do not qualify as having an equivalent U.S. bachelor's degree. Applicants with a 3-year degree and at least one year of graduate study should contact Graduate Admissions to clarify if their degree would be equivalent to a U.S. 4-year degree.