MSc Economics and Business - Specialisation in Policy Economics
Rotterdam, Netherlands
DURATION
1 Years
LANGUAGES
English
PACE
Full time
APPLICATION DEADLINE
01 May 2025*
EARLIEST START DATE
Sep 2025
TUITION FEES
EUR 2,314 / per year **
STUDY FORMAT
On-Campus
* EEA students: 1 May, non-EEA students: 1 April
** statutory fee: dutch / EEA students; institutional fee: dutch / EEA students: € 12.600; non-EEA students: € 16.100
Introduction
Economic policy problems are everywhere. Think of the financial crisis in 2008, the euro crisis that erupted in 2010, and the coronavirus crisis of 2020. Think also of population ageing which causes large increases in spending on healthcare and pensions. Global warming may threaten future life on Earth. Income inequality is increasing almost everywhere in the Western world due to globalization and technological changes.
Besides courses, the master's program contains seminars. In the Seminar Economic Policy, you will try to solve one of the most pressing policy problems at the moment of your study. Moreover, you may want to do an internship, for example at one of the ministries, CPB Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis, competition and other government authorities. This internship could be combined with writing your master’s thesis.
Why study Policy Economics in Rotterdam?
The Policy Economics programme at Erasmus School of Economics is unique in the Netherlands. It is explicitly designed to educate future policymakers. The programme prepares you for a career as a policy economist who is able to apply the most appropriate theory and empirical methods to solve real-world policy problems. The curriculum is developed in close cooperation with potential future employers.
Study the Policy Economics programme at Erasmus School of Economics for:
- A theoretical and empirical approach to major economic policy issues
- A curriculum designed in partnership with Dutch government organisations and research institutes
- Guest lectures by leading policy economics practitioners
- Excellent career prospects in the public/non-profit sector or applied sciences.
"This programme is a great way to use economic analysis to assess current and important economic policy decisions"
Typically, a Policy Economics student is smart, active and has above-average Bachelor's grades. Do you have a keen interest in applied policy issues and the public sector? Then you should read what our students have to say.
Admissions
Curriculum
Earn your MSc in Economics and Business with a Specialization in Policy Economics, completing a rigorous curriculum of 60 ECTS credits.
The curriculum of the master programme in Policy Economics provides students with economic theory and empirical tools that are essential to becoming an outstanding policy economist. The core courses of this programme are Advanced Public Economics, Applied Econometrics, and Advanced Macroeconomics. Furthermore, students can follow either Economics of Organisations, Industrial Organisations or Advanced Money, Credit and Banking.
Furthermore, students can choose from several elective courses: Policy Issues in Public Spending on Labour, Education and Health, Advanced Political Economy, and Advanced Development Economics.
The master's programme also provides two large and intensive seminars. In the first seminar, students become familiar with a wide array of applied research techniques (econometric methods of policy evaluation, cost-benefit analysis and field experiments) while discussing recent cases in policy evaluation. For the second seminar, students can choose between the Seminar Economic Policy and the Seminar Quantitative Macroeconomics.
The Seminar Economic Policy is devoted to analysing highly relevant policy issues. The Seminar Economic Policy changes every year to study policy issues that are most pressing at that time. In past years, the subjects were: the euro crisis, the Great Recession, globalisation, income inequality, and taxation of the wealthy and multinationals. In the Seminar Quantitative Macroeconomics, you learn how to analyse and estimate modern macroeconomic models. The last part of the master is devoted to writing the master’s thesis.
In many courses and seminars, you will work together with fellow students on assignments and papers. Moreover, during the seminars you will give presentations on your work or the course materials.
The curriculum consists of:
- 29% Applications
- 33% Theory
- 38% Empirics
Course Overview
- Take-Off Master
- Applied Econometrics
- Advanced Public Economics
- Elective 1
- Elective 2
- Advanced Macroeconomics
- Seminar 1
- Seminar 2
- Master's Thesis Policy Economics
Ideal Students
Is this the right choice for you?
If you are a strongly analytical student, if you are not afraid of mathematics and statistics, if you are highly motivated, and if you want to make this world a better place, then you should enroll in the master's program in Policy Economics.
The main values of the Policy Economics program at Erasmus School of Economics are:
- Open-mindedness
- Curiosity
- Academic thoroughness
- A good work ethic
- Social engagement
Career Opportunities
Good policy economists are scarce and your career perspectives will be excellent. After graduating you are able to work as an applied policy economist at ministries, applied research institutes, bureaus for policy analysis, and international institutions. Most of our alumni start working within one month after graduation. They become policy advisors, consultants, data scientists, analysts, researchers, and entrepreneurs. Some of the places where our Policy Economics alumni work are:
- Ministries in the Netherlands and abroad
- CPB Netherlands Bureau for Economic Research or similar institutions for applied policy research abroad, for example, Ifo Munich or IFS London
- Central Banks
- The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)
- The European Commission
- Authority for Consumers & Markets (ACM)
- Consulting companies, for example, PwC, Monitor Deloitte, and Steward Redqueen
- Universities, applied research institutes, and economic thinktanks
- Research departments of financial institutions such as banks, insurance companies, or pension funds.
Population aging and stable demand from the public sector for well-educated policy economists contribute to excellent career prospects. The private sector values the strong analytical skills of graduates of this program, while universities and research departments demand graduates with applied research interests.