A curriculum that equips you to solve real-world policy challenges
The Policy Economics specialisation within the MSc Economics and Business provides a rigorous and applied curriculum that prepares you to become a policy economist capable of addressing today’s most pressing economic issues. The programme combines theoretical depth, empirical analysis, and practical application across five blocks.
Programme structure
- Core courses provide a strong foundation in public economics, macroeconomics, and econometrics. You will take the courses Advanced Public Economics, Applied Microeconometrics, and Advanced Macroeconomics, that will equip you with powerful tool sets from economic theory and empirical research.
- Electives allow you to explore specific policy areas. You will choose three electives in total, and we recommend taking one in block 1 and two electives in block 2. The electives provide a deep understanding of certain topics, allow for individualizing the programme, and allow for putting the focus on economic policy in a certain area, e.g., the labour market, international economics, or macroeconomics.
- Seminars are a central part of the programme. In the first seminar, you can choose between Policy Evaluation - focused on applied research techniques such as policy evaluation, cost-benefit analysis, and field experiments - and The Economics of AI, which will look into benefits and challenges created by AI and the implications it has for public policy. In the second seminar, you will choose between Economic Policy —which focuses on current policy debates—or Economics of Migration, which studies policy issues about migration.
- Master thesis is written individually in the final phase of the programme, based on your own research and under close supervision.
Curriculum overview
- 29% Applications
- 33% Theory
- 38% Empirics
In class
Teaching will combine the economic tool set with real-world applications and discussions in class. Particularly in the seminars, but also in some courses, you will work on real-world assignments that reflect the complexity of modern policy-making and that you will solve in group work
Study schedule
The introduction event for all new students at Erasmus School of Economics is the Master Take-Off. During this interesting introduction event, you will be provided with useful practical information and receive an introduction to your studies, meet your fellow students and our School. Thereafter, you will take the course courses and the electives in blocks 1 and 2. The seminar follows in blocks 3 and 4 while you will work on your Master’s thesis as individual assignment over the blocks 3-5. See the course overview for more details.’
For the electives, you choose three courses from the listed courses. One of the three electives can also be a “free elective” that is one other Economics and Business master’s course, with the exception of the core courses from the specialisation Data Science and Marketing Analytics. Our recommendation is to take one elective in block 1 and to take two electives in block 2.
Study schedule
The Take-Off is the introduction event for all new students of Erasmus School of Economics. During this interesting introduction event, you will be provided with useful practical information and receive an introduction to your studies, meet your fellow students and our School.
- Sampling
- Regression and Prediction (OLS, Lasso, etc.)
- Causal Inference (Differences-in-Differences, Instrumental Variables, Regression Discontinuity)
- Panel Data (Random Effects, Fixed Effects, Dynamic Panels)
- Limited Dependent Variables (Probit, Logit, Poisson, etc.)
This course is concerned with normative public economics. A choice is made each year from the following topics:
- The first and second welfare theorems
- The theory of second-best and dead-weight loss
- Optimal non-linear income tax
- Optimal participation taxes
- Optimal indirect taxes
- Optimal capital income taxes
- Optimal participation taxes
- Optimal taxes/subsidies on human capital and provision of education
- Optimal provision of public goods and social cost-benefit analysis
- Optimal corrective (environmental) taxes/regulation
- Optimal minimum wage policies
The course links the optimal tax principles to actual policy discussions, for example, the flat-tax debate, the optimal progressivity of the income tax, the top rate of the income tax, taxation of capital incomes, greening the tax system, discussions on the optimal size of the public sector, the role of the government in (higher) education, etc.
Students choose one of the listed courses:
- Advanced Money, Credit and Banking
- Capitalism, Corporations and Property Rights
- Industrial Organisation
- Advanced Political Economics
Students choose one of the listed courses and one of the remaining Electives 1 or 2 or one other Economics and Business master’s course, with the exception of the core courses from the specialisation Data Science and Marketing Analytics:
- Advanced Development Economics
- Policy Issues in Public Spending on Education, Health and Labour
- Taxation of Multinationals
- Inequalities and Discrimination in Labour Markets
- The macroeconomics of consumption and saving
- Modern macroeconomic business cycle analysis
- Modern macroeconomic models
Students choose one of the listed seminars:
- Seminar Cases in Policy Evaluation
- Seminar Quantitative Macroeconomics
Students choose one of the listed seminars:
- Seminar Economic Policy
- Seminar Economics of Migration
The thesis is an individual assignment about a subject from your Master's specialisation. More information about thesis subjects, thesis supervisors and the writing process can be found on the Master thesis website.
Find all the courses in the Course catalogue.
Disclaimer
This overview provides a general impression of the 2027-2028 curriculum. It is not the current study schedule. Enrolled students can find the most up-to-date version on MyEUR. Please note that minor changes may occur in future academic years.