Economics – (M.Sc.)

Contents

The electives are tentative depending upon faculty changes and number of registered students and may vary from year to year.

The programme covers four academic terms of full-time study (120 hec) including three terms of courses (90 hec) and one term of Master Degree Project 30 hec (thesis writing). The programme comprises core courses, including methods, elective courses and Master Degree Project. Core courses are programme specific and include courses in methods with emphasis on qualitative and quantitative analysis. Elective courses from other Master programmes, or in special cases, and only after permission granted by the Graduate School, second cycle courses at other universities may be an option.

Each term is divided into two periods, and each course is 7.5 hec, except where noted.

The faculty at the Department of Economics is recognized for their research and education on important policy areas such as the energy sector, the environment and
developing countries. Training in Economics improves the analytical skill and logical reasoning and it also improves the understanding of how society works. These skills are useful in a wide variety of occupational fields, including general business, government, law, banking and insurance.

The programme has five different tracks. Each track contains a number of core courses aimed to provide the student with a deep understanding of the specific field. Moreover, there is also considerable individual freedom to choose courses in order to obtain a tailor-made and unique education within each track.

Environmental Economics

Environmental economics is a subfield of economics concerned with environmental and natural resource issues, and its importance has increased rapidly within the last few decades. Topics in environmental economics consider consequences for society of environmental problems, how should society address environmental problems, technology adoption, and links between development and the environment. The environmental economics track emphasizes analytical and decision-making skills and provides graduates with many career alternatives in the private as well as in the public sector. The Environmental Economics Unit at the Department is the largest research unit in environmental economics within Sweden and one of the largest in Europe.

Health Economics

Health economics is a branch of economics concerned with issues related to scarcity in the health markets. Topics related to various aspects of health economics include the meaning and measurement of health status, the production of health and health care, the demand for health and health services, health economic evaluation, health insurance, the analysis of health care markets, health care financing, and hospital economics. The programme offers strong analytical skills and is a qualification which furthers career opportunities in national and international health agencies and in the pharmaceutical industry.

Industrial Economics

Industrial Economics includes entrepreneurship, the economics of innovation, the economics of pricing and decision making, the economics of organization, the economics of regulation, corporate restructuring, and economic policy making. The track seeks to acquaint the students with models of strategic interaction between firms in the marketplace, and students will be taught to independently recognize the relevant market structure and understand its implications for market performance.

Development Economics

Development economics deals both with issues in developing countries and issues related to relationships between developing and developed countries. It includes topics such as international trade, fiscal and monetary policy, agricultural economics
and policy, and aid policy. Development economists often work in international organizations, development agencies and NGOs.

Historical Economics

Historical economics is an approach to the study of economic history that makes explicit use of economic theory and statistical methods. Economic behaviour takes place in specific historical and institutional settings. By studying historical economics the student’s understanding of the relevance and limitations of economic models for the study of real world problems is enhanced. Typical themes are the advent and spread of industrialization and market integration, institutional change, and historical processes of global income divergence and convergence. The track is a suitable background for those interested in working as analysts in international, private and public organizations. The track is organized jointly with the department of Economic History.

With the exception of the first term, there is no guarantee that all courses will be offered; this depends on the number of students interested in taking the different courses. The first term is common for all tracks, and consists of four courses in mathematics, econometrics, microeconomics and macroeconomics. For each track there are four to five core (compulsory) courses (7.5 hec) in addition to the Master Degree Project. Students can choose elective courses from this programme, or from other programmes at the University of Gothenburg. They can also choose core courses as electives to the extent that they are not core courses in their chosen track. Students must accumulate a total of 120 hec, of which at least 90 hec are courses in economics (including methodological courses such as mathematics and statistics and the Master Degree Project). For each track certain elective courses will be recommended. In particular this concerns courses given at other departments. It should also be mentioned that the programme is integrated with the Master of Science in Finance programme at Graduate School. Students in finance at the department of Mathematics will also participate in parts of our programme.