
Development Economics is one of the tracks of the Master's Economics. During your Master's you will follow 3 general courses and 3 track-specific courses. You will finish with a thesis.
In this course you will learn about modern macroeconomic models. You will learn how to use these models to explain and evaluate recent events and policy interventions. For example, the effect of uncertainty on savings, welfare and investment, the causes and nature of unemployment and inflation and the role of monetary and fiscal authorities.
In this course you will learn to understand the workings and limitations of the market. You will learn how to analyse consumer and producer behaviour and how to use basic game theory. The central question is: what can markets do and when do they fail? What determines the outcome, and how does that depend on market structure?
In this course you will learn about regression analysis. In applied economics this is a powerful tool to analyse empirical relationships. You will learn how to interpret estimation and testing results and build a satisfactory empirical model. You will follow lectures and take part in lab sessions to acquire practical econometric skills by making computer exercises.
This course introduces you to contemporary methods of policy evaluation. You will study their applications related to topics such as education, health, nutrition, crime, microfinance, gender and labour issues. You will read and prepare papers in order to explain important aspects of these papers during the weekly meetings.
You will apply microeconomics to topics in development economics. The aim is not to be complete, but to select a number of 6 well-studied topics, stressing their empirical foundation. Topics in previous years included: Poverty, Inequality, Firms and missing markets, Corruption and political economy, Risk and development, Access to finance.
You can choose one of the following electives: Climate Change Economics or Empirical Market Analysis.
You can choose one of the following electives: Globalisation, Growth and Development (Taught at VU) or Economic Growth.
This course is about the formation and returns to human capital, covering health, education and gender inequality with a focus on developing countries. Tutorials are used for student presentations and guest lectures of researchers working on related topics.
The academic programme culminates in a thesis, which allows you to engage with state-of-the-art data analysis and statistical techniques. The Master’s thesis is the final requirement for your graduation. It is your chance to dive deep into a topic in your field of choice (track) that you are enthusiastic about, and allows you to do an independent research project. A professor of your track will supervise and support you in writing your thesis.
If you are a student of the Master's Economics and you have a record of academic excellence, a critical mind and an enthusiasm for applied research, then our Economics Honours programme is a great opportunity for you.
This Master's perfectly blends my two passions: economics and policy analysis. It's a challenging programme, that teaches you hard and soft skills.Anouk Roethof Read about Anouk's experiences with this Master's
Some professors had a big influence on my career choices, and I would love to be that person for my students.Menno Pradhan, Professor in Development Economics Read the full interview
It is often argued that the quality of education in developing countries is low because teachers are underpaid, forcing them to do jobs on the side leaving them less time to focus on their main job. Does raising teacher salaries increase the quality of education? The Indonesian Government in 2006 adopted a policy that doubled teacher salaries. The policy was phased in, with more senior teachers receiving their raise first. Working with the Indonesian Government, researchers evaluated the programme by selecting a random set of districts in which the policy was phased in at a higher pace. While it was found that in these treatment districts teachers took on less second jobs, there was no difference between treated and control districts in terms of learning outcomes.