Program Overview

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How should trade be managed to promote both social welfare and the interests of workers and firms? How should merger policy be managed to balance the interests of merging firms and others that share the industry? How should financial markets and financial instruments be designed to promote economic stability and growth? If your first degree isn’t in economics, or your economics training doesn’t provide sufficient experience for our MSc courses, MA Economics may be for you. At Essex we push the frontiers of accepted wisdom, critically examining the decisions of individuals, the strategies of firms, and the policies of governments to understand and challenge the standard paradigms of economics. On this course, you build a thorough understanding of the key areas of economics through studying these topics:

• Strategic behaviour, public choice, fiscal and monetary policy, theories of growth
• Modern theory and methods with application to policy
• Formal economic arguments, and the role of equilibrium
• Econometric methods

We teach you the essentials of micro- and macroeconomics and econometric methods. You also have the option to explore a set of selected topics in economics to hone your skills, such as Management Economics and Market Analysis, International Trade and Financial Economics. For your dissertation, you apply these skills to create an original piece of research. If you need it, we support you in maths through pre-sessional and co-curricular support. If you’d like to develop your knowledge further at Essex, we offer a range of other advanced courses inside and outside economics that complement this course. We are 4th in UK for research power in economics and econometrics (Times Higher Education research power measure, Research Excellence Framework 2021). Much of this world-class research is related to policy, and we have research strengths in a number of areas. The quality of our work is reflected in our stream of publications in high-profile academic journals, including American Economic Review, Econometrica, and Review of Economic Studies. With this course you also have the opportunity to study abroad at one of our partner institutions and achieve a dual award, which means you’ll receive two Masters degrees in two years. Find out more on our dual award webpage. Why we're great.

• Ranked 18th in the UK for Economics in the QS World University Rankings by Subject (2023)
• We connect our research with our teaching so what you learn about is relevant today
• Access extensive quantitative analysis software and a large number of economics databases

Our expert staff

Study and work alongside some of the most prominent economists. Our researchers are at the forefront of their field and have even received MBEs, with students coming from across the globe to study, research or work with us. Many of our researchers also provide consultancy services to businesses in London and other major financial centres, helping us to develop research for today's society as well as informing our teaching for the future.

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Specialist facilities

Take advantage of our wide range of learning resources to assist you in your studies:

• Extensive software for quantitative analysis is available in all computer labs across the university
• Access a variety of economics databases and multiple copies of textbooks and e-books in the Albert Sloman Library

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Your future

After completing your masters, you may wish to extend your knowledge with a research degree – many Essex graduates decide to stay here for further study. Alternatively, our course also helps prepare you for employment; recent surveys have shown that higher degree graduates are more likely to obtain jobs at professional or managerial level. Our recent Master’s level Economics graduates have gone on to work for a range of high-profile organisations:

• The Ministry of Finance
• HM Treasury
• The Work Foundation
• Fitch Ratings
• Schroders Investment Management

More generally, our graduates have found employment in roles such as business and financial analysts, management consultants, government officials, and economists for banks and other financial organisations. We work with the University’s Careers Services to help you find out about further work experience, internships, placements, and voluntary opportunities.