Master's programs

Economics

The world economy has been in big turmoil over the past years. The world economy became increasingly more integrated, when markets for many goods and even services got an international scope. This allowed firms to expand and open economies to flourish. But also the risks and problems of international integration have become apparent. Firms are now exposed to the big fluctuations of world demand and to tough international competition. Governments depend more and more on an international capital market that can be volatile. Failing international (financial) market regulation, irrational investment behavior, and strategic actions make sound economic decision making a complex and challenging task. Both firms and governments have to cope with markets that are not just bringing together demand and supply in an efficient way, but have to take into account systematic inefficiencies, imperfect regulation, asymmetric information among market participants, and other market failures.

The Master’s Programme in Economics at Tilburg University aims to deepen your understanding of how markets function, when they fail, and what are the implications for strategic behavior by the various market participants, including companies, market organisations, and the government. You can choose among four tracks within the Master's: Competition and regulation; Socio-economic policy; Resources, development and growth; and International economics and finance. You are trained to handle the complex and dynamic problems of the modern economy and are taught how to gather, process, and analyze information, and how to communicate the results of the analysis in an effective way.