Specialisation: Economics of Development
In the specialisation Economics of Development, you examine social transformation processes from an economic perspective, paying special attention to insights from economic theory and careful empirical applications. You focus on contemporary thinking about economic development and evidence-driven policymaking in developing as well as in developed societies. You explore themes such as development and conflicts, employment, rural development programs, food security, gender inequality, poverty, the natural resource curse, trade liberalisation, and the role of institutions.
Specialisation courses
In the first year, you follow two common courses, and a selection of profiling courses, and if necessary, supporting courses. You follow three specialisation courses within Economics of Development.
| Code | Name |
|---|---|
| AEP-21306 | Econometrics |
| DEC-32806 | Impact Assessment of Policies and Programmes |
| DEC-30306 | Central Themes in Economics of Development |
For more information about the courses and course content of the specialisation, as well as the compulsory parts of the master's programme, please refer to the Study Handbook.
Depending on your educational background, the study adviser may determine that you need to follow some supporting courses which will be compulsory for you (for example the courses MAT-20306 Advanced Statistics and ECH-21806 Microeconomics).
Student experience
"This has been an eye-opening experience, opening my mind to different development practices. One of the main outcomes of this study is that it has encouraged me to take a critical view on research practices. The opportunities provided, with the possibilities of going abroad for my thesis and the internship during the second year of my study, has really made this master's program stand out and enhance my learning possibilities and exposure to practical work experience." - Leah from Great Britain
MSc thesis
In the second year, you demonstrate your ability to design and conduct research by collecting and analysing information on a thesis topic of your choice. Your thesis will be based on the domain within your specialisation, and the specialisation courses will outline the context of your research. To get an impression of the kind of research done by students, these are a few thesis examples:
- Anchoring and the adverse effects of progressive lending in microfinance: a framed field experiment in Bolivia [Student report] Koster, Tinka
- The financial sustainability of the microcredit scheme created through rice banks: case study in Siem-Reap Province, Cambodia [Student report] Pettinelli, Samanta
- The position of identifying questions and responses to potentially sensitive questions in a face-to-face interview: survey experiment in Ghana [Student report] Valenta, David
Many more examples are found in the thesis library.
Teachers in the spotlight
Staff from the contributing chair-groups will be telling you about their own research experiences during the courses. Different teachers have different areas of thematic interest, and focus on different regions in the world. To get an impression of the specialisation, it can be helpful to become acquainted with the expertise of some of the staff. A few examples: