Masters Degrees in Microeconomics, Netherlands

Tilburg University's Master’s in Economics program equips you with the tools needed to understand and manage the complex problems facing companies and governments in the modern economy.
What defines the modern economy? Increasingly integrated and turbulent markets, opening up unprecedented opportunities for firms as well greater risks. With your deep understanding of how markets function, when they fail, and the implications of this for market participants, you will be optimally prepared to help organizations and governments seize the opportunities available in the global economy while avoiding potential market pitfalls.

Tilburg University is ranked as #11 worldwide in Business and Economics (Times Higher Education, 2016). With its excellent quality and relatively low tuition fee, the program at Tilburg University is an excellent choice for those wanting to develop the skills, knowledge and attitude for a professional economic analyst.

The program is unique in its kind due to its flexible curriculum. Students can compose their own personalized curriculum by selecting courses from 13 different seminars and 5 methods courses. By selecting specific courses, they also have the opportunity to compose one of the specialized tracks:
-Competition and Regulation
-Public Policy
-Sustainability and Growth
-Pensions Aging and Retirement
-Money Banking and Financial Institutions
-Behavioral Economics.

Future jobs

Because of the excellent reputation of the Tilburg University Economics Department in both teaching and research, your Master's in Economics qualification gives you a competitive advantage in any career that requires sound economic knowledge, strong economic intuition, and sharp analytical and problem-solving skills.

Your degree will be an excellent launch pad for a career as consultant, analyst or policy advisor. Possible job opportunities include positions in:
•International companies
•Banks
•Management Consulting firms
•Research agencies
•Public sector
•Non-profit sector

Are you passionate about sharing your knowledge with others? After finishing your Master in Economics, Dutch graduates have the possibility to follow a one-year educational post-Master to become a teacher in General Economics.

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Master's specialization in Behavioral Economics

'Behavioral Economics' is one of the specialized tracks of the Master's program in Economics.

Tilburg University is ranked #11 worldwide in Business and Economics (Times Higher Education, 2016).

Address economic questions around behavior and behavioral change

Many economic questions ultimately revolve around behavior and behavioral change.
•How to encourage households to waste less food?
•How to prevent fraud in organizations?
•How to stimulate employees to cooperate efficiently?
•How to foster trust in online markets?

The track ‘Behavioral Economics’ will provide you with the knowledge and skills to effectively address such questions.

Integrate insights from economics and psychology

The specialization track integrates insights from economics and psychology. It builds on the principle that policy advice should be evidence-based and cannot rely on theory alone. The starting point is that individuals are not rational self-interested maximizers but that human behavior is based on a bounded capacity to process information and on preferences that include a regard for such social norms as fairness and reciprocity.

Learn how to affect behavior by policies and strategies

In recent years it has become increasingly clear to firms, organizations, and governments that policies and strategies should take account of both the economics and the psychology of behavior. There is an urgent need for economists who have been trained to take a broader view, who have a profound knowledge of all relevant aspects of behavior and the ways it can be affected by policies and strategies.

Key courses:

•Seminar Economics and Psychology of Risk and Time
•Seminar Economics and Psychology of Social Norms and Strategic Behavior
•Methods course Experiments and Surveys

Career perspectives

This track is recommended to students who want to work in consultancy, policy advice and project management. The insights from behavioral economics are in high demand at financial institutions, insurance companies, multinational enterprises, as well as in regional and national government.

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'Competition and Regulation' is one of the specialized tracks on the Master's program in Economics.

Tilburg University is ranked #11 worldwide in Business and Economics (Times Higher Education, 2016.

A specialized track about the tension between competition and regulation:
Fair competition is essential for the functioning of markets. Consumers can make better decisions if they are well informed about prices, service conditions, and product quality. Firms will be able to exploit their competencies if they are operating at a level playing field.

At the same time, firms benefit from shielding themselves from competition of their rivals in the market. And being successful may create a monopoly position. It is this tension between competition and regulation that makes a deep analysis of markets both intellectually interesting and practically relevant for corporate strategists and policy makers.

Apply Industrial Organization and Competition Law to business strategies and regulatory policies:
In the 'Competition and Regulation' track, you will learn how to apply insights from Industrial Organization and Competition Law, to business strategies and to regulatory policies. Cases deal with, for example, the lack of competition in certain markets (electricity, telecommunication services) and the response by national governments and the European Union.

This track is closely linked to the Tilburg Law and Economics research center TiLEC.

Key courses:

•Methods: Game Theory and Industrial Organization
•Seminar Competition and Innovation
•Seminar Competition Policy
•Seminar Competition and Regulation in Network Industries

In these courses, you analyze causes of imperfect competition and identify rules and regulations that ensure fair competition while mitigating possible negative effects on productivity and technological change. You will also learn about the legal aspects, including discussion of the relevant legal concepts and laws.

Career perspectives

This track is advised to students who wish to work for competition authorities (e.g. the Dutch ACM), regulatory bodies, Ministry of Economic Affairs, large consultancy firms (PricewaterhouseCoopers), specialized economic consultancies on competition and regulation (Lexecon, Nera, Oxera), international organizations such as EU and OECD, and economic departments of large firms.

Recent graduates in this track are working as:

•Director for Economic Research at the Turkish Competition Authority
•Economist at the Dutch Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM)
•Management Consultant at Magnitude Consulting
•Economic Adviser at Confindustria
•Corporate Credit Risk Analyst at Essent N.V.
•Junior Business Analyst at Raven Consulting
•Senior Commercial Strategy Analyst at LAN Airlines
•Economic Analyst at Bulgarian Photovoltaic Association

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'Money, Banking & Financial Markets' (former name: International Economics and Finance) is one of the specialized tracks of the Master's program in Economics.

Tilburg University is ranked #11 worldwide in Business and Economics (Times Higher Education, 2016.

About

The financial and international side of firm regulation and policy making:
This track will train you in two sub-disciplines: Finance as well as Economics. You will get the opportunity to combine practical financial management to economic analysis of the markets you invest in.

You will also learn:

•how international bodies function (e.g., the European Central Bank),
•why tax policies are designed the way they are,
•and what the consequences are for firms in Europe.

You will for example discuss problems in the Eurozone, International financial supervision, microfinance, bank-runs and systemic risk, and taxation of financial institutions.

The track is closely linked to the European Banking Center, a Tilburg based research network on banking and financial markets.

Career perspectives

This track is interesting for you if you aim for a career in banking (private but also central banks), in other private businesses that are regularly confronted with international policy making, or in (inter)national government.

Examples of functions of recent graduates of this track:
•Finance Trainee at the ABN AMRO Bank
•Jr Investment Strategist at AEGON
•Trading Risk Analyst at ING Group
•Corporate Management Trainee at Rabobank Nederland
•Consultant at IBM
•Junior Business Analyst at Deloitte
•Research Analyst at PT Panca Global Securities, Tbk
•Corporate Transaction Support at the Bank of Ireland
•Trade Finance Officer at ICBC

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'Pensions, Aging and Retirement' is one of the specialized tracks of the Master's program in Economics.

Tilburg University is ranked #11 worldwide in Business and Economics (Times Higher Education, 2016).

Understand the economic aspects of pensions, aging and retirement:
Aging populations increasingly raise economic and policy questions on a firm and national level for every developed country - creating an urgent demand for professionals with the expertise to offer informed solutions.
The track 'Pensions, Aging and Retirement' will bring you a scientific understanding of the various aspects of aging.

Create solutions for financial institutions and government policy:
You will learn how economic theories and models can be applied to create solutions for financial institutions and government policy. The track is closely linked to research institute Netspar which is a renowned institute involved in the development of financial products and facilities for the ‘old age’ European citizens.

Career perspectives

This track offers you a qualification that leads to a host of different career options in the public and private sector as well as academia, thanks to the growing demand for specialists with in-depth knowledge of the issues pertaining to aging societies.

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