How do we use resources?
The point of departure for economics is that we have limited resources available to us, and the subject deals with how we use – and should use – these resources. These questions permeate the current debate in society, and economics tries to answer them through the use of models and different methods of analysis.

It is difficult to provide good analyses of complicated societal questions; economists ask the “big” questions: why are some countries rich while others are poor? What happens to oil-rich countries? Economists are also interested in how we can best organize the economy in order to achieve the best possible results: should we adopt a global market economy? Should public services be put out to tender? Should we have an independent central bank? Economists work with models and methods that are suited for analysing and providing answers to these questions. The models are simplifications of reality that often rely on mathematics to describe the relationships between the involved factors. The methods are based on statistics.

Programme profile
The five-year MA in economics is a specialized programme of study, which gives a greater level insight than a BA/MA combination within the same field. This programme gives students the opportunity to study international macro-economics, political economics, market economics, financial economics, public economics, environmental and resource economics, information economics, economic growth as well as mathematics and statistics for economic analysis. The programme is suited for students who want a higher-level education in economics with good career prospects, who are interested in societal affairs, and who aren’t afraid of mathematics.