Master in Economics of Public Policy

Letter from the Director

Dear Prospective Student,

We are very excited to start a new Master Program in Economics of Public Policy with classes starting in September 2012.

Everyday policy makers in governmental and non-governmental institutions face the challenging task of designing and implementing public policies. These policies range from active labor market programs that try to increase the probability of unemployed finding jobs to family policies that help working parents to balance the responsibilities of home and work; to income maintenance programs that provide financial support to poor families; to education programs that try to allocate students to schools and help children from poor backgrounds achieve their full potentials; to political experiments that try to improve the inclusion of underprivileged population in the political system; to health policies that try to improve the health of the population and the particular subpopulations. These policies affect the lives of millions.

It is critical to know which policies work and which policies fail. As the recent crisis made it more apparent than ever, faced with limited resources, governments must make tough choices. This makes policy evaluation an exciting but challenging task. Designing, implementing and evaluating public policies requires an interdisciplinary approach that brings together tools and knowledge from a diverse set of disciplines.

The Economics of Public Policy Program aims at providing students with the tools of economic and quantitative analysis used in public policy design and evaluation. Our aim is to combine theoretical foundations with a command of empirical tools and an understanding of institutional structures. The academic community in Barcelona provides us with an excellent faculty to achieve this goal.

We encourage all applicants who want to enter the exciting world of public policy to have a careful look at our program. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions.

Prof. Nezih Guner
Director, Master in Economics of Public Policy