Welcome to the Barcelona Graduate School of Economics

A history of scientific cooperation

Modern crises and emerging challenges have called established economic models into question. In 2006, as thought leaders in countries all over the globe were re-examining our understanding of economic science, a group of highly renowned professors and economists envisioned the need for a graduate school that could produce research and trained professionals with the preparation and expertise to tackle these complex issues.

The Barcelona GSE was founded as an institution for scientific cooperation between four existing academic and research units with a long tradition of collaboration:

The Barcelona GSE enjoys close collaboration with these academic units in teaching and research as well as in the shared use of resources. This combination of innovation and accumulated experience is one of the unique features of the Barcelona GSE. The affiliated professors of the Barcelona GSE constituted the academic community of the School, and all of them are tenured or tenure-track faculty members from its four academic units.

At the Barcelona GSE, you will find talented people who are committed to frontier research and graduate education in Economics.

The Barcelona Graduate School of Economics is a large community of researchers, professors, students, and alumni who all share the School’s core spirit: to create value for society with rigorous work and social responsibility through pioneering research and education.

Our key mission is the training of the next generation of economists and data scientists by offering world-class programs taught by leading faculty in their field.

We seek outstanding, motivated students and provide them with a top-notch education and values that will make them exceptional global experts with intellectual rigor and critical thinking skills. During their time with us, our students have direct contact with professors and practitioners whose insights from academia and industry are part of the curriculum.

Our ambition is to be consistently recognized as one of the top institutions in Europe and worldwide for research and education in Economics and the social sciences.

At the Barcelona GSE, education and research are closely linked. Key factors for the continued top performance of our researchers have been: the co-organization of the PhD programs in Economics at Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF) and Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), the development of new research activities such as the Barcelona GSE Summer Forum; and the achievement of competitive funding programs such as the Severo Ochoa Research Excellence Distinction.

In addition to the many grants and awards that our faculty receive, the quality and quantity of the scientific production among the entire Barcelona GSE research community positions us well in international research rankings such as RePEC.

Such ambitious objectives would not be possible without the support and partnership of institutions and companies that have collaborated with the School from day one: the Barcelona GSE Scientific Council, our Board of Trustees, and our sponsors.

Governance: Board and committees

The Barcelona Graduate School of Economics is legally a private foundation and has been recognized by the Government of Catalonia as a University Research Institute attached to the UPF and to the UAB. The founder and first chair of the board was Andreu Mas-Colell. The current chair is Paulina Beato.

Teresa Garcia-Milà is the Director of the Barcelona GSE. Ada Ferrer-i-Carbonell is the Deputy Director for Academic Programs.

Organizational chart

The following groups work with the Director, Deputy Director, and Chair to ensure the quality of our programs and shape the future of the Barcelona GSE:

Scientific Council

The Scientific Council is composed of more than 30 leading academics – including 11 Nobel Laureates in Economics – who forge and enhance relationships between the Barcelona GSE and the wider academic community.

Board of Trustees

The Board of Trustees is responsible for the overall direction of the school, guiding and drawing up rules for governance. It adopts the budget and appoints an Honorary President and a Chair, who serve as Trustees, and further names the Director and the Academic Committee.

Units Committee

The Units Committee guides the development of the school's research initiatives for scientific cooperation. It is composed of the directors of the Barcelona GSE academic units and chaired by the School's Director.

Enriqueta Aragonès

Daniel Serra

Jaume Ventura

Xavier Vilà

Academic Programs Committee

The Academic Programs Committee validates the master programs and follows their development. It also deals with the academic affairs of the school. The committee is composed of Barcelona GSE Affiliated Professors and chaired by the School's Director.

Jose Apesteguia

Fernando Broner

Jordi Caballé

Gábor Lugosi

Inés Macho-Stadler

Laura Mayoral

Research Committee

The Research Committee supports the Director and Deputy Director for Research in assessing and improving the research activities developed by the Barcelona GSE, as well as proposing and designing new research activities that may be of interest to our community.