Master of Science in Applied Economics

Economic analysis is no longer relegated to academicians and a small number of PhD-trained specialists. Instead, economics has become an increasingly ubiquitous as well as rapidly changing line of inquiry that requires people who are skilled in analyzing and interpreting economic data, and then using it to effect decisions about national and global markets and policy, involving everything from health care to fiscal policy, from foreign aid to the environment, from the economics of defense to the economics of the law, and from financial risk to real risk.

Advances in computing and the greater availability of timely data through the Internet have created an arena which demands skilled statistical analysis, guided by economic reasoning and modeling. This combination is in high demand by government agencies, congressional committees, international lending institutions, trade associations, private businesses, including those in the financial services sector, and private consulting firms.

Graduate Degree Program

The MS in Applied Economics is a ten course degree program offered evenings at the Washington, DC Center of The Johns Hopkins University (near Dupont Circle). It can be pursued at a part-time or full-time pace. All undergraduate majors are welcome; not nearly all of our students have majored in Economics. Admissions are rolling, and one can begin any Summer, Fall, or Spring semester.

The program develops skill in economic reasoning, and in formulating and estimating economic models through the use of econometrics and other quantitative techniques. This is accomplished by a rigorous and demanding curriculum, and a talented and dedicated staff of instructors. The foundation for intelligent economic reasoning is laid with Microeconomic and Macroeconomic Theory and Policy; in turn, Statistics and Econometrics lay the foundation for empirical analysis. Econometric skills are deepened by taking an advanced econometrics course, either Microeconometrics or Macroeconometrics. A large and diverse array of electives spans the subfields of economics, and provides additional experience in economic modeling and econometric estimation.

Illustrative Curricula

Students choose their electives freely. The program's courses in Quantitative Methods can be plugged in to the curricula that students build. The following merely illustrates the great substantive flexibility of the program:

Public Policy - For contributing to any level of government policy formulation and policy making. Choose from among a rich variety of electives: Economics of Industry and Public Policy, two courses in Public Economics, Economics of Health Care, Environmental and Resource Economics, Economics of the Labor Market, Law and Economics, and Political Economy. Cost-Benefit Analysis provides conceptual and quantitative tools essential for contemporary microeconomic policy formulation and evaluation. Both Microeconometrics and Macroeconometrics are germane to the subject, as is Survey Research Methods. Computable General Equibrium Modeling builds a powerful tool with widespread use in the analysis of taxation, the income distribution, and environmental matters.

Business Economics - For those who plan to work as economists in the private sector, breadth of training is highly desirable, and our program provides it. Choose from among Monetary Economics, Topics in Macroeconomics, International Trade, International Finance, Public Economics: Taxation, Economics of Industry & Public Policy, and Financial Economics. The relevant quantitative tools are found in Macroeconometrics, Macroeconomic Forecasting, and Survey Research Methods. Salient business skills from Accounting, Marketing, and/or Organization can be acquired or deepened by taking two or four courses [equivalent to one or two of our own courses] at the nearby Carey Business School.

Macroeconomics/ Financial Economics – These are two by now obviously strongly complementary subjects, and we have a rich set of offerings: Monetary Economics, International Finance [Open Economy Macro], Topics in Macroeconomics, and Economic Growth treat the economic aggregates. Financial Economics lays the foundation for the intertemporal and interstatial [risk] microeconomic analysis, and Financial Intermediation & Financial Markets considers how existing institutions cope with both. Finance and the Macroeconomy integrates the subjects and provides perspective. Quantitative tools are found in Macroeconometrics, Financial Econometrics, and Macroeconomic Forecasting. While Economics of the Labor Market complements Macroeconomics, two or four further finance courses [equivalent to one or two of our own] can be taken at the nearby Carey Business School.

International Economics and Development - For gaining an analytical and quantitative perspective on global matters. Substantive courses include International Finance, International Trade, Development Microeconomics, and Economic Growth. Here too, Cost-Benefit Analysis provides essential conceptual and quantitative tools. Microeconometrics and/or Macroeconometrics, as well as Survey Research Methods further develop the corresponding quantitative skills. Computable General Equibrium Modeling builds a powerful tool with widespread applicability in this field. A student can round out the subject in-house.

Environmental Economics - For contributing to efficient policy. Students take Environmental and Resource Economics, Cost-Benefit Analysis, and Microeconometrics and/or Macroeconometrics in the Applied Economics Program.  Computable General Equibrium Modeling builds a powerful tool with widespread use in the field. Up to two electives from the Johns Hopkins Engineering for Professionals, Environmental Planning and Management Program, most of which are available on-line, can count towards the electives in our program.

Health Economics - Bring to bear the tools of economics in this burgeoning field. Students take Economics of Health Care, Cost-Benefit Analysis, and Microeconometrics in the Applied Economics Program, and choose four or eight credits [equivalent of up to two of our courses] from science, specilaized quantitative, and policy courses in the part-time Master of Public Health Program at the Bloomberg School, offered on-line.

Defense Economics - For contributing to efficient allocation of resources in a vital sector. Students take Economics of Defense, Cost-Benefit Analysis, and Microeconmetrics and/or Macroeconometrics in the Applied Economics Program. They should consider Game Theory and Economics of the Labor Market, and can choose up to two of their electives from the AAP National or Global Security Studies Programs, Strategic Studies concentration, in-house.

Quantitative Methods - Any or all of our courses offering training in advanced econometrics and empirical methods - Microeconometrics, Macroeconometrics, Financial Econometrics, Macroeconomic Forecasting, Survey Research Methods, Cost-Benefit Analysis, and Computable General Euilibrium Modelling - are sincerely recommended for consideration to non-degree seeking students and Degree Candidates alike. Prerequisites can be taken course-by-course, too. Many of these courses are additionally available on-line.

For more information on the courses offered, visit Course Descriptions.