Technology-driven growth — the topic that won three economists the 2025 Nobel Prize — is a big deal! Throughout the vast majority of human history, living standards and per capita income were relatively unchanged, even despite breakthrough inventions and discoveries like fire, agriculture, and the printing press. Only in the late 1700s and early 1800s did sustained economic growth begin to occur, and economists have shown that most of this sustained growth happens purely because of increases in productivity.

In this special Halloween blog post, we aim to give you chills and keep you on the edge of your seat with these blood-curdling academic nightmares.

Economists often need PhDs to reach their career goals. According to INOMICS’ Salary Report data — and as Figure 3 in our PhD pay premium article shows — the vast majority of professional economists earn a PhD at some point in their careers. Academic economists are expected to acquire one in order to do research, while a PhD can often be a prerequisite for high-level industry economist jobs.But no matter how experienced, all PhD economists, at one point, were mere students searching for a good place to study. While important, how to search for the right place to study is seldom discussed…and there are thousands of universities with great economics departments out there.Feeling overwhelmed, and curious for some tips for your own search? Read on!

Towards the end of my undergraduate degree, I had the chance to work with upper-level managers on a strategy retreat as part of a summer finance internship. The internship was at TIAA-CREF (now known as just TIAA), and the retreat intended to help the firm strategize about the direction they should take in several aspects of the company. As a Bachelor’s student specializing in consulting, it was my responsibility to help them make use of a management consulting framework and mindset while doing it.This experience was my first foray into the finance industry. As I’ve progressed in my own studies, it’s given me plenty to reflect on as I’ve encountered various economic theories of the firm.Read on for the top three things I learned about economics from my finance internship!

You are about to start your journey as a PhD student this fall. Congratulations! It must feel like you now have all the time in the world to turn that research proposal you submitted with your application into reality. So, how do you make the most of that experience?

The academic year has finished, the weather is good, half the department is on holiday, and the next academic year seems an age away. But the summer is a deceptively important period, both for recruiters on the one hand, and candidates on the other.

The first half of 2025 brought with it a renewed focus on global trade wars, particularly as the United States government began to (again) question many long-standing global trade agreements — whether formally inked or traditionally observed. As a result, discourse about tariffs reached a fever pitch in the news and across social media.So, let’s ask a simple question: are tariffs good or bad for an economy, and the people within it? 

The word "model" is used a lot in discussions about economics. However, economics courses often don’t spend a lot of time defining the word or what exactly it means. Rather, students usually end up piecing together their idea of what models are after learning several specific examples (such as the Solow-Swan or OLG models).This article fills in the gap by discussing the fundamentals of models and how they’re used in economics. There are many similarities between the myriad models utilized in the field, including common use cases and common assumptions. Understanding these commonalities will help you use and interpret economic models effectively, avoid misconceptions, and identify when these models are not necessarily relevant or useful.

Publishing journal articles in economics can be slow and challenging, and effective peer review plays a critical role in shaping the efficiency and fairness of the process. Despite its importance, many researchers receive little guidance on how to be a constructive peer reviewer. In this article, I provide advice on how to approach peer review thoughtfully and professionally, with the goal of improving the experience for both authors and reviewers. 

Victoria Vanasco is a Senior Researcher at CREI (Centre de Recerca en Economia Internacional) in Barcelona, Spain, as well as Adjunct Professor at Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF) and and Affiliated Professor at Barcelona School of Economics.As a newly tenured economist, she talks to Christopher Nash, Managing Director of INOMICS, about her career path. For readers currently working in academia with an ambition to achieve tenure, her experience offers valuable insight.

IntroductionAcademic advising refers to the process where appointed members of staff provide academic guidance, information signposting and other relevant non-academic forms of support to students to help promote their success and improve their overall higher education experience (Medernach, 2018).Its role has long been recognised as crucial for supporting students, especially those from under-represented minorities (Smith et al, 2009; Young-Jones et al, 2013).While practices across the UK and Europe appear similar in their foundations, the diverse nature of student cohorts suggests some different institutional priorities.At the university of Exeter, taking into account these different approaches, we introduced a handbook for academic advisors in the Economics Department. Here we share our experience. 

AI tools have become widespread since news of ChatGPT-3.5 prompted me, in early 2023, to make an OpenAI account. I remember sitting in a coffee shop, sipping on a latte, and holding a half-dozen “conversations” with the newly released model.I asked it a series of math questions. I asked it about politics and about poetry. I asked it to write me a short story. I even asked it questions about niche topics like Settlers of Catan to see if it “understood” strategy in the context of a game. And, of course, I asked it about economics.

If you’re applying for a European-style economics PhD or Master’s of Research program, it’s highly likely that you’ll be asked to submit a research proposal. This is a document where you’ll describe the original research project you intend to pursue if you’re accepted into the economics program.This is going to be a fairly intense process. While not legally binding, this document is a major part of your application, and it’s extremely important to write a convincing and high-quality proposal. Giving yourself as much time as possible to work on it can only help you.However, if you’re applying to PhDs for the first time, this is also most likely your first time writing an economics research proposal. So, what to do?

With Valentine’s Day approaching, it's intriguing to explore the economics of love—how much we spend, why we do it, and whether it’s worth the investment. Romance, like any market, operates on supply, demand and consumer behaviour with prices fluctuating based on cultural expectations and economic conditions. Valentine’s Day traces its origins to ancient Rome, where the festival of Lupercalia on Feb 13-15 celebrated fertility and matchmaking. Later, it was linked to Saint Valentine, a priest who secretly performed marriages against Emperor Claudius II’s orders and was executed on February 14, 269 AD. By the 14th century, poets like Geoffrey Chaucer romanticised the day, associating it with courtship. By the 19th century, mass-produced Valentine’s cards became popular, evolving into today’s global celebration of love, marked by gifts, flowers, and heartfelt gestures1.

There are many paths to preparing for an economics PhD. Most students apply for PhD programs soon after finishing their Master’s degree. Some even apply directly after their Bachelor’s degree. Others work first, for example as a research assistant before applying.There are benefits to all of these approaches, and depending on your academic accomplishments and personal goals, some paths may suit you better than others. In this article we look in depth at the merits of a Masters of Research (MRes) as an option for PhD hopefuls. We also compare the MRes path with a direct application for a PhD after your studies, or with a year or two of work experience before applying for a PhD.

Imagine waking up to a sunrise in Bali, working from a café in Lisbon, and closing your laptop for a hike in Medellín—all in the same year. Welcome to the life of a digital nomad. Digital nomadism is more than a lifestyle; it’s a transformative shift in how people approach work. Digital nomads are professionals who leverage technology to work remotely while travelling the globe, free from the constraints of a fixed office. This trend has gained massive momentum, driven by advances in communication tools, globalisation, and the COVID-19 pandemic, which normalised remote work across industries. The numbers back this up. According to Upwork, 36.2 million Americans will be working remotely by 2025—a staggering 87% increase from pre-pandemic levels(1). Buffer’s 2023 State of Remote Work report revealed that 91% of respondents have a positive experience with working remotely with 1% being dissatisfied and 8% feeling neutral. 98% of remote workers would recommend it to others (2). These trends show that technology and shifting work-life balance priorities are reshaping what it means to “have a job.”

Men have long dominated economics, but female economists have made remarkable contributions in recent decades. The work of female economists, together with that of their male counterparts, has redefined academic and policy landscapes and paved the way for greater inclusivity within the discipline. Women continue to bring diverse perspectives that enrich our understanding of global financial systems, economic growth, labour dynamics, and policy interventions. These women are not only changing the economic landscape but inspiring future generations to follow in their footsteps. Here are some of the voices we should all be listening to.

In an ever-evolving global economy, staying informed is more crucial than ever. Whether you are an economics student, a finance professional, or just curious, podcasts are a great way to learn. They help you understand economic trends, theories, and real-world applications easily and engagingly. So, we’ve assembled a list of some top economic podcasts you ought to have a listen to. You can find all these podcasts on Amazon, Spotify, and Apple Music. For your convenience, we’ve linked their web pages below. Happy listening!

We examine the redistributive effects of Bitcoin in a theoretical scenario where its price continuously appreciates. Early adopters benefit from rising consumption and asset accumulation at the expense of later investors, who fund Bitcoin purchases by liquidating real assets and reducing their consumption. The analysis reveals that even in the absence of a crash, Bitcoin causes wealth redistribution that enriches early investors while reducing the real wealth and purchasing power of non-holders and latecomers. This dynamic, if unaddressed, risks eroding societal cohesion. Amid a record high market capitalization of USD 1.8 trillion following the 2024 election in the USA, this risk is higher than ever.

The 2024 Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel, more commonly known as the Nobel Prize in Economics, has been awarded to three influential economists this year - Daron Acemoglu, Simon Johnson, and James Robinson. The prize – worth 11 million Swedish crowns, or about $1 million or roughly €950,000 – was awarded by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences for their ‘studies of how institutions are formed and affect prosperity’ (Ricciuti), providing critical insights into why some countries achieve higher per capita incomes and others struggle with persistent economic challenges. Their work also emphasizes the importance of establishing robust institutions to support sustainable economic growth and social stability.