Business Economics
From corporate finance, industrial organization, and international business, to markets, competition, and government regulation, HBS doctoral students in Business Economics delve into some of the most pressing and relevant topics in the field of economics through the practical lens of business.
Jointly administered by HBS and the Department of Economics in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, the program combines theoretical analysis with in-depth, interdisciplinary research rooted in real-world applications.
Curriculum & Coursework
As a Business Economics PhD student, you will take courses alongside your peers in the Department of Economics, studying microeconomic theory, macroeconomic theory, probability and statistics, econometrics, and other specialized topics. In addition, your doctoral coursework and two MBA courses at HBS deepen your theoretical knowledge and harness it toward practical applications. Your coursework culminates in a written exam administered jointly by the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences (GSAS) and HBS at the end of your second year on two special fields of study. In addition to coursework and research, doctoral students are required to complete one academic term of teaching.
Research Dissertation
HBS doctoral students are insatiably curious, and they use the tools and knowledge developed in the classroom to ask—and answer—pressing questions about the field of economics. After passing your field exams, you will work closely with faculty mentors to identify a line of inquiry that will guide your original research. In the course of your research, you will present, analyze, and evaluate unique data and reach relevant, independent conclusions that advance your field.
Areas of Specialization
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Behavioral Economics
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Development
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Econometrics
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Economic Theory
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Economics of Organization
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Entrepreneurship
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Finance
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Industrial Organization
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International Economics
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Labor Economics
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Macroeconomics
Profiles
Gabriel Levin Konigsberg
Business Economics
Ran Zhuo
Business Economics
Sagar Saxena
Business Economics
“HBS is the ideal environment because I get to think about the world like an economist, but I have the freedom and resources to draw on methods from other disciplines as I study market design and industrial organization.”
PhD Candidate, Business Economics
“HBS is the ideal environment because I get to think about the world like an economist, but I have the freedom and resources to draw on methods from other disciplines as I study market design and industrial organization.”
PhD Candidate, Business Economics
Current Harvard Economics Faculty
- Alberto Alesina
- Isaiah Andrews
- Pol Antràs
- Robert Barro
- Emily Breza
- John Y. Campbell
- Raj Chetty
- Gabriel Chodorow-Reich
- Richard Cooper
- David M Cutler
- Melissa Dell
- Karen Dynan
- Benjamin Enke
- Emmanuel Farhi
- Richard B. Freeman
- Benjamin M. Friedman
- Roland G. Fryer, Jr.
- Xavier Gabaix
- Edward Glaeser
- Claudia Goldin
- Benjamin Golub
- Gita Gopinath
- Jerry Green
- Oliver Hart
- Elhanan Helpman
- Nathaniel Hendren
- Dale Jorgenson
- Myrto Kalouptsidi
- Maximilian Kasy
- Lawrence Katz
- Gabriel Kreindler
- Michael Kremer
- David Laibson
- Robin S. Lee
- Matteo Maggiori
- N. Gregory Mankiw
- Stephen Marglin
- Eric S. Maskin
- Marc Melitz
- Jeffrey Miron
- Current Harvard Economics Faculty
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- Alberto Alesina
- Isaiah Andrews
- Pol Antràs
- Robert Barro
- Emily Breza
- John Y. Campbell
- Raj Chetty
- Gabriel Chodorow-Reich
- Richard Cooper
- David M Cutler
- Melissa Dell
- Karen Dynan
- Benjamin Enke
- Emmanuel Farhi
- Richard B. Freeman
- Benjamin M. Friedman
- Roland G. Fryer, Jr.
- Xavier Gabaix
- Edward Glaeser
- Claudia Goldin
- Benjamin Golub
- Gita Gopinath
- Jerry Green
- Oliver Hart
- Elhanan Helpman
- Nathaniel Hendren
- Dale Jorgenson
- Myrto Kalouptsidi
- Maximilian Kasy
- Lawrence Katz
- Gabriel Kreindler
- Michael Kremer
- David Laibson
- Robin S. Lee
- Matteo Maggiori
- N. Gregory Mankiw
- Stephen Marglin
- Eric S. Maskin
- Marc Melitz
- Jeffrey Miron
- Nathan Nunn
- Ariel Pakes
- Amanda Pallais
- Matthew Rabin
- Gautam Rao
- Kenneth Rogoff
- Amartya Sen
- Neil Shephard
- Andrei Shleifer
- Stefanie Stantcheva
- Jeremy Stein
- James Stock
- Ludwig Straub
- Tomasz Strzalecki
- Lawrence H. Summers
- Elie Tamer
- Winnie Van Dijk
- David Yang
Current HBS Faculty
- Laura Alfaro
- Malcolm P. Baker
- Edward B. Berk
- John Beshears
- Ramon Casadesus-Masanell
- Lauren H. Cohen
- Randolph B. Cohen
- Joshua D. Coval
- Srikant M. Datar
- Aiyesha Dey
- John D. Dionne
- Thomas R. Eisenmann
- Chiara Farronato
- Trevor Fetter
- Walter A. Friedman
- Susanna Gallani
- Vikram Gandhi
- Paul A. Gompers
- Daniel W. Green
- Jerry R. Green
- Shane M. Greenstein
- Robin Greenwood
- Brian J. Hall
- Samuel G. Hanson
- Paul M. Healy
- Nien-he Hsieh
- Victoria Ivashina
- W. Carl Kester
- Rakesh Khurana
- William C. Kirby
- Scott Duke Kominers
- Josh Lerner
- Jay W. Lorsch
- Alexander J. MacKay
- Christopher J. Malloy
- E. Scott Mayfield
- Emily R. McComb
- Kevin P. Mohan
- Cynthia A. Montgomery
- David A. Moss
- V.G. Narayanan
- Lynn S. Paine
- Krishna G. Palepu
- Forest L. Reinhardt
- Benjamin N. Roth
- Ethan C. Rouen
- Raffaella Sadun
- Tatiana Sandino
- George Serafeim
- Martin A. Sinozich
- Emil N. Siriwardane
- Suraj Srinivasan
- Ariel D. Stern
- Guhan Subramanian
- Adi Sunderam
- Luis M. Viceira
- Charles C.Y. Wang
- Matthew C. Weinzierl
- Ashley V. Whillans
- Robert F. White
- Dennis A. Yao
- Andy S. Zelleke
- Letian Zhang
- Current HBS Faculty
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- Laura Alfaro
- Malcolm P. Baker
- Edward B. Berk
- John Beshears
- Ramon Casadesus-Masanell
- Lauren H. Cohen
- Randolph B. Cohen
- Joshua D. Coval
- Srikant M. Datar
- Aiyesha Dey
- John D. Dionne
- Thomas R. Eisenmann
- Chiara Farronato
- Trevor Fetter
- Walter A. Friedman
- Susanna Gallani
- Vikram Gandhi
- Paul A. Gompers
- Daniel W. Green
- Jerry R. Green
- Shane M. Greenstein
- Robin Greenwood
- Brian J. Hall
- Samuel G. Hanson
- Paul M. Healy
- Nien-he Hsieh
- Victoria Ivashina
- W. Carl Kester
- Rakesh Khurana
- William C. Kirby
- Scott Duke Kominers
- Josh Lerner
- Jay W. Lorsch
- Alexander J. MacKay
- Christopher J. Malloy
- E. Scott Mayfield
- Emily R. McComb
- Kevin P. Mohan
- Cynthia A. Montgomery
- David A. Moss
- V.G. Narayanan
- Lynn S. Paine
- Krishna G. Palepu
- Forest L. Reinhardt
- Benjamin N. Roth
- Ethan C. Rouen
- Raffaella Sadun
- Tatiana Sandino
- George Serafeim
- Martin A. Sinozich
- Emil N. Siriwardane
- Suraj Srinivasan
- Ariel D. Stern
- Guhan Subramanian
- Adi Sunderam
- Luis M. Viceira
- Charles C.Y. Wang
- Matthew C. Weinzierl
- Ashley V. Whillans
- Robert F. White
- Dennis A. Yao
- Andy S. Zelleke
- Letian Zhang
Current Business Economics Students
- Edoardo Acabbi
- Maxim Alekseev
- Martin Aragoneses
- Francesca Bastianello
- Michael Blank
- John Conlon
- Xiang Ding
- Talia Gillis
- Jeffrey Gortmaker
- Rishab Guha
- Andrea Hamaui
- Gabriel Levin Konigsberg
- Andrew Lilley
- Current Business Economics Students
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- Edoardo Acabbi
- Maxim Alekseev
- Martin Aragoneses
- Francesca Bastianello
- Michael Blank
- John Conlon
- Xiang Ding
- Talia Gillis
- Jeffrey Gortmaker
- Rishab Guha
- Andrea Hamaui
- Gabriel Levin Konigsberg
- Andrew Lilley
- Matthew Lilley
- Samuel Lite
- Angela Ma
- David Martin
- Marcela Mello
- Robert Minton
- Erica Moszkowski
- Francis Pinter
- Daniel Ramos
- Gianluca Rinaldi
- Kunal Sangani
- Sagar Saxena
- Andreas Schaab
- Gregor Schubert
- Karen Shen
- Roman Sigalov
- Yin Wei Soon
- Michael Thaler
- Wilbur Townsend
- Andi Wang
- Ron Yang
- Hanbin Yang
- Jeffrey Yang
- David Zhang
- Tianlun (Allen) Zhang
- Ran Zhuo
Current HBS Faculty & Students by Interest
Recent Placement
Christopher Anderson, 2019
Economist
Federal Reserve Board of Governors
Federal Reserve Board of Governors
Yizhou Jin, 2019
UC Berkeley, Economics Department & Haas School of Business, Postdoctoral Fellow
William Diamond, 2018
University of Pennsylvania, Wharton School, Finance Department
Neil Thakral, 2018
Brown University, Economics Department
Xavier Jaravel, 2016
Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research, Postdoctoral Fellow, 2016-2017; London School of Economics, 2017
Filippo Mezzanotti, 2016
Northwestern University, Kellogg School of Management, Finance Department
Martin Rotemberg, 2015
Brown University, Watson Institute, Postdoctoral Fellow, 2015-2016; Brown University, Assistant Professor, 2016
Catherine Barrera, 2014
Cornell University Johnson School of Management, Postdoctoral Associate, 2014; Assistant Professor of Economics, 2015
Samuel Kruger, 2014
The University of Texas at Austin McCombs School of Business
Eric Zwick, 2014
University of Chicago Booth School of Business
Vitaly Bord, 2019
Harvard Business School, Postdoctoral fellow (2018-2019), Federal Reserve Board of Governors, Economist (2019)
Weiling Liu, 2019
Northeastern University, Finance Department
Anastassia Fedyk, 2018
University of Berkeley, Haas School of Business, Finance Department
Diana Moreira, 2017
University of California, Davis, Department of Economics
Rohan Kekre, 2016
University of Chicago, Booth School of Business
Benjamin Hebert, 2015
Stanford Graduate School of Business, Finance Department
Ran Shorrer, 2015
Pennsylvania State University, Economics Department
Thomas R. Covert, 2014
University of Chicago Booth School of Business
Heather Schofield, 2014
Center for Global Development Postdoctoral Fellow, 2014-2015; University of Pennsylvania Health Policy Department, Assistant Professor, 2015
Oren Danieli, 2019
Tel-Aviv University
Janelle Schlossberger, 2019
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Institute for Data, Systems & Society, Michael Hammer Postdoctoral Fellow
Yueran Ma, 2018
University of Chicago, Booth School of Business, Finance Department
Mingzhu Tai, 2017
University of Hong Kong, School of Business
Benjamin Lockwood, 2016
University of Pennsylvania, Wharton School, Business Economics and Public Policy Department
Assaf Romm, 2015
Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Thomas Wollmann, 2015
University of Chicago Booth School of Business, Microeconomics Group
Raluca Dragusanu, 2014
Federal Reserve Board Research and Statistics, Economist
Dmitry Taubinsky, 2014
Harvard University and UC Berkeley, Postdoctoral Fellow in Economics, 2014-2016; University of California Berkeley, Department of Economics, 2016
Christopher Anderson, 2019
Economist
Federal Reserve Board of Governors
Federal Reserve Board of Governors
Vitaly Bord, 2019
Harvard Business School, Postdoctoral fellow (2018-2019), Federal Reserve Board of Governors, Economist (2019)
Oren Danieli, 2019
Tel-Aviv University
Yizhou Jin, 2019
UC Berkeley, Economics Department & Haas School of Business, Postdoctoral Fellow
Weiling Liu, 2019
Northeastern University, Finance Department
Janelle Schlossberger, 2019
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Institute for Data, Systems & Society, Michael Hammer Postdoctoral Fellow
William Diamond, 2018
University of Pennsylvania, Wharton School, Finance Department
Anastassia Fedyk, 2018
University of Berkeley, Haas School of Business, Finance Department
Yueran Ma, 2018
University of Chicago, Booth School of Business, Finance Department
Neil Thakral, 2018
Brown University, Economics Department
Diana Moreira, 2017
University of California, Davis, Department of Economics
Mingzhu Tai, 2017
University of Hong Kong, School of Business
Xavier Jaravel, 2016
Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research, Postdoctoral Fellow, 2016-2017; London School of Economics, 2017
Rohan Kekre, 2016
University of Chicago, Booth School of Business
Benjamin Lockwood, 2016
University of Pennsylvania, Wharton School, Business Economics and Public Policy Department
Filippo Mezzanotti, 2016
Northwestern University, Kellogg School of Management, Finance Department
Benjamin Hebert, 2015
Stanford Graduate School of Business, Finance Department
Assaf Romm, 2015
Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Martin Rotemberg, 2015
Brown University, Watson Institute, Postdoctoral Fellow, 2015-2016; Brown University, Assistant Professor, 2016
Ran Shorrer, 2015
Pennsylvania State University, Economics Department
Thomas Wollmann, 2015
University of Chicago Booth School of Business, Microeconomics Group
Catherine Barrera, 2014
Cornell University Johnson School of Management, Postdoctoral Associate, 2014; Assistant Professor of Economics, 2015
Thomas R. Covert, 2014
University of Chicago Booth School of Business
Raluca Dragusanu, 2014
Federal Reserve Board Research and Statistics, Economist
Samuel Kruger, 2014
The University of Texas at Austin McCombs School of Business
Heather Schofield, 2014
Center for Global Development Postdoctoral Fellow, 2014-2015; University of Pennsylvania Health Policy Department, Assistant Professor, 2015
Dmitry Taubinsky, 2014
Harvard University and UC Berkeley, Postdoctoral Fellow in Economics, 2014-2016; University of California Berkeley, Department of Economics, 2016
Eric Zwick, 2014
University of Chicago Booth School of Business