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Business Economics

Business Economics

  • Program Requirements
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

  • Behavioral Economics
  • Development
  • Econometrics
  • Economic Theory
  • Economics of Organization
  • Entrepreneurship
  • Finance
  • Industrial Organization
  • International Economics
  • Labor Economics
  • Macroeconomics
Program Requirements

Profiles

Fanele Mashwama

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.”
Erica Moszkowski
2023 Graduate, 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.”
Erica Moszkowski
2023 Graduate, Business Economics

Current Harvard Economics Faculty

  • 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
  • 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 Harvard Economics Faculty
  • 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
  • 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
Close

Current HBS Faculty

  • Laura Alfaro
  • Samuel B. Antill
  • Brian K. Baik
  • Malcolm P. Baker
  • John Beshears
  • Alex Chan
  • Katherine B. Coffman
  • Lauren H. Cohen
  • Shawn A. Cole
  • Joshua D. Coval
  • Mihir A. Desai
  • Marco Di Maggio
  • Mark L. Egan
  • Benjamin C. Esty
  • C. Fritz Foley
  • Stuart C. Gilson
  • Paul A. Gompers
  • Daniel W. Green
  • Jerry R. Green
  • Shane M. Greenstein
  • Robin Greenwood
  • Brian J. Hall
  • Samuel G. Hanson
  • Victoria Ivashina
  • Ebehi Iyoha
  • Robert S. Kaplan
  • William R. Kerr
  • Scott Duke Kominers
  • Jacqueline Ng Lane
  • Josh Lerner
  • Michael Luca
  • Alexander J. MacKay
  • Edward McFowland III
  • David A. Moss
  • Ramana Nanda
  • Matthew Rabin
  • Forest L. Reinhardt
  • Edward J. Riedl
  • Raffaella Sadun
  • William A. Sahlman
  • David S. Scharfstein
  • Joshua R. Schwartzstein
  • Arthur I Segel
  • Ishita Sen
  • Emil N. Siriwardane
  • Ariel D. Stern
  • Adi Sunderam
  • Jo Tango
  • Boris Vallee
  • Luis M. Viceira
  • Matthew C. Weinzierl
  • Dennis A. Yao
Current HBS Faculty
  • Laura Alfaro
  • Samuel B. Antill
  • Brian K. Baik
  • Malcolm P. Baker
  • John Beshears
  • Alex Chan
  • Katherine B. Coffman
  • Lauren H. Cohen
  • Shawn A. Cole
  • Joshua D. Coval
  • Mihir A. Desai
  • Marco Di Maggio
  • Mark L. Egan
  • Benjamin C. Esty
  • C. Fritz Foley
  • Stuart C. Gilson
  • Paul A. Gompers
  • Daniel W. Green
  • Jerry R. Green
  • Shane M. Greenstein
  • Robin Greenwood
  • Brian J. Hall
  • Samuel G. Hanson
  • Victoria Ivashina
  • Ebehi Iyoha
  • Robert S. Kaplan
  • William R. Kerr
  • Scott Duke Kominers
  • Jacqueline Ng Lane
  • Josh Lerner
  • Michael Luca
  • Alexander J. MacKay
  • Edward McFowland III
  • David A. Moss
  • Ramana Nanda
  • Matthew Rabin
  • Forest L. Reinhardt
  • Edward J. Riedl
  • Raffaella Sadun
  • William A. Sahlman
  • David S. Scharfstein
  • Joshua R. Schwartzstein
  • Arthur I Segel
  • Ishita Sen
  • Emil N. Siriwardane
  • Ariel D. Stern
  • Adi Sunderam
  • Jo Tango
  • Boris Vallee
  • Luis M. Viceira
  • Matthew C. Weinzierl
  • Dennis A. Yao
Close

Current Business Economics Students

  • Maxim Alekseev
  • Martin Aragoneses
  • Sage Belz
  • Michael Blank
  • Fiona Chen
  • Jiafeng (Kevin) Chen
  • Cameron Cohen
  • Jorge Colmenares
  • Terry Culpepper
  • Songyuan Ding
  • Jo Ellery
  • Simon Essig Aberg
  • Toren Fronsdal
  • Jacob Furst
  • Jeffrey Gortmaker
  • Shlok Goyal
  • Helene Hall
  • Ruru (Juan Ru) Hoong
  • Catherine Huang
  • Baiyun Jing
  • Nathan Kaplan
  • Justin Katz
  • Lev Klarnet
  • Shira Li
  • Angela Ma
  • Alex Magnuson
  • Fanele Mashwama
  • Marcela Mello
  • Laura Nicolae
  • Lauren Rice
  • Maya Roy
  • Dominic Russel
  • Kunal Sangani
  • Claire Shi
  • Wilbur Townsend
  • Jennifer Walsh
  • Andi Wang
  • Alex Wu
  • Hanbin Yang
  • Jeffrey Yang
  • Jennifer Zou
Current Business Economics Students
  • Maxim Alekseev
  • Martin Aragoneses
  • Sage Belz
  • Michael Blank
  • Fiona Chen
  • Jiafeng (Kevin) Chen
  • Cameron Cohen
  • Jorge Colmenares
  • Terry Culpepper
  • Songyuan Ding
  • Jo Ellery
  • Simon Essig Aberg
  • Toren Fronsdal
  • Jacob Furst
  • Jeffrey Gortmaker
  • Shlok Goyal
  • Helene Hall
  • Ruru (Juan Ru) Hoong
  • Catherine Huang
  • Baiyun Jing
  • Nathan Kaplan
  • Justin Katz
  • Lev Klarnet
  • Shira Li
  • Angela Ma
  • Alex Magnuson
  • Fanele Mashwama
  • Marcela Mello
  • Laura Nicolae
  • Lauren Rice
  • Maya Roy
  • Dominic Russel
  • Kunal Sangani
  • Claire Shi
  • Wilbur Townsend
  • Jennifer Walsh
  • Andi Wang
  • Alex Wu
  • Hanbin Yang
  • Jeffrey Yang
  • Jennifer Zou
Close

Current HBS Faculty & Students by Interest

Asset pricing
  • Lauren H. Cohen
  • Daniel W. Green
  • Robin Greenwood
  • Samuel G. Hanson
  • Edward J. Riedl
  • Ishita Sen
  • Adi Sunderam
Economics
  • Laura Alfaro
  • John Beshears
  • Alex Chan
  • Jerry R. Green
  • Ebehi Iyoha
  • Alexander J. MacKay
  • Forest L. Reinhardt
  • Raffaella Sadun
  • Ariel D. Stern
  • Matthew C. Weinzierl
  • Dennis A. Yao
Entrepreneurial finance
  • Paul A. Gompers
  • Ramana Nanda
  • William A. Sahlman
Experimental economics
  • Alex Chan
Game theory
  • Jerry R. Green
Investment management
  • Malcolm P. Baker
  • Joshua D. Coval
  • Luis M. Viceira
Market design
  • Alex Chan
  • Scott Duke Kominers
Networks
  • Shane M. Greenstein
  • Ebehi Iyoha
  • Jacqueline Ng Lane
  • Edward McFowland III
Private equity
  • Brian K. Baik
  • Paul A. Gompers
  • Victoria Ivashina
  • Josh Lerner
  • Emil N. Siriwardane
  • Jo Tango
Risk management
  • Robert S. Kaplan
  • David A. Moss
  • Arthur I Segel
  • Ishita Sen
Current HBS Faculty & Students by Interest
Asset pricing
  • Lauren H. Cohen
  • Daniel W. Green
  • Robin Greenwood
  • Samuel G. Hanson
  • Edward J. Riedl
  • Ishita Sen
  • Adi Sunderam
Economics
  • Laura Alfaro
  • John Beshears
  • Alex Chan
  • Jerry R. Green
  • Ebehi Iyoha
  • Alexander J. MacKay
  • Forest L. Reinhardt
  • Raffaella Sadun
  • Ariel D. Stern
  • Matthew C. Weinzierl
  • Dennis A. Yao
Entrepreneurial finance
  • Paul A. Gompers
  • Ramana Nanda
  • William A. Sahlman
Experimental economics
  • Alex Chan
Game theory
  • Jerry R. Green
Investment management
  • Malcolm P. Baker
  • Joshua D. Coval
  • Luis M. Viceira
Market design
  • Alex Chan
  • Scott Duke Kominers
Networks
  • Shane M. Greenstein
  • Ebehi Iyoha
  • Jacqueline Ng Lane
  • Edward McFowland III
Private equity
  • Brian K. Baik
  • Paul A. Gompers
  • Victoria Ivashina
  • Josh Lerner
  • Emil N. Siriwardane
  • Jo Tango
Risk management
  • Robert S. Kaplan
  • David A. Moss
  • Arthur I Segel
  • Ishita Sen
Close

Recent Placement

John Conlon, 2023

Stanford University, Department of Economics, Post-Doctoral Fellow (2023-2024), Carnegie Mellon University, Department of Social and Decision Sciences, Assistant Professor (2024)

Erica Moszkowski, 2023

Federal Reserve Board of Governors, Economist

Ran Zhuo, 2023

University of Michigan, Ross School of Business, Post-Doctoral Fellow (2023-2024); Assistant Professor (2024)

Matthew Lilley, 2022

Australian National University

David Zhang, 2022

Rice University, Jones Graduate School of Business

Karen Shen, 2021

Research Improving People’s Lives (RIPL), Economist (2021-2022); Johns Hopkins University, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Assistant Professor (2022)

Ravi Jagadeesan, 2020

Stanford University, Department of Economics, Postdoctoral Fellow (2020-2022); Assistant Professor (2022-)

Christopher Anderson, 2019

Economist
Federal Reserve Board of Governors

Yizhou Jin, 2019

Postdoctoral Fellow
UC Berkeley, Economics Department & Haas School of Business, Post-doctoral Fellow (2019-2022); University of Toronto, Rotman School of Management and Economics Department (2022)

William Diamond, 2018

University of Pennsylvania, Wharton School, Finance Department

Neil Thakral, 2018

Brown University, Economics Department

Spencer Yongwook Kwon, 2023

Brown University, Department of Economics

Daniel Ramos, 2023

John Hopkins University, School of Advanced International Studies

Francesca Bastianello, 2022

The University of Chicago, Booth School of Business

Frank Pinter, 2022

Economist
Federal Trade Commission

Andreas Schaab, 2021

Post-doctoral fellow (2021-2022)
Columbia University Business School, Post-doctoral fellow (2021-2022); Toulouse School of Economics, Assistant Professor (2022)

Edoardo Maria Acabbi, 2020

University Carlos III of Madrid

Michael Thaler, 2020

Postdoctoral Fellow
Princeton University, Economics Department, Post-doctoral fellow (2020-2022); University College London, Assistant Professor (2022)

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

Robert Minton, 2023

Federal Reserve Board of Governors, Economist

Sagar Saxena, 2023

Yale University, Department of Economics, Post-doctoral Fellow (2023-2024); University of Pennsylvania, Wharton School, Business Economics and Public Policy Department, Assistant Professor (2024)

Talia B. Gillis, 2022

Columbia Law School, Associate Professor of Law

Ron Yang, 2022

Stanford University, Graduate School of Business, Postdoctoral Scholar

Gregor Schubert, 2021

University of California-Los Angeles, Anderson School of Management

Xiang Ding, 2020

Georgetown University, Walsh School of Foreign Service

Michael Thaler, 2020

Princeton University, Postdoctoral Fellow (2020-2022); University College London, Assistant Professor (2022)

Oren Danieli, 2019

Tel-Aviv University, School of Economics

Janelle Schlossberger, 2019

Michael Hammer Postdoctoral Fellow
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Institute for Data, Systems and Society

Yueran Ma, 2018

University of Chicago, Booth School of Business, Finance Department

John Conlon, 2023

Stanford University, Department of Economics, Post-Doctoral Fellow (2023-2024), Carnegie Mellon University, Department of Social and Decision Sciences, Assistant Professor (2024)

Spencer Yongwook Kwon, 2023

Brown University, Department of Economics

Robert Minton, 2023

Federal Reserve Board of Governors, Economist

Erica Moszkowski, 2023

Federal Reserve Board of Governors, Economist

Daniel Ramos, 2023

John Hopkins University, School of Advanced International Studies

Sagar Saxena, 2023

Yale University, Department of Economics, Post-doctoral Fellow (2023-2024); University of Pennsylvania, Wharton School, Business Economics and Public Policy Department, Assistant Professor (2024)

Ran Zhuo, 2023

University of Michigan, Ross School of Business, Post-Doctoral Fellow (2023-2024); Assistant Professor (2024)

Francesca Bastianello, 2022

The University of Chicago, Booth School of Business

Talia B. Gillis, 2022

Columbia Law School, Associate Professor of Law

Matthew Lilley, 2022

Australian National University

Frank Pinter, 2022

Economist
Federal Trade Commission

Ron Yang, 2022

Stanford University, Graduate School of Business, Postdoctoral Scholar

David Zhang, 2022

Rice University, Jones Graduate School of Business

Andreas Schaab, 2021

Post-doctoral fellow (2021-2022)
Columbia University Business School, Post-doctoral fellow (2021-2022); Toulouse School of Economics, Assistant Professor (2022)

Gregor Schubert, 2021

University of California-Los Angeles, Anderson School of Management

Karen Shen, 2021

Research Improving People’s Lives (RIPL), Economist (2021-2022); Johns Hopkins University, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Assistant Professor (2022)

Edoardo Maria Acabbi, 2020

University Carlos III of Madrid

Xiang Ding, 2020

Georgetown University, Walsh School of Foreign Service

Ravi Jagadeesan, 2020

Stanford University, Department of Economics, Postdoctoral Fellow (2020-2022); Assistant Professor (2022-)

Michael Thaler, 2020

Postdoctoral Fellow
Princeton University, Economics Department, Post-doctoral fellow (2020-2022); University College London, Assistant Professor (2022)

Michael Thaler, 2020

Princeton University, Postdoctoral Fellow (2020-2022); University College London, Assistant Professor (2022)

Christopher Anderson, 2019

Economist
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, School of Economics

Yizhou Jin, 2019

Postdoctoral Fellow
UC Berkeley, Economics Department & Haas School of Business, Post-doctoral Fellow (2019-2022); University of Toronto, Rotman School of Management and Economics Department (2022)

Weiling Liu, 2019

Northeastern University, Finance Department

Janelle Schlossberger, 2019

Michael Hammer Postdoctoral Fellow
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Institute for Data, Systems and Society

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
See All Placement
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Phone: 1.617.495.6101
Email: doctoralprograms+hbs.edu
Registrar: docreg+hbs.edu
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