Antonia Esser ’11
Associate, Centre for Financial Regulation and Inclusion
Capetown, South Africa
The ITFD Program provides rigorous training in the economics of international finance, trade, and development for students interested in demanding professional careers and doctoral programs.
What can be done to avoid financial crises? How can growth in the least developed countries be accelerated? How can wealth be distributed equitably and sustainably? This program will allow students to acquire a thorough knowledge of the conceptual and empirical tools of modern Economics applied to international trade, finance, and development.
The program starts in the first term with a set of courses on economic growth and development, international trade and finance, and quantitative methods. In the second and third terms, students can choose from a wide array of courses and tailor their learning experience to their interests. Some students chose to specialize in development, others in international trade and finance, while others opt instead for a more balanced approach that combines training in both areas.
Students complete a master project by the end of the academic year, allowing them to specialize in a policy topic of their choice. They also attend a series of policy lessons delivered by international experts.
The master's faculty consists of internationally renowned scholars who have previously held academic positions at MIT, NYU, Chicago, Berkeley, Stanford and Cambridge. They have also worked or held consulting appointments at international organizations, including the World Bank, the IMF, the Inter-American Development Bank, and the European Central Bank.
Past ITFD graduates have found employment in international organizations, government agencies, central banks, financial institutions, research and consulting firms, and NGOs.
Several past graduates have decided to pursue further studies and have joined prestigious PhD programs in Europe and the United States, including the London School of Economics, Stanford University, and Harvard University.
The course offer displayed is for next year's edition (2021-22). Course offer is subject to change.
Course list for current students (2020-21)
| Course Title | Credits | Professor(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Mandatory: | ||
| Quantitative and Statistical Methods I | 6 | Geert Mesters |
| International Finance | 3 | Jaume Ventura |
| History of Economic Globalization | 3 | Claudia Rei |
| Economic Growth and Development | 3 | Manuel García-Santana |
| International Trade | 3 | Jaume Ventura |
| Course Title | Credits | Professor(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Mandatory: | ||
| Students must enroll in one section of the following course: | ||
| Quantitative and Statistical Methods II: Development | 6 | Albrecht Glitz Alessandro Tarozzi |
| Quantitative and Statistical Methods II: Finance | 6 | Christian Brownlees |
| Electives (choose 15 credits): | ||
| Development Economics | 6 | Gianmarco León-Ciliotta Alessandro Tarozzi |
| Macroeconomics II | 6 | Luca Fornaro Danilo Guaitoli |
| Political Economy | 6 | Ruben Enikolopov Maria Petrova |
| Exchange Rates and Monetary Policy | 3 | Fernando Broner |
| Economics of Migration | 3 | Albrecht Glitz |
| Firms, Technology and the International Economy | 3 | Manuel García-Santana |
| 3 | José Luis Peydró | |
| Foundations of Data Science | 3 | Omiros Papaspiliopoulos (TBD) |
| Course Title | Credits | Professor(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Mandatory: | ||
| Master Project | 6 | Fernando Broner Manuel Garcia-Santana |
| Policy Lessons Policy Lessons are shared by all programs in the Master’s in Specialized Economic Analysis. Students must choose two Policy Lessons among those organized by any of the programs (Competition, EPP, ITFD, and Macro) |
3 | Simon Evenett Alberto Martín |
| Electives (choose 12 credits): | ||
| Sovereign Debt and International Financial Markets | 3 | Fernando Broner |
| Trade Policy and International Policy Coordination | 3 | Giacomo Ponzetto |
| Topics in Economic Growth and Development | 3 | Luigi Pascali |
| Social Economics | 3 | Ada Ferrer-i-Carbonell Giacomo De Giorgi |
| Topics in Applied Econometrics for Public Policy | 6 | Jaume García-Villar |
| Quantitative and Statistical Methods III | 6 | Gergely Gánics |
| Experimental Economics | 6 | Rosemarie Nagel |
| Topics in Macroeconomics: Macroeconomics and Finance I * | 3 | Victoria Vanasco Vladimir Asriyan |
| Topics in Macroeconomics: Macroeconomics and Finance II * | 3 | Andrea Caggese Alberto Martín |
* PhD-level courses. Subject to directors’ permission and schedules permitting.
The master project is a required component of all Barcelona GSE Master's programs. Working individually or in groups, students use the tools and knowledge they've acquired during the entire year to explore a topic of their choice. A professor supervises throughout the project.
Examples of master projects from recent International Trade, Finance, and Development cohorts
Select a project to view a summary on the Barcelona GSE Voice, our student and alumni blog:
Maria Dale, Giacomo Gattorno, Andre Osorio, Rebeca Peers, and Kerenny Torres
Emma Howard, Kean Murphy, Wouter Nientker, Karim El-Ouaghlidi, and Harry Schmidt
The Effectiveness of Debt Relief in Mitigating the Macroeconomic Consequences of Natural Disasters
Sofía Álvarez, Michael Barczay, Guadalupe Galambos, Ina Sandler, and Rasmus Schmidt
Bank interconnectedness and monetary policy transmission: evidence from the euro area
Zhuldyz Ashikbayeva, Marei Fürstenberg, Timo Kapelari, Albert Pierres, and Stephan Thies
Household level effects of flooding: evidence from Thailand
Deepshikha Deb, Nils Handler, Vladimír Peciar, Ksenia Proka, and Juliane Stolle
Can import promotion increase export performance in times of global value chains? Firm-level evidence from Russia
Samuel Jones, Annanya Mahajan, Maria Oliva, Debora Reyna, and Marta Vila
The Effects of the South African Minimum Wage on Labour Market Outcomes for Low-Income Earners
Upon successful completion of the program, students will receive a Master's Degree in Specialized Economic Analysis awarded jointly with Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB) and Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF).
All Barcelona GSE Master's degrees have been recognized by the Catalan and Spanish Education authorities within the framework of the Bologna Process (in Spanish, “Master Universitario o Master Oficial”).
Examples of recent ITFD placements:
31 students from 18 countries (94% international)
Most represented countries in this year's cohort:
Most common academic backgrounds:
An overview of ITFD career paths for recent cohorts
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