Read the full conversation below to learn about how this challenging program will launch graduates to the forefront of the job market in several diverse industries.
Dean Manuel Muñiz & Dean Lee Newman on the Bachelor in Economics
Manuel Muñiz: My name is Manuel Muñiz, and I am Dean of IE School of Global and Public Affairs. I am joined here by my friend and colleague, Lee Newman, who is the Dean of the IE School of Human Sciences and Technology. We are here to tell you that we are very excited about the Bachelor in Economics. This is a very innovative degree, and we are looking at all the issues affecting economics that have to do with technology and other issues. Lee, I was wondering if you could tell us a little bit about how this degree is going to be placed right at the frontier and is going to be looking at very innovative issues in the field.
Lee Newman: One of the first ways this is a unique and special degree is the inclusion of behavior. Daniel Kahneman, the Nobel Laureate who was a behavioral scientist and won the Nobel prize in economics in 2002, kicked off an entire revolution around behavior. You cannot be a good economist these days without understanding the irrationalities that affect how people make economic decisions and all the ways that psychology plays into economics. So, that is one critical component that we have included in this new bachelor.
Second is the data revolution. Economists are traditionally known as people who are good at math and analytics. They were analytical thinkers who can really understand the world in a mechanistic way. Data science has introduced a whole new set of tools, and we have added those tools to the Bachelor in Economics. Our graduates have not only the classical tools of economics, but all the new tools of data science to analyze, forecast, and predict, and the things that economists are usually known for. Those are two of the special and unique elements of the degree. Manuel, I think you can talk about two of the others.
Manuel Muñiz: On top of those two we added a lot of content on technology and economics in general. New platforms, machine learning, and AI are also changing other areas of the field of economics. They are changing production processes. They are changing supply lines. They are changing the face of work and the face of education. They are impacting all these fields, and we think that economy should have of great deal of expertise about the intersection of technology and economics.
The other area is sustainability and climate change economics. The Nobel prize in Economics last year was awarded to professor Romer who has been working on climate change and economic growth. At the end the degree we will have all the fundamental features of a very rigorous degree in economics, but it will also have these four axes of precision that make it very sophisticated and a forward-looking focusing on the future of economics.
We foresee wonderful career paths for people that go and pursue this degree with us. For example, if you want to work in a multilateral institution like the OECD, IMF or the World Bank, this the degree for you. If you want to work in policy-making or advisory for governments in the economics landscape or you want to do sectoral economics, healthcare economics, or education economics, this is a terrific degree for you and will give you all the fundamentals, not just in the policy-making world, but also in the private sector and in the technology world as well.
Lee Newman: Using these tools of data science and behavioral economics, economists can work in the banking industry in financial services doing advanced forecasting, trying to understand the mechanisms of markets. Also, you mentioned artificial intelligence, so understanding how these new technologies like AI, blockchains, and smart contracts are going to fundamentally reshape the ways that businesses do their business and the platforms that they do it on. The possibilities are fantastic for people graduating with economics.
Manuel Muñiz: We are thrilled to share this opportunity with you. Check it out if you are interested. But we are very happy we have been able to put together a degree like this at IE University that will be training economists for the challenges of today and the challenges of tomorrow that the field faces. Thank you everybody.
Looking towards the future
We hope you’ve enjoyed this insider’s look at the Bachelor in Economics straight from the deans themselves. While undertaking this innovative program, students will gain valuable knowledge on the essentials of economics, as well as an understanding of applied analytics, technology, and data science. Upon graduation, students will stand out as leaders who are prepared to tackle any challenges they face in the ever-changing economic sector.