Research areas

Family economics is a field of research that focuses on the economic decisions and behaviours of households. It includes studies on how families manage their financial resources, such as income and expenditure, savings and investments. Family economics aims to understand how family dynamics affect economic choices and can be used to develop strategies to improve household well-being.

Researcher: Helena Svaleryd

Financial economics is a field of economics that examines how capital is allocated and valued in financial markets. Financial economics plays a crucial role in understanding the relationship between risk and return and the valuation of financial instruments such as stocks, bonds and financial derivatives.

Researcher: Mikael Bask

Health economics is a discipline within economics that studies how health affects individuals, how economic circumstances affect health, and the use of resources in health care. It includes analyses of the cost, efficiency and availability of health services and the evaluation of different interventions. Health economics helps to inform policy makers on how to optimise health care resources to achieve the best possible health of the population in a fair and efficient way.

Visit the Centre for Health Economics Research for more research.

Researcher: Erik Grönqvist

In economics, the field of international trade focuses on analysing the economic factors and effects that occur when countries trade with each other. Research in (international trade) aims to better understand and predict trade patterns, economic development and the global consequences of trade policy and international economic integration. It includes studies on trade agreements, tariffs, exchange rates, and their impact on production, labour market and industrial dynamics and economic growth.

Researcher: Teodora Borota Milicevic

Macroeconomics is the branch of economics that focuses on analysing the economy as a whole. Here we study short-term fluctuations in aggregate economic variables such as GDP and phenomena such as inflation, unemployment and more long-term phenomena such as economic growth and resource allocation, Macroeconomics aims to understand and learn how to influence the overall economic development for the benefit of society.

Researchers: Mikael Carlsson, Karl Walentin, Mikael Bask, Teodora Borota Milicevic, Erik Öberg, Georg Graetz, Christoph Hedtrich.

Microeconomic theory is a branch of economics that focuses on studying economic decisions and strategic behaviour at the individual and firm level. It analyses how households and firms make economic decisions, including consumption, production and pricing of goods and services. Microeconomic theory helps to understand strategic decisions, market structures, competition and allocation mechanisms and is fundamental to designing economic policies and understanding the functioning of the market economy.

Researchers: Ola Andersson, Henk Shouten, Daniel Spiro, Torben Mideksa, Chuan-Zhong Li, Gustav Karreskog

Environmental economics is a field of economics that focuses on analysing the economic aspects of environmental issues and natural resource management. It examines how economic incentives and policies can be used to balance the economic development of society with environmental protection and sustainability. Environmental economists study cost-effective ways to address pollution, climate change and other environmental challenges to promote more environmentally friendly and sustainable development.

Researchers and research areas in environmental economics:

Elinder, Mikael: Energy and resource efficiency in the housing sector.

Spiro, Daniel: Environmental and climate regulation, energy and resource markets, energy warfare and sanctions.

Mideksa, Torben: Environmental Economics.

Li, Chuan-Zhong: Climate change and carbon tax, natural disasters and resilience, inclusive and sustainable growth.

Public economics is the area of economics that focuses on the public sector. It discusses why we need a public sector and what tasks should be assigned to it, as well as how the behaviour of the public sector affects individuals, firms and the market. This includes analysing how the social security system, as well as tax and transfer systems are best designed and what effects these have on the behaviour and welfare of individuals.

Researchers: Eva Mörk, Helena Svaleryd, Per Engström, Mikael Elinder, Niklas Bengtsson

Political economy aims to highlight how politics and economics interact, which is crucial for understanding economic development, the distribution of wealth and the design of economic policies. This is done by using economic analysis tools to understand how political decisions arise from the interaction between voters, politicians, the media and interest groups. Topics investigated include the role of different electoral systems and other democratic institutions on policy outcomes and ultimately implemented policies, and how the goals of different politicians and voters may conflict.

Researchers: Eva Mörk, Luca Repetto, Mounir Karadja, Daniel Spiro, Yoko Okuyama

Urban economics is a branch of economics that focuses on analysing economic phenomena and decisions specific to cities and urbanised areas. It includes studies on urban planning, property markets, infrastructure investment and urban development. Urban economics aims to understand the economic factors affecting the urban environment and how to optimise resource use and quality of life in cities.

See the Urban Lab research centre for more urban economics research.

Contact person: Matz Dahlberg, Professor

Education economics is a field of economics that analyses economic aspects of the education system. It includes the study of the impact of education on individual earnings and economic growth, and how education policies affect both efficiency and equity. Education economics helps to inform policy makers on how to improve the education system and maximise its societal benefits.

Researcher: Peter Fredriksson

Development economics is a field of economics that analyses the economic factors and processes that affect the growth and welfare of developing countries, various aspects of poverty and the institutional challenges faced by poor countries (e.g. corruption). Development economists also have extensive knowledge of international organisations such as the World Bank, ILO, IMF and aid organisations (such as Sida).

Researcher: Niklas Bengtsson