PhD economics courses now open to students from other Swiss universities

The International Economics Department welcomes participants from Swiss universities in its PhD courses.

With this initiative, the Department wishes to provide PhD students working in international economics in Switzerland an opportunity to interact and develop a community with their peers.

Students are welcome to take the course for ECTS credits or to participate as auditors.  

If you are interested in one or more courses, please send a message to ei@graduateinstitute.ch.

 

Our Courses

¨Topics in Structural Econometrics and Impact Evaluation: EI139 
 

Marko Mlikota
Fall 2025
 
This course discusses further topics in econometrics, building on the foundational concepts introduced in two compulsory econometrics courses for master students. First, the course covers causal inference methods, both in the context of randomized controlled trials and natural experiments. As part of this, it discusses regression discontinuity designs, matching methods and difference-in-differences estimation. Second,  it introduces Bayesian inference and applies it to the linear regression model (yielding Ridge- and Lasso-estimation and providing the basis for machine learning methods), to panel data models (correlated random effects) and to autoregressions. This includes a discussion of model selection and numerical sampling methods. Third, the course treats multivariate and nonlinear time series models (incl. vector autoregressions, dynamic factor models and models with time-varying parameters like regime-switching-, stochastic volatility- and conditional heteroskedasticity-models), as part of which it discusses cointegration and state space model estimation. Time permitting, the course may briefly cover Machine Learning methods and non-parametric regressions (kernel smoothing methods, regression trees and random forests, neural networks). Assessment is based on three problem sets and an individual project, where students apply a method from the course to their application of interest.

Course Information

 

Pocket Campus 

 

Advanced Development Economics:  EI134

Raisaro Claude

Spring 2026

This is a PhD course open to Master students. This course introduces students to core issues in development economics, drawing from both theoretical and empirical research. Topics include labor markets, credit markets, behavioral biases, gender, norms, firms and migration. We also explore how individuals and organizations make decisions to deploy scarce resources, particularly in the presence of market failures. Lectures focus on recent theoretical and empirical work evaluating programs and behavioral policy designs aimed at alleviating constraints faced by individuals, firms and the state. The papers provide applications of a range of empirical approaches, including experimental, quasi-experimental, and structural methods. The course also aims to equip students with the tools needed to develop their own empirical research at the frontier of economics.

 

 
 

Course Information

 

Pocket Campus 

 

Advanced Environmental and Climate Economics: EI133 
 

Imelda
Spring 2026
 
This course's primary goals are to (1) provide an in-depth examination of current research in environmental and energy economics, with a focus on its relevance for informing climate policy strategies, and (2) to foster a community of like-minded individuals interested in environmental economics across several institutions (IHEID, UniGE, UNIL, EPFL, and others), providing opportunities for networking and collaboration. 
The course combines lectures on state-of-the-art research in the field, student-driven research projects, and analytical critiques of recent papers.
This class will integrate lectures from experts in the field through collaboration with the Hoffmann Centre for Global Sustainability advanced research seminar series.
 

Course Information

 

Pocket Campus

 

 

Advanced International Macroeconomics: EI136

Tille Cédric

Spring 2026

This course reviews areas of active research on open economy macroeconomics, with the aim of giving students a broad view and help them identify research topics. Topics include: financial globalization and the global financial cycle, the broadening of the policy toolbox to new instruments (international reserves, macroprudential policies, and capital controls), determinants of real interest rates, design of optimal monetary policy in open economics, the dominant role of the dollar, and inflation. The first part of the course consists of lectures. The second part consists of presentations of papers from the reading list.

Course Information

 

Pocket Campus 

International Economics

Department Seminars

The Department hosts a number of regular research seminars and workshops, alongside special lectures and conferences
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International Economics

Our Faculty

A community of scholars who are diverse in views and specializations but united in their commitment that economics should be ‘in the service of society’ and aimed at improving the world via rigorous, policy-relevant research and training.
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