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About Us

Triniy Campus Welcome to the Department of Economics at Trinity College Dublin. The department is long considered the strongest economics department in Ireland, and Trinity is ranked Ireland's No.1 university - QS World University Ranking 2025; Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2024

The Department of Economics is the largest department in the School of Social Sciences and Philosophy. With a faculty of 25 professors, the Department has a well-deserved reputation as a centre for teaching and research.

Research Excellence: In addition to the high-quality research produced by our faculty members and associated staff, our Department also has three established research groups:

The development economics group has established the Trinity IMpact Evaluation (TIME) Research Centre dedicated to producing robust evidence on the effectiveness and mechanisms behind development interventions and investments. TIME has specialities in financial inclusion, enterprise development, gender, health, migration and social protection, and faculty members include Michael King, Martina Kirchberger, Tara Mitchell, Gaia Narciso, Carol Newman, Alejandra Ramos, Selim Gulesci, Ronan Lyons, Nicola Fontana and Martina Zanella. Trinity is among the largest research clusters for development economists in Europe.
The international macro group, IM-TCD, includes Agustin Benetrix, Joseph Kopecky, Philip Lane, Davide Romelli, Paul Scanlon, Michael Wycherley, Martyna Marczak and Vitaliia Yaremko and associated member Patrick Honohan. IM-TCD is a dynamic group which contributes to understanding of key international economy challenges. The Whately Professor of Political Economy Philip Lane has a high international research profile for international macroeconomics.
The Centre for Economics, Policy and History (CEPH) combines Trinity College Dublin and Queen's University Belfast. This research hub, funded by the North-South Research Programme of the Government of Ireland, helps both universities increase their capacity and enables them to lead the development of Ireland into a global Centre of Excellence in policy-relevant historical research.

The department also has research strengths in urban economics (Martina Kirchberger and Ronan Lyons), financial economics (Agustin Benetrix, Michael King and Davide Romelli), economic history (Ronan Lyons, Gaia Narciso and Marvin Suesse), political economy (Gaia Narciso) and industrial economics (Francis O’Toole). For more detailed information on research activity, see the home pages of individual staff members or visit Recent Publications.

The Department has been successful in attracting financial support from the Irish Research Council, Irish Aid, Science Foundation Ireland, PRTLI, H2020, the EU Framework Programmes, NORFACE, the World Bank, Innovation for Poverty Action (IPA), Fondation Banque de France and the Institute for New Economic Thinking (INET).

High Quality Teaching: Faculty members have won multiple teaching awards in recent years and the department takes great pride in its undergraduate teaching, provided through the BESS programme (Business, Economics and Social Studies), the PPES programme (Politics, Philosophy, Economics and Sociology) and the Trinity Joint Honours programme. The Department has exchange programmes with a range of international universities.

Equally important to the Department are its successful postgraduate programmes. They are as follows:

The MSc in Economics is designed to provide the skills required to undertake advanced research and prepare students for economist roles in the private and public sectors. Core modules in microeconomics, macroeconomics and econometrics are complemented with a range of applied modules to allow students to specialise. A more bespoke version is offered for students interested in development economics, namely the MSc in Economics – International Development.
The MSc in Economic Policy is a two-year part-time postgraduate programme designed to equip graduates with the skills to engage with evidenced-based policy making. It is aimed at students who do not have a background in economics or who wish to refresh their economics knowledge through a policy angle. The programme, delivered jointly with the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI), provides students with a comprehensive grounding in the contemporary aspects of economic policy design and implementation.
The doctoral programme includes 30 credits of PhD-level coursework, plus the writing of a dissertation. It is the largest doctoral programme in Ireland and its doctoral graduates have positions in high-profile academic institutions (Oxford, Tufts, Kiel, Lausanne, Ecole Polytechnique, Royal Holloway, City University London, Hamburg, Dortmund and University College Dublin), policy organisations (European Central Bank, European Commission, International Monetary Fund, OECD, Central Bank of Ireland, Irish Department of Finance) and the private sector. The Department provides generous financial support for research students through a programme of teaching assistantships, as well as providing a number of research awards.

Global Reach: Students at the Department of Economics come from all around the world and we have an extensive global alumni network. The department leads research activities in over 25 countries across Asia, Africa, Europe and South and Central America.

History: Economics was first taught in Trinity College in 1832 when Mountifort Longfield was appointed to the newly established Chair of Political Economy, a chair endowed by the then Church of Ireland Archbishop of Dublin, Dr Richard Whately.

Public Outreach and Engagement: The Department has a long history of outreach and engagement with Irish society. Research conducted by staff on the Irish economy plays an important role in public policy development.

Our website will provide you with an overview of our distinctive approach to education and research.