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Studies & Degrees in Macroeconomics

Macroeconomics studies the economy as a whole. Where microeconomics looks at single markets, macroeconomics looks at totals: the International Monetary Fund (IMF) describes it as the study of employment, gross domestic product and inflation, with a focus on aggregates such as national income, savings and the overall price level. It asks why economies grow, why they fall into recession, why prices rise and what governments and central banks can do about it.

The field is younger than economics itself. According to the IMF, John Maynard Keynes's General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money (1936), written during the Great Depression of the 1930s, founded macroeconomics as a distinct discipline. Like microeconomics, it is a core subject of an economics degree and not usually a degree of its own.

What students learn

The IMF divides the subject into long-run growth, short-run departures from equilibrium and the design of stabilisation policy. University courses follow the same lines. The Principles of Macroeconomics course that the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) publishes on OpenCourseWare is organised around four themes:

  • what determines short-run economic fluctuations
  • what determines long-run growth
  • government policies, including monetary policy, government spending and exchange rate policy
  • key sectors of the economy, such as consumer spending, business investment and financial markets

Students learn to read national accounts and indicators such as unemployment and inflation rates, and to work with models that link them. Stabilisation policy has two main tools: government spending and taxation, and the monetary policy of the central bank. Open-economy courses add trade, investment and capital flows between countries. Students also meet competing schools of thought, such as New Keynesian and New Classical economics, and they need econometrics, which the IMF calls the third core area of economics, to test models against data.

Qualifications and levels

  • Bachelor's degree. Macroeconomics is taught in stages within an economics degree. In Spain, the bachelor's degree in economics (grado en Economía) has 240 ECTS credits over four years. At the Universidad Carlos III de Madrid (UC3M) it includes Macroeconomía and Macroeconomía Dinámica in the second year and electives such as international macroeconomics, monetary and financial macroeconomics and economic growth; the degree can be taken entirely in English. The Universidad de Sevilla teaches the subject in several consecutive courses, starting with Macroeconomía I.
  • Bachelor's degree abroad. At HSE University in Moscow, the Bachelor's Programme in Economics lasts four years, has a significant mathematics component and is taught in Russian with some courses in English.
  • Study abroad semester. Single courses can be taken during a semester abroad. AEP Academic Experience in Prague, the undergraduate programme of Charles University and CERGE-EI, runs fall and spring semesters taught in English.
  • Master's degree and PhD. Advanced macroeconomics is a compulsory part of most master's and doctoral programmes in economics. Specialisation, for example in monetary economics, growth or international macroeconomics, comes at this level.

Where to study it

The SpainExchange directory lists 4 schools for macroeconomics, one each in Spain, the Czech Republic, Russia and the United States: UIBS / Barcelona Business School, AEP Academic Experience in Prague, HSE University in Moscow and Tennessee Tech University. Almost every university with an economics faculty teaches the subject, so the choice is really a choice of economics programme.

When comparing programmes, look at how many macroeconomics courses follow the introduction, whether monetary and international economics are offered, how much mathematics and econometrics is required, and the language of instruction. At business schools, ask what recognition the qualification has.

Careers

Macroeconomists work where the whole economy is analysed and forecast: central banks, finance ministries, statistical offices, international organisations, banks and research institutes. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics describes economists as people who conduct research, prepare reports and evaluate issues related to monetary and fiscal policy; some of them examine employment levels and trends, business cycles, inflation or interest rates.

Postgraduate study is the norm for these jobs. According to the Bureau, economists typically need at least a master's degree to enter the occupation. Economists held about 18,600 jobs in the United States in 2025, and the federal government was the largest employer, with 26 percent. Employment is projected to grow 5 percent from 2025 to 2035. Graduates with a bachelor's degree more often start as analysts in banking, consulting or public administration.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between macroeconomics and microeconomics?

Macroeconomics studies the economy as a whole: employment, gross domestic product and inflation, in the IMF's summary. Microeconomics studies supply and demand in single markets. Economics degrees teach both.

Can I take a degree in macroeconomics only?

Normally not. It is a core subject within an economics degree; in Spain that is the grado en Economía, with 240 ECTS credits over four years. Specialisation comes through electives and at master's or PhD level.

Which tools does economic policy use to stabilise the economy?

According to the IMF, stabilisation policies include government spending and taxing actions and central bank monetary policy. Macroeconomics courses study how and when each of them works.

Do I need a master's degree to work as a macroeconomist?

For most economist posts, yes. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics states that economists typically need at least a master's degree to enter the occupation.