Global Economic Affairs is not your grandparents’ economic program. We’ve eliminated the dazzling but ultimately useless economic proofs you find in the textbooks and focus instead on the way economies actually work. Global Economic Affairs focuses on political economy—the fascinating and complex interactions between economics, politics, and policy. GEA prepares our students to make sense of today's most pressing and complex economic challenges. GEA students examine international trade and monetary issues; the interactions between global economic developments and domestic politics; the drivers of economic development, inequality, and sustainability; the place of business in global affairs and the prospects for corporate social responsibility; and a range of other centrally important economic issues. The degree links theory to policy and institutions while placing equal emphasis on qualitative and quantitative skills.
In Global Economic Affairs you’ll collaborate with faculty to explore topics like...
- The most important contemporary trends in the global economy
- The diverse effect of globalization on state capacity and policy autonomy, and on national political and economic affairs
- The key drivers and consequences of economic development
- The complex relationships between economic, political, ecological, and social outcomes
- The salience of corporate governance in global affairs
- The spillover effects of national and global economic policies
- The role of institutions of global, regional, and transregional economic governance on economic inclusion, equity, and opportunity
Available Specializations
Geographic Areas
Develop expertise in a particular region.
Finance and Trade
Take a deep dive into international finance, trade, and investment, and the policy regimes that govern these vital activities.
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International Business and Corporate Social Responsibility
Delve into the operations of multinational corporations and the potential role of corporate social responsibility in promoting social betterment and ecological sustainability.
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Development Economics and Policy
Examine the complex challenges and opportunities facing low-income and emerging economies in the context of severe global unevenness, and the potential for policies of domestic and multilateral agencies to contribute to human development.
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Environmental Sustainability
Explore the causes and proposed solutions to key global and local environmental crises, such as climate change.
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Political Economy
Discover the factors that shape international relationships between politics and economic outcomes.
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Quantitative Methods
Develop your empirical and analytical skills to assess the factors that shape national and international outcomes, and to assess policy.
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Policy Analysis
Pursue a deep understanding of the fundamentals of policy formation while engaging short- and long-term policy effects.
Skill-Based Courses
Preparing You With Career-Ready Knowledge
All GEA students develop competence in statistical methods using the software they’ll be apt to encounter in their careers (e.g., STATA, Python, R). But GEA also offers a range of other skills training, both quantitative and qualitative, including project management and assessment, political risk analysis, microfinance, social entrepreneurship, forecasting, data visualization, and international business transactions, while many GEA students choose to take advantage of a wide range of skills courses available at DU’s Daniels College of Business. We update skills training regularly to ensure our students compete successfully for the positions they aspire to upon graduation.
The global economic affairs degree prepares those with an interest in political economy to take up careers in a wide range of fields. These include:
- International policy analysis for public sector agencies, such as the Department of Commerce and the International Trade Administration, and the FBI.
- Analyst positions in multilateral institutions and organizations, such as the World Bank, the United Nations and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development;
- Research and analyst positions within non-governmental organizations, such as Oxfam and Action Aid
- Leadership roles in the private sector as economic policy consultants, risk and international project analysts, international project managers, and supply chain managers.
Featured Courses
INTS 4324
International Political Economy
About this Course
The course examines 3 contrasting visions of international political economy: economic security, trade and finance.
INTS 4372
Great Books in Political Economy
About this Course
This course investigates several contemporary approaches to Political Economy, ranging from institutionalist to Marxist, anti-essentialist, and (postmodernist) feminist thought. Rather than attempt to survey quickly a lot of literature, we carefully read a limited number of influential (and provocative) texts that present a range of perspectives with which most students are largely unfamiliar. These are very challenging texts, and students must be prepared to spend a good bit of time on the assigned readings weekly.
INTS 4320
International Monetary Relations
About this Course
An intermediate course examining history of the monetary system, foreign exchange rates, balance of payments analysis, and adjustment processes under different exchange systems, current status problems, and prospects for reform. Prerequisite: grade of B- or better in undergraduate course in Introductory Macroeconomics, Principles of Economics (combining Introductory Micro and Macroeconomics), or International Economics. Students who have not completed the undergraduate prerequisites for 4320 should first complete INTS 4536.
Featured Faculty
