Quantitative Economic Analysis - 296 - 2nd year of master's degree

I am currently a research assistant or "pre-doctoral student" at the Center for Labor Economics and Demography at the "Ifo" Institute at the University of Munich in Germany. I was one of the first cohort to graduate with a Master’s degree in Quantitative Economics from Dauphine-PSL in 2021.

Before coming to Dauphine-PSL, I had done a Bachelor's degree in Economics and Management at the University of Bordeaux. I was able to study abroad for my entire third year at CEU San Pablo University in Madrid. The Master’s degree in Quantitative Economics taught me the tools I need in my current role.

More concretely, the 1st year of the Master’s degree helped deepen my understanding of microeconomics, macroeconomics, and econometrics. As the name suggests, the program had a highly quantitative focus on economic theories and models, which helped me develop my analytical and mathematical skills. In the 2nd year Master’s degree in Quantitative Economic Analysis, we discussed and presented a great many academic articles on economics, which helped deepen my understanding of research in the field. But most importantly, I learned a number of programming languages, including Stata, Python, and Matlab, which increased my ability to work with large databases.

I really appreciated the spirit of the cohort, which was both French and international. It was a really great experience overall.

After specializing in sciences in high school, I did a Bachelor's degree in Economics and History at Paris 1. I took a gap year, then joined the 1st year of the Master’s degree in Quantitative Economics, followed by the 2nd year of the Master’s degree in Quantitative Economic Analysis (SPP track).  My two years at Dauphine-PSL were deeply affected by the pandemic. During the first six months, I really enjoyed the campus environment.

I was able to take excellent courses taught by demanding instructors. I came to better understand what’s at stake in economics research by skilling up in some of the technical areas in which I was lacking. I particularly appreciated the seminar courses (there are four in the SPP track).

The Master’s degree’s “data science” orientation really helped me land on my feet after graduation. I didn’t do a thesis or become an economist, but my statistical and data analysis skills landed me a position as a statistical consultant in a Paris consultancy. I’m building a database to help evaluate the vitality of downtown businesses in small French towns.

Having taken preparatory classes for the Grandes Écoles and gone to Business School, the 2nd year Master’s in Quantitative Economic Analysis gave me a solid foundation in econometrics and statistics and introduced me to the world of economics research. 

Thanks to the faculty’s continued commitment to the program, the quality of the teaching is excellent. It is designed to be both interactive and relevant to current theoretical trends. This means that curricular content is constantly being put into the perspective of contemporary issues.

I developed a taste for academic research during the program, which led me to join a governmental economic bureau where I could use what I’d learned during my Master’s to serve public policy.