Macroeconomic Policy and Financial Markets Program

The Macroeconomic Policy and Financial Markets Program (MPFM) at BSE gives students the analytical tools that central banks, private financial institutions, and international organizations demand to understand the forces driving today’s economies and financial markets.

One skill set, endless opportunities

Whether your goal is a career at a central bank, a financial firm, an international institution, or a public agency, you’ll need the same core capabilities: rigorous macroeconomic modeling, sharp empirical techniques, and the ability to turn data into decisions and recommendations. The MPFM program is built exactly around that overlap.

You will master the theoretical models institutions rely on to understand monetary policy, fiscal policy, labor markets, and asset pricing — including dynamic stochastic general equilibrium (DSGE) models. And you’ll pair that with the empirical toolkit modern institutions actually use day to day: VAR, panel data, nowcasting and forecasting tools, Bayesian techniques, nonlinear models, and machine learning methods. Every model is taught with rigor — not just how to use it, but also why, and when it could break down.

Coding fluency, not just theory

With this program you can be proficient in Matlab, Python, and R — the three languages that show up across the program’s coursework and across the desks of the institutions you’re aiming for.

Why employers actively seek out this combination

Employers consistently tell us the same thing: it’s hard to find candidates who combine theoretical depth, empirical skill, and coding ability in one person. MPFM graduates walk into the job market already equipped with these blended skills which is why they’re recruited across such a wide range of institutions:

• Central banks and other public institutions — central banks, ministries, the Treasury, and other public agencies
• Private financial sector — commercial and investment banks, and consulting firms
• International organizations

Recent graduates have gone on to roles at the European Central Bank, national central banks, the European Investment Bank, the OECD, BBVA Research, Oxford Economics, Fitch Ratings, and Goldman Sachs, among many others.

A launchpad for further studies

The program’s rigor also prepares students for top PhD programs — MPFM alumni have been admitted to graduate programs at  CEMFI, the University of Cambridge, the University of Bonn, Bocconi University, the European University Institute, the Stockholm School of Economics, Queen Mary University, Washington University in St. Louis, UC Santa Cruz, and IESE.

From models to real-world answers

You won’t just learn the techniques — you’ll apply them. An independent master’s thesis lets you put your new skills to work answering a real macro-financial question, giving you a concrete, defensible piece of research to bring straight into interviews.