Top Universities for Economics in 2019

Top Universities for Economics in 2019

Belkis Megraoui

Updated January 16, 2020 Updated January 16

This year, the newly-released QS World University Rankings by Subject includes 500 of the world’s best universities for economics, each ranked based on a methodology which assesses four significant indicators: academic reputation, employer reputation, research citations per paper, and H-index (which measures both the impact and productivity of publications by scientists and scholars).

Read on for a regional overview of the top economic schools in 2019, or click here for the full table.

Top 10 Universities for Economics Worldwide

Based on the QS World University Rankings by Subject 2019

Rank

Name of Institution Location

1

Harvard University

United States

2

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

US

3

Stanford University

US

4

University of California, Berkeley (UCB)

US

5

University of Chicago

US

6

London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE)

United Kingdom

7

Princeton University

US

8

Yale University

US

9

University of Oxford

UK

10

University of Cambridge

UK

View the full ranking of top economic schools >

Top universities for economics in the US and Canada

Claiming just over 100 top economic schools in the ranking this year, the US continues to dominate, while Canada is home to a total of 18 institutions.

As well as having seven entrants in the top 10, the US has a further seven in the global top 20 for economics: Columbia University (ranked 11th); Northwestern University (12th); University of Pennsylvania (13th); University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) (14th); New York University (NYU) (15th); University of Michigan (19th); University of California, San Diego (UCSD) (20th) – and a further 21 feature in the top 100 worldwide.

Meanwhile, Canada claims two universities in the top 30 for this subject: University of Toronto (21st) and University of British Columbia (29th), and two in the top 100: McGill University and Western University.       

Top universities for economics in Europe

Over in Europe, almost 200 of the best universities for economics are ranked, 48 of which are in the UK – with three institutions placing the global top 10, and a further three in the top 50: UCL (University College London) (17th); the University of Warwick, up two spots to rank 28th this year; and the London Business School (36th).

With the second-most entrants in the economics university ranking this year is Germany, which has 24 representatives in the economics university ranking this year. Its highest-ranked, Universität Mannheim, climbed up from 51-100 to place 44th this year – while its second-highest ranked, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, retains a spot in the global top 100.

Italy claims 22 top economics schools in total, with Università Commerciale Luigi Bocconi, maintaining its position of 16th, while Università di Bologna ranks in the world’s top 100.

Next up in the economics ranking this year are France and Spain, both claiming 15 institutions each, with Spain’s Universidad Carlos III de Madrid being the only institution to secure a spot in the global top 50, at joint 50th. In the global top 100, both France and Spain claim three spots each – with Spain’s Barcelona Graduate School of Economics and France’s Université PSL (Paris Sciences & Lettres) both being new entrants this year.

The Netherlands follows with 10 representatives in total, with Tilburg University shooting up an impressive seven places in the economics ranking this year to place joint 41st. Two more universities – Erasmus University Rotterdam and the University of Amsterdam – rank in the top 100 worldwide.

Switzerland and Sweden are both home to eight of the best economics universities each, with Switzerland claiming two spots in the global top 50, having seen the University of Zurich climb a remarkable 10 places this year to rank 33rd, while ETH Zurich (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology) places 35th worldwide. Meanwhile, Sweden’s only institution in the top 50 is the Stockholm School of Economics, which climbed three spots to rank in joint 37th place this year.

Russia claims seven entrants in the economic ranking, led by the National Research University – Higher School of Economics (HSE), which climbed from 101-150 to 51-100 this year. It’s followed by Belgium, home to six institutions in the economics ranking, with three of its highest-ranked in the global 51-100 range, including Katholieke Universiteit Leuven.

Denmark, Greece and Portugal all currently host a total of five schools each in the economics ranking, with Denmark claiming two in the top 100 (Aarhus University and the University of Copenhagen); while Greece’s Athens University of Economics and Business sits in the global top 200.

Elsewhere, Norway is home to four of the world’s top universities for economics, including the University of Oslo in the top 150. And Ireland and Finland have three representatives each: Trinity College Dublin (TCD) and University College Dublin (UCD) rank at 101-150, while Finland’s Aalto University places 151-200.

Hungary, Czech Republic and Poland each have just two schools in the economics ranking this year, with the Central European University in Hungary ranking in the top 200 worldwide.  

And finally, with just one representative each are Lithuania, Slovenia, Estonia, Romania, Cyprus and Luxembourg – the latter five all presenting new entrants to the economics ranking this year.

Top universities for economics in Asia

Leading the economics university ranking in Asia this year is China, with 23 entrants, including Peking University and Tsinghua University in the top 50 in 30th and joint 31st places respectively, with Tsinghua having climbed six spots this year.

Japan follows with 16 representatives in total, including its highest-ranked, the University of Tokyo, which now places 23rd in the economics ranking after climbing six spots.

With 11 representatives each are South Korea and Taiwan, with South Korea’s Seoul National University (SNU) ranked 46th, while Taiwan’s highest-ranked institution continues to be National Taiwan University (NTU) in the 51-100 range.

Hong Kong and Malaysia are each home to seven top universities for economics this year, with the highest-ranked institutions found in Hong Kong – the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) ranks the highest, in joint 26th place, while the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) places 39th and the University of Hong Kong (HKU) is 43rd. In Malaysia, Universiti Malaya (UM)  climbed from 151-200 to 101-150 in this year’s economics ranking.

Though with just three entrants, Singapore’s highest-ranked top economics school is the National University of Singapore (NUS), ranked 18th this year. Meanwhile Nanyang Technological University (NTU) is ranked 47th, while Singapore Management University maintains its position in the top 100 worldwide.

Also with three entrants each are Thailand and Pakistan, followed by Indonesia with two, and Macau, Philippines and Bangladesh with just one representative each.

Top universities for economics in Australia and New Zealand

Over in Australasia, Australia is home to 22 of the world’s top universities for economics, including five in the top 50: the University of Melbourne (ranked 24th), Australian National University (ANU) (25th), the University of New South Wales (UNSW) (=31st), the University of Sydney (up 10 places to rank joint 37th) and Monash University (45th).

Close by in New Zealand, the University of Auckland is currently the study destination’s top university for an economics degree, coming in the 51-100 range worldwide.

Top universities for economics in Latin America

The Latin American region is home to 26 top economic schools in total, with the majority based in Brazil (eight) and five in Colombia. Chile and Argentina claim four each, while Mexico has three, and Peru and Uruguay are home to two each. Of these, the best performer is Chile’s Pontificia Universidad Católica, which ranks in the global top 100. Colombia, Mexico and Brazil are all home to one institution in the global top 150 for economics, with Mexico’s Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM) climbing from 151-200.

Top universities for economics in Africa & the Middle East

Heading to Africa, South Africa has five entrants, including the University of Cape Town, which moved up from 251-300 to rank in the 201-250 range.

In the Middle East, Turkey features six entrants in total, with Koç University claiming the top spot, moving up from 251-300 to 201-250.  

Israel has four entrants, with the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Tel Aviv University both ranked at 101-150 and therefore taking the lead in the Middle East.

Saudi Arabia claims two institutions ranked among the world’s 500 best universities for economics, of which King Saud University (KSU) ranks the highest, at 351-400.

Finally, with just one entrant each are Lebanon, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar; Egypt’s Cairo University is a new entrant to the economics university ranking this year, as is King Abdul Aziz University (KAU) in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates University and  Qatar University.

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This article was originally published in February 2019 . It was last updated in January 2020

Written by

A former content writer for TopUniversities.com, Belkis published a range of articles for students and graduates across the globe. She has a zeal for history and a natural flair for the arts and sports. She also holds a bachelor’s degree in English Language & Communication with Journalism from the University of Hertfordshire and is a native speaker of the Arabic language.

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