Economic Geography

The world is changing at a rapid pace and the consequences affect regions and people unevenly. Technological changes, such as digitalization and automation, affect the way jobs are organized and how the economy is structured. Climate change increases the risk of food shortages, water scarcity, and the occurrence of natural disasters. These, in turn, affect people’s wellbeing and businesses’ production decisions and possibilities. In many places, demographic changes, such as ageing and migration, challenge the provision of services and call for a new organization of the society. The effects of these global megatrends are not symmetric, some people benefit some do not, some place benefits some do not.

Economic Geography in Groningen is about understanding these inequalities across space and people: regional differences in economic structure and performance as well as in socio-economic outcomes in a broad sense. Our starting point in understanding these inequalities between places and people are the actions of three main economic actors: Firms, People, and the Government. Understanding their behaviour (e.g., migration, firm location, policies) is an important pillar of the programme.

The master in Economic Geography develops your academic research and professional skills so that you can analyze such regional developments and formulate policy avenues to govern these processes locally, nationally, and internationally. This makes Economic Geography in Groningen an empirical and pragmatic programme that is relevant for society.

Our graduates are specialists in regional economic development with a keen eye on the role of policy. For those interested in the role of international trade and globalization in regional economic development we offer a track in Regional Competitiveness and Trade, where you will specialize in a quantitative and model based economic approach. We also offer a track in Sustainable Rural Futures, where you will explore the rural-specific socio-spatial impacts of global transformations and how rural regions and communities deal with such transformations in socially and environmentally sustainable and place-specific ways.

If you are interested in following a two-year programme in Economic Geography in two different countries (the Netherlands and Germany) where you get two master's degrees, then our Double Degree Master International Programme in Economic Geography is the master programme for you!

If you are looking for a two-year programme and are interested in doing research, you can also integrate the master in Economic Geography with our two-year Research Master in Spatial Sciences.