The Department of Economic and Regional Development was founded in 1989. It is the only Department within the Greek university system offering undergraduate and graduate courses in Economics and Regional Science. Approximately 230 undergraduate students and 60 graduate students are admitted to the Department every year. With a long tradition in the field, the Department aims to provide up-to-date education and research in this very attractive and rapidly growing field of studies with important theoretical foundations and empirical applications to address the key challenges of a changing contemporary world.
The Department of Economic and Regional Development, is devoted to a relatively new academic field that embodies a contemporary, interdisciplinary understanding of the nature and character of economic policy and economic development. The entire philosophy of the Department is based on the idea that the analysis of economic development is a complex process which incorporates the market economy, state policies and people’s prosperity across space and over time. Development constitutes the core issue in the Department; economy and space are seen as closely interrelated issues, which significantly influence the development process and are also influenced by it. The functioning and the analysis of the economic system, microeconomic behaviour, public policy, and the functioning of cities and regions within a globalised economic system – along with the relevant economic and spatial analysis techniques – constitute the core interests of the Department.
Graduates of the Department of Economics and Regional Development are able to work in the private, public and the social sector of the economy. They are entitled to membership in the Greek Chamber of Commerce and thereafter, have all the professional rights of an economist. In addition, they are entitled to participate in Scientific Associations such as the European Regional Science Association and the Hellenic Regional Scientists Association.
Graduates of our Programme can go on to engage in professional activities, pro-jects and academic fields such as economics, public policy, public administration, planning, consultancy services, etc.
In the private sector, graduates of the department work as independent re- searchers, and as executives in firms which undertake regional development studies at the local, regional, and sectoral levels. They evaluate investments, a variety of programmes and the real estate market. They also work as economists in private firms or as accountants.
In the public sector, graduates of the department are able to work as executives in the administration of the EU, National and Local Government (Municipal and Regional), in the Decentralized Regional Administration, in the Central Administration (in Ministries) and in Public Corporations and Organizations. Their work focuses on subjects related to economic development at the national, regional and local level. They are also qualified to teach political economy in secondary schools.
Finally, the completion of undergraduate and graduate studies in the Department broadens our graduates’ horizons as they have the option of pursuing an academic career.
Go to the Department Website: Department of Economic and Regional Development