Economics and Politics

Economics and politics is one of the most powerful dual disciplines available at degree level, combining the analytical tools that economists use to understand markets, incentives, and resource allocation with the study of how power is distributed and exercised in societies and international systems. The two subjects are deeply intertwined in practice: economic conditions shape political possibilities, and political decisions determine economic outcomes. Together they give you both a rigorous quantitative framework for understanding the world and a sophisticated account of the institutions, interests, and ideas through which collective decisions are made.

At the University of Bristol this three-year programme builds your core economics knowledge in microeconomics, macroeconomics, and econometrics, the statistical methods used to estimate economic models, while also developing your understanding of political theory, comparative politics, and international relations. Bristol's research strength in both economics and politics gives the teaching a depth and rigour that reflects genuine scholarly engagement with the questions the disciplines address. You will develop quantitative skills alongside the analytical and written skills of political science, emerging with a combination that is genuinely distinctive.

Graduates from economics and politics programmes enter careers in the civil service, policy research, international organisations, journalism, law, finance, management consultancy, and politics itself. The combination of quantitative rigour and political understanding is particularly valued in roles at the intersection of policy and economics, including economic policy analysis, regulation, financial oversight, and international trade. Many graduates also go on to postgraduate study in economics, politics, public policy, or law, while others enter graduate schemes in financial services, consulting, or public administration.

The skills developed in this degree are widely recognised as some of the most versatile and valuable that a social science education can provide.