Tinbergen Institute

What Tinbergen Institute does

Tinbergen Institute is a graduate school and research institute jointly operated by the schools of economics of three Dutch universities: Erasmus University Rotterdam (EUR), University of Amsterdam (UvA), and Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (VU). Founded in 1987 and headquartered on the Roeterseiland campus of the University of Amsterdam with operations also at Erasmus University's Woudestein campus in Rotterdam, the institute delivers two research master's programs — a Research Master in Economics and a Research Master in Business Data Science — designed as a structured pathway to PhD positions under the supervision of affiliated research fellows. The institute also operates an annual Summer School covering specialized topics including Development Economics, Economics of Climate Change, Sustainable Finance, Applied Public Policy Evaluation, Deep Learning, Foundations of Machine Learning with Applications in Python, and Economics of Blockchain and Digital Currencies, alongside the Tinbergen Institute Lectures series of advanced PhD-level courses and recurring annual conferences.

The institute's underlying 'technology' is its academic research infrastructure: a network of research fellows across nine research fields (behavioral economics, complexity, econometrics, empirical microeconomics, finance, macroeconomics, organizations and markets, spatial economics), a discussion paper archive, a PhD and master's thesis repository, and an event calendar spanning seminars, lectures, defenses, and conferences hosted in Amsterdam, Rotterdam, and online. The community ecosystem includes a documented alumni placement record at international universities, exemplified by placements such as Copenhagen Business School.

Commercially, Tinbergen Institute operates as a non-profit academic consortium rather than a venture-backed company and does not disclose standalone revenue. Revenue mechanics consist of tuition and participation fees from external (non-affiliated) students and professionals in research master's programs, summer school courses (€100–€1,000 per course depending on participant category), and TI Lectures series (€100 for external research master students, €500 for external PhD students and faculty, €1,000 for external/professional participants). Affiliated students from EUR, UvA, and VU receive subsidized or free access, making the tri-university partnership the structural backbone of the institution's economics rather than a commercial revenue driver.

Name

Tinbergen Institute

Legal name

Tinbergen Institute

Website

https://tinbergen.nl

Company type

Private

Founded year

1987

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Tinbergen Institute is a non-profit graduate school and research institute in economics and business, jointly operated by Erasmus University Rotterdam, the University of Amsterdam, and VU Amsterdam, offering research master's programs, summer schools, and lectures serving prospective and current PhD students.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Higher Education - Economics Graduate School

akta.pro primary industry

Management Research Institutes & Doctoral (PhD/DBA) Programs (EDAHAHAO)

akta.pro secondary industries

International & Global Research Universities (Multi-Campus/International Footprint) (EDAHABAI), Research & Lab-Based Short-Term Programs (Undergraduate/Graduate) (EDAIAIAF), Economic & Macroeconomic Research (BPAHALAD)

Keywords

• Graduate economics school
• Research master program
• Academic research institute
• PhD economics training
• Summer school economics

Headquarters

HQ city

Amsterdam

HQ country

Netherlands

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Tuition fees - Research Master's programs: Revenue from tuition fees for Research Master's programs in Economics and Business Data Science. External participants pay fees while affiliated students from member universities receive subsidized access.
2. Summer School fees: Revenue from summer school programs including Applied Public Policy Evaluation, Deep Learning, Development Economics, Economics of Climate Change, and others. External participants pay tuition fees ranging from €100 for external research master students to €1000 for external professionals.
3. TI Lectures fees: Participation fees for Tinbergen Institute Lectures series. External Research Master Students: €100; External PhD students and Faculty: €500; External/professional: €1000. Free for enrolled TI Research Master's students and faculty from affiliated schools.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Tinbergen Institute is a joint graduate school and research institute in economics, econometrics, and business data science. It delivers research master's (MPhil) and PhD programs, an annual summer school, the Tinbergen Institute Lectures series, and academic conferences, operated cooperatively by the economics faculties of Erasmus University Rotterdam, the University of Amsterdam, and Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam.

Product overview

Tinbergen Institute is a graduate school and research institute jointly operated by Erasmus University Rotterdam (EUR), University of Amsterdam (UvA), and Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (VU). The institution offers two research master's programs — the Research Master in Economics and the Research Master in Business Data Science — designed to prepare students for PhD trajectories. The portfolio also includes an annual Summer School offering intensive short courses across specialized economics and data science topics, the Tinbergen Institute Lectures series featuring advanced PhD-level courses by international scholars, and annual conferences including the Opening Conference and Annual Conference. Founded in 1987, the institute serves as a gateway to PhD positions for students completing its research master's programs.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Research Master's (MPhil) in Economics A two-year research-oriented master's (Master of Philosophy) program in economics, designed for students aiming to pursue a PhD or research career, jointly taught by faculty from Erasmus University Rotterdam, the University of Amsterdam, and Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam.
• Research Master's (MPhil) in Business Data Science A two-year research master's program combining economics with modern data science and quantitative methods, targeting students who want to apply advanced analytics to business and economic problems.
• PhD Program in Economics A doctoral training program in economics and related fields, with coursework and research supervision provided by faculty from the three partner universities and access to the institute's research seminars and workshops.
• Tinbergen Institute Summer School An annual summer school providing intensive short courses in advanced topics in economics, econometrics, and data science, open to PhD students, external researchers, and professionals.
• Tinbergen Institute Lectures A recurring public lecture series in which prominent economists present frontier research, open to the academic community and the public.
• Tinbergen Institute Annual Conference A large annual scientific conference in economics organized by the institute, bringing together researchers from the partner universities and the international economics community.

Quantifiable outcome

• PhD placement success at institutions like Copenhagen Business School and other international universities

Named customers2 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Erasmus University Rotterdam (EUR)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEUR's School of Economics (ESE) is one of three founding partner universities. Provides research fellows, PhD supervision, and hosts TI activities at the Rotterdam campus including the Econometric Institute and TI Econometrics Lectures.
• University of Amsterdam (UvA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUvA's School of Economics (ASE) and Amsterdam Business School (ABS) are founding partners. Hosts the primary Amsterdam campus at Roeterseiland and the opening conference venue De Brug. Provides research fellows and student offices.
• Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (VU)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerVU's School of Business and Economics (SBE) is a founding partner. Contributes research fellows across various economics fields including development economics, finance, and econometrics.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• ZEW – Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research: ZEW is a German policy-oriented economic research institute that also runs graduate-level training programs and summer schools; it overlaps with Tinbergen on the research-and-training side, though it is more applied/policy-oriented than Tinbergen's academic focus.

Direct peers

• Stockholm School of Economics (SSE): SSE's Economics PhD and MSc programs, along with its Misum and House of Finance research centers, position it as a direct Nordic peer with a similar graduate-school-plus-research-institute structure and industry-engaged applied economics work.
• Toulouse School of Economics (TSE): TSE is a research-intensive European economics school offering masters, PhD and postdoc tracks with a comparable model of research-driven graduate education, topical summer schools, and a strong international visiting-fellows program.
• Institute for International Economic Studies (IIES), Stockholm University: IIES is a research institute within Stockholm University dedicated to graduate and PhD-level economics research, sharing Tinbergen's model of a dedicated economics research graduate school with international visiting scholars and discussion paper series.
• London School of Economics (LSE): LSE's Department of Economics and related graduate programs are a direct peer: a top European economics graduate school offering MSc and PhD pathways, summer schools, and public lecture series with a similar academic-to-professional pipeline as Tinbergen Institute.
• Bocconi University: Bocconi's graduate programs in economics and finance, plus its PhD school, mirror Tinbergen's combination of research masters, summer schools, and a strong international placement record, making it a close direct peer in continental Europe.
• Paris School of Economics (PSE): PSE is a consortium economics research and graduate school combining multiple Paris institutions, structurally analogous to Tinbergen's three-university Dutch consortium, with masters, PhD, and a comparable visiting-economists lecture series.
• CEMFI (Center for Monetary and Financial Studies): CEMFI is a Madrid-based graduate school offering masters and PhD programs in economics and finance with a small, research-intensive model that closely resembles Tinbergen Institute's scale and pedagogy.
• European University Institute (EUI) — Department of Economics: EUI's Economics department offers a four-year PhD program and research masters with cross-European faculty, making it a direct peer in the European research-economics-graduate-school category where Tinbergen competes for faculty and applicants.

Others

• CEPR (Centre for Economic Policy Research): CEPR is a pan-European network that organizes conferences, research dissemination and policy programs in economics; it is adjacent rather than directly competing with Tinbergen, but intersects on events, visiting scholars, and research-output channels.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/researchti
• Facebookfacebook.com/InstituteTinbergen
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/tinbergen-institute

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Tinbergen Institute