TSE, an economist's dream come true

"It's a miracle"! The Nobel Prize winner Eric Maskin was unreservedly exuberant when praising, in June 2008, the launch of an ambitious project: the creation of Toulouse School of Economics. To its President Jean Tirole, "TSE" - an acronym fast becoming known worldwide among the scientific community - is indeed a "fairy tale" coming true.
The origins of TSE can be traced back to the early 1980s, with the visionary strategy of the economist Jean-Jacques Laffont of bringing world-class scholars together in Toulouse to create an international centre of excellence in economics. His contagious enthusiasm soon spread to the considerable number of outstanding colleagues who left their prestigious academic positions in established institutions worldwide to join him in this exciting adventure.
Excellence, freedom, competition: since its institutionalisation in 2008, TSE has remained true to this threefold motto, reaching international visibility with remarkable swiftness. Constantly seeking to attract the best candidates on the global job market - be they "rising stars" or renowned academics - TSE has established itself as a prominent centre, ranked in the top 3 in Europe and the top 10 worldwide. Faculty members - now around 190 - are prolific in industrial economics and regulation, microeconomic theory, public economics, theoretical and applied econometrics, finance and insurance, macroeconomics, environmental and development economics - thus leaving few stones unturned.
Indeed, TSE's research agenda follows the doctrine of its founders; that economics should be rooted in the concrete challenges faced by public and private decision-makers. Hence TSE’s unique mix of fundamental and applied research and an impressive record of policy-relevant work in collaboration with regulators, corporations and public institutions. TSE has shaped the debate in competition policy, financial regulation and environmental policies.
TSE’s latest ambitious focus is on innovating the higher education scene in economics, with its new internationally competitive educational offer at both the undergraduate, postgraduate, PhD and corporate training levels, with courses taught in English. No wonder its student body now includes 70% of international scholars - tomorrow’s generation of outstanding economists in the making...

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