Ökonomin

Ökonomin is the feminine form of Ökonom in German and refers to a professional who studies, analyzes, and applies economic theories and data to understand how resources are allocated. Ökonominnen work in academia, government, the private sector, and international organizations, performing research, policy advice, forecasting, and economic analysis. They may specialize in macroeconomics, microeconomics, econometrics, development economics, finance, labor economics, health economics, or other fields.

Education for Ökonominnen typically requires a university degree in economics, often with master’s or doctoral studies for research-focused roles. Training emphasizes mathematical methods, statistics, econometrics, data analysis, and empirical evaluation. Proficiency with modeling and data-analysis tools such as R, Python, Stata, or Matlab is common. Strong analytical and communicative skills are important for explaining complex results to non-specialists.

Career paths for Ökonominnen are diverse: academic researchers and lecturers; policy analysts in ministries, central banks, or statistical offices; economists in financial institutions, consulting firms, or international organizations; and researchers in think tanks or non-governmental organizations. Their work includes data interpretation, economic modeling, policy impact assessment, welfare analysis, and the communication of findings to decision-makers and the public.

The term derives from Ökonomie (the science of the economy) with the feminine suffix -in. The masculine form is Ökonom, and plural forms reflect gender: Ökonomen (mixed or male) and Ökonominnen (feminine).