The aim of the PhD Economics programme is the development of students who (a) develop a very high degree of technical ability in economic theory and methods, to allow advanced career progression in the field, and (b) are supported to make an original research contribution to knowledge through high level peer-reviewed publication. The PhD programme is affiliated with the prestigious Scottish Graduate Programme in Economics and is accredited by the Economic and Social Research Council. In REF 2014, Stirling was placed 6th in Scotland and 45th in the UK with almost three quarters of research activity rated either world-leading or internationally excellent. The reputation of our research at Stirling Management School was recognised in the 2014 Research Excellence Framework (REF), where the School was placed in the UK's top 25 institutions for Business and Management, out of 101 business schools. In Scotland, the School was ranked in the top five. 64% of our research outputs were classified as world-leading and internationally excellent in terms of their originality, significance and rigour and we were ranked 14th in the UK in terms of research impact with over 60% of our research impact judged to have outstanding reach and wide-ranging impact on the policies of public, private and governmental organisations.