Economic development is a study that prepares students to use economic theories to create policies that help a nation’s people prosper economically and socially. This area of economics focuses on the growth of a country and its citizens.

Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian island city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, 137 kilometers north of the equator. A number of foreign universities, business schools and specialised institutes have also setup their Asian campuses in Singapore. Singapore is one of the safest major cities in the world by virtually any measure.

The PhD is a doctoral degree, specifically called a "doctor of philosophy" degree. This is misleading because PhD holders are not necessarily philosophers (unless they earned their degree in philosophy!). That said, PhD recipients are able to engage in thought experiments, reason about problems, and solve problems in sophisticated ways.