The Division of Economics is a major division in the School of Humanities and Social Sciences. It has its roots in the Division of Applied Economics in the Nanyang Business School, which was established in 1993. Economics as a subject offering however goes back to the historical days of Nanyang University (1955). The Division is supported by a large mix of local and international faculty, all of whom have PhDs from renowned universities from around the world. Faculty members contribute and participate regularly in major international conferences and have served as consultants to prominent international organisations such as the United Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund and Asian Development Bank. Faculty members have also provided advice and expertise to local institutions and government ministries such as the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Trade and Industry, the Ministry of Manpower, the Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources and the Ministry of Health. They have also made their expertise available to statutory boards like the Monetary Authority of Singapore, the Economic Development Board, the IE Singapore and the Maritime and Port Authority.

Faculty members are actively involved in research in many fields of theoretical and applied economics. These include the Economies of China and East Asia; Singapore and ASEAN Economies; Financial Economics; Population; Labour Economics; Industrial Relations; Public Sector Economics; Health and the Ageing Population; Game Theory; Urban Economics; Environmental Economics; and many other areas of Economics.

NTU faculty also regularly publish in major internationally refereed journals, including the American Journal of Economics and Sociology; China Economic Review; Economic Journal; Economic Letters; Economic Modelling; JournaL of Statistical Computation and SimuLation; Journal of Actuarial Practice; Economics of Education Review; Environment and PLanning; InternationaL Economic Review; InternationaL Economic JournaL; InternationaL JournaL of Forecasting; Journal of Econometrics; Journal of Economic Theory; Journal of Development Economics; Journal of DeveLopment Studies; Journal of ComparativeEconomic Studies; Journal of Comparative Economics; JournaL of Economic Behavior and Organization; Land Economics; Open Economies Review; InternationaL Review of Law and Economics; Applied Economics; Journal of Public Economics; Journal of InternationaL Trade and Economic Development; and World Development.

The Singapore Economic Review, a major journal in the Asia-Pacific region, is housed in this Division.