These are Europe's 16 most elite economics degrees

Economics as a university subject has boomed in popularity since the financial crisis, and so has competition for the best students.

All of this makes the question of which European institutions are best for studying the subject a big one.

Every year QS produces a comprehensive ranking of the world's best universities, broken down by both region and subject.

QS' latest ranking was released on Tuesday and includes data about which universities provide the best education in the discipline of economics and econometrics.

The university ranking is based on the institution's reputation with academics and employers, and the number of research citations the school gets per paper published in a specific discipline - in this case, economics and econometrics. It then gives each course a score out of 100.

Many of the best universities for the study of economics are in the USA, but Business Insider decided to pull out the best performing institutions in Europe. You can check them out below (overall rankings are in brackets).