Economics

Many of the world’s most pressing problems—discrimination, environmental destruction, inequality, inflation, poverty, underdevelopment, unemployment—are economic in nature. Economics is concerned with the study of the causes and the possible solutions to these and other economic and social problems.

As an economics student, you will acquire the necessary analytical tools to understand contemporary economic issues and to take reasoned positions in debates about economic and social policy. You will be in a position to apply these tools in a multitude of areas in a future career and be well prepared to continue study of economics at the graduate level.

Macroeconomics deals with the economy as a whole, with the forces behind economic growth, the problems occurring in the growth process (such as business cycles, inflation, and unemployment), and government policies to address these problems. Microeconomics focuses on the efficient allocation of resources among alternative uses and addresses such questions as how individuals, firms, and societies decide what to produce, how to produce, and how to distribute the output.

Economists study these important issues by combining theoretical models and data analysis. The great human interest of the subject, together with the rigor of its analysis make the study of economics continuously thought-provoking and relevant.