Department of Economics
Students will learn how markets and other governance structures organize core economic activities, such as production, distribution, and consumption, and the growth of productive resources. Students will be able to identify and explain economic concepts and theories related to the behavior of economic agents, markets, industry and firm structures, legal institutions, social norms, and government policies. Students will be able to integrate theoretical knowledge with quantitative and qualitative evidence in order to explain past economic events and to formulate predictions on future ones. Students will be able to evaluate the consequences of economic activities and institutions for individual and social welfare. Students will be able to identify the basic features of alternative representations of human behavior in economics. Students will learn about the determinants of macroeconomic conditions (national output, employment, and inflation), causes of business cycles, and interactions of monetary and financial markets with the real economy, familiarizing themselves in the process with major economic theories of relevance. Students will develop the communication skills necessary to succeed in securing professional employment or admission to appropriate post-graduate programs.