Economics Learning Outcomes

After finishing the Economics major, students should be able to:

• See the role of economic and other incentives in shaping human behavior in real-world situations.
• Understand the principles of microeconomics: uncertainty and risk, constrained optimization, production, distribution, consumption, and markets.
• Understand the principles of macroeconomics: economic growth, unemployment, inflation, money, interest rates, balance of payments, and exchange rates.
• Comprehend the structure, development, and impact of economic institutions.
• Appreciate the ethical concerns that should underlie economic policy: efficiency, fairness, equity, and individual freedom.
• Separate the normative from the positive content in economics propositions and research, including separating arguments based on special pleading from those aimed at serving the interests of humanity.
• Use statistics in order to analyze and understand a problem.
• Possess the mathematical skills needed to understand economic problems.
• Create or design a model in order to understand an economic problem.
• Generate or gather real-world data concerning economic issues.
• Write effectively about economics and communicate to readers clearly and fluently.
• Orally communicate economic ideas well, presenting theories and evidence clearly.