The study of economics investigates the consequences of scarcity, which forces people, organizations and governments to choose among competing objectives. Economics looks at these choices and how they affect the production of goods and services, market prices, national output, unemployment, inflation, economic growth and the use and distribution of resources within and across nations. Part of the social and behavioral sciences in the Columbian College of Arts and Sciences, the economics program exposes students to macroeconomics, microeconomics, labor economics, the economics of industry, international finance, international trade and development, money and banking, the economics of government and public policy and econometrics.

The Department of Economics, which is located within walking distance of the Federal Reserve, the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the Federal Trade Commission, and the Office of Management and Budget, offers several options of study:

• Bachelor of Arts in Economics
• Bachelor of Science in Economics
• Master of Arts in Applied Economics
• PhD in Economics