Program
People often think that economists study the stock market, tax tables and money, but they are wrong. Economics has a much broader scope. It examines how the world uses its limited resources to satisfy human needs and desires. Economics studies the choices people make. Since every choice involves giving up alternatives, economists focus on tradeoffs. Economists deal with questions such as:
- What do Montanans receive to compensate them for low salaries?
- What policies are needed to keep the U.S. out of a recession and what do they cost?
- What tradeoffs are necessary in order to save a tree, a species or an ecosystem?
- What are the costs of environmental damage and what sacrifices must be made to avoid the damage?
- What would an effective strategy to help under-developed countries improve their standard of living cost developed nations?
Economic knowledge can be applied internationally or close to home. In either case, it will increase your ability to understand the ramifications of current events worldwide.
The goal of the undergraduate and graduate Economics programs is to provide an educational experience that leads our students to knowledge and critical understanding of social phenomena from an economic perspective. Our students will understand the workings of markets, the advantages and limitations of government intervention in markets, and the basic issues of microeconomics (household and commercial firm decision making) and macroeconomics (the role of economy-wide aggregates). Our students have the ability to apply appropriate economic models to real world situations and to evaluate basic economic analyses critically. They will be able to formulate a basic research agenda and know how to access the professional economics literature and commonly used economic databases. Our students must also be able to express themselves in a clear and articulate way both verbally and in writing. In addition, they need to be able to work cooperatively with other professionals in problem solving.