Economics

Faculty
The Major

Economics studies human behavior in many settings. At the household level, economics investigates how a household allocates its income across goods, and how a household chooses how much to work, spend, and save. At the market level, economics investigates consumer decisions (what to buy and how much to spend); decisions firms make about their production methods and levels of output; and how these decisions jointly determine market prices, structure, and performance. At the aggregate level, economics investigates the determinants of growth and fluctuations of national income, the determinants of inflation and unemployment, the nature of trade and financial flows between nations, and how all of these are influenced by government monetary and fiscal policy.

At its heart, however, economics is more than a set of questions, but rather is a mode of thought, a set of precise analytical tools that can be used to study a wide variety of social science problems. Students are introduced to these tools in the core methodology courses of Microeconomics, Macroeconomics, and Econometrics. With these tools in hand, students are then able to study a wide variety of topics including labor-market outcomes, the role of the banking sector, the economics of developing countries, international trade, the role of the public sector and of the political process, economic history, and the study of health and education. In addition, students have the option for advanced methodological study in dynamic optimization, game theory, and econometrics.

Website: www.arts.cornell.edu/econ

Faculty

L. Blume, chair; R. Smith, assoc. chair; S. Coate, director of undergraduate studies; Y. Hong, director of graduate studies; J. Abowd; C. Barrett, L. Barseghyan, P. Barwick, K. Basu, M. Battaglini, J. Berry, G. Besharov, F. Blau, G. Boyer, R. Burkhauser, J. Caunedo, J. Cawley, D. Easley, R. Ehrenberg, L. Falkson, G. Fields, R. Frank, K. Hallock, G. Hay, J.F. Houde, C. Huckfeldt, R. Hutchens, G. Jakubson, R. Jarrow, L. Kahn, R. Kanbur, G. Karolyi, D. Kenkel, N. Kiefer, C. Lim, T. Lyons, M. Majumdar, R. Masson, D. McKee, K. Mertens, T. Mitra, F. Molinari, K. Nimark, T. O’Donoghue, M. O’Hara, E. Patacchini, E. Prasad, V. Prowse, D. Sahn, B. Salcedo, K. Shell, J. Stoye, M. Thomas, S. Thomas, M. Troshkin, L. Vilhuber, H. Y. Wan, Jr., J. Wissink. Emeritus: R. Arsonson, T. E. Davis, P. D. McClelland, R. E. Schuler, E. Thorbecke, J. Vanek

The Major

Admission to the Major:

Before applying for admission to the Economics Major, students must complete ECON 1110 , ECON 1120 and MATH 1110 (or equivalents), with grades of C or better. After completing these courses, see the Director of Undergraduate Studies (DUS) for admission to the Major.

Requirements:

Twelve courses listed by the Department of Economics, or approved by the student’s major advisor, all with grades of C– or better (S–U grade option is not allowed).

These twelve courses must satisfy the following requirements:

(1) Econ 1110 and Econ 1120 count toward the 12 courses:

All other courses must be at the 3000-level or higher.

(2) All students must take:

ECON 3030

(3) All students must take:

ECON 3040

(4) All students must take:

Econometrics in one of the following ways:

(i) ECON 3110 and ECON 3120 OR

(ii) ECON 3130 and ECON 3140

Note:

Majors are strongly advised to complete requirements (2), (3), and (4) before the start of senior year.

(5) All students must take:

At least three courses at the 4000-level of higher.

(6) All students must take:

At least one course numbered 4900-4989. (This course also counts toward requirement (5).)

Note: The 4900-level seminar requirement has been suspended until further notice, and in particular for those planning to graduate before Jan 2018 (that is, with a degree date on or before Jan 2018).

(7) ECON 4990-4991:

The two-semester honors sequence can count as one course toward the twelve-course requirement.

In addition:

Credit for ECON 1110 and/or ECON 1120 can be obtained in the following ways: (i) taking these courses at Cornell, (ii) taking equivalent courses at another college or university and transferring the credit to Cornell, (iii) receiving a score of 4 or better on the associated A.P. Exam (A.P. Microeconomics for Econ 1110, A.P. Macroeconomics for Econ 1120), (iv) receiving a score of A on the GCE “A” Level Examination in Economics, and (v) receiving a score of 6 or 7 on the IB Higher-Level Examination in Economics. Note that ECON 1110 or ECON 1120 will count toward the 12 Economics courses required for the Major only if the student receives official Cornell credit for the course.

If both ECON 4010 and ECON 4020 are taken, only one can be applied to the major.

ECON 4999 cannot be counted toward the twelve-course requirement.

To obtain major credit for courses taken away from Cornell (including study abroad), please see the Director of Undergraduate Studies.

For further details, including a long list of FAQs, see the Economics Department website.

Major Rules for Transfer Students

Special rules apply for students who transfer to Cornell from another college or university — see the Economics Department website for details. Transfer students who plan to complete an Economics Major must meet with the Director of Undergraduate Studies to determine what transferred courses will apply to the requirements for the Economics Major.

Honors Program

Graduation in economics with honors requires the successful completion of an honors thesis in a year-long senior seminar. Students should consult the Director of Undergraduate Studies before May of their junior year for more information.