What students, faculty, and recent graduates say about Economics at Principia.

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A logical and practical science

"I have a stronger sense of how the economy works," says a senior also majoring in Spanish. "The econ major gives you a broad base from which to do business, from which to understand political issues regarding economics and what should be done about the economy." He adds, "The logical sequential type of thinking you need to have in economics gives you a launching pad from which to understand different things." One senior, who started his economics major at another liberal arts college before transferring to Principia, notes, "It is both a logical science and one that is very practical." Taking the issue of practicality beyond numbers, a senior cites the microeconomics course, which "teaches why people make consumer decisions in terms of scarcity and choice. I enjoy learning about that," he adds, "and understanding why people's behavior is the way it is."

The role of economics in communities, cultures

"When you start studying economics," says a professor, "all you're doing is formalizing your methods of behavior, formalizing the principles that you've been using unconsciously all along, elaborating those principles, and expanding them in order to become a better citizen, better thinker, business person, decision maker. Economics is natural." A recent graduate, involved with a large community development agency, says a lot of what he is doing "gets back to the theory of economic development within a community and other economics training that I had at Prin." A senior econ major chose to study labor economics and the economics of labor markets. In his Developing Economic Systems course he "was able to see how economic behavior in the labor market was different because of different cultures and different philosophies of those governments."

The wide reach of economics

"Almost everything we see going on in the world deals with economics," says a graduate who now teaches economics. "It's not just about money. The definition of economics is a study of how rational people make choices, and this helps them understand the choices that are made by governments and by people in general. It helps them understand and articulate how to make good choices within a profession." Another econ professor cites the focus in some of his classes on the environment, saying, "It's people who pollute, so we should study people and especially the economic behavior of people. We need to know about human beings and what economics has to teach about protecting the environment. The Clean Air Act, for instance, has some tradable pollution permit features that are very helpful to the environment. I wouldn't have known about this had I not studied economics."

The environment isn't the only issue that students can tie in with their economics major. According to a professor, "Regulatory issues—the airlines, garbage, drugs—economic principles play a role in all of these things." And a graduate notes, "There are certain elements of political science that are brought into economic studies. Specifically, as you take a look at the shaping of modern economic thought, more of it becomes learned with political thinking as you look back two or three hundred years."

A framework for understanding the business world

"Even if you just want to go into buying and selling real estate," says a senior also majoring in business administration, "there is a market right there. You see all the different markets there are in society—real estate, securities, stock market. Lots of general theories behind how they work apply to almost all markets." Another student cites the need to understand the history of the subject. "You have to do a lot of reading because there are so many people who contributed to the development of economics and economic thought." Once you understand these theories, he adds, "you understand how things are related to market systems. And you can apply this understanding to other subjects."

"I really enjoyed learning how the economy works and how different things that take place affect the overall economy," remarks a current econ major. A senior who is also majoring in business administration says of economics, "It gives you a solid background in how to approach things in your thought, how to develop ideas. It gives you different theories about how things are related to market systems." One graduate, who went to work on Wall Street for Chase Manhattan Bank after graduation and is now in the packaged goods industry working for Edy's Grand Ice Cream, says, "The econ major helps provide a little more of the big picture, outside the firm itself."

Beyond theory

A graduate says, " I got some practical experience with economics from my internship with The Institute for National Economics in Washington, D.C., an organization that deals with integration economics." This alumna went on to get her graduate degree from the University of California, Davis. "The econ major taught me a lot about how people behave in markets and how the stock market reacts to economic news," says a senior currently researching careers. He adds, "Next for me is probably going to New York and working somewhere in the finance industry as an economic or financial analyst or working in corporate finance." When asked how her econ major prepared her for life after college, a graduate who also majored in history says, "I took economics because I was scared of economics. But when I took my first course I loved it. I just couldn't stop. So I ended up majoring in it. And when I got out of school, that's what I did. I became an economic analyst."