Economics (ECON)

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The Department of Economics offers two degree programs. The B.A. degree program provides students with a strong intuitive understanding of the role economic incentives play in shaping society, and in the role society plays in shaping incentives. The B.S. degree program, in addition, stresses statistical and quantitative methods used to model and evaluate human action, particularly as those actions are carried out by governments or businesses.

Both degree programs provide excellent preparation for employment in business, government, or the foreign service, for law school, or for graduate studies in business administration or in public policy studies. The B.S. degree program provides stronger preparation for graduate studies in economics.

The Department of Economics welcomes minors from any discipline. Some lower division economics courses can be used by nonmajors toward fulfilling the social sciences area requirement in the university’s general education program. The department also participates in the interdisciplinary minors in black studies, Chinese/Japanese studies, environmental studies, international studies, Latino/Latin American studies, public administration, and urban studies.

Department Requirement

The Department of Economics requires all economics majors to complete a capstone research paper in conjunction with ECON 492 or any other 400-level economics course. In this paper the student is expected to demonstrate a satisfactory ability to analyze an economic issue or problem and explain their findings effectively in writing. The research paper will be evaluated and jointly approved by the professor of the corresponding 400-level economics course and the director of undergraduate studies.

Economics Faculty

Virginia Wilcox Gök, Ph.D., Washington University, professor, chair
Susan Porter Hudak, Ph.D., University of Wisconsin, associate professor, assistant chair
Evan Anderson, Ph.D., University of Chicago, associate professor
Carl Campbell III, Ph.D., Princeton University, associate professor
Ai-ru Cheng, Ph.D., University of North Carolina, assistant professor
Jeremy Groves, Ph.D., Washington University, associate professor
Stephen Karlson, Ph.D., University of Wisconsin, associate professor 
Eliakim Katz, Ph.D., London University, professor
Mohammad Mirhosseini, Ph.D., University of Illinois, assistant professor
Khan A. Mohabbat, Ph.D., State University of New York, professor
Stephen Nord, Ph.D., University of Illinois, professor emeritus
George Slotsve, Ph.D., University of Wisconsin, associate professor
Wei Zhang, Ph.D., University of Wisconsin, assistant professor

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