The tools of economics are used to analyze interactions among consumers, firms, and governments, particularly as they relate to the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. This framework is integral to the study of competition, government behavior, globalization, poverty, discrimination, the environment, and other issues of public and private life. Indeed, John Maynard Keynes described economics as “a method rather than a doctrine, an apparatus of the mind, a technique of thinking, which helps its possessors to draw correct conclusions." more...
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 Together with Professor Randy Nelson, Dana Professor of Economics Clifford Reid uses longitudinal data from the movie industry to study timing in markets. One major research project seeks to explain why the period between a film's theatrical release and its debut on DVD has declined rapidly in recent years. A second research project examines the increasing trend toward simultaneous or nearly simultaneous release of U.S. movies in domestic and foreign markets.
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Students in economics learn a systematic approach to studying social phenomena. Classes emphasize theoretical modeling, empirical analysis, and critical thinking. In addition to completing the core courses in microeconomic and macroeconomic theory, students choose from a wide variety of electives, including international trade and finance, comparative economic systems, labor economics, industrial organization, economic development, economic history, money and banking, public economics, mathematical economics and game theory, and econometrics. Economics majors also complete a senior seminar and conduct research projects on topics of their own choosing.
 Within the major, students may elect concentrations in financial markets, international economics, public policy, and mathematical economics. Graduates of the program pursue careers in a wide variety of fields, including finance, banking, government, consulting, business, health administration, teaching, advocacy, and non-profit administration. The major also provides an excellent foundation for graduate study in economics, law, public policy, business administration, and other fields.
The Department of Economics actively contributes to interdisciplinary programs at Colby, including American Studies; East Asian Studies; Environmental Studies; International Studies; Latin American Studies; Science, Technology, and Society; and Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies.
Department of Economics faculty members regularly publish articles in prestigious academic journals, write leading textbooks in the discipline, and contribute to scholarly edited volumes. Department members also serve as economic advisers to the state, national, and foreign governments as well as to industry. They present their research at conferences and seminars around the world, including in the Department of Economics Research Seminar Series at Colby.
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Title TBA
Sara LaLumia
Williams College
September 19, 2008
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Title TBA
Richard Akresh
University of Illinois
October 3, 2008
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Title TBA
Peter Leeson
George Mason University
October 17, 2008
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Title TBA
Herman Kamil
International Monetary Fund
November 14, 2008
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| Speakers in the Research Seminar series in the spring will include Nathan Nunn (Harvard) and Beata Smarzynska Javorcik (Oxford). Check this space for a detailed schedule in the spring. |
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