Economics is the study of all those aspects of individual and social activities related to the choice, production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. In relation to these decisions, economics is concerned with the behavior and interaction of individuals, private firms, and other institutions and government agencies. Thus, economics contributes to the understanding of many important social problems: changes in efficiency and productivity, fluctuations in the overall levels of economic activity and employment, inflation, the effects of government deficits, the growth and decline of industries, changes in foreign exchange rates, increases in international indebtedness, and the behavior of the centrally planned and less developed countries.
Subjects are offered in the major areas of economics: theoretical and applied analysis at the levels of the individual consumer, the firm, and the industry, as well as aggregate economic activity, industrial organization and health economics, econometrics, public finance, urban economics, labor economics and industrial relations, behavioral economics, international trade and finance, economic history, and economic development.
Course 14, leading to the Bachelor of Science in Economics, combines training in technical economics with opportunities for a broad and balanced undergraduate education. Students may choose from a diversified group of undergraduate subjects and are encouraged to engage in independent research.
The aims of the undergraduate degree program are threefold: to give students a firm grounding in modern economic theory and a basic understanding of economic processes; to provide a descriptive knowledge of the US and world economies; and to develop in students the capabilities for quantitative analysis and independent thought. These aims correspond roughly to the requirements in the Course 14 program of theory, electives, statistics and econometrics, and research.
The requirements allow substantial freedom for students in designing individual programs within economics and balancing the programs with subjects in other disciplines. The large amount of unrestricted elective time encourages students to shape programs close to their own needs and interests. Students may select programs that concentrate on economics and other social sciences or may combine economics with other fields. They may emphasize the relation of economics and technology by choosing their free electives in engineering and science, or they may combine their studies in economics with subjects in history and the other humanities.
The successful completion of the degree program prepares students for further study in economics or for careers in business administration and finance, consulting, law and related fields, and public policy.
Although there are several satisfactory alternative subject sequences, students who by the end of their second year have taken 14.01 Principles of Microeconomics and 14.02 Principles of Macroeconomics can follow a program that permits considerable depth in electives in their third and fourth years. The student can complete 14.04 Intermediate Microeconomic Theory, 14.05 Intermediate Applied Macroeconomics, 14.30 Introduction to Statistical Method in Economics, and 14.32 Econometrics in the third year. This program satisfies the prerequisites for all subjects, including 14.33, and prepares students for research on their thesis and in other elective subjects in their fourth year.
The department specifies one Restricted Electives in Science and Technology (REST) Requirement subject and one laboratory subject, and strongly recommends that students take additional subjects in mathematics if professionally interested in economics.
The objective of the minor program is to extend the understanding of economic issues beyond the level of the concentration. This is done through specialized analytical subjects and elective subjects that provide an extensive treatment of economic issues in particular areas.
The Minor Program in Economics consists of six subjects arranged into three levels of study:
| Tier I | Three subjects: | |
| 14.01 | |
Principles of Microeconomics* |
| 14.02 | |
Principles of Macroeconomics* |
| and either | ||
| 14.30 | |
Introduction to Statistical Method in Economics |
| or | ||
| 18.05 | Introduction to Probability and Statistics |
|
| Tier II | One subject from the following three: | |
| 14.03 | |
Microeconomic Theory and Public Policy |
| 14.04 | Intermediate Microeconomic Theory | |
| 14.05 | Intermediate Applied Macroeconomics |
|
| Tier III | Two subjects | |
| |
Two elective undergraduate subjects chosen from the fields of applied economics. A list of specific subjects is available in the Economics Department Office, E52-391. |
|
| |
*Note: Under no circumstances may a student complete a minor
with fewer than six subjects. Any student who receives
permission from the Economics Department to skip 14.01
and/or 14.02 and take a higher-level subject must take
replacement subject(s) for 14.01/14.02. |
In addition to its broad undergraduate program, the department offers a graduate program leading to the PhD in economics.
The Department of Economics specifies the following prerequisites for graduate study in economics: one full year of college mathematics, including at least one term of calculus; at least six term subjects in English, history, and other humanities or social science subjects (not in the candidate's own professional field) equivalent to those included in the undergraduate curriculum at MIT; and an appreciable number of professional subjects in economics for those qualified students who have majored in fields other than economics. Applicants for admission who have deficiencies in entrance requirements should consult with the department about programs to remedy such deficits.
Under special circumstances, admission may be granted to candidates seeking the Master of Science degree. The general requirements for the SM are given in the section on Graduate Education.
A candidate for the doctorate must demonstrate a mastery of economic theory, including both microeconomics and macroeconomics, and four other fields of study; achieve a specified level of competence in economic history and econometrics; submit and defend a dissertation that represents a contribution to knowledge; and be in residence for a minimum of two years. Two of the four fields, including economic theory, are covered by the written General Examination. Two minor fields may each be satisfied by one year of coursework. The four major and minor elective fields may be chosen from advanced economic theory, econometrics, economic development, economic history, finance, industrial organization, international economics, labor economics, monetary economics, public economics, and urban economics.
There is no required minimum number of graduate subjects in the department. However, candidates ordinarily need two full academic years of study to prepare adequately for the General Examinations and to meet the other pre-thesis requirements. The doctoral thesis must be written in residence, which typically requires two years of research.
A doctoral program offered jointly by the Departments of Economics and Urban Studies and Planning at MIT integrates the analytic emphasis of economics with the institutional and policy orientation of urban studies. Students desiring to enter the program must be admitted to both departments and then explicitly to the joint degree program. Specific requirements for economics are the same as for the economics PhD with only two major fields and one minor, instead of two major and two minor fields; and economic history is not required. The specific requirements for urban studies are the same as for the PhD except for substitution of an economics general examination field for one of the required urban studies fields. One dissertation is required with acceptance by both departments. The program is administered by an informal Standing Committee. Further information is available from Professor William C. Wheaton, Room E52-252B, 617-253-1723.
A limited number of students are supported by scholarship and fellowship grants, as well as by teaching and research assistantships. Typically, the assistantships are available only to students who have passed their general examinations, but in special circumstances research assistantships may be held by second-year students.
Additional information concerning academic programs in the department, admissions, and financial aid may be obtained by writing to Graduate Administrator, Department of Economics, MIT, 617-253-8787.
James M. Poterba, DPhil
Mitsui Professor of Economics
Department Head
Jonathan Gruber, PhD
Professor of Economics
MacVicar Faculty Fellow
Associate Head
K. Daron Acemoglu, PhD
Charles P. Kindleberger Professor of Economics
Joshua Angrist, PhD
Professor of Economics
Abhijit Banerjee, PhD
Ford International Professor of Economics
Olivier Blanchard, PhD
Class of 1941 Professor of Economics
Ricardo J. Caballero, PhD
Ford International Professor of Economics
Dora Costa, PhD
Professor of Economics
(On leave)
Peter A. Diamond, PhD
Professor of Economics
Institute Professor
Esther Duflo, PhD
Abdul Latif Jameel Professor of Poverty Alleviation and Development Economics
Glenn D. Ellison, PhD
Gregory K. Palm (1970) Professor of Economics
Robert S. Gibbons, PhD
Sloan Distinguished Professor of Management and Economics
Michael Greenstone, PhD
3M Professor of Environmental Economics
Jeffrey E. Harris, MD, PhD
Professor of Economics
Jerry A. Hausman, DPhil
John and Jennie S. MacDonald Professor of Economics
Bengt R. Holmström, PhD
Paul A. Samuelson Professor of Economics
Paul L. Joskow, PhD
Elizabeth and James Killian Professor of Economics and Management
(On leave)
Whitney K. Newey, PhD
Jane Berkowitz Carlton and Dennis William Carlton Professor of Economics
Michael J. Piore, PhD
David W. Skinner Professor of Political Economy
Nancy L. Rose, PhD
Professor of Economics
Stephen Ross, PhD
Franco Modigliani Professor of Finance and Economics
Richard L. Schmalensee, PhD
Gordon Y Billard Professor of Management and Economics
James Snyder, PhD
Arthur and Ruth Sloan Professor of Political Science and Economics
Peter Temin, PhD
Elisha Gray II Professor of Economics
Lester C. Thurow, PhD
Jerome and Dorothy Lemelson Professor of Management and Economics
William C. Wheaton, PhD
Professor of Economics and Urban Studies
Director for Research, Center for Real Estate
George-Marios Angeletos, PhD
Associate Professor of Economics
David Autor, PhD
Associate Professor of Economics
Victor Chernozhukov, PhD
Associate Professor of Economics
Amy Finkelstein , PhD
Associate Professor of Economics
(On leave)
Iván Werning, PhD
Associate Professor of Economics
Muhamet Yildiz, PhD
Pentti J. K. Kouri Career Development Associate Professor
Mikhail Golosov, PhD
Rudi Dornbusch Career Development Assistant Professor of Economics
(On leave)
Sergei Izmalkov, PhD
Assistant Professor of Economics
(On leave)
Panle Jia, PhD
Assistant Professor of Economics
Guido Lorenzoni, PhD
Assistant Professor of Economics
(On leave)
Anna Mikusheva, PhD
Assistant Professor of Economics
Stephen P. Ryan, PhD
Assistant Professor of Economics
(On leave)
Sara Fisher Ellison, PhD
Mathias Dewatripont, PhD
Visiting Professor of Economics
Ernst Fehr, PhD
Visiting Professor of Economics
Francesco Giavazzi, PhD
Visiting Professor of Economics
Lorenz Goette, PhD
Visiting Assistant Professor of Economics
Kiminori Matsuyama, PhD
Visiting Professor of Economics
Mark Rysman, PhD
Visiting Assistant Professor of Economics
Yuliy Sannikov, PhD
Visiting Associate Professor of Economics
Jean Tirole, PhD
Visiting Professor of Economics
Robert Triest, PhD
Visiting Professor of Economics
Robert Townsend, PhD
Visiting Professor of Economics
Paul Willen, PhD
Visiting Professor of Economics
Morris A. Adelman, PhD
Professor of Economics, Emeritus
Robert L. Bishop, PhD
Professor of Economics, Emeritus
Richard S. Eckaus, PhD
Ford International Professor of Economics, Emeritus
Stanley Fischer, PhD
Professor of Economics, Emeritus
Frank Fisher, PhD
Jane Berkowitz Carlton and Dennis William Carlton Professor of Economics, Emeritus
Jerome Rothenberg, PhD
Professor of Economics, Emeritus
Paul A. Samuelson, PhD, LLD, DLitt, ScD
Professor of Economics, Emeritus
Gordon Y Billard Fellow
Institute Professor, Emeritus
Abraham J. Siegel, PhD
Howard W. Johnson Professor of Management, Emeritus
Robert M. Solow, PhD, LLD, DLH
Professor of Economics, Emeritus
Institute Professor, Emeritus