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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 In 1994, Assistant Professor of Economics Phil Brown worked in a camp for refugees of the Rwandan civil war. During the first several months of the genocide, American donations to relief efforts allowed charities to distribute food, housing, and clothing and to provide water, sanitation, and medical services to half a million people who had fled their country. By mid-summer, however, the steady stream of donations had become a trickle. Although many people in the relief community believed that “donor fatigue” had set in, Brown wondered if the media’s infatuation with the OJ Simpson trial hadn’t played a role.
He explored this idea in a paper co-authored with Jess Minty ’06. In "Media Coverage and Charitable Giving After the 2004 Tsunami," Brown and Minty assess the relationship between time spent covering a disaster on nightly news broadcasts and charitable giving for disaster relief. They find that news coverage has a dramatic effect on the level of donations received on any given day, suggesting that if your country happens to be struck by a major disaster, you should keep your fingers crossed that it’s a slow news day. This research is featured in the New York Times best seller SuperFreakonomics.
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 Assistant Professor Jason Long was recently awarded a two-year grant from the National Science Foundation to support his research on social mobility in Britain since 1850. The particular focus of the grant is to explore the roles of education and migration in income mobility. The award pays for Colby students to assist in gathering and analyzing data from 19th century British census records. Long spent the 2005-2006 academic year on sabbatical with the Department of Economics at the University of Oxford.
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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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