Economics Program Overview

The Economics program at TCNJ is policy oriented and empirically based.

Policy oriented implies an emphasis on public policy applications of economic theory. Federal Reserve Bank policy, antitrust and regulation of business, regulatory initiatives for labor and the enviroment, and international trading regimes all receive explicit attention.

Empirically based implies an emphasis on developing strong skills in applied statistics. Increasingly, these quantitative skills are used to explore and understand economic phenomena. Consequently, the upper-level courses in the major contain calculus-based theory and sound statistical tests of economic theory. The program's senior thesis requires data analysis using statistics software.

Because quantitative skills are crucial at the graduate level, the sequence for students planning graduate studies in economics should include additional courses in mathematics and statistics (e.g., Multivariable Calculus and Linear Algebra).

Useful Links

• The U.S. Census Bureau
• The Bureau of Economic Analysis
• Stat USA
• Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development
• Resources for Economists
• The Bureau of Labor Statistics
• National Agricultural Statistics Service
• United Nations Statistics Division
• National Center for Health Statistics
• Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System
• The Economic Report of the President
• Federal Reserve Economic Data (FRED)
• National Center for Education Statistics
• New Jersey Dept of Labor; Planning and Analysis
• EconData.net

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