
The Major
Students learn how individuals, organizations and governments pursue their goals, and how those decisions bring about economic outcomes.
Learn MoreWe teach students to apply data, empirical methods and economic theory to study real-world events. Nearly two-thirds of Amherst graduates have taken our introductory course. We are proud to count two Nobel laureates among our alumni.
Students learn how individuals, organizations and governments pursue their goals, and how those decisions bring about economic outcomes.
Learn MoreOur students have opportunities to pursue independent research driven by their own interests — and to assist in faculty research.
We study the economics of developing nations, migration, health, energy, the environment and natural resources, international finance, trade, firm behavior and auctions, as well as behavioral economics, monetary economics, microeconomics and macroeconomics.
Our majors become leaders of industry, key public policy figures and academic pioneers.
Learn MoreStudy the central problem of scarcity and the ways in which the U.S. economic system allocates scarce resources among competing ends and apportions goods among people.
This course focuses on the economic underpinnings of the migration decision that culminates in individuals leaving their home country for work abroad.
Mechanism design uses game theory to design systems, institutions, and mechanisms to achieve desired outcomes—we will study this theory and how it is used to design auctions, tax schemes, and matching mechanisms.