<p>Hi! I might be an econ major but I am a bit concerned about the state of econ departments. If you are currently doing econ in college (esp. econ majors), how has the financial crisis affected your econ education? Does it seem recent developments in economic theory have become more or less obsolete? Is it still exactly the same, as if nothing happened? Has there been an overhaul of some kind?</p>
<p>Please do share your experience and insights. I can never get a straight answer from the few people I have met. And I certainly will not from my university’s econ department. :P</p>
<p>I am not an econ major, however, I can provide you with SOME insight.</p>
<p>First off, do not be fooled by the charts that show Economics as the highest starting salary. This is for one reason: Most top schools that do not have a business school offer economics and commerce degrees. The students that go to these schools skew the statistic by being awarded very high paying jobs. If you do not go to a top IVY school do not major in Econ (alone), you will be working at Starbucks.</p>
<p>That said, Econ is going to be a good Major at ANY school if you pair it with something like Finance, Math, or Accounting (if you are interested in consulting. I have been told by some very reputable professors that an Econ minor is a good idea in MANY circumstances. </p>
<p>Economic Theory will never become obsolete! Of course Economists are now shifting their thoughts some, but I wouldn’t call it abn overhaul. The main concepts will always be the same.</p>
<p>First off, most of the applications of economics are NOT in finance or macro economics. I do transportation economics, and my sense is that zero has changed in it as a result of the financial crisis. Ditto for agric ec, labor ec, and most micro ec fields.</p>
<p>Macro has evolved over time, but the essentials you will learn in an undergrad program probably not so much. </p>
<p>Finance and banking, maybe more so. </p>
<p>And as someone above said, don’t major in it just to get a high salary (odd recommendation from an economist?). Major in it cause the way of thinking agrees with you. </p>
<p>It combines well with lots of other things. I wish more journalism majors took econ, for example. Not a bad major for a future lawyer, instead of poli sci. </p>
<p>If you DO want to be an ECONOMIST, esp in academia, take as much math as you can stand.</p>
<p>I would surmise there will be more emphasis on how finance relates to macro and more study of behavioral economics. Also, I think Real Business Cycle theory, at least in its more primitive form, will fade away. As an undergraduate though, these changes will most likely not affect your education. If there are any alterations they will start in graduate seminars and economic journals and then trickle down to the UG curriculum. Econ majors today will learn the same thing as they did ten, twenty, or thirty years ago i.e. supply and demand, introduction to the concept of optimization and different kinds of market structures in micro and national income accounting, the fundamentals of economic growth and the basics of business cycles in macro.</p>