Economics

Mission

The Department of Economics at the University of Massachusetts Lowell aims to generate innovations in knowledge through the rigorous work of its research faculty, to disseminate this knowledge, and to create synergies between high-quality academic research, teaching activities and community engagement. In doing so, we are committed to the highest quality of teaching excellence and student support. We provide students with the skills necessary to make sense of everyday real-world events, as well as the technical abilities needed to be successful in a wide range of demanding career paths and also in graduate studies in a broad set of fields. Moreover, we seek to foster an environment with diverse backgrounds and perspectives as well as the inclusion of traditionally underrepresented groups in the discipline of Economics, all of which we believe are critical in generating a vibrant academic community.

Requirements of the Major

Learning Outcomes

  1. Identify the role of demand and supply in a market economy in allocating resources and generating the distribution of incomes to factors of production.
  2. Articulate the advantages of a market system and the role of prices in achieving allocational and productive efficiency.
  3. Identify the sources and consequences of “market failure.”
  4. Critically evaluate controversies about the appropriate scope of, and approaches to, government regulation in conditions of market failure.
  5. Critically evaluate controversies from an economic efficiency and distributional equity perspective over the use of government tax and transfer policies to redistribute income 
  6. Critically evaluate controversies over attempts to use fiscal policy and/or central bank monetary policy to maintain aggregate growth consistent with full employment and inflation stability. 
  7. Show competencies in interpreting economic data, critically evaluating empirical claims in economics and drawing appropriate inferences from economic studies.
  8. Effectively demonstrate their ability to apply economic theory to the framing and analysis of economic problems using graphs, algebra, and quantitative statistical methods.
  9. Demonstrate knowledge of relevant historic data and empirical findings in at least one of the content areas listed in outcomes 4-6.