Overview

Key Features

The areas of study in the Department fall into three broad classifications. The first of these, microeconomics, deals with the theoretical and empirical study of the behavior and interrelationships of individual economic agents, such as firms and individuals, and their interaction through markets. 

Next, macroeconomics examines the large sectors of the economy such as government, business, money and banking, and international trade. It also covers such topics as unemployment, inflation, and economic growth. Finally, econometrics uses statistics to estimate, test, and predict patterns of behavior of the various units and relationships that make up the economy.

The undergraduate Economics program at Stony Brook University is designed to give students a beginning sense of what economists do as well as how they think. After taking the introductory course, ECO 108, students acquire a more thorough background in economic theory by taking ECO 303 and ECO 305 and in statistical methods by taking ECO 320 and 321. The remaining economics courses used to satisfy the major requirements focus on particular aspects of economics (e.g., labor markets, industrial organization, money and banking, economic development, finance) showing how economists analyze the theoretical and empirical issues. Some upper-division courses apply statistical methods, which are taught in the program.