Economics

In Depth

Your first courses will teach you about key economic concepts and the role of markets, along with how to measure and interpret Gross Domestic Product (GDP), unemployment and price levels. You’ll examine economic instability through a study of causes and policy prescriptions from two major opposing schools of thought: Classical and Keynesian. You’ll learn about interest rates and the Federal Reserve and consider current policy debates on international trade, monetary and fiscal policy, the deficit, economic growth and productivity. You’ll also have an introduction to how economists interpret the everyday decisions of consumers, businesses and workers and apply economic analysis to real-world questions like minimum wage, business profits, taxes, outsourcing and environmental policies.

Later courses cover statistical thinking as applied to such topics as probability distributions, regressions, correlation, analysis of variance and so on. Advanced macro- and micro-economics classes in our department delve deeper into theories and policies surrounding income and price level, interest rates and monetary and fiscal policy. You’ll more closely examine market failures and government involvement in the economy.

Your studies will culminate as a senior in a research thesis. You will prepare an original research proposal on a topic that interests you, conduct research, and present your results with close faculty guidance from start to finish.

Economics Learning Outcomes

Research

As an Economics major you will have the opportunity to conduct research on and off campus.

Senior Seminar in Economics (EC 410 A-B) provides all Economics majors with the opportunity to complete a major research project on a topic of their choice. This two semester class includes a review of research methods and skills and an exposure to peer-reviewed scholarly research in various sub-fields in economics. In the first semester students prepare an original research proposal. During the second semester students complete their research, submit a final written thesis, and present their results.

Recent student research topics include:

2021

• The Charter Dilemma: Understanding How the United States Funds Public Education – Matteo Bianchini
• Economic consequences of regions becoming independent: Is it beneficial economically for regions to separate from their federal states? – Paul Cerda
• Are COVID-19 Restrictions Helpful? A Study of Hospitalizations and Unemployment – Tyler Dion
• S. Military Recruiting: Attaining Goals in a Changing Landscape – James Gillert
• Student Loans in the United States: The Determining Factors of Student Loan Debt Accumulation – Julien Giroux-Harvey
• The Impact of Public Transportation Spending on Per-Capita Carbon Emissions – Brad Heistand
• Recreational Marijuana’s Impact on Auto Insurance Premiums – Dominic Joy
• What Effects Whether Survivors Will Report Sexual Assault Incidents – MacRae McCarthy
• Black Gold:Is Reliance On Oil Production Detrimental To GDP? – Patrick Sullivan
• The Impact of women’s education on long-term economic development – Selbern Narby
• Portfolio Optimization and The Case of The Diverging Markowitz Frontier: Is the S&P 500 a valid investment pool on its own? – James Russo
• Minimizing The Explicit Costs Of Carbon Abatement – Thomas Soons
• What are the Effects of Commodity Prices on the Price-level for New Vehicles? – Cody Stockford

2020

• Instagram and Artist Fame – Megan Ahern
• Does More Income Make People Happier? – Samuel Arnold
• Too Late to Switch? A Simulated Outlook for Social Security Reform –                  Zach Bouchard
• The Impact of Peacekeeping on Economic Growth and Development –       Sarah Brennan
• How does the ownership structure in the four major US sports leagues (NHL, NBA, NFL, MLB) influence the ticket price? – Timothy Decker
• Labor Market Matching Affected by Unemployment Insurance Benefit and Duration – Racheael DeVeaux
• The role of wage expectations, how they interact with race and gender and how these influence years of schooling – Charles Driscoll
• How much does student debt really cost? – Eric Dunn
• How Transfer Spending Impacts Club Achievement – Ethan Hontz
• The Causes of Educated Migration to Major Metropolitan Areas in the United States – Kevin Jeter
• The Elasticity of United States Metropolitan Housing Supply – Colby Jordan
• Reducing Inequality: Lessons from an Overlapping Generations Model with Two-Sided Altruism – Ben Levasseur
• “Trade Openness and its Effects on Development in Africa” – Catherine Marcoullier
• An Econometric Analysis of School Districts’ Decisions to Consolidate – Ethan McCandless
• Experiencing Climate Change: are people responding to the threat of sea level rise according to property transactions on Cape Cod? – Katie McKinnon
• Color and Price in Peter Halley’s Paintings – Sean Mickelson-Flynn
• Is it both Economical and Environmentally sustainable to switch our ways of food production to an organic way of growing? – Alec Porter
• Take It or Leave It: A Perspective on Parental Leave Policies – Lilly Richardson
• The Deadweight Loss of Obesity – Anna Willassen

Internships

You’ll have opportunities to apply your knowledge to real-world situations through internships with businesses and organizations such as:

• Burlington, Vt. Assessors Office
• National Life Insurance
• Northeast Water Resources Network
• Nowak and Nowak Financial Services
• UBS Paine Weber Financial Services
• Vermont Department of Labor
• Vermont Refugee Resettlement Program
• Wells Fargo Securities
• Williams & Associates Financial Services

We support internships whenever, in the judgment of the department, the internship substantially adds to the student’s background in economics. The internship must in some significant way be relevant to the discipline and offer an educational opportunity not found in traditional course work. We believe that internships can be important to a student’s educational experience for many reasons. We will specifically evaluate internship proposals on the basis of their academic merit. Approval of an internship proposal is based on the quality of a student’s proposal and the academic character of the candidate. The department is selective in its sponsorship of students and selective in its acceptance of internship sites.

Please click here for Guidelines, Policies, and Procedures.

Careers

Economics opens up many job opportunities.  As an economics major you will learn analytical, critical thinking, and communication skills that are in demand by many firms and government agencies.  After graduation, our majors go on to careers like:

• Financial Analyst
• Mutual Funds Associate
• Senior Research and Statistics
• Equity Derivatives Specialist
• Financial Services Coordinator
• Global Relations Management
• Internal Sales Representative
• Market Research Analyst
• Account Manager
• Climate Solutions Advisor
• Policy Analyst

You’ll find recent Saint Michael’s economics graduates working at places like:

• Bank of America
• UBS Financial Services
• Travelers Insurance Company
• NativeEnergy
• Cabot Creamery
• U.S. Department of Agriculture
• State of Maryland
• Fidelity Investments
• HSBC Bank

The major provides an ideal background for those who hope to pursue advanced degrees in business, law, public policy, or economics.  Recent graduates have pursued advance degrees in:

• Law:  Syracuse, Boston University
• MBA:  Clarkson, Boston University, Northeastern, Boston College
• MA:  Duke, Tulane, Clark, University of Vermont
• Ph.D.:  Rutgers, University of Michigan, University of Connecticut

For more information about careers in economics generally, visit the American Economic Association.