Economics helps provide answers for some of the world’s most pressing questions, from the future of work to ending global poverty to improving the environment.
Programs
Undergraduate
The large number of professors and their diverse interests enable a student to study virtually any area of economics. The extraordinary quality of Harvard undergraduates makes the classroom environment stimulating for teacher and student alike.
Graduate
Supported by a diverse group of faculty who are top researchers in their fields and fueled by a vast array of resources, the PhD program is structured to train and nurture students to become leading economists in academia, government agencies, the technology industry, finance and banking, and global policy organizations.
At a Glance
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59
Faculty
Members -
19
Areas of
Study -
82
Undergraduate
Courses -
953
Undergraduate
Concentrators -
48
Graduate
Courses -
195
Graduate
Concentrators
The Department of Economics is part of the larger academe of teaching and research at Harvard University.
Faculty Spotlight
The Harvard economics department is a big tent – big enough to include many kinds of people working in many different fields, from finance to economic history, from behavioral economics to political economy, and so much more. Our students and faculty combine these fields in creative ways that are hard to achieve anywhere else.
John Campbell
Morton L. and Carole S. Olshan Professor of Economics
News and Events
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Fields of Study
Political Economy
The study of production and trade and their relations with law, custom and government; and with the distribution of national income and wealth.
Econometrics
The study of developing and using statistical and mathematical tools to analyze economic issues and policy
questions.
Macroeconomics
The study of the national economy and the determinants of national production, unemployment, and inflation.
Economic History
The study of how economies and economic outcomes have changed over history and how economic institutions have developed.
International Economics
The study of the effects upon economic activity from international differences in productive resources and consumer preferences and the international institutions that affect them.
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Fields of Study
Industrial Organization
The study of individual markets and the nature of competition. Topics include anti-trust policy, the role of advertising, and how costs vary with the scale of operations. This field also studies particular industries such as software and technology firms, sports, and tourism.
Economic Development
The study of why some countries have developed while others have not, with special focus on the world’s less developed countries. How might the industrialized countries improve prospects for development around the world?
Labor Economics
The study of employers’ decisions to hire workers and employees’ decisions to work. This involves determinants of wages, the incentives workers face, and the role of minimum wage laws, unions, pensions, and training programs.
Financial Economics
The study of how to value and determine the price of assets with uncertain returns their derivatives and the markets that trade them; the study of how firms finance their operations and the capital structure of firms.
Public Economics
The study of the role of government in the economy including how to evaluate government programs, the design of tax systems, and how the political process makes decisions.