Students enroll in a beginning course in the department for a variety of reasons.
Sometimes students enroll to satisfy their own curiosity about the subject or simply to fulfill a social science distribution requirement. Whatever the reason, students soon discover that economics is a fascinating and important field of study. They learn the fundamental principles of a market economy, and the costs and potential benefits of public policy designed to alter them. They learn why some individuals have very high incomes while others are unemployed. They study the effects of government activity on the economy and learn why it makes sense to raise taxes sometimes and to lower them at others.