Undergraduate Program

14-1 Major

Major 14-1: Economics

The Course 14-1 Program leads to the degree of Bachelor of Science in Economics. In addition to fulfilling the 17 General Institute Requirements¹, an economics major must take the following subjects²:
- 14.01 Principles of Microeconomics (Students with a score of 5 on the Economics AP exam may substitute 14.03 Micro Theory and Public Policy.)
- 14.02 Principles of Macroeconomics
- 14.04 Intermediate Microeconomic Theory or 14.12 Economic Applications of Game Theory or 14.15J Networks or 14.16 Strategy and Information or 14.19 Market Design or 14.26 Economics of Incentives
- 14.05 Intermediate Applied Macroeconomics or (both 14.06 Advanced Macroeconomics and CI-M 14.18 Mathematical Economic Modeling) or (both 14.07 Financial Markets & the Macroeconomy and CI-M 14.18 Mathematical Economic Modeling)
- 14.30 Introduction to Statistical Methods in Economics (or 6.008 or 18.650)
- 14.32 Econometric Data Science
- 14.33 Econ. Research & Communication (CI-M) or 14.18 Mathematical Economic Modeling (CIM)³
- Thesis (14.33 is a prerequisite.)⁴
- 48 units of Economics Electives (or four full subjects)

¹Note that up to three Economics elective subjects may be used in partial satisfaction of the HASS requirement, that 14.30 (Statistics) may be counted toward the REST requirement, and that 14.32 (Econometric Data Science) may be used to satisfy the Institute laboratory requirement.
²Students must earn grades of C or better in 14.01, 14.02, intermediate micro, 14.05/14.06/14.07, 14.30, and 14.32 in order to fulfill departmental requirements.
³Students must take two out of three CIM's (14.05, 14.18, and/or 14.33)
⁴Thesis may be replaced by an elective subject in economics.

Courses 14.01 and the choice of intermediate micro subjects provide a strong background in microeconomic analysis, and 14.02 and 14.05/14.06/14.07 do the same for macroeconomics. These are the two broad and fundamental areas of modern economics. 14.30 and 14.32 give a grounding in techniques for analyzing data and testing economic models. 14.18 and 14.33 require a term paper that analyzes a body of data on an economic question.

The 48 units (or four full subjects) of electives may be satisfied from the following list of undergraduate subjects designed generally to enrich the background of the student in economic institutions and the analysis of policy problems:

- 14.03 Micro Theory & Public Policy
- 14.06 Advanced Macroeconomics
- 14.07 Financial Markets and the Macroeconomy
- 14.11 Topics in Economics
- 14.12 Economic Applications of Game Theory
- 14.13 Psychology and Economics
- 14.15J Networks
- 14.16 Strategy and Information
- 14.18 Mathematical Economic Modeling
- 14.19 Market Design
- 14.20 Industrial Organization and Competitive Strategy
- 14.21J Health Economics
- 14.26 Economics of Incentives
- 14.27 Economics and E-Commerce
- 14.36 Advanced Econometrics
- 14.41 Public Economics
- 14.42 Environmental Policy and Economics
- 14.43J Energy Decisions, Markets, and Policies
- 14.44 Energy Economics
- 14.46 Innovation Policy and the Economy
- 14.54 International Trade
- 14.64 Labor Economics and Public Policy
- 14.70J The Development of Medieval Economies
- 14.73 The Challenge of World Poverty
- 14.74 Foundations of Development Economics
- 14.75 Political Economy and Development