Any situation requiring choice among competing needs can be viewed as an economic problem. Economics courses enable students to study the way households and businesses make these choices (microeconomics), the way governments make these choices and the consequences of these choices for the nation as a whole (macroeconomics). The curriculum also addresses international trade, social welfare, money and banking, taxation, and environmental protection.

Career opportunities

An economics major with an A.A. degree generally transfers to a four-year institution to complete a Bachelor's degree. Economics graduates at the Bachelor's level are qualified for a variety of positions with government, industry, and public interest organizations and they are well prepared to enter a graduate program in economics, business, journalism, law, or public policy. Teaching at the two-year college level is an option if a Master's degree is obtained. An economist can obtain the Ph.D. Degree, which may lead to research and/or teaching at the university level, or basic research in government, industry, or public interest organizations. Nearly every four-year college and university offers an economics major.