Economics

Bowdoin’s department of economics develops students’ ability to apply the discipline’s theoretical and empirical techniques and findings to real-world problems. While economists often focus on the marketplace, economics can shed new light on policy areas as disparate as the environment, family, and legal system. Many economists pursue their work to contribute to social well-being and the common good. 

Our department is committed to supporting the needs of all Bowdoin students, including those who want to be economic analysts and those who want to incorporate economic perspectives into other fields or their everyday lives. Importantly, thinking like an economist is nonpartisan: one can use the tools of economics to benefit others regardless of one’s background, political orientation, or preferred policy outcomes.

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  Beware the Perils of the Protest Vote, Writes Dan Stone

  Associate Professor of Economics Dan Stone argues that choosing to vote for neither of the main presidential candidates in the upcoming election could well be a mistake. His insights on the topic have been published in news outlets from coast to coast.
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  Celebrating 200 Years of Bowdoin Economics

  The economics department celebrated an important birthday over Homecoming Weekend 2024: It’s two hundred years since Bowdoin dedicated faculty efforts specifically to economics—one of the first colleges in the country to do so!
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  Leading GOP Economist Larry Lindsey ’76, H’93 Shares his Insight

  Lindsey talked about what drew him to economics as a student, where he thinks the markets are going, and why he’s glad he’s not a lawyer in a wide-ranging conversation with students on a recent visit to campus.