Economics

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An Economics major is a versatile degree that prepares students for careers in the business world as well as graduate study. The exposure to economic analysis (theoretical and empirical) makes Economics majors attractive to many job recruiters and graduate schools.

The skills taught to Economics majors provide a solid foundation and preparation for many business and technical occupations. Occupations that attract students with these kinds of skills include consulting firms, commercial banks, oil companies, investment firms, healthcare entities, and utility companies.

Economic majors are also attractive to various branches of the Federal, State, and Local governments. These agencies offer extensive employment opportunities for undergraduate Economics majors. For example, the Departments of Agriculture, Labor, Commerce, and Treasury are the biggest federal employers of Economics majors. At the State level, Corporation Commissions, Office of the State Treasurer, Office of Management and Budget, and the Department of Commerce are among the major recruiters. Other big recruiters of Economics majors include the Federal Reserve Banks and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.

Economics majors are very well-suited and prepared for advanced degrees in Economics, Business and Law. Many law school representatives believe that Economics is one of the best and most desired pre-law majors because of the analytical training and logical thinking involved in the discipline. The wide range of theoretical, analytical, and empirical courses offered ensure that our undergraduate program equips students with the skills to successfully pursue advanced degrees in Economics.

For more information about Economics degrees, majors or required classes, please contact the Economics Advisor, Corey Quiett.  Ms. Quiett can be reached at cquiett@ou.edu, or current Economics majors can schedule an appointment with her on iAdvise.

Economics courses provide students with a good foundation in both analytical and quantitative analysis.

A major in Economics requires a minimum of 30 hours total or 10 Economics courses. The 30 hours must include Economics 1113, 1123, 2843, 3113, and 3133. A minor in Economics requires a minimum of 15 hours. Economics 2843 is not required for Economics minors.

Our diverse and internationally recognized faculty have research agendas across fields including international economics, industrial organization, public economics, and labor economics, among others.  Using cutting edge tools of empirical and theoretical modeling, we seek to produce impactful research that adds value to both academic and policy-oriented discussions.

Our research has been published in leading professional journals such as:  The Quarterly Journal of Economics, Journal of Political Economy, Journal of Labor Economics, Journal of Econometrics, Journal of International Economics, Journal of Public Economics, Journal of Monetary Economics, Nature: Food, American Journal of Political Science, Journal of Development Economics, Journal of Urban Economics, Journal of Regional Science, Journal of Applied Econometrics, Management Science, Marketing Science, European Economic Review, Review of Economics and Statistics, Journal of Business and Economic Statistics, Journal of Human Resources, Health Economics, World Development, American Journal of Agricultural Economics, American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics, Review of Economic Dynamics, Economic Inquiry, Food: Policy, Economics of Education Review, Regional Science and Urban Economics, Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, International Journal of Epidemiology, Journal of the American Planning Association, International Economic Review, Journal of Population Economics, Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, and many others.

Dr. Tyler Ransom's work in the paper "Legacy and Athlete Preferences at Harvard" was referenced in several publications, including the Washington Examiner, Bloomberg, the National Review, the New York Times, and Moguldom.

Dr. Chunbei Wang recently had a paper titled "Is Immigration Enforcement Shaping Immigrant Marriage Patterns?" published by the Journal of Public Economics, and a paper titled "Tightened Immigration Policies and the Self-Employment Dynamics of Mexican Immigrants" published in the Journal of Policy Analysis and Management.

Dr. Firat Demir interviewed Kamal Soleimani and Ahmad Mohammadpour about "Iranian Kurds and the Status of Kolberi 'Smugglers'" for Security in Context. 
He also interviewed Dr. Daniel Mains: "Under Construction: Technologies of Development in Urban Ethiopia."
     Dr. Demir organized and moderated the following web events, sponsored through the Center for Peace and Development:
- Dr. Mark Weisbrot, Center for Economic Policy and Research, "The IMF and How Billions of People Can Benefit from a Simple, Costless Act of Congress (and Why You Should Care)."
- Dr. James K. Boyce, University of Massachusetts-Amherst, "Climate Change in an Unequal World."
- Dr. Josh Bivens, Economic Policy Institute, "Identifying the Policy Levers That Generated Wage Suppression and Inequality in the U.S.." co-sponsored with the Department of Economics, Colorado State University, moderated by Daniele Tavani. 
- Dr. Jeffrey Sachs, Colombia University, "Multipolarity, U.S.-China Relations and the Political Economy of Global Insecurity."
- Dr. Jayati Ghosh, University of Massachusetts-Amherst, "Covid Pandemic, Neoliberalism and Global South." moderated by Ramaa Vasudevan

Dr. Joan Hamory has recently published work on multiple topics related to the development in Africa in several journals including World Development, the Journal of the European Economic Association, and the American Journal of Political Science.

Dr. Qihong Liu was recently featured in WalletHub regarding "Cheap Car Insurance in Oklahoma."

Dr. Greg Burge:  "Housing Wealth, Property Taxes, and Labor Supply among the Elderly"  
                             "Impact Fees and Single-Family Home Construction"
 

Dr. Firat Demir:  "Local corruption, total factor productivity and firm heterogeneity: Empirical evidence from Chinese manufacturing firms"
                             "The Real Exchange Rate and Development Theory, Evidence, Issues and Challenges"

Dr. Joan Hamory:  "Twenty-year Economic Impacts of Deworming"
                                  "Deepening or Diminishing Ethnic Divides? The Impact of Urban Migration in Kenya"

Dr. Hewei Shen:  "Foreign asset accumulation among emerging market economies: A case for coordination"
                              "Fiscal commitment and sovereign default risk"

The Economics department has an undergraduate Economics Club. The club office is located in Cate 1. The club has informal meetings Wednesdays at 6pm in CCD1 Rm 338, at which an invited guest speaker (including faculty members) gives a presentation. Membership is free and open to all interested students. The Department of Economics also has an active chapter of Omicron Delta Epsilon (ODE) the International Economics Honor Society.

Fall 2021/Spring 2022 Economics Newsletter (pdf)

2021 Spring/Summer Economics Newletter (pdf)

2020 Fall Economics Newsletter (pdf)

2020 Spring Economics Newsletter (pdf)

To subscribe to Economics Department announcements, contact cquiett@ou.edu or call 405.325.2861.

Follow the OU Econ Club on Facebook!

Current information about tuition and fees at the University of Oklahoma, including information about in-state, out-of-state, and flat-rate tuition, can be found here. There are several merit scholarships available to Economics majors. The scholarships range from $250 to $2,500. For additional information. please contact the Department of Economics.

If you are an OU student and would like to participate in economics experiments - and earn cash at the end of the experiment - please visit:  cas-econ-orsee.rccc.ou.edu/public/

Information about our lab and experimental economics can be found here. 

The Department of Economics is located at 308 Cate Center Drive, Cate 1, Norman OK, 73072.  We can be reached at (405) 325-2861.