Ec10, "Principles of Economics"
Ec1010a, "Microeconomic Theory"
Ec1010b, "Macroeconomic Theory"
Ec1011a, "Microeconomic Theory"
Ec1011b, "Macroeconomic Theory"
Ec1030, "Psychology and Economics"

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Jocks fresh off the field and future academics wandering Littauer’s marble halls. Suit-clad undergrads juggling multiple e-recruiting events and financial gurus creating their hedge fund from their dorm rooms. Mock trial lawyers trying to find the straightest path to Harvard Law School.

These are but a sampling of the nearly 700 undergrads who concentrate in economics. It is a big tent to say the least, and as you’d expect, economics—the archetypical large Harvard concentration—features all the pros and cons of that archetype.

The most obvious positive is that you’lll be taught by one of the premier economics faculties in the world. From living legends like Marty Feldstein (of Ec 10 and Simpsons fame), Robert Barro (rumored to be on the Nobel short list), and Andrei Shleifer (alleged to have defrauded the U.S. government while working in Russia) to the emerging stars of economics like David Laibson, Roland Fryer, and Caroline Hoxby, the Economics department has it all.

High school economics teachers have been known to dream of attending mundane department meetings at Harvard just to see these academic rock stars. Whether you’re interested in macroeconomic policy and international trade or the frontiers of behavioral economics and development, you’ll find an exceptional economist at Harvard that studies it. The array of upper-level courses is broad and anyone could find several choices that suits his or her fancy.

The biggest problem is trying to interact with these luminaries, which sometimes feels like going to visit the Wizard of Oz. All hold office hours, but many only teach upper level classes—and even then, classes are usually large. Many make office hours seem intimidating. But if you’re proactive about approaching professors you’ll find that nearly all are welcoming, friendly, and more than willing to give you the advice and face time you crave.

The biggest drawback of economics is the lackluster formal advising, which is principally done by hit-or-miss house tutors. Each house has one tutor (in some cases a non-resident) endorsed by the department who holds office hours every week and who can sign your sign study cards. But if he or she is a non-res tutor, good luck finding them outside of Littauer. In some cases, a glance at some paperwork and a flick of the pen is all you will see of your “advisor.” That’s not to say they give bad advice or that you can’t have a professor be your de facto advisor. Indeed, if you seek it out, you will receive more than enough advice. But the bare minimum that you are given if you don’t is sub par.

Beware the law school and business school student Teaching Fellows who know little beyond the book, especially in Ec 10. Ec grad students are preferable, if you can understand the heavily-accented words coming out of their mouth. But for most classes, section participation is not graded, so just go to the best TF’s section and just turn problem sets in to your assigned TF.

Given those drawbacks, you may be thinking about bolting to Social Studies. Don’t do so without sufficient consideration. Economics is a popular concentration for good reason: it’s extremely interesting and the subject material is very practical in the real world no matter what you decide to do. After all, economics includes anything that involves the study of incentives, and there are many interesting policy repercussions of economic thinking and a slew of courses beyond what you would usually think of as the bounds of traditional economics (like Economics 1471, “The Economics of Crime”).

The best way to find out if economics is for you is to take Social Analysis 10 (Ec 10). It covers mainly nuts and bolts and touches on the most interesting elements of economics, which are covered in upper level classes. But don’t concentrate in economics because you want a pre-business major; the people who do so are the people least likely to be happy.

If you concentrate in economics, you will face a few, easily fulfilled requirements. For starters, you’ll have to take a one-semester tutorial in the spring of your sophomore year that will have a lot of writing. Think carefully when selecting a seminar topic and mathematical level (each seminar is rated on a one-to-three scale). Don’t bite off a math level that is more than you can handle simply because you are a hot shot. Just like with Ec 10, a lot of the tutorial leaders are grad students. Yes, you can easily impress a teacher who has only studied economics for two more years than you. But you don’t want to be caught sleeping in an eight person class.

Most students will elect to take Statistics 104 and Econometrics 1123 for the statistics and econometrics requirements. Only take Statistics 110 and Economics 1126 (both theoretically-oriented courses) if you’re interested in going to graduate school for economics—you learn less practical material and face a much more difficult course full of applied math majors.

As for the upper-level courses, choose a subject that appeals to you—avoid the duds by heeding your friends’ words. Looking out for the mathematical rigor of each course is critical in differentiating two courses that have similar blurbs in the catalog.

Although many upper-level courses are good, a few are hidden gems worth special note. These include Ec 1017, “A Libertarian Perspective on Economics and Social Policy,” Ec 1410, “Public Sector Economics,” and Ec 1822, “The Economics of Education.” Also, the two finance courses, Ec 1723, “Capital Markets,” and Ec 1745, “Corporate Finance,” are always popular because they teach a lot of practical knowledge, particularly for those bound for Wall Street. Finally, the department’s new Junior Seminars with top-notch profs may be worth checking out.

Ultimately, even if you don’t actually learn the stuff, you’ll probably known enough technical words like “substitution effect” and “Laffer Curve” to impress your way through a couple of i-banking interviews, land a six-figure job, and soon be set for life. What more could you ask for?