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At Dordt, you will have the opportunity to participate in internships with businesses such as banks, insurance companies, and others in the financial services industry. In the classroom, you will be equipped with the skills to work in multiple sectors of economics—all from a Christian perspective.

For the private sector of business, you will learn to:

• advise businesses on economic topics
• help managers and decision-makers understand how the economy will affect their business
• research and analyze economic issues
• conduct surveys and collect data
• interpret and forecast market trends
• and more.

For the public sector of government, you will learn to:

• recommend solutions to economic problems
• collect and analyze data on regional, national, and international economies, including employment, prices, productivity, and wages
• project spending needs and inform policymakers on the economic impact of laws and regulations
• advise on tax and trade policy
• and more.

For the academic sector of education, you will learn to:

• teach in high schools, colleges and universities
• write articles for academic journals and other media
• publish economic articles in newspapers and journals
• and more.

To learn more, you can also view the program strengths and learning outcomes for this program.

Students looking to get a degree in economics will take classes from the economics, business administration, mathematics, and statistics programs. Additionally, students will choose 15 credits from a selection of economics, statistics and business administration courses.

• Introduction to Business: This course will prepare you to understand your calling in the business industry. This course will help develop your understanding of God’s plan for business and how you can become an effective Kingdom citizen in this area of work. This course will also help you gain a better understanding of the different roles people play within a business and the ways these roles work together for the effectiveness of the business. Finally, this course will provide students with advice on how to be successful within the business major.
• Principles of Economics: Micro: The study of allocation of scarce resources at the level of the individual, household, and firm. Included are human motivation and preferences, the market, the function of prices, supply, demand, perfect and imperfect competition, and selected policy questions. Christian views on the nature of humanity, human motivation, and the market are also studied.
• Principles of Economics: Macro: An introduction to the study of human choice in the allocation of scarce resources, concentrating on the aggregate or national level. Economic systems, national income accounts and analysis, income distribution, fiscal and monetary policy, banking systems, economic growth, and selected economic policy problems are covered. Christian views on the origin and nature of economic resources and humankind’s stewardship responsibilities are discussed.
• Econometrics: This course covers all of the topics in Statistics 201 and topics commonly used in economic applications of statistics: time series and forecasting, linear time series models, moving average, autoregressive and ARIMA models, data analysis and forecasting with time series models and forecasting errors. Meets at the same times as Statistics 201 plus two additional hours per week. Offered second half of spring semester. Credit will not be given for both Statistics 201 and 202.
• Intermediate Microeconomics: Theory and Application: Microeconomic theory is based on the notion that individuals (and firms) make choices with well-defined objectives (e.g., maximizing utility or profits) and behave systematically according to the incentives and constraints of their economic environment. This course lays the theoretical framework and provides detailed intermediate-level study of the theory of consumer behavior, production and costs, partial equilibrium analysis of pricing in competitive and monopolistic markets, general equilibrium, welfare, and externalities. A critical reformational Christian perspective will pervade throughout.
• Intermediate Macroeconomics: Theory and Policy: This course provides an intermediate-level study of large scale relationships between macroeconomics, the financial system, and stabilization policy. It is comprised of a theoretical, institutional, and empirical study of national income distribution, price levels, labor markets, and policy-induced economic stabilization. It is particularly concerned with fluctuations in economic activity and the implications of economic disequilibrium for public policy. A reformational Christian perspective will be employed to critically assess prevailing macroeconomic paradigms and systems.
• Senior Business and Economics Ethics Seminar: An integration of departmental courses involving student research and analysis on current topics in business and economics, with primary emphasis on Christian perspectives for the businessperson and economist. Required for senior majors in business administration or economics.
• Calculus I: A study of the basic concepts and techniques of calculus for students in all disciplines. Topics include limits, differentiation, integration, and applications. This course is intended for students without any previous calculus credit.
• Introductory Statistics: An introductory course in statistical techniques and methods and their application to a variety of fields. Topics include data analysis, design of experiments, and statistical inference including confidence intervals and hypothesis testing. Exposure to statistical software and a substantive student project are also part of this course.
• Principles of Financial Accounting: Introduces the concepts and terminology of accounting and financial reporting for modern business enterprises. The course is centered around analyzing and interpreting accounting information for use in making decisions about organizations. There is a special emphasis on analyzing the balance sheet, the statement of income and expense, the statement of cash flows, and the statement of stockholders’ equity. Additional emphasis is placed on problem-solving, critical thinking, and communication skills that are necessary for forming conclusions about business activities and to communicate these conclusions to others.
• Money and Banking: An analysis of the nature and function of money; the operation of the financial system; the organization, management and regulation of financial institutions; and the Federal Reserve Systems with special emphasis on the impact of monetary policy and financial institutions on the global economy.
• Economic History of the United States: A history of the development of the United States from an economic point of view. To set the context for the U.S. experience, the course will trace the roots of American economic development back to European and Medieval Economic thought. The causes and effects of major historical events are analyzed using contemporary economic thought. Some of the economic institutions and policies that played an important role in U.S. economic history will be evaluated from a Christian perspective.
• Government Finance: A study of government taxing and spending, primarily at the federal level. Christian and secular views on government economic activity, forms of taxation and their effects, debt financing, budget processes and problems are studied. The broad purpose of the course is to help students learn how to apply economic principles in an analysis of the effects of governmental policies, particularly tax and expenditure policies. Emphasis is on analytical skills.
• Global Economic Development: A study of economic aspects of poverty and underdevelopment in the modern world. Specific topics include the dimensions and nature of poverty in the world, characteristics and types of developing nations, theories of development, and emerging issues in development. We will also consider the implications of biblical principles for policy to promote economic development and alleviate poverty.
• Economics of Natural Resources and the Environment: A study of economic aspects of Christian stewardship in relation to the environment and use of natural resources. Major topics include biblical norms on creation, property rights, economic justice, the economic dimensions of current environmental problems and trends in resource use, institutions and social structures that affect environmental policy, economic theories related to resource use and environmental quality, and evaluation of current and proposed policies from a Christian point of view.
• Special Topics: Courses on different topics of special interest, utilizing individual instructor strengths, interests, and competencies. Each course selected will involve a topic not usually treated in depth in regularly scheduled courses.
• Individual Studies
• Generalized Linear Models: This course covers simple linear regression and associated special topics, multiple linear regression, indicator variables, influence diagnostics, assumption analysis, selection of ‘best subset’, nonstandard regression models, logistic regression, and nonlinear regression models. This course, along with Statistics 132 and Statistics 202, also serves as preparation for Actuarial Exam SRM. Additionally this course, along with Statistics 132, Statistics 202, Statistics 220 and Statistics 352, serves as preparation for Actuarial Exam MAS I.
• Introduction to Univariate Probability: An introduction to the theory and techniques of general probability and common univariate probability distributions. Topics include but are not limited to basic set theory, introductory probability rules (independence, combinatorials, conditionals, Bayes theorem, etc.), common univariate distributions (e.g., binomial and normal) and expected value/variance. This course, along with Statistics 216, also serves as preparation for Actuarial Exam P/1. Offered first half of the semester.

See the course catalog for more information.