Our mission

The Economics Department supports the mission of the U.S. Naval Academy by producing graduates who can think critically, and who can understand, explain, and apply the core principles and quantitative methods of economics to resource allocation problems, the functioning of economic institutions, and the decisions of policy makers and other economic agents within a society.

Majoring in Economics

There actually are some vocational reasons for a midshipman to major in Economics:

First, the most fundamental lesson of Economics is that resources are scarce relative to potential uses, so that choices must be made -- that is what it means to "think economically." The Naval Officer can invariably say that "...if I had more people, or more ships, or more planes, or more supplies, or more time, the task would be easy," but of course the officer doesn't live in that kind of world. Instinctively thinking in terms of alternative uses of scarce resources -- thinking economically -- tends to make an effective officer.

Second, an economics program provides understanding of the economic institutions and economic system each officer is pledged to defend.

Third, an officer operates in an international arena. Knowledge of world resource endowments, industrial patterns, trade flows, and the nature and the interdependency of the world's diverse economic systems is useful background for dealing with the citizens and representatives of other countries that U.S. officers will inevitably encounter.

Finally, an Economics major provides a strong set of mid-career skills. In particular, it prepares a midshipman well for (1) attendance at service schools such as the Naval War College, (2) staff billet assignments on fleet, joint and combined staffs, (3) postgraduate training in management, national security affairs, and intelligence, and (4) future subspecialty designations in management and politico-military or strategic planning. In short, there are plenty of reasons why having an Economics major is useful to a Naval Officer.

Our Faculty

• Economic Inquiry
• Economics of Education Review
• European Economic Review
• Experimental Economics
• International Economic Review
• Journal of Applied Econometrics
• Journal of Development Economics
• Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization
• Journal of Economic Growth
• Journal of Economic History
• Journal of Economic Theory
• Journal of International Economics
• Journal  of Human Resources
• Journal of Urban Economics
• Scandinavian Journal of Economics
• Southern Economic Journal

In addition to our robust research agenda, faculty have also spent time at the Federal Trade Commission, Rand, the Department of Agriculture, and the Securities and Exchange Commission.

In the midst of time spent on research, the faculty upholds the department's rich tradition of outstanding teaching.  Aiding in this tradition is a stellar collection of military officers, all of whom are central to not only teaching courses within the department, but add to the dynamic faculty atmosphere. Their experience as Navy and Marine officers proves instrumental in the instruction of the Midshipmen who choose economics as their major.