Economics
Economics is about human behavior: how people choose, bargain, trade, and produce; how they organize themselves into firms and markets for these purposes; and how such activity is impacted by government intervention. Building on these foundations, economists analyze how the decision-making of many individuals combines to drive innovation, growth, trade flows, business cycles, and stock market volatility.
Tepper economics faculty members have been at the forefront of advancing economic research and using this research to provide insight on policy and business. Nine economics faculty and students have won Nobel Prizes in the field. This tradition of excellence continues today. Our distinguished faculty encompasses editors of leading economics research journals; advisers to the Federal Reserve and to other federal and foreign government institutions; four fellows of the Econometric Society; and Nobel Prize winner Finn Kydland among its members.
Current areas of active faculty research include:
- The design of cryptocurrencies, online platforms, and other digital marketplaces.
- The origin and mitigation of financial crises.
- Network formation.
- Tax policy reform.
- Discrimination dynamics.
- Migration.
- Climate change.
Academic Minds Research Spotlight
What is the Impact of Technology on Factory Workers?
Laurence Ales, Associate Professor of Economics
Why Do Almost Half of Government Contracts Have No Competition?
Karam Kang, Tepper School Associate Professor of Economics
Tepper Initiatives
Tepper Economics research is a key component of our interdisciplinary approach to understanding challenges and furthering advances in the areas of blockchain, health care, and sustainability.
Economics Faculty in the News
Coronavirus Trillions Get Bitcoiners Wondering if Halving Still Matters, featuring Ariel Zetlin-Jones, Associate Professor of Economics
What Is the Cost of COVID-19 Treatment?, featuring Anh Nguyen, Assistant Professor of Economics
April 1, 2020: A Cruel April Fools’ Day Prank on the Economy and the Environment, featuring Nicholas Muller, Associate Professor of Economics, and Karen Clay, Professor of Economics and Public Policy, Heinz College, and by Courtesy, Tepper School of Business
Europe’s Aversion to Hiring-and-Firing Suddenly Seems Smart Idea, featuring Laurence Ales, Associate Professor of Economics
Unemployment Headed For 40-Year High—And Trump Reportedly Tells States Not To Release Data, featuring Laurence Ales, Associate Professor of Economics
Economics in the Classroom
Sustainability, Energy, and the Environment Course
Designing the Digital Economy Course
Economics Community
Life at Carnegie Mellon
We understand the value of work hard/play hard, and prize our tight-knit community where students from all around the world make lifelong friends as they prepare for career success.
Preparing for a Ph.D.
Each year the Tepper School of Business sends graduates out into the world to test their knowledge and prove what they have learned during their time on campus. However, some students are only getting started with their schoolwork.