经济学家研究了社会如何分配稀缺资源，例如土地，劳动力原料和用于生产商品和服务的机械。他们进行研究，收集和分析数据，监视经济趋势并制定预测。他们研究能源成本，通货膨胀，利率，进口或就业水平等问题。大多数经济学家都关注经济政策的实际应用。
All programs of the Dillard College of Business Administration at Midwestern State University are fully accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB International). Low student faculty ratios enhance teaching effectiveness and allow for individual student attention.<br><br>Economists are employed by both public and private sectors of the economy. Economists who work for government agencies may assess economic conditions in the United States or abroad, in order to estimate the economic effects of specific changes in legislation or public policy. The majority of government economists work in the area of agriculture, labor, commerce, or quantitative analysis, however, economists work in almost every area of government. For example, economists in the U.S. Department of Commerce study production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services produced in the U.S. as well as abroad, while economists employed by U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics analyze data related to prices, wages, employment, productivity, and safety and health. An economist working in state or local government might analyze data on the growth of school-age population, prison growth, highway traffic in order to project future spending needs.<br><br>Opportunities for economists should be best in private industry, especially in research, testing, and consulting firms, as more companies contract out for economic research services. The growing complexity of the global economy, competition, and increased reliance on quantitative methods for analyzing the current value of future funds, business trends, sales, and purchasing in such areas as banks, insurance companies, investment firms, manufacturing, and large hospitals would spur demand for economists.<br><br>Economics is also an excellent background for graduate schools in business and for a law school.