Economics is a discipline concerned with how society chooses to allocate scarce resources among alternative uses in order to produce and distribute private and public goods.

The programs and course offerings are designed to provide a basic understanding of economic concepts, institutions, processes, and problems; to foster critical and analytical methods of thinking; and to lay the foundation for further study of economics.

Students in the economics program at Western Kentucky University can encounter the latest technology through integration of the World Wide Web into the classroom, interactive television courses, simulation software packages designed for greater hands-on experience, and campus-wide access to computer laboratories and the Internet.

The economics program awards the N.O. Taff and the Kenneth T. And Maria Cann Scholarships. The recipients must be economics majors and selection is made on the basis of academic performance. The program also recognizes the outstanding senior economics major with the annual Wall Street Journal Student Achievement Award and the James R. Ramsey Prize.