Micro, macro econ classes to be combined

In a move that will affect future economics and international relations majors at Tufts, the economics department has decided to merge the two introductory economics courses.

Principles of Microeconomics (EC-1) and Principles of Macroeconomics (EC-2) will be combined into a new course, Principles of Microeconomics and Macroeconomics (EC-5).

The course will be offered for the first time next fall. The economics department will continue to offer EC-2 until the spring of 2006 for students who have already taken EC-1.

According to Economics Department Chair Gilbert Metcalf, there were three main reasons the department made the change. The first was that many of the students taking the two introductory courses do so only to get a general understanding of economics.

"We felt we could give them a good feel for the subject in one semester and so free up a second class for those students," Metcalf said.

Secondly, economics majors are already required to take intermediate level courses in both microeconomics and macroeconomics. "We felt it was not necessary for them to take two semesters at the introductory level followed by two semesters at the intermediate level," Metcalf said.

Finally, the department hoped to concentrate on higher level economics courses for majors by freeing up faculty and reducing class size. "We'd like to use those resources to reduce class size in other parts of our major as well as help implement a new econometrics requirement for our majors."

Sophomore economics major Jon Rissin said he agreed with this idea. "If we reduce the number of courses required, they should supplement it with something else like another statistics class like many schools already have."

Metcalf said the department examined the economics programs at other schools before combining the courses. "Many schools have shifted over from a two semester principles sequence to a one semester course," he said. "After considering what other schools have done and as part of an overall review of our undergraduate curriculum, we decided to follow suit."

According to International Relations (IR) Program Chair Christiane Zehl Romero, the new course will become part of the core requirements for the IR major. Both EC-1 and EC-2 are currently required for IR majors.

Romero said the momentum for the change came entirely from the economics department but had the support of the IR program. "The change came from economics, so IR went along because it affects our major also."

Romero was pleased with the change, and she said the merger had been suggested in the past. "Quite frankly this is a simplification. It reduces the number of required courses in IR by one," she said.

The fact that many students will have taken one more class than their younger peers does not seem bother many econ and IR majors.

Sophomore IR major Samuel Ronfard said, "It enables you to take higher up econ classes faster and reduces the amount of requirements that we have, which is always good."

Romero said she has not received any complaints on the matter.