The major in economics is designed for students who wish to obtain knowledge of the theoretical and empirical techniques of economics, and to learn how these techniques complement other perspectives learned at Bowdoin. The major provides an opportunity to learn economics as a social science, to study the process of drawing inferences from bodies of data and testing hypotheses against observation, and to apply economic theory to social objectives, including those that are not obviously "economic" in nature. Economics as a way of thinking is broadly useful to many students who are interested in a wide range of individual goals and social concerns (pursuit of "The Common Good"). Economics addresses the functioning of economic institutions (i.e., financial markets, labor markets, corporations, government agencies), and current policy issues: determinants of the pace and nature of economic development; the allocation of health-care services; impacts of urban policy and the design of cities; the advantages and disadvantages of government spending and debt; the tendency toward poverty and its alleviation; human impacts on the environment and ways of addressing them; environmental justice; the effects of globalization and technological change on various groups across society; arguments for and against deregulation; the economics of racial and gender injustice, etc. The major is a useful preparation for work in law, business administration, finance, public administration, medicine, environmental policy, education, agricultural work, computer science, non-profit work, and many other fields. Students interested in graduate school in law, business, finance, data science, public policy, public health, and economics will also find the major great preparation.