In terms of the print collection, a variety of subjects are covered in a fairly detailed fashion to support the curriculum and faculty research. This includes basic economic principles, measurement and forecasting, market structure, model building, public finance, labor economics, foreign trade practices, currency exchange, central banking systems, political economy, and regulation. Current emphasis is on global trade, international finance, economies of transition and developed countries, emerging markets, and doing business in the European Union.
For courses which require research papers, the collection must be broad and deep enough to do the necessary research. This is increasingly accomplished by making a broad-based e-book collection available. Most courses require textbook exams, and in those areas the print collection tends to be more general. The library acquires new textbooks, as needed, to serve as reference works for economic methods and theory.
Economic study is integral to the preparation for the Honors Program (undergraduates), international electives (MBA), and international internships and abroad programs. Country studies combined with economics make up the final exam for one module in the MBA program. The library subscribes to several subscription-based online resources that provide in-depth country analysis, such as Business Monitor International, Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), and Emerging Markets Information Services (EMIS).
National as well as global labor issues are considered in areas such as: employment and unemployment; wages, costs and prices; labor force (skill levels, aging, retirement, unions, etc.); the demand for labor, participation in the labor force and deployment of human capital; benchmarking. Labor areas can be data intensive, although books and reports are also useful.
Faculty research projects often require statistical time series; we subscribe to several data sources with IHS Global Insight being the most comprehensive and having the most historical depth.
a. Languages: generally English except in those instances where a translation of a text from its original Spanish, French, or German cannot be located.
b. Geographical Guidelines: emphasis on the American economic system as well as the European Union, Latin America (particularly Brazil), Asia (particularly Japan, China, India, and Pacific Rim), Central and Eastern Europe. Specific current emphasis on emerging markets in Asia, Latin America, and Africa and the Middle East.
c. Chronological Guidelines: Emphasis is on current economic trends and conditions and historical study limited primarily to the 20th century. Representative historical surveys are collected. Statistical time series are available from 1948, world outlooks from 1980. Statistics from the most recent three years are considered current.
d. Treatment of Subject: monographs and journals; reference works and indexes; country studies, trade cases and economic surveys; comparative studies and annual reviews of conditions and developments; outlook, risk and other analysis and statistical series from international sources (World Bank, IMF, WTO, UN, OECD, and Economist Intelligence Unit). Textbooks are not actively collected, however, titles from key authors are retained (see listing of authors in left-hand column). Increasingly, newer content is made available through subscriptions to online resources.
Research
Practitioner
Authors whose works should be retained permanently:
While textbooks are not actively collected, titles from the following authors are retained:
These authors were identified in Books for College Libraries and Harvard Core Collection for Business Libraries. Textbooks are also retained if they have a unique scope, treatment, or historical coverage.
Current:
Former:
Emphasis is on current economic trends and conditions and historical study is limited primarily to the 20th century. Representative historical surveys are collected. Statistical time series are available from 1948, world outlooks from 1980. Statistics from the most recent three years are considered current.
In terms of older materials in the collection, we retain
Economics books are located on the Library shelves according to the following call numbers (codes on the spine of the books):
| HA 40-9999 | Demographic & Economic Statistics |
| HB | Economic Theory |
| HC | Economic History & Conditions |
| HD 70-88 | Econ. Growth, Development, Planning |
| HD 4801-8943 | Labor |
| HF 1-4055 | Commerce & Foreign Trade |
| HJ | Public Finance |
The concentration in Economics is comprised of four courses beyond the foundation Micro/Macro sequence. Microeconomics (ECN2312) is taken as part of the MCE curriculum, and Macroeconomics (ECN2300) may be taken any time before students enroll in the capstone “ASM” course.
Students concentrating in Economics will choose either ECN3615 (Money, Banking and the Economy) or ECN3655 (Managerial Economics) as the foundation for the concentration, and then select three more economics electives based on personal or career interests. Within the concentration, students may focus on one of several sub-concentrations including macro-financial, international, and development.
More details at: http://www.babson.edu/Academics/undergraduate/concentrations/Pages/economics.aspx
The Economics section of the undergraduate course catalog is available on the Babson College website.
Most of these courses have a Prerequisite: ECN7000 or MBA8520 or completion of one-year or two-year modules.
Details at http://www.babson.edu/Academics/graduate/Pages/course-catalog.aspx?Division=Economics