Volume 67, Issue 8

Economics vs. Finance
by Isaac Sassoon

How similar is the economics major to the finance major? Surprisingly, the economics major could be viewed as the Yeshiva College equivalent to Sy Syms School of Business’s finance major. Whereas finance is rooted in the analysis of balance sheets to project future cash flows, economics is a science that looks to find similar situations to predict what will occur in a given situation. A cursory glance might allow us to gain a better understanding of the two majors that seem to be more similar than any other two offered at Yeshiva.

Interestingly, two students majoring in finance and economics, respectively, could potentially enroll in many overlapping classes.  So, the two very often have similar backgrounds.  Finance majors, for example, are required to take three economics classes, and economics majors, with the ability to count corporate finance towards their major requirement among others, can potentially convert three finance classes towards their major.  With just a mere two more finance classes, an economics major will have completed as many classes as a finance major.

In addition, “Statistics for Business,” a Sy Syms core requirement, could also be counted towards the economics major, a further area of overlap. This might answer why some professors bemoan the fact that economics is not a business major.  Nevertheless, an economics major is now allowed to cultivate his mind in a very abstract science and take the very pertinent finance classes to gain a better understanding of the business world. Hence, the economics major does allow for a crossing over of disciplines, permitting its student to gain a fundamental understanding of finance.

Does this allow for the best of both worlds? I believe that it does, especially if one is considering the finance major as the alternative. (I am not trying to discount the finance major as a very respectable major.) While many economics majors decide to pursue careers in law, an economics major also enjoys the same opportunities as finance majors; it even seems that these majors are deemed interchangeable by business firms. With the background that students can gain from YC economics and SSSB finance, this should be no surprise. This trend has been reflected in the past, as many economics majors have been granted interviews and even jobs in finance firms.

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