The Department of Economics offers a wide variety of courses. The offering of electives is flexible and designed to serve the teaching and scholarly interests of faculty members as well as the interests of students. Electives are offered at two levels: lower level courses with a Principles prerequisite and upper level courses requiring intermediate theory. Department members are also encouraged to develop new courses.

Williams is a highly selective coeducational liberal arts college located in northwestern Massachusetts in a town of 8,000 people. Founded in 1793, Williams now has 2,100 full-time undergraduates; 51 percent are men, 49 percent women. Williams College's endowment exceeds $1 billion, ranking it among the top decile of all colleges and universities, as measured by both total endowment and total endowment per student. The cultural resources of Williamstown and the Berkshires provide students, faculty, and staff with many opportunities for recreation, community service, and musical and theatrical performances.