It treats diverse issues such as wealth and poverty, government expenditures and taxation, prosperity and depression, inflation and unemployment, relations between management and labor, economic growth, environmental protection, health care delivery, the war on drug abuse, free trade versus protectionism, U.S. competitiveness in international markets, and the quality of American education.The Department of Economics offers degree programs for undergraduates and for graduate students. It also partners with the Departments of Philosophy, Political Science, and Sociology to offer the undergraduate major in ethics and public policy, an interdisciplinary program administered by the Department of Philosophy (College of Liberal Arts and Sciences).

The Tippie College of Business and the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences offer the major in economics. Students may complete the major with their choice of three degrees. The Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science are awarded by the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences; the Bachelor of Business Administration is awarded by the Tippie College of Business.