An economist is a professional and practitioner in the social science discipline of economics .
40-626: The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy . Within this field there are many sub-fields, ranging from the broad philosophical theories to the focused study of minutiae within specific markets , macroeconomic analysis, microeconomic analysis or financial statement analysis , involving analytical methods and tools such as econometrics , statistics , economics computational models , financial economics , regulatory impact analysis and mathematical economics . Economists work in many fields including academia, government and in
80-693: A bureau again when the Department of Commerce and Labor was established. United States President William Howard Taft signed the March 4, 1913, bill (the last day of his presidency), establishing the Department of Labor as its own Cabinet -level department. William B. Wilson was appointed as the first Secretary of Labor on March 5, 1913, by President Wilson. As part of this action, the United States Conciliation Service
120-425: A contracting scandal. In March 2013, the department began commemorating its centennial. In July 2013, Tom Perez was confirmed as Secretary of Labor. According to remarks by Perez at his swearing-in ceremony, "Boiled down to its essence, the Department of Labor is the department of opportunity." In April 2017, Alexander Acosta was confirmed as the new Secretary of Labor. In July 2019, Acosta resigned due to
160-414: A government may say it intends to raise interest rates indefinitely to bring inflation under control, but then relax its stance later. This makes policy non-credible and ultimately ineffective. A rule-based policy can be more credible, because it is more transparent and easier to anticipate. Examples of rule-based policies are fixed exchange rates , interest rate rules , the stability and growth pact and
200-400: A predominant issue in the 19th century, as it became clear that industrial output, employment, and profit behaved in a cyclical manner. One of the first proposed policy solutions to the problem came with the work of Keynes , who proposed that fiscal policy could be used actively to ward off depressions, recessions and slumps. The Austrian School of economics argues that central banks create
240-427: A variety of major national and international firms in the financial and commercial sectors, and in manufacturing, retailing and IT, as well as in the public sector – for example, in the health and education sectors, or in government and politics . Some graduates go on to undertake postgraduate studies , either in economics, research, teacher training or further qualifications in specialist areas. Unlike most nations,
280-536: A very high tariff on foreign trade. By the early modern age, more policy choices had been developed. There was considerable debate about mercantilism and other restrictive trade practices like the Navigation Acts , as trade policy became associated with both national wealth and with foreign and colonial policy. Throughout the 19th century, monetary standards became an important issue. Gold and silver were in supply in different proportions. Which metal
320-429: Is a broader term that includes also institutional reforms and actions that do not require causal claims to be neutral under interventions. Such policy decisions can be grounded in, respectively, mechanistic evidence and correlational (econometric) studies. United States Department of Labor The United States Department of Labor ( DOL ) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government . It
360-523: Is a formalized role. Professionals here are employed (or engaged as consultants ) to conduct research, prepare reports, or formulate plans and strategies to address economic problems. Here, as outlined, the analyst provides forecasts, analysis and advice, based upon observed trends and economic principles; this entails also collecting and processing economic and statistical data using econometric methods and statistical techniques. In contrast to regulated professions such as engineering, law or medicine, there
400-614: Is a set of policies that are imposed by an international body. This can occur (for example) as a result of intervention by the International Monetary Fund . The first economic problem was how to gain the resources it needed to be able to perform the functions of an early government: the military , roads and other projects like building the Pyramids . Early governments generally relied on tax in kind and forced labor for their economic resources. However, with
440-555: Is not a legally required educational requirement or license for economists. In academia, most economists have a Ph.D. degree in Economics . In the U.S. Government, on the other hand, a person can be hired as an economist provided that they have a degree that included or was supplemented by 21 semester hours in economics and three hours in statistics, accounting, or calculus. In fact, a professional working inside of one of many fields of economics or having an academic degree in this subject
SECTION 10
#1732764802874480-400: Is often considered to be an economist; see Bachelor of Economics and Master of Economics . Economics graduates are employed in varying degrees depending on the regional economic scenario and labour market conditions at the time for a given country. Apart from the specific understanding of the subject, employers value the skills of numeracy and analysis, the ability to communicate and
520-462: Is responsible for the administration of federal laws governing occupational safety and health , wage and hour standards, unemployment benefits , reemployment services, and occasionally, economic statistics. It is headed by the secretary of labor , who reports directly to the president of the United States and is a member of the president's Cabinet . The purpose of the Department of Labor
560-405: Is to foster, promote, and develop the well-being of the wage earners, job seekers, and retirees of the United States; improve working conditions; advance opportunities for profitable employment; and assure work-related benefits and rights. In carrying out this mission, the Department of Labor administers and enforces more than 180 federal laws and thousands of federal regulations. These mandates and
600-643: The American Federation of Government Employees stated their unhappiness that a longstanding flextime program reduced under the George W. Bush administration had not been restored under the Obama administration . Department officials said the program was modern and fair and that it was part of ongoing contract negotiations with the local. In August 2010, the Partnership for Public Service ranked
640-704: The Golden Rule . Some policy rules can be imposed by external bodies, for instance, the Exchange Rate Mechanism for currency. A compromise between strict discretionary and strict rule-based policy is to grant discretionary power to an independent body. For instance, the Federal Reserve Bank , European Central Bank , Bank of England and Reserve Bank of Australia all set interest rates without government interference, but do not adopt rules. Another type of non-discretionary policy
680-552: The U.S. Congress first established a Bureau of Labor Statistics with the Bureau of Labor Act, to collect information about labor and employment. This bureau was under the Department of the Interior . The Bureau started collecting economic data in 1884, and published their first report in 1886. Later, in 1888, the Bureau of Labor became an independent Department of Labor, but lacked executive rank. In February 1903, it became
720-918: The UK are the more than 3500 members of the Government Economic Service . Analysis of destination surveys for economics graduates from a number of selected top schools of economics in the United Kingdom (ranging from Newcastle University to the London School of Economics ), shows nearly 80 percent in employment six months after graduation – with a wide range of roles and employers, including regional, national and international organisations, across many sectors. Some current well-known economists include: [REDACTED] The dictionary definition of economist at Wiktionary Economic policy The economy of governments covers
760-448: The money supply to prevent excessive inflation. Policy is generally directed to achieve particular objectives, like targets for inflation , unemployment , or economic growth . Sometimes other objectives, like military spending or nationalization are important. These are referred to as the policy goals : the outcomes which the economic policy aims to achieve. To achieve these goals, governments use policy tools which are under
800-462: The 2019 Nobel Prize laureates exemplifies the gold type of evidence. However, the emphasis put on experimental evidence by the movement of evidence-based policy (and evidence-based medicine ) results from the narrowly construed notion of intervention, which encompasses only policy decisions concerned with policymaking aimed at modifying causes to influence effects. In contrast to this idealized view of evidence-based policy movement, economic policymaking
840-503: The 20th century, governments adopted discretionary policies like demand management designed to correct the business cycle . These typically used fiscal and monetary policy to adjust inflation, output and unemployment. However, following the stagflation of the 1970s , policymakers began to be attracted to policy rules . A discretionary policy is supported because it allows policymakers to respond quickly to events. However, discretionary policy can be subject to dynamic inconsistency :
SECTION 20
#1732764802874880-478: The Department of Labor 23rd out of 31 large agencies in its annual "Best Places to Work in the Federal Government" list. In December 2010, Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis was named the chair of the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness , of which Labor has been a member since its beginnings in 1987. In July 2011, Ray Jefferson , Assistant Secretary for VETS resigned due to his involvement in
920-590: The Labor Department under Secretary George P. Shultz made a concerted effort to promote racial diversity in unions . In 1978, the Department of Labor created the Philip Arnow Award , intended to recognize outstanding career employees such as the eponymous Philip Arnow. In the same year, Carin Clauss became the department's first female solicitor of the department. In 2010, a local of
960-522: The U.S. Conciliation Service, which was reconstituted outside the department as a new independent agency, the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service . During the John F. Kennedy Administration , planning was undertaken to consolidate most of the department's offices, then scattered around more than 20 locations. In the mid‑1960s, construction on the "New Labor Building" began and construction
1000-432: The business cycle. After the dominance of monetarism and neoclassical thought that advised limiting the role of government in the economy in the second half of the twentieth century, the interventionist view has once more dominated the economic policy debate in response to the 2007-2008 financial crisis, A recent trend originating from medicine is to justify economic policy decisions with best available evidence. While
1040-415: The capacity to grasp broad issues which the graduates acquire at the university or college . Whilst only a few economics graduates may be expected to become professional economists, many find it a base for entry into a career in finance – including accounting, insurance, tax and banking, or management . A number of economics graduates from around the world have been successful in obtaining employment in
1080-522: The control of the government. These generally include the interest rate and money supply , tax and government spending, tariffs, exchange rates , labor market regulations, and many other aspects of government. Government and central banks are limited in the number of goals they can achieve in the short term. For instance, there may be pressure on the government to reduce inflation, reduce unemployment, and reduce interest rates while maintaining currency stability. If all of these are selected as goals for
1120-472: The development of money came the first policy choice. A government could raise money through taxing its citizens. However, it could now also debase the coinage and so increase the money supply . Early civilizations also made decisions about whether to permit and how to tax trade . Some early civilizations, such as Ptolemaic Egypt adopted a closed currency policy whereby foreign merchants had to exchange their coin for local money. This effectively levied
1160-616: The economist profession in Brazil is regulated by law; specifically, Law № 1,411, of August 13, 1951. The professional designation of an economist, according to said law, is exclusive to those who graduated with a Bachelor of Economics degree in Brazil. According to the United States Department of Labor , there were about 15,000 non-academic economists in the United States in 2008, with a median salary of roughly $ 83,000, and
1200-460: The money supply and interest rates. Such policies are often influenced by international institutions like the International Monetary Fund or World Bank as well as political beliefs and the consequent policies of parties. Almost every aspect of government has an important economic component. A few examples of the kinds of economic policies that exist include: Stabilization policy attempts to stimulate an economy out of recession or constrain
1240-430: The previous approaches have been focused on macroeconomic policymaking aimed at sustaining promoting economic development and counteracting recessions, EBP is oriented towards all types of decisions concerned not only with anti-cyclical development but primarily with the growth-promoting policies. To gather evidence for such decisions, economists conduct randomized field experiments. The work of Banerjee, Duflo, and Kremer,
Economist - Misplaced Pages Continue
1280-663: The private sector, where they may also "study data and statistics in order to spot trends in economic activity, economic confidence levels, and consumer attitudes. They assess this information using advanced methods in statistical analysis, mathematics, computer programming [and] they make recommendations about ways to improve the efficiency of a system or take advantage of trends as they begin." In addition to government and academia, economists are also employed in banking , finance , accountancy , commerce , marketing , business administration , lobbying and non- or not-for profit organizations. In many organizations, an " Economic Analyst "
1320-551: The regulations that implement them cover many workplace activities for about 10 million employers and 125 million workers. Julie Su is currently serving as acting secretary since March 11, 2023, following the resignation of Marty Walsh . The department's headquarters is housed in the Frances Perkins Building , named in honor of Frances Perkins , the Secretary of Labor from 1933 to 1945. In 1884,
1360-522: The short term, then policy is likely to be incoherent, because a normal consequence of reducing inflation and maintaining currency stability is increasing unemployment and increasing interest rates. This dilemma can in part be resolved by using microeconomic supply-side policy to help adjust markets. For instance, unemployment could potentially be reduced by altering laws relating to trade unions or unemployment insurance , as well as by macroeconomic ( demand-side ) factors like interest rates. For much of
1400-454: The systems for setting levels of taxation , government budgets , the money supply and interest rates as well as the labour market , national ownership , and many other areas of government interventions into the economy. Most factors of economic policy can be divided into either fiscal policy , which deals with government actions regarding taxation and spending , or monetary policy , which deals with central banking actions regarding
1440-661: The top ten percent earning more than $ 147,040 annually. Nearly 135 colleges and universities grant around 900 new Ph.D.s every year. Incomes are highest for those in the private sector, followed by the federal government, with academia paying the lowest incomes. As of January 2013, PayScale.com showed Ph.D. economists' salary ranges as follows: all Ph.D. economists, $ 61,000 to $ 160,000; Ph.D. corporate economists, $ 71,000 to $ 207,000; economics full professors, $ 89,000 to $ 137,000; economics associate professors, $ 59,000 to $ 156,000, and economics assistant professors, $ 72,000 to $ 100,000. The largest single professional grouping of economists in
1480-610: Was adopted influenced the wealth of different groups in society. With the accumulation of private capital in the Renaissance, states developed methods of financing deficits without debasing their coin. The development of capital markets meant that a government could borrow money to finance war or expansion while causing less economic hardship. This was the beginning of modern fiscal policy . The same markets made it easy for private entities to raise bonds or sell stock to fund private initiatives. The business cycle became
1520-644: Was created as an agency within the department; its purpose was to provide mediation for labor disputes . In October 1919, Secretary Wilson chaired the first meeting of the International Labour Organization even though the U.S. was not yet a member. In September 1916, the Federal Employees' Compensation Act introduced benefits to workers who are injured or contract illnesses in the workplace. The act established an agency responsible for federal workers' compensation, which
1560-413: Was finished in 1975. In 1980, it was named in honor of Frances Perkins. President Lyndon B. Johnson asked Congress to consider the idea of reuniting Commerce and Labor. He argued that the two departments had similar goals and that they would have more efficient channels of communication in a single department. However, Congress never acted on it. In the 1970s, following the civil rights movement ,
1600-515: Was transferred to the Labor Department in the 1940s and has become known as the Office of Workers' Compensation Programs . Frances Perkins , the first female cabinet member, was appointed to be Secretary of Labor by President Roosevelt on March 4, 1933. Perkins served for 12 years, and became the longest-serving Secretary of Labor. The passage of the Taft–Hartley Act in 1947 led to the end of
#873126