Economics vs. Business - Overview in Differences of Studies
Santiago Bel
October 29, 2025
Choosing what to study in college is one of the most important economics decisions a student can make. While majors like economics, business, and finance or accounting often get grouped together, they each offer distinct skills, career paths, and long-term opportunities. Understanding these differences can help you make better informed decisions about what is the best fit for you - personally, professionally, and economically.
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Economics is fundamentally the study of decision-making under scarcity. It helps us understand how individuals, firms, and governments allocate resources, respond to incentives, and react to shifting conditions in markets and society. PhD candidate in Economics at the University of Texas at Austin Andrew Yusik Kim says, “I think [economics] helps us learn how to think logically about incentives and markets, but it’s a bit more theoretical.” Although it can be more analytical, often involving mathematics, statistics, and abstract modeling, its versatility allows graduates to enter a large range of industries-from government policy to tech, consulting and data analysis.
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Business, by contrast, is a broader, more applied field focused on the day-to-day mechanics of managing people, resources, and organizations. Business study includes a range of disciplines – marketing, management, finance, operations, and entrepreneurship – with an emphasis on communication, leadership, and strategic thinking. While business degrees don’t always result in the highest starting salaries, they provide a flexible toolkit for a wide array of careers.
Finance is the closest study to economics within the field of business. Whether it be treasury, accounting, financial planning & analysis, or even risk management, the field of finance has a special focus on handling money. It offers a wide array of applications ranging from banking to corporate finance. In many cases, within business, finance skills are the most flexible in being able to be applied and transferred across many distinct industries.
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It is also important to consider career paths that can blend the study of economics and business. A popular example of this is studying economics as a pre-grad and then doing an MBA (Master’s in Business Administration). This can lead to a more competitive edge in the work market and lead to successful careers in consulting, investment banking, private equity, and even corporate finance such as treasury to name a few, though this pathway isn’t required to find stability in these fields.
While studying, economics and business undergrads can have multiple overlapping courses and find it common to attend the same events and use the same networking channels.
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Sophomore Tomas Lozano studying economics at the University of Michigan says, “I have many friends in both The College of Literature, Science and the Arts and at the Ross School of Business. While studying economics I’m part of the Michigan Business Group, where I use what I’m learning for creative problem solving, contribute to consulting projects, and work as a marketing analyst. I think trying to be a well-rounded student really helps me to get multiple perspectives and be more prepared to solve problems in the future.”
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Altogether, both studying business and economics have their own benefits and specializations. Though they overlap in some areas, there are many different pathways that can be taken, and it’s up to the individual to decide what is best.