Prof. Ian Fillmore

Ian Fillmore (Ph.D., University of Chicago) is Assistant Professor of Economics at Washington University in St. Louis. His research focuses on the economics of education and education markets, the effects of technological change on workers, and optimal taxation.



Is being really interested in economics a good enough reason to major in economics?

I remember during my Freshman year of college having the sudden realization that just because I found a subject interesting, that didn't mean I had to do it for a living. So, just because you find economics interesting, that doesn't mean you should necessarily become a professional economist. But economics can still be a terrific major even if you don't become an economist. Learning to "think like an economist" will open your eyes to important concepts like tradeoffs, opportunity cost, and thinking about seen and unseen forces and consequences. Economics is also a great way to train yourself to weigh empirical evidence and distinguish between correlation and causation. Finally, the economics major provides skills that are applicable in a wide variety of careers, so you have a lot of flexibility with what you want to do after you graduate.