The Department of Economics is committed to providing students, at both the graduate and undergraduate level, the opportunity to develop the skills to critically analyze economic data, to better understand and evaluate policies in both the private and public sectors, and to contribute more broadly to the betterment of society, both locally and globally.
Faculty are actively engaged in quantitative research that help better the understanding of the operation of the economy. That research includes the impact of government tax, transfer, trade and regulatory policies on economic development and well-being at the individual, household, firm, and macroeconomic levels.
The Department of Economics houses the Center for Business and Economic Research (CBER), an applied economic research center focused on providing economic analysis and information to Kentucky’s decision makers, the Center for Poverty Research (UKCPR), a federally-funded cross-disciplinary center providing research to inform evidence-based policy on poverty and inequality in the United States and the Kentucky Research Data Center (KRDC), which serves to expand the data infrastructure available to qualified scholars and students with approved projects by providing access to restricted individual and firm-level data from participating federal statistical agencies. The department is affiliated with the Institute for the Study of Free Enterprise (ISFE), which is dedicated to understanding the role that markets play in the economy and in society.
“This year, we had 29 universities participate, with over 240 students competing,” said Darshak Patel, director of undergraduate studies and assistant professor of economics at the Gatton College of Business and Economics who co-founded and now helps lead the competition. “The geographic and institutional diversity continues to grow, which is a strong indicator of the competition’s national reach.”
The University of Kentucky’s Gatton College of Business and Economics has announced that Bank of America will serve as the naming partner for the 2026 Econ Games, one of the nation’s leading undergraduate competitions focused on applying economics and data analytics to real-world challenges. The event will be officially known as The Bank of America 2026 Econ Games.
LEXINGTON, Ky. A recently published national study on economics education research highlights the growing influence of Gatton-affiliated scholars whose work is shaping how economics is taught across the country.
