The subject matter that modern economics students are expected to master makes significant mathematical demands. This is true even of the less technical “applied” literature that students will be expected to read for courses in fields such as public finance, industrial organization, and labour economics, amongst several others. Indeed, the most relevant literature typically presumes familiarity with several important mathematical tools, especially calculus for functions of one and several variables, as well as a basic understanding of multivariable optimization problems with or without constraints. Linear algebra is also used to some extent in economic theory, and a great deal more in econometrics.

现代经济学专业学生所掌握的学科问题对数学提出了重要的要求。即使是那些技术性较差的“应用”文学，学生们也会被期望读公共财政、工业组织和劳动经济学等领域的课程。事实上，最相关的文献通常假定熟悉几个重要的数学工具，特别是一个和多个变量函数的微积分，以及对有约束或无约束的多变量优化问题的基本理解。线性代数在经济理论中也有一定的应用，在计量经济学中也有着广泛的应用。