A renowned Harvard economist explains why his class has been the most popular 4 years in a row

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February 9, 2017 9:14 PM

For the fourth year in a row, "Economics 10b: Principles of Economics" is the most popular spring class at Harvard.

Econ is for everyone.

For the fourth year in a row, "Economics 10b: Principles of Economics" is the most popular spring class at Harvard, The Harvard Crimson reported.

The class, taught by renowned economist Gregory Mankiw, is actually a full-year course, where the fall term teaches microeconomics concepts and the spring term teaches macroeconomics.

"I'd love to say it's me, but I'm sure it's not just me," Mankiw told Business Insider. "It's really about economics."

Many students at Harvard begin their freshman year without ever having taken an economics class, Mankiw explained. These students are curious to see what the major is all about and Economics 10 is the prerequisite for higher level course in the major.

Many of these students decide economics is a good fit; it's the largest major on campus.

But even for those students who don't intend to major in economics, the course provides huge benefit, according to Mankiw.

"I think it's a great gateway into a lot of different careers," he said. Studying economics is important "so you can read the newspaper, so you can be an intelligent voter, make intelligent decisions as you go about your personal financial life," he continued. "It's a great place to start to learn how the world works."

Specific concepts reviewed in the course are economic growth, inflation, unemployment, the business cycle, the financial system, international capital flows and trade imbalances, and the impact of monetary and fiscal policy, according to the Harvard University course catalog.

Five hundred seventy-one students were enrolled in the course as of February 1.

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