The MIT Department of Economics is a department of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Undergraduate studies in economics were introduced in the 19th century by institute president Francis Amasa Walker, while the department's Ph.D. program was introduced in 1941. The American Economics Association estimates that MIT and these peers produce half of all tenure track professors at U.S. research universities. By 2020, the department has the second highest number of Ph.D. alumni who received the Nobel Prize in Economics in the world (12) only behind Harvard Economics (13) and ahead of UChicago Economics (9). Nine out of 18 Clark medalists since 1999 received Ph.D. degrees from the department. History In the 1890s, economists including Francis Amasa Walker and Davis Rich Dewey taught courses in economics to the undergraduate students. It was known as the Department of Economics and Social Sciences. In 1937, the department established a graduate program, while in 1941, it established a Ph.D. program. In the 1950s and the 1960s, the department expanded its graduate program. In these years, the program became more quantitatively oriented and emphasized technical training. Approximately 25 students enrolled each year. In the 1970s, the first Black American graduate students joined the program as part of a desegregation program. Prominent faculty Paul Samuelson (1940–2009), Nobel Prize, 1970 Franco Modigliani (1962–2003), Nobel Prize, 1985 John Williamson (1967–1980), originator of the 'Washington Consensus' Robert Solow, (1960-1979) Nobel Prize, 1987 Stanley Fischer, (1977–1988), Vice-Chairman of the US Federal Reserve, Governor of Bank of Israel Robert F. Engle, (1969-1977), Nobel Prize, 2003 Daniel McFadden, (1977-1991), Nobel Prize 2000 George P. Shultz, (1948-1957), Former Secretary of State, Secretary of Treasury, Secretary of Labour Myron S. Scholes (1968-1973), Nobel prize in 1997 for the Black-Scholes equation Rudi Dornbusch (1975-2002), known for the Overshooting Model Francesco Giavazzi (1989–Present) Nobel Laureates Among the department's past and current faculty and alumni are several recipients of the Nobel Prize in Economics: Joshua Angrist, 2021 Esther Duflo (Ph.D., 1999) and Abhijit Banerjee, 2019 William Nordhaus, 2018 Bengt Holmstrom, 2016 Jean Tirole, 2014 Robert J. Shiller, 2013 Peter A. Diamond, 2010 Oliver E. Williamson, 2009 Paul Krugman (Ph.D., 1977), 2008 Eric Maskin, 2007 Edmund Phelps, 2006 Robert J. Aumann, 2005 Robert F. Engle, 2003 George Akerlof (Ph.D., 1966) and Joseph Stiglitz (Ph.D., 1967), 2001 Daniel McFadden, 2000 Robert Mundell (Ph.D., 1956), 1999 Amartya Sen, 1998 Robert C. Merton (Ph.D, 1970), 1997 Robert Solow,