Chennai: Graduates and post-graduates of economics, a subject which is often perceived as archaic, are now in demand from investment banks, brokerage houses and IT firms. According to experts, the sudden rush is due to a services-led economy that thrives on analysis and research, reported The Economic Times.

Insurance and finance companies also require people trained in statistics, economics and econometrics. "In the last three to four years, there is an upsurge in demand for economic analysts. The gradual shift in the outsourcing business, from compilation and collection to research and knowledge has resulted in an increase in demand in the IT and IT-enabled services sector," said Dr DK Srivastava, Director, Madras School of Economics (MSE).

MSE, which attracted around 26 students for their post-graduate course two years back, currently has 106 students. The institute is planning to introduce health economics and a course on industrial & international business. MSE has papers in actuarial economics and environmental economics. Citigroup, HSBC, HP and TCS were among the companies that recruited from MSE this year.

Chennai's leading arts & science colleges such as Loyola, Stella Maris and WCC are witnessing a high demand for the economics graduates of these institutes. The recruiters include Goldman Sachs, DE Shaw, RR Donnelly, EDS, HSBC, HDFC, HP and HUL. Students who get into these companies mostly work in the research and analytics division.

The demand for the course spurted quickly during the last five years. Overall, the economics department in Loyola has 1,000 students, split in four sections. "The number of those choosing economics over commerce is also increasing, which is why the classes were rearranged when the college undertook a restructuring exercise," says Loyola College students service center director T Eugine.

Supporting the argument that northern India is more receptive to economics, 75 percent of the students in Loyola are from Delhi.