<p>A double major in economics and mathematics and a business major would imply two entirely different careers paths. </p>
<p>If you want to work in some sort of business capacity, then do the business degree in whatever area interests you and excel on the job. If, at some later point, you need an MBA either for further advancement into management or a career shift, then apply, and the important factors are work experience, GPA, and test scores. </p>
<p>If you want to work as an economist, or doing economic analysis of some sort, then you’re going to need to do graduate study, as the good positions will require a doctorate. For graduate study, you’re going to need a solid background in math – your coursework in economics is actually less important (I’ve spoken to economics faculty about this). You will need the full calculus sequence, not business calculus, linear algebra, differential equations, advanced calculus, probability, and preferably real analysis. This amounts to roughly a minor in math, and your performance in advanced calculus is an important factor.</p>
<p>All of this information is unnecessary if you’re in high school or a freshman in college. Even worrying about an MBA is unnecessary: it doesn’t make any sense to “plan” to get a degree that may or may not assist your career development depending on where you find yourself 3-7 years after undergrad. Just decide whether you want a job or you want to go into academia/hardcore economics. For the former, just choose whatever degree interests you most and that has the best job prospects for your intended area. Economics is a solid degree in that it is quantitative and you can market yourself for a variety of business jobs with it, but if you are really interested in finance, why wouldn’t you want to study it? I’m studying economics myself, and find the subject matter to be intensely interesting. There is absolutely no comparison between intro macro and micro (typical business courses) and the advanced courses that econ majors take.</p>