<p>When it comes to the difficulty of economics, it really depends on two things...
1. the school's degree requirements, which the student has no control over
2. how the student chooses their electives, which the student has a great deal of control over</p>
<p>For instance, I think it's safe to say that Northwestern and Claremont McKenna both have comparable reputations when it comes to Economics, but when you take a quick look at the degree requirements for both, there's a huge difference. Northwestern is more math-based and requires 12 classes, whereas CMC is more theory-based and only requires 10 classes.</p>