Economics demands a strong background in math and any undergrad program worth its salt will require at least multivariate calculus (if not analysis), linear alg

Economics demands a strong background in math and any undergrad program worth its salt will require at least multivariate calculus (if not analysis), linear algebra and a fairly robust course in statistics. Beyond this, a proper understanding of metric spaces, fixed point theorems and rigorous stats are all useful and almost essential tools. All of these courses should be proof based. I've said it before and I'll say it again: If it's not proof based, it's not mathematics. It's computation (and I don't mean computer science). Unfortunately, even programs at many "top" universities sometimes skip these requirements. There are very few undergrad economics degrees worth the paper that they are written on. As to the theory that arithmetic is any determinant of success in real math, I have only anecdotal evidence that this is false. Having gone to an undergrad university with a top 5 math department, I can assure you that people who are some of the most significant contributors to their fields sometimes struggle at the chalk board when it comes to "basic math." I think it is not clear to most people that arithmetic is not math. It is not the "base" of math, and skill in this area does not provide a "strong foundation" for math. Math is the study of quantity, structure, space and change (to borrow a leaf from wikipedia) among other things. It is the most fundamental of the sciences in a metaphysical sense (it may be argued that philosophy is the real root, but I would say that at their most fundamental, there is significant convergence between math and philosophy). Arithmetic is not related in any form to this.