This paper reports an investigation that was done ex post facto, examining the hypothesis that within economics courses defined economics students achieved better results than did law students in the same courses. This should not be the case if the courses are truly multifunctional. Information on an economics and money course and a course on the balance sheet, profit and loss account, and administrative procedures from 1985 to 1988 for 389 college economics students and 1,893 law students confirmed that economics students had a better chance of passing these courses and that they made fewer attempts at the examinations than did the law students. The overall failure of 49.9% among economics students for the economics and money course contrasts with the 70.3% failure rate of law students. Similar results for the other course also demonstrate that economics students took fewer attempts to pass the examinations. A possible explanation lies in the entrance level of prior knowledge for the students and the effects of the interest value of the material. Seven figures and 12 tables present analysis results. (Contains eight references.) (SLD)