Teaching

Washington College

Industrial Organization
This is a course in industrial organization, the study of firms in markets. Industrial organization focuses on firm behavior in imperfectly competitive markets, which appear to be far more common than perfectly competitive markets. This field analyzes the acquisition and use of market power by firms, strategic interactions among firms, and the role of government competition policy.

Data Analysis
Students learn about the entire data analysis process, allowing them to design your own survey, analyze data, and produce professional reports. First, students are introduced to primary data collection including questionnaire design, sampling frames, and sample selection. Then they use sampling techniques to choose a random sample of population and administer the survey. Next, they use a programming language to analyze the data from their own survey along with secondary sources. As we move through the course, students learn to determine appropriate statistical tests and use these tests to analyze data using Stata. Finally, they learn how to describe the results of statistical tests for both academic and lay audiences.

Economic Development
The goal of this course is introduce the students to the trends, causes, and consequences of poverty and economic deprivation in developing countries. The topics covered will include the measurement of development, poverty, and inequality; population growth issues; the role of markets, government, and institutions; importance of human capital and psychology in economic development; and the interaction between poverty and the environment. By the end of the course, students should be familiar with the causes of poverty and poverty alleviation strategies. Students will also have a better understanding of the history of development theories and the role of the market and the government in the most current development theories.

Public Finance & Policy
This course explores the issues of market failure and the role of government in a competitive market economy, applying tools of basic microeconomics to answer important policy questions such as government response to global warming, school choice by K-12 students, Social Security versus private retirement savings accounts, government versus private health insurance, and setting income tax rates for individuals. We will also cover many of the exciting new topics of public policy debates, such as government financing of vaccine development and how we should modernize the unemployment insurance program in the wake of COVID-19.

Principles of Microeconomics
This course introduces students to the fundamentals of microeconomics, the branch of economics that examines the behavior of individual decision-makers, such as consumers and business firms. Students learn how to perform supply and demand analysis to examine the impact of economic events on markets; recognize market failure and the role of government in dealing with those failures; analyze the behavior of consumers in terms of the demand for products; evaluate the factors affecting firm behavior, such as production and costs; analyze the performance of firms under different market structures; and analyze the role the government can play in addressing income inequality.

Fordham University

World Poverty
An investigation into the causes and consequences of poverty, both in the United States and in developing countries. The available statistics and the economic explanations of poverty are surveyed. Contemporary debates over policies to reduce poverty are discussed, including issues of welfare, food and housing subsidies, foreign aid, famine relief, health, and education. The link between income distribution and economic growth is also discussed.

Principles of Microeconomics
This course introduces students to the fundamentals of microeconomics, the branch of economics that examines the behavior of individual decision-makers, such as consumers and business firms. Students learn how to perform supply and demand analysis to examine the impact of economic events on markets; recognize market failure and the role of government in dealing with those failures; analyze the behavior of consumers in terms of the demand for products; evaluate the factors affecting firm behavior, such as production and costs; analyze the performance of firms under different market structures; and analyze the role the government can play in addressing income inequality.