Teaching

Courses I have taught at Chico:

  • Econ 499HW: Honors in Economics

This is a Writing Proficiency (WP) class in the Economics major. Students undertake a research project on a topic approved by the course and honors instructor and make a public presentation of their research at the end of the semester. More detail, here

  • Econ 476: Issues in Global Environment and Development

The main theme of GED is the role natural assets play in the economic development of countries and communities. We study several important ideas and theories within the subfields of ‘Environmental and Natural Resource Economics’ and ‘Development Economics’. We learn concepts such as property rights, asymmetric information, rent-seeking, natural resource curse, Dutch Disease, Hotelling rule, Hartwick rule, dynamic efficiency, economic growth, sustainability, inclusive or green growth, commons etc. and how it all ties together in a study of economic development when we are “running out of planet”. The approach analytic and empirical. We will rely on formal economic models and use econometric methods to test the hypotheses provided by economic models. Some of the assignments will involve regression analysis and interpretation. It is strongly recommended that you have taken at least Econ 380 or equivalent.

  • Econ 380: Economic Statistics

This is a required course for the Economics major. It is designed to teach students how to understand the process by which data are generated, (probability, sampling, distributions); how to frame hypotheses, use data to test hypotheses; and some basic regression analysis. Several Excel Labs are assigned (and several hours are spent in the Computer Lab) where students learn how to use MS Excel and Stata.

  • Econ 365: Environmental Economics

This course examines the use of economic concepts and methods in the management of natural resources and ecological systems. Concepts including externality, market failure, common pool resources, and public goods are developed and applied to problems such as global warming, air and water pollution. We discuss approaches to economic policy making for tackling environmental problems and the course content and examples enables students to weigh the pros and cons of different approaches to environmental policy such as taxes, standards and permits or property-rights based approach. Limitations of neoclassical approaches are discussed, especially in context of environmental justice issues. An important feature of the class is a semester-long group research project on a topic related to the course content. At the end of the semester student teams make a 20-minute presentation to their peers.

  • Econ 102: Principles of Macroeconomic Analysis

This is a first course in economics. Students learn about the major economy-wide, or aggregate, economic variables such the level and growth rate of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), the rate of unemployment, rate of inflation, the rate of interest, the exchange rate, the trade deficit, government budget deficit etc. The purpose of the course is to introduce students to mainstream analytical frameworks to make sense of these economic aggregates and how they are related. I emphasize the case of market-oriented economy like that of the United States, but often relate to example from other industrialized countries. We spend considerable time on the role of monetary and fiscal policy in shaping these economic aggregates.