Teaching
Behavioral Economics [Spring 2021, Spring 2020, Fall 2019, Spring 2018, Fall 2017]
Behavioral economics suggest that individuals deviate from standard economic models in three ways: nonstandard preferences, nonstandard beliefs, and nonstandard decision making. It is these three deviations that we will explore in this class. These departures do not mean that we will ignore or write-off traditional economic ways of thinking. Rather, we will embrace them by using formal mathematical modeling and testing of theories. Unlike other fields such as health, labor, or environmental economics, which study a set of outcomes or industries, behavioral economics studies a wide range of diverse topics including financial decision making, obesity, residency matches after medical school, and even how the way a menu is presented can influence the selection of which wine you drink.
The Economics of Growing Up [Fall 2019, Spring 2019, Spring 2018, Fall 2013]
What does economics have to say about how or why people decide to go to school, get married (or divorced), or have children? The goal of this course is to use economic models & empirical tools to investigate these “every day occurrences.” We will start with early childhood and trace out the life cycle from schooling to retirement, concentrating on six stages of life: early childhood; schooling; adolescence; marriage and divorce; fertility; and retirement decisions. I designed this course to expose upper level students to theory and empirical methods that they can use to develop and answer a research question of their own.
Elements of Microeconomics [Spring 2019, Fall 2017, Summer 2012, Summer 2013]
An introduction to the economic system and economic analysis with emphasis on demand and supply, relative prices, the allocation of resources, and the distribution of goods and services, theory of consumer behavior, theory of the firm, and competition and monopoly, including the application of microeconomic analysis to contemporary problems. Students are expected to have an understanding of basic algebra as well as graphs.