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Department of Economics

The 鶹Ƶ Department of Economics supports a pluralist approach to economics that embraces mainstream and heterodox perspectives and emphasizes policy applications. We believe that theoretical understanding, empirical investigation, and policy analysis are enriched by study of the evolution of economic ideas and economic institutions.

Our mission is to provide undergraduate and graduate education, and faculty research, that enrich economic analysis and policy by implementing pluralist analytical approaches grounded in historical and empirical context. Offering graduate and undergraduate degrees, minors, and certificates in a heterodox atmospherein addition to the Program on Gender Analysis and Info-Metrics Institute.

Selected
Research
Student Honors & Awards
Alumni & Careers

Recent Publications

"", Gabriel Mathy. Eastern Economic Journal49, no. 2 (2023): 206-220.

“”, Alan G. Isaac,Social Science Computer Review, 2024.

"," Boris Gershman & Tinatin Mumladze. Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization 220, April 2024, 768-791.

“”Alan G. Isaac & Vasudeva Ramaswamy.Quantitative Finance23(12), 2023, 1871–1886.

“,” Amanda Beaudoin &Alan G. Isaac. Journal of Economic Interaction and Coordination18, January 2023, 191–212.

Blecker, Robert A., "Goodwin Cycles,"in Rochon, Louis-Philippe, and Sergio Rossi (Eds.), Edward Elgar Publishing, 2023.

Blecker, Robert A., "Open Economy Macro Models," in Rochon, Louis-Philippe, and Sergio Rossi (Eds.),Edward Elgar Publishing, 2023.

Sheng, Xuguang (Simon), Salem Abo-Said, and Zidong An, ""Journal of Applied Econometrics, January 2023.

Blecker, Robert A., "Chapter Eleven. Mexico: Unequal Integration and 'Stabilizing Stagnation,'" in Wray, L. Randall and Flavia Dantas (Eds.),,Elsevier, 2022: 225-249.

See more at

Recent Award Winners

  • Meave Fryer
    Professor Jose D. and Ursula Epstein Award
  • Amy Cross
    James H. Weaver Prize for Teaching Excellence
  • Tinatin Mumladze
    Frank M. Tamagna Education Endowment Fund
  • Ian Riggs
    Caroline and Rick Barnett Scholarship Award
  • Stephanie Marvin
    Caroline and Rick Barnett Scholarship Award
  • Binderiya Byambasuren
    Fred and Barbara Bergmann Fellowship Fund
  • Linh Thao Huynh
    Robert T. Adams Scholarship Award
  • John Burzawa
    Robert T. Adams Scholarship Award
  • Joshua Sucec
    Ruth Dewey Meade Prize
  • Farah Tasneem
    Econometrics Paper Award
  • Danielle Wilson
    Simon Naidel Award

The DC metro area offers by far the highest concentration of economist jobs in the US, 19 times the national average, as well as median salary 15% above average: $133,000.

Graduates of the Economics Department make up an impressive contingency of Alumni, having gone on to work at places such as

  • Deloitte
  • IBM
  • International Monetary Fund
  • PricewaterhouseCoopers
  • US Department of Commerce
  • The World Bank Group


For more information on where 鶹Ƶ Economics graduates landvisit the We Know Success page or visit the PhD Job Market Candidate page.

News & Events

The Global Majority E-Journal, Volume 15, Number 2 (December2024) is now available.

IMPA Co-Directors published an op-ed “.”

IMPA hosted a spring colloquium on.

Taylor Swift performing at Eras Tour. Photo by Ronald Woan

Social Sciences ·

Swiftonomics Class a Smash Hit: A CAS Conversation with Kara Reynolds

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Alumni Spotlight

Marc Alain Boucicault

Marc Alain Boucicault,MA ’15

Marc Alain Boucicault is a man with a mission: to leverage the power of technology to reshape economics in his native country of Haiti. His latest venture, Banj, is the nation’s largest coworking space — an enterprise that also serves as a tech startup accelerator partner of Google, Stellar, and Meta.

Banj is the Creole translation of the word genius. “We named it Banj because it is a space that bring geniuses together, the best minds and hearts seeking to act as agents of change for Haiti,” says Boucicault. “Despite the enormous spirit of creativity that exists in Haiti, entrepreneurs still lack the logistical, technical, and financial support systems and networks to develop companies that can change the country's macroeconomic landscape. Banj offers modern workspaces capable of producing concrete results for entrepreneurs who want to increase their visibility and take their entrepreneurial experience to the next level.”

For 15 years, Boucicault has worked to establish grassroot organizations to spark change in Haiti—he launched one of his biggest projects, Elan Haiti, while he was still an 鶹Ƶ student, bringing together the top Haitian “Under 30” leaders for the first time. He has also been a Fulbright Scholar, an economist for the World Bank and Inter-American Development Bank, and a board member of the French-Haitian Chamber of Commerce and the Haitian Education and Leadership Program.

Boucucault says he’s grateful for 鶹Ƶ. “It shaped an entire stage in my life,” he says. “Elan Haiti propelled my leadership in Haiti and was critical in helping me to launch Banj. My leadership journey began in DC, and 鶹Ƶ was the trigger that started everything for me.”

Bulletins

Co-Directors Ignacio GonzálezandJuan Antonio Montecinoand Columbia University’s Joseph Stiglitz published an op-ed “” on August 6, 2024 calling on policy makers toraise the US corporate tax rate and push for an international agreement on a 25 percent global corporate minimum rate.

Kara Reynolds was quoted in media outlets including , , Secret DC, NBC4 Washington, and DC News Now regarding Swiftonomics, the class debuting this fall that will analyze the economic impact created by Taylor Swift and Eras Tour.

Gabriel Mathy spoke withabout the impact that inflation will have on the Biden campaign.

  • The dept’sdropped aon the macro effects of proposed repeal of the clean energy tax credits that was coveredinand.

  • Mary E. Hansen is quoted in MarketWatch's article, ""
  • IgnacioGonzález Garcia and Juan Montecino earned the Outstanding Contribution to Fostering Collaborative Scholarship Award from 鶹Ƶ.
  • Jon D. Wisman earned the Scholar/Teacher of the Year Award from 鶹Ƶ.
  • Mary E. Hansen is featured in a that aims to answer the question:What do you need to know about keeping your money safe now?
  • To the Point: Why Do Eggs Cost So Much?Professor of Economics Gabriel Mathy answers the question of the week.
  • Mary E. Hansen was quoted in Andrew Stanton's Newsweek article:"'Shark Tank' Investor Points to 'Simple' Lesson Learned from SVB Fall."
  • PhD candidate Amy Burnett Cross received an from the EHA Committee on Research in Economic History.
  • Amos Golan named Fellow at the .
  • Dina Rady won the Best Presentation and Best Content Award for her paper, "The Impact of the Russia-Ukraine War on the Egyptian Economy-Policies and Responses" at the Advance Research Society for Science and Sociology-ARSSS International Conference.
  • Jon Wisman was selected as the winner of the --the highest honor given annually by the Association for Evolutionary Economics (AFEE)--in recognition of significant contributions to evolutionary institutional economics.
  • Bernhard Gunter gave the Keynote Address at the for the U.S. Department of State, "Managing Foreign Aid and Foreign Direct Investment."
  • Bernhard Gunter was interviewed by Dr. Marat Sadana, Journalist/Producer at Reuters News, which will be aired in pieces on the TV news.
  • Mary E. Hansen was interviewed about the debt patterns of Americans since the pandemic in the.
  • Jon Wisman was on his book,The Origins and Dynamics of Inequality: Sex, Politics, and Ideology.
  • Boris Gershman's research on the evil eye was cited in the .
  • Bernhard Gunter, together with co-authors Bong Sun Seo and Farah Tasneem, was awarded the by the International Journal of Interdisciplinary Global Studies.
  • Ignacio Gonzalez Garcia received $598,097 from the New Venture Fund for "Aggregate, Sectorial and Distributional Effects of Corporate Taxation.”
  • Evan Kraft was quoted in Riley Steward from Central Banking's "Is the US heading for stagflation?"
  • Nature shared an insightful review of Jon D. Wisman's new book.
  • Bernhard Gunter provided the Keynote Address at the USDepartment of State's International Visitor Leadership Program in Washington, DC, on the topic of "Managing Foreign Aid and Foreign Direct Investment."
  • Econ major Benjamin Holtzman, 鶹Ƶ’s 2022 President’s Award recipient, has found a calling to work on peace issues in the Middle East.
  • Mary Eschelbach Hansen spoke with about why so few people have declared bankruptcy during the pandemic.
  • Kara Reynolds spoke with about bottlenecks in the global supply chain.
  • Jon D. Wisman published in the Journal of Economic Issues.
  • Xuguang Sheng was awarded the 2021 by Fundação Getulio Vargas(FGV)of Brazil for his contributions to theco-authored paper entitled "."
  • was awarded $800,000 from the Open Society Foundation (OSF) to continue to support the organizational strengthening of the PGAE Global Scholars.
  • PhD candidate Elissa Cohen (with advisor Mary Hansen) received aof $29,876 for her dissertation to test assumptions about risk preferences and promote a more complete theory of how perceptions of risk guide decision making. Findings may improve analyses ofregulations,promoting the health ofpopulations more susceptible to hazards.
  • PhD alum Laura Sherbin spoke to the about challenges for working moms in the ongoing pandemic.
  • Kelly Jones received a grant for $26,552 from the Manhattan Strategy Group and the Department of Labor for her project about improving FMLA coverage in underserved communities.
  • Jon Wisman and co-author Quentin Duroy won the 2020 Journal of Economic Issues Editor’s Prize for best article:
  • Gregory Lane received a $16,727 grant fromLondon School of Economics for“The Potential for E-Commerce Platforms to unlock high growth for firms in Africa”
  • Professor Gabriel Mathy questions the legality of President Trump’s eviction memorandum, and , among other measures to improve a failing United States.
  • Professor Maria Floro that without a bailout for the childcare industrywomen will take a step back in participation in the workforce.
  • Professor Gabriel Mathy about how the pandemic-caused recession has impacted Latino workers.
  • Professor Amos Golan presented to the Santa Fe Institute on the effects of universal TB vaccination, air pollution, and health-related expenditure on COVID-19 recovery rates.
  • Professor Evan Kraft published an opinion piece in The Hill entitled
  • Professor Maria Floro about the effects of COVID-19 on women's careers.
  • Professor Amos Golan presented to the Santa Fe Institute on the effects of universal TB vaccination, air pollution, and health-related expenditure on COVID-19 recovery rates.
  • Professor Evan Kraft published an opinion piece in The Hill entitled
  • Professor Maria Floro about the effects of COVID-19 on women's careers.
Professor Jon Wisman

Announcement ·

CAS Professors Honored with 鶹Ƶ Faculty Awards

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To the Point. A ship loaded with cargo containers at port.

Social Sciences ·

To the Point: How Would a Longshoremen Strike Impact American Consumers?

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Wall Street photo superimposed with stock value graphs

Government & Politics ·

Harris vs. Trump: Whose Policies Are Better for the Economy?

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Student Spotlights

Aina Krupinski Puig

PhDCandidate, Economics Aina K. Puig, 鶹Ƶ doctoral candidate in Economics.

San Francisco Federal Reserve Board's essay contest called for papers studying economic impacts of gender and racial inequalities. As a winner, Aina's paper will be published in the Federal Reserve Board's Economic Letter and will have the opportunity to participate in a 6-week summer research program.

Aina's paper focused on the impact of monetary policy, through interest rates, on spending patterns among types of UShouseholds — those with mortgages, those with women versus men as head of household, and those headed by White versus Black people. By building on her interest in macroeconomic inequality topics with direct policy implications, she intended (and continues to intend) to fill a gap in the literature, adding to the income inequality narrative by bringing gender and racial inequalities to the forefront of the discussion.

Through this project, she was able to not only establish the impact of monetary policy shocks on consumption patterns, but also inform the Federal Reserve Board of these distributional impacts. When discussing her research, Aina states that "promoting equal opportunity and understanding the different impacts of policies can help policymakers create policies that promote economic growth while benefitting all groups' well-being in society."

Aina's interest in analyzing inequality topics through the lens of distributional effects of macroeconomic policies came to life during her research for this paper and "ties directly into [her] plans for [her] dissertation..., a good starting point for [her] future research."

Amy Burnett Cross

PhD Candidate, EconomicsAmy Burnett Cross

Amy Burnett Cross has been selected as one of the three to support her dissertation research on the influence of military policy on the sorting of women into occupations. Through this research, she is able to include her knowledge from 鶹Ƶ’s Program on Gender Analysis in Economics as well as her understanding that by bringing more insight from conservative institutions into her research realm, she could enhance the policy space of gender equity.

As she continues her career, Amy desires to conduct research that is directly applicable to policymakers, and through her research on this project, Amy has the chance to do thisin addition to engagingwith economic history and begin to invest more time in the historical arc of military policy and gender dynamics.

She has three focuses forher dissertation project: (1) evaluate the impact of lifting the ban on women in combat (in 2013) on civilian occupational desegregation; (2) measure the extent to which gender desegregation of the Army (in 1977) signaled a shift in the appropriate role of civilian women at work; and (3) assess whether the structure of the U.S. draft in WWI (in 1917) contributed to the development of the male breadwinner norm.

Amy’s work aims to provide evidence that policy changes can influence social norms constraining women’s work and occupational segregation, particularly in discovering how policies regarding women’s participation in the military go on to influence gender gaps in civilian labor market outcomes. In doing so, Amy also seeks to contribute to the research of information asymmetry as a cause for occupational segregation—does military gender desegregation function as a reduction of information asymmetry?

With the support and accommodation of her peers, professors, and advisor, Mary E. Hansen, Amy has been able to focus on her academic excellence and develop close friendships and bonds during her journey at 鶹Ƶ. In discussing her work in gender economics and the community at 鶹Ƶ, Amy offered, “鶹Ƶ attracts women economists and I have found some truly excellent ones here.”