The central theme of much of my research has been trying to understand the details of people's preferences--what people want--both through mathematical theory and survey data. Within that, the most important area of my current research is on developing national well-being indexes and other tools to foster evidence-based government. I also have a broad interest in public policy informed by research, an interest I pursue in the main through my blog: https://blog.supplysideliberal.com/key-posts/ Improving monetary policy has been the single biggest emphasis in my public policy interests: https://blog.supplysideliberal.com/emoney/ This is connected to my other research interest: understanding business cycles. Methodologically, I approach economics from the perspective of cognitive economics: https://blog.supplysideliberal.com/post/107961784445/cognitive-economics
ECON 3080 - Intermediate Macroeconomic Theory
Primary Instructor
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Spring 2018 / Spring 2019 / Spring 2020 / Spring 2022 / Spring 2024 / Spring 2025 / Spring 2026
Introduces theories of aggregate economic activity including the determination of income, employment, and prices; economic growth; and fluctuations. Macroeconomic policies are explored in both closed and open economy models. ECON 3070 ECON and 3080 may be taken in any order; there is no recommended sequence.
ECON 4060 - Economics of Happiness
Primary Instructor
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Spring 2022 / Spring 2023 / Spring 2025
Goals of this class are for you to be happier, for you to be better able to understand those who have different political views than you do, and for you to be able to do careful statistical interpretation in social science contexts. You will study happiness along with many other aspects of well-being. Key themes are how to be happy (�the production function for happiness�), how to use self-reported happiness data and other well-being data to guide policy, and how to think about the range of different values people have about what is important for themselves and for society (including how different values are reflected in a range of different political opinions). Recommended prerequisite: ECON 3080.
ECON 8010 - Economics of Risk and Time
Primary Instructor
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Spring 2018 / Spring 2021 / Spring 2023 / Spring 2025
Develops the mathematical tools necessary to analyze optimal decision-making by individual households and firms over time and in the face of risk. This is a building block for general equilibrium models, statistical models of behavior and theoretical analyses of economic policy.
ECON 8015 - Behavioral Economics
Primary Instructor
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Spring 2026
Behavioral economics is the intersection of economics with psychology. Topics may include: (1) the effects of cognitive limitations on economic decisions, (2) the effects of internal conflict, (3) nonmarket goods, including internal mental states, such as happiness, (4) survey research, including survey design and the survey measurement of preference parameters from hypothetical choices, (5) theoretical modeling of nonstandard preferences and imperfect decision-making, and (6) welfare-theoretic consequences of nonstandard preferences and imperfect decision-making.
ECON 8020 - Business Cycle Theory and Monetary and Fiscal Policy
Primary Instructor
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Spring 2020 / Spring 2024
Develops key skills for understanding monetary, fiscal and financial stability policy: (a) deep mathematical analysis of business cycle models, including the mechanisms within models, their comparative statics and comparative dynamics, and the difference parameter values make to the behavior of business cycle models, (b) comparing model predictions to statistical data analyses, and (c) understanding real-world policy debates.
ECON 8219 - Economics Research Methods Workshop 2
Primary Instructor
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Spring 2019
Continuation of ECON 8209. Assists students starting their doctoral thesis by discussing relevant economic research. Presents and discusses research papers.
