Economics Department at Union College

Economics Department Faculty 2008

Top row left to right: Prof. Song, Prof. Yaisawarng, Prof. Motahar, Prof. McCarty, Prof. O'Keeffe, Prof. Sener, Prof. Fried, Prof. Klein, Prof. Shelton Schmidt.
Bottom row left to right: Department Chair Prof. Stephen Schmidt, Prof. Dvorak, Prof. Lewis, Prof. Foster and Prof. Lewis.

Letter from the Department Chair

Chair's Corner

Are you wondering what classes you should take in spring term? Why, economics

classes of course! But, you ask, which ones? Well, that depends...

Frosh: If you have not taken Economics 101, take that, since it is the first class

for the major and a prerequisite for (almost) all other economics classes. If you have

taken Eco 101, then consider the 200-level electives (course numbers between

201 and 240). For economics majors, they are only open to frosh and sophomores,

so if they look good (and they do) get them while you can. Also, if you intend to

take the economics core courses next year (most majors do) then you should

make sure you have taken calculus, since you'll need it in micro and macro.

Sophomores: Your main goal in sophomore year should be to finish up the core

of the major (Economics 241, 242, 243) or at least get within one course of doing

so. (If you will be on term abroad junior year, finishing up this year is particularly

desirable.) If you have not taken all those courses yet, take at least one of them

this term. Also, this is your last chance to take those 200-level electives, so if

you see one you like, grab it.

Juniors: Next year comes senior thesis; are you ready? The best way to get

ready is to take one or more 300-level elective courses (or Eco 445) because

they apply the material you learned in the core, and expose you to a range of

possible topics for senior theses.

Seniors: If you haven't finished the major, then take whatever you need to

finish it - it's now or never. Ditto for GenEd requirements. If you've got all

that stuff out of the way, then let's see... it'll be spring... basket weaving...

something like that. We'll see you at graduation in June!

Steve Schmidt, Chair

Reminder to Junior Economics Majors

During Spring term, there will be a meeting for all students intending to write a

senior thesis involving economics. All economics majors (including quantitative

track), managerial economics majors, and ID or double majors with economics

as one component should attend. We'll give you a chance to request advisors

and explain what you should do to be ready to start your thesis in fall. We'll

go over requirements for honors in economics, and talk about what is expected

of ID and double majors. Look for announcements with the exact time and date

of the meeting sometime in April. Make plans to be there!

Steve Schmidt, Chair

Math prerequisites for Eco 241 and 242

The calculus prerequisite for ECO 241 and 242 may be satisfied by Math 110, 101, 113, or an AP calculus score of 3 or higher on either the AB or the BC exam. Math 101 and 113 may be taken concurrently with Eco 241 or 242.

Individual tutoring is also available�please see your instructor for more information.

What is on Your Professor's Nightstand?

Ok, so the Giants won the Super Bowl. Watching sports can be quite exciting, especially when two really good teams with impeccable credentials put on a compelling performance. Wait a minute! This reminds me of something. There are great debates in economics in which teams of very talented economists battle important issues. A recent example includes Jeffrey Sachs, who believes international aid can end poverty, fighting it out with William Easterly, who believes aid has no effect. Actually, these battles are even more exciting to watch because unless you put a lot of money in your Super Bowl pool, the stakes are much, much higher. In this issue of �What is on your professor�s nightstand?� I would like to introduce you to another set of two books with very different views on an important issue: data.

�Supercrunchers� by Ian Ayers believes that data is great. �Black Swan� by Nassim Taleb believes that the world is dominated by rare events - Black Swans - which never appear in our data and are therefore unpredictable. �Supercrunchers� is about how data analyses can improve business performance, predict supreme court rulings, movie box office sales, etc. The range of applications is quite breathtaking and inspiring. �Black Swan� argues that we can use data in only a limited number of circumstances such as predicting the height or weight of an individual. Such things are driven by certain natural laws that can be handled by econometrics. However, things that matter to economists, such as wealth, income, stock returns or book sales are driven by Black Swans. Bill Gates is a Black Swan. Google is a Black Swan. No one could have ever predicted Bill Gates� wealth or Google�s share in the internet ad market.

Both books have their shortcomings. I found some claims in �Supercruchers� hard to believe, e.g. that a small list of movie characteristics can accurately predict the box office sales. Taleb�s �Black Swan� often dismisses counter arguments too quickly. However, both of these books are well worth reading. It does not even matter who you are rooting for � sports, err economics, it is just really fun to watch.

vs.

Tomas Dvorak

Past Editions of "What's on your Professor's Nightstand":(click on edition below)
Fall 2005, Winter 2006, Spring 2006, Fall 2006, Winter 2007, Spring 2007, Fall 2007.

Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA):

Union's VITA site breaks the Million Dollar Mark in Total Refunds

Economics majors in our service-learning class, Eco 391: Income Tax Policy & Practice, are again running a free Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) site at Union's Kenney Community Center, with support from the IRS and other partners, including the Schenectady County Department of Social Services, Greater Captial District United Way, and the state Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance(OTDA).

Students are gaining a deeper understanding of public finance concepts such as horizontal and vertical equity, economic efficiency and deadweight loss, Pigovian taxes and subsidies, statutory vs. effective incidence as they work through the tax situations of their clients and then read and present related articles in public finance literature in class discussions.

This year, we have eight IRS-certified student preparers working with clients and running our VITA site as well as reading and reflecting on the larger public finance policy issues: Ashley Braniecki, Fengguan Chen, Allison Dantus, Sarah Ehle, Thomas Haynes, Steve Walker, Christopher Walkley, and Alexander Zani.

The students spent time studying during winter break and took the IRS Basic Certification Exam on the first day of class. All have now passed the Intermediate Level certification with scores at or close to 100%. Union's VITA site was one of the first in the county to open for business during the 2008 filing season, opening on Thursday January 24.

After two weeks of operation, our site has already prepared 95 tax returns totalling a quarter million dollars in Federal and New York State refunds for the clients, saving them tens of thousands of dollars in preparer fees. This brings the cumulative total refunds since the site opened in January 2005 to over a million dollars in Federal and New York State refunds.

This year's students are building on the tremendous work and good will built up by three previous years' teams of VITA students. The IRS, OTDA, and Greater Capital District United Way have praised their work and held up Union's VITA program as a successful model for emulation by other colleges across the state. The Schenectady County Legislature honored the Union College VITA site with a special resolution last spring.

We have already gotten many calls from "satisfied customers" requesting appointments to return for this year's taxes. A number of last year's students, including our 2006 and 2007 graduating seniors, have stayed in electronic contact with our VITA program, offering advice and encouragement to this year's VITA students.

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The Economics Club is back in business! Led by Co-Presidents Fariha Ramay and Allen Piekara, the Eco Club has been making its presence known on campus, especially during this term. The first event the club sponsored during the winter term was a lunch discussion led by one of Union College�s own faculty members: Professor Lewis Davis of the Economics Department. The talk was hosted by Golub House. On this day, the seminar room was overwhelmed with students and faculty who were eager to listen about economic inequality and its impact on development. Professor Davis�s presentation proved to be very interesting, especially since it offered a different perspective on economic inequality.

The club�s second event was also sponsored by Golub House and encompassed another discussion, followed by a reception. This time, the speaker was a member outside of Union, Mr. Ezra Angrist. He talked about the variety of career options that Economic Majors could do after they graduate. Mr. Angrist is very experienced with practicing economics, as he demonstrated in his discourse. His background included being a consultant, an investment banker, and an analyst for a business evaluation firm. During his discussion, he touched upon all these employment opportunities and more. After his seminar, there was a reception that gave listeners the chance to individually speak with Mr. Angrist. Many students used that time to network with Mr. Angrist. Overall, the event was very successful.

Regarding future activities, the club is looking to start a fantasy stock market contest that last until May. Before the contest begins, the Eco Club is looking to pair up with Student Investment Fund managers to discuss the basics of investing with club members. Once the contest is over, prizes will be given out for the best portfolio. The Economics Club also plans on scheduling a discussion hosted by another member outside Union College, Mr. Jonathan Heimer. He worked as a lawyer in Tokyo and a commercial consul in Shanghai and his talk will reflect his experiences. The USAsia Forum is interested in co-sponsoring this event as well. Another idea that club members expressed curiosity in was having a speaker explain the economic history of Schenectady. The purpose of this discussion will be designed to help students understand the local economy�s background. The Economics Club believes this idea is very significant given the college�s unique relationship with Schenectady and the current reconstruction of the city�s downtown area. Dates for these events have not been determined yet, but Economics Majors should keep their ears open for these great opportunities. If anybody is interested in becoming a member of the Economics Club, please contact Allen Piekara at piekaraa@union.edu.

The Student Investment Fund has improved dramatically both in value and attendance over the past six months. In 2007 the fund beat the S&P 500 by 13.5% and has for the most part significantly weathered the credit crunch. We have avoided taking losses during the credit debacle by taking profits early on and maintaining a large cash position. Throughout the market downtrend the fund has invested with a value driven approach and allocated most of the fund into large-cap equities. The fund current cash position is over $100,000 and is looking for more value oriented investments to take advantage of sectors that have been beaten down over the past six months.

The Student Investment Fund has also experienced a dramatic increase in attendance this term from both experienced and inexperienced market participants alike. This tumultuous market that we have experienced over the past six months has provided us with an invaluable real life learning environment. At each meeting we generally discuss current events in the market and trading strategies that could prove to be pertinent to our portfolio. We look forward to both growing membership and profits in the future and invite anybody that is interested in the market to take part in the fund.

Department of Economics

Letter from the Department Chair

Math prerequisites for Eco 241 and 242

What is on Your Professor's Nightstand?

Past Editions of "What's on your Professor's Nightstand":(click on edition below)
Fall 2005, Winter 2006, Spring 2006, Fall 2006, Winter 2007, Spring 2007, Fall 2007.

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Department of Economics

Letter from the Department Chair

Math prerequisites for Eco 241 and 242

What is on Your Professor's Nightstand?

Past Editions of "What's on your Professor's Nightstand":(click on edition below) Fall 2005, Winter 2006, Spring 2006, Fall 2006, Winter 2007, Spring 2007, Fall 2007.

BACK TO TOP

BACK TO TOP

Past Editions of "What's on your Professor's Nightstand":(click on edition below)
Fall 2005, Winter 2006, Spring 2006, Fall 2006, Winter 2007, Spring 2007, Fall 2007.