Economics Department at Union College

The Department was delighted that Professor Dvorak gained tenure in December. We extend our warm congratulations to him. In the Spring Term we will welcome Visiting Professor Jehangir Bharucha from Mumbai, India. Professor Bharucha joins us under a faculty exchange program that Union has had with a confederation of colleges in Mumbai since 1998. We are very pleased that Professor Bharucha will be teaching two courses for us in the Spring Term, Eco 218, Indian Economy Unleashed, and Eco 219, Economic Development of East & South Asia. Full course descriptions will soon be available on the Economics Department website. In the meantime, if you have any questions about this matter please let me know (motahare@union.edu). A brief biography of Professor Bharucha appears below. Also, in the Spring Term we will be welcoming back Professor Yaisawarng who is currently on sabbatical in Thailand. Professor Yaisawarng is using her expertise in the field of efficiency and productivity measurement with applications to the health care industry in order to investigate the efficiency of Thai publicly owned hospitals.

Spring course selection guide

·        For students interested in taking the intermediate core courses 241, 242, 243 (Sophomores and Juniors):

We will offer one section each of Eco 241, Eco 242 and Eco 243 in the Spring Term. Majors must complete these courses by the end of the Junior year.

·        For students who have taken only Eco 101, or who are part way through the intermediate core (Freshmen and Sophomores):

In the Spring we will have four courses which are appropriate for students who will have completed Eco 101: Indian Economy Unleashed (Eco 218), Economic Development of East & South Asia (Eco 219), Environmental and Natural Resource Economics (Eco 228), and Comparative Economics (Eco 236). Students who have taken Eco 101 (old 12) but have not yet taken other economics courses should consider taking at least one of these courses this year. First-year students normally should not take the intermediate core courses in their first year unless they have received a B+ or better in Eco 101. Sophomores who have taken only Eco 101 (old 12) and are considering majoring in Economics should begin taking the intermediate core and should also consider taking one of the courses described above (218, 219, 228, 236) this year. Once a student reaches the junior year, he or she usually cannot take a 21x/22x/23x course. So take these courses of interest sooner rather than later!

·        For students who have taken the intermediate core (Juniors and Seniors):

We will have six 300-level courses in the spring. All of these courses have pre-requisites. Please make sure you satisfy the pre-requisites before you pre-register.

The spring upper-level courses will be: The Economics of Health (Eco 335), Economics of Education (Eco 344), Contemporary Problems in Macroeconomics (Eco 352), Efficient Management of Technology (Eco 375), Seminar in Global Economic Issues (Eco 376), and Seminar in Labor (Eco 387). All of these courses have relatively small class sizes (with enrollment limits of 15-25 students).

Senior Thesis

Seniors: It won’t be long now until many of you will be celebrating the completion of your theses! Juniors: It’s not too soon to start thinking about your thesis. This is a good time of year to get advice from seniors who are finishing up. If you think that you want to write your thesis on a particular subject, do your best to take at least one course related to that subject. In the middle of Spring Term, there will be a meeting for Juniors to sign up for thesis advisors. If you are a Junior major, you will be notified of this meeting by the department.

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.

Professor Jehangir Bharucha has taught economics at the undergraduate and post- graduate levels at H.R. College, Mumbai, for 14 years. H.R. College is Mumbai’s leading college for business and economics education. His research interests are in the field of development economics; primarily in globalization, economics of education, and impact of tourism on economic development.

He has played a leading role in initiating and/or implementing various reforms in the college system in Mumbai, such as vocationalisation of commerce education, examination reforms, formative assessment and related fields. Professor Bharucha’s courses on “Development Issues of the Indian Economy” are highly ranked among local academic circles in Mumbai.

Known to be a tough taskmaster, Professor Bharucha is very popular among the students and was voted “Best Professor” in a student poll in 2005.

Union is very fortunate to have Professor Bharucha in the Spring Term 2007. He will teach two courses at Union: Eco 219, Indian Economy Unleashed, and Eco 219, Economic Development of East & South Asia. Both courses will be cross-listed with the East Asian Studies program. Eco 101 is the pre-requisite for both courses.

If you are interested in seeing more photos from the New Zealand Mini-term, please Look in the "U" drive
and go to economics\kenneyj\Waitaki Power Scheme.

Union's Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA):

Union VITA student Dianna Crawford helped volunteers from other Schenectady VITA sites in an IRS training session in Steinmetz Hall held January 16-17.

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, Schenectady County United Way, and the state Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance.

Students are gaining a deeper understanding of public finance concepts like 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 weekly class discussions.

This year, we have nine 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: Michael Alberti, Jay Bye, Dianna Crawford, Lauren Eilberg, Meaghan Horton, Hadley Planting, Lindsay Quereau, Brad Wagoner, and Mark Zagata.

All the students spent time studying during winter break so they were able to pass the IRS certification test during the first week of the term. Union’s VITA site is one of the first in the county to open for business during the 2007 filing season, opening on Thursday January 18.

Because Union student volunteers learned the tax law and supporting software so quickly, they were also able to reinforce their own learning by helping IRS employee Patricia Faulkner to train volunteers from other VITA sites around the Capital District.

This year’s students are building on the tremendous work and good will built up by two previous years’ teams of VITA students. Last year’s VITA students (Simi Koshy, Luke Labella, Jared Levy, Mudan Liu, Jay Martin, Justin Merolla, and Mark Susko) prepared and e-filed returns for 160 low and moderate-income working families and senior citizens, securing over a quarter million dollars in tax refunds for their clients and saving them tens of thousands of dollars in preparer fees. The IRS, OTDA, and 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.

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 graduating seniors, have stayed in electronic contact with our VITA program, offering advice and encouragement to this year’s VITA students.

Mary O’Keeffe
Adjunct Associate Professor of Economics
VITA site coordinator

Economics Crises Center

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

What is on Your Professor's Nightstand?

Since 2005 this feature of our newsletter has brought you a review of books that your economics professors are enthusiastic about. It began with an endorsement of Freakonomics, continued with the Dalai Lama’s philosophy of science, took us on a journey to Labrador and Newfoundland and most recently finished with Lincoln’s political genius featuring our own William Seward, class of 1820.

This edition of “What is on your professor’s nightstand?” should be called “What is on your professor’s iPod?” The answer is, in my case, audiobooks. I have been listening to books on my iPod for a few years and have decided to share this experience with you. I listen to books when I travel and exercise - and I can’t get enough. I look forward to getting on the treadmill so that I can hear the next chapter in my book. Some books take longer than others: David McCullough’s 1120 page Truman is over 53 hours long, while Arthur Leavitt’s Take on the Street is a mere 13. There are some great narrators that give the text their own interpretation, and in my view enhance the “reading” experience. I particularly enjoyed Middlesex by Jefferey Eugenides narrated by Kristoffer Tabori. I get my audio books from audible.com. You can also buy audio books on iTunes, but I find the selection and organization of audible.com superior. Prices of the two providers are comparable, but if you plan to buy a lot of books, Audible has a variety of membership plans where each book can cost as little as $10. I marvel at the convenience of listening to books on an iPod. There are no tapes, or cds to handle, just a few large files that download in a few minutes. Your iPod remembers where you stopped. You can even adjust the speed of the narration. I highly recommend putting some books on your iPod. If you get bored while you run, lift weights or drive, audiobooks are for you.

News from the President of the Economics Club

The Economics Club would like to welcome the class of 2010 to our beautiful campus. This academic year kicked off with a relaxed evening where members got to know each other, and watched the comedy film Trading Places. Also, last week Professor Dvorak discussed one of the most important issues facing us all: the causes and consequences of the escalation of US Debt, during our first Food & Economics session of the year held at Beuth House. This academic year is full of exciting events, where there is something for everyone ranging from talks on current economic conditions to entrepreneurs talking about their innovative and inspiring ideas. We are looking forward to doing events with the Becker Career Center and KAPLAN (Graduate Studies information sessions & practice tests with individual feedback just for you!). There will be a lot of important speakers, and faculty-student get-togethers. There would also be some community service opportunities available during spring term. Oh, and of course, we have a trip planned to the Wall Street during spring term as well. So please stay alert to all the news relating to Economics Club events.

I would urge everyone with even the slightest interest in economics/business to attend our events, and both contribute and gain from these activities.

Moreover, don’t forget that these events are lots of fun and lots of food!

We would love to hear from you regarding any possible ideas or suggestions about the upcoming Economics Club events - please contact me at gardezia@union.edu. Wishing you all the best,

- Ali Gardezi
President, Economics Club
518-986-3213

Essay Contest

Attention Economics majors:

Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green OH holds an annual contest for best undergraduate economics essay. Papers you wrote for classes are good candidates for submission, and there are cash prizes for the winners. The full announcement is below, and a flyer with some of the other details is on the bulletin board outside of the Economics Department. The deadline is February 15th, so you have some time to dig up the paper and even polish it up a bit if you want to. Non-economics majors can submit essays too.

If you wrote a good paper in economics sometime in the last year, think about submitting it; it's a good experience for you, it makes Union look good, and there are cash prizes for the winners :)

- Steve Schmidt

The Undergraduate Economics Essay contest will be held on March 31, 2007. We accept student papers on all topics, though we generally try to identify them as either a micro paper or a macro paper. Papers will be screened and finalists chosen. We will invite the finalists to Bowling Green on Saturday, March 31, 2007 to present their work at a small conference. Cash awards will be made at the conference (first place yields $150 for each of micro and macro, second place is $100, third is $50). Lunch will be provided. Papers written for fall classes are a rich source for this conference. The dead line for submission of the paper is February 15, 2007.

You may obtain an Application forms from the Economics Department, Social Sciences Room 212. Students must have a sponsoring faculty member. The sponsoring faculty would be most welcome to attend the conference. This is an excellent opportunity for students interested in economics to get together and see what their peers are doing.

Department of Economics

Letter from the Department Chair

Spring course selection guide

Senior Thesis

Math prerequisites for Eco 241 and 242

Union's Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA):

What is on Your Professor's Nightstand?

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