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Economics Newsletter
FALL 2005
Tubingen, Germany
Term Abroad in Central Europe - Fall 2003
Photo courtesy of Professor Eshragh Motahar
| Letter from Department Chair | Math Prerequisites | Professor's Nightstand |
| Volunteer Income Tax Assistance | Research Update |
Letter from the Department Chair
In June 2005 Professor Therese McCarty was appointed to the position of the Vice President for Academic Affairs/Dean of the Faculty for a two–year period. We wish Professor McCarty all the best in her new position. Also, Professor Doug Klein from our Department continues in his position as the Director of the Center for Converging Technology and Associate Dean of Information Technology. We wish him continuing success.
Two of our professors are on sabbatical for all or part of this year. Professor Şener successfully passed his tenure review last year—congratulations!!! He is on sabbatical for the entire 2005-06 academic year as a visiting scholar at Columbia University working on a number of projects on international economics and economic growth. We are looking forward to welcoming him back next Fall. Congratulations to Professor Song who successfully passed his reappointment review in June!!! He is currently on sabbatical, at the State University of New York at Albany, and we will welcome him back in the Spring Term. Professor Mary O’Keeffe will join us in the Winter term. She will teach ECO 391, The Income Tax: Policy and Practice.
Winter and Spring course selection guide
· For students interested in taking the intermediate core courses 241, 242, 243 (Sophomores and Juniors):
We will offer the Eco 242 and 243 in the winter and spring terms. Eco 241 will be offered in the winter term, but NOT in the spring term. Majors must complete these courses by the end of the Junior year.
· For students who have taken only Eco 101 (old 12), or who are part way through the intermediate core (Freshmen and Sophomores):
In the winter, we will have two courses appropriate for students who just had Eco 101: Financial Markets (Eco 226), and The Mind of the Entrepreneur (Eco 230). In the spring, we will have three courses at this level: Environmental and Natural Resource Economics (Eco 228), Japanese-American Finance and Trade Relations (Eco 234), and Comparative Economics (Eco 236). Students who have taken Eco 101 (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 Economics 101. Sophomores who have taken only Eco 101 (12) and are considering majoring in Economics should begin taking the intermediate core and should also consider taking one of the 22x, 23x courses described above this year. Once a student reaches the junior year, he or she usually cannot take a 22x/23x course. So take 22x/23x courses of interest sooner rather than later!
· For students who have taken the intermediate core (Juniors and Seniors):
We will have five 300-level courses in the winter and five 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 winter courses are: E-Commerce Economics (Eco 331), Introduction to Financial Analysis (Eco 334), International Economics (Eco 354), Economics Internship (Eco 390), and The Income Tax: Policy and Practice (Eco 391).
The spring upper-level courses will be: Contemporary Problems in Macroeconomics (Eco 352), Seminar in Econometrics (Eco 353), Sports Economics (Eco 374), Efficient Management of Technology (Eco 375), and Seminar in Labor (Eco 387).
Juniors: If you think that you want to write a thesis in a particular area, you should take a 300-level course that will give you the necessary background.
►PLEASE CONSULT YOUR ADVISOR BEFORE PRE-REGISTERING FOR COURSES.
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.
What is on Your Professor's Nightstand?
Starting with this issue of the Newsletter, your economics professors will provide one book recommendation per issue. This will be a regular feature of the newsletter designed to inform our students of new or old exciting books. The books will not always be strictly economics but always a great read. We begin with a fantastic book entitled Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything that has recently made it to a number of bestseller lists. The authors are genius economist Steven Leavitt and New York Times journalist Stephen Dubner. They ask the most fascinating questions and provide amazing answers. They do this by thinking outside of the box and by digging through piles of data. They use no high level mathematics or theory – even the econometrics is elementary. What they do use is an awe-inspiring creativity and open mind. They show how powerful and fun economics can be, especially when it is combined with originality, imagination and, quite importantly, data. If you are curious about how the world works you should read this book - not because it will provide the answers, but because it will inspire and teach you how to get the answers. I highly recommend it.
Tomas Dvorak
Research Update
I spent my summer doing research and presenting at professional meetings. In June I completed my paper on Equity Markets in EU Accession Countries which I presented at the Global Finance Conference at Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland later that month. The paper will be published in early 2006 in the Emerging Markets Review. In July I initiated a new research project which looks at the effects of the Euro on physical investment. I was invited to present a paper at a workshop on international financial markets. The workshop was organized by the Bank of Canada and took place in August at the Sauder School of Business at the University of British Colombia in Vancouver. Finally, after a number of revisions suggested by very diligent referees, The Sample Paper in Econometrics which I use in my econometrics class has been accepted in the online section of the Journal of Economic Education. A note describing this online tool will appear in the print version of the journal in 2007.
Tomas Dvorak
Union's Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA):
Union’s Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program will run for the second time this winter term. It is part of a new course, Economics 391, which examines theoretical and practical issues surrounding the individual income tax. Students work together at the college’s Kenney Community Center filling out and filing tax returns for Schenectady residents. This year, the course will be taught by Professor Mary O’Keeffe, a public finance economist with her Ph.D. from Harvard. Professor O’Keeffe taught econometrics for our department several years ago, so she is already familiar with how courses are taught at Union and she is excited about teaching here again. Adrienne Ringer ’05, who participated in the VITA program last year, has the following to say about the program, “The VITA experience was truly a great experience. There is no other program at Union that allows you to connect with the community and increase people’s economic opportunities like the VITA program can. Many individuals did not know about the child tax credit or the earned income tax credit, which enabled them to receive a significant tax return that they were not expecting. So many of the clients last year went to H&R Block and were charged hundreds of dollars and we had the ability to assist them for free. It was great! While it was challenging at times, I found the experience to be incredibly rewarding and worthwhile.”
Therese McCarty
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On behalf of the Economics Club officers, I would like to welcome everyone back to an exciting academic year. We are looking forward to a great year full of speakers, movies, trips, and a whole lot more. We started off the term bringing the former Chief Economist of the Royal Bank of Scotland, Jeremy Peat, his presentation and Q&A session proved to be a success. A couple events we are looking forward to this term is a relaxing evening with snacks and a movie featuring the drama "Boiler Room." On November 1st, we are proud to present alumni speaker Frank Mauro,the Executive Director of the Fiscal Policy Institute. As always we encourage the entire campus community to join our events. We'd also love to hear of any possible suggestions for upcoming Economics Club events, please contact me at peacheyc@union.edu. Wishing you all a great fall term!
~
Celia Peachey, Economics Club President
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