Economics

The goal of the Economics Department is to educate engaged citizens who understand the economic institutions they are part of and who are able to assess and develop opportunities for responsible participation and positive social change.

About the Major

Economics students at Hamilton investigate a wide range of social and economic issues. Students might find themselves exploring the economic legacy of redlining, seeking evidence about the presence and impact of discrimination, evaluating the effects of an increase in the minimum wage, or assessing the effectiveness of policy aimed at improving the environment. In the process, economics concentrators develop strong data analysis skills and learn how to make arguments with quantitative evidence. Some students work with faculty as teaching or research assistants and a few have published collaborative work in professional journals. Economics is a STEM concentration at Hamilton.

Students Will Learn To:

Design a research plan to address an economic question
Competently implement a research plan
Communicate findings from the research plan

A Sampling of Courses

World map with charts and graphs as symbols of global finance

The Economics of Technology and Innovation

An examination of the nature and implications of innovation and technological change. We will investigate the history and economic theory of innovation and technological progress, related policy debates, and future prospects. Particular attention to the implications of recent developments in information technology and robotics for labor markets and the distribution of economic wellbeing.

Explore these select courses:

An introduction to how economists develop and test theory, with a special emphasis on theory explaining the causes and consequences of inequality. The basic concepts of probability and statistics are taught in addition to theories of the labor market, inflation/unemployment tradeoffs, impact of fiscal and monetary policy, externalities, public goods, and international trade.

Examines differences in economic outcomes by race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, or other personal characteristic. Topics include 1) identification of discrimination in different markets including (but not limited to) the labor, education, and credit/housing market, and 2) evaluation of the effectiveness of policies aimed at reducing discrimination. This course places a special emphasis on developing professional presentation and discussion skills, teaching students to discuss controversial topics in a thoughtful and respectful manner.

An analysis of the economics of health and medical care, with particular emphasis on the provision of health care in the United States. Topics include the structure of public and private health insurance programs, financing the rising costs of medical care and the impact of health status on labor supply and retirement decisions. Relates these issues to current public policy debates surrounding the health care profession.

An examination of issues in environmental policy from the perspective of economic theory. Topics include the measurement of benefits and costs of curtailing pollution and preserving ecosystems, the design of public policies to improve environmental quality, and the examination of past and current environmental programs in the United States and their success. Also considers sustainable growth and issues of environmental equity.

A study of individual level investment decisions and the equilibrium determination of asset prices. Mean-variance analysis motivated by the tradeoff between risk and return. An introduction to asset pricing models, including the CAPM and multi-factor models. An introduction to derivatives, including stock options, futures and swaps. Discussions of the Efficient Markets Hypothesis, arbitrage, and contributions from behavioral finance. Other topics may include: fixed income pricing, Arrow-Debreu securities and the completeness of markets, and the binomial asset pricing model.

All Courses Requirements

Meet Our Faculty

Emily Conover

Chair, Professor of Economics

econover@hamilton.edu

international economic development and labor economics

Erol Balkan

Professor of Economics

ebalkan@hamilton.edu

formation of middle classes in developing countries; effects of short-term capital flows on the Turkish economy and economic development; international finance and political economy of the Middle East

Eliane Barker

Assistant Professor of Economics

ebarker@hamilton.edu

industrial organization, health economics, economics of non-profits, applied econometrics

Cody Couture

Assistant Professor of Economics

cacoutur@hamilton.edu

macroeconomics, monetary economics, macro-finance

Jeffrey Cross

Assistant Professor of Economics

jcross@hamilton.edu

environmental, energy, and behavioral economics; applied econometrics

Kara Dimitruk

Assistant Professor of Economics

kdimitru@hamilton.edu

Economic history, political economy, law and economics

Christophre Georges

Elias W. Leavenworth Professor of Economics

cgeorges@hamilton.edu

macroeconomics

Paul Hagstrom

Associate Chair, Leonard C. Ferguson Professor of Economics

phagstro@hamilton.edu

economics of poverty, immigration and immigrant policy

Promise Kamanga

Assistant Professor of Economics

pkamanga@hamilton.edu

International trade and development economics

Sanjay Moorjani

Visiting Assistant Professor of Economics

smoorjan@hamilton.edu

Macroeconomics, monetary economics, and time series econometrics

Ann Owen

Professor of Economics and the Henry Platt Bristol Professor of Public Policy

aowen@hamilton.edu

long-run growth, inequality, and sustainability

Fiorella Pizzolon

Assistant Professor of Economics

pizzolon@hamilton.edu

Macroeconomics, monetary and fiscal policy, and international economics

Jeffrey Pliskin

Associate Professor of Economics

jpliskin@hamilton.edu

profit sharing and flexible workplace practices and their effects on firm performance; prior information and biased estimation methods

Hannah Ruebeck

Assistant Professor of Economics

hruebeck@hamilton.edu

Labor economics, behavioral economics

Evelyn Skoy

Assistant Professor of Economics

eskoy@hamilton.edu

Economics of education, marriage/family economics, and labor economics

Jian Qi (Jay) Tan

Visiting Assistant Professor of Economics

jtan1@hamilton.edu

Labor economics, economic history

Stephen Wu

Irma M. and Robert D. Morris Professor of Economics, Acting Director of Education Studies

swu@hamilton.edu

health and health care, higher education, economics of happiness

Wei Zhan

Assistant Professor of Economics

wzhan@hamilton.edu

behavioral and experimental economics

Faces & Spaces

The Kirner-Johnson Building, also known as KJ, houses the offices for faculty members in economics. The building features an atrium, team rooms for working on group projects, and five case-method classrooms with the latest technology to support teaching and learning.