economics happenings - elon university · elon university economics happenings department of...

Economics Happenings Economics Happenings ELON UNIVERSITY DEPARTMENT OF

ECONOMICS NEWSLETTER

SPECIAL POINTS

OF INTEREST

Professor Greg

Lilly Retires

2

New Associate

Dean

3

2017 Graduates 4

Economics

Conference

5

Student Awards 6

Major

Presentations;

Honors Recipients

7

Faculty Research 8

Econ Alumni

Network

12

Note from the

Chair

13

Check out this year’s

IPE:

http://www.elon.edu/ipe

Check out our

webpage!

http://www.elon.edu/

economics

http://www.elon.edu/economics FALL 2017 THE ELON DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMICS

INSIDE THIS

ISSUE

Elon Welcomes Brooks Depro

The Elon Department of Economics is

pleased to welcome Brooks Depro, a

senior economist with nearly 20 years of

experience in applied policy analysis and

economic consulting. Depro received his

Ph.D. in Economics from North Carolina

State University in 2009. As an

undergraduate, he studied Economics

(B.A.) at The University of North

Carolina, Chapel Hill. Depro’s areas of

expertise include Economic Consulting,

Applied Microeconomics, Environmental

Economics, and Local and Regional

Economics.

Dr. Depro specializes in economic analysis of the costs of environmental

regulation and he has done extensive research on housing choices and the role

these choices play in determining households' exposure to environmental

health risks or education opportunities. After working for RTI International for

over 10 years, Dr. Depro is now teaching in the Martha and Spencer Love

School of Business. He currently teaches Principles of Economics as well as a

new Economic Consulting class for upperclassmen.

Professor Greg Lilly Retires

2

FALL 2017 ECONOMICS HAPPENINGS

After 27 years of teaching, Greg Lilly, associate professor of economics, retired from Elon.

He took away from his experience at Elon a “deep appreciation of the risk-return trade-off.”

“You will not improve unless you take - often scary - risks,” Lilly said.

During his tenure, he taught undergraduate economics courses, the first-year seminar

Global Experiences and the Business and Culture of Vietnam study abroad course. He also

served as chair of the Department of Economics from 1999-2005. He has published multiple

peer-review journal articles and has frequently collaborated with his colleagues in the Love

School of Business.

Lilly’s favorite Elon moments each involve working with his department colleagues to move

“Elon Economics” (faculty, curriculum, teaching and research) in positive ways. “The 2017

version of ‘Elon Economics’ is so much better than the 1990 version,” Lilly said. “I feel very

fortunate to have worked with colleagues I trust, respect and like.”

ELON UNIVERSITY

3


DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMICS

Jen Platania Named Associate Dean for

Love School of Business

Jen Platania, associate professor of economics and former chair of the Department of Economics, began her

new position as associate dean for the Martha and Spencer Love School of Business on June 1, 2017. She

succeeds Associate Professor Scott Buechler, who retired at the end of May.

Platania joined Elon in 2002. She teaches Principles of Economics, Statistics for Business and Economics,

Intermediate Macroeconomic Theory and Mathematical Economics at the undergraduate level and

Quantitative Methods at the graduate level. Platania received the Love School of Business Dean’s Award for

Excellence in Teaching in 2008.

Committed to mentoring, Platania served as a faculty mentor to Elon’s College Fed Challenge team from 2011

through 2016, served as advisor to the Economics Club from 2004 through 2017 and has mentored 31 senior

economic theses.

Platania’s research interests are in applied macroeconomics. Her work has been published in the Journal of

Sports Economics, Global Education Journal, Applied Economic Letters and Northwest Florida Economy.

Platania has both a doctorate and master’s degree in economics from Florida State University and bachelor’s

degrees in mathematics and economics from West Virginia University.

2017 Economics Graduates

Zach Lyons is pursuing his MS in

economics.

Hadley Lucas will be working as an

associate sales consultant for Staples

Business Advantage in Denver.

Paige Lorton will be a year-long intern

at Passion City Church in Atlanta.

Justin Morin is working in the

Investment Banking Division doing

corporate credit risk at Credit Suisse in

New York City.

Jared Mactas will be a professional

golfer.

Nick Rhyne is working at Credit Suisse.

Corey Theiss will be an Analyst in Client

Development and Transaction Services

with Accenture in Chicago, IL.

Andrew Van Hoof is working at Ernst &

Young in the transfer pricing department

in Washington D.C. after graduation and is

planning to get his MBA after a year or so

of working at EY.

Nick Suarez will be volunteering for the

Peace Corps.

David Wallach is working at Goldman

Sachs in Salt Lake City.

4


Steve Bendit is working at LiveIntent in

NYC.

Justin Bellinger is working in sales at

Oracle in Boston, Ma.

Holly Brueggman is working at NERA

Economic Consulting as a research

associate in the Antitrust division in

Houston.

Andrew Brailey is pursuing his Master’s

in statecraft and national security affairs

at the Institute of World Politics.

Jack Cove is working at Ernst & Young

as a staff analyst in national tax practice

within the Quantitative Economics and

Statistics (Quest) group.

Ken Crew is working as an acquisition

analyst at Toll Brothers Subsidiary:

Gibraltar Capital in Horsham, Pa.

Patrick Dowd is moving to Bogota,

Columbia, to teach English.

Alec Goodman is working for

Accenture.

Nick Groll is playing his 5th year of

football in fall 2017 and is planning to

attend law school.

ELON UNIVERSITY

Economics Conference

5



Several economics students in the Martha and Spencer Love School of Business presented their

thesis research at the Eastern Economic Association’s annual conference, held Feb. 23-26, 2017,

in New York. Seniors Danielle Brown, Holly Brueggman,

Danielle Brown ’17: “Shifting Regional Wealth and the Market for Latin American Art” (mentor:

Steve DeLoach)

Holly Brueggman ’17: “Examining the Impacts of Debt on First-Time Home Buying Decisions” (mentor: Jen Platania)

Ken Crew ‘17: “Congestion Makes it Harder to Breathe: Do High-Occupancy Toll Lanes Reduce

Emissions?” (mentor: Tonmoy Islam)

Seth Gatto ‘17: “The Effects of States' Expansion of Medicaid on Health Insurance Market

Competition” (mentor: Steven Bednar)

Justin Morin ‘17: “The Relationship Between Income and the Hospitalization Rates of

Ambulatory Care Sensitive Conditions” (mentor: Katy Rouse)

Annie Ray ‘17: “Labor market outcomes of German immigrants: An empirical analysis of wage

discrimination between Turks and Germans” (mentor: Steve DeLoach)

Andrew Van Hoof ‘17: “The Effect of Adolescent Physical Education on Future Obesity

Outcomes” (mentor: Katy Rouse)

Issues in Political Economy is the leading undergraduate research journal in economics and is

co-edited in its entirety by undergraduates at Elon University and the University of Mary

Washington. Elon has co-edited the journal since 1998. The IPE is indexed in Cabell's Directory of

Publishing Opportunities in Economics & Finance. Steve DeLoach, professor of economics, serves as

the journal's faculty advisor.

Ken Crew, Seth Gatto, Justin Morin,

Annie Ray and Andrew Van Hoof

participated in the conference’s 12

undergraduate research sessions

sponsored by Issues in Political

Economy (IPE). This was the 24th

consecutive year the IPE sponsored

conference sessions.

Sixty-five students from 29 colleges and

universities throughout the country

participated in two days of sessions.

The seven Elon papers presented were:

Student Awards

Four economics majors were presented with awards during the Love School of Business annual

awards program on April 20, 2017. This year’s awards and recipients include:

John Kappas Economics

Award

Holly Brueggman

Danielle Brown

This award goes to the senior

economics major who best

demonstrates enthusiasm for

economics, potential for

leadership and classroom

excellence. It is named in honor

of the late John Kappas, a 1985

Elon graduate.

Student Achievement in Economics Award

Kenneth Crew

This award is given to a senior economics major who has shown enthusiasm and success in his or her

courses as well as promise for future achievement.

The David O. Bowden Economics Scholarship

Amanda Feldman

Established by David Bowden ’70, the David O. Bowden Economics Scholarship is awarded to a rising

senior majoring in economics who has been active in the department and demonstrated potential for

future success. At Elon, Mr. Bowden was a double major in business administration and economics. He

went on to earn his J.D. from the University of Miami.

The Department of Economics Endowed Scholarship

Katelyn Roache

This scholarship was established in 2005 by members of the Department of Economics for an economics

major with a record of academic excellence within the major who exhibits a commitment to social

responsibility.

The department extends its congratulations to this year’s LSB award recipients!

6


ELON UNIVERSITY

7



ODE Welcomes 2017 Inductees

Senior Economics and International

Economics Majors Present Theses

On April 18, 2017, Twenty-nine seniors majoring in economics or international economics

successfully presented their undergraduate research theses to faculty members in the Martha

and Spencer Love School of Business’ Department of Economics.

The senior thesis is the culmination of the economics major and serves as the students’

required comprehensive evaluation in the major field of study. For this research project,

economics majors work individually with a professor to build on work done in previous

courses, culminating in a work of presentation quality. The completed work is presented

before the Department of Economics, as well as in public forums such as Elon’s Spring

Undergraduate Research Forum and the Eastern Economic Association’s annual conference.

The Department of Economics awarded both Andrew Brailey ("Import Competition in South

Africa: The Effect of the Chinese Manufacturing Shock on the South African Labor Market,")

and Ken Crew (“Congestion Makes it Harder to Breathe: Do High-Occupancy Toll Lanes

Reduce Emissions?”) the Best Thesis Award.

Steven Bendit

Christopher Boericke

Harrison Conner

Nicholas Groll

Stephen Idol

Jacob Jimenez

Quinn Kennedy

Nicholas Kyle

Katherine Lamb

Megan McCaffrey

Tierney McDonnell

Luz Mendoza

Calvin Mincer

Adrian Pomeroy

Catherine Ray

Lauren Ray

Alexandra Stone

Sean Webber

Steve Bednar

Bednar, S. (2017). Campaigning and Election Outcomes in a Presidential Primary Election. Applied Economics

Letters.

Bednar, S. & Gicheva, D. (2017). Workplace Support and Diversity in the Market for Public School Teachers.

Education Finance and Policy.

Bednar, S. & Gicheva, D. (2016). Career Implications of Having a Female-Friendly Supervisor. Industrial and

Labor Relations Review.

Bednar, S. (2015, April). Minority Candidates and Political Violence. Presented at the Midwest Political

Science Association.

Jayoti (Tina) Das

Das, J. & DiRienzo, C. (2017). The Spillover Effects of Country Fragility in Africa. Developing Country Studies, 7,

(1), 62-67.

Das, J. & DiRienzo, C. (2017). Human Trafficking and Country Borders. International Criminal Justice Review.

First Published date: March 30, 2017. DOI: 10.1177/1057567717700491

Das, J., DiRienzo, C., & Lanier, D. (2016). Anti-human Trafficking Policy Compliance: The Role of Corruption.

International Journal of Management and Marketing Research.

Das, J. & DiRienzo, C. (2015). Nation Branding and Reputation: The Role of Press Freedom, Global Journal of

Marketing Management and Research, 5, (1), 1-12.

Das, J. & DiRienzo, C. (2015). Innovation and the Role of Corruption and Diversity: A Cross-Country Study.

International Journal of Cross Cultural Management, 15, (1), 51-72.

Steve DeLoach

DeLoach, S., Kurt, M. & Olitsky, N. (2015) Business-focused short-term study abroad experiences: Do they

work? Journal of Teaching in International Business, 26, (1), 1-27.

Faculty Research 2015-2017

ELON UNIVERSITY 8


http://dx.doi.org/10.1177%2F1057567717700491

Steve DeLoach (cont.)

"Moving Beyond GPA: Alternative Measures of Success and Predictive Factors in Honors Programs" (with

Tom Mould) Journal of the National Collegiate Honors Council, 18:1, 2017.

Brooks Depro

Wollacott, J., & Depro, B. (2016, August). Construction and application of the MEEDE dataset In RTI Press

Publication. (Report No. MR-0035-1608). Research Triangle Park, NC: RTI Press. doi: 10.3768/

rtipress.2016.mr.0035.1608

Bray, J. W., Depro, B. M., McMahon, D., Siegle, M., & Mobley, L. R. (2016, September). Disconnected

geography: A spatial analysis of disconnected youth in the United States. Journal of Labor Research, 37, (3),

317-342. doi:10.1007/s12122-016-9228-1

Depro, B. M., & Rouse, K. (2015, December). The effect of multi-track year-round academic calendars on

property values: Evidence from district imposed school calendar conversions. Economics of Education Review,

49, (12), 157–171. doi:10.1016/j.econedurev.2

Depro, B. M., Timmins, C., & O’Neil, M. (2015, September). White flight and coming to the nuisance: Can

residential mobility explain environmental injustice? Journal of the Association of Environmental and Resource

Economists, 2(3), 439–468. doi:10.1086/682716

Cassandra DiRienzo

Das, J. & DiRienzo, C. (2017). The Spillover Effects of Country Fragility in Africa. Developing Country Studies,

7, (1), 62-67.

Das, J. & DiRienzo, C. (2017). Human Trafficking and Country Borders. International Criminal Justice Review.

First Published date: March 30, 2017. DOI: 10.1177/1057567717700491

Das, J., DiRienzo, C., & Lanier, D. (2016). Anti-human Trafficking Policy Compliance: The Role of

Corruption. International Journal of Management and Marketing Research.

Das, J. & DiRienzo, C. (2015). Nation Branding and Reputation: The Role of Press Freedom, Global Journal of

Marketing Management and Research, 5, (1), 1-12.


9



http://dx.doi.org/10.1177%2F1057567717700491

Cassandra Dirienzo (cont.)

Das, J. & DiRienzo, C. (2015). Innovation and the Role of Corruption and Diversity: A Cross-Country

Study. International Journal of Cross Cultural Management, 15, (1), 51-72.

Andrew Greenland

Greenland, A. & Lopresti, J. (2016, May). Import Exposure and Human Capital Adjustment: Evidence

from the U.S. Journal of International Economics, 100, (50-60).

Tonmoy Islam

Islam, T. (in press). Investigating Income Inequality Dynamics in the United States. Journal of Income

Distribution.

Islam, T. (2015, December). Multidimensional Human Opportunity Index. Social Indicators Research.

Islam, T. (2015, September). Estimating the Elasticity of Growth in the US Using the Generalized Means

of Income. Social Indicators Research.

Islam, T., Minier, J., & Ziliak, J. (2015, January). On Persistent Poverty in a Rich Country. Southern

Economic Journal, 81, (3), 653-678.

Mark Kurt

Gupta, N., Kurt, M., & White, R. (2016, July). The Buffett Critique: Volatility and Long-dated Op-

tions. Journal of Economics and Finance, 40, (3), 524-537

DeLoach, S., Kurt, M. & Olitsky, N. (2015) Business-focused short-term study abroad experiences: Do

they work? Journal of Teaching in International Business, 26, (1), 1-27.

Katy Rouse

Depro, B. & Rouse, K. (2015, December). The Effect of Multi-Track Year-Round Academic Calendars on

Property Values: Evidence from district imposed school calendar conversions. Economics of Education

Review, 49, 157-171.

McMullen, S., Rouse, K. and Haan, J. (2015). The Distributional Effects of the Multi-Track Year-Round

Calendar: A Quantile Regression Approach. Applied Economics Letters, 22, (15), 1188-1192.


10


ELON UNIVERSITY

Katy Rouse (cont.)

Rouse, K. (May 2017). Charter Schools. In Robert S. Rycroft (Ed.), The American Middle Class; an

encyclopedia of progress and poverty, (pp. 572-574). Santa Barbara, CA: Greenwood.

Brandon Sheridan

Al-Bahrani, Abdullah, Darshak Patel, and Brandon J. Sheridan. (2017). Evaluating Twitter and its impact on

student learning in principles of economics courses. Journal of Economic Education, forthcoming.

Sheridan, Brandon J., B. Smith, and E. Pleggenkuhle-Miles. (2017). Short vs. long: Cognitive load, retention,

and changing class structures. Education Economics, 25 (5), 501-512.

Al-Bahrani, A., D. Patel, and Brandon J. Sheridan. (2017). Have economic educators embraced social media

as a teaching tool? The Journal of Economic Education, 48 (1), 45-50.

Al-Bahrani, A., D. Patel, Kim Holder, and Brandon J. Sheridan. (2016). The great digital divide: Using

popular media to teach Economics. Journal of Economics and Economic Education Research, 17 (2), 105-111.

Bista, R., J. Ederington, J. Minier, and Brandon J. Sheridan. (2016). Austerity and Exports. Review of

International Economics, 24 (2), 203-225.

Al-Bahrani, A., D. Patel, and Brandon J. Sheridan. (2015). Engaging Students Using Social Media: The

Students’ Perspective. International Review of Economics Education, 19, 36-50.

Vitaliy Strohush

Strohush, V., & Wanner, J. (2015) College Degree for Everyone? International Advances in Economic Re-

search, 21 (3), 261-273.

Strohush, V. (2017) Federal Reserve System and Monetary Policy. Chapter in Rycroft, Robert (eds.). The

American Middle Class: An Economic Encyclopedia of Progress and Poverty. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC -

CLIO/Greenwood.


10


DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMICS 11

Hello, Econ Alumni!

Do you remember your senior thesis and the ting of uncertainty over how you were

going to come up with an idea for it, much less complete it? Or what you were going to

do after you completed the thesis and walked across the stage at graduation?

We believe that we can create more support for our students and we are hoping you can

be a part of it. Over the next year, we will be developing the Elon Economics Network.

The goal is two-fold.

First, it connects alumni with rising seniors to provide a bit of guidance regarding your

process of discovery through the senior thesis. Second, share your experiences about

where the economics degree has taken you, provide advice or simply listen.

As you know the Economics degree is a highly versatile degree, which takes

our alumni down many varied and unique paths. Hearing about your

path can be helpful and inspire confidence.

You have a powerful voice and we hope you are willing to be

involved in creating stronger connections with each other.

Elon Economics Network

12


ELON UNIVERSITY

Contact :

Mark Kurt

[email protected]

(336) 278-5915

mailto:[email protected]

Hello Elon Econ Alumni!

Our department has under-gone a number of changes in recent years.

Tiemann, Barbour and Lilly have retired, and we have added Islam,

Sheridan and Depro to our family. DiRienzo stepped down as associate

dean, but then Platania has now stepped into that office. Alas, I am

department chair for awhile!

This is an exciting time for our department. We have a new BSBA

major in Economic Consulting to complement the strong BAs in

Economics and International Economics. With the help of many of

YOU, our recent graduates have experienced tremendous success in

the job market.

There are many ways to keep up with us now. Check our new

Facebook page and keep up with us on Twitter!

Steve

Steve DeLoach

Professor of Economics

[email protected]

Phone: 336-278-5943

Note from the Chair

13



economics happenings - elon university · elon university economics happenings department of...

Documents