Teaching
Quantitative Methods
This is an introduction to statistics for economics majors. Topics include measures of centrality and variation, probability, confidence intervals, hypothesis testing, and OLS regression. By the end of the course students have worked extensively with Excel and Stata and are prepared to take a course in econometrics. The average class size is approximately 18.
Syllabus: Fall 2021
Development Economics
This is a course in the political economy of development for students who have finished principles of economics. I teach technical tools like the Solow growth model and measuring poverty before turning to the barriers to growth and development. After discussing institutional dysfunction and models of the state, the rest of the semester examines the economics and political economy of various potential solutions to underdevelopment, including foreign aid, military intervention, and migration. The average class size is approximately 17.
Syllabus: Fall 2021
Principles of Economics
This is a one semester principles course emphasizing microeconomics but dealing with macroeconomic topics as well. It is similar to Economics for the Citizen, described below, but with more emphasis on mathematics, cost curves, and other tools to prepare students for intermediate courses. The average class size is 18.
Syllabus: Fall 2021
International Economic Policy
This is a survey of issues in international economics for non-economics majors. Through the first half of the course I build up an understanding of international trade and economic growth. The political economy of these issues is then the central focus throughout the second half. In spring 2021 I taught this course in a fully online, asynchronous format. The average class size is approximately 50.
Syllabus: Spring 2021
Austrian Economics
In this upper level class, I take students through a tour of the unique perspective of economists in the Austrian tradition, including Carl Menger, Ludwig von Mises, and F. A. Hayek. We begin with the Austrians’ methodological orientation, pursue several avenues of consequent theoretical distinctness, and then use these concepts to render new insights in familiar areas of economics and political economy. The average class size is approximately 15.
Syllabus: Spring 2019
Evaluations: Spring 2019
Economics for the Citizen
This course is referred to as “Economics for Non-Majors” at many institutions. It is a one semester survey of economics for those with no prior exposure to the subject. I spend the first half of the class building up an understanding of supply and demand’s social coordinating function, followed by applying that framework to a variety of settings, from free rider problems to development. The average class size is approximately 40.