can give to the Schol-arship here. Se-lect “Other” and in “Details” type “Lowry Scholar-

ship Fund (ECON)”

We believe the sticker is a positive way to promote our program, and we are look-ing forward to seeing them proudly displayed around campus. The program con-tinues to grow in numbers and in quality, and we re-main dedicated to enhanc-ing the academic experienc-es of our students. I hope to visit with many of our alums during Alumni Weekend festivities. Our tent will be with our BUAD friends outside of West Hall.

“I ECON @ Roanoke College” Coming to a car window, a dorm room window, or a book bag near you: the much coveted and highly anticipated bumper sticker proclaiming your allegiance to economics at Roanoke College! Be the first per-son in your dorm, frat, or team to proudly display this sought-after item! Supplies are limited, so get yours today!! Okay, okay, is that too much hype? Perhaps, but the economists are very excited about current stu-dents and alums bragging about their experiences in the economics program at good old RC. So here are the ways you can acquire one of our bumper stickers: (1) Currently enrolled stu-dents who have OFFI-CIALLY declared econom-ics as their major or minor

will be given a bumper sticker. Please see Dreama Poore to get yours today. She will have a list of ma-jors and minors; (2) Students currently en-rolled in an economics class and receive a grade of A or A- , regardless of their ma-jor, will be given a bumper sticker; (3) Roanoke College alum-ni who majored or minored in economics will be sent a bumper sticker, or they can get one during Alumni Weekend by attending the Departmental reception on Saturday afternoon at West Hall. If you would like to have your sticker mailed to your home address, please send me a self-addressed, stamped envelope with first class postage and I will see that you get one. There is no charge for the sticker, but a donation to the Lowry Scholarship fund would be greatly appreciated. You

From the Colonel’s Desk

Reaching out This is our fifth release of

Roanomics and it continues

to grow in popularity. Sev-

eral alumni have sent

emails or posted on social

networking outlets that they

enjoy reading through the

newsletter.

We are thrilled that

Roanomics is catching on

in this way. Reconnecting

with alumni was one of the

purposes of the newsletter.

If there is something that

you would like to see in the

next issue, send an email to

roanokeecon@gmail.com

Remember that you can

keep up to date on the Eco-

nomics Program between

issues of Roanomics by

following our blog, kas-

sensroanokeecon.blogspot.c

om, which is updated sever-

al times a month, including

items on current students.

Roanoke College Economics Program

Winter and Spring 2013

Volume 3, Issue 2

Roanomics

Advising tips:

The Economics Pro-gram offers a major and a minor

If you major in BUAD, there are only five addi-tional courses left to complete the minor in ECON (one of which can count as the BUAD elective)

Several of the ECON 200-level courses serve as electives in BUAD concentrations

ECON 121 can substi-tute for an INQ 260

Inside this issue:

News and notes 2

Student Editor’s note

3

Faculty update 4

Presentations, etc. 5

Fed Challenge 6

Blog 10,000 hits 8

Health and the la-bor market

9

Student comment on the economy

10

Economics Club 12

Upcoming events 13

Travels with Dr. Bob 16

Dr. Garry Fleming

The Economics Club at Roa-

noke College continues… and

with a budget! If you are inter-

ested, please fill out the interest

form http://

kassensroanokee-

con.blogspot.com/2012/01/

economics-club-at-roanoke-

college.html

Danielle McCloskey '10 and

her husband Michael '10 wel-

comed their first baby, Mathew

Grayson, on February 16th at

7:50am. He was 6lbs. 7oz. and

19 inches. Roanomics first birth

announcement!

Greg Long `14 welcomed a

son into this world March 17th!

Congrats! Two birth announce-

ments in one newsletter!

The Virginia Consumer Senti-

ment and Price Expectations

Indexes will now be released

each quarter! The February

2013 report can be found here.

Jorge Guzman Correa `12

kicked off the RC Economics

Program’s “What can I do with

a degree in economics?” series

with a presentation on his work

with the Peruvian government.

The Economics Club travelled

to Richmond to visit the Federal

Reserve and Bank and support

Roanoke College economists

(students and faculty) present-

ing their research at the 2013

VAE Annual Meeting. Be sure

to contact Conrad Clausen if

you are interested in joining the

Economics Club. They are

meeting each Wednesday night

at 8:00 pm this semester in the

Ramser-Beamer Meeting

Room. Fun things to come!

Dr. Alice Kassens officially

moved into the position of Pres-

ident of the Virginia Associa-

tion of Economist March 21. She

will serve until the next annual

meeting in March 2014.

Vincent Pennix `12 is moving

to NYC for a new job with the

Pi Lambda Phi Fraternity

(Pilam), an organization founded

at Yale University in 1895.

Vince will help get the fraternity

going at a college in the City.

Good luck Vince!

The Economics Program sends

out deepest sympathies to S.J.

Brussard `10 and his family

Please let us know what is new

with you at roanokee-

con@gmail.com or fill out our

form at kassensroanokee-

con.blogspot.com

News and notes

Where are our alumni now? tor at Northwestern Mutual in

Richmond, VA

Nicholas White `12 works in

Investors Services at Brown

Brothers Harriman in Boston,

MA

Fill out the alumni survey at

kassensroanokee-

con.blogspot.com or connect

with Dr. Alice Louise Kassens

on Linkedin.com

Have career advice or contacts

for our current Economics stu-

dents? Please send an email to

roanokeecon@gmail.com.

Cedric Porst `09 is a Senior

Controller at L’Oreal in Germa-

ny although he writes that he

will be moving to Paris soon for

a position in his group’s Inter-

nal Audit Department and that

he is excited about the travel-

ling that he will undertake over

the next few years.

Andy Gleason `08 is a Credit

Specialist at IDEXX Laborato-

ries Inc.

Stephanie Melnik `09 is a Di-

rector at Awesome Bars in San

Francisco

Megan Rhodes `11 is an Asso-

ciate Agent to Managing Direc-

Page 2 Roanomics

“My overall education at Roa-

noke College, and particularly

my economics education, pre-

pared me for dealing with the

extremely varied career and

educational experiences I have

had throughout my life”

-Roanoke College alumna `72

Give us your comments via

alumni survey on our blog and

they might be included in the

next issue of Roanomics!

Danielle McCloskey `10

41

There are

currently 27

declared majors

and 14 declared

minors in the

Economics

Program.

Declare yours

here

DID YOU

KNOW?

Cedric Porst `09

I am once again shocked by how my time has flown here at Roanoke College. As I embark on my last semester, I find that I am reflecting often on the moments spent outside the classroom but also experi-encing what these past years have looked like academical-ly.

In my class, History of Eco-nomic Thought, commonly dubbed “Seminar”, I am get-ting a picture of what it is that I have been learning through all of my earlier eco-nomics classes. In this time, I enjoy the discussions, discov-er a sense of completion, and feel moments of gratitude

towards my previous eco-nomic professors. In my sem-inar paper, I wish to discuss what behavioral economics tells us about ethics and how that is related to the 2007 financial crisis. I am excited about writing this paper and the learning it has brought along the way. I still wish to pursue a career once I leave Roanoke College, in either accounting or a finance-focused field. Though I am not concrete in my plans up-on graduation, I am confident with the knowledge that I am taking with me.

NOTE: Kerry has been an invaluable resource to the

Economics Program. She has helped Dr. Kassens run the Economics Assessment Plan and has been the Student Edi-tor for Roanomics. Her won-derful smile will be missed by many when she leaves Roanoke College in May.

Thank you Kerry for your hard work and dedication to the Economics Program.

The best of luck to you in your life after Roanoke Col-lege. You will do well.

~ Dr. Kassens

Student Editor’s Note: Kerry Murphy `13

Page 3 Volume 3, Issue 2

Summer & Fall 2013 Courses

Summer 2013

ECON 122 Principles of Mac-roeconomics

Kassens (June)

Fall 2013

ECON 121

Nik-Khah, Hernandez

ECON 122

Fleminig

ECON 257 Competition, Mo-

nopoly and Public Policy

Nik-Khah

ECON 267 Labor Economics

Kassens

ECON 232 Money & Banking

Fleming

ECON 321 Intermediate The-ory: Macroeconomics

Hernandez

ECON 448 Econometrics

Kassens

INQ 260EC

Hernandez

Check Webadvisor for all official times and section numbers.

(Blogging in

Dr. Kassens’

Principles

course)

“helped me

to become

more aware

of how

economics

affects so

many

different

areas”

“[enabled

me] to

understand

how what we

were learning

in class could

tie in to other

economic

events in our

country and

worldwide.”

Kerry Murphy `13

"A lot of people talk about majoring in business ... actually, economics is even better, because

you learn a lot more quantitative analysis, a lot more statistics, and things that are applicable in

kind of this big data world," she says. "Similar to physics, it's really good for salary growth

overall." -Kelsey Sheehy, US News and World Report, “College Majors with the Best Rate of

Return on Investment”, September 12, 2012.

It has been a busy winter and

early spring!

As President-elect of the Vir-

ginia Association of Econo-

mists I was in charge of organ-

izing our annual meeting held

March 21-22. The 2013 meeting

was at the Federal Reserve

Bank of Richmond and new

security rules provided an addi-

tional challenge in the organiza-

tional process.

Gone are the days when a pic-

ture ID gets you into the Bank. I

hear in the really old days, con-

ference participants, including

Garry Fleming, could pull up to

the marble front circle and walk

right in! Now all registration

must be completed 72 hours

ahead of time and sent to secu-

rity. Attendees must each be

escorted to the 23rd floor for

the conference; no one can

leave unless accompanied by an

escort.

Additionally, presentation files

must be sent at least 24 hours

ahead for loading on the Fed’s

laptops. No external drives or

sources are permitted.

My greatest fear was that some-

one would not register early and

be upset when turned away by

security. Luckily the conference

went off without a hitch. We

had tremendous support from

our contact at the Fed, Stepha-

nie Pelletier.

I had the honor of presenting

IPOR Virginia Consumer Senti-

ment and Price Expectation data

in the plenary session. I was in

great company as Chris Chmura

(Chmura Analytics) and Steve

Fuller (George Mason Universi-

ty) presented data on the nation

and northern Virginia, respec-

tively.

Our Sandridge Lecture at the

banquet was given by Dr. San-

dra Peart. Amongst her many

accomplishments is the book

“Vanity of the Philosopher”

with David Levy (who also

attended our conference.) Her

lecture on the potential for spe-

cial interests to cloud results in

economics and other fields was

compelling and stimulated a

vibrant discussion afterwards. It

confirmed the way that I teach

econometrics and its use and

place in economics. It is a tool

of inquiry that should be used

responsibly.

Friday morning began with the

Business Meeting in which the

role of President of the organi-

zation was transferred to me

along with the VAE’s fancy

gavel. I will hold the position

until March 2014. Joe Turek of

Lynchburg College was elected

President-elect and will serve

the year with me.

Two Roanoke College students

presented in an undergraduate

research session on Friday morn-

ing: Katie Thornton and Jimmy

Bradshaw. I chaired the session

and was impressed with their

poise and professionalism. Katie

presented her work on micro-

finance in Morocco and Mexico

while Jimmy showcased his pa-

per on NCAA men’s basketball,

including his own regular and

post-season performance metrics.

In the second session of the day I

presented my paper “Do as I say

and as I do: An adaptation of the

Mentor Demonstration Model”

which was published in October

2012. The discussant for the pa-

per was Bob Winder of Christo-

pher Newport University and

gave both the paper and the

teaching method high praise.

Overall the conference was ex-

tremely exhausting but produc-

tive, joyful, and successful. At-

tendance was over 60 and the

program was one of the strongest

on record. Hopefully some of

you will attend the 2014 meet-

ing. I hope to host it at Roanoke

College!

Faculty Update: Dr. Alice Louise Kassens

Page 4 Roanomics

Alice Kassens

Sandra Peart and Alice Kassens

ff

Dr. Alice Louise Kassens

“The Impact of Clinical De-

pression on the Labor Market

Outcomes of Young Adults”,

American Economics Asso-

ciation Annual Meeting,

San Diego, CA

“The giving and getting of

mentorship”, Roanoke Col-

lege Faith and Learning

Series

“Consumer Sentiment and

Price Expectations in Virgin-

ia”, Virginia Association of

Economists Annual Meet-

ing, Richmond, VA

“Do as I say and as I do: Ad-

aptation of the Mentor

Demonstration Model”, Price

Expectations in Virginia”,

Virginia Association of

Economists Annual Meet-

ing, Richmond, VA

“The Impact of Clinical De-

pression on the Labor Market

Outcomes of Young Adults

and PPACA”, Roanoke Col-

lege Coffee Shop Series

Katherine Thornton `13

“The Impact of Socioeco-

nomic Context on the

Success of Micro-

Presentations

Page 5 Volume 3, Issue 2

Fall 2012 Academic Honors President’s List

Katie Thornton

Emma Webb

Dean’s List

Jimmy Bradshaw

Ted Ellis

Adrian Gillam

Tiffany Ingram

Athletic Honor Roll

James Bradshaw

Maxwell Carroll

Conner Dubois

Kyle Hagens

Christopher Migliarese

finance”, Virginia Associa-

tion of Economists Annual

Meeting, Richmond, VA

James Bradshaw `13

“One and done or four more

years”, Virginia Association

of Economists Annual

Meeting, Richmond, VA

Dr. Edward Nik-Khah

“The Economic Origins of

Pharmaceutical Ignorance",

Economics Faculty Dis-

cussion Group, Virginia

Military Institute

Publications Dr. Alice Louise Kassens

Consumer sentiment falls to begin new year. (2013). Bos-ton, MA: MassINC Polling Group. http://www.massincpolling.com/?p=794

Consumer Sentiment and Price Expectations in Virgin-ia. (2013) Salem, VA: Insti-

tute of Policy and Opinion Research. (February 2013)

Dr. Edward Nik-Khah

"A Discipline in Trouble,"

Journal of Economic Meth-

odology 20(1): 93-98

Dr. Robert Stauffer

(2013, January 9) Excess

Reserves Used by Banks in

Lending [Letter to the Edi-

tor]. The Wall Street Jour-

nal, A16.

(online version)

Katie and James

Coffee Shop Series

Kyle Hagens `13

Conner Dubois `13

The theme of my sixth Fed Challenge Team centered on “uncertainty”. The Team identi-fied uncertainties in the labor market, consumer confidence, the Fiscal Cliff, and the impact of Hurricane Sandy as threats to the economy. Additionally, Hurricane Sandy cancelled the Team’s original presentation date leaving us uncertain when we would present our research. When the new presentation date was announced, new employ-ment data had been released leaving all eleven teams repre-senting colleges and universities throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia scrambling to up-date the final scripts. The aca-demic competition, regionally sponsored by the Federal Re-serve Bank of Richmond, is designed to expand the under-standing of the Federal Reserve System's unique role in the economy and the importance of monetary policy conducted by the Federal Open Market Com-mittee. Encouraging a better understanding of the nation’s central bank, the forces influ-encing economic conditions in the United States and abroad, and the ways the economy af-

fects consumers’ lives, the com-petition develops students' re-search, presentation, and critical thinking skills.

This year’s team included Kerry Murphy, Ian Kervick-Jimenez, Brunella Salazar, Tiffany In-gram, and Conner Dubois. I would describe this year’s team as cohesive, a kindred of kind souls, intellectually curious, and conscientious. Despite not ad-vancing to finals, I have never had a team more accurately predict the outcome of the FOMC meeting following the competition. I even questioned if the FOMC read our script and published it as their press re-lease in the weeks following our presentation. See the table be-low for a comparison.

We delivered our oral presenta-tion to a panel of Federal Re-serve economists, who then rated our performance based on content, teamwork, and ability to provide impromptu responses to spontaneous questions.

A special thank you goes out to Roanoke College Professor Emeritus, Dr. Robert Stauffer, Dr. Alice Kassens, Dr. Garry

Fleming, and Dr. Edward Nik-Khah who ensured that this year’s team was on the right path a several key stages of the se-mester.

As the Coach, I had two gratify-ing moments during the semes-ter. First, it was a privilege to hear Jeffrey M. Lacker, President of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, deliver his economic outlook at The Hotel Roanoke and Conference Center on Octo-ber 15, 2012. Not only did team member Brunella Salazar and Dr. Robert Stauffer join me, but all three of us were able to ask Mr. Lacker very specific questions about the economy. Second, I was gratified as I read the FOMC’s press release in the Wall Street Journal in December as our semester concluded be-cause this year’s team got it right! With absolute certainty, this year’s team represented Roa-noke College well and made me proud!

Fed Challenge: Coach & Lecturer Michelle Crook

Page 6 Roanomics

Roanoke College Recommendation Fed Policy Decision

Date of Delivery November 9, 2012 December 12, 2013

Regarding QE3 Continue QE3 but add in Treasuries with MBS purchases

Continued QE3 and added Treasuries to MBS

Regarding Forward Guid-ance

Implement Forward Guidance based on economic metrics such unemploy-ment and inflation

Announced Forward Guid-ance based on unemployment and inflation

Maximum Rate of Unem-ployment before interest rates are changed

7.3% begin cutting back on QE3 6.5%

Maximum Rate of Infla-tion before interest rates are changed

2.3% 2.5%

Regarding Operation Twist

Extend and continue Continued but instead of sell-ing short-term Treasuries the Fed began funding its pur-chases by adding reserves to the banking system

Michelle Crook

Page 7 Volume 3, Issue 2

Have you ever seen someone hanging from the side of a building in order to clean it? I did, at the Federal Reserve Bank in Richmond, Va. The Fed Challenge was a wonder-ful learning experience and very interesting as well. At the beginning of the semes-ter, every team member chose a topic on the economy that they would like to study more deeply than another part. I chose Gross Domestic Prod-uct (GDP). I had heard about GDP of course in class, but I had never gone into a lot of depth with it to see what it was really all about. After studying GDP for numerous weeks, it was time to put my knowledge together with the rest of the team and make our economic analysis.

Over fall break we were to have our scripts typed and finished before we got back to school; it was crunch time. Our team decided to use Prezi for our presentation and one member created it, while the rest of us had speaking parts. We gave a practice presenta-tion for some economics fac-ulty, which was kind of scary to be honest. I did not feel too good about our presentation

after we finished presenting it to them. We made chang-es and revisions to improve it afterwards.

Our original presentation date was postponed due to Hurricane Sandy. Before I knew it, we were meeting in the parking lot and loading up the van to head to Rich-mond. We had a lovely din-ner, and stayed in a very nice hotel. Roanoke College was definitely able to make us feel important while in Richmond.

Presentation day was ex-tremely crazy. After we went through security, and we were in the lobby wait-ing for our turn, I was very nervous. I had so many dif-ferent thoughts running through my head. We final-ly got called in the presenta-tion room, and after I said my first part, I felt a weight lifted off my chest. Our team did really well as a whole and the judges were pleased.

This was one of the best experiences I have ever had. There just are not words to explain all the emotions you go through, and what you

see. I wish I could go back because now I know I wast-ed a lot of time being nerv-ous for no reason. It was a lot of fun, and I learned so much. After practicing and memorizing my part of the script, I do not think I will ever forget those lines. It was a lot of hard work through-out the semester, but it all paid off in the end. Studying the economy is great, but actually getting to go to the Federal Reserve and suggesting new mone-tary policies and a new strategy to relieve the econ-omy was amazing. I have never taken another class that can even compare to the type of work and final presentation that is involved with The Fed Challenge. I would recommend it to any-one who is offered the chance and is interested in the economy. Talking to judges and seeing the Fed is awesome, I would love to be able to take this course again. Also, a special thanks to Coach Crook, for being so patient with us through-out the semester and always there to help.

Tiffany Ingram `13

Fed Challenge: Student reflection

Dr. Alice Louise Kassens start-

ed the Roanoke College Eco-

nomics Program Blog in 2010

as a way of promoting the Eco-

nomics Program and sharing all

of the great things that the fac-

ulty and students accomplished.

Blog posts have ranged from

research updates for faculty and

students, awards and recogni-

tions, commentaries on eco-

nomic issues, and upcoming

events.

The blog passed 10,000 hits in

early 2013. In honor of this mile-

stone Roanomics editors Dr.

Kassens and Kerry Murphy `13

decided to share the blog’s top

ten list. Enjoy and thank you for

all of your support.

Roanoke College Economics Blog Passes 10,000 Hits

Page 8 Roanomics

Page views by operating system Page views by search engine

Date Title # Hits Summary

11/9/2010 McGraw-Hill PowerPoint Slides for

Dornbusch, Fischer, and Startz

631 A description of the supplemental teaching

materials Dr. Kassens prepared for a wide-

ly used macroeconomics textbook.

11/6/2012 Roanomics is here! Vol. 3, Iss. 1 -

An Election day distraction

269 The fourth issue of the Economics Pro-

gram newsletter

4/12/2012 Congratulations Chris Kwaramba `12 211 Note on Chris Kwaramba’s successful

defense of his Honors in Major project

4/19/2012 Congratulations Sara Caudle `12 210 Note on Sara Caudle’s successful defense

of his Honors in Major project

3/26/2012 Roanomics Volume. 2, Issue 2 169 The third issue of the Economics Program

newsletter

11/28/2011 Dr. Kassens on News 7 158 Link to TV interview of Dr. Kassens on

consumer sentiment and Black Friday

11/20/2012 The fiscal cliff: Avoid it or take the

plunge

146 Overview of Dr. Kassens’ ECON 122 stu-

dent commentary on the fiscal cliff

12/15/2011 Kassens’ paper makes top ten list on

SSRN

140 Link to one of Kassens’ papers that made

an exclusive list in 2011

1/8/2012 Sara Caudle `12 accepted to present

at NCUR

138 Note on Sara Caudle’s acceptance to pres-

tigious research conference

10/22/2012 Paper by Dr. Kassens and three stu-

dents published

136 Announcement and link to joint effort ac-

cepted for publication

NOTE: The “# hits” does not count the blog author’s access.

Y ou can

get

updates on new

blog posts by

following us on

Twitter

@roanokeecon

TOP

REFERRING

SITES:

Google

Facebook

Roanoke.edu

W ant to

read

some other eco-

nomics blogs?

http://

econacadem-

ics.org/ has

many links

Don’t forget to

visit Dr. Kas-

sens’ blog or its

concise compli-

mentary Tum-

blr page which

has frequent

posts on eco-

nomic research

and data

Page 9 Volume 3, Issue 2

The relationship between mental

health and labor market out-

comes is complex. Illnesses such

as depression can reduce labor

productivity, thus increasing the

likelihood of reduced hours of

work and unemployment. Addi-

tionally, unemployment can gen-

erate or exacerbate depression.

The simultaneity between de-

pression and labor market out-

comes makes it difficult to esti-

mate the effects of depression on

these outcomes.

Dr. Alice Kassens and Dr. Wil-

liam M. Rodgers III (Rutgers

University) have been working

on a project to parse out these

effects. Some of their results

were presented at the American

Economic Association Annual

Meeting in San Diego in January

2013.

Kassens and Rodgers focus on

young adults (20-34 years of

age) as differences across gener-

ations’ acceptance of mental

illness, willingness to seek help,

and likelihood of admitting to

having this type of illness likely

exist. Depression data is partial-

ly drawn from survey data and

the focus on the younger group

should lessen the reporting error

stemming from these differ-

ences.

One labor market outcome of

interest is hours of work. It is

hypothesized that depression

reduces hours of work as the

illness interferes with day to

day tasks, efficiency, and

productivity.

Because the size of the impact

of depression on hours of work

could vary across the hours

distribution, the effect is esti-

mated using a quantile regres-

sion technique. The results are

shown in the figure below.

Depression is measured two

ways: 1) self-report by survey

respondents (an answer to one

question about feeling sad,

empty or depressed) and 2)

clinical measure using the PHQ

-8 screener. It is expected that

the clinical measure is subject

to less measurement error than

the “self report”.

It is clear that the impact of de-

pression is greatest at the lower

end of the hours distribution,

particularly for the clinical meas-

ure of depression. The values in

orange indicate the median hours

of work in the quintile and the

black values indicate the quintile

(for example at the first quintile,

the median person works 25

hours per week).

Specifically, at the first quintile,

depression reduces hours of work

by just over 7 hours per week.

Here the median worker who is

depressed will work 18 hours per

week rather than 25, a 28% re-

duction. Comparatively, at the

third quintile, depression only

reduces hours by 1.5 hours per

week, reducing hours to 38.5 per

week.

Beyond the fifth quintile esti-

mates are not statistically signifi-

cant.

These results should be consid-

ered by mental health policy

makers as labor markets improve

from the recent recession.

Research spotlight: Mental health and the labor market

As a graduating senior, the

current health of the econo-

my has taken on a new im-

portance in my life. Soon I

will leave the hallowed halls

of West and embark on an

entirely new adventure filled

with grocery bills and rent

payments and hopefully

some stable source of in-

come. Since my time at Roa-

noke began a short four years

ago, though, it’s difficult to

say whether the economy has

actually “improved” or not.

When I entered college in

August 2009, Virginia’s un-

employment rate was on its

way up, peaking at 7.4% by

year’s end. By the end of

2012 the unemployment rate

in Virginia had itself dropped

to 5.6%, but the overall health

of the economy doesn’t seem

much rosier. Americans are

concerned about rising health

care costs and the lack of a

feasible proposal to address

the national debt, as they

should be. The new bright,

young minds ready to enter

the workforce after gradua-

tion are questioning the value

of their college degrees in

light of immense student

loans and weak job opportu-

nities. Perhaps what we’ve

gained in human capital we’ve

lost in never-ending interest

payments. As the United States

continues down a path of un-

certain recovery, for now I

think I’ll postpone the real

world for just a bit longer and

head to graduate school instead.

Katie Thornton `13

Student Comment on the Economy

Page 10 Roanomics

Want macroeco-

nomic data? Feder-

al Reserve Eco-

nomic Data

(FRED) is a great

secondary source

of government

data. FRED recent-

ly released an ex-

cel add-in to in-

crease the ease of

data manipulation.

It was used to gen-

erate the plot of the

ICS below. Over

64,000 data series

are available free

of charge.

Katie Thornton `13

Page 11 Volume 3, Issue 2

FEATURE

GRADUATE SCHOOL ADMISSIONS

We have had a banner year

for graduate school admis-

sions for both current seniors

and alumni.

If we have missed you, please

drop us a line at roanokee-

con@gmail.com

Yahia Abuhashem

American University

Economics, PhD

Zach Birtsch

James Madison University

College Student Personnel

Administration, Masters

The College of William and

Mary

Education Leadership, Mas-

ters of Education

Chanho Song

Brandeis University

Business, Masters

SUNY-Buffalo

Economics, Masters

Vanderbilt University

Economics, Masters

Katherine Thornton

American University

Statistics, Masters

University of Pittsburgh

Statistics, Masters

Virginia Tech

Statistics, Masters

A re you considering going to graduate school? If you are considering a graduate program

in economics, a good reference to get you started is http://www.aeaweb.org/gradstudents/

Samantha Sterba

`09 is currently

working on her

PhD in Economics

at the University of

Massachusetts at

Amherst.

She advises Roa-

noke College stu-

dent going straight

to graduate school

from Roanoke Col-

lege:

“Don't be intimi-

dated by your peers

who may be enter-

ing your program

with graduate de-

grees already com-

pleted and years of

experience and

skills already ac-

quired. The admis-

sions committee

already made those

comparisons and

you made the cut.

Stay focused on

your goals and

make it a point to

take care of your-

self.”

Talk to any eco-

nomics professor if

you are interested

in pursuing a grad-

uate degree. We

are more than hap-

py to help.

Where did your professors go for graduate work?

Dr. Garry Fleming,

University of Kentucky

Dr. Alice Louise Kassens,

North Carolina State

University

Dr. Edward Nik-Khah

Dr. Pablo Hernandez,

University of Notre Dame

Sterba `09

The Economics Club has been busy this spring with planning events for the upcoming aca-demic year, and making an en-tertaining and informative agen-da for the rest of the semester!

This past week, the Economics Club traveled to the Richmond Federal Reserve Bank for the Virginian Association of Econ-omists annual meeting. The club was in support of their peers and club advisor, who presented at the conference. The club also had the wonderful opportunity to tour the Federal

Reserve Bank.

This week, there are two eco-nomic speakers on campus. The club is hosting Dr. Alison Wel-lington, a Deputy Project Direc-tor of Policy Research at Math-ematica on Wednesday March 27th. She will continue to talk on the theme of “What can I do with a degree in Economics?”, following a Roanoke alum shar-ing his experience working for the government of his native Peru, with an economics de-gree.

The club has also been busy with handwriting letters to potential Roanoke students who have ap-plied to the college and marked interest in studying Economics. We want to make them aware of our presence on campus, and to make ourselves available to an-swer any question they may have about the Economics program or any of our activities on campus.

We are in the process of plan-ning a networking event during Alumni Weekend. Details to follow.

Economics Club: Message from the President

Economics Club: Comment

quarter of GDP, but the lower fifty percent account only for 20%. Many of the more rural Bangladeshi people subsist at a level of extreme poverty, and the problems listed above are mostly their burden to bear. Fortunately, the people of Bangladesh have created a solu-tion to their problem of poverty through microlending. Pio-neered by the Grameen bank, microlending is a practice that helps poor persons who would not typically qualify for a tradi-tional loan start a cottage indus-try. It has been extraordinarily successful financially, with a repayment rate of 98%, and has

Bangladesh could be well de-scribed as a country which is progressing in spite of itself. Despite a mere fifty percent literacy rate, which is the prod-uct of miniscule education spending and a host of natural problems such as deforestation, erosion, and pollution, it saw a very significant rise in per capi-ta income since the last year, over $US 1,000. This being said, the economic health of the nation does not accurately describe the health of an enormous section of the pop-ulation. In Bangladesh, income disparities are very large: the top 10% of earners net over a

Page 12

been quite effective at lifting the poorest of the poor out of their state, especially women. Both the United States (where Grameen’s presence is small) and other sections of the world should further adopt a similar model of microlending. In addi-tion to combating poverty, it also combats social injustice such as the economic oppression of women in third-world countries. Through forward-thinking move-ments such as this, the world will be better prepared for equality, tolerance, and healthy growth.

Roanomics

Conrad Classen

Ted Ellis `15

Page 13 Volume 3, Issue 2

“What can I do with a degree in Economics?”

A question that many undergraduates have. The Roanoke College Economics Program is

dedicated to not only providing a rigorous education that examines “the relationship be-

tween economics and other areas of knowledge”, but also helping our students move on to

the next stage of life.

The Roanoke College Economics Program will offer several sessions each year to address

this question. Sessions will include presentations and Q & A with recent alumni.

Two sessions will be held in the spring of 2013.

Alumnus Jorge Guzman Correa `12 will present some of his work with the Peruvian gov-

ernment concerning the economic impact of social aid on the poor in the Peruvian high-

lands March 26, 6-7 pm in Kime. Jorge was an economics major and putting his de-

gree to use straight out of college. After his presentation, students are encouraged to ask

questions about how to start a career in economics.

The Roanoke College Economics Club presents an evening with Dr. Alison Wellington of

Mathematica Policy Research (www.mathematica-mpr.com) March 27, 8-9 pm in the

Ramser-Beamer Meeting Room. Dr . Wellington earned her PhD in economics from

the University of Michigan and specializes in health and labor economics. Prior joining

MPR she taught undergraduate economics for 17 years and has had several papers pub-

lished in highly ranked peer-reviewed economics journals including the Journal of Human

Resources. Dr. Wellington will share stories about her experiences in academia and at

MPR and will answer questions about how to get started in economic consulting.

If you have suggestions for future sessions, please contact the Roanoke College Economics

Program at roanokeecon@gmail.com or reach out to us on Twitter @roanokeecon

We look forward to seeing you soon!

Guzman Correa

Alison Wellington

Page 14 Roanomics

Page 15 Volume 3, Issue 2

“...Because we view economics as solidly within the liberal arts, we are

committed to examining the relationship between economics and other are-

as of knowledge. Students will therefore find it to be an excellent comple-

ment to many other majors, including, but not limited to public policy, soci-

ology, history, environmental policy, mathematics, biology, and business

administration, as well as concentrations such as gender studies and peace

and justice studies.”

For information about the Economics Program contact Dr. Garry Fleming

(fleming@roanoke.edu)

For comments or suggestions about the newsletter email

roanokeecon@gmail.com

Read our blog: kassensroanokeecon.blogspot.com

Faculty Editor: Dr. Alice Louise Kassens

Student Editor: Kerry Murphy ‘13

221 College Lane Salem, VA 24153

Phone: 540-375-2426 Fax: 540-375-2577

E-mail: roanokeecon@gmail.com

Economics Program

children. This program, begun in the 1870's, forcibly re-moved children from their homes and sent them to schools where all traces of their native language and cul-ture were eliminated. This largely forgotten episode in American history is a caution-ary tale concerning the wis-dom of our federal govern-ment.

From Phoenix we took the scenic route over to Globe, AZ, a gritty copper mining town and the polar opposite of Scottsdale. We followed the Apache Trail, a mountain road built around 1900 to provide supplies for the construction of the Theodore Roosevelt dam, one of the first federal water projects in Arizona. The Trail includes 26 miles of rough dirt road, with hairpin curves and one lane sections. Our fellow trav-elers were driving SUV's and

In February, we decided to skip our usual Florida trip and headed west to sunny Arizona. We flew to Phoenix and stayed in the Phoenix/Scottsdale area for a few days before heading south to Tuc-son. A bonus was a visit with a long-lost cousin who re-cently moved to Phoenix. He's a REAL doctor, mean-ing he doesn't have a Ph.D., but he heals people and makes bundles of money.

We stayed in Scottsdale which is a haven for affluent retirees. Upscale shops and good restaurants are every-where; there is even a Bent-ley dealership tucked in be-tween Lexus and Mercedes. Besides shopping and dining, we went to the Heard Muse-um, a world-class exhibition of Native American art and history. The most memorable exhibit was a history of boarding schools for Indian

pick-ups, while I was driving a rental Nissan from Thrifty Rent-a-Car, the very same company that grossly over-charged us in Germany a few years ago. After 26 miles of rattling and shaking, I think I'm just about even with Thrifty!

We are now planning a trip to Paris and Normandy this spring, and I'm hoping the Euro will slide a little more in value (it's now at about $1.30). The resilience of the Euro, despite massive eco-nomic problems in the Euro-zone, is further proof that super easy Federal Re-serve policy is distorting mar-kets. However, the best exam-ple is the recent all-time highs of the Dow-Jones; despite stagnant GDP growth, high unemployment, increases in payroll taxes, and a dysfunc-tional government in D.C. (as in Deficit City). But not to

Travels with Dr. Bob

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Tell us what is new with you roanokeecon.blogspot.com

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worry: Ben Bernanke and the Fed are printing dollars at the rate of over $80 billion a month. If this continues for most of the year, fasten your seat belts--it's could be a rough inflationary ride ( a lot worse than the Apache Trail.) There's also a high chance the stock market will decline substantial-ly when the Fed decides to slow down the monetary print-ing presses and allow interest rates to return to more normal levels. —Happy Travels, Dr. Bob

Bob Stauffer, Professor

Emeritus