Economics DepartmentPublic Economics focuses on real-world settings where public intervention can improve the functioning of the economy. Our teaching and research addresses a variety of such questions, such as:
- What drives the location of pollution and what are ways to address environmental injustices?
- How does school spending impact educational attainment?
- Do policies that encourage college enrollment impact inequality?
- Can police reform address racial and ethnic disparities in the criminal legal system?
- Do corporate tax cuts increase inequality?
Public economics includes subfields like:
- Economics of Education
- Urban Economics
- Public Finance
- Health Economics
- Law and Economics
- Environmental Economics
- Race and Justice
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Patrick Bayer, Professor of Economics Professor Bayer's research focuses on wide range of subjects including racial inequality and segregation, social interactions, housing markets, education, and criminal justice. |
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Jason Baron, Assistant Professor of Economics Professor Baron's research focuses on topics in child welfare, the economics of education, and the economics of crime. |
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Jeffrey DeSimone, Professor of the Practices of Economics Professor DeSimone studies causes and consequences of risky behaviors, particularly among adolescents and young adults, with a current focus on alcohol consumption and gun prevalence, especially effects of the minimum legal drinking age and mass shootings. |
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Thomas J. Nechyba, Professor of Economics Professor Nechyba conducts his research within the fields of public finance, fiscal federalism, and the economics of education.
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