M AC A L E S T E R AC A D E M I C U P DAT E2 0 1 8 FA L L

Economics The Economics Department seeks to develop basic analytical skills that contribute to the understanding of our own and other economic systems; that serve as a valuable foundation for advanced studies in the fields of economics, business, and law; and that are necessary for making sound decisions in business or government careers. Students may major or minor in economics.

FacultySarah West ’91, G. Theodore Mitau Professor and chair, has research interests in the areas of environmental economics, urban economics, and public finance. She teaches courses in those areas as well as Microeconomics, and co-teaches the course Climate: Science, Economics, and Policy with a Macalester paleoclimatologist.

Samantha Çakir, visiting professor, has research interests in health economics, urban and regional economic development, and education economics. She teaches Principles of Economics, Health Economics, and Industrial Organization.

Amy Damon, associate professor, has research interests that include strategies for household food security, education policy, and sustainable agricultural development in developing countries. She teaches Principles of Economics, International Economic Development, Introduction to Econometrics, and the Economics of Global Food Problems.

Liang Ding, associate professor, has research interests in financial economics and monetary economics. He teaches Principles of Economics, Capital Markets, Finance, Empirical Finance, and China’s Modern Economy.

Jeffery Evans, adjunct professor, is a certified public accountant and computerized accounting systems consultant to small businesses throughout the Twin Cities. He teaches Financial Accounting, Managerial Accounting and Organizational Leadership.

Pete Ferderer, Edward J. Noble Professor of Economics, has research interests in the areas of economic history, macroeconomics, and behavioral economics. He teaches Principles of Economics, World Economic History, Intermediate Macroeconomic Analysis, and Behavioral and Experimental Economics.

Felix Friedt, assistant professor, is an international economist interested in trade and transportation economics. He teaches Principles of Economics, Introduction to International Economics, and a new capstone course, Multinational Corporations.

Gary Krueger, Cargill Professor of International Economics, studies reforms in Russian industrial enterprises. He teaches Introduction to Econometrics, Advanced Econometrics, Comparative Economic Systems, and the Economics of Transition.

Joyce Minor ’88, Karl Egge Professor in Economics, earned her MBA from Harvard Business School. She has worked at several companies, most recently as a senior vice president in equity research at Lehman Brothers in New York. She teaches Introduction to Investment Banking, Securities Analysis, Business Communications, Business Negotiations, and Deals.

Karine Moe, F. R. Bigelow Professor, is a labor economist. She is currently serving as provost and dean of the faculty.

Mario Solis-Garcia, assistant professor, has research interests in macroeconomics, business cycles, and economic growth and development. He teaches Principles of Economics, Intermediate Macroeconomic Analysis, and Applied Dynamic Macroeconomics.

Lucas Threinen, Berg Postdoctoral Fellow, is a microeconomist with interests in trade policy. He teaches Principles of Economics, Introduction to Labor Economics, and Game Theory.

Recent Topics CoursesDevelopment, Environment, and Sustainability

Economics of Public Policy

Game Theory

Industrial Organization

Money and Banking

Honors ProjectsGenevieve Gregorich ’18 (Boulder, Colo.), “How Deep is Your Love? Loss Aversion in Dating Markets”

Van Anh Le ’18 (Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam), “Does Agglomeration Account for Innovation in Small and Medium Enterprises in Vietnam?”

Nadia Mezic ’18 (Huntington, N.Y.), “Are Peer Effects Present in Residential Solar Installations? Evidence from Minnesota and Wisconsin”

Trung Minh Nguyen ’18 (Hanoi, Vietnam), “Are Female-Owned Enterprises Targeted More for Bribery than Male-Owned Ones? Firm-level Evidence from Vietnam”

Nicoletta Peters ’18 (Mason City, Iowa), “Do Business Cycles Make Babies? The Impact of Business Cycle Fluctuations on Fertility”

Annalivia Robinson ’18 (Brookline, Mass.), “Testing Option B+: Measuring the Impact of PMTCT Programming on Human Capital Investment in Malawi”

James Spector-Bishop ’18 (Northbrook, Ill.), “Food Deserts or Food Desserts? An Examination of Whether Food Deserts Matter”

Ellen Tyler ’18 (Genesse Depot, Wis.), “Bad Women or Bad Rap: Explaining Increasing Female Imprisonment”

Economics

Special OpportunitiesThe Bureau of Economic Studies provides financial support for student and faculty research, bringing speakers to campus, and facilitating connections between Macalester and Twin Cities businesses. The Bureau also funds the student-edited Macalester Journal of Economics.

The Economics Department has a state-of-the-art econometrics lab, supports entrepreneurship programming at the college and is involved in four concentrations: Cognitive Science; Community and Global Health; Food, Agriculture and Society; and International Development. Macalester’s location at the heart of the Twin Cities provides our majors with opportunities including internships, courses at other colleges and universities, and participation in Economic Club of Minnesota events.

Student-Faculty ResearchProfessor Felix Friedt and William Sandy ’20 (Milwaukee) will investigate differences in trade effects arising from hurricanes across multiple modes of transportation.

Professor Felix Friedt and Andra Boca ’20 (Galati, Romania) will develop a dataset to evaluate the effects of Minneapolis–St. Paul (MSP) airport noise reductions on residential property values.

Professor Pete Ferderer and Anandi Gupta ’18 (Bangalore, India) explored why macroeconomic forecasters were unable to anticipate the Great Recession.

Professor Mario Solis-Garcia and Tuyet-Anh Tran ’18 (Hanoi, Vietnam) examined whether short-run planning frictions can generate credit crunches in the economy.

InternshipsJennifer Eng ’20 (San Francisco), Citizens League in St. Paul

Ruiqi Wang ’20 (Jiangsu, China), Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota

Joe Fish ’19 (Oakland, Calif.), Klobuchar for Minnesota

Yucai Li ’19 (Chongqing, China), RBC Wealth Management in Minneapolis

Khadidja Ngom ’19 (Kaolack, Senegal), African Economic Development Solutions in St. Paul

Aman Rai ’19 (Ghaziabad, India), Ernst & Young, Washington

Jensen Vu ’19 (Hanoi, Vietnam), Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis

Noah Zwiefel ’19 (Rochester, Minn.), U.S. Bank in Minneapolis

Jacob Burke ’18 (Dublin, Ireland), Carlisle Companies in Phoenix

Elliott Cassutt ’18 (Minneapolis), Minnesota Department of Commerce

Suveer Daswani ’18 (Mumbai, India), Shared Capital Cooperative in St. Paul

Nicoletta Peters ’18 (Mason City, Iowa), Shared Capital Cooperative in St. Paul

Tejas Singh ’18 (Kolkata, India), Meridian Behavioral Health in New Brighton, Minn.

Tristan Springer ’18 (Seattle), Metro Transit in St. Paul

Ellen Tyler ’18 (Genesee Depot, Wis.), Sun Country Airlines in Minneapolis

After MacalesterClara Baumann ’18 (Wausau, Wis.) is working in investment banking at Piper Jaffray in Minneapolis.

Jack Buan ’18 (Wayzata, Minn.) is an analyst at United Health Care in Minneapolis.

Jacob Burke ’18 (Wayzata, Minn.) is working for TD Securities in Minneapolis.

April Choi ’18 (Seoul, South Korea) is working for Ecolab in Minneapolis.

Jennifer Chung ’18 (Brooklyn, N.Y.) is a Fulbright Scholar in Brazil.

Joshua Doyle ’18 (Cologne, Germany) is an analyst at Ernst & Young in New York.

Brett Graham ’18 (Celebration, Fla.) is entering the United States Navy.

Genevieve Gregorich ’18 (Boulder, Colo.) is a research assistant at Federal Reserve in Washington, D.C.

Anandi Gupta ’18 (Bangalore, India) is an analyst for Analysis Group in Chicago.

Luke LaBlanc ’18 (Minneapolis) cut his first CD and is pursuing a music career in Nashville.

Adom Mills-Robertson ’18 (Tema, Ghana) is an analyst at Thrivent Financial in Minneapolis.

Mugdha Shidhaye ’18 (Mumbai, India) is working in investment banking at Goldman Sachs in Salt Lake City.

James Spector-Bishop ’18 (Northbrook, Ill.) is working as a GIS analyst for the City of Minneapolis.

Tristan Spring ’18 (Seattle), is working in marketing at Ovative/group in Minneapolis.

Lily Stein ’18 (Chicago), is working in marketing at Evive in Chicago.

Soren Dudley ’16 (New York) is in the PhD program in Political Science at Harvard University.

Benny Goldman ’16 (Goldens Bridge, N.Y.), is in the PhD program in Economics at Harvard University.

Stefan Faridani ’17 (Philomath, Ore.) is in the PhD program in Economics at the University of California–San Diego.

Updated August 2018

macalester.edu/economics