New department chair rejuvenates one of the university’s most popular majors!
RICE ECON
Fall 2014
News and Views from the Economics Department at Rice
Discover ECON @ Rice
Public Finance:
Tax Policy Course
Discover our new courses, taught by two
of our new faculty and a visiting professor,
which will be offered in the Spring 2015
semester:
ECON 432, Political Economics
Professor Antonio Merlo
Political Economy regards income
redistribution, taxation, the production of
public goods, and other actions of the public
sector as determined by a political process
simultaneously with the economic process
of exchange and productions. This course
investigates the connection between public
policies and the political forces that shape
them.
ECON 462, Economics of Human Capital
Professor Flávio Cunha
This course covers both micro and macro
aspects of human capital. We will study
investments by parents in the education
and other human capital of their children
and how it links to the intergenerational
transmission of inequality. The relation
between human capital, population change,
and economic growth is also emphasized. The
course is quantitative and students will be
require to understand and apply econometric
techniques.
ECON 420, International Trade
Professor Eric Fisher (visiting from California
Polytechnic State University)
The course studies the economic
relationships between countries. Topics
include trade theory, tariffs and other trade
restrictions, international finance, trade and
development, and current policy issues.
Advising Corner
Advising Office Hours
Tuesdays
12:30-2:00, George Zodrow, BKH 260
2:00-3:30, Peter Hartley, BKH 262
Fridays
12:30-2:00, Flávio Cunha, BKH 270
2:00-3:30, James Brown, BKH 250
Welcome to the inaugural issue
of the Rice Economics Department
newsletter. We plan to use our newsletter
to keep our students up to date on
new developments in the department,
especially those related to undergraduate
teaching and research. As you have
probably heard, the department is
currently both growing and improving
at an unprecedented pace – changing
in ways that will significantly enhance
the educational experience of our
undergraduate (and graduate) students.
A key element of these developments
is creation of the Rice Initiative for the
Study of Economics (RISE), led by new
department chair and world-renowned
economics scholar Antonio Merlo.
We have also hired a new program
coordinator, Jessica Diaz, whose primary
role is to provide additional support for
undergraduate students. Feel free to
come by our offices in Baker Hall and
meet Jessica or consult with the members
of the Undergraduate Committee.
The program has already resulted in
the hiring of five new internationally
acclaimed scholars in the department,
who will be teaching both existing
and new courses in our undergraduate
program. Moreover, an essential
component of RISE is a renewed
commitment, accompanied by the
necessary resources, to provide our
undergraduates with an exceptional
learning experience that will
prepare them for successful careers
while providing them with a deep
understanding of the economic forces
that shape our ever-changing globalized
environment. We intend to take a
multi-faceted approach to fulfilling that
commitment, including restructuring
both of our majors (Economics (ECON)
and Mathematical Economic Analysis
(MTEC)) to better meet the needs of our
students, improving existing courses and
introducing new ones to provide coherent
and comprehensive programs of study
for a wide variety of career and learning
paths, and taking additional steps to
encourage undergraduate participation in
our research programs, including those of
our newest faculty members.
Wishing you the best of luck in your
studies and beyond the hedges,
George Zodrow
Director of Undergraduate Studies
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