In the Department of Economics, together, we investigate, imagine, lead, learn, and solve. From innovative teaching approaches to increased gender representation, the value of charismatic wildlife to a green economic recovery, students and faculty are exploring issues of inequality and sustainability in a variety of ways.
Together, we advance the human experience.
Investigate
In response to the pandemic, a group of eight economics professors got together to offer a course in “The Economics of Covid-19” in Fall 2020. Switching topics and professors about every two weeks, the course investigated questions like: Does it make economic sense to have a lockdown in the face of a spreading pandemic? How does the impact of such policies vary by gender, race and income group? And what are the environmental effects of recent economic changes?
Read more about ECON 101’s new pandemic focus within the Department of Economics.
Learn
The Department of Economics and Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics co-host a weekly seminar, bringing in top-tier economists from around the globe. This semester, faculty and students had the opportunity to learn from Lynne Lewis, a well-known environmental economist here on sabbatical at CSU who presented her research on brown bears in Alaska and valuing “charismatic wildlife.” Additional seminars this semester have addressed the latest research on carbon shares, global climate policy, and impacts of early exposure to pollution.
Watch the seminars hosted by the Department of Economics this semester.
Imagine
Our economics faculty are at the cutting edge of economics education, offering courses that cover diverse perspectives on the most pressing economic, social, and environmental challenges of our time. Assistant Professor Anders Fremstad and a group of graduate students are working on how to better incorporate the economics of innovation, inequality and environmental sustainability into the introductory principles of economics courses.
Read more about Anders Fremstad, who was a SoGES fellow for 2018-2019.
Solve
The effects of the global COVID-19 crisis will be long-lasting, but the shifts in the global financial system are a chance to set the world on track for a greener, more sustainable recovery. University Distinguished Professor Ed Barbier is contributing research to United Nations conversations that supports creating a stronger, greener economic recovery – for example, ending fossil fuel subsidies and incorporating climate risks into the financial system.
Read more about Professor Edward Barbier’s research in environmental sustainability.
Lead
Undergraduate Women in Economics (UWE) is working to close the gender gap in Economics. Currently, women are underrepresented in the major at CSU by a ratio of 5:1. The group advocates for more opportunities and works to break down barriers for women and underrepresented groups to major in Economics. This April, the group hosted a Women in Economics Alumni Panel to provide information, connections, and resources for women in the major.
Watch the Women in Economics Alumni Panel hosted by the Undergraduate Women in Economics.