Department of
Economics

Voice and Sustainability

Ed and Jo Barbier examine what democratic societies can do to give a greater “voice” to underrepresented groups and safeguard the well-being of people and the planet.

Spring 2023

CSU economist wants to change how you see economics and the people who study it

Alex Bernasek wants to change the perception of economics from a science of numbers to a science of people. She studies gender and economics as it relates to inequality, such as the wage gap and the motherhood penalty, and works to bring more women to the fore in the discipline. 

Winter 2022

Making sense of messy data sets to help Routt County economics

Joanna Mosley participates in the Economics undergraduate research internship program with faculty mentor Stephan Weiler to add information about small business in Steamboat Springs to an economic dashboard for rural Colorado counties. 

Spring 2022

Making Economics more Feminist: Spotlight on Ph.D. Candidate Sarah Small

Economics Ph.D. candidate Sarah Small was attracted to CSU’s unique coursework in feminist economics and political economy. After six years in the program, Small has thrived in policy-focused research and has enjoyed teaching economics to underrepresented students, making economics more accessible.

Winter 2021

Navigating Border Economies

The border cities of El Paso, Texas and Ciudad Juarez, Mexico – both big industrial hubs – exist specifically because the border exists, characterized by a tension that fuels economic activity. Professor Anita Pena and PhD student Adam Walke explore the complexities of interconnected economies and the economics of immigration, which is inevitably about people. 

Spring 2021

Together, we investigate and learn

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.  

Winter 2020

Lead exposure study shows how economics leads to understanding health at another level

Chris Keyes, Ph.D. candidate, has discovered not just a correlation, but a causal relationship, between a region’s level of lead and the degree to which the people who grew up there suffered adverse health and cognitive effects from elevated levels of lead in their blood.