News in Economics
Middlebury students compete in Fed Challenge
Nobel Prize for economics awarded to two U.S. economists
Click here for details from CNN
Student/Faculty Collaboration
by Caitlin Knowles Myers, Assistant Professor of Economics
and three Middlebury students;
Grace Close, Laurice Fox, Madeline Niemi,
and John William Meyer
Caitlin Knowles Myers
Assistant Professor of Economics
Email: cmyers@middlebury.edu
Phone: work802.443.5985
Office Hours: Tuesday and Wednesday 2:00-4:00 PM; or by appointment
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Caitlin Knowles Myers joined the Economics faculty as an assistant professor in the fall of 2005. She teaches courses in statistics, regression, labor economics, urban economics, and the economics of discrimination.
Professor Myers graduated from Tulane University in New Orleans and received her PhD from the University of Texas at Austin. Her research interests include gender, race, and the economy, time use, and the determinants of prosocial behavior. Her work has been published in scholarly journals including the Journal of Labor Economics, Journal of Public Economics, Economic Inquiry, and Journal of Urban Economics and has been featured by media outlets such as Slate.com, The Financial Times, NPR, and MSNBC. Professor Myers' current research examines the social and economic effects of policies governing young women's access to reproductive control.
Courses
Courses offered in the past four years.
▲ indicates offered in the current term
▹ indicates offered in the upcoming term[s]
ECON 0211 - Regression Analysis
Introduction to Regression Analysis
In this course regression analysis is introduced. The major focus is on quantifying relationships between economic variables. Multiple regression identifies the effect of several exogenous variables on an endogenous variable. After exploring the classical regression model, fundamental assumptions underlying this model will be relaxed, and further new techniques will be introduced. Methods for testing hypotheses about the regression coefficients are developed throughout the course. Both theoretical principles and practical applications will be emphasized. The course goal is for each student to employ regression analysis as a research tool and to justify and defend the techniques used. (MATH 0121; and ECON 0150 or ECON 0155; and ECON 0210; or by approval) 3 hrs. lect., 1 hr. lab
Fall 2009, Spring 2012, Spring 2013
ECON 0212 - Empirical Economic Research ▲
Empirical Research Methods in Economics
In this course we will provide students with the tools to conceptualize, design, and carry out a research project in economics. Topics will include survey design, sampling and power, experimental design (in and out of the lab), natural experiments, and other approaches to identifying causal relationships. Drawing from several sub-disciplines in economics, students will examine, replicate, and critique various studies. Emphasis will be placed on the formulation of valid, feasible research questions, and on the description and interpretation of results. (ECON 0211) 3 hrs. lect.
Fall 2013
ECON 0275 - Urban Economics ▲
Urban Economics
How and why do cities form? Why do people live in the suburbs and commute to the Central Business District? Why do tech industries want to locate right next to each other in Silicon Valley? Are toll roads just there to annoy us, or is there some economic rationale for them? This course combines economic theory and empirical evidence to provide an overview of the forces beyond our spatial organization as well as a survey of urban problems relating to land use, traffic, housing, and racial segregation. (ECON 0155) 3 hrs. lect.
Spring 2011, Fall 2011, Fall 2012, Fall 2013
ECON 0500 - Individual Special Project ▲ ▹
Individual Special Project
If you choose to pursue an area that we do not offer or go in depth in an area already covered, we recommend the Individual Special Project option. These ECON 0500 proposals MUST be passed by the entire department and are to be submitted to the chair by the first Friday of fall and spring semester, respectively. The proposals should contain a specific description of the course contents, its goals, and the mechanisms by which goals are to be realized. It should also include a bibliography. According to the College Handbook, ECON 0500 projects are a privilege open to those students with advanced preparation and superior records in their fields. A student needs to have a 3.5 or higher G.P.A. in Economics courses taken at Middlebury in order to pursue an Individual Special Project. ECON 0500 does not count towards one of the 10 courses for the major.
Spring 2009, Fall 2009, Winter 2010, Spring 2010, Fall 2010, Winter 2011, Spring 2011, Fall 2011, Winter 2012, Spring 2012, Fall 2012, Winter 2013, Spring 2013, Fall 2013, Spring 2014
ECON 0700 - Senior Research
Senior Research Workshop
Prior to enrolling in ECON 0700, students must have taken a minimum of 6 economics courses at Middlebury approved to count towards the major requirements. These senior workshops will be composed of no more than eight students who will work independently on a project in a specific area for two semesters (fall/winter or winter/spring) and will meet to collectively discuss and present their research. Students who have prearranged a research topic with the professor will be given priority in admission to the seminar. Also, because of limited resources for guiding senior work, students with a single major in economics will be given priority over double majors who will do senior work in other departments. Students interested in pursuing departmental honors must take a Senior Research Workshop (ECON 0700) during their senior year. To receive departmental honors the student must receive a minimum grade of A- in the Senior Research Workshop project and have a 3.5 or higher GPA in all economics courses taken at Middlebury approved to count towards the major requirements. High Honors requires an A in the Senior Research Seminar and a 3.75 or higher economics GPA, and Highest Honors an A in the seminar and a 3.9 or higher economics GPA. (Approval required)
Winter 2011, Spring 2011, Fall 2012, Winter 2013