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
Scott Pardee
Alan R. Holmes Professor of Monetary Economics
Email: spardee@middlebury.edu
Phone: work802.443.5640
Office Hours: Monday and Wednesday: 3:00-5:00 PM; or by appointment
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Scott E. Pardee is Professor of Monetary Economics, holding the chair endowed in the name of Alan R. Holmes, a former official of the Federal Reserve. Also, he is Director, RenaissanceRe Holdings, Ltd., a Bermuda-based catastrophe reinsurance company.
In 1997-99, Dr. Pardee was the Executive Director of Finance Research Center and Senior Lecturer at MIT Sloan School of Management; also he was Adjunct Professor in the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business.
Previously, he worked with Yamaichi International (America), Inc. as Senior Advisor from 1995-97; Chairman, 1989-94; Vice-chairman, 1986-89; he was the first American to serve as chairman of a US operation of a Japanese securities company. Before joining Yamaichi, Dr. Pardee was Executive Vice-president, Discount Corporation of New York, 1981-86 and Director, American International Group, 1982-86.
Dr. Pardee worked 19 years in the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. He rose to Senior Vice-president and Manager for Foreign Operations of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), 1979-81; after holding various positions in Economic Research and Foreign Departments, 1962-79.
Early in his career, Dr. Pardee taught economic principles, money and banking, international finance at the following institutions: Massachusetts Institute of Technology; New York University; the American Institute of Banking; and as adjunct professor, the Columbia Business School, 1960-75.
Courses
Courses offered in the past four years.
▲ indicates offered in the current term
▹ indicates offered in the upcoming term[s]
ECON 0316 - Corporate Finance
Corporate Finance and Accounting
Finance has become an integral part of economics, as shown by the number of Nobel Prizes awarded in recent years to scholars who have made contributions to the field. This course focuses on the financial side of the modern corporation, for the stakeholders as well as the shareholders. We start with financial accounting as a means of measuring the health of a company and of discerning the transparency and accuracy of its financial statements. (As Enron and other companies showed, it pays to be skeptical.) We then move to strategic planning and the growth of the firm, and to decisions on how to finance that growth as between equity and debt. We conclude with valuation models based on cash flow. At the end we hold a buy-side sell-side competition, in which students work in teams to value real companies and present them to the class as attractive investments. (ECON 0150 and ECON 0155) 3 hrs. lect., 1 hr. lab
Fall 2009, Fall 2010, Fall 2011, Fall 2012
ECON 0317 - Investments/Financial Markets
Investments and Financial Markets
As wealth has grown in importance as an economic variable, professional economists and practitioners alike have studied the behavior of financial markets, and the behavior of people in those markets. The markets for equities, bonds, commodities, and foreign exchange are each quite independent, and yet prices in several markets may suddenly correlate, especially in a crisis. This course presents a wide range of techniques to analyze markets. In equities, we study valuation models and portfolio diversification. In bonds, we study the yield curve and concepts such as duration and convexity. In commodities, we study both fundamental analysis and technical analysis. In foreign exchange, we study interest rate parity and purchasing power parity. And, we study derivatives and options pricing models. The management of wealth ultimately depends on the management of risk, and we conclude with a study of risk management techniques. (ECON 0150 and ECON 0155 and ECON 0210) 3 hrs. lect., 1 hr. lab
Spring 2009, Spring 2010, Spring 2011, Spring 2012, Spring 2013
ECON 0412 - Empirical Finance
Empirical Finance
How do hi-tech firms decide to launch new products? How do portfolio managers decide to invest in stocks of hi-tech companies? These are the kinds of practical issues we will cover in this course. Modern financial theory and practice revolve around quantitative techniques for estimating expected returns on investments, whether the launch of a new product or the creation of a new mutual fund, and for measuring the performance of those investments over time. In the first part of the course, you will delve into cash flow analysis as it can be applied to a wide range of situations. In the second part, you will study financial markets and techniques for trading and investing in those markets. At the end you will create an investment portfolio based on your own areas of expertise and your own style of investing. (ECON 0211 and ECON 0316) 3 hrs. sem., 1 hr. lab
Spring 2009, Spring 2010, Spring 2011, Spring 2012, Spring 2013
ECON 0475 - Monetary Theory/Financial Inst
Monetary Theory and Financial Institutions
This seminar provides the student with the basic knowledge and analytical tools to operate in today's money and financial markets. We start with the markets themselves, how they are structured and how prices are determined, such as interest rates and foreign exchange rates. We then study private sector institutions, including banks, securities houses, insurance companies, and fund management companies, and the challenges they face in the Age of the Internet. And we close with a study of how the Federal Reserve and other central banks determine monetary policy. (ECON 0250) 3 hrs. sem., 1 hr. lab
Fall 2009, Fall 2010, Fall 2011, Fall 2012
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