Phani Wunnava
David K. Smith Professor of Applied Economics
- Office
- Warner 315
- Tel
- (802) 443-5024
- wunnava@middlebury.edu
- Office Hours
- Mondays 2:45-4:30 PM, Wednesdays 2:30-3:45 PM, Thursdays 3:00-4:00 PM, or by appointment.
Phanindra V. Wunnava is the David K. Smith ‘42 Chair in Applied Economics at Middlebury College, Middlebury, Vermont, a Research Fellow at IZA (Institute for the Study of Labor), Bonn, Germany, and a Researcher at EPRN (LERA), UIUC. He joined Middlebury economics department in 1985. He has also served as chair of the department. He was a Research Associate in economics at the State University of New York-Binghamton, NY during the academic years 1989-1992. During the academic year 1999-2000 he was a Visiting Scholar/Professor of Economics at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC.
He was trained under a noted labor economist Solomon Polachek of State University of New York-Binghamton, and received a Ph.D. in economics in 1986. His fields of interest are applied econometrics and labor economics. Wunnava received his Bachelor of Commerce and Master of Commerce degrees from the Andhra University (India), Master of Arts and Doctor of Arts degrees in economics from the University of Miami, Coral Gables, Florida.
Wunnava’s articles appeared in wide range of scholarly journals (such as Review of Economics and Statistics, Southern Economic Journal, Journal of Labor Research, Economics Letters, Economic Development and Cultural Change, Eastern Economic Journal, Applied Economics, Applied Financial Economics, Applied Economics Letters, American Journal of Economics and Sociology, Small Business Economics, Economics of Education Review, American Economist, Journal of Business and Economic Studies, North American Journal of Economics and Finance, Journal of Forensic Economics, The Empirical Economics Letters, International Journal of Applied Economics, Review of International Economics, Technology and Investment, African Finance Journal) covering the areas of life-cycle union non-union wage/benefit differentials, firm size effects, gender and racial wage differentials, efficiency wage models, charitable contributions towards higher education, disincentive effects of unemployment insurance, infant mortality, effect of net foreign investment on manufacturing productivity, time-series properties of the north American unemployment rates and Asian stock markets, the effect of political regimes on economic growth, fertility determinants, determinants of internet diffusion, and the economics of optimal currency area. He routinely serves as a referee for a number of scholarly journals.
He also co-edited New Approaches to Economic and Social Analyses of Discrimination (with Richard R. Cornwall) Praeger 1991; Immigrants and Immigration Policy: Individual Skills, Family Ties, and Group Identities (with Harriet Duleep) JAI Press 1996; Changing Role of Unions: New Forms of Representation, M. E. Sharpe 2004 — has been recognized by the Industrial Relations Section of Princeton University as one of the twelve Noteworthy Books in Industrial Relations and Labor Economics for 2004.
Courses Taught
ECON 0155
Intro Microeconomics
Course Description
Introductory Microeconomics
An introduction to the analysis of such microeconomic problems as price formation (the forces behind demand and supply), market structures from competitive to oligopolistic, distribution of income, and public policy options bearing on these problems. 3 hrs. lect.
Terms Taught
Requirements
ECON 0211
Current
Regression Analysis
Course Description
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 0111, (formerly ECON 0210) ECON 0150 or ECON 0155) 3 hrs. lect., 1 hr. lab
Terms Taught
Requirements
ECON 0411
Applied Econometrics
Course Description
Applied Econometrics
This course is designed to further students' understanding of parameter estimation, inference, and hypothesis testing for single and multiple equation systems. Emphasis will be placed on specification, estimation, and testing of micro/macro econometric models and using such models for policy analysis and forecasting. Large cross-sectional as well as panel data sets will be used for estimation purposes. (ECON 0211 and ECON 0250 and ECON 0255) 3 hrs. sem.
Terms Taught
ECON 0500
Current
Upcoming
Individual Special Project
Course Description
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 the major or minor requirements.
Terms Taught
ECON 0701
Senior Research Workshop I
Course Description
Senior Research Workshop I
In this first semester, students will design and begin their projects. Emphasis will be on designing a novel research question (while making the case for its importance) and an appropriate strategy for answering it. This requires immersion in the academic literature on the topic. General research principles and tools will be taught in class, as a group, while those specific to individual projects will be covered in one-on-one meetings. By the end of the term, students will outline their plan for completing the project, including demonstrating that it is a feasible research question for which the necessary information (e.g., data or source materials) is available or can be generated by the student (e.g., lab or other experiment). (Approval required)
Terms Taught
ECON 0702
Senior Research Workshop II
Course Description
Senior Research Workshop II
In this second semester of the senior research workshop sequence, the focus is on the execution of the research plan developed in ECON 0701. Most instruction is now one-on-one but the workshop will still meet as a group to discuss and practice the presentation of results in various formats (seminars, poster sessions, et cetera) to the rest of the workshop and others in the college and broader communities. Feedback and critiques from such presentations will be incorporated into the project, which will culminate in a research paper in the style of an economics journal article. (ECON 0701; Approval required)
Terms Taught
FYSE 1369
U.S. Economy & Immigrants
Course Description
Immigrants and the U.S. Economy
The demise of national origin quotas for U.S. immigration in 1965, and its replacement with an emphasis on family reunification, opened the gates to a large and increasing flow of immigrants from the developing countries. Accordingly, this seminar will focus, within an interdisciplinary framework, on such currently pressing immigration issues as: are native-born low-skill workers displaced by recent immigrants? Is English language proficiency crucial for immigrant assimilation in the labor market? What is the role of close-knit communities in facilitating immigrant entrepreneurial activities? The mixture of perspectives should help shed light on diverse immigration policy options. 3 hrs. sem.
Terms Taught
Requirements
IPEC 0500
Current
Upcoming
Independent Project
Course Description
Independent Project
(Approval Required)
Terms Taught
IPEC 0700
Intl.Pol.&Economics SR. Thesis
Course Description
Senior Thesis
(Approval Required)
Terms Taught