ROANOMICS VOLUME 4

Issue 2

Roanomics
Volume 4

Winter/Spring 2014
THE NEWSLETTER FOR THE ROANOKE COLLEGE ECONOMICS PROGRAM IN THIS ISSUE

From the Colonels Desk

by Garry Fleming

One of my duties in the Economics Program is serving as faculty advisor for Omicron Delta Epsilon, the international honor society in economics. I have served in this capacity for several years, so I thought it might be useful to give some background on this society. Omicron Delta Epsilon (ODE) is one of the worlds largest honor societies. It was created through the merger of two honor societies, Omicron Delta Gamma and Omicron Chi Epsilon, both having been honor societies in economics. ODE has 640 chapters world-wide. Our chapter is Delta Chapter of Virginia, being the fourth chapter installed in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Delta Chapter was chartered in 1966. The objectives of ODE include: recognition of students who have shown excellence in academic achievement in economics courses; establishment of closer ties between economics students and faculty; publication of the official journal of ODE, The American Economist; and sponsoring panels at professional meetings such as the American Economic Association. Membership is by invitation only. To be invited to join, a student must be majoring or

minoring in economics, have an overall GPA of at least 3.0, have an economics GPA of at least 3.0, and have junior or senior class status. A one-time fee of $35 gets each member a membership certificate, a one year subscription to the journal, and a chord to wear during commencement exercises. Each year, the Department of Business Administration and Economics awards one student the ODE Award. This award is given to the student that has been deemed to have made a significant contribution to the economics program at Roanoke College in the promotion of undergraduate economics education. This award is presented at the College Awards Banquet held each spring. Only members of ODE are eligible to receive this award. The national fraternity also has several awards and scholarships it bestows each year. I am very proud to be a member of ODE myself, and to serve as the faculty advisor to this fine organization. I invite anyone who would like additional information regarding ODE to please contact me.

RC @NCUR2014
Twenty Roanoke College students, three from the economics program, presented their research at NCUR 2014. This was a record number for the College and the Economics Program.

Page 5

Top RC Fed Challenge Team

The 2013 RC Fed Challenge team moved to the second round of competition in Richmond and placed higher than any previous RC team by finishing 2nd in the region.

Page 7

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Money and Banking Fleming

Upcoming courses
by Alice Louise Kassens

Economics of the Public Sector and Its Finance Nik-Khah Fed Challenge - Crook Labor Economics Kassens

The Economics Program offers a variety of courses. Below is a list of our upcoming courses, including May Term courses in both 2014 and 2015, which count as electives in the Economics Program in addition to satisfying the IL INQ requirement.

Economics and the Environment - Enz Intermediate Microeconomics Enz Introduction to Econometrics Kassens

May 2014
Experimental Economics Nik-Khah (oncampus course)

May 2015
Economics Journeys in Alaska Kassens (travel course) NOTE: Please refer to WebAdvisor for the official course offerings and blocks. ADVISING TIPS
Use ECON 121 Principles of Microeconomics as an INQ 260 substitute. Use an ECON IL course as an Economics elective in the major or minor.

Summer 2014
Principles of Microeconomics Hernandez (Summer 2) Principles of Macroeconomics Fleming (Summer 1)

New Faculty
Dr. Michael Enz will join the Economics Program Faculty next year as a Visiting Assistant Professor of Economics. Enz is currently a tenured Associate Professor of Economics at Framingham State University in Framingham, MA. He will teach ECON 121, 287, and 321 in the fall of 2014.

Fall 2014
Principles of Microeconomics Nik-Khah, Enz Principles of Macroeconomics Fleming

Letter from the Co-editor

by Alice Louise Kassens

presentation here. Another manuscript discussing the determinants of student satisfaction is currently under review. In February I released two reports with the Roanoke College Institute for Policy and Opinion Research (IPOR). The first was the quarterly Consumer Sentiment and Price Expectations Report. The second was the second release of our Real Estate Index. Each of these quarterly reports result in several radio interviews which is an exciting way to bring attention to IPOR and Roanoke College. Since the last issue of Roanomics I have given six presentations and have an exciting one for the Roanoke Chamber of Commerce coming in May. Presenting my research is one of the many aspects of my job that I enjoy. It is an efficient and effective way to share ideas with others and receive valuable feedback to improve my work.

Dr. Kassens with Dr. William M. Rodgers III (Rutgers University) after the VAE Sandridge Lecture March 20, 2014 at Roanoke College

This spring has been a busy semester! My first publication in the Journal of Economic Education is coming out this month. In that piece I describe how I use Twitter to improve writing, reflection, and community in the classroom. I also presented this work at the 41st Virginia Association of Economists Annual Meeting. You can view the slides of that

I finished my term as President of the Virginia Association of Economists (VAE) in March by hosting our annual conference at Roanoke College. The last time the meeting was hosted by Roanoke College was over ten years ago when Dr. Garry Fleming was President of the organization. I was honored to have my mentor, professor, advisor, and now colleague, Dr. William M. Rodgers III, give the Sandridge Lecture at the annual meeting. In the build-up to the conference, I redesigned the organizations webpage. You can view the webpage here to find out more about the VAE and our annual meeting. Several of my students have also presented their research. Tamara Smith, Spencer Lewen, and Laura Stavetski each presented their research from my econometrics course. They presented their work at a variety of venues including the VAE and NCUR. You can read more about their presentations on page 5 of

ROANOMICS VOLUME 4 | Issue 2

this issue of Roanomics. Their presentations provided many proud teacher moments for me. Currently I am working on several projects that will keep me busy over the summer. The first is a service-learning project in which Roanoke College students will assist in the AP Economics classroom at Patrick Henry High School. Second, I was a part of a funded grant to host an undergraduate workshop at CNU covering several great economics thinkers. We will plan the curriculum and logistics this summer and host the event next academic year. There will be more details on each of these exciting ventures in future issues of Roanomics. Third, I was awarded a Teaching Innovation Fellowship by Roanoke College to further my work on using social media in the classroom to improve writing, reflection, and community. I plan to bring several new assignments and projects into my classes in the upcoming fall semester. Additionally, I am in the middle of a project funded by the Asian Development Bank with Dr. Yana van der Muellen (Rutgers University). We are tasked with analyzing the Papua New Guinea Household Income and Expenditure Survey with a focus on gender disparities across income, health outcomes, health care access, and education amongst other issues. We hope to have our report completed in the coming weeks. Finally, I will be finishing a joint manuscript with Dr. William M. Rogers III on the impact of clinical depression and labor market outcomes of young adults. This has been a long-term project and we hope to have at least one manuscript from the project submitted for publication by the end of this summer.

Letter from the Co-editor

by Emma Webb `15

This semester I have had the honor of living and working in Washington D.C. as part of the Lutheran College Washington Semester Program (LCWS). Its practically impossible to double major, graduate on time, and do both a D.C. semester and a semester abroad. I debated whether I should go to D.C. or study abroad for many months and eventually decided that unless I have some crazy tie to one particular country (which I do not), I need to go live in the international hub for my majors. There is no better place to learn and live in economics and political science than Washington D.C. As part of LCWS, every student holds an internship. The internship application process was stressful for me because I wanted an internship that tied both economics and political science together. Luckily, a Roanoke College alumna reached out to Career Services to promote the internship programs at the United States Trade and Development Agency (USTDA). I had never heard of USTDA, but after a basic google search I could tell that USTDA is an unknown gem in the federal government. USTDA is a small federally funded agency that connects United States businesses to infrastructure development projects in emerging economiesA.K.A. a hub for economics and political science gurus. I am part of the Congressional Public Affairs team at USTDA, and couldnt have found a better fit for me if I tried. Being in the Congressional Affairs office means that I get to write letters to congress members, attend

hearings/markup sessions, go to think tank panel discussions on a weekly basis, and see the federal government in a completely different light. Being with Public Affairs means that I get to see and participate in everything the agency does. Im not confined to a certain region or sector of information; I get to see the big picture and contribute to multiple unique projects. Because USTDA is a small agency, and my team only has four employees, the work I do every day is actually meaningful. I am not another intern in a cubicle in the basement. The Director knows me by name and regularly asks me how my evening was. I get to present any work that I do, hold my own meetings, and attend events I never thought I would have the chance to attend. Ive gone to the White House state arrival ceremony for the President of France, had breakfast with the American Chancellor to Germany and the British Ambassador for the Ministry of Defense, discussed the pros and cons of T-TIP in a green room, listened to Bob Schieffer, Margaret Brennan, Jake Tapper, and David Gregory discuss current events after a long day at work, and gone to evening receptions with international industry professionals. Im also getting an entirely different view on trade and economic development. In the economics classroom trade is discussed in terms of the trade deficit, exchange rates, and price inflation. Working at USTDA has put an entirely different face on international economics. Development money that is invested in hand-selected projects to both improve the country in question and have a $73 return in U.S. exports for every $1 invested is money well spent. I couldnt ask for a better internship, and am overwhelmingly thankful for the experience.

Emma Webb `15 outside of the White House during her Washington Semester

ROANOMICS VOLUME 4 | Issue 2

Travels with Bob

by Bob Stauffer, Professor Emeritus

Our travel strategy this winter was to head south in search of some decent weather. In February, we flew Allegiant Airlines down to Orlando- an inexpensive, hour and one-half non-stop flight from Roanoke. We picked up a cheap Hotwire rental car and headed up to St. Augustine--the oldest European settlement in the U.S. It was founded as a Spanish military outpost in 1565, forty-two years before Jamestown was settled in 1607. Flagler College is located there; it's a small liberal arts college named for Henry Flagler, one of the founders of Standard Oil who is famous for extending rail service to Key West .The oldest fort in the U.S. is also there: the Castillo de San Marcos was under construction in 1672. The British took it over in 1763 after the French and Indian War, but Spain got it back in 1783 until the Florida Territory became part of the U.S. in the early 1820's. Aside from the beach and the great seafood restaurants, the other "don't miss" tourist attraction is the local alligator and crocodile preserve. We returned to the Orlando area for a few days before flying home. For some reason, we felt compelled to go to one of the many overpriced theme parks in the area. We selected EPCOT (as in Every Person Comes Out Tired). It provides a faux world tour that's similar to wandering around a movie set with restaurants and some rides: there is virtually no information about the history, economics, or politics of the countries you" visit". After all, that would be no fun, and the kids might learn something! In late March, we made another trip south, starting at Hilton Head. The deadly dull trip down I-95 was interrupted by a side trip to Sweatman's Barbeque near Eutaw S. C. If you like barbeque, crank up your GPS and track down this place! It's in the middle of nowhere, and thus has to be great to attract customers. Our stay in Hilton Head was made more affordable by Hotwire which placed us at a beachfront resort for about $110 a night. The only downside with Hotwire is you pay up front (non-refundable) and then you learn what you have bought (you do specify general location and hotel quality). We had dinner with John Spitz, retired RC Econ professor and former Chair of the BUAD Department. The highlight of the evening was his narrative about how his family escaped

Nazi Germany in the 1930's -- I don't recall that decade in Germany history being mentioned at EPCOT. Next, we drove to Charleston to attend the WTA's Family Circle Cup at Daniel Island. After watching Venus Williams for several sets, we left with feelings of inferiority about our tennis games. We also visited the Yorktown aircraft carrier at Patriots' Point. It's a floating village and airport, which housed about 3,500 men during its fighting days in the Pacific in WWII, and also in Korea and Vietnam. The below decks tours were fascinating (there was a snack bar, and one ride--a flight simulator). Our last stop was at the Litchfield Inn, south of Myrtle Beach, where we continued our crusade to eat all the oysters on the east coast. If you're in the area, don't miss these restaurants: Frank's (and Frank's Outback) in Pawley's Island, Drunken Jack's in Murrells Inlet, the Gulfstream Caf in Garden City, the Sea Captain's House in Myrtle Beach, and the Rice Patty in Georgetown. On your way to or from Georgetown, be sure to stop at one of the historic rice plantations; Hampton or Hopsewee. That's all for now. I hope you found all the history chatter to be of some interest. I strongly believe that a thorough understanding of economics and politics has to include a broad knowledge of our nation's history and institutions. Happy Travels, Dr. Bob

Top to bottom: Bob at Reds Oyster House; Bob and wife, Vicki, having dinner in Paris (the EPCOT version); oldest fort in the US (St. Augustine, FL); Vicki at the Family Circle Cup; on the left: two old teachers at the oldest wood schoolhouse in the USA

ROANOMICS VOLUME 4 | Issue 2

PICTURES FROM LEXINGTON

Twenty students (3 from the economics program) traveled to Lexington, KY to present their research at NCUR 2014 hosted by the University of Kentucky April 35, 2014. This was a record number of students for Roanoke College and the Economics Program.

Spencer Lewen `14

Presenting his paper on the impact of a progressive tax on real personal consumption expenditures and comparing those values to a 9% flat tax.

RC @NCUR2014
by Alice Louise Kassens

Laura Stevetski `14

Presenting her paper on the differences in student performance between public and private schools.

Three Roanoke College economics students traveled to Lexington, KY to present their research at the 2014 National Conference for Undergraduate Research (NCUR). The conference was hosted by the University of Kentucky and Roanoke College student travel was supported by Dr. Julie Lyon (BUAD/ECON) and her Office of Student/Faculty Research. Roanoke College sent a total of twenty students to the conference, three of which were from the Economics Program. This was a record number of students for both the College and the Economics Program.

Laura Stavetski `14

Laura presented her paper The Effect of Private and Public Educational Institutions on Standardized Test Scores. This was Lauras The Cat across from first Memorial Coliseum presentation of her paper from the fall econometrics class. Laura presented bright and early on the Friday morning of the conference, but was all smiles on the floor of Memorial Coliseum.

Spencer Lewen `14

Spencer presented his paper Progressive Taxations Effects on Consumption. He used data from the Consumer Expenditure Survey and the IRS to find average disposable income for the 10%, 15%, and 25% tax brackets. Using an equation measuring the relationship between changes in the marginal propensity to consume and disposable income and the average disposable income values previously calculated, Spencer estimated the marginal propensity to consume for the 28%, 33%, and 35% tax brackets. He was then able to estimate overall total consumption. As a comparison, Spencer also found estimates with a 9% flat tax. He found that a progressive tax system stifles economic growth. Additionally, the opportunity cost of not imposing a 9% flat tax rate between 2003 and 2011 was a 17% loss in consumption. Spencer plans to submit his paper for publication after getting final feedback from his Honors committee this month.

Tamara Smith `14

Tamara presented her paper Womens Professional Tennis: Long-run Effect of Age Rules for Player Longevity. This was Tamaras second presentation, as she previously presented her results in a student poster session at the 2014 Virginia Economics Associations Annual Meeting in March 2014 at Roanoke College. Tamara wrote the paper in her econometrics class in the fall of 2013 and hopes to submit it for publication this spring. Several of Tamaras family members made the INTERESTED IN RESEARCH?
Talk to any faculty member in the Economics Program about how you can get involved in research. You can also send a general email to our program account stating your research interest and you will be contacted by a faculty member.
EMAIL

Tamara Smith `14

Presenting her paper on the effect of the age rule on female professional tennis player career longevity. Tamara also presented her paper at the 2014 VAE Annual Meeting in Salem, VA March 20th.

Memorial Coliseum

roanokeecon@gmail.com

ROANOMICS VOLUME 4 | Issue 2

trip to Lexington to support her on her big day. The Roanoke College Economics Program has a strong recent history with student acceptances at NCUR. Tyler Rinko was the first student from the Program to be accepted. He traveled to Ithaca College in 2011 to present his research on in impact of the Euro-crisis on exchange rates and interest rates. Sara Caudle was accepted in 2012 to present her work on undergraduate wellness. In two years NCUR will be hosted by UNCAsheville, which is the next time that the conference will be within driving distance of Roanoke College. Roanoke College and the Economics Program hope to have a strong contingent going to North Carolina in 2016. Next year the conference is hosted by Eastern Washington State University.

VAE @ Roanoke College

by Alice Louise Kassens

The 41st Annual Meeting of the Virginia Association of Economists (VAE) was hosted by Roanoke College March 20-21, 2014. As President of the VAE I was tasked with organizing the conference. Thankfully, and with the help of many wonderful people, including the Roanoke College Economics Club, my assistant Emma Hughen, and my President-elect Joe Turek (Lynchburg College), the conference went off without a hitch. The conference officially opened with the Plenary Session: The State of the Commonwealth. Presenters included Ann Macheras from the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, Vinod Agarwal of Old Dominion University, and me. I presented data collected by the Roanoke College IPOR on consumer sentiment and price expectations. Regular sessions began after the plenary and were followed by a student poster session. Two of the posters were by Roanoke College Economics students. Greg Long and Robert Altier (pictured on the right) presented a summary of their fall 2013 Fed Challenge proposal and a reflection of the accuracy of their projections. The poster session was followed by a reception and banquet. The banquet included the traditional William A. Sandridge

Lecture, named after a Roanoke College professor and one of the founding economists of the VAE. This year it was my honor to have my undergraduate teacher and advisor from The College of William and Mary, mentor, and current coauthor, Dr. William M. Rodgers III, give the lecture. Bill is currently a faculty member at Rutgers University. In his lecture, Bill discussed the US labor markets since the Great Recession. It was a treat to watch him interact with and engage the Roanoke College students in the audience in the same way he did in my classes with him many years ago. The following day started with the Business Meeting. I officially handed the duties of President over to my President-elect. I will continue to serve the organization as the Webmaster in the years to come. I unofficially started my job by setting up our new webpage: http://vaeconomics.wordpress.com I presented my paper Tweeting Your Way to Improved #Writing, #Reflection, and #Community in the first session of the day. Several other economists presented interesting ideas as well in the Economics Education session, including Dr. Michael Enz. Dr. Enz will be joining the Roanoke College Faculty in the fall. He presented Recognizing Cognitive Errors: Reducing Irrationality in the Teaching and Learning of Economics and students can expect to see some of his techniques in the classroom in August. Dr. Edward Nik-Khah presented Neoliberal Pharmaceutical Science and the Chicago School of Economics in the second session

of the day. He gave a fascinating and animated presentation of one of his published works. It was wonderful to have so many Roanoke Economists represented at this years conference. Next year our conference will return to Richmond, VA. Traditionally the conference is in Richmond in odd numbered years. This allows many economists working with the state government to attend. There were several new faces at our conference this year and we hope to continue that trend in the future. If you are interested in joining us please keep an eye out for the details of the 42nd Annual Meeting on our webpage.

Greg Long and Robert Altier

A man and his machine. Fleming testing technology prior the banquet.

Panelists in the Plenary Session. L to R: Kassens, Macheras, and Agarwal

ROANOMICS VOLUME 4 | Issue 2

Top RC Fed Challenge Team

by Michelle Crook

For the first time, a Roanoke College Fed Challenge team advanced to the championship round of the academic competition. For the last time, the Federal Reserve hosted the annual event on November 4, 2013. The championship round has eluded all my prior teams, despite being deeply talented and aptly prepared. But, their previous academic work and my experience gained from coaching prior teams culminated when the emcee announced and the winner from Room 1A is Roanoke College. I wish her voice could have echoed to reach the prior 31 students I accompanied to the Fed from 2007-2012 who did not get to hear those words, despite my biased opinion that they were deserving. The Fed Challenge is an academic competition, regionally sponsored by the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond that is designed to expand the understanding of the Federal Reserve System's unique role in the economy and the importance of monetary policy conducted by the Federal Open Market Committee. Encouraging a better understanding of the nations central bank, the forces influencing economic conditions in the United States and abroad, and the ways the economy affects consumers lives, the competition is framed to assist in the development of students' research, group dynamics, presentation, and critical thinking skills. This years team was resilient during the government shutdown, when traditional economic data was unavailable and/or delayed. Traditional websites, such as the Bureau of Economic Analysis, were totally unavailable. We quickly adapted and used private sector sources to supplement our research. After developing an assessment of the domestic and international economy, our team wrote a prescription, including a specific tapering schedule for QE3, to be executed by Janet Yellen, our teams nod to be the next Fed Chair. She will be another firstthe first female at the helm of the central banks FOMC. This years history making team showcased the talents of Rob Altier, Conrad Classen, Spencer Lewen, Greg Long, Sean Walsh, and Emma Webb. I would describe this years team as cohesive from the first meeting,

intellectually curious, time conscious, and humble. After delivering their oral presentation to a panel of Federal Reserve economists, the judges rated our performance based on content, teamwork, and ability to respond to spontaneous questions. Our score was the highest among our head-to-head competition and we advanced! The scenario based championship round was another first for me. The four finalists (Roanoke College, JMU, University of Richmond, and University of Mary Washington) drew numbers to determine the presentation order. And, yes, we drew number 1, making us the first to present and giving us no additional time to regroup or strategize. In retrospect, it was probably best. With adrenaline flowing, the team delivered a phenomenal impromptu 5 minute response to the situation presented and then remained poised during the 15 minutes of questions that followed. I knew we were contenders to win the entire Challenge. However, we found out at 7 p.m. that night, that JMU won and would be representing the Commonwealth at the regional round the following week. JMU further advanced to the national championship at the Board of Governors in Washington, D.C. While we didnt finish first, Im convinced that I was blessed with the best team. A special thank you goes out to Roanoke College Professor Emeritus, Dr. Robert Stauffer, Dr. Alice Kassens, Dr. Garry Fleming, Dr. Edward Nik-Khah, Dr. Pablo Hernandez, and Dr. Ali Nazemi who ensured that this years team was on the right path at several key stages of the semester. As the Coach, I smiled for 3 straight days following the competition as this years team not only represented Roanoke College well but proved we can compete with much larger colleges and universities. While we all know the impact of a small liberal arts education, making the championship round solidified it! During my three days of smiling, the winning coach from JMU communicated with me. There is a grassroots effort to keep the Fed Challenge alive in the 5th district and rotate the competition around the college campuses. There is a grassroots effort to

2013 RC Fed Challenge Team

L to R: Michelle Crook, Emma Webb, Conrad Classen, Robert Altier, Greg Long, Sean Walsh, Spencer Lewen

keep the Fed Challenge alive in the 5th district and rotate the competition around the college campuses. It is too early to know if this effort will materialize but lets hope this will not be my last report on ECON 252. Perhaps this last will be a springboard for a new first.

Fed Challenge team in front of the Federal Reserve Bank in Richmond Virginia

Fed Challenge Team plaque

ROANOMICS VOLUME 4 | Issue 2

hear this is quite possibly the last year of its existence. It has been a privilege to learn, study, research, and finally present our economic analysis and prescriptions with my teammates in the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond. All of this could not be possible without the guidance and mentorship of our incredible Coach Crook; Im so happy to be a part of your first Roanoke College team to make it into the Championship Round. While I will vehemently argue the judges decision to end our National Championship run at the hands of James Madison University, I see the team as victors. It is certainly a bittersweet ending to what was a truly enjoyable class. I feel every student interested in economics should be given the opportunity to learn outside the textbook through interactive and applied education such as this. As a business major, I was initially intimidated by the thought of working an entire semester to analyze the current state of the economy and give a formal presentation on our findings. I found the format of the meetings and timeline of the semester to be a fantastic way to slowly introduce different aspects of the economy and later our analysis. Learning economics in this fashion has certainly made me stay more attune to the current state of the economy. I will be paying close attention to the news to compare our script to the future outcomes to see if we called things right.

Top RC Fed Challenge Team

From the students perspective

Spencer Lewen `14

As the non-speaking role on Roanoke Colleges 2013 Fed Challenge team, I had the unique opportunity to see the big picture. When other members were memorizing their sections and focusing on their respective roles, my job was to combine all their work into one, coherent presentation that flowed well and withstood scrutiny. My group members would send me what they wanted in the presentation, and then I would put it into the Prezi. As such, I had the opportunity to see how all the pieces fit together in a more complete way than I ever expected. On the surface, I knew how the recommendations we were proposing would interact with the economic indicators we were examining. However, as I started to build the Prezi, I had the time to consider how they interacted on a deeper scale than simply copying and pasting graphs into the presentation. For this reason, I am glad I received the non-speaking role. It provided me the chance to observe and analyze far beyond what I would have been able to do if I had been given a sector of the economy to analyze. My team-mates specialized in their respective areas, and I was able to analyze each part as a whole, for my own personal satisfaction. Though I did not get to speak during the presentation at the Federal Reserve, it provided me with an intellectual opportunity, one in which I could, for my own satisfaction, take in the whole of the presentation. The class and presentation were invaluable to me. I further enhanced my ability to problem solve on the spot, and learned how to design a presentation that was balanced and informative. Furthermore, the class time during which the team as a whole discussed possible course of action we could take served to further my understanding of the economic indicators and sectors we examined. As the saying goes, iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another. My peers and teammates each brought their own unique analysis to the table, and with them, their own perspective, widening my perspective and views in the process. Overall, the course was a highlight of my semester, and the opportunity to conduct such analysis and present it at the Richmond Federal Reserve has given me experiences I will carry forward with me in my future career. If presented the opportunity to do this all over again, I would not hesitate to join the Fed Challenge team, and I would recommend the opportunity to my friends and peers in a heartbeat.

Greg Long `14

My experience at the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond has been, up to this point, the highlight of my career as a student at Roanoke College. Being an undergraduate who has put so much time and effort into my studies, it was exhilarating to be a part of a team of which presented our research to professionals at the Fed. The icing on the cake, however, was being acceptable in their eyes by advancing to the second round in the first time in Roanoke Colleges history. Being in Richmond as part of an elite team and winning at the Fed gave me a boost in my overall confidence. Less than four years ago I was honorably discharged from the U.S. Army and had no clue what I wanted to do with my life, if anything. After a long, miserable day of work at Dairy Queen I believe that God spoke to me and He told me that I was too smart to settle for a life of mediocrity, that I was made for better things. I attribute much of my success to Professor Crook, our team coach and my principles of accounting instructor who helped me begin to believe in myself. The Fed Challenge is much more than a class. It is a wonderful opportunity for students to showcase to real professionals what they are capable of, and, how far they have come. I am deeply honored to have been a part of this team and to potentially be a part of the winningest team in Roanoke College history.

Team waiting for the competition

2014 Fed Challenge

Sean Walsh `14

Being a part of Roanoke Colleges 2013 Fed Challenge Team has truly been one of my most memorable experiences as an undergraduate. I am forever grateful for the opportunity to participate in a learning experience such as this; and am crushed to

There are changes coming for the 2014 Federal Reserve Challenge. Michelle Crook has been working hard to keep the competition going. Stay tuned for our next RC Fed Challenge Team.

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Awards & Recognition

Deans List
Ryan Dill Conor Fitzhenry Katelyn Nuckoles Jeremy Peavey

Virginia Association of Economists Annual Meeting (Salem, VA)

Dr. Alice Louise Kassens Dr. Edward Nik-Khah Tamara Smith

The Management Institute (Roanoke College)

Dr. Alice Louise Kassens
Dr. Edward Nik-Khah

Presidents List
Angela He Chen Emma Webb

Elderscholar Series (Roanoke College)

Dr. Alice Louise Kassens

Dr. Edward Nik-Khah

Private Intellectuals and Public Perplexity: The Economics Profession and the Economic Crisis (with Philip Mirowski). History of Political Economy 45(Supplement): 279-311. 2013. Review of Masters of the Universe: Hayek, Friedman, and the Birth of Neoliberal Politics by Daniel Stedman Jones. EH.net. November 2013.

Spring 2014 Athletic Honors Roll

Chris Migliarese (tennis)

Changing Political Economy of Research and Innovation Workshop (Toronto, Canada)

Dr. Edward Nik-Khah

Teaching Innovation Fellowship

Dr. Alice Louise Kassens

Publications
Dr. Alice Louise Kassens
Tweeting your way to improved #writing, #reflection, and #community, Journal of Economic Education, 2014, Volume 45, Issue 2, pg. 101-109. Consumer Sentiment and Price Expectations in Virginia. (2014) Salem, VA: Institute of Policy and Opinion Research. (February 2014) Virginia Real Estate Index. (2014) Salem, VA: Institute of Policy and Opinion Research. (February 2014)

Presentations
National Conference for Undergraduate Research (University of Kentucky)
Spencer Lewen Tamara Smith Laura Stavetski Dr. Alice Louise Kassens

Dr. Alice Louise Kassens

ROANOMICS VOLUME 4 | Issue 2

10

Roanoke College Economics

...Because we view economics as solidly within the liberal arts, we are committed to examining the relationship between economics and other areas of knowledge. Students will therefore find it to be an excellent complement to many other majors, including, but not limited to public policy, sociology, history, environmental policy, mathematics, biology, and business administration, as well as concentrations such as gender studies and peace and justice studies. For information about the Economics Program contact Dr. Garry Fleming (fleming@roanoke.edu) For comments or suggestions about the newsletter email roanokeecon@gmail.com Read our blog: kassensroanokeecon.blogspot.com Follow us on Twitter: @roanokeecon Faculty Editor: Dr. Alice Louise Kassens Student Editor: Emma Webb 15

Roanomics
Volume 4

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