The department’s research series kicked off in September with two speakers. On Friday, Sept. 23, Hajime Shimao, PhD, from McGill University, discussed his paper on “Welfare Cost of Fairness and Accountability in Insurance Pricing.” A week later on Sept. 30, Richard Clark, PhD, from Cornell University, presented on “Conditionality and the Composition of IO Staff.”

Throughout the month of September and early October, students from all Intro to Micro sections attended a class in the Gmelich Lab for Financial Markets. In addition to becoming familiar with how the Bloomberg terminals work, students researched and analyzed news and data on the oil and gas industry.

Under the guidance of Sarah Burke, PhD, and Paul Suckow, Villanova once again competed in the FED Challenge, an academic competition sponsored by the Federal Reserve System. Eighty-four participating schools submitted presentations on the current state of the economy that included monetary policy recommendations. Our Villanova team, consisting of Brandon Catanzaro ’23 CLAS, Mark Niland ’23 CLAS, Dorian Scourtos ’24 CLAS, Henry Gilroy ’24 CLAS, and David Moore ’23 VSB, was selected as a regional winner and advanced to the semi-final round, with Princeton University winning first place. Teams were scored on content and analysis, responses to questions, teamwork and presentation skills.

"We want to encourage people who want to make a difference, at every stage of their careers, to consider public service," said Federal Reserve Board Chair Jerome H. Powell. "These students view the issues we face as a country from their own perspectives, and those fresh views and understanding are valuable."

The department’s research seminar series continued in October with presentations by John Rogers, PhD, formerly a macroeconomist from the Federal Reserve Board and current professor at Fudan University, on “Macroeconomic Transmission of (Un-) Predictable Uncertainty Shocks,” and by Bryan Stuart, PhD, of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia on “The Effects of Racial Segregation on Intergenerational Mobility: Evidence from Historical Railroad Placement.”

On Oct. 27, Erasmus Kersting, PhD, gave a lecture in Wilmington, Delaware for the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at the University of Delaware. The topic was “Taking the Economy’s Temperature: Where Are We and Where Are We Headed?”

On Nov. 17, Elizabeth “Libby” Pica ’16 CLAS, an associate attorney at Gibson Dunn in New York City, returned to campus to talk to students in the Industrial Organization course about antitrust and sports.

Chris Jeffords, PhD, was recognized by Affordable Learning PA as the Affordable Learning Champion of 2022. “The basic thrust is to attempt to conserve financial and environmental resources while providing high-quality instruction peppered with reflections on the current course materials compared to what we could be using,” said Dr. Jeffords. “This part of the process makes the use of the open access materials more immersive and, if I’m being honest, there are few noticeable content differences across introductory economics textbooks aside from chapter ordering, the author’s ‘voice,’ and the choice of examples. So, why not use a regularly updated and open access textbook as the baseline?”

The department’s research seminar series began 2023 with a talk by Lukas Wellner from the University of Göttingen on "Does Foreign Aid Reduce Migration? Micro-Evidence from World Bank Projects."

In late February, recent alum Austin Glass ’22 VSB presented his senior thesis, “Value and Cents: Exploring the Relationship Between Income Inequality and Social Trust Globally since 1980” at the Eastern Economic Association (EEA) annual meetings in New York. Laura Meinzen-Dick, PhD, and Maira Reimão, PhD, also presented their research at the conference.

On March 15, the department held a Welcome to the Major event for newly declared students in CLAS. Seniors, Andrew Johnson ’23 CLAS, Justin Lo ’23 CLAS, Vincent Iannello ’23 CLAS, and Cat McCullough ’23 CLAS, spoke to the students about their experiences with majoring in economics at Villanova and their post-graduation plans.

The department’s research seminar series continued with Carola Binder, PhD, associate professor at Haverford College, speaking on “Central Bank Communication and Hose Price Expectations.”

On April 14, the department welcomed Doug Webber, PhD, from the Federal Reserve Board to present his paper "When Do Students and Taxpayers See a Return? Optimal Accountability Thresholds in Higher Education" as part of the Research Seminar Series.

On April 16, Chris Jeffords, PhD, was one of six speakers in the TEDxVillanovaU Conference, “Paradigm Shift for Sustainability.” He discussed his research in environmental economics, sustainability and human rights, and teaching economics with a human rights foundation. A day later, Dr. Jeffords was invited as a panelist for the Villanova ChatGPT Faculty Discussion. He discussed how he uses ChatGPT in his environmental economics course and his plans for using it in his other classes.

In mid-April, fifteen members of the Villanova Chapter of the Philly Justice Project attended the Innocence Network Conference in Phoenix, Arizona. The experience was partially funded by supporters across campus, including the Economics Department. Students got the opportunity to hear from medical and legal experts, professors and scholars, and those who have faced the unfathomable experience of being wrongfully convicted.

On April 27, Maira Reimão, PhD, Economics professor and visiting professor in the Center for Peace and Justice, spoke on “Access to Daycare, Employment, and Living Conditions in Rio de Janeiro.”

On April 28, the three finalists in the annual Adam Smith Undergraduate Research Competition presented their papers to faculty, staff and friends. Based on faculty votes, Colin Lilly ’23 CLAS won first place for his work on “Examining the Distributional Effects of School Quality on Student Outcomes.” Second prize went to Vivian Bear ’23 VSB who examined “Aid Effectiveness in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA).” Honorable Mention was awarded to Victoria Spugnardi ’23 CLAS who studied “Food Aid in Ecuador: The Efficacy of Aid Modalities and Distance to Markets.” Joining the Economics faculty in judging this year were alums and past Adam Smith prize winners Ryan Zalla, PhD, '17 CLAS, Investment Strategist at Vanguard; Matthew Fagerstrom ’19 CLAS, ’20 MA, incoming PhD student in Economics at University of Pennsylvania; and Aidan Schwob ’22 CLAS, Sales and Training Foreign Exchange Analyst at PNC Capital Markets. The prize money of $2,000 for first place, $1,000 for second place, and $500 for honorable mention is funded by a gift from John Haines ’79 CLAS.

Science on Tap – Phoenixville is a monthly event that features an expert speaker who leads a conversation in their area of expertise. Founders of Science of Tap, Chris Jeffords, PhD, and Jen Santoro, PhD, secured funding through the 2022-2023 First Year Match Program and hired student worker Margaux Barrett '26 CLAS to conduct a community survey of the Science on Tap audience. As part of this project, Margaux presented the preliminary findings at the poster sessions of VSB Research Day on May 2. The title of the presentation was “Science on Tap: The Efficacy of Science Communication.”

In response to chemical spills into Philadelphia waterways, professors in the Department of Geography and the Environment Steven Goldsmith, PhD, and Jen Santoro, PhD; along with Chris Jeffords, PhD, published an opinion piece in the Philadelphia Inquirer on May 1, “Three Steps to Protect Philadelphia’s Drinking Water.”

On May 2, Dr. Jeffords participated as a speaker at the Villanova Diocesan Fiscal Management Conference. The theme was "Sustainability and the Church: Balancing Our Ethical Responsibility to the Planet with the Financial Realities of Going Green." He discussed fiscally responsible options for "greening the church."

Shortly after on May 4, Dr. Jeffords published an opinion piece in The Hill, “Three words can make Biden’s environmental orders more than shiny distractions.” This was in response to the Biden Administration’s executive order on environmental justice.

At year-end faculty award ceremonies, Sutirtha Bagchi, PhD, was awarded the McDonough Family Faulty Award for excellence in academic research, and Chris Jeffords, PhD, was the inaugural recipient of VSB’s Augustinian Values and Excellence in Mission Rising Star.

Several faculty members received summer grants for teaching and/or research. At the University level, Xiaoxiao Li, PhD, and Maira Reimão, PhD, were awarded a research grant. VSB Teaching Innovation and Development Grant winners were awarded to Sarah Reed, PhD; Theresa Rissell; and Peter Zaleski, PhD. Recipients of VSB Research grants were Sutirtha Bagchi, PhD; Scott Dressler, PhD; Chris Jeffords, PhD; Erasmus Kersting, PhD; Christopher Kilby, PhD; Victor Li, PhD; Dr. Xiaoxiao Li; Laura Meinzen-Dick, PhD; Dr. Reimão; Zeynep Yom, PhD; and Dr. Zaleski.

During the spring semester, we solicited help from students and alumni to help us create a “Why Economics” video to showcase the benefits of studying economics. We are so grateful for their help!

Congratulations to the class of 2023! On May 19, Villanova commencement ceremonies took place in the stadium. With excitement in the air, Economics faculty gathered to celebrate the end of another academic year and congratulate graduates and their family members at the reception in Bartley Hall. This year, 113 students graduated with a degree in Economics, 96 from CLAS and 17 from VSB.