boston college
morrissey college of arts and sciences
graduate program
economics
1
welcome to
graduate economics
T
he Economics Department at Boston
College is an exciting community of
scholars from many countries who pursue
applied and theoretical research on the pressing
economic and social issues that face the world in
the 21st century. The doctoral program is designed
to train economists for careers in teaching and
research by providing strong backgrounds in
economic theory, quantitative research methods
and applied fields.
Boston College provides considerable intellectual
leadership to the economics profession. The
economics faculty includes 37 full-time positions
and continues to grow. Faculty allocate their time
between research and teaching in undergraduate
and doctoral programs as well as participating
in the wider intellectual life of the University, the
Boston area and the world.
The Boston College Economics Department ranks
between 24th and 26th among U.S. economics
departments in the Combes-Linnemer worldwide
rankings appearing in the December 2003
Journal of the European Economic Association. The
economics Ph.D. program is ranked 31 in the
U.S. News & World Report 2009 peer assessment
survey. With University approval and support, we
are on a growth path aimed at achieving and maintaining a top 25 ranking among U.S. economics
departments. Recent hires include distinguished
econometricians, economic theorists and applied
economists, adding to the established strength
of the department in applied economics.
The graduate program in economics is dedicated
to training full-time Ph.D. students for careers
in teaching and research. The program provides
students with strong backgrounds in economic
theory, quantitative research methods and applied
fields. Requirements include course work, comprehensive examinations, a doctoral dissertation and
a one-year residence requirement.
The program admits about 16 new students per year.
The size of the program permits the department to
offer a broad range of courses while at the same time
enabling students to receive significant individual
attention. In addition to core courses in economic
theory and quantitative methods, the program
offers courses in advanced micro and macro theory,
econometric theory, applied econometrics, international trade, empirical international finance, topics
in international macro, topics in international economic policy, economic development, public sector
economics, monetary economics, labor economics,
industrial organization and finance.
Boston College’s proximity to Cambridge and
Boston make it part of the area’s lively intellectual
community. The Ph.D. program draws upon the rich
academic resources of the area in addition to those
available within the Economics Department and
other departments and schools at Boston College.
We invite you to find out more at bc.edu/economics.
contents
Program of Study
2
Faculty
3
Courses
10
Outcomes
11
Academic Resources
14
Student Life &
Campus Resources
15
Admission & Financial
Information
17
1
program of study
Ph.D. Program
dIsserTaTIon
The requirements for the Ph.D. degree fall into four basic
categories: course work, comprehensive examinations,
the dissertation and a residence requirement.
course work
The course requirements consist of a seven-course core
curriculum and eight electives. The standard program for
meeting these requirements is:
Year 1
Fall
Spring
Microeconomic Theory I
Microeconomic Theory II
Macroeconomic Theory I
Macroeconomic Theory II
Math for economists
econometric Methods
statistics
Year 2
Fall
Spring
4 electives
4 electives
coMprehensIve exaMs
All students are required to pass written comprehensive
examinations in microeconomic theory, macroeconomic
theory and two of the following fields:
2

Advanced Macro and Monetary Economics

Advanced Micro Theory

Finance

Econometrics

Economic Development

Industrial Organization

International Economics

International Trade and Policy

Labor Economics

Public Sector Economics
The third year of study is devoted to the formulation and
development of a thesis topic. Third- and fourth-year
students are required to regularly attend and actively
participate in the department’s Thesis Workshop, which
meets weekly during the academic year. Students are
required to make presentations in the second semester
of the third year, each semester of the fourth year and the
first semester of the fifth year. Each Ph.D. student must
have a dissertation abstract and a dissertation proposal
on file with the department. Both the abstract and the
proposal must be signed by two faculty members. The
approved abstract must be on file no later than April 1 of
the third year. The approved proposal must be on file no
later than October 1 of the fourth year.
The thesis is written under the supervision of a committee of three faculty members: a director chosen by
the student and two readers agreed upon by the student
and the director. The thesis is approved when it is successfully defended before the committee in an oral
examination. As with any Ph.D. program, the ultimate
time to completion varies considerably. The department
expects every student to be well prepared to enter the job
market in January of the fifth year of full-time study.
Although there are exceptions, students should anticipate spending a minimum of four years of full-time
study to complete the degree.
resIdence requIreMenT
Each Ph.D. student must spend at least one academic
year as a full-time student at Boston College.
faculty profiles
james anderson
christopher f. baum
Professor
Professor of Economics and Social Work
Ph.D., University of Wisconsin
Ph.D., University of Michigan
james.anderson@bc.edu
christopher.baum@bc.edu
RESEARCh InTERESTS
International Economics
Economic history
RESEARCh InTERESTS
Financial Economics
Applied Econometrics
Public health
RECEnT PUBLICATIOnS
 “how Much Does Geography Deflect Services Trade?
Canadian Answers” (with C.A. Milot and Y.V. Yotov).
International Economic Review 55(3) (2014): 791-818.
 “Efficient Policy in a Predatory Economy: To him who hath
shall be given.” International Economic Review 53 (2012): 157-74.
 “The Specific Factors Continuum Model with Implications
for Globalization and Income Risk.” Journal of International
Economics 85 (2011): 174-85.
 “The Gravity Model.” Annual Review of Economic 3 (2011):
133-60.
 “Costs of Taxation and Benefits of Public Goods with Multiple
Taxes and Goods” (with W. Martin). Journal of Public Economic
Theory 13 (2011): 289-309.
s anukriti
Assistant Professor
Ph.D., Columbia University
s.anukriti@bc.edu
RESEARCh InTERESTS
Economic Development
Economics of Gender
RECEnT PUBLICATIOnS
 “Impact of the Two-Child Limit for Local Politicians.” Ideas for
India, March 2, 2015.
 Leveraging Political Aspirations.” Mint, March 5, 2015.
susanto basu
Professor
Ph.D., Harvard University
susanto.basu@bc.edu
RESEARCh InTERESTS
Macroeconomics
Monetary Economics
Productivity
RECEnT PUBLICATIOnS
 “Some Evidence on the Importance of Sticky Wages,”
American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics 6 (2014): 70-101.
 “Are Technology Improvements Contractionary?” American
Economic Review 96(2006): 1418-48.
RECEnT PUBLICATIOnS
 “R&D Expenditures and Geographical Sales Diversification”
(with Mus. Caglayan and O.Talavera). The Manchester School,
forthcoming, 2015.
 “Jumps and Stochastic Volatility in Crude Oil Futures Prices
Using Conditional Moments of Integrated Volatility”
(with P. Zerilli). Energy Economics, forthcoming, 2015.
 “The Impact of State Cigarette Taxes on Disparities in Maternal
Smoking During Pregnancy” (with S. Sherburne hawkins).
American Journal of Public Health 104(8) (2014): 1464-70.
 “The Effects of Future Capital Investment and R&D Expenditures on Firms’ Liquidity” (with M. Caglayan and O. Talavera).
Review of International Economics 21(3) (2013): 459-74.
 “The Impact of the Financial System’s Structure on Firms’
Financial Constraints” (with D. Schäfer and O. Talavera). Journal
of International Money and Finance 30 (2011): 678-91.
ryan chahrour
Assistant Professor
Ph.D., Columbia University
ryan.chahrour@bc.edu
RESEARCh InTERESTS
Macroeconomics
Monetary Economics
RECEnT PUBLICATIOnS
 “Public Communication and Information Acquisition.”
American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics 6(3) (2014): 73-101.
 “A Model-Based Evaluation of the Debate on the Size of the
Tax Multiplier” (with S. Schmitt-Grohe and M. Uribe).
American Economic Journal: Economic Policy 4(2) (2012): 28-45.
 “Sales and Price Spikes in Retail Scanner Data.” Economics
Letters 110(2) (2011): 143-46.
sanjay chugh
Assistant Professor
Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania
sanjay.chugh@bc.edu
RESEARCh InTERESTS
Macroeconomics
Macro-Labor
Optimal Fiscal Policy
3
faculty profiles
RECEnT PUBLICATIOnS
 “Costly External Finance and Labor Market Dynamics.”
Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control 37 (2013): 2882-912.
 “Tax Smoothing in Frictional Labor Markets” (with D.M.
Arseneau). Journal of Political Economy 120 (2012): 926-85.
 “Optimal Fiscal and Monetary Policy When Money is Essential” (with S. Boragan Aruoba). Journal of Economic Theory 145
(2010): 1618-47.
 “Does the Timing of the Cash-in-Advance Constraint Matter
for Optimal Fiscal and Monetary Policy?” Macroeconomic
Dynamics, 13 (2009): 133-50.
 “Optimal Fiscal and Monetary Policy with Costly Wage
Bargaining” (with D.M. Arseneau). Journal of Monetary
Economics 55 (2008): 1401-14.
donald cox
Professor
Ph.D., Brown University
donald.cox@bc.edu
RESEARCh InTERESTS
Economics of Intergenerational Transfers
Labor Economics
RECEnT PUBLICATIOnS
 “The Evolution of Altruistic Preferences: Mothers versus Fathers” (with I. Alger). Review of Economics of the Household 11(3)
(2013): 421-46.
 “Intergenerational Transfers.” In Encyclopedia of Life Course
and Human Development, eds. M.E. hughes, A. Pienta and R.
Crosnoe. Macmillan Reference USA, 2009.
 “Extended Family and Kinship networks: Economic Insights
and Evolutionary Directions” (with M. Fafchamps). In Handbook
of Development Economics, Volume 4, eds. T.P. Schultz and J.
Strauss. north holland, 2008.
 “Intergenerational Caregiving and Exchange: Economic and
Evolutionary Approaches.” In Caring and Exchange Within and
Across Generations, eds. A. Booth, A.C. Crouter, S. Bianchi and
A. Seltzer. Urban Institute Press, 2008.
 “Biological Basics and the Economics of the Family,” Journal
of Economic Perspectives 21 (2007): 91-108.
mehmet ekmekci
Associate Professor
Ph.D., Princeton University
mehmet.ekmekci@bc.edu
RESEARCh InTERESTS
Game Theory
Mechanism Design
RECEnT PUBLICATIOnS
 “Reputation in the Long-Run with Imperfect Monitoring”
(with A. Atakan). Journal of Economic Theory 157 (2015): 553-605.
 “Auctions, Actions and the Failure of Information
Aggregation” (with A Atakan). The American Economic Review
104(7) (2014): 104-7.
4
“Bargaining and Reputation in Search Markets” (with A.
Atakan). The Review of Economic Studies 81(1) (2014): 1-29.
“A Two-Sided Reputation Result with Long-run Players” (with
A. Atakan). Journal of Economic Theory 148 (2013): 376-92.
“Reputation in Long-Run Relationships” (with A. Atakan). The
Review of Economic Studies 79 (2) (2012): 751-80.
scott l. fulford
Assistant Professor
Ph.D., Princeton University
scott.fulford@bc.edu
RESEARCh InTEREST
Economic Development
household Finance
RECEnT PUBLICATIOnS
 “The Effects of Financial Development in the Short and Long
Run: Theory and Evidence from India.” Journal of Development
Economics 104 (2013): 56-72.
“Returns to Education in India.” World Development 59 (2014):
434-50.
“how Important is Variability in Consumer Credit Limits?”
Journal of Monetary Economics 72 (2015): 42-63.
frank m. gollop
Professor Emeritus
Ph.D., Harvard University
frank.gollop@bc.edu
RESEARCh InTEREST
Industrial Organization
peter gottschalk
Professor
Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania
peter.gottschalk@bc.edu
RESEARCh InTERESTS
Labor Economics
Applied Econometrics
RECEnT PUBLICATIOnS
 “Some Evidence on the Importance of Sticky Wages” (with A.
Barattieri and S. Basu). American Journal of Macroeconomics 6(1)
(2014): 70-101.
 “Trends in the Transitory Variance of Male Earnings: Methods
and Evidence” (with R. Moffitt). Journal of Human Resources
47(1) (2012): 204-36.
 “Are Earnings Inequality and Mobility Over-stated? The
Impact of non-Classical Measurement Error” (with M. hyunh).
The Review of Economics and Statistics 92(2) (2010): 302-15.
 “The Rising Instability of U.S. Earnings” (with R. Moffitt).
Journal of Economic Perspectives 23(4) ( 2009): 3-24.
michael d. grubb
Assistant Professor
Ph.D., Stanford University
michael.grubb@bc.edu
RESEARCh InTERESTS
Behavioral Industrial Organization
Industrial Organization
Applied Microeconomic Theory
RECEnT PUBLICATIOnS
 “Cellular Service Demand: Biased Beliefs, Learning, and Bill
Shock” (with M. Osborne). American Economic Review 105(1)
(2015): 234-71.
 “Consumer Inattention and Bill-Shock Regulation.” Review
of Economic Studies 82(1) (2015):219-57.
 “Dynamic nonlinear Pricing: Biased Expectations,
Inattention, and Bill Shock.” International Journal of Industrial
Organization 30(3) (2012): 287-90.
 “Selling to Overconfident Consumers.” American Economic
Review 99(5) (2009): 1770-1807.
stefan hoderlein
Associate Professor
Ph.D., Bonn University and London School of Economics
stefan.hoderlein@bc.edu
RESEARCh InTEREST
Econometrics
RECEnT PUBLICATIOnS
 “Revealed Preferences in a heterogeneous Population” (with
C.J. Stoye). The Review of Economics and Statistics 96(2) (2014):
197-213.
 “Regressor Dimension Reduction with Economic Constraints:
The Example of Demand Systems with Many Goods” (with A.
Lewbel). Econometric Theory 28(5) (2012): 1087-120.
 “nonparametric Identification in nonseparable Panel Data
Models with Generalized Fixed Effects” (with h. White). Journal
of Econometrics 168(2) (2012): 300–14.
 “how Many Consumers are Rational.” Journal of Econometrics
164(2) (2011): 294-309.
 “nonparametric Binary Choice Panel Data Models” (with
K,Yu and E. Mammen). Econometrics Journal 14 (2011): 351–67.
peter n. ireland
Professor
Ph.D., University of Chicago
peter.ireland@bc.edu
RESEARCh InTERESTS
Macroeconomics
Monetary Economics
RECEnT PUBLICATIOnS
 “The Macroeconomic Effects of Interest on Reserves.”
Macroeconomic Dynamics 18 (2014): 1271-312.
 “Stochastic Growth in the United States and Euro Area,”
Journal of the European Economic Association 11 (2013): 1-24.
 “A new Keynesian Perspective on the Great Recession.”
Journal of Money, Credit, and Banking 43 (2011): 31-54.
 “On The Welfare Cost of Inflation and the Recent Behavior
of Money Demand.” American Economic Review 99 (2009):
1040-52.
 “Productivity and US Macroeconomic Performance: Interpreting the Past and Predicting the Future with a Two-Sector
Real Business Cycle Model” (with S. Schuh). Review of Economic
Dynamics 11 (2008): 473-92.
hideo konishi
Professor
Ph.D., University of Rochester
hideo.konishi@bc.edu
RESEARCh InTEREST
Applied Microeconomic Theory
RECEnT PUBLICATIOnS
 “Choosing a Licensee from heterogeneous Rivals” (with
A.Creane and C.Y. Ko). Games and Economic Behavior 82 (2013):
254-68.
 “Entrepreneurial Land Developers: Joint Production, Local
Externalities and Mixed housing Developments.” Journal of
Urban Economics 75 (2013): 68-79.
 “Profit-Maximizing Matchmaker” (with C.Y. Ko). Games
and Economic Behavior 75 (2012): 217-32.
 “Contributing or Free-Riding? Voluntary Participation in a
Public Good Economy” (with T. Furusawa). Theoretical
Economics 6(2) (2011): 219-56.
 “Efficient Mixed Clubs: nonlinear-Pricing Equilibria with
Entrepreneurial Managers.” Japanese Economic Review 61 (2010):
35-63, 2010. (2009 JEA nakahara Prize Lecture)
marvin kraus
Professor
Ph.D., University of Minnesota
marvin.kraus@bc.edu
RESEARCh InTERESTS
Urban Economics
Transportation Economics
RECEnT PUBLICATIOnS
 “Road Pricing with Optimal Mass Transit.” Journal of Urban
Economics 72 (2012): 81-6.
 “Scale Economies Analysis for Urban highway networks.” In
The Economics of Traffic Congestion, ed. E.T. Verhoef. Edward
Elgar, 2010.
 “When Are Anonymous Congestion Charges Consistent with
Marginal Cost Pricing?” (with R. Arnott). In The Economics of
Traffic Congestion, ed. E.T. Verhoef. Edward Elgar, 2010.
 Self-Financing of Congestible Facilities in a Growing Economy” (with R. Arnott). In The Economics of Traffic Congestion,
ed. E.T. Verhoef. Edward Elgar, 2010.
 “Economies of Scale in networks” Journal of Urban
Economics 64 (2008): 171-77.
5
faculty profiles
tzuo law
Assistant Professor
Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania
tzuo.law@bc.edu
RESEARCh InTERESTS
Macroeconomics
Computational Economics
Labor Economics
RECEnT PUBLICATIOnS
 “Identifying Equilibrium Models of Labor Market Sorting”
(with M. hagedorn and L. Manovskii). NBER Working Papers
18661, national Bureau of Economic Research, Inc., 2012.
 “Risks, Jumps and Diversification” (with T. Bollerslev and
G. Tauchen). Journal of Econometrics 144 (2008): 234-56.
 “Alteration of Lithium Pharmacology through Manipulation
of Phosphoadenosine Phosphate Metabolism” (with
B. Spiegelberg, J. dela Cruz and J. York). The Journal of Biological
Chemistry 280 (2005): 5400-05.
arthur lewbel
Professor
Ph.D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology
arthur.lewbel@bc.edu
RESEARCh InTERESTS
Econometrics
Consumer Demand
RECEnT PUBLICATIOnS
 “Estimating Consumption Economies of Scale, Adult Equivalence Scales, and household Bargaining Power” (with M.
Browning and P.-A. Chiappori). Review of Economic Studies 80
(2013): 1267-1303.
 “Children’s Resources in Collective households: Identification, Estimation and an Application to Child Poverty in Malawi”
(with G. Dunbar and K. Pendakur). American Economic Review
103 (2013): 438-71.
 “Why is Consumption More Log normal Than Income?
Gibrat’s Law Revisited” (with E. Battistin and R. Blundell).
Journal of Political Economy 117 (2009): 1140-54.
 “Tricks With hicks: The EASI Demand System” (with
K.Pendakur). American Economic Review 99 (2009): 827-63.
 “Estimation of Average Treatment Effects with Misclassification.” Econometrica 75 (2007): 537-51.
ben li
Assistant Professor
Ph.D., University of Colorado, Boulder
ben.li@bc.edu
RESEARCh InTERESTS
International Economics
Urban Economics
6
RECEnT PUBLICATIOnS
 “The Economics of nationalism” (with X. Lan). American
Economic Journal: Economic Policy 7(2) (2015): 294-325.
 “Shanghai's Trade, China's Growth: Continuity, Recovery, and
Change since the Opium War” (with W. Keller andC.h. Shiue).
IMF Economic Review 61 (2013): 336-78.
 “Multinational Production and Choice of Technologies.”
Economics Letters 108(2)(2010): 181-83.
 “Geographic Concentration and Vertical Disintegration:
Evidence from China” (with Y. Liu). Journal of Urban Economics
65(3) (2009): 294-304.
francis m. mclaughlin
Associate Professor Emeritus
Ph.D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology
francis.mclaughlin@bc.edu
RESEARCh InTEREST
Labor Economics
RECEnT PUBLICATIOnS
 “Communicating with Economists” Lonergan Workshop 25
(2013).
 “John Rogers Commons: Are his Insights Important in Teaching Modern Labor Economics?” Lonergan Workshop 24 (2012).
 “A Reflection on the Discipline of Economics and Catholic Social
Teaching on the Economy.” Theoforum 43 (1-2) (2012): 35-45.
 “Economics and Religion.” In The World Market and
Interreligious Dialogue, eds. C. Corneille and G. Willis. Cascade
Books, 2011.
 “Reflections on Bernard Lonergan’s Macro Theory, Catholic
Social Teaching, and Ethics.” Lonergan Workshop 26 (2014).
julie holland mortimer
Associate Professor
Ph.D., University of California, Los Angeles
julie.mortimer.2@bc.edu
RESEARCh InTEREST
Industrial Organization
RECEnT PUBLICATIOnS
 “Demand Estimation Under Incomplete Product Availability”
(with C. Conlon). American Economic Journal-Microeconomics 5(4)
(2013): 1-30.
 “Analyzing the Welfare Impacts of Full-line Forcing Contracts”
(with J. ho and K. ho). Journal of Industrial Economics 60(3)
(2012): 468-98.
 “The Use of Full-line Forcing Contracts in the Video Rental
Industry” (with J. ho and K. ho). American Economic Review 102(2)
(2012): 686-719.
 “Supply Responses to Digital Distribution: Recorded Music
and Live Performances” (with C. nosko and A. Sorensen).
Information Economics and Policy 24(1) (2012): 3-14.
 “Demand Estimation with Availability Variation” (with
W. hickman). In The Handbook of Retail and Distribution
Economics, ed. E. Basker. Edward Elgar, forthcoming.
robert murphy
Associate Professor
Ph.D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology
robert.murphy@bc.edu
RESEARCh InTERESTS
Macroeconomics
International Economics
RECEnT PUBLICATIOnS
 “Explaining Inflation in the Aftermath of the Great
Recession” Journal of Macroeconomics 40 (2014): 228-44.
 “Instructor’s Resources” to accompany Macroeconomics by
n.G. Mankiw. Worth Publishers 2003, 2007, 2010, 2013, 2015.
 “Instructor’s Resources” to accompany Macroeconomics and
the Financial System by n.G.Mankiw and L.Ball. Worth Publishers, 2011.
jaromir nosal
Assistant Professor
Ph.D., University of Minnesota
jaromir.nosal@bc.edu
RECEnT PUBLICATIOnS
 “The Female Labor Force and Long-run Development: The
American Experience in Comparative Perspective.” In Human
Capital in History: The American Record, eds. L. Platt Boustan,
C. Frydman and R.A. Margo. University of Chicago Press, 2014.
 “Gender Gaps Across Countries and Skills: Supply, Demand
and the Industry Structure” (with B. Petrongolo). Review of
Economic Dynamics 17(4) (2014): 842-59.
 “Maternal health and the Baby Boom” (with S. Albanesi).
Quantitative Economics 5(2) (2014): 225-69.
 “Breaking the net: Family Structure and Street-Connected
Children in Zambia” (with F. Strobbe and M. Jacobson). Journal
of Development Studies 1 (19) (2012).
 “home Production, Market Production, and the Gender Wage
Gap: Incentives and Expectations” (with S. Albanesi). Review of
Economic Dynamics 12(1) (2009): 80-107.
 “Unequal Pay or Unequal Employment? A Cross-Country
Analysis of Gender Gaps” (with B. Petrongolo). Journal of Labor
Economics 26(4) (2008): 621-54.
harold petersen
Associate Professor
Ph.D., Brown University
RESEARCh InTERESTS
International Macroeconomics
Macroeconomics
RECEnT PUBLICATIOnS
 “Understanding International Prices: Customers as Capital”
(with L.A. Drozd). American Economic Review 102(1) (2012):
364-95.
anant nyshadram
petersen@bc.edu
RESEARCh InTERESTS
Capital Theory Finance and Statistics
joseph quinn
Professor
Ph.D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology
joseph.quinn@bc.edu
Assistant Professor
Ph.D., Yale University
anat.nyshadram@bc.edu
RESEARCh InTERESTS
Development Economics
RECEnT PUBLICATIOnS
 “Endowments at Birth and Parents’ Investments in Children”
(with A. Adhvaryu). The Economic Journal, forthcoming.
 “Returns to Treatment in the Formal health Care Sector:
Evidence from Tanzania” (with A. Adhvaryu). American
Economic Journal: Economic Policy 7(3) (2015).
claudia olivetti
Professor
Ph.D. University of Pennsylvania
claudia.olivetti@bc.edu
RESEARCh InTERESTS
Labor
Family Economics
Macroeconomics
RESEARCh InTERESTS
Microeconomics
Public Policy
Economics of Aging
RECEnT PUBLICATIOnS
 Evolving Patterns of Work and Retirement” (with K. Cahill
and M. Giandrea). In The Handbook of Aging and the Social
Sciences, 8th edition, eds. L. George and K. Ferraro. Academic
Press, 2015.
 “Retirement Patterns and the Macroeconomy, 1992-2010:
The Prevalence and Determinants of Bridge Jobs, Phased
Retirement, and Re-entry among Different Cohorts of Older
Americans” (with K. Cahill and M. Giandrea) Gerontologist
(2015).
 “Bridge Jobs” (with K. Cahill and M. Giandrea). In The
Oxford Handbook of Retirement, ed. M. Wang. Oxford University
Press, 2013.
 “Older Workers and Short-term Jobs: Employment Patterns
and Determinants” (with K. Cahill and M. Giandrea), Monthly
Labor Review 135(5) (2012).
 “Reentering the Labor Force after Retirement” (with K. Cahill
and M. Giandrea). Monthly Labor Review 134(6) (2011).
7
faculty profiles
fabio schiantarelli
Professor
Ph.D., London School of Economics
fabio.schiantarelli@bc.edu
RESEARCh InTERESTS
Macroeconomics
Applied Econometrics
RECEnT PUBLICATIOnS
 “Culture, Policies and Labor Market Outcomes” (with
F. Giavazzi and M. Serafinelli). Journal of the European Economic
Association 11(6) (2013): 1256-89.
 “Employment Effects of Product and Labor Market Reforms;
Are There Synergies?” (with G. Fiori, G. nicoletti and S.
Scarpetta). The Economic Journal 122(558) (2012): F79-F104.
 Input and Output Inventories in General Equilibrium” (with
M. Iacoviello andS. Schuh). International Economic Review 52(4)
(2011): 1179-1213.
 “Capital Accumulation and Growth: A new Look at the Empirical Evidence” (with S. Bond and A. Leblebicioglu). Journal of
Applied Econometrics 5(7) (2010): 1073-99.
 “Product Market Regulation and Macroeconomic
Performance: A Review of Cross Country Evidence.” In The
Micro-economic Underpinning of Growth, eds. n. Loayza and
L. Serven. The World Bank, 2010.
uzi segal
Professor
Ph.D., Hebrew University
uzi.segal@bc.edu
RESEARCh InTERESTS
Decision Theory
Social Choice
RECEnT PUBLICATIOnS
 “Recursive Ambiguity and Machina’s Examples” (with D.
Dillenberger). International EconomicReview 56 (2015): 55-61.
 “Transitive Regret Over Statistically Independent Lotteries” (with
S. Bikhchandani). Journal of Economic Theory 152 (2014): 237-48.
“Utilitarianism and Discrimination" (with A. harel). Social
Choice & Welfare 42 (2014): 367-80.
 “On the Likelihood of Cyclic Comparisons” (with A. Rubinstein).
Journal of Economic Theory 147 (2012):2483-91.
“Calibration Results for non-Expected Utility Theories”
(with Z. Safra). Econometrica 76 (2008): 1143-66.
dongho song
Assistant Professor
Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania
RESEARCh InTERESTS
Empirical Asset Pricing
Time-Series
Bayesian Econometrics
Macroeconomics
8
RECEnT PUBLICATIOnS
 “Improving GDP Measurement: A Measurement-Error Perspective” (with S.B. Aruoba, F. Diebold, J. nalewaik and
F. Schorfheide). Journal of Econometrics, forthcoming.
 “Real-time Forecasting with a Mixed-Frequency VAR”
(with F. Schorfheide). Journal of Business and Economic
Statisticcs, forthcoming.
 “Improving U.S. GDP Measurement: A Forecast Combination Perspective” (with S.B. Aruoba, F. Diebold, J. nalewaik and
F. Schorfheide). In Causality, Prediction, and Specification Analysis: Recent Advances and Future Directions–Essays in Honor of
Halbert White Jr., eds. X. Chen and n. Swanson, 1-25. Springer
Verlag, 2013.
tayfun sönmez
Professor
Ph.D., University of Rochester
sonmezt@bc.edu
RESEARCh InTERESTS
Microeconomic Theory
Theory and Practice of Matching
Market Design
RECEnT PUBLICATIOnS
 “Altruistically Unbalanced Kidney Exchange” (with U.
Ünver). Journal of Economic Theory, forthcoming, 2014.
 “Matching with Contracts: Comment,” with Orhan Aygun,
American Economic Review, 103(5) (2013): 2050-51.
 “School Admissions Reform in Chicago and England: Comparing Mechanisms by Their Vulnerability to Manipulation”
(with P. Pathak). American Economic Review, 103(1) (2013):
80-106.
 “Bidding for Army Career Specialties: Improving the ROTC
Branching Mechanism.” Journal of Political Economy 121(1)
(2013): 186-219.
 “Matching with (Branch-of-Choice) Contracts at the United
States Military Academy” (with T. Switzer). Econometrica, 81(2)
(2013): 451-88.
richard l. sweeney
Assistant Professor
Ph.D., Harvard University
richard.sweeney@bc.edu
RESEARCh InTERESTS
Environmental Economics
Energy Policy
Industrial Organization
Applied Microeconomics
RECEnT PUBLICATIOnS
 “The SO2 Allowance Trading System and the Clean Air Act
Amendments of 1990: Reflections on 20 Years of Policy Innovation” (with G. Chan, R. Stavins and R. Stowe). National Tax
Journal 62(2) (2012).
 “The Incidence of U.S. Climate Policy: Alternative Uses of
Revenues from a Cap-and-Trade Auction” (with D. Burtraw and
M. Walls). National Tax Journal 62(3) (2009).
 “Property Rights Created Under a Federalist Approach to
Tradable Emissions Policy” (with D. Burtraw). In Property Rights
and Land Policies, ed. G. Ingram and Y.-h. hong. Lincoln
Institute of Land Policy, 2009.
 “Crafting a Fair and Equitable Climate Policy: A Closer Look
at the Options” (with D. Burtraw and M. Walls). Resources 170
(2008).
rosen valchev
richard w. tresch
mathis.wagner@bc.edu
Professor
RESEARCh InTERESTS
Labor Economics
Public Economics
Ph.D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology
richard.tresch@bc.edu
RESEARCh InTEREST
Fiscal Economics
RECEnT PUBLICATIOnS
 Public Finance: A Normative Theory, 3rd edition. Academic
Press, 2014.
 Public Sector Economics. Palgrave-Macmillan, 2008.
m. utku unver
Professor
Ph.D., University of Pittsburgh
utku.unver@bc.edu
RESEARCh InTERESTS
Microeconomic Theory
Mechanism and Market Design
RECEnT PUBLICATIOnS
 “Altruistically Unbalanced Kidney Exchange” (with
T. Sönmez). Journal of Economic Theory 152 (2014): 105-29.
 “Two Axiomatic Approaches to the Probabilistic Serial Mechanism” (with T. hashimoto, D. hirata, O. Kesten and M. Kurino).
Theoretical Economics 9 (2014): 253-77.
 “Market Design for Kidney Exchange” (with T. Sönmez). In
The Handbook of Market Design, eds. Z. neeman, M. niederle,
A.E. Roth and n. Vulkan. Oxford University Press, 2013.
 “The ‘Boston’ School-Choice Mechanism: An Axiomatic
Approach” (with F. Kojima). Economic Theory 55(3) (2013):
515-44.
 “Dynamic Kidney Exchange.” Review of Economic Studies 77(1)
(2010): 372- 414.
Assistant Professor
Ph.D., Duke University
rosen.valchev@bc.edu
RESEARCh InTERESTS
Macroeconomics
International Finance and Economics
Financial Economics
Open Economy Macroeconomics
mathis wagner
Assistant Professor
Ph.D., University of Chicago
RECEnT PUBLICATIOnS
 So You Want To Run An Experiment, now What? Some Simple
Rules of Thumb for Optimal Experimental Design” (with J. List
and S. Sadoff). Experimental Economics 14 (4) (2010): 439-57.
zhijie xiao
Professor
Ph.D., Yale University
zhijie.xiao@bc.edu
RESEARCh InTERESTS
Econometrics
Empirical Finance
RECEnT PUBLICATIOnS
 “A nonparametric Test for Moment Stability” (with T. Juhl).
Econometric Theory 29(1) (2013): 90-114.
 “Estimation of and Inference about the Expected Shortfall for
Time Series with Infinite Variance” (with O. Linton).
Econometric Theory 29(3) (2013).
 “Testing Equality of Distributions Using neyman’s Smooth
Test” (with A. Bera and A. Ghosh). Econometric Theory 29(2)
(2013): 419-46.
 “Right Tail Information in Financial Markets.” Econometric
Theory 30(1) (2014): 94-126.
 “Unit Roots: A Selective Review of the Contributions of Peter
C.B. Phillips.” Econometric Theory 30(4) (2014): 775-814.
9
editorial
positions
courses
M
T
embers of the Economics Department hold
editorial board positions on many of the
profession’s leading journals and are fellows of the
Econometric Society.
he combined and varied interests of the faculty,
as indicated in the faculty profiles, ensure that the
department offers a wide range of graduate course electives. While the number and content of the graduate
electives varies from year to year, the following courses
are illustrative of the range offered.
James anderson
Marvin kraus
Associate Editor, Review
of International Economics
Editorial Board, Economics
of Transportation
christopher f. Baum
arthur lewbel
Math for economists
Ireland
Associate Editor,
Computational Economics
Co-Editor, Econometric
Theory
Microeconomic Theory I
kraus
Associate Editor, International
Journal of Computational
Economics and Econometrics
Fellow, Econometric Society
Associate Editor, Stata
Journal
Editor, Journal of Statistical
Software
sanjay chugh
Associate Editor, Journal of
Money, Credit, and Banking
fall 2015
konishi
Macroeconomic Theory I
schiantarelli
Julie Mortimer
statistics
xiao
Co-Editor, International
Journal of Industrial
Organization
economics practicum
Tresch
advanced Microeconomic Theory
sonmez
Modern decision Theory
segal
uzi segal
Time series econometrics
xiao
Associate Editor, Journal
of Risk and Uncertainty
economic development
fulford
Associate Editor,
Theoretical Economics
Industrial organization I
Mortimer
Monetary economics I
chugh
Michael grubb
Fellow, Econometric Society
Monetary economics II
schiantarelli
Associate Editor, Journal
of Industrial Economics
current Topics in labor economics
law
Tayfun sonmez
Theory of International Trade
li
International finance I
valchev
Fellow, Econometric Society
stefan hoderlein
Associate Editor,
Econometric Theory
Associate Editor,
Econometrics Journal
peter Ireland
Editorial Board, Economic
Inquiry
utku Ünver
Associate Editor,
Theoretical Economics
Associate Editor, Journal
of Mathematical Economics
Associate Editor, Review
of Economic Design
sprIng 2016
Microeconomic Theory II
segal
unver
Macroeconomic Theory II
Basu
econometric Methods
lewbel
econometric practicum
Tresch
Baum
Advisory Editor, Journal
of Economic Dynamics
and Control Editorial
Zhijie xiao
Associate Editor,
Econometric Theory
applied econometrics
Topics in econometric Theory
dept.
Advisory Board, Journal
of Economic Studies
Associate Editor,
Economics Bulletin
Topics in developmental economics
anukriti
Industrial organization II
grubb
Associate Editor, Journal of
Money, Credit, and Banking
Associate Editor, Statistics
and Its Interface
advanced Macro: computation,
estimation and applications
chahrour
hideo konishi
Associate Editor, Journal
of Time Series Econometrics
economic development
fulford
International finance II
nosal
analysis of labor Markets
olivetti
Associate Editor, Regional
Science and Urban Economics
empirical Methods in Macroeconomics
and finance
song
Associate Editor, Economics
Bulletin
financial economics
song
Topics in International economic policy
anderson
Associate Editor, Social
Choice and Welfare
Associate Editor, Journal
of Public Economic Theory
10
outcomes
Recent Ph.D.
Dissertations
2015
2014
Samson Alva, “essays
on Matching Theory and
networks”
Orhan Aygun, “Three essays on
Matching with contracts”
Anna Blank, “Two essays on
the long-term consequences
of the eITc program”
Inacio Bo, “essays in Matching
Theory and Mechanism
design”
Kyle Buika, “essays in applied
Microeconomics”
Tamas Briglevics, “essays on
Money and credit”
Brent Bundick, “Monetary
policy and the great
recession”
Jinghan Cai, “essays in
financial economics”
Stacey Chan, “unintended
policy effects and Youth crime”
Jing-Young Choi, “Two-stage
semiparametric estimators for
limited dependent variables
and Its applications”
Mikhail Dmitriev, “essays in
lnternational Macroeconomics”
Filippo DeMarco, “Banks,
sovereign debt and capital
requirements”
Francis Georges, “Two essays
in applied Microeconomics”
Zhaochen He, “on the
existence of a Behavioral
component to the Business
cycle”
Jonathan Hoddenbagh,
“essays in International
Macroeconomics and finance”
Shoghik Hovhannisyan,
“growth Implications of
Immigration: evidence
from u.s. Industries” and
“emigration by educational
attainment and growth: crosscountry evidence ”
Junghyun Kwon, “essays in
health and labor economics”
Lucrezio Figurelli, “essays on
pricing and consumer demand
in the retail sector”
Devlin Hanson, “Two essays
on the Interaction Between
Marriage and policy”
Taesu Kang, “essays in
Macroeconomics with frictions
and uncertainty shocks”
Murat Mungan, “optimal
procedures in criminal law:
five essays”
Farooq Pasha, “essays on
Business cycles in developing
countries”
Shannon Phillips, “essays on
hIv, Marriage and education
in sub saharan africa”
Radoslav Raykov, “essays
in applied Microeconomic
Theory”
Luigi Pascali, “essays in
growth, development and
International Trade”
Hongtao Zhou, “Three essays
in financial economics”
Geoffrey Sanzenbacher,
“essays in labor economics”
Chuanqi Zhu, “essays on
Macroeconometrics”
Caglar Yurtseven, “Theoretical
and empirical essays on
strategic Behavior in various
Industries”
2012
Alessandro Barattieri, “essays
in International economics and
Macroeconomics”
Isabella Blengini, “essays in
International economics”
Tatiana Farina, “essays in
consumer Behavior”
Chuanliang Jiang, “Three
essays in finance economics”
Aaron Fix, “essays in Industrial
organization”
Federico Mantovanelli, “essays
in development economics”
Chiu Yu Ko, “Theory of Menu
auction and applications”
John O'Trakoun, “essays on
conflict, corruption, and
International Trade politics”
Madhavi Pundit, “essays on
Business cycle Models”
2013
Kwok Ho Chan, “essays on
family economics”
Xiaoping Chen, “a Teamproduction approach to wages,
employment and Trade”
Marco Macchiavelli, “essays in
Macroeconomics and finance”
Tuan Dao, “Two essays on
International asset Markets
and Macroeconomic
dynamics”
Chen-Yu Pan, “essays on
public economics and political
economy”
Massimo Giovannini, “essays
on credit frictions and
Incomplete Markets”
Bertan Turhan, “essays in
Market design”
Marketa Halova, “essays on
International asset portfolios
and commodities Trade”
Isaiah Hull, “essays
in computational
Macroeconomics and finance”
Meghan Skira, “essays on
Informal care, labor supply
and wages”
Dessislava Slavtcheva,
“financial development,
exchange rate regimes, and
productivity growth”
2011
Matteo Cacciatore, “The
Macroeconomics of
International Trade, regulation,
and labor Markets”
2010
Giuseppe Fiori, “essays on
Investment, regulation and
labor Market frictions”
Elizaveta Shevyakhova, “Two
essays in economics”
Nicholas Sim, “Modeling
quantile dependence”
Olga Sorokina, “essays
in credit constraints and
education”
Vitaliy Strohush, “aggregate
shocks, Idiosyncratic shocks
and global Imbalances”
Wei Sun, “Three essays on the
economic decisions faced by
elderly households”
Hi Lin Tan, “essays in network
economics and game Theory”
Pinar Uysal, “essays in
Macroeconomics”
Chi Wan, “essays in financial
economics”
Megan Way, “essays in
Intergenerational Transfers”
Wataru Hirata, “financial
Market Imperfections and
aggregate fluctuations”
Sisi Zhang, “essays in Income
volatility and household
Behavior”
Nadezhda Karamcheva,
“essays on private pensions
and workers’ savings
Behavior”
Andrei Zlate, “essays on
offshore production, labor
Migration and the Macroeconomy”
11
outcomes
Recent
Placements
university, singapore
university of scranton
national university
of singapore
university of sheffield
acadeMIc placeMenTs
north carolina state
university
australian national
university
university of Texas,
san antonio
northeastern university
university of York
northwestern university
washington state university
oregon state university
wayne state university
pompeu fabra university
wellesley college
paul smith’s college
renmin university
wissenschaftszentrum
Berlin
Beijing sabançi university
wuhan university
Babson college
Bahçeşehir university,
Istanbul
Bilkent university
Bocconi university
Bogazici university
Brandeis university
california state university,
fullerton
calvin college
carleton university
central university of
finance and economics,
china
university of Tennessee
shandong university
simmons college
american Medical
association
suffolk university
acumen, llc
sunY albany
The analysis group Bank
of canada
national Bank of hungary
national Institute of public
finance and policy, new
delhi
Bank of spain
Tilburg university
Board of governors
of the federal reserve
system
elon university
ToBB economics and
Technology university,
Turkey
florida state university
Trent university
florida state university
law school
university of adelaide
hec Montreal Insper–
centro de pesquisas koç
Insper, centro de
pesquisas university
Instituto Tecnológico
autónomo de México
(ITaM)
Bank of Italy
The Brattle group
university of alicante
center for naval analysis
center for retirement
research
university of Bristol
charles river associates
university college dublin
chase Manhattan
university of delaware
citizens Bank
university of durham
congressional Budget
office
university of frankfurt,
germany
university of georgia
university of glasgow
consortium on financing
higher education
deloitte & Touche
dIw Berlin
Johns hopkins university’s
school of advanced
International studies
university of International
Business and economics,
Beijing
lewis and clark college
university of lausanne
ers group
london school
of economics
university of leicester
european central Bank
university of liverpool
european Investment Bank
louisiana Tech university
loyola college in Baltimore
university of new south
wales
federal reserve Bank
of atlanta
Mount holyoke college
university of padova
nanyang Technological
university of quebec
federal reserve Bank
of Boston
12
korean development
Institute
liberty Mutual group
Temple university
gettysburg college
IpMaq International
abt associates
Bank of england
fordham university
health economics
International Monetary
fund
southwestern university
of finance and economics,
china
sun Yat-sen university,
china
drexel university
harvard kennedy school
of government
law and economics
consulting group
stonehill college
clark university
davidson college
goldman sachs
kpMg peat Marwick
sunY plattsburgh
concordia university
federal reserve, Board
of governors
nonacadeMIc
placeMenTs
claremont Mckenna college
college of william and Mary
federal reserve Bank
of kansas city
energy Institute, university
of houston
office of the comptroller
of the currency
putnam, hayes, and Bartlett
reserve Bank
of australia
student loan Marketing
agency
united nations
u.s. Bureau of labor
statistics
u.s. department
of Treasury
u.s. government
accountability office,
International affairs
and Trade group
u.s. social security
administration
sveriges riksbank urban
Institute vietnam program
workers compensation
research Institute
The world Bank
Scholarly Publications
Our recent graduates have been
successful in terms of scholarly output.
Their papers have appeared in the
following journals:
American Economic Review
Applied Economics Letters
Canadian Journal of Economics
Contributions to Macroeconomics
Economics Letters
Empirica
Energy Economics
Environmental Modelling and Software
Games and Economic Behavior
International Economic Review
Journal of Applied Econometrics
Journal of Business and Economic Statistics
Journal of Comparative Economics
Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control
Journal of Economic Literature
Journal of Finance
Journal of Financial Risk Management
Journal of International Economics
Journal of Money, Credit and Banking
Journal of Political Economy
Quarterly Journal of Economics
Review of Economics and Statistics
Review of International
Economics
Southern Economic Journal
13
morrissey college of arts & sciences
T
he oldest and largest of the University’s eight
schools and colleges, the Morrissey College
of Arts and Sciences offers graduate programs
in the humanities, social sciences and natural
sciences, leading to the degrees of Doctor of
Philosophy, Master of Arts and Master of Science.
In addition, numerous dual-degree options are
offered in cooperation with the Carroll School of
Management, the Boston College Law School,
the Lynch School of Education and the Graduate
School of Social Work.
With approximately 1,000 students and 400 fulltime faculty, the Graduate School is small enough
to know you as a person, but large enough to
serve you and prepare you for a rewarding life
and satisfying career.
Research Facilities
Graduate students in the Department of Economics are
given accounts on one of the Unix servers managed by the
department, which provides support for computationally
intensive applications such as Stata, MATLAB, Ox and
RATS as well as the Fortran-90, C, C++ and perl programming languages. The department also participates in the
University’s high Performance Computing initiative,
which provides a powerful multiprocessor facility for computationally demanding faculty and student research.
Graduate students in economics may utilize the department’s Apple Macintosh OS X workstations, a dozen of
which are located in departmental facilities dedicated to
graduate student use. These Intel-based Unix workstations
run Mathematica, MATLAB, Stata, TeXShop and Microsoft Office applications and provide access to Internet
resources. Several locations in the computing labs and
graduate lounge are equipped with Internet connections for
students’ laptops, and the entire campus supports WiFi via
the Eduroam network.
Online access to many economic and financial databases
is provided through WRDS (Wharton Research Data
Services). Boston College is a member of the InterUniversity Consortium for Political and Social Research
(ICPSR), which makes a number of large economic
databases available without charge. Boston College also
participates in the JSTOR project, providing online access to the entire run of leading economics journals.
The department plays a prominent role in the RePEc
(Research Papers in Economics) initiative, which
provides free access to working papers, journal citations
and software and contact information. The Boston
College Working Papers in Economics are downloadable
and searchable via RePEc’s user services at repec.org.
Seminars and Workshops
Department faculty organize an active seminar series in
microeconomic theory, macroeconomics and financial
economics, and econometrics/applied microeconomics
with weekly presentations by noted economists. Students
also present their work in the department’s weekly
Thesis Workshop. The schedule is posted on the
department’s home page at bc.edu/economics.
Boston Area Consortium
The Boston Area Consortium allows graduate students
to cross-register for courses at Boston University,
Brandeis University and Tufts University.
Boston College Libraries
The University is home to eight libraries, containing
2.87 million volumes; more than 700 manuscript
collections, including music, photos, art and artifacts;
440,000 e-books; and more than 600 electronic
databases. O’neill Library, Boston College’s main library,
offers subject-specialist librarians to help with research,
to set up alerts to new publications in areas of interest
and to answer research- and library-related questions.
The Boston Library Consortium
The Boston Library Consortium allows Boston College
students access to millions of volumes and other services
at 19 area institutions in addition to the world-class resources available through the Boston College
Library System.
14
student life & campus resources
B
oston College is located on the edge of one of
the world’s most vibrant cities. Just six miles
from downtown Boston—an exciting and dynamic
place to live and learn—Boston College is an easy
car or “T” ride away from a booming center for
trade, finance, research and education.
home to some of new England’s most prestigious
cultural landmarks, including the Museum of
Fine Arts, the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum,
Boston Symphony hall and the Freedom Trail,
Boston provides a rich environment for those
passionate about art, music and history. For sports
fans, Boston hosts a number of the country’s
greatest sports teams: the Celtics, Patriots, Bruins
and, of course, Fenway Park’s beloved Red Sox.
Found within a short drive from Boston are some
of new England’s best recreational sites, from the
excellent skiing in new hampshire to the pristine
beaches of Cape Cod.
Boston also offers a wide range of family-friendly
attractions, including the Children’s Museum,
new England Aquarium, Franklin Park Zoo
and the Museum of Science. There are roughly
50 universities located in the Boston area, and
the large student population adds to the city’s
intellectually rich and diverse community. Events,
lectures and reading groups hosted by worldrenowned scholars abound on area campuses,
providing abundant opportunities to meet and
network with other graduate students and faculty
throughout the Boston area.
The University
Boston College is a Jesuit university with more than
14,000 students, 758 full-time faculty and more than
165,000 active alumni. Since its founding in 1863, the
University has known extraordinary growth and change.
From its beginnings as a small Jesuit college intended to
provide higher education for Boston’s largely immigrant
Catholic population, Boston College has grown into a
national institution of higher learning that is consistently
ranked among the top universities in the nation: Boston
College is ranked 31st among national universities by
U.S. News & World Report.
Today, Boston College attracts scholars from all 50 states
and over 80 countries, and confers more than 4,000
degrees annually in more than 50 fields through its eight
schools and colleges. Its faculty members are committed
to both teaching and research and have set new marks
for research grants in each of the last 10 years. The
University is committed to academic excellence. As part
of its most recent strategic plan, Boston College is in
the process of adding 100 new faculty positions,
expanding faculty and graduate research, increasing
student financial aid and widening opportunities in key
undergraduate and graduate programs.
The University is comprised of the following colleges
and schools: Morrissey College of Arts and Sciences, Carroll School of Management, Connell School of nursing,
Lynch School of Education, Woods College of Advancing
Studies, Boston College Law School, Graduate School of
Social Work and School of Theology and Ministry.
General Resources
housIng
While on-campus housing is not available for graduate students, most choose to live in nearby apartments.
The Office of Residential Life maintains an extensive
database with available rental listings, roommates and
helpful local real estate agents. The best time to look for
fall semester housing is June through the end of
August. For spring semester housing, the best time to
look is late november through the beginning of the
second semester. Additionally, some graduate students
may live on campus as resident assistants. Interested
students should contact the Office of Residential Life.
15
student life & campus resources
John courTneY MurraY, s.J., graduaTe
sTudenT cenTer
One of only a handful of graduate student centers
around the country, the Murray Graduate Student Center
is dedicated to the support and enrichment of graduate
student life at Boston College. Its primary purpose is to
build a sense of community among the entire graduate
student population and cultivate a sense of belonging to
the University as a whole. Its amenities include study
rooms, a computer lab, two smart televisions, kitchen,
deck and patio space, complimentary coffee and tea, and
more. Throughout the year, the center hosts programs
organized by the Office of Graduate Student Life and
graduate student groups. The Murray Graduate Student
Center also maintains an active job board (available
electronically), listing academic and non-academic
opportunities for employment both on and off campus.
provides class visits and teaching consultations, upon
request. Through these and other activities, the Connors
Family Learning Center plays an important role in
enhancing the quality of academic life at Boston College.
flYnn recreaTIon coMplex
The 144,000-square-foot Flynn Recreation Complex
houses a running track; tennis, basketball, volleyball,
squash and racquetball courts; an aquatics center with
pool and dive well; saunas and more. Its 10,000-squarefoot Fitness Center offers over 100 pieces of cardio
equipment, a full complement of strength training
equipment and free weights, an air-conditioned spin
studio and three air-conditioned group fitness studios.
During the academic year, BC Rec holds more than 80
group fitness classes per week in a variety of disciplines,
including Zumba, spin, yoga, strength training, Pilates
and more.
McMullen MuseuM of arT
Serving as a dynamic educational resource for the
national and international community, the McMullen
Museum of Art showcases interdisciplinary exhibitions
that ask innovative questions and break new ground in
the display and scholarship of the works on view. The
McMullen regularly offers exhibition-related programs,
including musical and theatrical performances, films,
gallery talks, symposia, lectures, readings and receptions
that draw students, faculty, alumni and friends together
for stimulating dialogue. Located on the main campus,
the McMullen Museum is free to all visitors.
connors faMIlY learnIng cenTer
Working closely with the Graduate School, the Connors
Family Learning Center sponsors seminars, workshops
and discussions for graduate teaching assistants and
teaching fellows on strategies for improving teaching
effectiveness and student learning. Each fall, the
Learning Center and the Graduate School hold a oneand-a-half day “Fall Teaching Orientation” workshop
designed to help students prepare for teaching. The
center also hosts ongoing seminars on college
teaching, higher learning and academic life; assists
graduate students in developing teaching portfolios; and
16
BosTon college career cenTer
The Boston College Career Center works with graduate
students at each step of their career development.
Services include self-assessment, career counseling,
various career development workshops, resume and
cover letter critiques, and practice interviews. In
addition to extensive workshop offerings, Career Center
staff members are available throughout the year for oneon-one advising about any aspect of the career path. The
Career Resource Library offers a wealth of resources,
including books, periodicals and online databases.
admission & financial information
Admission Requirements
The application deadline for fall admission is January 2.
Please visit bc.edu/gsas for detailed information on how
to apply.
application requirements include:

Application Form:
submitted online, via the gsas
website.

Application Fee:
$75, non-refundable.

Abstract of Courses
Form:
a concise overview of background
and related courses completed
in an intended field or proposed
area of study.

Official Transcripts:
demonstrating coursework
completed/degree conferral from
all post-secondary institutions
attended.

GRE General Test:
official score report required
for all applicants.

Three Letters of
Recommendation:
from professors or supervisors.
It is highly advisable that at least
one letter be from an academic
source.

Statement of Purpose: a brief (1-2 page) discussion of
an applicant’s preparation,
motivation and goals for his/her
proposed course of study.

Proof of English
Proficiency
(International only)
official Toefl/IelTs score reports
accepted.
Financial Assistance
deparTMenT fundIng
The Economics Department annually awards
approximately 30 graduate assistantships to first- and
second-year Ph.D. students, and 20 teaching positions
to third-, fourth- and fifth-year students. Graduate assistants are exempted from tuition and receive stipends of
$20,500. Assistants are responsible for up to 10 hours
per week of research assistance or grading for individual
faculty members while carrying full academic loads.
Teaching assistants are paid $21,000 and supervise
discussion sessions in introductory undergraduate
courses and undergraduate econometrics. Teaching
fellows receive $21,500 for teaching their own sections
of introductory undergraduate courses. In addition,
teaching assistants and teaching fellows are exempted
from the University’s doctoral continuation fee.
An appointment as a teaching assistant or teaching
fellow requires fluency in English. Students who enter
the program with a financial award can expect continued
assistance through five years of study, provided their
work in the program is satisfactory. Satisfactory performance is generally defined as a B+ average in course
work and appropriate progress toward the degree.
federal fInancIal aId
Graduate students can apply for federal financial aid
using the FAFSA. The loans that may be available to
graduate students are the Federal Direct Unsubsidized
Stafford Loan and Perkins Loan, based on eligibility. If
additional funds are needed, student may apply for a
Grad Plus Loan. For more information, see the Graduate
Financial Aid website at bc.edu/gradaid or contact the
Graduate Financial Aid Office at 617-552-3300 or
800-294-0294.
offIce of sponsored prograMs
The Office of Sponsored Programs (OSP) assists both
faculty and graduate students in finding sources of
external funding for their projects and provides advice in
the development of proposals. OSP maintains a
reference library of publications from both public and
private sectors listing funding sources for sponsored
projects. In the recent past, graduate students have
received research support from prominent agencies,
corporations and organizations such as the Fulbright
Commission, the Guggenheim Foundation, the national
Science Foundation, the American Political Science
Association, the American Chemical Society and the
American Association of University Women.
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boston college
morrissey college of arts and sciences
Department of Economics
Maloney Hall
140 Commonwealth Avenue
Chestnut Hill, MA 02467
617-552-3683
bc.edu/economics
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