ANNUAL NEWSLETTER
2008 Edition
Department of Economics
Texas Christian University
Volume VIII 2008
Fort Worth, Texas
Lattitude 32° 50' N, Longitude 97° 3' W
a record number of economics majors
participate in this year’s AddRan Festival of
Scholarship and Creativity. One of our
students placed first in a regional academic
competition, while another student placed
first in a national business competition.
Details to follow!
VOLUME EIGHT
Welcome to the 2008 TCU Economics
Department newsletter! In this year’s edition
we have something for everyone. We cover
news regarding student achievements, our
graduating seniors, activities of our current
students, and, of course, faculty news! So,
read it all if you can, or just skip to the bits
you find the most interesting.
For you readers who were swept up by the
excitement of the Beijing Games, allow me
to translate these student accomplishments
in Olympic parlance: Team Econ has swept
the gold medals and set several world
records in the process!1
Our Students! Our economics program
continues to attract more and more good
students. We’ve experienced double digit
percentage growth in our majors since last
year, and a 50% increase since 2005! Our
economics minor is increasingly popular, as
well, with a 100% increase since 2005.
Our Program! In 2007 we devised and
implemented a plan to further strengthen the
economics program. We made revisions to
the regular B.A. and B.S degrees, as well as
the International Economics degree. We
even introduced a completely new
foundational
course,
Contending
Perspectives.
We
strengthened
our
This year three more economics majors were
inducted into Phi Beta Kappa, one of our
economics major graduated with a career
perfect 4.0 G.P.A., and another economics
graduate was selected Phi Beta Kappa’s
campus-wide Senior Scholar. We witnessed
1
Our students say the only meaningful competition
they now face is Michael Phelps. (I never thought I’d
say this, but I feel sorry for him.)
1
burgeoning international program with an
endowed chair in Latin American
economics. And that means even more new
class offerings for our students! Our goal?
To provide our students the educational
experience they need to succeed, whatever
direction they go in after TCU.
So, what are our students saying about us?
Here are unsolicited comments made by two
of our graduating seniors, one economics
major and one economics minor:
Economics Honor Society:
In December 2007 we were proud to see the
following students inducted into the national
economics honor society, Omicron Delta
Epsilon:
 Chris Hammock

Andrew Wilfred

Brad Williams
Departmental Senior Scholar: Each
“I loved my experiences with the Econ
department. Not only are the
professors great, but the classes were
fun… I have a great appreciation for
the thought process emphasized and
practiced by economics. Developing
this sequential thought process and
framework has helped me in all areas
of my academic and professional life.”
-Brett Flodder
year we choose one amazing graduating
economics major and bestow upon them the
noble title “Senior Scholar.” Because of the
quality of our majors it is quite an honor to
be selected. This year the recipient of that
title is (insert drum roll) Michael Haveman!
University-wide Senior Scholar: Each
year Phi Beta Kappa selects a single
graduating senior from amongst all TCU
departments to be its Senior Scholar. We are
honored that this year’s selection is an
economics major. (Another gold medal for
econ!) You should recognize the student’s
name, since he was also our department
senior scholar. Yep, it’s Michael Haveman!
“Although I only minored in
economics,
I
believe
I greatly
enhanced my analytical skills by taking
a variety of economics classes during
my tenure as an undergraduate.
Thank you for providing me with a
great experience!” –Connor Sanders
That’s what the students are saying. Now
let’s see what they’ve been doing…
OUR BRILLIANT STUDENTS:
Honors, Achievements, Awards (and Cash!)
Phi Beta Kappa Honor Society:
We are proud to present our economics
majors inducted into the prestigious honor
society, Phi Beta Kappa.

Farah Mandich

Stephen O’Neal

Michael Haveman
(above) Here we see Michael “Phelps”
Haveman setting his sights on his next goal:
“World Senior Scholar.”
2
This year’s record-breaking participants
were:
Academic Perfection Attained by
TCU Economics Major!
Brett Flodder did an amazing thing. This
Spring he graduated with an unblemished
4.0 grade point average. And Brett did it
while completing three majors: Economics,
Finance, and Accounting. That’s like getting
a gold medal in the decathlon!2
Furthermore, Brett accomplished this rare
feat while playing an active leadership role
in various student organizations, such as
Econ Club, Mortar Board, and Habitat for
Humanity.

David McAllister

Jacob Watson

Guillermo Cornejo

Courtney Goode

Ambika Sharma

Adam Thorne

Chris Hammack
Because incentives matter, prizes are
awarded at the AddRan Festival. The
competition was fierce as usual, so an extra
heap of congratulations goes to the
following prize recipients:
 AddRan First Place, Paper
Contest: Ambika Sharma’s essay,
“Understanding Lending through a
Game Theory Perspective,” tied for
first place in the AddRan paper
contest.
Brett Flodder shown here with his fiancé, Katie.
After attaining academic perfection in college,
Brett’s next challenge is to become the perfect
husband. (See next year’s newsletter for a
progress report from Katie!)
 AddRan Presentation Award,
$100: Chris Hammack won for his
research
presentation
entitled
“Economics of a Dynamic Society.”
AddRan Festival of Undergraduate
Creativity and Scholarship: This spring

marked the third annual AddRan Festival.
It’s a chance for students to present research
before a live audience and even field
questions. This year seven economics
majors competed in the event. That’s the
most students we’ve had participate from
our department.
AddRan Presentation Award,
$100: David McAllister also
received a $100 award. His
presentation was entitled “HighSpeed
Rail:
A
Possible
Transportation Alternative for 21st
Century America.” (This was a
timely study, given today’s fuel
prices!)
If you’re unfamiliar with the decathlon, let me
try a gymnastics analogy: Getting a 4.0 G.P.A.
with 3 majors is tantamount to scoring perfect
10’s in the all around competition!
2
3
(above) Ambika Sharma is all
smiles after learning of her 1st
place AddRan Festival paper.
(Above) Members of the DABE present TCU
economics major Cristina Pereira with her
First Place certificate.
Journal of Undergraduate Scholarship
Selects Economics Entry: Ambika
Sharma’s game theory essay was
recommended for publication in the TCU
Journal of Undergraduate Research. (That
makes two years in a row that one of our
students has received this honor!)
National Business Competition, First
Place! (and $2,500!)
In November of 2007 Jacob Watson
competed in the Collegiate Entrepreneur
Organization’s national competition in
Chicago and came away with the grand
prize! Jacob won the award on the basis of
his business proposal, which, by the way, he
had to defend by successfully fielding
questions from prominent entrepreneurs.
Great job, Jacob!
Departmental Award, Best
Presentation: David McAllister won the
Department of Economics Best Presentation
Award for his AddRan entry. Congrats,
David!
This Departmental Award, a cash prize, is
made possible by the generous donations of
our recent alum, Lane Smutz. Thanks, Lane!
Regional Business Economists
Competition, First Place:
“Best paper ever!” say judges.
In April, Christina Pereira won the Arthur
A. Smith Outstanding Student Award from
the DFW Association for Business
Economics. The prize includes $1,000!
And check this out: The DABE chairman
said that this was the best paper they have
ever had in the competition and their vote
was unanimous for the first time since the
competition was organized. Congratulations,
Cristina! And kudos to Dr. Elliot and Dr.
Quinn for giving her research guidance!
First Place! Economics major Jacob
Watson proudly displays his $2,500 check
after coming in tops in the CEO’s
national competition.
4
And last, but not least…
Left: Superfast Econ
Club soccer goalie
Stuart “The Blur”
Hamilton dives for the
ball at breakneck speed
in this game decided by
penalty kicks. (Yep, we
won.)
NABE Summer Scholarship
Awarded to TCU Economics
Major!
This summer TCU international economics
major Carlos Valera was awarded a full
scholarship to attend the National
Association for Business Economics
(NABE) Foundation's 5th Annual
Professional Development Seminar. The
prestigious event is held at the Federal
Reserve Bank of Dallas.
Left: A rare still frame
photo showing actual
details of The Blur’s face;
shot with high speed film
developed by NASA.
The Econ Club enjoyed a good year, thanks
to our active student members. Club
members assisted the faculty at the Fall
Major-Minor Fair. The Club invited guests,
such as Buxton, a national psychographics
consulting firm (yes, I did say
‘psychographics’) to speak to our majors
and minors.3
(above) Econ Club Soccer (Redeem) Team
In some ways the Econ Club soccer team is
TCU’s version of the U.S. Olympic Basketball
“Redeem Team.” After all, just like the Redeem
Team, the Econ Club did not lose to China,
Angola, Greece, Spain, or Germany! (As far as
we’re concerned, the fact that we didn’t play any
of
those
teams
is
irrelevant.
The Econ Club participated in intramural
sports again this year. In the fall we played
flag football. We didn’t advance as far into
the playoffs as last year, but we still had a
good time. (Top analysts say it was simply a
rebuilding year.) In the spring, and for the
first time in recorded history, the TCU
Economics Club fielded an outdoor soccer
team. We advanced to the semi-finals!
3
Psychographics is the application of economic
and statistical methods in order to determine the
optimal locations of retail firms, restaurants, and
other consumer-oriented services.
5
OUR BRILLIANT GRADUATES
In this section our graduating seniors answer
the age old question…
Courtney Goode-Bennisse, econ major:
After graduation I'll be working at Dallas
Central Appraisal District as an Appraiser. I
hope to go to grad school within the next 3-5
years for a masters in either econ or political
science, or possibly an MBA.
“Now that you’ve got your degree,
what will you do with it?!”
Geren Brown, econ major: I will be
working for ExxonMobil as an Economic
Research Analyst. I am moving to Dallas
and will be there for two years with Exxon.
Karen Estrada, econ major (and accounting
and finance): I will be working for
American Airlines (starting June) as a
Financial Analyst for the Cargo Division. I
am very excited!
[Karen Estrada’s July update: “It's been an
exciting first month and I'm happy with my
new job!”]
Michael Haveman, econ major (and math):
After graduation I traveled through New
Zealand for a few months. It was
spectacular. While there I picked apples and
olives and even pruned grapevines. Now the
plan is to go to grad school next fall (in
economics). In the meantime, I'm planning
to move to Baton Rouge, so I'm looking for
jobs down there. Americorps is currently
the leading candidate, but I'm still taking
suggestions...
Brett Flodder, econ major (and accounting
and finance): I am going to work for FTI
Consulting in Dallas as a restructuring
consultant.
Chris Huff, econ major (and math): I'm
going to be attending Texas A&M in the
Fall to begin studying for a Masters of
Science in Economics.
6
Stephen O’Neal, econ major: Taking some
time off, doing some studying for the LSAT,
and then going to law school.
Cristina Pereira, econ major (and finance):
I just started working at Credit Suisse in the
Equity Research Department in NY. I did
my internship at Credit Suisse last summer
so I'm happy to be back for a full-time
position.
“Is more really better?” Chris Huff (above)
is headed to Texas A&M graduate school. There
he will continue his love of testing fundamental
economic assumptions.
Brian Lehon, econ major: I'm working for
Compass Management Group, Inc. as an
Association Manager in San Jose, CA. We
work with Home Owners Associations, and
manage Townhouse and Condominium
developments. (The owner of the company
was an economics major, too, so when I
interviewed with him he was very excited.)
Congratulations go out to graduating senior
Geren Brown for his recent marriage to wife,
Lauren (not to mention his new job at Exxon)!
Farah Mandich, econ major (and political
science): I work in Boston as a Junior
Research Analyst for McKinsey &
Company in their Electric Power & Natural
Gas practice...so I basically do research on
anything and everything to do with energy,
except petroleum.
[…after graduation last December, I did a stint
with the National Youth Leadership Forum on
National Security. I got to visit such exciting
places as the floor of Congress, Embassy of
Israel, the Pentagon, and the Naval Criminal
Investigative Service (NCIS...yes, like the TV
show!).]
Kat Rhode, econ major: will “take a break”
by heading to Ecuador and Costa Rica for a
few months to volunteer, while working on
her Spanish and enjoying the culture. Then
she’ll be back in the North Texas/Southern
Oklahoma area to find a job.
K. Connor Sanders, econ minor: I am
moving to Washington, D.C. in June to
begin working as a supply chain
management consulting analyst for
Accenture Ltd.
7
Our CURRENT Students!
left to right: Future economists Santiago Nieto,
Carlos Valera, and Paco Cornejo are smiling
because they still have more learning to do at
TCU!
In this section our freshmen, sophomores,
and juniors answer the question:
“What can you do with economics
during your summer break?!”
(above) Kat Rhode is clearly ready for
adventure! She’s headed to Central and South
America after graduation.
Guillermo “Paco” Cornejo, econ major
(and political science): I am interning at
COHA (Council of Hemispheric Affairs)
which is like a think tank on North, Central
and South American politics. They have a
publication which is quoted in prestigious
papers; they advise US politicians, and they
publish work by their interns.
Andrew Wilfred, economics (and finance)
major. Andrew is headed back home to
serve a mandatory 2 year stint in the
Singapore military. Afterward, he will
pursue a career in the finance industry.
Andrew Wooley, econ major: I have
accepted a position with TD-Ameritrade as a
Registered Rep. I will be testing for the
Series 7 & 63 licenses. I essentially will be
assisting clients with stocks and investing.
Rick Crain, econ major: I have an
internship this summer at Excentus
Corporation, a technology company that
specializes in cross-marketing loyalty
programs using fuel as an incentive. I help
as business analyst in retail consulting dept,
as well as assisting the account management
dept. I do a lot of report creating,
evaluating, tracking customer behavior
through statistical analysis. I also get to sit
in on customer conference calls and get
exposure to vendor/client relationships.
Update on Andrew Wooley: He took and
passed the Series 7 exam with flying colors!
Andrew sent us an email letting us know
that his economics background played a key
role in successfully preparing him for the
exam.
Joel Eckhardt, econ major (and political
science): I'm going to be working with the
Fort Worth School District Department of
Student Engagement and School
8
Completion. I'm going to help run their
programs to keep kids in school, i.e. creating
social capital and helping development.
Bryce Stirton, econ major: This summer I
have an internship with Q Investments, a
hedge fund in downtown Ft Worth.
Hanna Fiddick, econ major: I'm currently
doing an internship at the Brand Support
Company in Nürnberg, Germany. They are
a media research and brand consulting
company.
Carlos Valera, econ major: This summer I
will be working as an assistant program
coordinator in the adult program's
department at Fort Worth Sister Cities
International. This non-profit cultivates
relationships among youth, adults,
businesses, and organizations of Fort Worth
and sister cities. FWSC has partnerships
with Reggio Emilia (Italy), Nagaoka
(Japan), Trier (Germany), Bandung
(Indonesia), Budapest (Hungary), Toluca
(Mexico) and Mbabane (Swaziland).
Griffin Guthneck: I have an internship in
Dallas this summer working for a
commercial real estate company that focuses
on development and management. The
company is named Hardwood International
and is located in downtown Dallas.
Stephanie Jennings, econ major: I’ve got
an internship with Michaels, Inc as a buyer
in the Purchasing department.
Jacob Watson, econ major: I have an
internship with Lockheed Martin. I do Cost
Analyst in the Contracts Negotiations Dept.
We verify supplier release of information;
do fact finding at supplier facilities. The
internship will involve travel to Salt Lake
City and Melbourne, FL.
Travis Kennedy, econ major: I have an
internship this summer with Cognitive
Technologies; a consulting firm. They
service clients with critical IT projects.
Their main service is project management,
specializing in working with the client’s
employees to make sure the IT project
remains on schedule, and that employees
enjoy a smooth transition to the new
processes and procedures.
Brad Williams, econ (and philosophy)
major: I am interning with the legal
department at Q Investments.
________________________________
Chace Langford, econ major: I still have
my same internship from last year at Merrill
Lynch. I am working for the Holley,
Schultz, and Ferris group in Fort Worth. We
manage around 300 million in client assets.
Dan Paret, econ major (and finance): This
summer I am interning for Merrill Lynch
right here in their downtown Fort Worth
branch.
9
Faculty News
Doug Butler, Instructor (prepared by Dr.
D. Butler):
other guest profs.4 
Assorted highlights:
-In the spring, I had the pleasure of assisting
one of our majors, Paco Guillermo, with his
research interests. He’s investigating drunk
driving policies in the U.S. We learned
something you may find interesting. It is
widely accepted that the significant drop in
U.S. drunk driving fatalities that occurred in
the late 1980’s was the result of increases in
the legal drinking age across states.
However, Canada experienced a similar
decline in fatalities during the same period,
even though Canadian provinces did not
raise their legal drinking age. Hmmm.
Things are not always what they seem. Stay
tuned as the investigation heats up!
-I again served as the Faculty Advisor for
the Economics Club. I have learned that one
of my duties is to stand ready as an alternate
for our intramural teams. And so, this spring
I wound up playing in my first soccer game
ever! (Yes, we did lose that game.  )
-My wife and I are now homeowners! Since
moving into our Fort Worth house in
January, we’ve been enjoying ripping up
carpet, removing wallpaper, applying
sheetrock mud, and painting. Oh yeah, I’m
learning the joys of mowing the lawn, too!
(Somehow my neighbors seem to take even
greater joy than I from my occasional forays
into lawn mowing.)
-This year I had the honor of being selected
as a Mortar Board Preferred Professor. In
that capacity, I enjoyed spending a pleasant
evening full of good conversation and tasty
cuisine with Mortar Board students and
4
I loved the dinner experience, but I was under
the impression they were going to take us out on
a lake to do some actual mortar boarding.
(By the way, that’s a joke. A funny, funny joke.)
10
-In immigration news… My wife, Pilar,
became an American citizen this spring!
When she took her citizenship exam she was
actually asked to name the 13 original
colonies. No problem. She knew them all!
plus you can check out his new view!
A note on future moves: In 2009, Dr. Butler
will move again, as well as the entire
economics department, once Scharbauer
Hall is completed! 6
Achtung! This spring Dr. Butler attended a
conference of the European Public Choice
Society in Jenna, Germany. Dr. Butler
reports that it was “sehr gut!”
It’s a Small World After All: This summer
Dr. Butler traveled to Bruge, Belgium to
take a 3 week intensive seminar on various
aspects of the European Union. Commenting
on his stay in Bruge, Dr. Butler says that the
city felt a bit too much like a “Medieval
Disneyland!” Dr. Butler is thankful for what
he calls Bruge’s “one saving grace,” which,
of course, is the Belgian beer!
FYI: Of the roughly 100 participants at the
Bruge seminar, Dr. Butler was the sole
American!
Above: Pilar celebrates her U.S. citizenship in
“traditional” fashion, complete with patriotic
balloons and rooster! In addition, she enjoyed a
healthy serving of “Stars and Stripes” brand
cola plus “Americone Dream” ice cream.5
Michael
R.
Butler,
Associate
Professor and Associate Dean of the
AddRan College (prepared by editor):
New Course: So, why is Dr. Butler
spending so much time in Europe these
days? Because he is preparing for a new
course he will begin teaching in spring 2009.
The course will examine the Economics of
the European Union. It will certainly bolster
our
rapidly
growing
International
Economics program!
Dr. Butler’s big news is his new office!
Because of all the construction (and
deconstruction?) on campus, Dr. Butler had
to move to the ground floor of Reed Hall.
This was somewhat of an inconvenience, of
course, but he sees it as a net gain. Now he
has a huge window providing him an
“improved view”, complete with campus
trees.
More good news regarding the move: Dr.
Butler’s life-size cardboard cutouts of Elvis
and Marilynn Monroe also made the trip to
the new office, unscathed, you’ll be happy
to know! (Dr. Butler is a BIG Elvis fan.) If
you’re on campus you should stop by his
office and “meet” these celebrities yourself
European Central Bank Meeting News:
While in Germany, Dr. Butler scheduled an
appointment to meet with officials of the
European Central Bank.
European
Central
Bank
Meeting
Cancellation News: Sadly, a scheduling
6
Construction of Scharbauer Hall is set to be
completed in December of next year. The new
structure will house not only economics, but
most of AddRan, plus the TCU Honors college.
We are excited about our future home!
5
Pilar said she had such a good time celebrating
that she wants to become an American citizen
every year!
11
conflict forced bank officials to cancel the
planned meeting with Dr. Butler.
Sports/Family News: Dr. Butler visited
Yankee stadium this summer to see that
historic site before it is permanently closed.
The New York trip offered Dr. Butler a
chance to give his wife, Jessie, a surprise
birthday present. The Butlers’ daughter (and
her husband) secretly flew to New York that
same weekend, then ‘just happened to run
into’ Dr. Butler and Jessie at a local venue!
Dawn R. Elliott, Associate Professor
(prepared by editor):
Dr. Elliot is originally from Jamaica. That’s
their flag above. If you weren’t familiar with
the Jamaican flag before the Beijing
Olympics, you certainly came to know it
well after seeing it repeatedly hoisted high
on a flag at the medal ceremonies, or draped
around the world’s fastest man, Usain Bolt.
Now we all know that Dr. Elliot is very
serious about her teaching and research, so
she has little time for sports, but sources say
she can’t stop herself from cracking a smile
when someone nearby mentions Bolt’s
name, or the dominating performance of the
Jamaican women’s track team.
Dr. Elliot’s husband, Peter, is also from
Jamaica. Sources say he is much less
reserved about expressing his excitement
about their Olympic teams, as is
demonstrated by his propensity to strike
Usain Bolt’s lightning pose at every
opportunity. 8
“Love me, (legal) tender?” Dr. Mike
Butler (above) smiles while standing in front
of the European Central Bank.7
Dr. Elliot returns often to visit her
homeland. Last September, in fact, she
traveled back to Jamaica to attend a
conference on economic growth. It was held
at the University of the West Indies at
Mona. Dr. Elliot presented her paper
7
A source claims that Dr. Butler is smiling in
the photo because he had not yet received word
of the appointment cancellation. However, a
more reliable source claims he is smiling
because he thought the euro symbol behind him
was actually a giant letter ‘e’ paying homage to
Elvis.
These “opportunities” include the moment just
before diving into a swimming pool, before
mowing the lawn, before leaving for work in the
morning, and before and after meals.
8
12
“Institutions and Growth: Unearthing the
Contributions of Caribbean Economists.”
this course, as it was initiated just this past
year. (Dr. Harvey had the honor of teaching
it first.) It is apparent to even the most
casual observer that Dr. Garnett is excited
about teaching the class.
Dr. Elliot has been busy in professional
organizations this past year. In fact, she was
the president of the Southwestern
Economics Association.
In keeping with our Olympic theme…
Dr. Garnett reports that he ran the White
Rock Half-Marathon in Dallas last
December in 1:27. He is continuing to train
in preparation for running it again this
December. Then in February he’ll take it up
a notch and run the Cowtown Marathon in
Fort Worth.
(Rumor has it that Ian Thorpe has expressed
doubts that Dr. Garnett will improve his
time in the Dallas Half-Marathon or that
he’ll even finish the Cowtown Marathon. In
addition, the French marathoners have
openly stated that they will “smash” Dr.
Garnett in both races. Close friends say Dr.
Garnett is using these comments as
motivational material.)
Teaching and Research: Dr. Elliot teaches
and researches international economics and
development economics. This year she
published her article "Caribbean Integration
and the Expectation of Greater Trade:
Insights from a Time-Series Gravity Model”
in the Journal of International Trade and
Economic Development.
She also has two articles currently under
review by journals: "Male Marginalization
and Male Economic Dominance in the
Caribbean: A Holistic Explanation" and
"Economic Integration in Poor Nations:
Obstacles and Prospects."
Robert F. Garnett, Assistant Professor
(edited by …the editor):
Dr. Garnett continued to read and write in
his three major research areas: 1) pluralism
in economic inquiry, 2) liberal learning in
undergraduate economic education, and 3)
the relationship between commercial and
philanthropic forms of economic
cooperation. Dr. Garnett is passionate about
these areas of research and dedicated to
drawing upon them to enhance his students’
learning experience.
Dr. Garnett also became a homeowner this
year! On the plus side, his house is close
enough to campus that he can easily walk, if
he prefers. On the other hand, he now has
the dubious privilege of paying people to
remove overhanging tree branches, before
they fall on his abode. (I guess it’s true that
nothing comes free!)
John T. Harvey, Professor (prepared
by Dr. Harvey):
News item #1: the book on which I have
been working for over a decade is done and
at Routledge publishers. They say it will be
in print by December, but that’s like
contractors saying they’ll have your new
room added on by the end of the month–six
months later and you’re still knee deep in
saw dust! Melanie kept telling me it should
have a snappy title, so I eventually went
with alliteration: Currencies, Capital Flows,
and Crises: The Return of the Jedi King.
In the spring Dr. Garnett co-taught the
Senior Seminar with Dr. Klopfenstein. The
topic of this course changes each time it is
taught. This year the topic was the
economics of segregation.
In the fall Dr. Garnett will be teaching one
of our department’s new courses,
Contending Perspectives in Economics. Dr.
Garnett will be only the second prof to teach
13
Routledge didn’t like the bit after the colon
so I had to drop that.
material).
In my personal life, I did not catch any
noteworthy bass last year, but I’m currently
in first place in my fantasy baseball league
(unlike my poor Cincinnati Reds), my twin
daughters start high school next year, and
Melanie and I had the 25th anniversary of
our first date this February. She still regrets
it.
I also had an article published in the
Journal of Post Keynesian Economics. It
was based on a model I had developed in the
book and I was lucky enough to get the lead
article in the issue (but I had to promise to
work the editor’s name into my next book
title). I plan to do two more along those
lines and then move my research more into
policy issues.
Kristin Klopfenstein, Associate
Professor (prepared by Dr. Klopfenstein):
Teaching-wise, I did a new class. In fact, it
was brand new, as we had just created it:
Contending Perspectives in Economics.
This course was designed to take advantage
of the fact that our department is very
diverse, with faculty approaching economics
from a variety of philosophies and schools
of thought. We think that creates a great
opportunity for the student, but we decided
that we really needed to give our majors a
framework in which to place the various
paradigms–hence, Contending Perspectives.
It is a required course in our curriculum and
it was full both semesters last year (and
already is for next semester). I’ll be doing a
new class in fall of 2008, too, though this
one is only new to me. I’ve taught
introductory macroeconomics, intermediate
macroeconomics, and intermediate
microeconomics–but never introductory
microeconomics. Well, no more! I decided
that in my 22nd year at TCU, I’d give it a
shot.
2007-08 was challenging but exciting both
personally and professionally. Baby Nathan
was born in September, so I was on leave
from teaching in the fall. However, three
weeks before the baby was born, I started as
co-leader of the student outcomes analysis
on an evaluation of the Texas High School
Project (THSP), a major high school reform
effort funded by the Gates Foundation
jointly with the Communities Foundation of
Texas and the Texas Education Agency.
Needless to say, things were a bit hairy. In
February when I was back in the classroom,
the baby was hospitalized with a respiratory
infection, and the first major report was due
for the THSP evaluation! This working
mother gig is not for sissies, and thank
goodness for understanding daddies and
devoted grandmothers!
Given all the fires I had to put out in
February, the rest of the spring semester and
into the summer was spent (after hiring a
nanny) catching up on the other big projects,
including papers for a National Science
Foundation research grant and reports
evaluating the recent implementation of
smaller learning communities at a local high
school. I continue working closely with the
people and the data at the UTDallas Texas
Schools Project (different from the Texas
High School Project), and with the faculty
Also in the fall, I’ll be doing a brand-new
version of my International Monetary
Economics class. The work on the book
mentioned above led me to new views of a
number of concepts related to that course.
As a consequence, I did a major revision of
the class and I look forward to sharing the
new ideas with my students (and I’m sure
they look forward to taking the tests on that
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and graduate students in the TCU school of
education. In fact, I’m now officing in the
school of education’s new Palko hall across
from Einstein’s. Come over and check out
the new digs!
On the personal front: The family is growing
up. Julie (aka my wife) has always been
pretty mature. Amanda (7) is starting 2nd
grade. Sarah is growing, and sometimes
psychotic, 4 year old. Sarah’s definitely a
hoot to watch grow up. Amanda and I still
haven’t built the trebuchet, … errrr … tool
for demonstrating potential and kinetic
energy … but hopefully we’ll do it this
year. Ahh, the golden years of elementary
school. The kids are less maintenance than
toddlers, but still adore playing with you.
John Lovett, Instructor: (prepared by
Dr. Lovett)
“What I Did This Summer” by John Lovett
Ok, this blurb is about what I did last year. I
guess I should start with the professional. I
decided not to attend the NFL scouting
combine and instead continue my career in
academic economics. I know people say I
should believe in myself, but I think it’s the
right thing to do. I did get my time in the 40
below 10 seconds, but I’m afraid my phobia
to physical contact would give scouts the
wrong impression.
On homeownership: We did a lot of work up
in the attic this summer. Sealing leaks,
putting up a radiant barrier, and blowing in
insulation. Nice and toasty up there in July.
The trees are doing well. I’ve run out of
room in the yard, behind our yard, and
behind the neighbors. It looks like we’ll
have to plant some across the creek. Any
volunteers out there who want to help me?
I’m currently accepting applications!
I hoped to get 2 papers published this year,
but only got one; “Comparative Advantage
Learning Software: Application (off-line)
software with assessment capabilities”,
Computers in Higher Education Economic
Review. I have another pedagogical
(teaching) paper one under review. I think
this will be my last pedagogical paper for a
while. I need to finish a paper I presented
on auction experiments and get it submitted;
something I thought I’d get done long ago.
Edward M. McNertney, Associate
Professor (prepared by editor):
One of Dr. McNertney’s contributions to
TCU is making sure the relatively new TCU
Core runs smoothly. And he’s helping other
universities have similar success. Dr.
McNertney and other Core Committee
members sent a proposal to the Southern
Association of Colleges and Schools
(SACS) to hold a pre-conference workshop
whereby they could share their experience of
TCU Core Assessment. Each year there are
scores of requests for conference workshops,
so most are denied. But I have good news!
Dr. McNertney reports that “we were really
pleased that our workshop proposal was
accepted.” And when he arrived in New
Orleans in December for the conference, Dr.
McNertney found their workshop was a hit.
A testament to its popularity is the fact that
conference-goers had to pay $90 in addition
Teaching continues to be fun and rewarding
… except that day students tied me up so
they could skip class. Not the best 3 day
weekend I’ve ever had. Anyway … the 2
U.S. economic history courses are really a
blast. Intro to Macro is a hoot as well. I am
also submitting a course to teach in London
for the summer of 2009: European
Economic History - The Industrial
Revolution. Lots of cool sites to see over
there.
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to the standard conference fee, if they
wanted to attend the Core workshop. As
they say, money talks!
Stephen
F.
Quinn,
Associate
Professor (prepared by editor):
Dr. Quinn was recognized as the 2007
Honors Professor of the Year. It’s no
surprise, then, that he chaired the Honors
Program thesis committee of economics
major Cristina Pereira. Dr. Quinn guided
Cristina’s research on quasi-privatization of
the state-owned Colombian oil company.
Common Reading: Dr. McNertney has also
been working hard to give our freshmen a
good introduction to TCU and the university
experience. He is Chair of the Common
Reading Steering Committee. The common
reading program involves placing incoming
freshmen into a classroom (a few days
before school officially begins) where they
are led by a TCU professor in a discussion
of a pre-selected current issue. This year Dr.
McNertney and his committee chose the 4th
amendment of the U.S. Constitution as the
centerpiece of analysis. I had the pleasure of
being one of the profs leading a discussion,
so I can honestly say the common reading
program is a great way to introduce students
to higher learning.
One thing Dr. Quinn did a lot of this year
was travel abroad. First, he went to Canada
in September to speak at the University of
Western Ontario about the early bank of
Amsterdam. Then in January he presented a
paper at the American Economics
Association on the history of checks as a
means of payment. In April he was off to
Paris to speak at Sciences Po. A mere month
later, Dr. Quinn flew west to California.
There he presented his paper “Securitization
of Sovereign Debt” at the Conference on
Political Economy of International Finance.
Surprisingly, after all of these trips Dr.
Quinn still had the travel bug. So, he
finished the academic year with a June flight
to the Netherlands where he spoke about
“Two Hundred Years of Dutch Mint
History” to the Netherlands Economic
History Association.
Assessment: Incoming freshmen submit a
writing sample as part of the Common
Reading program. Dr. McNertney, being the
alert and efficient economist that he is, sees
an opportunity in this to better assess the
TCU educational experience. He plans to
save these freshmen writing samples so that
they may later be compared and contrasted
with writing samples of the same students
when they are graduating seniors. Then
we’ll hopefully gain new insight as to how
well we at TCU are meeting are educational
goals.
Throughout his European travels, Dr. Quinn
lamented the fact that the Euro was so strong
against the dollar. And he still feels the pain
here at home as he watches the prices of
imported beers rising to what he refers as
“unpalatable levels.” Like a page out of the
elasticity chapter of a principles text, these
prices have driven Dr. Quinn to search for
substitutes. And his search is paying off in
unexpected ways. As Dr. Quinn explains,
“I’ve never considered myself a pilsner man,
but I’ve discovered that the Left Hand
Brewery in Longmont, Colorado makes a
pretty tasty one.” Readers take note!
Editor: Dr. McNertney continues to serve
as the editor of the Southwestern Economic
Review. He says they are considering
adding a separate “Notes”, which would be
published separately and consist of smaller
articles, comments, and the like. Stay tuned!
Update! Dr. McNertney has agreed to once
again chair the Economics Department. His
new “reign” will begin in fall 2008!
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If you stop by the economics department,
don’t be afraid to ask Dr. Quinn to share his
thoughts on Colorado beer. And Texas brew,
for that matter. Just think of Dr. Quinn as an
untapped resource, or ‘Keg of Information,’
if you will.
Dr. Sawyer brought a guest speaker to our
department this year. He invited economist
Art Carden to give a lecture on the health
effects of Wal Mart. It was an intriguing
presentation, as Dr. Carden attempted to
answer questions such as “What happens to
the level of alcoholism in towns in which a
Walmart has opened?”
Charles Sawyer, Endowed Chair of
Latin American Economics (prepared
by our Latin American correspondent).
This was Dr. Sawyer’s first year in our
economics department. That means he spent
some time adjusting to his new life here in
Fort Worth, and particularly to life at TCU.
Dr. Sawyer didn’t face too much of a shock,
though. He’s a native son, having grown up
in west Texas.9 Welcome back to Texas, Dr.
Sawyer!
When Dr. Sawyer wasn’t teaching or
traveling, he was usually working on the
third edition of his International Economics
textbook. Good news: It’s scheduled to go to
print soon!
This year Dr. Sawyer published papers in
Applied Economics Letters and the Journal
of Policy Modeling and he’s working on two
more papers. One concerns Macroeconomic
Knowledge for managers. It’s pedagogical.
The other concerns the links between
occupational injuries and economic
development.
Dr. Sawyer brings expertise in both
international economics and the economics
of Latin America. In that vein, he taught a
course this year which our department has
never offered. The course is Latin American
economics. It promises to be a welcome
fixture to our international economics
program.
Sports! Dr. Sawyer is a bit of tennis fan
and player. This year he was glad to be able
to resume his hacker tennis career with a
USTA team playing out of TCU.
Dr. Sawyer did a bit of traveling this year.
He attended conferences of the Southern
Economics Association, the American
Economics Assoc., the Southwestern Econ.
Assoc., and the International Trade &
Finance Assoc. He presented papers,
discussed papers, and chaired sessions.
Kiril Tochkov, Assistant
Professor…and World Traveler
(prepared by the editor):
Dr. Tochkov did some traveling this year.
And when he hits the road, it’s like a world
tour. He’s a very international guy. You see,
Dr. Tochkov grew up in Bulgaria, studied in
Germany and the U.S., and specializes in the
economy of China. He speaks Chinese, too!
9
Still, there was a bit of an adjustment to make.
You see, Dr. Sawyer stayed in a student
apartment building this past year. Living there,
he could not escape the loud, late night talking
and yelling of rambunctious students returning
home from a night on the town or after an
evening of post-football game celebration. Dr.
Sawyer describes it as “an informative year.”
And Dr. Sawyer endured! But now, a year older
and much wiser, he has moved to a house.
First stop, Turkey: This year Dr. Tochkov
attended the World Congress of Economic
Associations in Istanbul, Turkey. The event
was officially opened by none other than the
Turkish president, Gul. (I guess you can say
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that the president of Turkey kicked off Dr.
Tochkov’s World Tour! Not bad.)
Linda Martinez, Administrative
Assistant.
Throughout the fall and spring, Linda kept
the department in order. And she’s been
busy this summer rearranging her office and
the student waiting area. It certainly helps to
break the monotony that can come with
working in an office environment. More
importantly, some say, she continues to be a
steady source of candy!
Next stop, China: Dr. Tochkov planned to
attend the conference of the Hong Kong
Economic Association in Chengdu, China
this summer. Unfortunately, the conference
was cancelled at the last minute because of
its proximity to the earthquake-ravaged
region. Dr. Tochkov said the conference
organizers were afraid that it would simply
be unsafe. But Dr. Tochkov still considered
going to China. You see, he had already
purchased his airplane ticket and he had
successfully completed the “fun”
bureaucratic process to secure a travel visa.
In the end, he decided to go. And it turned
out to be a good decision! As Dr. Tochkov
reports, “I was surprised to find out that
Chengdu was very peaceful and was not
affected by the quake directly.” Good news!
La Familia: This year Linda enjoyed her
first family trip in years. Her daughter
(Lauren), son (Nicholas), and husband (AJ)
each cleared a spot on their busy schedules,
packed some clothing, and journeyed to the
desert for some self-discovery. Actually, by
‘desert’ I mean they went to Las Vegas. And
by ‘self-discovery’ I mean they went to a
flashy, superficial town to gamble. Linda
says it was fun, but mainly because she was
with her family. She says she’s not much of
a gambler and “honestly, it was a bit too
Wayne Newtony!”
On the Classical Music Front: Last year
the newsletter reported that Dr. Tochkov
was taking piano lessons at TCU in hopes of
playing Mozart’s Symphony No. 40. Now,
one year later, Dr. Tochkov has released the
following statement regarding his piano
progress: “Mozart has been put on ice.”
Regarding the exact meaning of this
statement, there are two conflicting
interpretations. One interpretation is that Dr.
Tochkov has not only mastered the 40th
Symphony, but that he is currently exploring
what may turn out to be vast improvements
of Mozart’s work!
The other interpretation, provided by Dr.
Tochkov himself, is that time constraints
have caused him to cancel piano lessons
altogether and put his music plans on hold.
We leave it to the reader to decide which
interpretation is most likely correct.
The Adventures of Batgirl: Linda went
tubing with friends on the Comal River this
summer. On the trip back to Fort Worth,
they stopped off in Austin at the Lady Bird
Johnson Bridge to experience an
increasingly popular Austin event: watching
the thousands of bats as they emerge at
dusk!
Note: Despite her new found appreciation of
flying rodents, Linda continues to do the
Chicken Dance at every opportunity.
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ALUMNI NEWS
TCU economics brings people together.
Here’s proof. Last year two of our
economics majors, Tori Hutchens and Brian
Andrew, graduated. Then, this year they got
married! (yes, to each other.)
Congratulations, Tori and Brian!
Earlier Editions of the Newsletter
If you’d like to check out copies of our
newsletter from previous years, go to this
web address:
http://www.econ.tcu.edu/harvey/workppr/working.html
At that site you can also find some of the
current research of our faculty. It’s in the
Working Papers section.
Feel free to contact us if you have
suggestions for the newsletter or if you have
some news you’d like to share!
Contact Information
Department of Economics
TCU Box 298510
Texas Christian University
Fort Worth, Texas 76129
(817) 257-7230
www.econ.tcu.edu
Above: Tori Hutchens and Brian Andrew are
all smiles at their wedding.
Well, that’s about it for this year’s edition of
the newsletter. But first, the editors do have
a final message for you on the next page.
We also want to congratulate Michael Bolt.
He graduated from TCU two years ago with
a minor in economics (just six hours shy of a
major!) He then went on to Harvard Law
School. This summer he graduated from that
prestigious institution with his law degree.
Michael will begin work in the fall at an
Austin law firm.10
10
I wanted to include a photo of Michael here. I
KNOW that somewhere I have a photo of him
attending an Economics Club meeting, but I just
can’t find it. Sorry, Michael!
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The newsletter staff says…
“Thanks for reading. See you next year!”
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