Fall 2016. Volume 1.

Welcome from the Department Chair

The Department of Economics is very pleased to launch Inside Economics, an annual newsletter for all SMU Department of Economics students, faculty, staff, and alumni.

SMU continues to play a leading role in fostering a rigorous undergraduate curriculum in Economics that emphasizes economic reasoning and quantitative skills. Over the last decade, Economics has been the most popular major within Dedman College, and the second most popular major in the entire university.  As of May 2016, close to 500 students are majoring in Economics.  Our graduates continue to demonstrate impressive performance in initial job placements and in long term career success.  Economics graduates also receive some of the most prestigious academic awards in Dedman College and SMU.   

The department continues to play a leading role in graduate education at  the university. Fifty-seven years ago, the Economics Department launched the first doctoral program at SMU. Since then we have produced over 160 doctorates that have helped establish the global academic standing of SMU.  Our doctoral program is ranked highly and our PhDs continue to be placed in coveted academic positions and other research institutions across the world. Our Masters programs train students in the advanced skills of economic analysis, predictive analytics and strategic thinking that prepare them for professional success as economists and decision makers in the business world.

Faculty members in the Economics Department are engaged in cutting edge research. The department has built up a global reputation in empirical, experimental and theoretical methods.  Our research output continues to be published in the very top journals in economics including the American Economic Review.  In its latest study, the National Research Council ranked us as 11^th in the nation in terms of per faculty productivity.  The array of current research topics includes problems of cities and urban growth, economics of childhood obesity and hunger, economics of education, measuring outcomes of public programs, effect of oil price shocks on the economy, free trade agreements and trade policy, migration and climate change, deforestation, effect of geography on economic growth, and evaluation of actual incentive schemes for employees.

I invite you to explore this newsletter and learn more about SMU’s Economics Department and some recent achievements of our students, alums and faculty. Please stay connected to us.      

Sincerely,

Santanu Roy