Jordan Bazak
Visiting Assistant Professor of Economics
Economics
Economics: it’s more than you think!
The principles of economics can be used to answer questions such as: Does taxing carbon emissions spur investments in cleaner technologies? What types of educational policies close income- and race-based gaps in college attendance? Why do men and women specialize in different household responsibilities?
About Economics
You may think economics is the study of money, markets, and business. Although economists do study business cycles, the stock market, and inflation, economics is much more than that! Rather than a set of topics, economics is a toolkit that can be used to ask and answer questions about human behavior with the goal of improving people’s lives.
Economists study topics as diverse as the gender wage gap, health in developing countries, and the role of government programs in addressing poverty. Our program will teach you the theoretical and empirical tools that economists use to understand decision-making by individuals, firms, institutions, and governments, and how to apply those tools to solve human problems.
Our graduates go on to pursue careers in federal, state, and local government; policy and research organizations like the Federal Reserve, the World Bank, and the Brookings Institution; and private companies such as Google, Morgan Stanley, and the Boston Consulting Group. In addition, our alumni place at some of the top graduate schools in the world.
The Economics major at Colby has been designated a STEM major, with a CIP code of 45.0603 (“Econometrics and Quantitative Economics”).
Faculty and Staff
We take great pride in the breadth of expertise across our faculty, who teach classes and maintain active research agendas in many different fields within the discipline.
Michael Donihue
Herbert E. Wadsworth 1892 Professor of Economics; Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs and Associate Dean of Faculty, 2008-2010
Linwood Downs
Assistant Professor of Economics
Kathrin Ellieroth
Assistant Professor of Economics
Yang Fan
Todger Anderson Assistant Professor of Investing and Behavioral Economics
Dave Findlay
Pugh Family Professor of Economics
Patrice Franko
Grossman Professor of Economics and Global Studies
Erin Giffin
Assistant Professor of Economics
Samara Gunter
Associate Professor of Economics
Tim Hubbard
Professor of Economics; Chair of Economics
Daniel LaFave
Associate Professor of Economics; Associate Chair of Economics
Rob Lester
Associate Professor of Economics
Jen Meredith
Assistant Professor of Economics
Lackson Mudenda
Visiting Assistant Professor of Economics
Sanval Nasim
Assistant Professor of Economics
Stephanie Owen
Assistant Professor of Economics
Benjamin Scharadin
Assistant Professor of Economics
Tori Schuster
Administrative Assistant II (Economics, Global Studies)
Ekaterina Seregina
Douglas Assistant Professor of Economics and Finance
James Siodla
Associate Professor of Economics
Michael Solomon
Visiting Assistant Professor of Economics
Andreas Waldkirch
The Mitchell Family Professor of Economics
Yaojue Xu
Visiting Assistant Professor of Economics
- Debra A. Barbezat, M.A. ’04, Ph.D. (Smith, Michigan), 1992-2017, Mitchell Family Professor of Economics, Emerita
- Henry A. Gemery, M.A. ’77, Ph.D., 1961-2002, Pugh Family Professor of Economics, Emeritus
- James W. Meehan, M.A. ’82, Ph.D., 1973-2012, Herbert E. Wadsworth Professor of Economics, Emeritus
- Douglas C. Terp ’84, M.B.A. (Colby, Thomas), 1987-2022, Vice President for Administration and Chief Financial Officer; Professor of Economics, Emeritus
- Thomas H. Tietenberg, M.A. ’84, Ph.D., 1977-2008, Mitchell Family Professor of Economics, Emeritus
- Randy A. Nelson, M.A. ’90, Ph.D. (Northern Illinois, Illinois), 1987-2022, Douglas Professor of Economics and Finance, Emeritus
Events
Engage with the department