Impact and Engagement

Economics faculty often work with students one-on-one to develop key skills in Economics inquiry. This often takes the form of a directed study or a student research project. Recent student research topics include:

• "Blown Away: Bombs, Networks and Economic Fortitude", Deric Tilson (2017) [Advised by Dr. Tom Duncan and Dr. Dan Farhat]
• "Cost Benefit Analysis of Composting in Radford University", Tucker Morgan [Advised by Dr. Eftila Tanellari]
• "Free Agency and Contract Bids for Baseball Players", Grant Anders (2018) [Advised by Dr. Dan Farhat]
• "The Gender Pay Gap of Radford University Graduates", Courtney Ward (2018) [Advised by Dr. Dan Farhat]
• "Using Disney as a Pedagogical Approach", Kylie Knudsen (2018) [Advised by Dr. Tom Duncan]
• "The Emergence and Launch of the Space Economy", Ben Gearhart (2018) [Advised by Dr. Dan Farhat]
• "Peaked Interest: The Economic Cycle's Impact on the Public's Interest in Hunger", Jessie Quesenberry [Advised by Dr. Danylle Kunkel (MGNT) and Dr. Dan Farhat]
• "Death and Spending in the US Economy", Christopher Davis (2019) [Advised by Dr. Dan Farhat]
• "Review of Domestic Terrorism in the United States", Jordan Clark (2019) [Advised by Dr. Tom Duncan]
• "Pop-Developmentalism: The Political Economy of Sweatshop Labor and Consumer Activism", Rachel Sharrett (2019, POSC) [Advised by Dr. Tom Duncan]

Faculty in the Economics Department often conduct research on key social issues. These issues often relate to sustainability, equality, poverty/hunger, justice, safety, education, health, peace and public policy. Here is a short sample of recent research completed in this realm:

• "Emerging Growth Economies in Sub-Saharan Africa", Kiert Toh (2016)
• "Assessing Macroeconomic Volatility on Economic Growth: The Case of Sub-Saharan African Economies", Kiert Toh (2016)
• "Saving out of Remittances: Evidence from Ethiopia and Kenya", Seife Dendir (2017)
• "Exploring Terrorism, Counter Terrorism and Their Unintended Consequences", Deric Tilson, Tom Duncan & Dan Farhat (2018)
• "Peaked Interest: Public Interest in Hunger and the Economic Cycle", Dan Farhat, Danylle Kunkel & Jessie Quesenberry (2019)
• "A Note on Mutually Beneficial Exchange and Discrimination", Tom Duncan & Dan Farhat (2019)
• "The Role of Labor Endowments on Industry Output in the Short Run: Evidence from US Industries", Can Dogan & Gokhan Akay (2019)
• "An Agent-based Model of Ethnocentrism and the Unintended Consequences of Violence", Deric Tilson, Tom Duncan & Dan Farhat (2020)
• "The Political Economy of State Responses to Infectious Disease", Tom Duncan (2021)
• "The Impact of Wind Energy on the Farm Sector: County Level Evidence", Eftila Tanellari (2021)
• "Pink Toys, Blue Toys: Marketplace Implications of California's Gender-neutral Toy Law", Andrea Stanaland & Dan Farhat (2023)
• "The Economics and Evolution of Heroic Altruism", Dan Farhat (2023)
• "Beyond The Pink Tax: Are Amazon Toy Shoppers disadvantaged When Searching By Gender", Andrea Stanaland & Dan Farhat (2023)

Faculty in the Economics Department occasionally share their insights with the public through the media. Here is a short sample of recent media contributions:

• "SimVampires", Dr. Dan Farhat (2017)
• "Permanent War, Permanent Failure", Dr. Tom Duncan (2017)
• "Radford Professor Breaks Down President Trump's Infrastructure Plan", Dr. Tom Duncan (2018)
• "Deaths Caused by Economic Shutdown Underreported Compared to Covid-19", Dr. Tom Duncan (2020)

Topical issues of social relevance often appear in the courses offered by the Economics Department. These courses include:

• The Economics of Everyday Life
• The Economics of Entrepreneurship
• Comparative Economic Systems
• Economic Development
• Climate Change Economics and Policy
• Natural Resource Economics
• Environmental Economics
• Global Economy and Business
• Labor Problems
• The Economics of Gender, Race and Class
• The Economics of Crime
• The Economics of War
• Energy Economics
• The Economics of Public Issues
• The Economics of Art and Culture
• The Economics of Education
• Urban/Rural Economics

Faculty in the Economics Department go beyond research and teaching to produce meaningful impacts on communities through service. Service work comes in a wide variety of forms. Here is a short list of recent activities:

• Dr. Tom Duncan serves on the Executive Board for the Virginia Association of Economists.
• Dr. Can Dogan is a Special Sworn Status Researcher at the Center for Economic Studies (CENSUS).
• Dr. Tom Duncan developed the Davis Activities, Research and Teaching Seminar (DARTS).
• Dr. Dan Farhat is the faculty advisor for the Economics Student Association, Omicron Delta Epsilon, Phi Beta Lambda (Future Business Leaders of America) and Delta Sigma Pi.
• Dr. Dan Farhat is the organizer of the Radford Economics Education Center.
• Dr. Eftila Tanellari is a member of the Radford University Sustainability Steering Committee.
• Dr. Jennifer Sobotka Elias is the organizer of the World Food Day Symposium.
• Dr. Can Dogan was one of the panelists at the Citizenship Week Panel Discussion (organized by the Citizen Leader Program).
• Dr. Eftila Tanellari and Dr. Can Dogan received a VIVA Grant for developing open source resources for Economics students.
• Dr. Dan Farhat is a Campus Leader for Open Education Resources.
• Many faculty serve as reviewers or on editorial boards for peer-reviewed journals.