Roanomics Volume 5, Issue 1

8/10/2019 Roanomics Volume 5, Issue 1

1/12

penny is negative, thusmaking it unprofitable forthe government to mintadditional coins. There areother practical reasons foreliminating the penny, in-cluding the facts that theyare not accepted in vendingmachines and a single pen-ny will buy nothing at to-days prices.

I doubt that the penny willever be removed from cir-culation, because many fearthis would hurt the poor dueto the rounding tax ofrounding the price to thenearest nickel.

What do you think abouteliminating the penny fromcirculation?

Please follow the link foundhereto take our extremelyunscientific poll regardingthis hot-button issue(tongue placed firmly incheek). As for me, I willcontinue to bend over toretrieve a fallen penny. Oldhabits are hard to break.

Find a penny, pick it up.All the day, youll havegood luck.

This was a very popularchildrens rhyme when Iwas growing up, back whentelephones were actuallyconnected to a wall. In factit was even more than that

-

-it was a superstition. Ifyou saw a penny lying onthe ground, it was consid-ered bad luck if you did notpick it up! Besides, back inthe 1950s a kid could buya lot with a penny or two,candy being the most popu-lar choice.

Today, pennies are simulta-neously ubiquitous andscarce, an interesting para-

dox. No one actually carriespennies around anymore,do they? In fact, most peo-ple view them as a nui-sance. If change is to begiven for a transactions thatinvolves pennies, manysellers will round up to thenearest nickel, so buyerswont have to deal withthose pesky copperheads.Penny jars can be found at

most checkout counters innearly every retail estab-lishment, so that changegiven in pennies can beeither donated to a worthycharity or left for the nextto customer borrow so hischange comes out even tofive cents. The penny hasbeen relegated to a statussimilar to that of a comput-ers A-drive!

Recently, the US Mint hasbeen toying with the idea ofa stoppage of penny pro-duction and the eventualremoval of the penny fromcirculation. One reason forthis is a selfish one; it nowcosts the US Treasury 1.8cents to manufacture onepenny, so the government

actually accrues a loss onits production. Recall thatseigniorage is the revenuethe government obtainswhen it issues money thathas a face value greaterthan its production costs.Seigniorage has served asan important source of gov-ernment revenue for a longtime. Now it can be arguedthat the seigniorage of the

From the Colonels Desk

Roanoke College Economics Program

Summ er and Fall 2014

Volume 5, Issue 1

Roanomics

Advising tips:

The Economics Pro-gram offers a major anda minor

If you major in BUAD,there are only five addi-tional courses left tocomplete the minor inECON

Several of the ECON200-level courses serveas electives in BUADconcentrations

ECON 121 can substi-tute for an INQ 260

Inside this issue:

News and notes 2

Student Editorsnote

3

Faculty update 4

Presentations,Awards, Honors

5

New faculty 6

Words from an al-

um

8

Travels with Dr.Bob

9

Economics Clubupdate

10

Have a meal with the

Flemings!11

Flemingism

Student: Will there be any extra credit?

Fleming: Son, Ill give extra credit the same

day we have class outside and watch a movie.
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1F0-LZB-XnPerxcR41Yurz1GgGH79MG0_-NC9JZvMINs/viewform?usp=send_formhttps://docs.google.com/forms/d/1F0-LZB-XnPerxcR41Yurz1GgGH79MG0_-NC9JZvMINs/viewform?usp=send_formhttps://docs.google.com/forms/d/1F0-LZB-XnPerxcR41Yurz1GgGH79MG0_-NC9JZvMINs/viewform?usp=send_form


2/12

Dr. Michael Enzjoin ed the

Roanoke College Faculty this

fall as a Visiting Associate Pro-

fessor. Enz joins us for twoyears from Framingham State

University and will be teaching

a variety of courses including

Intermediate Microeconomics

and Environmental Economics.

Dr. Garry Fleming, Sue Flem-

ing, and their nephew opened a

restaurant in downtown Roa-

noke this month (City Market

Building). The restaurant,

Scrambled, serves breakfast

food and is delicious! Check outtheir Facebook page hereand

make sure to stop in over Alum-

ni Weekend!

Laura Stavetski 14 started

her first year of law school at

Suffolk University

Chanho Song `13 got en-

gaged!

Keeping with the love theme,

Matt Jones `09 also got en-

gaged!

Five students will join Dr. Kas-

sens in January to a Public

Choice Seminar at CNU. We

will provide photos and details

in the Winter/Spring issue of

Roanomics.

Dr. Michael Enz took 1st

place in the Cengage Learning/

National Economics Teaching

Association Best in Class

Award honoring pedagogical

techniques in economics bestingDr. Alice Kassens 2nd place

last year.

The Virginia Association of

Economists will host their

2015 Annual Meeting at Ran-

dolph Macon College March 19

-20. The Sandridge Lecture will

be given by Bruce Yandle. Yan-

dle is an author and Economics

Professor with George Mason

Universitys Mercatus Center.

To find out more about the event

check out the new webpage.Stu-dent paper presentations are wel-

come.

Angela He 16 is studying

abroad this year in Hong Kong.

The Economics Reading Group

spent the semester discussing

Thomas Sowells Economic

Facts and Fallacies and will

travel to Washington D.C. in

February to visit with an Ameri-

can Enterprise Institute scholar.

Please let us know what is new

with you at roanokee-

[email protected] fill out our

form at kassensroanokee-

con.blogspot.com

We hope to see you over Alumni

Weekend in 2015.

News and notes

Where are our alumni now?Drake and Associates in

Greensboro, NC

Ian Kervick-Jimenez `13

works in Client Finance at

Mindshare in NYC

Connect with Dr. Alice Louise

Kassens on Linkedin.com so

that we can keep up with you!

Have career advice or contacts

for our current Economics stu-

dents? Please send an email to

[email protected].

John Pauler `07 is curr ently

getting his Masters of Science

in Predictive Analysis at North-

western University and works at

SimpliSafe in Digital Marketing

and Analytics

Jonathan Herttua 09is an

analyst at BlackRock in San

Francisco, CA

Former Roanomics Student

Editor Megan Rhodes `11 is an

Associate Wealth Management

Advisor at Northwestern Mutu-

al in Richmond, VA

Sara Caudle `12, another

Roanomics Student Editor, is a

Financial Analyst with Yon-

Page 2 Roanomics

My overall education at Roa-

noke College, and particularly

my economics education, pre-

pared me for dealing with the

extremely varied career and

educational experiences I have

had throughout my life

-Roanoke College alumna `72

Give us your comments via

Advice for our graduates on

ourblogand they might be in-

cluded in the next issue of

Roanomics!

32

There are

currently 28

declared majors

and 4declared

minors in the

Economics

Program.Declare yours

here

DID YOU

KNOW?

Stavetski `14

Rhodes `11
https://www.facebook.com/scrambledrnkhttps://www.facebook.com/scrambledrnkhttp://vaeconomics.wordpress.com/http://vaeconomics.wordpress.com/mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]://kassensroanokeecon.blogspot.com/http://kassensroanokeecon.blogspot.com/http://kassensroanokeecon.blogspot.com/mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]://roanokeecon.blogspot.com/http://roanokeecon.blogspot.com/http://roanoke.edu/A-Z_Index/Registrar/Forms.htmhttp://roanoke.edu/A-Z_Index/Registrar/Forms.htmhttp://roanoke.edu/A-Z_Index/Registrar/Forms.htmhttp://roanokeecon.blogspot.com/mailto:[email protected]://kassensroanokeecon.blogspot.com/http://kassensroanokeecon.blogspot.com/mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]://vaeconomics.wordpress.com/https://www.facebook.com/scrambledrnk


3/12

This semester is panning out

to be the hardest Economics

semester yet. I am currently

in Dr. Kassens Econometricsclass with 15 other seniors.

Econometrics is best de-

scribed as the child of Eco-

nomics, Calculus, and Statis-

tics. Most undergraduate

Economics programs dont

even offer Econometrics, but

not only does Roanoke Col-

lege offer itit is required. I,

like many of my peers, have

gotten very comfortable with

economic theory over the

past three years and am strug-

gling to tame this new ani-

mal.

But as much as I struggle

with econometrics, I find that

I am genuinely enjoying the

outcomes possible from the

enhanced research capabili-

ties. With econometrics I can

create models that include

multiple variables and actual-

ly find if they are indicating

anything of value. Economet-

rics is the skill I needed to

actually do many of my past

research projects correctly

and opens up a new spectrum

of research possibilities (as

cheesy as that sounds). Thisclass teaches a skill I know I

could actually use in the job

market (I promise Dr. Kas-

sens is not bribing me to

write this). Plus the feeling of

finally understanding a con-

cept you fought for hours on

is rewarding.

My Econometrics project

studies women on welfarea

topic I feel very strongly

about after doing a ride alongwith D.C. metro police last

semester. I am testing if

women on welfare have more

children than those not on

welfare while controlling for

their access to contraception.

Thankfully economists have

been studying welfare and

fertility for a long time, so I

have many giants shoulders

to stand on.

This semester I am participat-ing in a Service Learning

Independent Study led by Dr.

Kassens with three other sen-

iors: Robert Horn, Katelyn

Nuckoles, and William

Corso. We go every week(alternating in pairs) to Pat-

rick Henry High School in

Roanoke and help teach Mr.

Hartmans Advanced Place-

ment Economics course. So

far we have been helping

reinforce material and run

simulations/experiments.

Some of the favorites have

been a study of marginal util-

ity with marshmallows, and

the creation of a demand

curve charting the demand

for gum vs. chocolate candy.

Nothing sells to high-

schoolers like sugar.

Teaching to others reinforces

our knowledge of the materi-

al. I personally have had to

go back to my Introduction to

Macro and Micro notes be-

fore every class to make sure

Im prepared to teach the

subject. Nevertheless, the

students always manage to

ask me questions Im not

fully prepared for, or take the

Student Editors Note: Emma Webb `15

Page 3Volume 5, Issue 1

Spring and May 2015 CoursesSPRING

ECON 121

Principles of Microeconomics

Enz, Nik-Khah

ECON 122

Principles of Macroeconomics

Enz, Fleming

ECON 227

Health Economics

Kassens

ECON 232

Money and Banking

Fleming

ECON 247

International Trade and Fi-nance

Fleming

ECON 322

Intermediate Macroeconomics

Enz

ECON 461

Senior Seminar

Nik-Khah

SERVICE LEARNING

Independent Study

Kassens

MAY TERM

ECON 277

Economic JourneysAlaska

Kassens

Emma Webb `15

experiments many steps

ahead. Each time we haveended up jumping ahead to

something new that we didnt

write into the lesson plan.

They are extremely bright

students which makes the

experience more engaging

and interesting. Teaching

economics to younger stu-

dents has been a refreshing

escape from the complexities

of our senior year courses.

Everyone said senior yearwould be tough. It turns out

they werent joking.


4/12

This semester I have taken on a

couple of new and exciting en-

deavors.

This year I was appointed by

Governor McAuliffe to his Joint

Advisory Board of Economists

(JABE). This is my first ap-

pointment and I am honored

and thrilled for the opportunity.

The function of JABE is to ad-

vise the Governor and his De-

partment of Taxation on the

state of the Commonwealths

economy and the nation as a

whole. This information is usedto project state tax revenues

before setting the state budget.

Being an economist who is pas-

sionate for data analysis and the

state of our local economy, this

position is exciting. I get to

showcase the analysis that I do

for the Roanoke College IPOR

pertaining to consumer senti-

ment, inflation expectations,

and the real estate market in

Virginia. You can read any of

those reports here.

I attended my first JABE meet-

ing in October at the Patrick

Henry Building in Richmond,

VA. This is a closed door meet-

ing, so I cannot reveal what was

said, but I can say that the Gov-

ernor stopped in to say helloand thank us for our work. Half-

way through the meeting we

took a break to attend his press

conference in a nearby room. It

was a thrilling experience.

Secondly, I initiated the first

Economics Service Learning

course for our program. I met

Ellen Stick (Social Science Co-

ordinator, Roanoke Public

Schools) in October 2013 at a

conference. I discussed with hermy desire to develop a service

learning course. Over the course

of the following months, Ellen

helped me develop a proposal

for Roanoke College Econom-

ics students to assist in the Pat-

rick Henry High School AP

Economics class. I met several

times with her and Mr. Andrew

Hartman, the AP Economics

teacher (and Roanoke College

alum) in the spring of 2014. Our

project was approved by the

proper authorities and I invited

some of the top Roanoke Col-

lege Economics students to be

the first participants (Emma

Webb, Robert Horn, William

Corso, and Katelyn Nuckoles).

The Roanoke College students

ran weekly simulations, demon-

strations, discussions, and lec-

tures in the high school class-

room. This required preparatory

work and reviewing of the prin-

ciples of economics (no better

way to reinforce material than to

teach it to others!) Additionally,

with the help of Dr. Richard

Grant, the Director of the Path-

ways Program, I provided

prompted weekly reflectionquestions for the Roanoke stu-

dents. You can read those ques-

tions and the student responses

here.

In addition to enjoying the expe-

rience and giving back to the

Roanoke community, I believe

the our economics students de-

veloped valuable skills including

time management, organization,

and leadership which will help

them when they leave RoanokeCollege in May. We are excited

to continue this course in the

spring with PHHS.

Faculty Update: Dr. Alice Louise Kassens

Page 4 Roanomics

Alice Kassens

Images from

left to right:

1) Governor

McAuliffe giv-

ing press con-

ference adjacentto the 2014

JABE meeting

2) The Patrick

Henry Building,

Richmond, VA
http://roanoke.edu/A-Z_Index/Institute_for_Policy_and_Opinion_Research/Va_Consumer_Sentiment_and_Real_Estate_Polls.htmhttp://roanoke.edu/A-Z_Index/Institute_for_Policy_and_Opinion_Research/Va_Consumer_Sentiment_and_Real_Estate_Polls.htmhttp://kassenseconservicelearning.blogspot.com/http://kassenseconservicelearning.blogspot.com/http://kassenseconservicelearning.blogspot.com/http://roanoke.edu/A-Z_Index/Institute_for_Policy_and_Opinion_Research/Va_Consumer_Sentiment_and_Real_Estate_Polls.htm


5/12

Dr. Michael Enz

10thAnnual Economics TeachingConference (San Diego, CA), Using

Twitter to Increase Writing Skillsand Expand the Learning Environ-ment (with Alice Louise Kassens)

10thAnnual Economics TeachingConference (San Diego, CA), Self-grading

Behavioral Economicspresented

at Plattsburgh State University

2014 Cengage Learning Economist

Educators Best in Class Award

Dr. Alice Louise Kassens

10thAnnual Economics Teaching

Conference (San Diego, CA), UsingTwitter to Increase Writing Skillsand Expand the Learning Environ-ment (with Michael Enz)

Annual Meeting of the GovernorsJoint Advisory Board of Economists(Richmond, VA)

Roanoke Regional Chamber of Com-merce Economic Summit XI(Roanoke, VA), The Virginia andRoanoke Valley Labor Markets,invited speaker

Tweeting your way to improved#writing, #reflection, and#community,Journal of Economic

Education, 2014, Volume 45, Issue 2,pg. 101-109.

Consumer Sentiment and Price Ex-

pectations in Virginia. (2014) Salem,

VA: Institute of Policy and Opinion

Research. (May, August, November)

Virginia Real Estate Index.(2014)

Salem, VA: Institute of Policy and

Opinion Research. (May, August,

November)

Charles Koch Foundation Education-

al Grant for Roanoke College Eco-

nomics Reading Group

Charles Koch Foundation Education-

al Grant for Undergraduate Public

Choice Seminar

Referee forJournal of Economic

Education, Journal of Economics

and Finance Education, andNCUR

Dr. Edward Nik-Khah

Academic Freedom Contra Intellec-

tual Freedompresented at the His-tory of Economics Society Confer-

ence, Universit du Qubec Mont-

ral, Canada, the Neoliberalism in

Translation Conference, Whitlam

Institute, University of Western

Sydney, Australia

History of the Economicsof Infor-

mation and Market Construction in

the Twentieth Century,presented at

the Institute for New Economic

Thinking, New York (with Philip

Mirowski)

Neoliberal Pharmaceutical Science

and the Chicago School of Econom-ics.Social Studies of Science44(4):

489-517.

Power to the People: A Reply to

Healy, Mangin, and Ap-

plbaum.Social Studies of Sci-

Presentations, Publications, Awards


Spring 2014 Academic Honors Presidents List

Jonathan Leslie Eary

Angela He Chen

Deans List

Jonathan Edouard Babington-Heina

Ryan Clement Dill

Conor Michael Fitzhenry

Robert Campbell Horn

Spencer K Lewen

Katelyn Brooke Nuckoles

Jeremy Jacob Peavey

William Andrew Reitan

Outstanding Student

Spencer Lewen

Lowry Award

Emma Webb

ence44(4): 524-530.

Institute for New Economic Think-

ing Grant to film the course History

of the Economics of Information andMarket Construction in the Twenti-

eth Century (with Philip Mirowski)

2014-15 Faculty Research Year,

Roanoke College

Dr. Robert Stauffer

It is Less Clear Now that the Fed is

on the Right Path. Letter. Wall

Street Journal24 Apr. 2014.

Count all of the Income and Bene-

fits. Letter. Wall Street Journal27

Aug. 2014.

Minimum Wage and the Maximum

Benefit to Society. Letter. Wall

Street Journal15 Oct. 2014.

The High Costs of the Feds War on

Seniors and Savers. Letter. Wall

Street Journal3 Dec. 2014.

Service Learning Students

(William Corso, Robert Horn, Kate-

lyn Nuckoles, Emma Webb)

Service Learning and Economics,

presented at the Experiential Learn-

ing Showcase at Roanoke College

Omicron Delta Epsilon

Conor Fitzhenry

Athletic Honor Roll

William Andrew Reitan (golf)

Watch the video of the

teaching technique Dr.

Enz took first prize with

here...you will see some

familiar faces!

Reitan
http://solutions.cengage.com/uploadedFiles/solutions.cengage.com/Marketing-Microsites/_microsite_model(1)/_model_content/Michael%20Enz_Best%20in%20Class_Self%20Grading.pdfhttp://solutions.cengage.com/uploadedFiles/solutions.cengage.com/Marketing-Microsites/_microsite_model(1)/_model_content/Michael%20Enz_Best%20in%20Class_Self%20Grading.pdfhttp://solutions.cengage.com/uploadedFiles/solutions.cengage.com/Marketing-Microsites/_microsite_model(1)/_model_content/Michael%20Enz_Best%20in%20Class_Self%20Grading.pdfhttp://www.slideshare.net/alicekassens/economic-summit-xihttp://www.slideshare.net/alicekassens/economic-summit-xihttp://www.slideshare.net/alicekassens/economic-summit-xihttp://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702304810904579509911850748396http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702304810904579509911850748396http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702304810904579509911850748396http://www.wsj.com/articles/count-all-of-the-income-and-benefits-letters-to-the-editor-1409171925http://www.wsj.com/articles/count-all-of-the-income-and-benefits-letters-to-the-editor-1409171925http://www.wsj.com/articles/count-all-of-the-income-and-benefits-letters-to-the-editor-1409171925http://www.wsj.com/articles/minimum-wage-and-the-maximum-benefit-to-society-letters-to-the-editor-1413401361http://www.wsj.com/articles/minimum-wage-and-the-maximum-benefit-to-society-letters-to-the-editor-1413401361http://www.wsj.com/articles/minimum-wage-and-the-maximum-benefit-to-society-letters-to-the-editor-1413401361http://www.wsj.com/articles/the-high-costs-of-the-feds-war-on-seniors-and-savers-letters-to-the-editor-1417640907http://www.wsj.com/articles/the-high-costs-of-the-feds-war-on-seniors-and-savers-letters-to-the-editor-1417640907http://www.wsj.com/articles/the-high-costs-of-the-feds-war-on-seniors-and-savers-letters-to-the-editor-1417640907http://www.wsj.com/articles/the-high-costs-of-the-feds-war-on-seniors-and-savers-letters-to-the-editor-1417640907http://www.wsj.com/articles/the-high-costs-of-the-feds-war-on-seniors-and-savers-letters-to-the-editor-1417640907https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K8K2oj9Ypl0https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K8K2oj9Ypl0https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K8K2oj9Ypl0http://www.wsj.com/articles/the-high-costs-of-the-feds-war-on-seniors-and-savers-letters-to-the-editor-1417640907http://www.wsj.com/articles/the-high-costs-of-the-feds-war-on-seniors-and-savers-letters-to-the-editor-1417640907http://www.wsj.com/articles/minimum-wage-and-the-maximum-benefit-to-society-letters-to-the-editor-1413401361http://www.wsj.com/articles/minimum-wage-and-the-maximum-benefit-to-society-letters-to-the-editor-1413401361http://www.wsj.com/articles/count-all-of-the-income-and-benefits-letters-to-the-editor-1409171925http://www.wsj.com/articles/count-all-of-the-income-and-benefits-letters-to-the-editor-1409171925http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702304810904579509911850748396http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702304810904579509911850748396http://www.slideshare.net/alicekassens/economic-summit-xihttp://www.slideshare.net/alicekassens/economic-summit-xihttp://solutions.cengage.com/uploadedFiles/solutions.cengage.com/Marketing-Microsites/_microsite_model(1)/_model_content/Michael%20Enz_Best%20in%20Class_Self%20Grading.pdfhttp://solutions.cengage.com/uploadedFiles/solutions.cengage.com/Marketing-Microsites/_microsite_model(1)/_model_content/Michael%20Enz_Best%20in%20Class_Self%20Grading.pdf


6/12

I am excited to have a chance toteach in an academic settingthat is similar to my start in

economics.Having grown up in Oregon,climbing many of the moun-tains in the Cascade Range, andnot owning a car until the ageof 29, I figure I am suited toteach Economics and the Envi-ronment. While originally anIndustrial Organization econo-mist, my research interests haveranged from the first-moveradvantage in the market forDynamic Random AccessMemory chips and the impact

of industrial structure on thecrafting of the House EnergyBill to the public funding ofsport stadiums and applyingbehavioral economics to im-prove the teaching of econom-ics.

I am extremely thankful to beback at a college that focuseson undergraduate education. Ihave been impressed with theeconomics students that I havemet this semester and look for-ward to meeting more.

-Michael Enz

New Faculty: Dr. Michael Enz

Page 6 Roanomics

FIVE THINGS YOU MIGHT NOT KNOW ABOUT DR. ENZ

1. Retired mountain climber

2. Heart surgery survivor

3. Been to a Super Bowl and an NCAA National Championship

game

4. Worked for a sewer department

5. Pittsburgh Steeler and Oregon Duck fan

Take one of

Dr. Enzs

courses:

ECON 121

ECON 122

ECON 287

ECON 321

Dr. Enz took home first

place in the Cengage

Learning Best in Class

Award this past No-

vember.

This award is for inno-

vative teaching tech-

niques.

Congrats Dr. Enz!


7/12

On May 1, 2014, Ichecked off an item onmy bucket list. After 21

years in the banking in-dustry and after coach-ing the Fed Challengeteam for seven years, Ifinally had the oppor-tunity to hear the Chairof the Federal Reservespeak in person. In herinaugural address tobankers since taking thehelm earlier this year,Dr. Janet Yellen spoke

at the 2014 IndependentCommunity Bankers ofAmericas WashingtonPolicy Summit in Wash-ington, D.C. Her speechwas steamed live by sev-eral networks.

Due to the historic mag-nitude of her address,the ICBA sent an openinvitation to all inde-

pendent communitybanks across the coun-

try, permitting each in-stitution to send one em-ployee, at no charge, to

hear her remarks. Iquickly snatched up myBank of Botetourts ad-mission ticket andboarded my first Amtrakride to our nations capi-tal.

Short in stature, strongin delivery, and escortedby a dozen secret serviceagents, Dr. Yellen

shared her view on somekey issues facing com-munity banks. She notedthe improved health ofour nations bankingsystem, addressed thetoo big to fail vulnera-bility, and acknowl-edged the rooms con-cern about regulatoryburden on smaller insti-tutions. She tempered

the concerns by assuringthe bankers that the Fed

A Visit with Janet Yellen


was taking steps to tailorand improve the regula-tory examination pro-

cess.

I used a quote from her

speech about the im-

portance of outreach and

educational programs

the Fed bolsters as Dr.

Philip Heap, from JMU,

and I wrote a proposal to

the Federal Reserve

Bank of Richmond to

reinstate the Fed Chal-

lenge for 2014. We suc-

ceeded!

-Michelle Alexander

NOTE: You can read

Yellens May 1st speech

here.

Alexander
http://www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/speech/yellen20140501a.htmhttp://www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/speech/yellen20140501a.htmhttp://www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/speech/yellen20140501a.htm


8/12

Ahead Of The Curve: Eco-nomics As A Springboard ToSuccess In Law School

A law degree, even from a pres-tigious school, brings no assur-ance of job offers that justifythe expense of a legal educa-tion. The most critical factor inobtaining gainful legal employ-ment is a strong first year GPA.The economics curriculum atRoanoke College provides stu-dents with the foundationalskills that are tested during thefirst year of law school. Whenyou build this foundation incollege, you enter law school

ahead of the curve.

The market for lawyers is flood-ed with an annual supply offreshly minted J.D.s, but thedemand for legal services is stillweak from sequestration andthe 2008 financial collapse.Government agencies are hiringless, if at all; and, instead ofreducing their notoriously highwages, law firms reduced thenumber of new hires. Despitestagnant employment prospectsfor graduates, law schools re-

main among the most profitable

institutions of higher education,and they show no signs of re-ducing enrollment or tuition to

match the realities of the labormarket.

First year grades determine thecareer trajectory of a prospec-tive attorney, and poor initialperformance is difficult to over-come. Employers eliminateapplicants with GPAs belowminimum standards. The tim-ing of the highly structured re-cruitment process results inhiring decisions based on firstyear grades. Compounding thispressure, most schools grade

students on a strict curve calcu-lated after a single exam in eachcourse.

Many college students interest-ed in law school prioritize clas-ses that are substantively legal,such as political science orcriminal justice. This is a mis-take. The first year curriculumof American law school tests astudents ability to think like alawyer, not the mastery of sub-stantive legal issues. Studentsare better served by taking eco-

nomics courses, which trainthem for legal analysis. This isnot a novel strategy: Due to thesuccess of the Law and Eco-nomics movement, economicsis so entrenched in legal analy-sis that law professors mustlearn economic theory to re-

main relevant in academic dis-cussion, and over forty percentof the federal judiciary has taken

economics courses designed forjudges.

Two of the most fundamentalconcepts of all legal analysis,particularly in the common lawclasses taught during the firstyear curriculum, are reasonable-ness and causation. Whethersomething is reasonable turns onwhether its costs are worth itsbenefits. Creating nuanced argu-ments regarding reasonablenesscomes second nature to econom-ics students, as cost-benefit anal-

ysis is introduced within the firstweek, if not the first day, of in-troduction to microeconomics.While causation is presented asone of the most foreign conceptsfirst year law students face, it is aconstant theme throughout mac-roeconomic and econometricanalysis.

Law school and economics clas-ses share the same maxim: It isnot the answer you reach thatcounts, but the way you reach it.Law school exams test your abil-ity to put forth all realistic argu-ments and then advocate for thepattern of argument that createsthe best rule to be applied to allfuture circumstances. This meth-od of analysis is inherent inweighing the relative benefits ofany economic theory, and it ishoned in all economics classes,particularly the capstone courseat Roanoke, History of EconomicThought. The wide array ofcourses offered at Roanoke pro-vides exposure to different, often

conflicting, and constantlyevolving perspectives. The lawis riddled with these internalinconsistencies, and being able todiscern which perspective a pro-fessor, judge, or attorney utilizesis an advanced skill that is sureto set you apart from the mean.

-Nathan Castellano

Words from our alumni: Nathan Castellano `12

Page 8 Roanomics

Castellano `12

Did you know that

Economics majors

score higher on the

LSAT than all

other majors save

Philosophy?

Source:

Nieswiadomy,

Michael, LSAT

Scores of Econom-

ics Majors: The

2008-2009 Class

Update (June 25,

2009). Available at

SSRN:http://

ssrn.com/

ab-
http://ssrn.com/abstract=1430654http://ssrn.com/abstract=1430654http://ssrn.com/abstract=1430654http://ssrn.com/abstract=1430654http://ssrn.com/abstract=1430654http://ssrn.com/abstract=1430654


9/12

This past May, our "roadrally" group from myhometown of Frederick Md.traveled to the WilmingtonDE area to visit various at-tractions associated with thedu Pont family:Winterthur-afive story mansion built inthe 1930's that now is a mu-seum (with a Downton Ab-bey exhibit), Longwood Gar-dens-a 1,000 acre tract ofhorticultural splendor, andthe Hagley Museum theoriginal factory site of the duPont's gunpowder em-pire.My favorite was theHagley; it wasstarted in

1802, andsome of the origi-

nal factory facilities havebeen restored. The company'sfounder, E. I. du Pont lived ina mansion on a ridge abovethe powder mills. He insistedon living there, even thoughoccasional blasts from pow-der mill accidents blew outwindows and overturned fur-niture

Some members of thegroup were soentranced bythe Downton Abbey exhibit

that we travelled to Englandin September to visit the lo-cations where the PBS seriesis filmed.Starting in Oxfordwe headed into the Cotswaldswhere we toured High-clereCastle and Basildon.Highclere used to be knownfor its museum of Egyptianartifacts from KingTut'stomb, collected (looted?) by aformer Earl.

This did not bring inenough revenue to cover themonstrous maintenance costsand high taxes - two majorfactors in the demise of manyanEnglish manor home. Theestate was saved whenDownton Abbey started film-ing there: hordes of TV-dazed Americans showed upto take the tours (presentcompany excepted).

Myotherfavorite activityin the Oxford area was a "pubwalk" -a four mile strollalong the Thames River fea-turing stops at two historicpubs, the Trout and the

Perch. We then headed to theto Port Issacs, the location ofyet another PBS series enti-tled "Doc Martin"- about avillage doctor who suffersfrom asberger's syndromealong with a fear ofblood.Believe it or not, it'shilarious! Port Issacs is asmall, isolaedharbor townwith breath-taking beauty(some of the locals describe itas a small drinking villagewith a fishing problem).

We took a side trip down toPenzance to attend theMinack Theater-a spectacu-lar seaside venue that isworth the trip (even if you dohave to sit through a Gilbertand Sullivan play).

Our England trip coincidedwith the vote on Scottish in-dependence.The event gener-ated intense media coverage,and most Brits were relieved

Travels with Dr. Bob


when the election results leftthe United Kingdom in-tact.Another good piece ofnews for the once great Brit-ish Empire is that the mi-crobrewery revolution isgaining traction. You cannow find some good IPA's,along with a wide variety ofales.Traditional British pubshave been in decline for sev-eral decades as a result ofvarious factors: smokingbans, dishwater beer, breatha-lyzer tests, cheap supermar-ket beer, and giant pub chainsthat are buying up traditionalpubs.There is hope that the

microbrewery renaissancemay help reverse the decline.

In closing, I would like toprovide you with some traveltips from two of our recenttrips to North Carolina.Atthe Outer Banks,check outthe "blue" restaurants: theBlue Point in Duck and theBlue Moon in Nag's Head.Secondly, the Asheville areais fantastic in October: wealways stay at the Mt. PisgahLodge located on the Park-

way about 15 miles south ofAsheville. Make your reser-vations early since it alreadyis getting booked for nextfall.

An Alaska trip is on thehorizon for the summer of2015. Be sure to keep thoseSocial Security"contributions" coming --it'san expensive trip!

Taste testing

Highclere Castle


10/12

Founded in 2012, the Econom-

ics Club has had a presence on

campus through a number of

exciting events such as tailgat-ing sporting events and viewing

movies which relate to econom-

ic theory. Just recently the club

has begun revitalizing itself

under the new leadership of

Caitlyn Gaugler and its recently

joined members. New and ex-

citing events have been held for

all to enjoy and have proved to

be quite successful.

Using an apple press acquired

from club member Jake Brown,we explained a number of eco-

nomic paradigms by relating

them to various stages of the

apple cider making progress.

We were able to make all sorts

of dorky economics puns about

market externalities, economies

of scale, government interven-tion, etc. throughout the pro-

cess. The event was quite a suc-

cess with a large number of

Roanoke College students tak-

ing the time to make their own

delicious apple cider and learn a

bit about economics as well.

The demand for our freshly

pressed cider was higher than

we expected, and we ran out

within an hour.

The Economics Club is alsoassisting students, both new and

old, in choosing their classes for

next semester by holding a pan-

el of experienced economic

juniors and seniors which will be

able to answer questions about

prerequisites, what to expect

from classes and how to get in-volved within a number of extra-

curricular activities which relate

to their interests. We hope to

foster more community within

the economics department clas-

ses by creating a forum for stu-

dent opinions and advice.

More events are planned for thecoming weeks as we begin ourjourney to the end of the semes-

ter and we hope to involve as

much of the Roanoke CollegeCommunity as we can. So lookfor us throughout campus andjoin in the fun!

Economics Club Update

Page 10 Roanomics

Cider production

You can follow the

Roanoke College

Economics Club on

Twitter@RCEconomicsClub


11/12

The Flemings, along with their nephew, opened

a restaurant in the City Market (Roanoke, VA)called Scrambled.

A few articles have run in the local press in-

cluding the one found here.

You can follow them on Facebook here.

Next time you crave breakfast food, even late

night, check them out!

Dine with the Flemings at Scrambled


Scrambled

32 Market Square

Roanoke, VA

(540) 400-0576
http://www.roanoke.com/business/columns_and_blogs/blogs/storefront/new-breakfast-restaurant-headed-to-roanoke-city-market-building/article_92627a5e-6598-541c-a8a7-81936025490b.htmlhttp://www.roanoke.com/business/columns_and_blogs/blogs/storefront/new-breakfast-restaurant-headed-to-roanoke-city-market-building/article_92627a5e-6598-541c-a8a7-81936025490b.htmlhttps://www.facebook.com/scrambledrnkhttps://www.facebook.com/scrambledrnkhttps://www.facebook.com/scrambledrnkhttp://www.roanoke.com/business/columns_and_blogs/blogs/storefront/new-breakfast-restaurant-headed-to-roanoke-city-market-building/article_92627a5e-6598-541c-a8a7-81936025490b.html


12/12

...Because we view economics as solidly within the liberal arts, we are

committed to examining the relationship between economics and other are-

as of knowledge. Students will therefore find it to be an excellent comple-

ment to many other majors, including, but not limited to public policy, soci-

ology, history, environmental policy, mathematics, biology, and businessadministration, as well as concentrations such as gender studies and peace

and justice studies.

For information about the Economics Program contact Dr. Garry Fleming

([email protected])

For comments or suggestions about the newsletter email

[email protected]

Read our blog: kassensroanokeecon.blogspot.com

Faculty Editor: Dr. Alice Louise Kassens

Student Editor: Emma Webb 15

221 College LaneSalem, VA 24153

Phone: 540-375-2426Fax: 540-375-2577

E-mail: [email protected]

Economics Program

in Lowry's name inspired

Stauffer to set up the Lowry

Scholarship in Economics, the

recipient of which, when the

fund achieves endowed level,

will be decided upon by the

economics faculty.

Recipients of the scholarship:

2014-15 Emma Webb

2013-14 Theodore Ellis

2012-13 James Bradshaw

2011-12 Katherine Thornton

From the Roanoke Collegewebpage:

Dr. Darryl W. Lowry, asso-

ciate professor of economics,

devoted the past 25 years

instructing and nurturing Ro-

anoke College students,

"spending hours each day

carefully organizing his lec-

tures and meeting with stu-

dents," said Dr. Robert Stauf-

fer, associate professor of

economics. When Lowry

died on Dec. 31, 2006, after a

short battle with bone cancer,

the bereaved campus strug-

gled to find ways to honor the

man who had been so pas-

sionate about economics,

volleyball, and roller coast-

ers. The spontaneous dona-

tions that current and former

students and colleagues made

You can give to the LowryScholarship!

Simply go to https://www.roanoke.edu/give/

Select Other

Enter donation amount

In the Detailsblank typeLowry Scholarship in Eco-nomics

Thank you for your contribu-tion.

You are helping a youngeconomist and honoring awonderful man.

The Roanoke College Eco-nomics Program

Give to the Lowry Scholarship

Follow us on Twitter@roanokeecon

Tell us what is new with youroanokeecon.blogspot.com

Join the BUAD/ECONFacebook page

Dr. Darryl Lowry
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]://kassensroanokeecon.blogspot.com/http://kassensroanokeecon.blogspot.com/https://www.roanoke.edu/give/https://www.roanoke.edu/give/https://www.roanoke.edu/give/http://roanokeecon.blogspot.com/http://roanokeecon.blogspot.com/http://roanokeecon.blogspot.com/https://www.roanoke.edu/give/https://www.roanoke.edu/give/http://kassensroanokeecon.blogspot.com/mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]

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Roanomics Volume 5, Issue 1

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