Chairperson and Professor, Illinois State University, Department of Economics
Contact Information:
Email: [email protected]
Phone (office): +1 309-438-8588
Department of Economics
Illinois State University
Campus Box 4200
Stevenson Hall 425B
Normal, IL USA 61790-4200
Other websites:
ISU Economics Department
LinkedIn
Email: [email protected]
Phone (office): +1 309-438-8588
Department of Economics
Illinois State University
Campus Box 4200
Stevenson Hall 425B
Normal, IL USA 61790-4200
Other websites:
ISU Economics Department
I am the Chairperson and a Professor at the Department of Economics at Illinois State University. I received my Ph.D. in Economics from the Department of Economics at The Ohio State University. My primary research is within applied microeconomics with fields of specialization in health economics, economics of education, and labor economics. My work has been published in the Journal of Health Economics, Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Health Economics, Contemporary Economy Policy, Southern Economic Journal, Applied Economics, Kyklos: International Review of Social Sciences, Eastern Economic Journal, and International Review of Law and Economics.
My research contributes to the literature in three fundamental ways. First, I examine issues that can inform different policies, including policies that legalize same-sex marriage and provide more protections to LGBT individuals, policies that ban secondhand smoking and smoking in private settings, policies aiming to cut or limit extracurriculars, and policies addressing bullying victimization and suicidal ideation. Second, I develop theoretical economic models, which provide a basis for understanding economic incentives and provide testable hypotheses. For example, one model sets up the decision to participate in three jointly determined activities (educational, extracurricular and work activities), with the possibility of examining any choice that involves N-activities. Another model examines the extent to which smoking intensity decisions in period t-1 affect postnatal decisions in the following period t in the presence of a negative health shock. Finally, I delve into understanding the role of bullying since it has become a significant societal concern over time. I quantify the first evidence for the causal effect of cyberbullying on fatal and nonfatal suicides, and I add to the very limited literature on its impact on human capital accumulation---in terms of not only educational performance but also extracurricular participation, peer effects, comparison of different forms of bullying, and of different initiators of the victimizing behavior (bully vs. bullied). Due to the emphasis of my work on bullying, I have submitted three grants (National Science Foundation, American Educational Research Association, National Institutes of Health) to evaluate the impact of familial, school, and neighborhood contexts of victimization on health and human capital during college.
I have been teaching the courses of Principles of Economics (ECO 150 - Honors), Current Economic Issues (ECO 202), Labor Economics and Labor Problems (ECO 225), Economics of Human Resources (ECO 326), Health Economics and Policy (ECO 340), Advanced Labor Economics (ECO 425), Graduate Readings in Economics (ECO 492), Graduate Research in Applied Economics (ECO 495) and online courses on Principles of Economics (ECO 105) and Intermediate Microeconomic Theory (ECO 240). I also supervise independent studies and capstone projects for senior and graduate students from the economics department. As a peer reviewer for online courses through Quality Matters, I also contribute to organizing quality online courses across different higher education institutions, which also allows me to further reflect on the structure of my summer online courses. I am also the only faculty in my department to have received a college-level teaching award; the 2021-2022 John A. Dossey Award for Outstanding Teaching, which is among the highest honors bestowed upon a tenured faculty member by the College of Arts and Sciences to recognize the faculty member with the most extraordinary record of teaching in the preceding three calendar years (2019, 2020, 2021).
My service experience has been expanding within the economics profession as a peer reviewer for top economics journals, and within the department, the college, and the university as member of several committees. For instance, I have served as the Graduate Program Director for the department, a member for the Department Faculty Status Committee and two new faculty recruiting committees while, at the college level, I contributed to the curriculum through the College Curriculum Committee and to the college leadership through the CAS College Council. On the university level, among others, I contribute to the university's shared governance as a representative of my college at the Academic Senate. I have been recognizing for my service contributions through the 2018-2019 University Service Initiative Award and the 2022-2023 Outstanding College Service Award.
My research contributes to the literature in three fundamental ways. First, I examine issues that can inform different policies, including policies that legalize same-sex marriage and provide more protections to LGBT individuals, policies that ban secondhand smoking and smoking in private settings, policies aiming to cut or limit extracurriculars, and policies addressing bullying victimization and suicidal ideation. Second, I develop theoretical economic models, which provide a basis for understanding economic incentives and provide testable hypotheses. For example, one model sets up the decision to participate in three jointly determined activities (educational, extracurricular and work activities), with the possibility of examining any choice that involves N-activities. Another model examines the extent to which smoking intensity decisions in period t-1 affect postnatal decisions in the following period t in the presence of a negative health shock. Finally, I delve into understanding the role of bullying since it has become a significant societal concern over time. I quantify the first evidence for the causal effect of cyberbullying on fatal and nonfatal suicides, and I add to the very limited literature on its impact on human capital accumulation---in terms of not only educational performance but also extracurricular participation, peer effects, comparison of different forms of bullying, and of different initiators of the victimizing behavior (bully vs. bullied). Due to the emphasis of my work on bullying, I have submitted three grants (National Science Foundation, American Educational Research Association, National Institutes of Health) to evaluate the impact of familial, school, and neighborhood contexts of victimization on health and human capital during college.
I have been teaching the courses of Principles of Economics (ECO 150 - Honors), Current Economic Issues (ECO 202), Labor Economics and Labor Problems (ECO 225), Economics of Human Resources (ECO 326), Health Economics and Policy (ECO 340), Advanced Labor Economics (ECO 425), Graduate Readings in Economics (ECO 492), Graduate Research in Applied Economics (ECO 495) and online courses on Principles of Economics (ECO 105) and Intermediate Microeconomic Theory (ECO 240). I also supervise independent studies and capstone projects for senior and graduate students from the economics department. As a peer reviewer for online courses through Quality Matters, I also contribute to organizing quality online courses across different higher education institutions, which also allows me to further reflect on the structure of my summer online courses. I am also the only faculty in my department to have received a college-level teaching award; the 2021-2022 John A. Dossey Award for Outstanding Teaching, which is among the highest honors bestowed upon a tenured faculty member by the College of Arts and Sciences to recognize the faculty member with the most extraordinary record of teaching in the preceding three calendar years (2019, 2020, 2021).
My service experience has been expanding within the economics profession as a peer reviewer for top economics journals, and within the department, the college, and the university as member of several committees. For instance, I have served as the Graduate Program Director for the department, a member for the Department Faculty Status Committee and two new faculty recruiting committees while, at the college level, I contributed to the curriculum through the College Curriculum Committee and to the college leadership through the CAS College Council. On the university level, among others, I contribute to the university's shared governance as a representative of my college at the Academic Senate. I have been recognizing for my service contributions through the 2018-2019 University Service Initiative Award and the 2022-2023 Outstanding College Service Award.
