News

New Dual Degree Program with UCL in Belgium

The Economics Department has obtained a $624,000 grant to create a dual degree program with the Universite' catholique de Louvain, in Belgium. The grant is designed to foster increased student mobility between EU countries and the U.S. Clemson economics students will receive generous stipends to cover the cost of three semesters of study in Europe. Students will spend one semester taking courses at the University of Maastricht in The Netherlands, and two semesters at UCL in Louvain la Neuve, Belgium. The instruction at Maastricht will be in English, and the instruction at UCL will be in French. After returning to Clemson to complete their studies, students will earn bachelors degrees from both Clemson and UCL! For more information, please contact Professor Sauer.

Laureates in the Clemson Classroom: James Buchanan

Nobel Laureate James M. Buchanan visited the department on the 9th and 10th of October. Professor Buchanan won the 1986 Nobel Prize in Economic Science, and is a central figure in the Virginia School of Political Economy.

Professor Buchanan's visit is part of the department's program to bring distinguished guest lecturers to the undergraduate classroom. Buchanan gave a lecture to Bob Tollison's class in Moral and Ethical Economics, a seminar to the faculty on "Ethics and the Extent of the Market," and spent a morning in the Russell D. Shannon Common Room discussing economics with students and faculty. Buchanan is the second Nobel Laureate in the past two years -- along with 2005 Harris Distinguished Visiting Professor Vernon Smith -- to speak formally with Clemson students in the lecture hall, and informally in the relaxed setting of the Common Room.

New Faculty

The John E. Walker Department of Economics is pleased to announce that Kevin Tsui and Paul Wilson have joined our faculty.

Kevin Tsui received his Ph.D. from the University of Chicago.  His research interests include Industrial Organization, Public Sector, Political Economy, and Natural Resource Economics. 

Paul Wilson received his Ph.D. from Brown University.  He is the Editor of the Journal of Productivity Analysis and has served on the faculties at the Universities of Georgia and Texas.  His research areas include econometrics and empirical microeconomics.

We are excited to welcome both to Clemson.

Dan Benjamin named Alumni Distinguished Professor

At the May 2006 convocation, Provost Helms announced that Dan Benjamin had been named Alumni Distinguished Professor of Economics. This honor is richly deserved, for Professor Benjamin is at once both a scholar's scholar and a lynchpin of our teaching program. He teaches throughout the range of courses offered, from the large undergraduate principles class, to small honors sections, to the core micro-economic theory course in the graduate sequence. In addition, his training program develops the skills of our graduate instructors, who spread his methods and influence when they accept teaching positions at schools across the country. In his letter of support, Stephen Wainscott, Director of the Calhoun Honors College stated that "Dan Benjamin is Clemson Treasure." William Lasser, Director of the National Scholars Program, referred to Dan as "the best of the best of Clemson's faculty." The Department Chair's nominating letter (available here) may be restrained by comparison, but it does give the reader an idea why we are proud to work with Dan, and happy that he has received this award.

2006 Harris Professor

Edward Lazear, Ph.D., was the 2006 Harris Professor and presented on leadership.  He is currently the Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisors, and has served as a member of President Bush's Advisory Panel on Tax Reform.  Lazear is on leave of absence from Stanford University.  You may find more information on Edward Lazear at the White House's website.