People

Lucas Wilson focuses much of his work on the philosophy and methodology of economics, Marxism, the political economy of race, and exploring the various economic and noneconomic conditions that restrict opportunities and inhibit social progress for African-Americans.

As an applied microeconomist, Sarah Adelman works with data rather than theory. Her research focus is health and nutrition in developing countries and she spent time in Uganda researching her thesis, and has also worked in Malawi and Liberia.

Following a blended career of business, social action and academia, Rick Feldman continues to span and integrate the arenas of industry and regional economics, start-up and social enterprise entrepreneurship, education, and policy development in local and global arenas. His current focus is on all aspects of entrepreneurship and social enterprise development, and his current course offerings reflect this range and integration, by focusing on global and local challenges from which opportunities for solutions can emerge through innovation and entrepreneurial leadership.

Satyananda Gabriel's dedication to improving the world is visible not only in his commitment to education but also through his numerous community development projects, which have included positions with the Urban League of Portland, Oregon; the First Nations Development Institute; and the United Nations Development Program. Gabriel is currently involved in the Rural Development Leadership Network, which is designed to train rural professionals to be more effective leaders.

Ted Gilliland is a natural resource economist. His research focuses on natural resource management, poverty, and the intersection between these two topics. To carry out his work, he combines theory and empirical techniques from economics, ecology, and natural history. He teaches courses on environmental and natural resource economics and econometrics.

James E. Hartley is Professor of Economics and teaches Macroeconomic Theory, Money and Banking, and Principles of Economics among other economics courses.  Outside of the Economics Department, he has also taught multiple courses using the Great Books, including “Western Civilization: An Introduction Through the Great Books,” “Leadership and the Liberal Arts,” “Is Business Moral?” (developed with a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities), and numerous tutorials and reading groups on the Western Canon. 

Margaret J. Lay’s research and teaching interests lie at the intersection of public finance, the economics of aging, and macroeconomics. In particular, she studies how financial provisions for older workers influence firm and household decisions over the business cycle. Her recent work builds new models to study the design of employer-sponsored pensions and uses regulatory, administrative, and survey data to measure their impact on firm and household decisions. Lay teaches courses in public economics and macroeconomics.

Johannes Norling studies economic history, development economics, and demography. He uses survey and administrative data and computational techniques to measure the presence of sex preferences around the world, to track the role of family planning in explaining South Africa’s fertility transition, and to answer other applied economics questions. He teaches courses in introductory economics, economic history, and poverty, inequality, and population growth.

Eva Paus has published widely on different aspects of globalization and development. She is the author or editor of seven books and dozens of articles and book chapters. Her current research focuses on technological change and the future of work and development, strategies for escaping from the Middle Income Trap, the implications of the rise of China for economic transformation in developing countries, and successful strategies in moving towards high-technology production linked to services.

As an applied econometrician, Mike Robinson uses economic analysis to answer questions about the world. The author of many articles, book chapters, and reviews, Robinson is primarily interested in labor economics. Much of his research has centered on wages and income, with a focus on the economics of discrimination.

Katherine Schmeiser analyzes the export decisions of firms, focusing on destination selection and how decisions change over time. Her approach uses firm level modeling and empirical methods to analyze the learning behaviors of firms, regional agglomeration effects, and liberalization policies - particularly in developing and emerging economies. Schmeiser teaches courses on microeconomics, international economics, industrial organization and international trade. She has published in journals such as The Journal of International Economics and The Annals of Regional Science.

Steven Schmeiser uses game theory and microeconomic theory to study a wide variety of topics including group formation, regulation, internet advertising, consumer behavior, and corporate law. Schmeiser has published in journals such as The International Journal of Industrial Organization, The Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, and Economics Letters. At Mount Holyoke, Schmeiser teaches courses on game theory, accounting, and corporate governance.

Debra Morrissey is the academic department coordinator in the economics department. She is in charge of the daily operations of the department, organizes department events, monitors the department budget, puts together course schedules, and prepares online catalog copy.