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Impact and Engagement

Events and Workshops

  • Southwest Virginia Economics Teacher Conference

    Economics teachers (grades 8-12) in the region discuss how students can make a successful transition into college-level economics. Participants review economic courses and discuss teaching strategies. 

    World Food Day

    A faculty-led, student-run lecture series which informs the campus community of the problems of poverty and hunger at the local, national and international level.

  • Economics is Everywhere Lecture Series

    This series brings Economics faculty from other universities to Radford to discuss their research with our students and faculty. Recent topics have included health care, war, political structure and drug use. 

    The Economics of COVID-19

    This webinar, organized by the Economics Student Association and Omicron Delta Epsilon, focused on the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic. 

Faculty Research on Issues of Social Relevance

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)

In Our Curriculum

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

In Our Service

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:

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

Faculty in the Media

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

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