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Distinguished Professor of the Practice Rozlyn Engel recently participated in a discussion on how to build a foreign policy agenda that meets the needs of the middle class at home as well as U.S. interests abroad. The discussion stemmed from Professor Engel's work with the Carnegie Panel for International Peace, a group with whom she has launched a multiyear research effort dedicated to exploring how U.S. foreign policy needs to change in order to better advance the economic well-being of America’s middle class. A link to the online discussion can be found here.

UN
Distinguished Visiting Professor Landefeld (Economics) participated in a kickoff meeting for a  new International economic accounting handbook that he is drafting for the United Nations. This handbook responds to the need to better account for the value-added associated with multinational companies and offshoring as well as well as the need to fill the information gaps in cross-country risk revealed by the financial crisis. Professor Landefeld (center) is pictured above with (left to right) Ronald Jansen (Chief UN Trade Statistics), Stefan Schweinfest (Chief UN Statistics Division) Ivo Havinga (Chief Economic Statistics) and Michael Connolly of Ireland (Chair of the UN Working Group).

Professor Goodman
Professor Rae Jean Goodman as Grand Marshal of Graduation 2016

Professor Little
Professor Little as Grand Marshal of Graduation 2013
Economics Department
211104-N-0105-0003.

Our mission

The Economics Department supports the mission of the U.S. Naval Academy by producing graduates who can think critically, and who can understand, explain, and apply the core principles and quantitative methods of economics to resource allocation problems, the functioning of economic institutions, and the decisions of policy makers and other economic agents within a society.

Majoring in Economics

There actually are some vocational reasons for a midshipman to major in Economics:

First, the most fundamental lesson of Economics is that resources are scarce relative to potential uses, so that choices must be made -- that is what it means to "think economically." The Naval Officer can invariably say that "...if I had more people, or more ships, or more planes, or more supplies, or more time, the task would be easy," but of course the officer doesn't live in that kind of world. Instinctively thinking in terms of alternative uses of scarce resources -- thinking economically -- tends to make an effective officer.

Second, an economics program provides understanding of the economic institutions and economic system each officer is pledged to defend.

Third, an officer operates in an international arena. Knowledge of world resource endowments, industrial patterns, trade flows, and the nature and the interdependency of the world's diverse economic systems is useful background for dealing with the citizens and representatives of other countries that U.S. officers will inevitably encounter.

Finally, an Economics major provides a strong set of mid-career skills. In particular, it prepares a midshipman well for (1) attendance at service schools such as the Naval War College, (2) staff billet assignments on fleet, joint and combined staffs, (3) postgraduate training in management, national security affairs, and intelligence, and (4) future subspecialty designations in management and politico-military or strategic planning. In short, there are plenty of reasons why having an Economics major is useful to a Naval Officer.

Our Faculty

The economics faculty at USNA currently consists of 14 tenure-track professors, including 4 full professors, 3 associate professors, and 7 assistant professors. This group has recently published in a broad array of economic journals including (see the Publications list under the Faculty page for a more complete list):

 

  • Economic Inquiry
  • Economics of Education Review
  • Economic Theory
  • Experimental Economics
  • International Economic Review
  • Journal of Applied Econometrics
  • Journal of Development Economics
  • Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization
  • Journal of Economic Growth
  • Journal of Economic History
  • Journal of International Economics
  • Journal  of Human Resources
  • Journal of Urban Economics
  • Scandinavian Journal of Economics
  • Southern Economic Journal

In addition to our robust research agenda, faculty have also spent time at the Federal Trade Commission, Rand, and the Department of Agriculture, to cite a few examples. Professors Rothert and Utgoff were recently awarded Minerva Grants; Professors Insler and McQuoid were awarded a Volgeneau Fellowship by the School of Humanities and Social Sciences for 2019-2021.

In the midst of time spent on research, the faculty upholds the department's rich tradition of outstanding teaching.  Aiding in this tradition is a stellar collection of military officers, all of whom are central to not only teaching courses within the department, but add to the dynamic and diverse faculty atmosphere. Their experience as Navy and Marine officers proves instrumental in the instruction of the Midshipmen who choose economics as their major.

Fall 2023 Seminar Series:

September 13, 2023
Kyle Greenberg (USMA)

September 28, 2023
Amos Golan (American University)

October 10, 2023
Luminita Stevens (Maryland)

November 15, 2023
Emel Filiz-Ozbay (Maryland)

David Walker  
Hon. David M. Walker, former Comptroller General of the United States (1998-2008), joined the Economics Department in August 2019 as the Admiral William Crowe Chair Distinguished Visiting Professor. Walker is an internationally recognized fiscal responsibility, government transformation and retirement security expert. He is the author of a National Bestseller book entitled Comeback America: Turning the Country Around and Restoring Fiscal Responsibility (Random House Trade Paperbacks, 2010) and recently published a follow-up book entitled America in 2040: Still a Superpower? (Authorhouse, 2020). Walker has won numerous leadership, professional, and public service awards, including the first and only Alexander Hamilton Award for economic and fiscal policy leadership from the Center for the Study of the Presidency and the Congress. Walker recently spoke to the Brigade as the featured speaker in the Economics Department's Critical Crossroads lecture series on "America's Fiscal Future and the Impact of COVID-19".


ODE Federal Reserve Board Trip
ODE Students at the Federal Reserve Board of Governors


Students at New York Stock Exchange
Students at New York Stock Exchange


OECD trip
OECD Trip (Paris, France)
ENGEL-headshot-primary.jpg
Distinguished Professor of the Practice Rozlyn Engel recently participated in a discussion on how to build a foreign policy agenda that meets the needs of the middle class at home as well as U.S. interests abroad. The discussion stemmed from Professor Engel's work with the Carnegie Panel for International Peace, a group with whom she has launched a multiyear research effort dedicated to exploring how U.S. foreign policy needs to change in order to better advance the economic well-being of America’s middle class. A link to the online discussion can be found here.

UN
Distinguished Visiting Professor Landefeld (Economics) participated in a kickoff meeting for a  new International economic accounting handbook that he is drafting for the United Nations. This handbook responds to the need to better account for the value-added associated with multinational companies and offshoring as well as well as the need to fill the information gaps in cross-country risk revealed by the financial crisis. Professor Landefeld (center) is pictured above with (left to right) Ronald Jansen (Chief UN Trade Statistics), Stefan Schweinfest (Chief UN Statistics Division) Ivo Havinga (Chief Economic Statistics) and Michael Connolly of Ireland (Chair of the UN Working Group).

Professor Goodman
Professor Rae Jean Goodman as Grand Marshal of Graduation 2016

Professor Little
Professor Little as Grand Marshal of Graduation 2013
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