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Department of Economics

The American University Department of Economics supports a pluralist approach to economics that embraces mainstream and heterodox perspectives and emphasizes policy applications. We believe that theoretical understanding, empirical investigation, and policy analysis are enriched by study of the evolution of economic ideas and economic institutions.

Our mission is to provide undergraduate and graduate education, and faculty research, that enrich economic analysis and policy by implementing pluralist analytical approaches grounded in historical and empirical context. Offering graduate and undergraduate degrees, minors, and certificates in a heterodox atmosphere in addition to the Program on Gender Analysis and Info-Metrics Institute.

Graduate degrees:
MS Econ (6 tracks)
Online MS (2 tracks: Applied Economics & Data Science)
PhD Economics
Undergraduate degrees:
BA Economics
BS Economics
BS Mathematics & Economics

Recent Publications

Boris Gershman and Ameesh Upadhyay. "Fragmentation or Inequality: Ethnic Divisions and Conflict in Sub-Saharan Africa." Journal of Comparative Economics, 2026, forthcoming.

Boris Gershman. "Witchcraft Beliefs and Subjective Well-Being." In Economics, Religion and Public Policy. Edited by Vladimir Maltsev and Nirvikar Singh. World Scientific, 2026.

"The Legacy of Carmen Diana Deere: Gender, Households, and Market Integration—An Introduction," Mieke Meurs and Günseli Berik. Journal of Agrarian Change (2026), 26(1).

Mathy, Gabriel, and Stephen Sun. "Did Henry Ford Cause the Recession of 1926–1927? A Test of the Granular Hypothesis." Southern Economic Journal 92, no. 2 (2025): 587-605.

Gomez-Gonzalez, Patricia, and Gabriel Mathy. "The world’s first global safe asset: British public debt, 1718-1913." Explorations in Economic History 97 (2025): 101679.

Mathy, Gabriel, and Yongchen Zhao. "Could Diffusion Indexes Have Forecasted the Great Depression?." Journal of Forecasting 44, no. 2 (2025): 320-338.

“Care for Older Persons in Brazil,” Mieke Meurs, Rafaela Rodrigues and Cristina Vieceli. Sociedad y Economía (2025), vol. 56.

“The consumption side of trade shocks: Inequality dynamics and luxury imports,” Vinicius Curti Cicero & Laura Heras-Recuero. Journal of Development Economics (2026), vol. 179, 103663.

"Equity prices, market power, and optimal corporate tax policy," Ignacio González, Juan A. Montecino, Joseph E. Stiglitz. European Economic Review (2025), vol. 176, 105039.

"Are jobless recoveries history? Okun’s law, insufficient stimulus, and slow recoveries." Mathy, Gabriel. Review of Keynesian Economics 12, no. 4 (2024): 435-452.

"Could Diffusion Indexes Have Forecasted the Great Depression?" Mathy, Gabriel, and Yongchen Zhao. Journal of Forecasting 44, no. 2 (2025): 320-338.

“Public Opinion, Racial Bias, and Labor Market Outcomes in the USA," Kaveh Majlesi, Silvia Prina and Paul Sullivan. Nature Human Behavior, 8, June 2024, pp. 1493–1505.

"Structural Change, Elite Capitalism, and the Emergence of Labour Emancipation," Quamrul Ashraf, Francesco Cinnirella, Oded Galor, Boris Gershman & Erik Hornung. Review of Economic Studies, 92 (2), March 2025, pp. 808–836

"Unit cost expectations: Firms’ perspectives on inflation," Brent Meyer & Xuguang Simon Sheng. European Economic Review (2025), vol. 174, 104955, pp. 1-22.

"Eliminating Environmental Costs to Proof-of-Work-Based Cryptocurrencies: A Proposal," Gabriel Mathy. Eastern Economic Journal 49, no. 2 (2023): 206-220.

“Documenting and Exchanging Simulation Specifications: A Language-Agnostic Approach,” Alan G. Isaac, Social Science Computer Review, 2024.

"Headhunting and Warfare in Austronesia: A Phylogenetic Comparative Analysis," Boris Gershman & Tinatin Mumladze. Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization 220, April 2024, 768-791.

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News & Events

The special themed section of International Journal of Care and Caring guest edited by Professors Mieke Meurs and Mahmud Yesuf, “Care economies in context: exploring the structures and key gaps in care economies in the Global South” is published! In addition to the editors’ introduction, the special themed section includes 4 articles by AU Global Scholars and their co-authors. The Global Scholars visited the Program on Gender Analysis in Economics (PGAE) with generous support from the Women’s Rights Program of the Open Society Foundation.

On February 20, 2026, American University signed a partnership with the University of World Economy and Diplomacy (UWED) in Uzbekistan to launch a 1+1 Dual Master’s Degree in Economics.

Gabriel Mathy discusses record high Gold Prices and economic implications.

Sarah Oliver (2024 PhD) published her dissertation chapter on international trade in services in the Journal of International Economics (2026).

Congratulations to Amy Burnett Cross (CAS/ECON/PhD '25) on receiving honorable mention in the prestigious Upjohn Institute dissertation competition. Amy's dissertation shows how U.S. military recruitment policy shaped women's participation in the civilian labor market.

We are delighted to announce that Professor Xuguang Simon Sheng has been appointed Co-Editor-in-Chief of the International Review of Economics & Finance (IREF). IREF publishes high-quality theoretical and empirical work across economics and finance (2024 Impact Factor: 5.6). Learn more about the journal’s Aims & Scope.

Research Seminar Series runs Wednesdays at noon in Kreeger 100.

IMPA in the News

Trump's Cuts to Science Funding Could Hurt U.S. Economy, Study Shows IMPA research finding that just a 25 percent cut in federal support for research and development will lead to a 3.8 percent long run decline in the US economy was the basis for this week in a New York Times article on the long-run impact of current cuts in grant funding to universities across the country. Learn more by reading the full IMPA report.

The report follows on the heels of IMPA’s 2025 spring colloquium on “Tax Policy, Inequality, and the Future of the American Economy,” which highlighted the potential impact of current tax reform proposals on inequality. IMPA has issued several reports relevant to the upcoming tax debate.

IMPA Co-Directors published an op-ed “Corporations Help Economy but Need to Pay Fair Share of Taxes."

More about Marc

Marc Alain Boucicault is a man with a mission: to leverage the power of technology to reshape economics in his native country of Haiti. His latest venture, Banj, is the nation’s largest coworking space — an enterprise that also serves as a tech startup accelerator partner of Google, Stellar, and Meta.

Banj is the Creole translation of the word genius. “We named it Banj because it is a space that bring geniuses together, the best minds and hearts seeking to act as agents of change for Haiti,” says Boucicault. “Despite the enormous spirit of creativity that exists in Haiti, entrepreneurs still lack the logistical, technical, and financial support systems and networks to develop companies that can change the country's macroeconomic landscape. Banj offers modern workspaces capable of producing concrete results for entrepreneurs who want to increase their visibility and take their entrepreneurial experience to the next level.”

For 15 years, Boucicault has worked to establish grassroot organizations to spark change in Haiti—he launched one of his biggest projects, Elan Haiti, while he was still an AU student, bringing together the top Haitian “Under 30” leaders for the first time. He has also been a Fulbright Scholar, an economist for the World Bank and Inter-American Development Bank, and a board member of the French-Haitian Chamber of Commerce and the Haitian Education and Leadership Program.

Boucucault says he’s grateful for American University. “It shaped an entire stage in my life,” he says. “Elan Haiti propelled my leadership in Haiti and was critical in helping me to launch Banj. My leadership journey began in DC, and AU was the trigger that started everything for me.”

Bulletins

The Global Majority E-Journal, Volume 16, Number 1 (June 2025) is now available.

Read and contribute to the Program for Gender Analysis in Economics Blog.

Kara Reynolds spoke with CNN about how Taylor Swift’s The Life of a Showgirl album release and concert film may bolster local businesses and was quoted in media outlets including Billboard, Washingtonian, Secret DC, NBC4 Washington, and DC News Now regarding Swiftonomics, a class economic impacts of Taylor Swift and her Eras Tour.

Mary E. Hansen is quoted in MarketWatch's article, "Americans are not paying off their credit-card debt. We should be concerned."
Ignacio González Garcia and Juan Montecino earned the Outstanding Contribution to Fostering Collaborative Scholarship Award from American University.
Jon D. Wisman earned the Scholar/Teacher of the Year Award from American University.
Mary E. Hansen is featured in a WUSA9 article that aims to answer the question: What do you need to know about keeping your money safe now?
To the Point: Why Do Eggs Cost So Much? Professor of Economics Gabriel Mathy answers the question of the week.
Mary E. Hansen was quoted in Andrew Stanton's Newsweek article: "'Shark Tank' Investor Points to 'Simple' Lesson Learned from SVB Fall."
PhD candidate Amy Burnett Cross received an EHA Dissertation Fellowship from the EHA Committee on Research in Economic History.
Amos Golan named Fellow at the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
Dina Rady won the Best Presentation and Best Content Award for her paper, "The Impact of the Russia-Ukraine War on the Egyptian Economy-Policies and Responses" at the Advance Research Society for Science and Sociology-ARSSS International Conference.

Gold Hits Record Highs: What That Says about the Economy

The Economics of Baseball, Taylor Swift, and the American Dream

Economics

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