Lewis S. Davis

Assistant Professor of Economics

Department of Economics, 211D Social Sciences Building, 807 Union Street, Schenectady, NY 12308

518-388-8395, davisl@union.edu, Wed. 1-4 and by appointment

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Background: 

I joined the Union College Economics Department in the fall of 2006. I received a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill in 1999, with fields in Development Economics and Econometrics, and a BA in Mathematics from Davidson College in 1988.  I previously held positions at Smith College, the University of New Hampshire, and SUNY Oswego. 

My Curriculum Vitae contains more information on my professional life.

Teaching:

Interests: My teaching interests include microeconomics, mathematical economics, development economics, and economics and political economy of economic growth. I am also interested in the economics of illegal behavior and am developing a course on the economics of sin.

Syllabi: Introduction to Economics, Intermediate Microeconomics, Seminar in Economic Growth and Development, Senior Thesis

India Miniterm: In the fall of 2007, I served as a faculty advisor, along with Hal Fried, for the Union College Miniterm in India. As part of this experience, I advised twelve Union students in preparing “Financial Inclusiveness and Microfinance.” The Miniterm participants presented their paper at the 15^th International Economics Conference, National College, Mumbia, India.

Research:

Interests: My primary research interest involves the role of political and institutional factors in economic growth. The main line of my research explores the links between institutions, market transaction costs, the division of labor and economic growth. Recent papers in this line of inquiry, available below, address the roles government, firms, cultural ties and legal institutions in facilitating growth. More recently, I have begun investigating the role of institutions in determining income inequality. I have also co-authored papers on information technology and stock prices and the role of international trade in uneven development.

Papers: Click here for links to my working papers, articles, and other published work.

Editorial Work: I am currently serving as Associate Editor for Development, Princeton Encyclopedia of the World Economy, edited with Ramkishen S. Rajan, Kenneth A. Reinert and Amy Glass, which will appear in 2008. Information for contributors may found by clicking here.