ROANOMICS

Volume 6, Issue 2

Roanoke College Economics Newsletter

Travels with Bob

This past June, we headed west to Denali NP in Alaska. The trip was choreographed by Princess Cruise Lines : four days in Denali NP (at two different Princess hotels) and seven days cruising down the inside passage to Vancouver. Most
of Alaska is truly the "last frontier" with only 737,000 people (ranked 47th among
the states) in an area more than twice the size of Texas. Population density is 1.2
persons per square mile. Thus ends today's geography lesson!
There were three highlights of the trip : a fifty mile bus trip into Denali NP with
stunning natural beauty punctuated by moose and grizzly bear sightings, a ski
plane trip to a glacier on the slopes of Mt. McKinley (the highest peak in the U.S.
at 20,310 ft. --also called Denali ,the traditional Indian name ), and a float

...some tourists like

to travel thousands
of miles to the middle
-of-nowhere in order
to spend big bucks
on jewelry.

plane trip to Misty Fjords National Monument. The plane trips were expensive at

- Bob Stauffer

about $250 per person, but were worth it to gain an appreciation for how vast,
beautiful, and pristine the Alaskan wilderness is.
Our return cruise started at Whittier (built by the U.S. military in WW II - population220) , and stopped at three ports: Juneau--the state capital (about the size of
Salem) with no highway access - boats and planes only; Skagway (population

Issue includes:

Bobs road into Denali National Park

Travels with Bob

Fed Challenge Team

Reading group trip to

Washington, DC

SAS Joint Certificate

Program

Word from the editors

Flemingism
When you go to yoga class, you
will not chant ommmmm. You will
chant C+I+G+NX.
C+I+G+NX

Misty fjords from the air

965), and Ketchikan (population 8,050). In all three ports, there were interesting
excursions for an extra fee, good local history museums, and for some unknown
reason--lots of jewelry stores (many owned by the cruise lines). Apparently, some
tourists like to travel thousands of miles to the middle-of-nowhere in order to
spend big bucks on jewelry. Could it be guilt-ridden husbands or boyfriends? Or
maybe it involves those who purchased the unlimited drink option ( about $175) at
the beginning of the cruise?
Since returning, our travel agenda included several short trips on the east coast.
In August, we went to Rehoboth Beach Del. with high school friends . The beach
was great, but the traffic congestion was horrific (Yogi Berra was wrong when it
said "it is so crowded, no one goes there anymore"). We then retreated to the
mountains of North Carolina, including Blowing Rock (tres up-scale), Little Switzerland on the BR Parkway and Mt. Pisgah -south of Asheville . The scenery in
this area is some of the best within easy driving distance, particularly the BR
Parkway south of Mt. Pisgah, the Roan Mt. bald on the AT, and the little known
Max Patch. Those who claim McAfee's Knob is one of the best views on the Appalachian Trial have not been to Max Patch -it is a mountain bald on the AT near Hot

Springs, N.C. It is an easy hike of about one mile, but the drive to get there
is daunting --particularly the last five miles on a narrow, curvy, dirt road! I calmed
my nerves with a trip to Wicked Weed Brewery in Asheville. Mt. Pisgah remains
one of our favorite places, and we have already made reservations for next October during peak leaf season. But the mountains of N.C. don't quite measure up to
the grandeur of the Alaskan wilderness. A return trip to Denali NP is on my bucket
list!

Garry Fleming, Zen Master

Crook presents work at

international
conference
Michelle Crook not only
leads the annual Roanoke College Fed Challenge Team, but presents
work of her own.
She co-presented
Teaching Monetary Policy with Contrasting Methods with Dr. I. David
Wheat at the Developments in Economic Education Conference hosted
by the University of Birmingham in Birmingham,
England.
Crook recently submitted
a manuscript for publication and is waiting on a
decision.
Best of luck!

The 2015 Roanoke College Fed Challenge Team in Richmond

2015 Fed Challenge Reflection

The Fed Challenge Team represented Roanoke College in Richmond. Students
used their economics knowledge and communication skills to present arguments
on monetary policy to a panel of judges.
The experience has made me strongly consider the banking industry as I have
developed an appreciation for commercial banking and how the FEDs actions...have a...strong effect on the overall economy. - Weston Dean
Besides gaining knowledge about the Federal Reserve Bank and the domestic
economy, I also honed my teamwork and interpersonal skills. - Angela He

...I believe that the best part about the Fed Challenge is that it allowed for us to
apply the theories we have been learning about in our macroeconomics classes
since freshman year. - Jeremy Peavey
Wheat and Crook

I learned a lot of valuable communication and team skills that I plan to take with
me as I go through life.- Andrew Feeney
It helped enormously to have a Senior VP/CFO of the Bank of Botetourt as our
professor giving us...insight to the interworking of how banks loan with each other
as well as managing their accounts with the Fed. - Max Carroll
It was impressive to see how individuals of different majors and background
came together for a presentation that may not necessarily be of our own disciplines - Geoffrey Cole

Index of Economic Freedom: US (grey) vs. HK (pink, #1 in the world)

All ears at the Heritage Foundation.

Reading group trip to DC

Five students participated in the third annual Economics Reading Group. This
year students read Hayeks Road to Serfdom and met once one campus to discuss the book. We started the conversation by watching an interview with Milton
Friedman about the book and its impact. Friedman gave a wonderful description of
the setting in which the book was written. You can watch the video here.

Two night trip to Washington, DC

A week after the on-campus meeting, the group drove to Washington, DC for two
nights and visited with various scholars. The Mercatus Center at George Mason
was our first stop. We learned about their graduate program and other opportunities and talked with Matt Mitchell about capitalism and government granted privilege. Later that evening we met with some RC alumni for dinner.

Thank you to AEI for supporting one

of our Reading Group visits.

The following day we visited the Heritage Foundation and talked with Anthony Kim
about his Index of Economic Freedom. You can read about the index and the latest estimates here. The graphic above compares the United States (#11 in the
world) to Hong Kong (#1 in the world.) Economic freedom is measured according
to 1) Rule of Law, 2) Limited government, 3) Regulatory efficiency, and 4) Open
markets. After Heritage and lunch the group competed in our first Economic Freedom Scavenger Hunt. You can read about our hunt here.
Our final morning in DC included a visit to the American Enterprise Institute. Journalist Tim Carney talked with us about economic freedom and his experiences
covering stories involving government regulation in small businesses.
Over the course of three days we spoke with three difference experts, each from a
different field giving us a broad understanding of the role of government in the US
economy.
Reading group boarding the Metro

2016-17 JCP
The Roanoke College/
SAS Data and Econometric Analysis Joint Certificate Program will go into
its second year in the fall.
Already students from
economics and computer
science are entering the
program.

Several of the current

students note employer
interest in their SAS skills
and having an advantage
in the job market.
SAS is used by 90% of
the Fortune 500 top 100
companies. These companies include those in
the banking, financial,
and research sectors with
jobs for students coming
out of college.
The JCP sends a signal
to potential employers of
the quality of your skills
and serves as a complement to your RC degree.
If you are interested in
joining the program, email
the Director, Dr. Alice
Louise Kassens
(kassens@roanoke.edu)

NOTE: ECON 448 is a

required unit for the certificate and is only offered
in the fall semester. The
course also counts towards the economics major and minor.

The first certificates are going out this spring.

SAS Joint Certificate Program:

First graduates
Five students completed the requirements for the Roanoke College/SAS Data and
Econometric Analysis Joint Certificate Program this spring. For the certificate the
students took ECON 448 Introduction to Econometrics, SAS Programming I and II,
Introduction to Enterprise Guide, and are participating in the 10th annual SAS
Analytics Shootout.
Our first graduates are:
Max Carroll
Jonathan Eary
Andrew Feeney
Conor Fitzhenry
Jorge Martinez-Compains

A few things
about Max
Max Carroll has been my
student assistant throughout the 2015-16 academic year.
He has helped with grading, editing, lifting big
boxes that I cant carry,
and clearing out my office.
Everything he does he
does with a smile and
right away. Yes maam
and it is done!

Max Carroll

lyze complex situations in order to identify and model the essence of the issue
at hand. After years of practice and
guidance from numerous mentors, I
now have the ability to confidently and
concisely communicate economic analysis to those with little to no training in
As I will soon be an alumni of Roanoke
economics. Economics is all about
College, I can truly say that my time
choices, and my choice to study Ecohere has been a blessing. Balancing
nomics at Roanoke College has certainacademics and athletics left little time to
ly been optimal.
stop and smell the roses. However
sitting behind this computer, writing this
article, leaves me with plenty of time to
reminisce over my life-changing experience at Roanoke College.

Word from the

Co-Editor: Max
Carroll

From the very beginning, it was evident

that obtaining an economics degree
was no easy task. The professors at
Roanoke served as the perfect catalyst,
continually sparking my curiosity to dive
deeper into more research. In times of
darkness and uncertainty, I could count
on professors to shine a light into the
academic abyss.
It is clear that studying economics at
Roanoke College has allowed me to
develop previously untapped critical
thinking skills. Roanoke has bestowed
upon me the ability to abstract and ana

Not only is Max an economics major ( a good

one at that), but he is a
leader on the Roanoke
College Mens Lacrosse
Team; he is an exemplar
student-athlete.
I am going to miss him
tremendously, but I am
excited to see what his
next chapter in life is all
about.
Dont forget to stay in
touch Max and come
back to visit!
-Dr. Kassens

Congratulations Max!

Word from the CoEditor: Alice Kassens

It is hard to believe that another academic year is finishing
up. This was an exciting one and I thought that I would
share my Top 10 items/events of the year.
1. Getting my first book deal (I will be writing a book with ISah Hsieh for SAS Press about using Visual Analytics to
examine UN Comtrade data; SAS Press will publish our
book.)

2. Taking my first group of students to SAS Campus and

watching them take in their surroundings.
3. Guiding the first group of students through the RC-SAS
Joint Certificate Program.
4. Taking the Economics Reading group to visit the Mercatus Center and speak with a scholar.
5. Taking the Economics Reading group to speak with a
scholar at the American Enterprise Institute.

6. Taking the Economics Reading group to speak with a

scholar at the Heritage Foundation.
7. Hosting our first virtual lecture in macroeconomics principles (I-Sah Hsieh joined us to discuss trade data.)
8. Working with IPOR colleagues to begin the Virginia
Business Leaders Poll (and having our first photoshoot!)
9. Getting an op-ed published in the Washington Times.
10. Racing the Masters Invitational Mile at the USATF
Indoor National Championships (Portland, OR)

One of the many statues on campus

2015 Econometrics class at SAS Campus, Cary, NC

Econometrics goes to SAS

In October Dr. Kassens econometrics class (ECON 448) travelled to Cary, North
Carolina to visit SAS Campus.
We were welcomed in Building C by alum Jay Laramore and Josh Hewitt who
organized the day for us.
Students presented their research papers from econometrics to a group of SAS
heavy hitters including I-Sah Hsieh, Ken Sanford, and Jerry Oglesby. The audience provided helpful feedback for the projects.
We then had lunch in a cafeteria some students stated that they could live in for
the rest of their lives. Yes, it was that amazing. No wonder SAS employees are so
productive!
RC welcomed at SAS

Jay and Josh took us on a tour of the campus before we headed out.

Visit to NCSU
Jay connected Dr. Kassens with the folks at NCSUs Institute for Advanced Analytics. We heard about the Masters of Science in Analytics (MSA) program and
toured the facility. We also walked around the new Hunt Library and saw the Book
Bot.

Data analytics is so much more

The trip opened students eyes to the power and breadth of data analytics. It is not
just about sitting in a cubicle and playing with numbers. Analytics is a skill set that
when done properly can tell interesting and helpful stories. Big data analysis is
here and Roanoke College students visited with some of the best in the business.
The pairing of economics and data analytics is a natural one, and one that will

They are everywhere at SAS campus

Students present at Showcase

Several members of the
Roanoke College Joint
Certificate Program presented a poster at the
BUAD/Economics Student Experiential Learning Showcase.

Experiential learning opportunities included service learning and independent study.

The JCP poster outlined
the questions they are
analyzing for the SAS
Analytics Shootout regarding funding implications for an aging population.
Over 100 people attended the showcase (not
counting BUAD/
Economics faculty) put
together by Professor
Sharon Gibbs.

Poster presentation for the Showcase

Analytics Shootout
A team of seven students and Dr. Kassens are competing in the 10th annual SAS
Analytics Shootout.

The showcase was a

great opportunity for students to share their experiential learning opportunities.

Hosted by the Institute for Health and Business Insight at Central Michigan University, the competition gives teams a chance to test their SAS and analytics skills.

If you did not attend this

year, please visit the
showcase (held in West
Hall) next time.

Teams use data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Social Security Administration to score prediction
models of disease diagnosis, tax revenues, and labor force participation. Additionally teams will consider strategies to save social security, including increases the
retirement age and lowering benefits.

Teams are given a hypothetical but common/likely problem to solve. This year the
problem involves the impacts of an aging population.

The 2016 Shootout Team for Roanoke College is led by seniors Andrew Feeney
and Conor Fitzhenry.
The Shootout is an example of experiential learning. Through it students are applying their economic and analytics skills while building their resume swith participation in the national competition.

What do you
think will
happen to
short-term
rates in the
next 12months?
We want to know what you think.

Stauffer being interviewed by Rick Santelli

Stauffer published by WSJ and

interviewed on CNBC
Earlier this semester Roanoke Colleges own Dr. Bob Stauffer (of Travels with
Bob fame, amongst other accolades) published an opinion piece in the Wall
Street Journal entitled The Feds Mismeasure of Inflation.

Please take a moment to answer

in our anonymous non-scientific
poll. We will share the aggregate
results on our blog.
If you respond to the poll by the
end of June, your answers will be
included in the results.

You can find the poll

here.

Stauffer argues that the Fed is underestimating inflation because the index they
use for their inflation target of 2% , Personal Consumption Expenditures, is
pushed downwards because of competition and supply side factors.
He believes that a different index should be used that takes into account services,
which are not being held to the same competitive forces and supply side factors. If
a different target is used, it would show that the Fed has already achieved its 2%
inflation target.

Santelli interviews Stauffer

Rick Santelli read Stauffers comments in the WSJ and requested an interview for
his Squawk on the Street on CNBC. Stauffer sat of the interview in a Roanoke
studio on February 19th.
This interview is by far the most watched interview and biggest get by a Roanoke
College economics faculty member. Excellent work Dr. Bob!

Watch the interview

You can watch Stauffers interview and read a summary of it on the Roanoke College webpage here.

What do you think will happen to

rates?

Want to learn
more about
the health care
industry?
Roanoke College offers
several courses and programs regarding health
and health care.
Health economics (ECON
227) is offered each
spring semester and is
taught by Dr. Kassens.
The course covers supply
and demand issues in
health care markets and
the impact of government
regulation on prices and
availability of services.
The Business Administration and Economics Department offers a concentration in Health Care Administration. Graduates
have gone on to graduate
school in Public Health
and various jobs in the
health care industry.
If you are interested in
either Health Economics
or the Health Care Administration Concentration, contact Dr. Alice
Kassens
(kassens@roanoke.edu)

Kassens Op-Ed in Washington

Times
Dr. Kassens had an opinion piece published by the Washington Times on March
16th. The piece is titled Optimizing Nursing Skills for Better Veteran Care.
Kassens argues that laws prohibiting Advanced Practice Registered Nurses
(APRNs) from practicing the full scope of their education and training is inefficient
and contribute to wait lists in the VA system.
Currently there are bills before Congress (H.R. 1247 and S. 2279) that address
this issue.
APRN education and training is standardized but licensing standards are set by
the state and vary.
Eliminating these differences and permitting APRNs to practice to the full extent
of their education and training will reduce costs and wait times while improving
health outcomes for our veterans.
You can read the piece here.

MARKET FORCES
FOR TASTY BEVERAGES

Gent Bent IPA over at Parkway).

Luckily, economics can help us understand why we

have failed to see the devastating predictions come
true. First, a large portion of hop production is done
under future contracts. Thus, a supply is usually provided at a fairly steady price. Second, hops only account for about 4% of the cost of your typical beer.
Third, brewers have concentrated on beers that reIf you happen to love economics and enjoy an occasional microbrew (and who doesnt?), you have proba- quire less hops (more session IPAs, saisons, and
sours). Finally, overall hop acreage has increased
bly heard rumors of hop shortages. Here are a few
over the last ten years, including small local farms for
examples of headlines you can find describing the
shortage. Bad Hangover. Drought and Hot Weather brewers (more than 70% of the nations production is
Cause Trouble for Hops Growers: The Consumer Will in the state of Washington).
Pay a Higher Price for Beer. Beer Prices Could SkyOne of the first economics lessons is that people rerocket Next Year. Hop Shortage Threatens Craft
spond to incentives. With the rising price of hops,
Breweries. The problem is that these headlines are
farmers have responded by planting more hops and
not from a single year, but rather from 2016, 2015,
producers of beer have responded by changing the
mixture of beer offered at the microbreweries. Finally,
2014, and 2013. If you have been sampling miwe must always consider how much of an overall cost
crobrews over this period, you might have a difficult
is impacted by an input price to determine how much
time relating these headlines to your local watering
of an effect it will have on the products price.
hole (for example, today you can grab a $4 pint of

Alumni Updates

Brunella Salazar-Gonti `13 is a legal assistant for the

Virginia Immigration Law Center in Roanoke, VA.

Giovanni Forte `11 is a Brokerage Coordinator at

Danielle (Shiley) McCloskey, MPH `10 and family will
Mass Mutual. Recently, Gio made at least one econombe moving from Texas in the near future. She planss to
ics faculty member very happy with a surprise visit durcontinue her work in public health research and consulting office hours! Great to see you doing so well!
ing. Currently she is an independent contractor for the
Wichita Falls Health Department.
Ian Kervick-Jimenez `13 is a Business Analyst at
Sionic Advisors in New York City.
James Bradshaw `13 finished his masters in Economics (Lehigh University) and is now a video coordiSara Caudle `12 is a Financial Consultant at Yonnator intern with the Washington Wizards.
Drake & Associates in Columbia, SC.
Andrew Streaman `09 works in the Prime Brokerage
Product Development Department at JPMorgan Chase
& Co. in New York City.
Brian Ellison `13 is the Director of Operations at
Presto DyeChem in Philadelphia

Jay Laramore `10 is an Analytical Training Consultant at SAS in Cary, NC. Jay was instrumental in organizing Dr. Kassens econometrics class trip to SAS Campus and NCSU in the fall. We hope it becomes an annual event. Thanks again for your help Jay!