Proposal for the Revision of Graduate
Degrees in Economics
Leading to the Master of Science and
Doctor of Philosophy in Applied Economics and
Minor in Business Economics
Oregon State University
College of Agricultural Sciences
Agricultural and Resource Economics
College of Forestry
Forest Resources
College of Business
Accounting, Finance and Information Management
Management, Marketing, and International Business
College of Health and Human Sciences
Public Health
College of Engineering
Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering
September 28, 2006
Abbreviated Category I proposal for the
Revision of Graduate Degrees in Economics Leading to
Master of Science and Doctor of Philosophy in Applied Economics and
Minor in Business Economics
Name of Institution: Oregon State University
Name of Proposing Colleges:
College of Agricultural Science
College of Forestry
College of Health and Human Sciences
College of Business
College of Engineering
Name of Proposing Departments: Agricultural and Resource Economics (CAS)
Forest Resources (COF)
Public Health (HHS)
Accounting, Finance and Information Management
(COB)
Management, Marketing, and International Business
(COB)
Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering
(COE)
CIP Number:
Applied Economics
Date of Proposal:
June 15, 2006
Proposed Effective Date:
Fall 2007
2
450602
A. Title of the proposed instructional, research, or public service unit. For name
changes, give both the current and proposed names. Describe the reason(s) for
the proposed change.
The current name of the degree program is Economics. The proposed name for the
program is Applied Economics. Administrative responsibility for this new degree
program will rest with a new faculty group called the Graduate Economics
Consortium (GEC). Details about the organization of GEC are provided in section B.
The reasons for this change have their origins in the creation of the Economics
degree and the University Graduate Faculty of Economics (UGFE). The UGFE was
created to bring all graduate education in economics 1 under one administrative
umbrella. Before that time, graduate and undergraduate programs were operated at
the graduate level in the Departments of Agricultural and Resource Economics
(AREc) and Forest Resources (FR) and at the undergraduate level in the Department
of Economics (Econ). In 1987-88 a Category I proposal was approved by faculty and
administrators at OSU to offer graduate degrees in Applied Economics. The case
made within the university and at the state board level was that the new program
“would make more effective use of faculty resources in economics at Oregon State
University” and would “broaden the scope of the graduate level economics programs
at Oregon State University, making them more attractive to students, faculty and
future employers.” The AREc and FR departments agreed to support this proposal
for an Applied Economics degree because the focus would be on applied work. In
this way the program would be complementary to degrees offered in AREc and FR
and distinctive from the program offered at the University of Oregon. The AREc and
FR Departments also agreed to give up a joint graduate degree program in Resource
Economics in exchange for graduate degrees in Economics. As part of the
negotiations at the state board level, the “Applied” moniker was dropped because (a)
no degree programs in existence at the time were denoted as “Applied Economics”
and (b) the University of Oregon was concerned that use of the “Applied Economics”
name at OSU would imply that their Economics program was “Theoretical
Economics” 2 . However, the applied focus of the Economics degree program
remained central to its creation and mission. Fields of specialization were limited to
a narrow set of applied areas germane to OSU’s expertise and Land and Sea Grant
missions.
The Economics degree proposal was approved in June 1988. All three departments
were granted the right to confer the degree and the UGFE was authorized to set the
degree requirements. In 1997, as a courtesy to the Department of Economics and to
streamline administration, the other two departments allowed Econ to set the
requirements for the Economics degree. Since then, particularly over the last five
years, the Economics Department has added additional coursework and field paper
requirements to the Economics degree that has rendered the degrees excessively
restrictive and less relevant for students involved in applied work. The result has
1
The graduate degrees in Economics (uppercase) are distinguished from the graduate degrees in economics (lowercase). The latter
includes degrees in Economics, Agricultural and Resource Economics, and Forest Resources (with a Forest Economic concentration).
2
Table 2 provides a list of M.S. and Ph.D. programs in Applied Economics that have been created in the last 20 years. It is apparent
from this list that OSU’s 1988 proposal to create an Applied Economics program was truly visionary.
3
been effectively to discourage AREC and FR students from seeking degrees in
Economics.. Nevertheless, until 2005, the three departments cooperated in setting the
key economics core requirements and shared in the teaching of these core courses.
Since 1990, 75 AREc students and 40 Econ students have been awarded the MS
degrees in Economics or Agricultural and Resource Economics. At the PhD level, 37
AREc students and 15 Econ students have earned Economics or AREc degrees. In
addition, Forest Resources has graduated 105 MS and 38 PhD students, some of whom
have specializations in Forest Economics.
In recent years it became apparent that the Department of Economics wanted to move
away from the original applied orientation of the Economics graduate program. In
2005 a disagreement surfaced over the content of material in macroeconomics. Six
months were spent trying to find a compromise on this and other issues without
success. Intractable disagreements about content and hours of core economics
courses, UGFE governance, and degree requirements caused the Graduate School in
March 2006 to suspend admission of new students into the Economics degree
program and to dissolve the UGFE. A month later the Dean of the Graduate School
and the Provost partially reversed the Graduate School’s decision and instructed the
three departments to put forward abbreviated Category I proposals in Economics and
Applied Economics. This proposal focuses on replacing the Economics degree for
the departments of AREc and FR. This proposal also adheres closely to the spirit of
cooperation and applied program focus evident in the 1988 proposal.
B. Location within the institution’s organizational structure. Include “before” and
“after” organizational charts (show reporting lines all the way up to the
Provost).
1. Previous Structure
The following chart outlines the organizational structure of the former UGFE.
Provost
Dean of the Graduate School
Deans of CAS, CLA and COF
Chair, University Graduate Faculty of Economics
UGFE Policy Committee
UGFE Administrative Committee
Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics
Department of Economics
Department of Forest Resources
The UGFE consisted of all economics graduate faculty in the three participating
4
departments. Each department head/chair appointed two representatives from their
respective departments to serve on the UGFE Policy Committee. The UGFE chair,
appointed by the Graduate School, was responsible to convene the Policy Committee
and chair its proceedings. The UGFE chair received partial salary and administrative
support from the Graduate School to carry out the UGFE functions. The chair
reported to the Graduate School Dean and the three college deans. The Committee
set policy regarding core course requirements, requirements for the degrees in
Economics 3 , and procedural guidelines. The UGFE Chair, in cooperation with the
Policy Committee, also created subcommittees to write and evaluate preliminary
exams, organize UGFE seminars, recommend recipients of the UGFE fellowships,
and (periodically) to evaluate and recommend changes to the UGFE core courses.
The three department heads/chairs and the UGFE chair formed the UGFE
Administrative Committee. The Administrative Committee was responsible for
identifying faculty to teach the UGFE core courses and to provide other resources as
needed to support the UGFE activities.
The UGFE was critical to the success of the graduate programs in economics. In
2003, an external review of the UGFE (organized by the Graduate School) praised its
creation, noting that it helped “…avoid duplication of university effort, …[taking]
advantage of the efficiencies to be gained by cooperating, and to help assure that
student numbers in key courses would be sufficient to sustain the economic(s)
programs. (p. 3)” They went on to conclude that “There would not be a viable
graduate program in economics at OSU without the UGFE (p. 3).”
2. Proposed Structure
The UGFE will be replaced by the Graduate Economics Consortium (GEC). The
GEC will be a voluntary faculty group open to faculty and administrators involved in
graduate economics education at OSU, including faculty working at branch
experiment stations and those with the PNW Research Station of the USDA Forest
Service. The GEC membership will be divided into two faculty categories: primary
faculty and supporting faculty. Primary faculty
•
•
•
•
Are voting members of the GEC and eligible to serve on the GEC Policy
Committee;
are eligible to serve as instructors in core GEC classes;
can direct student M.S. and Ph.D. programs in Applied Economics;
can serve on written Preliminary Examination committees
Supporting faculty
• Are eligible to serve as instructors in field GEC classes;
• can serve on graduate-student advisory committees in Applied Economics;
Tables 1a and 1b in Appendix A provides a list of primary and supporting faculty
who will initially make up the GEC. The GEC faculty will function much as a
departmental faculty, collectively making major decisions involving the Applied
3
Although the UGFE technically made decisions regarding requirements for the Economics degree, in fact this authority was
delegated beginning in 1997 to the Department of Economics.
5
Economics program requirements and administrative policies. Primary and
Supporting faculty will meet at least two times per year to discuss and act on major
policy issues, as well as to have an opportunity to interact socially and professionally.
The GEC will be governed by a Policy Committee, structured as follows:
• 2 representatives from the participating AREc faculty
• 2 representatives from the participating FR faculty
• 1 representative from the the participating Economics faculty 4
• 1 representative from the participating faculty in the Colleges of Health and
Human Sciences, Engineering, or Business
• Department heads/chairs from the Administrative Committee (see below)
If student enrollments in the program regularly exceed five students from a particular
department, the Policy Committee would be expanded to include an additional
representative from that department. A second representative from that department
would be added if enrollment reached 10 students. No department would have more
than two elected faculty members on the Policy Committee.
All non head/chair departmental representatives to the Policy Committee will be
elected at large by the entire Primary Faculty of the GEC. The elected Policy
Committee representatives will recommend one from among their group to serve as a
Director for the Policy Committee for two years. The Director is formally appointed
by the Graduate School Dean. A Director could not be reappointed except in special
circumstances. The administrative structure above the GEC will be similar to the
UGFE. A Liason Dean will be appointed by the Graduate School Dean from the five
colleges involved in the program to be their liaison with the GEC Director and will
serve for three years. The Director will report to the Liason Dean and the Dean of the
Graduate School regarding issues involving the GEC. The Graduate School will
provide modest financial support to the Director and related administrative support.
The GEC Director will meet with all the deans annually to apprise them of
achievements related to the GEC and issues of concern or proposed changes. The
GEC Director will sign all programs of study, dissertations and theses written by
Applied Economics candidates, student petitions. The director will also provide final
approval on faculty admitted to the GEC and students admitted to Applied Economics
degree programs.
The Policy Committee will set GEC policy and procedures, including:
• Draft and propose a constitution and subsequent administrative rules to
govern the GEC and the Applied Economics programs;
• determine all core course and field-course requirements, thereby providing
adequate uniformity and quality control over the program;
• procedures for conducting written preliminary exams;
• modifications and amendments to the operating structures and procedures.
The Policy committee will also appoint subcommittees to handle disbursement of
scholarship monies controlled by the GEC, to grade preliminary examinations, and to
4
Should the College of Liberal Arts become an official co-sponsor of the Applied Economics degree program, representation on the
Policy Committee by the Department of Economics would be increased to two seats.
6
periodically review and update core-course sequences.
An Administrative Committee will also be appointed within the GEC. This
committee will consist of the GEC Director and heads/chairs of the departments
involved in the GEC that provide faculty to teach the core theory and quantitative
methods courses. This committee will identify instructors for all core courses, as
well as work with the other GEC department heads/chairs to identify field course
instructors and faculty to serve on the various GEC committees. All committee
members will have a vote. The GEC Director will meet with all department
heads/chairs involved in the GEC at least once a year to provide a summary of the
program’s activities and to address problems or changes that have or are anticipated
to occur.
Teaching responsibilities within the Applied Economics core courses would be
roughly proportional to the number of students enrolled in the Applied Economics
program within each department. Departments with fewer than 10% of the total
Applied Economics graduate student pool would not be obligated to provide
instructors for core courses. Students using the Business Economics minor will pay a
prorated share of the resource usage fee currently levied on business students enrolled
in the MBA program.
The proposed organizational flow chart for the GEC is as follows
Provost
Dean of Graduate School
Director, Graduate Economics Consortium
GEC Policy Committee
Liason College Dean
Deans of CAS, COF, HHS, COB, and COE
GEC Administrative Committee
Participating faculty in Colleges of CAS, COF, HHS, COB, and COE
The GEC replaces the key functions of the UGFE. The cooperation and support of
faculty from the Colleges of Health and Human Sciences, Business, and Engineering,
should provide sufficient numbers to offer a viable program in Applied Economics.
Appendix B is a graph illustrating the number of faculty and average number of PhD
graduates each year for PhD granting Economics programs across the country. Note
that our historical PhD graduation rates are less than what we are currently
experiencing and what we expect to occur over the next few years.
C. Objectives, functions (e.g., instruction, research, public service), and
7
activities of the proposed unit.
1. Explain how the program’s current objectives, functions and activities will be
changed.
The objectives for the GEC and Applied Economics degree are
• To advance the level of graduate education at OSU;
• To coordinate the offering of key economics coursework to make more
efficient use of resources. In doing so, the core courses will be taught
“regularly and well”;
• To promote interaction among faculty and graduate students involved in
applied economics;
• To foster an environment that is conducive to research, scholarship, and
professional development.
One key objective of the former UGFE was to coordinate coursework and other
activities among the three participating departments to make more efficient use of
resources. With the decision by the leadership in the Economics Department to move
away from an applied orientation, we anticipate that many of the faculty in the
Department of Economics will initially not be actively involved in the Applied
Economics program. However, we would certainly welcome interested faculty in the
Department of Economics beyond those already committed to participation in the
GEC 5 . Aside from this participation issue, we expect that the GEC and Applied
Economics program will function much as the UGFE did.
The organizational changes that occur when moving from the UGFE to the GEC also
are beneficial in making this new organization more consistent with other multidepartmental programs housed in the Graduate School. Specifically, the departments
will play less of a role in the GEC and the faculty will play a greater role in
identifying policies, GEC membership and program leadership. One improvement of
the GEC over most other multidepartmental programs is that there is a specific
administrative committee for the department heads/chairs. This is valuable because it
gives these leaders (who control the teaching and student resources) more ownership
and voice in the program.
2. Admission Requirements
Each department will make their own decisions regarding who they would like to
admit to their graduate program. The departments will then recommend students
who would like to earn the MS or PhD degree in Applied Economics. The
recommendations will be made after ensuring that all students have the proper
prerequisites to begin the program, or have demonstrated the ability to make up these
prerequisites while still early in the program. The GEC Director will appoint an
Admissions Committee to consider these departmental recommendations and
determine who they will support for admission. The Director will then make the
final decision regarding who is admitted.
5
It should be noted that the Applied Economics proposal ensures that the faculty in the Department of
Economics will have access to a graduate program, regardless of the final disposition of the Economics
proposal.
8
3. Proposed Program Requirements
The proposal will replace the AREc and FR M.S. and Ph.D. programs in Economics
with corresponding degrees in Applied Economics. Details follow in this section.
Both programs are built on core courses in microeconomics, macroeconomics and
quantitative methods, so descriptions will focus on what the new requirements are
and how they differ from previous requirements under the UGFE.
(a) Master of Science in Applied Economics
The following table outlines the proposed M.S. Degree in Applied Economics.
9
Course Number
Core Courses
AREc 512
AREc 513
AREc 523
Course Title
Microeconomic Theory I
Microeconomic Theory II
Statistical Foundations for
Econometrics
AREc/FOR Applications of Econometric
527
Methods
ECON 515 Macroeconomic Theory I
Research
Experience
Electives
Field Courses
Resource &
Environmental
Credit Hours
20
4
4
4
4
4
Thesis
6
10-13
6-9
AREc 551 Natural Resource Economics
AREc 550 Environmental Economics
or
FR 537 Valuation of Non-Market
Resources
3
3
3
International
Trade
AREc 543
Econ 540
Applied Trade Analysis
International Trade and Policy
4
4
AREc
454/554
AREc 555
Rural Development Economics &
Policy
Res Methods for Rural
Development
3
H 532
Econ Issues in Health and Medical
Care
Health Systems Organization
3
Development
3
Public Health
H 533
3
Forest
Economics
FOR 534
Economics of the Forest Resource
Select one course from the following:
AREc 550 Environmental Economics
AREc 551 Natural Resource Economics
FE 640
Combinatorial Analysis
FOR 533
Economics of Private Forestry
FOR 535
Markets and Prices in the Forest
Sector
FOR 537
Valuation of Non-Market
Resources
3
ECON
465/565
CE 591
Transportation Economics
4
Transportation Systems Analysis &
Planning
4
3
3
3
3
3
Transportation
Business
Economics
Total Credit
Hours
Complete requirements for the Business
Economics minor
10
45
There are several improvements in this degree program over the former UGFE degree
in Economics. The M.S. degree in Economics required 28 hours of core classes, well
above the average for comparable M.S. degrees in Economics. The quantitative
methods requirements consisted of a year of econometrics courses jointly shared with
Ph.D. students. The number of hours and rigor of these econometrics courses is
considered excessive by the proposers for terminal M.S. students. The 2003 UGFE
program review also felt that this sequence was excessively rigorous for M.S.
students. The proposal cuts the econometrics sequence from three terms to two and
creates a second course in econometrics that focuses on application of econometrics
to real world economic problems. The microeconomics sequence remains the same,
but a course in mathematics was dropped to reduce total core hours. The key material
formerly covered in the mathematics courses will now become a part of AREc 512.
Requirements for macroeconomics would remain the same as under the UGFE.
Unlike the UGFE, the GEC will oversee the formulation of specific fields, including
new fields in Forest Economics, Business Economics, Transportation Economics and
Public Health Economics. These new fields broaden participation in the GEC and
build demand for the Applied Economics degree.
To complete the M.S. degree, students would take the five core classes (20 hours),
complete one of the fields described in the previous table (or complete the Business
Economics minor), then add additional elective courses and thesis hours approved by
the student’s major professor and committee to equal a minimum of 45 hours. A
thesis would be required and the Director of the GEC would be the final signatory on
the completed thesis.
The AREc 512, 513, 523 and Econ 515 courses would use the same numbers as those
used in the UGFE program. There would, however, be some significant changes in
some of these courses. The revised catalog copy for these courses and the new
econometrics course (AREc/FR 527) are given below.
AREC/FOR 527 – Applications of Econometric Methods (4). Theory and
application of econometric estimators – including least squares and maximum
likelihood – to continuous, discrete, and panel data. This course emphasizes the
practice of econometrics as it is applied to natural resource problems. PREREQ:
AREC 523 or ST 521.
AREc 512 – Microeconomic Theory I (4) Review of math concepts for economists.
Economic theory of utility ies of consumer behavior and demand, production, cost,
the firm, cost and supply, and competitive market and monopoly structures.
PREREQ: AREC 312/ECON 312 or equivalent. Crosslisted as ECON 512.
AREc 513 – Microeconomic Theory II (4) Economic theories of imperfect
competition, input markets, general equilibrium, and welfare economics. PREREQ:
AREc 512/ECON 512. Crosslisted as ECON 513.
11
ECON 515 – Macroeconomic Theory I (4) Determination of income employment,
and prices in classical Keynesian, monetarist, and new classical macroeconomic
models. Theories of consumption, investment, money demand, and and money
supply. Monetary and fiscal policies, the role of expectations, and the open economy
macroeconomics. Provides a systematic overview of the theory of aggregate output
and employment, the rate of interest, and price level determination. Coverage
includes the theories of consumption and investment, the demand and supply of
money, inflation, unemployment, and economic growth. Topics are discussed in the
context of contemporary empirical work on aggregative relationships. Finally, theory
is applied to various policy issues such as a zero inflation rule, full employment
legislation, and a balanced budget amendment. PREREQ: Econ 315 or equivalent.
AREc 523 – Statistical Foundations for Econometrics (4) Examines Mathematical
and statistical topics essential for graduate-level econometric analysis, including
matrix algebra, probability and distribution theory (emphasizing joint and conditional
distributions), statistical inference, and econometric optimization algorithms.
PREREQ: MTH 253, STAT 351; and STAT 352 or ECON 424/524. Crosslisted as
ECON 523.
In general, the Applied Economics program will not rely on courses taught by faculty
in the Department of Economics. Econ 515 and Econ 465/565 will be taught by a
faculty member in Economics who also has an appointment in AREc and would
prefer to be involved in the Applied Economics program. The international trade
field was designed to use courses in both departments and will continue to do so.
(b) Minor in Business Economics
In lieu of completing a field for the M.S. degree, as student can earn a minor in
Business Economics. This new minor would be structured as follows
Course Number
Core Courses in Economics
AREc 523
Course Title
Credit
s
Statistical Foundations for
Econometrics
Applications of Econometric
Methods
4
AREc/FR
527
Core Courses in Business
BA 543
Financial Markets & Institutions
BA 569
Advanced Strategic Management
BA 562
Managing Projects
One of the following: BA 542, 545, 541, 517,
525
BA 567 or Current topics in Business or
AREc 599 Agribusiness
3
3
3
3
Total Credit Hours
23
12
4
3
A student seeking this minor would be required to have a faculty member from the
College of Business serve on his/her committee. The college would also need to
certify that the coursework outlined in the proposed minor program has enough open
seats to accommodate enrollment.
We anticipate this minor would be used primarily in conjunction with the M.S.
Applied Economics major. The combined coursework in economics and business
would constitute a rigorous program that would leave graduates well prepared to join
business firms as financial analysts and managers. If the program is well received by
students and graduates do as expected, we anticipate raising this minor to the level of
a major in Business Economics, initially at the M.S. level and perhaps in the future to
the Ph.D. level.
(c) Doctorate of Philosophy in Applied Economics
The Ph.D. degree in Applied Economics would be similar to the UGFE Ph.D. degree
in Economics, but with some important changes.
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Course Number
Course Title
Credit
s
Core Courses
Theory:
AREc 611
AREc 612
Math for Economists
4
Adv Micro Theory: Production,
4
Consumption and Markets
AREc 613 Adv Micro Theory: Games,
4
Welfare & Info
ECON 515 Macroeconomic Theory I
4
Quantitative Methods, Option 1:
AREc 523 Statistical Foundations for
4
Econometrics
AREc 525 Econometric Methods
4
AREc 526 Applied Econometrics
4
Quantitative Methods, Option 2:
Econometrics and Operations Research coursework to
be defined
Field Courses
Res & Env
AREc 651
AREc 652
AREc/FR
653
Adv Natural Resource Economics
Adv Environmental Economics
Spatial Modeling of Natural
Resources
3
3
3
AREc 543
Econ 640
Applied Trade Analysis
International Trade and Economic
Growth
International Trade II
4
4
AREc
454/554
AREc/FR
653
AREc 681
Rural Development Economics &
Policy
Spatial Modeling of Natural
Resources
Special Topics: Issues in Rural
Dev Policy
3
H532
Econ Issues in Health and Medical
Care
Health Systems Organizations
Reading/Conference in Health
Economics
3
Int Trade
AREc 607
4
Development
3
3
Public
Health
H533
H605
3
6
Forest Econ
AREc 651
FR 535
or FR 537
Natural Resource Economics
Markets and Prices in the Forest
Sector
Valuation of Nonmarket Resources
14
3
3
3
Coursework hours in microeconomics and quantitative methods (under option 1)
would be the same as with the UGFE Economics degree. The Ph.D. macroeconomics
class used in the UGFE program (Econ 615) would be dropped from the Applied
Economics degree. The Economics Department has modified 615 such that it has
limited value to applied economics students. The departments sponsoring the
Applied Economics degree do not have faculty who are interested in teaching a 615
course and do not want to commit resources to hiring a faculty member to teach such
a course.
To complete the Ph.D. degree, students would take the four core classes in theory (16
hours), then choose from one of two quantitative methods options. Students would be
required to complete preliminary exams in microeconomics and quantitative methods.
All students would also be required to complete three fields classes (9-14 hours), then
add additional elective courses and thesis hours approved by the student’s major
professor and committee to equal a minimum of 108 hours. The Director of the GEC
would be the final signatory on the dissertation.
A second quantitative methods option will also be available at some future date. This
option will involve some combination of econometrics and operations research
courses similar in rigor to the first option. We cannot specifically define this option
at present because the key operations research courses have been offered in the
Statistics Department, but their future status is uncertain. The Department of
Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering offers some alternative courses, but they
are also in the process of revising their courses in Operations Research. Once the
course offerings in these departments are determined, we will provide details
regarding this option.
The AREc 525, 526, 612 and 613 numbers would be used in the proposed program,
but the classes would be restructured to better meet the needs of students. The
revised course descriptions follow.
AREc 525 – Econometric Methods (4) The use of m Multiple regression under with
generalized assumptions and matrix algebra; estimators including generalized least
squares, method of moment and, maximum likelihood; and specification and testing.
problems, introduction to simultaneous equation estimation, the classical linear model
using matrices. Emphasis on the analysis of data and communication of findings.
PREREQ: ECON 424/524, AREc 512/ECON 512, AREc 523/ECON 523.
Crosslisted as ECON 525.
AREc 526 – Applied Econometrics (4) Model building, hypothesis testing, and
appropriate estimation procedures including generalized least squares, seemingly
unrelated regressions, simultaneous equations, maximum likelihood, and limited
dependent variables. Examination of appropriate estimation procedures given data
structure and economic problems. Topics include seemingly unrelated regressions,
simultaneous equations, panel data estimation and limited dependent variables.
Emphasis on applications and interpretation of results. PREREQ: AREc 525.
Crosslisted as ECON 526.
15
AREc 612 – Advanced Microeconomic Theory: Production, Consumption, and
Markets (4). A rigorous development of the theory of production, consumption, and
competitive markets, with emphasis on duality. PREREQ: MTH 254, AREc
513/ECON 513, AREc 611/ECON 611. Crosslisted as ECON 612
AREc 613 – Advanced Microeconomic Theory: Games, Welfare, and Information
(4). A rigorous development of the theory of games, general equilibrium, welfare,
and asymetric information. PREREQ: AREc 612/ECON 612. Crosslisted as ECON
613.
The AREc and FR faculty are well qualified to teach these courses in theory and
quantitative methods. Three of the classes would be taught by faculty currently
teaching Ph.D. level theory and quantitative methods courses (Rolf Fare, Steve
Buccola, and Munisamy Gopinath). Three faculty would become Ph.D. core
instructors (Jeff Reimer, Andrew Plantinga, and JunJie Wu). Reimer is an Assistant
Professor in International Trade with extensive experience using econometric tools.
Plantinga has taught microeconomic theory at the MS level, is involved with teaching
resource and environmental economics courses at the Ph.D. level, and utilizes
econometric techniques extensively in his research program. Wu has an
undergraduate degree in mathematics, is a prolific researcher, also teaches resource
and environmental economics courses at the Ph.D. level, and holds the AREc
Department’s only endowed professorship. Claire Montgomery, Randy Rosenberger,
and other economists in the FR and FE Department are also well qualified to teach
graduate-level courses in microeconomics and related topics. Our belief is that the
addition of these new instructors, combined with a restructuring of the core theory
courses, will result in stronger core theory training than existed in the UGFE.
4. Student Learning Outcomes
The primary purpose of graduate education in the Applied Economics program at
Oregon State University will be to provide doctorate and masters students with: (a)
an understanding of the theories and methods used to analyze economic problems,
and (b) opportunities to use this knowledge and related experience to analyze and
discuss important economic questions faced by individuals, private organizations,
NGOs, and government in Oregon, the United States, and the world.
(a) Master of Science
A successful Master of Science graduate should achieve the following learning
outcomes:
(i) Understanding of graduate microeconomic theory, using calculus, graphical, and
verbal forms, with emphasis on production and consumption theory, product and
factor markets, general equilibrium analysis, and welfare theory.
(ii) Understanding of macroeconomic theory, using calculus, graphical and verbal
forms, with emphasis on classical, Keynesian, and monetarist models.
(iii)
Proficiency with graduate econometric methods, including an
understanding of basic econometric theory and the ability to apply econometric
16
techniques to real-world problems.
(iv) Understanding of a specific field, including proficiency in applying economic
theory and quantitative methods to real world problems in that field.
(v) Ability to conduct a research project that contributes to an understanding of an
economic problem, including problem identification, review of literature,
application of economic theory, data analysis, interpretation of results, and
prospective publication in a peer-reviewed jurnal.
(vi) Ability to communicate about economic issues and research results with both
professional and lay audiences.
(b) Doctor of Philosophy
A successful doctorate recipient should meet the learning outcomes:
(i) Proficiency in advanced graduate microeconomic theory, using a rigorous
mathematical approach and with constant reference to intuition. Students must be
able to use the theory to analyze current issues.
(ii) Understanding of macroeconomic theory, using calculus, graphical and verbal
forms, with emphasis on classical, Keynesian, and monetarist models.
(iii)
Understanding of advanced graduate econometric theory or operations
research techniques. Students must show proficiency in applying econometrics or
operations research methods to the analysis of economic problems.
(iv) Mastery of a major field approved by the Graduate Economics Consortium.
Students must be able to use economic theory and appropriate quantitative
methods to analyze policies and problems in this field.
(v) Ability to identify a research question, formulate a theoretical approach, design an
appropriate method of analysis, document the research, and produce research of
peer-reviewed journal quality.
(vi) Ability to communicate economic concepts, economic policies, research
proposals, and research results to both professional (i.e., economists and other
scientists) and lay audiences.
(vii)
Appreciation for the philosophy of science, economic institutions and
history, and the history of economic ideas and approaches.
5. Advising Structure
Students would be advised initially by the assigned major professor or graduate
program coordinator in each participating department, with the major professor and
graduate committee members taking on this responsibility once the student’s graduate
committee has been formed.
6. Improvements of the Reorganized Program over the Previous Program
The proposed program offers a number of improvements over the former UGFE
program in Economics.
• The Applied Economics program will provide students with greater
flexibility in taking field classes and other courses relevant to their research
than now exists under the very rigid requirements of the Economics degree
17
•
•
•
•
•
•
program. In particular, students will be able to take field classes earlier and
thus have more time to explore these areas in depth and prepare for careers in
their field of specialization.
The Applied Economics program involves more faculty, departments and
colleges on campus. The result should be greater access by these faculty to
degrees in Economics. In addition, it should also spur more faculty
interaction, more interdisciplinary research and more comprehensive student
education and training.
The Economics degree under the UGFE had coursework requirements well in
excess of those imposed by most programs. The more reasonable
requirements of the Applied Economics program mean more freedom for
students to add additional coursework that fits their own professional and
personal educational goals.
The courses provided to students better prepare them for careers as applied
economists.
Because of changes in how the GEC and Applied Economics program are
organized, there should be a greater spirit of cooperation among the
participating faculty and departments.
It complies with the original mandate approved by OSU and the State Board
and leverages OSU’s competitive niche in applied sciences.
It clearly supports OSU’s mission and strategic plan to create clusters of
expertise among the various colleges on campus. It also resonates with
Governor Kulongoski’s Principles for prioritizing investment of state funds.
7. Drawbacks of the Reorganized Program over the Previous Program
The major drawback of the reorganized program is that it loses some of the
efficiencies in coursework and program that existed in the now-defunct UGFE. The
Economics and Applied Economics proposals (if both are approved) will result in
duplication of some coursework, with smaller enrollment in the core courses,
particularly at the Ph.D. level, and duplication of effort in areas like preliminary
exams.
8. Assessment of Outcomes
Master’s students will be assessed regarding the learning outcomes in the following
ways:
(i) Students must satisfactorily complete all required coursework.
(ii) Students must pass the final oral exam.
Doctorate students will be assessed regarding the learning outcomes using the
following process:
(i) Students must satisfactorily complete all required coursework.
(ii) Students must pass preliminary exams in microeconomic theory and quantitative
methods (econometrics or operations research).
(iii)
Students must earn at least a B grade or better in macroeconomics.
(iv) Students must pass a preliminary oral exam which covers all core and field
18
coursework, as well as present and defend a dissertation prospectus.
(v) Students must pass a final oral exam covering all coursework, but primarily
focused on the dissertation research.
9. Relevant Trends in the Economics Profession
When the graduate degrees in Economics were created in 1988, there were no
Applied Economics programs in the world. Since that time, a number of degree
programs have been created with the Applied Economics moniker. This movement
has been fueled from two different sources. The first is the desire by many
Departments of Agricultural Economics to serve a broader clientele. With the shift in
the population away from farms and toward metropolitan areas, there has been a
corresponding decline in demand for agriculture-related degrees. Use of the term
“agricultural economics” creates in the mind of the uninformed a relatively narrow
view of the things that a M.S. or Ph.D. student can do in this area. Even those
interested in issues related to rural communities feel they are not represented in the
term “agricultural economics”. As the clientele served by these departments has
changed, many have moved away from departmental and degree names that include
the word “agriculture” and toward names that include the term “applied economics”,
where agricultural economics is included within the applied economics area. In
addition, there is a view that Economics Departments in general are moving toward
more theoretical, abstract training, which can limit their ability to conduct applied
research. In reaction to this trend, some Economics departments are using the
Applied Economics term to more clearly denote that their students are trained
specifically to handle real world problems. The result of these two factors is
significant growth in degree programs that can properly be placed under the Applied
Economics umbrella (see Table 2 in Appendix A).
The proposed program will be new to the participating departments in the Colleges of
Health and Human Science, Engineering and Business. It is similar to the degrees in
Economics, Agricultural and Resource Economics and Forest Resources (with a
concentration in economics). The major difference is that the Applied Economics
degree has been streamlined to provide additional flexibility in program design for
students and graduate committees. Macroeconomic training has been scaled back,
reflecting the limited value that we expect this coursework will have to students from
the seven departments who are seeking this degree. Econometric coursework at the
MS level has been separated from the PhD coursework and redesigned to better serve
the needs of students seeking training in applied economics.
The demand for training in applied economics is high and we believe it will continue
to grow. Some 20 years ago, major corporations like American Express and Wells
Fargo began hiring agricultural economists to conduct market and financial analyses
central to their business operations. These corporations recognized that the applied
training received by such students made them ideal candidates for these positions,
despite research experience that was related to agriculture and natural resource issues.
This demand has continued to grow and has been augmented by demand for applied
economists in consulting firms. There has also been a marked rise in demand for
undergraduate degrees in Economics, spurring the need for more faculty who can
19
teach coursework in applied economics. A degree in Applied Economics better
reflects what our students can do. It will open the door to many employment
opportunities in the public and private sector.
10. Student Response to Applied Economics Proposal
Students in the AREc and FR Departments were surveyed in May 2006 regarding
their possible interest in using the Applied Economics degree. The results are
summarized in Appendix C. Overall, 52% of the AREc students and 50% of the FR
students who responded to the survey were in favor of graduating with a degree in
Applied Economics rather than with a degree in AREc or Forest Resources. The
students liked the more general nature of the term “Applied Economics” and felt that
this would be useful as they sought employment. The major concern among AREc
students was that the AREc Department has a national reputation in resource and
environmental economics, so the AREc name carried weight in the job market.
Students can continue to earn the AREc degree if they place greater weight on the
degree name, but we anticipate that the degree’s reputation will transfer over time to
the Applied Economics degree.
D. Resources needed, if any: personnel, FTE academic, FTE classified, facilities
and equipment.
The major need for resources occurs from the need to replace courses jointly listed
between AREc and Econ (512, 513, 523, 525, 526, 612, and 613) with separate
listings and offerings of these classes. In addition, our proposal creates one new core
course (AREc/FOR 527) and field courses in Development Economics. Also, we will
plan to continue using Econ 515 as a core class in macroeconomics and AREc/Econ
611 as a core class in microeconomic theory. Although most of these crosslisted
classes have been taught by Economics faculty, both the AREc and FR have faculty
and resources that could have been diverted to these classes. Most of the
responsibility for teaching the core courses in this proposal will rest with the AREc
and FR departments. Consequently, what is needed to make this proposal a reality is
more of a reallocation of resources, rather than new resources. The resource
reallocation process necessary to meet these new teaching responsibilities is as
follows:
(a) The AREc department will drop two undergraduate courses (353 and 453). These
courses were taught by an AREc faculty member who passed away in 2004 and were
likely to have been replaced by elective undergraduate or graduate courses. CAS has
approved a replacement position to cover some of the courses formerly taught by this
faculty member. The new hire will also be responsible for AREc 551, a course
currently taught by an AREc faculty member who will be shifted to teach a core class
(AREc 613).
(b) Some consolidation of field courses within AREc and greater sharing of field
courses between AREc and FR resulted in freeing up of 1.5 course slots to be
redirected to the graduate program.
(c) AREc recently hired a faculty member in Development Economics. She will
cover all new courses in the development area and will also partially cover the
20
AREc/FR 653 field course, replacing two AREc faculty who are currently assigned to
the course.
(d) The instructor for AREc 512 will shift to AREc 526. This change combined with
those in (b) and (c) will actually reduce his teaching load from the current level
(which is excessive given his teaching appointment).
(e) Two first year AREc faculty were intentionally given lighter teaching loads in
2005-06 to provide extra time for class preparations and startup of research programs.
These two faculty will pick up two of the core courses (AREc 513 and 523).
(f) Two FR faculty will pick up two of the core courses (AREc 512 and AREc/FR
527). Resources for these two courses will be provided by the College of Forestry.
The former UGFE computer lab has been set up with technical support from the
AREc Department. This lab will continue to serve students seeking the Applied
Economics degree. Other facility and equipment needs will remain the same.
Our expectation is that the Graduate School will continue to provide salary and
administrative support for the GEC Director. The Director’s administrative support
staff will continue to provide the same services to the GEC as their counterparts
provided to the UGFE.
E. Funding sources: state sources (institutional funds – state general fund,
tuition and fees, indirect cost recoveries), federal funds, other funds as
specified.
The proposed change will not materially affect current resources or expenditures in
any of the participating departments except AREc and FR. In AREc and FR,
resources will be reallocated within the departments (as described previously) to meet
the additional coursework demands. The attached table displays the approximate
budget and FTE allocations we anticipate to offer the core GEC courses and also
provide for administrative support.
The faculty expense of $121,000 in the first year is distributed among AREc
($84,000), FR ($21,000) and Econ ($16,000). All seven participating departments
will contribute field courses to be used in the graduate program. The College of
Business will contribute courses currently offered in their MBA program, so there
will be no additional expense for these classes. It is important to note, however, that
Business only has capacity to add about 10 students to these MBA classes before they
reach their enrollment caps. The Department of Public Health will use existing MS
level courses and will create advanced special topics classes to serve the PhD
students they expect to have in their program. Civil, Construction and Environmental
Engineering will provide a field class in transportation economics that is currently
being offered. We assume that courses in transportation economics and international
trade economics will continue to be offered by the Economics Department. FR will
continue to offer its current set of field courses. AREc will also offer its current set
of field courses, but will also expand course offerings in the development area
because of the new hire in this area.
This $121,000 figure assumes that 515 will continue to be taught by a faculty member
21
in the Department of Economics. If 515 is dropped or revised such that the class no
longer is useable, there are a couple of alternative strategies available to cover this
material. One is to transport students to the University of Oregon to take a similar
class, or to use Polycom technology to offer the UO course on campus. Another
option is to hire someone from outside OSU to teach the course. This latter approach
was used to teach a macroeconomics course in Spring 2006 and the cost was about
$6,000.
The Graduate School provided limited administrative support to the UGFE for the
UGFE chair and for secretarial support. They have agreed to continue providing
support at the same level as was provided to the UGFE ($18,000/year). The Dean of
the College of Forestry has also agreed to provide support to the GEC at the same
level as was provided to the UGFE ($9,000/year).
Impact of Creating Separate degree programs
We believe that potential reviewers will want to get a complete financial picture of
graduate training in economics before the UGFE was dissolved compared to a
prospective two program structure as advocated in this proposal and Econ’s. The
following table provides a summary. To be able to critically evaluate these numbers,
it is first necessary to explain where they came from and any important assumptions.
All salaries are projected for the 2007 academic year, using rates as of 7/1/06 and
increased 4% for the projected pay raise in early 2007. Salary expenses do not
include OPE expenses, which are about 40%. Each 4-credit class taught is assumed
to represent 0.13 FTE of a faculty member’s salary.
The current configuration includes eight classes taught by Economics (AREc/Econ
513, 611, 613, 623, 625; Econ 507, 515, 615) and three classes taught by AREc
(AREc/Econ 512, 525 and 612). The proposed Applied Economics program would
involve teaching eight classes in the core (AREc 512, 513, 523, 525, 526, 612 and
613; AREc/FR 527). The program would also continue to utilize Econ 515 and
AREc/Econ 611.
Departmen
t
AREC
Econ
FR
Total
Current UGFE
Core Program
AY 2007
Salary
FTE
Expense
0.39
$42,000
1.04
$132,000
0.00
$0
1.43
$174,000
Proposed
Applied
Economics Core
Program AY
2007
Salary
FTE Expense
0.78
$84,000
0.13
$16,000
0.26
$21,000
1.17 $121,000
Proposed
Economics Core
Program
AY 2007
FTE
0.00
1.43
0.00
1.43
Salary
Expense
$0
$175,000
$0
$175,000
A couple of things are apparent from this simple analysis. First, the Applied
Economics program will actually cost less than the previous UGFE program.
Second, overall costs for training students at OSU in economics will increase
22
substantially if both proposals are implemented. This occurs because Econ has
indicated that they want to create two new courses in macroeconomics to replace 515
and 615, will expand the core requirements with two theoretical econometric courses
(627 and 628), and will staff separate sections of 612, 613, 523, 525 and 526.
Although the costs for the new program are substantially higher for AREc and FR,
this is in part because the most recent assignment of UGFE core courses resulted in
faculty from Economics teaching most of the courses. Had the courses been allocated
to the respective departments in about the same proportion as the percentage of
graduate students from each department, the new program in Applied Economics
would result in little or no additional cost to the AREc and FR Departments.
F. Relationship of the proposed unit to the institutional mission
1. Description of how proposed program supports OSU’s mission and goals.
The mission of OSU is to promote “… economic, social, cultural and environmental
progress for people across Oregon, the nation and the world through our graduates,
research, scholarship, outreach, and engagement.” The three major goals in the
strategic plan are:
1. Provide outstanding academic programs that further strengthen OSU’s
performance and preeminence in the five thematic areas:
a. Advancing the arts and sciences as the foundation for scientific discovery,
social and cultural enhancement, and progress in the applied professions;
b. Understanding the origin, dynamics, and sustainability of the Earth and its
resources;
c. Optimizing enterprise, innovation, and economic development;
d. Realizing fundamental contributions in the life sciences and optimizing
the health and well-being of the public;
e. Managing natural resources that contribute to Oregon’s quality of life and
growing and sustaining natural-resource based industries.
2. Provide an excellent teaching and learning environment and achieve student
access, persistence and success through graduation and beyond that matches the
best Land Brant universities in the country.
3. Substantially increase revenues from private fundraising, partnerships, research
grants, and technology transfers while strengthening our ability to more
effectively invest and allocate resources.
The proposed program is exceptionally well placed to support both the mission and
strategic goals for OSU. It builds on strong programs in AREc and FR by expanding
economic programs and partnerships to better serve students and faculty in the
Colleges of Engineering, Health and Human Sciences, and Business. The program
will contribute to educational, research, and outreach programs in all five of the
University’s thematic areas.
• As the title suggests, Applied Economics focuses on providing graduate
students with an appropriate understanding of economic theory, combined
with course work and experience in applying that theory to important
economic questions. Graduates will be well prepared for future careers,
whether in education, government, nonprofit, or the private sector.
23
•
•
•
•
An important traditional strength of the AREc and FR departments is work in
resource and environmental economics. The overarching questions posed in
this field deal with understanding human behavior regarding resource use and
management of the environment, such that efficient policies can be developed
to encourage sustained use of the Earth and its resources.
Programs in AREc, FR, and Business focus on optimizing enterprise,
innovation, and economic development. The proposed field/minor in
Business Economics will enhance these programs by providing a blend of
coursework in economics and business. Students in this area will be well
prepared for careers in financial analysis and management.
The program represents an important expansion into the area of health
economics and rural and community development, both of which seek to
optimize the health and well-being of the public, particularly in rural
communities.
Another traditional strength of programs in AREc and FR has been to support
economic activity in the resource utilization industries, including agriculture,
fisheries, and forestry. These programs will remain strong under the present
proposal.
The AREc and FR programs have enjoyed a national reputation for the quality of
faculty expertise and graduate education in their respective areas of emphasis 6 . Both
departments have distinguished, award-winning faculty members. Both have also
placed their graduates in excellent positions throughout the world. About half of the
Ph.D. graduates from these two programs have been placed in research and teaching
academic positions in departments with graduate programs, thereby adding to the
reputation of both programs (see Table 3 in the Appendix A). The percent of AREc
and FR alumni placed in academic positions is among the highest in the country for
their respective fields of economics. Ph.D. alumni from both departments have also
taken positions in the private sector, where they have become prominent leaders in
their professions. M.S. graduates from these two programs have also placed well in
the private sector, in NGOs, and in government (see Table 4 in the Appendix A).
These graduates are also in high demand, owing to the quality of training and skills
they develop while at OSU. The new partnerships with the Colleges of Health and
Human Sciences, Engineering, and Business should be beneficial to all colleges
providing economics training.
2. Potential positive and negative impact of proposed change.
Creating an Applied Economics degree program offers many positive benefits to the
faculty and students involved in the program.
• The changes in the way the new GEC is governed should help produce a
cooperative environment that will avoid some of the conflict that was present
in the former UGFE structure.
• Feedback from students in AREc and FR suggests that many would prefer to
graduate with a degree in Applied Economics rather than a degree in
6
In a recent study, the AREc department was ranked ninth in the world among economics programs in the area of
agricultural and resource economics. In another study, AREc was ranked fifth in the U.S. among agricultural and
resource economics programs based on research output per faculty member.
24
•
•
•
•
•
Agricultural and Resource Economics or Forest Resources. They believe the
broader degree title will provide them greater flexibility to pursue
employment opportunities. Appendix C contains a summary of surveys
conducted among AREc and FR students regarding the Applied Economics
degree option.
The AREc faculty concluded last winter that it would improve graduate
student recruitment efforts if the department began awarding the Economics
degree to students. Prospective students tend to prefer programs that offer an
Economics degree because they believe it will enhance their chances for
employment after graduation. Awarding the Applied Economics degree
should transfer much the same benefit.
Broadening the umbrella of the Applied Economics program by including
students, coursework and faculty from the Colleges of Engineering, Business,
Health and Human Sciences, Science, and potentially Liberal Arts is a
positive step in disseminating economics education into these other colleges.
Graduate students can enter the Applied Economics program from these
colleges and be eligible to receive the degree in Applied Economics. New
fields in Applied Economics can be created based on expertise found in a
number of departments across campus. The result should be greater access to
coursework and degree programs in Applied Economics.
The expansion of Applied Economics to other departments should result in
increased enrollment in the M.S. level core courses.
Oregon State’s traditional strength in the sciences and engineering fits well
with an Applied Economics degree program. Coursework can be better
structured to prepare students for careers as applied economists. Such training
and education will help sustain OSU’s reputation for relevant contributions to
society and human wellbeing.
A strong Applied Economics program led by two top-tier colleges will foster
President Ray’s goal to achieve top-ten Land Grant status for OSU.
There likely will also be some negative outcomes from this proposed change
• Core coursework enrollments will initially decline, particularly at the Ph.D.
level. However, as the new Applied Economics program becomes better
known, we anticipate that enrollment will recover.
• AREc and FR will pick up several of the core courses formerly taught by
faculty in the Department of Economics. As was noted in sections D and E,
the resources for these classes will come from a variety of sources, but will
involve some reduction in AREc undergraduate courses and perhaps
additional infusion of teaching resources from CAS and COF.
• The interaction between students in Economics and those in the other
departments will decline. Similarly, the demise of the UGFE may well result
in less collaborative research taking place between the faculty in Economics
and those in the other departments.
• Perceived and (or) actual duplication of core coursework will occur, resulting
in a waste of resources. Economics will also have to set up and provide
support for their own graduate student computer lab.
G. Long-range goals and plans for the unit (including a statement as to
25
anticipated funding sources for any projected growth in funding needs
We anticipate that there is potential for growth in graduate students when offering the
Applied Economics degree at both the M.S. and Ph.D. levels. The major limit on
growth will be availability of funds to provide assistantships to graduate students.
Even with increases in grants and other external funding sources, we also face a limit
on the number of faculty who can supervise student theses.
One potential area where growth may occur is in the area of Business Economics.
We anticipate this minor, combined with the Applied Economics major, will prove to
be popular with students and in demand by employers. If that is correct, we plan to
propose an M.S. major in Business Economics that will be included under the
GEC/Applied Economics umbrella. Should this major be created, it will be able to
use existing coursework in the Applied Economics core and MBA offerings
(assuming MBA enrollments remain constant). At present, there are sufficient faculty
and course space available in the participating departments to supervise 10 students in
a Business Economics major. Additional demand will have to be met by new
resources from the University.
H. Relationship of the proposed unit to programs at other institutions in the
state.
The University of Oregon is the only other major program in Economics in Oregon.
The AREc and FR faculty enjoy cordial relations with faculty at the University of
Oregon. In fact, the program at Oregon and the Applied Economics program would
be quite complementary. Our students are trained with a more applied orientation
than those at Oregon, and we have no interest in training our Ph.D. students to
compete for the same jobs as those who graduate from Oregon’s Economics program.
The University of Oregon does operate and values a quality terminal M.S. program.
In fact, most of their recent graduates are at the M.S. level. Our Applied Economics
M.S. students do compete to a certain extent with Oregon’s M.S. graduates, but there
seems to be more demand for these graduates than can be currently satisfied with
graduates from OSU and UO.
The Economics Department at Portland State offers M.A. and M.S. degrees in
Economics. They also participate in the Urban Studies Doctoral Degree program.
This program’s focus is outside the areas of focus in OSU’s proposed program in
Applied Economics.
26
Appendix A
Additional Tables
Table 1a. Proposed Primary Members of the Graduate Economics Consortium
Last Name
First
Name
Adams
Adams
Albers
Bernell
Brooks
Buccola
Burt
Chi
Diebel
Durham
Egelkraut
Eleveld
Fisher
Gopinath
Gow
Hanna
Jaeger
Johnson
Johnson
Kerkvliet
Lev
Mathew
McMullen
Montgomery
Perry
Plantinga
Reimer
Rosenberger
Sessions
Richard
Darius
Heidi
Stephanie
Raymond
Steve
Larry
Chunheui
Penny
Cathy
Thorsten
Bart
Monica
Munisamy
Laura
Susan
Bill
Norm
Aaron
Joe
Larry
Prem
Starr
Claire
Gregory
Andrew
Jeff
Randall
John
Sievert
Sylvia
Tanaka
Walstad
Weber
Wu
Wu
Yang
Zhang
Rank/Position
Department
College
Ag & Res Economics
Forest Resources
Forest Resources
Public Health
Acct, Fin & Info Man
Ag & Res Economics
Ag & Res Economics
Public Health
EOU - OSU Program
Food Innovation Center
Ag & Res Economics
Ag & Res Economics
Ag & Res Economics
Ag & Res Economics
EOU - OSU Program
COMES (Newport)
Ag & Res Economics
Forest Resources
Food Innovation Center
Economics
Ag & Res Economics
Acct, Fin & Info Man
Economics
Forest Resources
Ag & Res Economics
Ag & Res Economics
Ag & Res Economics
Forest Resources
Forest Engineering
CAS
Forestry
Forestry
HHS
Business
CAS
CAS
HHS
CAS
CAS
CAS
CAS
CAS
CAS
CAS
CAS
CAS
Forestry
CAS
CLA
CAS
Business
CLA
Forestry
CAS
CAS
CAS
Forestry
Forestry
Clark
Gil
John
John
Bruce
JunJie
Zhaohui
Jimmy
Professor
Professor
Assoc Professor
Asst Professor
Professor
Professor
Assoc Professor
Assoc Professor
Assoc Professor
Asst Professor
Asst Professor
Assoc Professor
Asst Professor
Professor
Asst Professor
Professor
Assoc Professor
OSU Distinguished Professor
Asst Professor
Professor
Professor
Asst Professor
Professor
Professor
Professor, Interim Head
Assoc Professor
Asst Professor
Asst Professor
OSU Distinguished Professor
Professor, Director Hood River Exp
Station
Professor, Director COMES
Assoc Professor
Professor, Department Head
Professor
Professor, Emery Castle Chair
Asst Professor
Asst Professor
Hood River Exp Station
COMES (Newport)
Union Exp Station
Forest Resources
Ag & Res Economics
Ag & Res Economics
Man, Mkt, & Int Bus
Acct, Fin & Info Man
Lei
Assistant Professor
Civil, Const & Env Eng
CAS
CAS
CAS
CAS
CAS
CAS
Business
Business
Engineerin
g
Table 1b. Proposed Supporting Members of the Graduate Economics Consortium
Last Name
First
Name
Rank/Position
Department
College
Alig
Ralph
Research Forester
PNW Research Station
USFS
27
Banyi
Boggess
Caplan
Fight
Gitelman
Graham
Haynes
Monica
Bill
Dennis
Roger
Alix
Roger
Richard
Johnson
Kline
Marshall
Reed
Reitsma
Thomann
Waymire
White
Rebecca
Jeff
Byron
Scott
Rene
Enrique
Edward
Eric
Asst Professor
Professor, Assoc Dean
Asst Professor
Research Forester
Associate Professor
Professor
Research Forester
Professor, Assoc Provost for
Academic Affairs
Research Economist
Asst Professor
Professor, Dean of Extension
Assoc Professor
Professor
Professor
Research Economist
Acct, Fin & Info Man
Ag & Res Economics
Acct, Fin & Info Man
PNW Research Station
Statistics
Acct, Fin & Infor Man
PNW Station – Portland
Business
CAS
Business
USFS
Science
Business
USFS
Forest Resources
PNW Research Station
Acct, Fin & Info Man
Forest Resources
Acct, Fin & Info Man
Mathematics
Mathematics
PNW Research Station
Forestry
USFS
Business
Forestry
Business
Science
Science
USFS
Table 2. Partial List of Degree Programs in Applied Economics
______________________________________________________________________
PhD and MS Degree programs
Cornell (Applied Economics and Management)
Northeastern University
Auburn University
Wisconsin (Agricultural and Applied Economics)
University of Antwerp (Belgium)
Clemson University
Leuven University (Belgium)
University of Waterloo (Canada)
Mississippi State
Texas Tech (Agricultural and Applied Economics)
Western Michigan University
Minnesota
MS only Degree Programs
Massey University (New Zealand)
Nevada – Reno (Resource and Applied Economics)
Johns Hopkins
Illinois State
SUNY-Buffalo
North Dakota
Central Florida
Washington State
Adelaide (Australia)
Utah State
Texas – Dallas
Michigan
East Carolina University
Griffith (Australia)
San Jose State
North Dakota State (Agribusiness and Applied Economics)
______________________________________________________________________
Table 3. PhD Recipients for AREc and FR Departments from Classes
Admitted 1994-2004 and Job Placements
Home Department
Position
28
AREc
AREc
AREc
AREc
AREc
AREc
AREc
AREc
AREc
AREc
AREc
AREc
AREc
AREc
AREc
AREc
AREc
AREc
FR
FR
FR
FR
Economist, CH2M-Hill, Sacramento, CA
Asst Prof – Fresno St (Ag Economics)
Research Analyst, E-Loan, Los Angeles
Asst Prof, NanKai Inst Tech in Taiwan
Asst Prof – Tennessee (Ag Economics)
Asst Prof (Research) – OSU (AREc)
Asst Prof – Wyoming (Ag Economics)
Professor at Chinese University
Organization for Economic Cooperation and
Development (OECD), Paris
Asst Prof – Tulane Univ (Economics)
Asst Prof – Wisconsin (Applied Economics)
Dell Computer, Austin, TX
Asst Prof – Wyoming (Ag Economics)
Asst Prof, University of Hiroshima (Japan)
Asst Prof – Alaska-Fairbanks (Ag Economics)
Economic Development Company in Japan
Asst Prof, Univ of Missouri (Ag Economics)
Modelling & Analysis Branch, HSBC Bank, Portland
Research Forester, USDA
Economist, Rocky Mtn Research Station, USDA
Asst Prof, U Wisconsin (Forest Ecology&Mgmt)
Assoc Prof, Northern Arizona (Forestry)
Table 4. MS Recipients, Major Field and Job Placement by Department from Classes Admitted 1994-2004
Home
Field
Employment Placement
Dept
AREc
R&E
PhD Student, University of New Mexico
AREc
Ag Econ
International Development Agency, Ecuador
AREc
R&E
Finished MIT Degree, unknown
AREc
R&E
Industry Economist, Nat Marine Fishery Service
AREc
Int Trade
Foreign Ag Service, USDA
AREc
M&T
IFPRI, now Research Fellow at Univ of Minnesota
AREc
Ag Econ
Financial Analyst, Transamerica Corp.
AREc
R&E
Completed PhD at UC-Berkeley; Asst Prof, UC- Santa
Barbara
AREc
Ag Econ
Stay at home mom
AREc
R&E
Engineer, Surface Water Resources Inc., Sacramento
AREc
M&T
PAVIA, Pavimentos e Vias, Lisbon, Portugal
AREc
R&E
Economist, Nat Marine Fishery Service
AREc
R&E
Dept. Natural Resources & Conservation, Montana
AREc
M&T
Consulting firm, Alexandria, VA
AREc
R&E
Budget Office, Multnomah County, OR
AREc
R&E
Stay at home mom
AREc
M&T
Consultant, HDR Consulting, Seattle, WA
AREc
Int Trade
PhD student in Statistics, OSU
AREc
M&T
Completed PhD, UC-Davis; Asst Prof, Univ of San
Diego
AREc
Ag Econ
Analytical Services Assoc, AC Nielsen, Paramas, NJ
AREc
R&E
Received MS in Computer Science, working at
Microsoft
29
AREc
AREc
AREc
AREc
R&E
Ag Econ
M&T
R&E
AREc
AREc
AREc
AREc
R&E
M&T
R&E
Int Trade
AREc
AREc
AREc
AREc
R&E
R&E
Ag Econ
R&E
AREc
AREc
AREc
AREc
Ag Econ
R&E
IO
M&T
AREc
Forest
Forest
Forest
Forest
Forest
Forest
Forest
Forest
Int Trade
For Econ
For Econ
For Econ
For Econ
For Econ
For Econ
For Econ
For Econ
Foster-Wheeler Env Corp, Costa Mesa, CA
Financial Analyst, Oregon Dept of Transportation
PhD Student, University of Hokkaido (Japan)
Economic Consultant, Northwest Economics
Associates
Planner, Napa Co. Conservation, Dev & Planning, CA
Soybean Futures Market Analyst, China
Env Economist, US Corps of Engineers, VA
International Specialist, California Tree Fruit
Association
Economist, Pollution Permit Trading, ERG Co., MA
Working for an economic consulting firm in Florida
Head of Market Research, Coca-Cola, Ecuador
Completed PhD at Cornell; Asst Prof, Univ of
Tennessee (Economics)
Investment Analyst, Deutschbank, Philadelphia
Economic Consultant, ENTRIX, Vancouver, WA
Completed PhD at OSU; HBSB Bank, Portland
Completed PhD at OSU; Asst Professor, University of
Missouri
PhD Student, UC-Davis
PhD Student, OSU
Completed PhD, Minn; Asst Prof, Maine
Booz/Hamilton/Allen Consulting, Portland
Completed PhD, OSU; Asst Prof, Wisconsin
Weyerhauser
Potlach Corporation, MN
Weyerhauser
Weyerhauser
30
Appendix B
Comparison of Economics PhD Programs
BY Size and Graduation Numbers
31
Appendix C
Survey Results of AREc and FR Students
Regarding Graduate Degrees in Applied Economics
Results of a Survey of AREc and FR
Graduate Students Regarding Use of the
Applied Economics Degree
In May 2006 the AREc and FR Department Heads conducted an email survey of current graduate students
in their respective departments. The major question on the survey was as follows:
If both the AREc and Applied Economics degrees ended up with the same requirements, which degree
would you prefer to show on your diploma and your transcript?
A. AREc Degree
B. Applied Economics Degree
C. I'm indifferent between the two
D. I'm undecided
Please provide any comments on your answer.
The survey was sent to 30 AREc students, 2 students from Economics who are transferring to the AREc
department in Fall 2006, and 8 FR students. We received responses from 25 (83%) of the AREc students,
2 (100%) of the students in Economics and 6 (75%) of the students in FR.
Of the 27 respondents in AREc and Economics, 10 (37%) preferred the AREc degree, 14 (52%) preferred
the Applied Economics Degree, 2 (7%) were indifferent and 1 (4%) was undecided. What is striking about
the result is the amount of self-selection that has already taken place. Until the visioning process
completed by the AREc Department in the past year, the faculty were content to promote the AREc degree
as the principal degree from the program. Students enrolled expecting to receive this degree. Despite this
self-selection by the students, half would prefer the Applied Economics degree. Of the 6 FR respondents,
1 (17%) preferred a Forest Resources degree, 3 (50%) preferred the Applied Economics degree, and 2
(33%) were either indifferent or undecided. Thus, the new Applied Economics degree is strongly preferred
by students in both departments, particularly at the Ph.D. level.
The results were also broken down by domestic versus foreign students in Table B.1, by M.S. versus Ph.D.
students in Table B.2 and by field of emphasis in Table B.3.
Table B.1 Degree Preference in AREc and FR Departments for Foreign and Domestic Students
AREc and Econ Students
FR Students
Degree Options
Foreign
Domestic
Foreign
Domestic
AREc
19%
64%
0%
0%
Forest Resources
0%
0%
0%
33%
Applied Economics
75%
18%
67%
33%
Indifferent
6%
9%
33%
0%
Undecided
0%
9%
0%
33%
Table B.2 Degree Preference in AREc and FR Departments for M.S. and Ph.D. students
AREc and Econ Students
FR Students
Degree Options
M.S.
Ph.D.
M.S.
Ph.D.
AREc
80%
27%
0%
0%
Forest Resources
0%
0%
100%
0%
Applied Economics
0%
64%
0%
60%
Indifferent
0%
9%
0%
20%
Undecided
20%
0%
0%
20%
Table B.3 Degree Preference in AREc Department by Student’s Major Field
32
Degree Options
AREc
Applied
Economics
Indifferent
Undecided
Resource &
Environ
62%
23%
8%
7%
AREc and Econ Students
International
Trade
13%
75%
12%
0%
Other
25%
75%
0%
0%
The results reflect the national reputation of the AREc and FR programs, particularly in forest, resource
and environmental economics. Some domestic M.S. level students and those seeking a resource and
environmental field see the value of the AREc and FR degrees because of the programs’ reputation over
many years. International students place more value on a degree from the U.S. and less on the individual
department, so the more generic Applied Economics degree is preferred. Those in other fields feel the
Applied Economics degree better reflects their education.
The following student comments were made by those who preferred the Applied Economics degree:
“It is a broader umbrella degree which allows for AREC, Enivon. Econ, Human and Health Econ.
Basically it broadens the degree while allowing for specialization/focus on any of the subject matters.”
“I would prefer the Applied Economics degree, which sounds a broader field than AREc degree.”
“The consideration for this answer is for job hunting. Showing Applied Economics Degree on diploma
will benefit those who intend to find a non-academic job in the market. For those who aim to seek for
academic job, I don’t think there is any difference between the AREc and Applied Economics degrees.”
“Since the department does not offer a PhD in Agricultural Economics, I believe AREc is somewhat of a
misnomer.”
“An Applied Economics degree on our diploma and transcript may help us better market ourselves.
Applied Economics encompasses other resources, not just forest resources. So we see ourselves, and most
likely our future employers [see us] as applied economists.”
“The forestry and forest products industry is pretty small and many graduates will work outside of that
industry. Therefore, it would look better to have a degree in Applied Economics than in Forest
Resources.”
“The degree would be consistent with the applied research that I’m considering for my dissertation.”
“The degree might be very useful to find a job. Consulting firms, companies, and universities are looking
for people with excellent background and education in applied economics.”
“Students come to OSU for forest economics, resource economics and environmental economics. An
Applied Economics degree allows them to concentrate in these subject areas with guidance from highly
respected faculty. I would not have returned to OSU for a graduate degree if it entailed just straight
economics.”
The following student comments were made by those who preferred the AREc and FR degrees:
“I was drawn to this program because it focuses on applied environmental and resource economics, not
applied economics alone. I want my diploma to reflect that focus.”
“The AREc department has a higher ranking and I perceive (and hope) that there is a healthy niche for
employment of its graduates, especially in the Northwest.”
“I came to study resource and environmental economics; having a degree in Applied Economics does not
convey the right information about my specialization. Applied Economics sounds less identifiable, it could
33
mean many things.”
“I believe the AREc degree demonstrates a students interest in not only applied economics but a range of
issues the tools apply to. By offering a degree in Applied Economics only would under emphasize the
subject matter we choose to explore with applied economics.”
“The Forest Resources degree emphasizes that we are foresters first and foremost.”
“The College of Forestry has a good reputation and the focus of study is on forest resources.”
“[Forest Resources is] a better degree if your interest and intention is forestry.”
34
Liaison Feedback to the Abbreviated
Category I Proposal in Applied
Economics
35
Liaison from the Department of Economics
Responses provided in blue italics by Greg Perry (AREc), Jack Walstad (FR) and their
respective faculties
TO: Gina Shellhammer, Office of Academic Programs
FR: Carlos Martins-Filho, Chair – Department of Economics
DATE: 6-27-2006
RE: Applied Economics Proposal
We provide below comments/corrections on the Abbreviated Category I proposal leading to an
M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Applied Economics. Please distribute to all relevant parties.
A. Regarding the Structure of the Graduate Economic Consortium (GEC)
A.1 Given its genesis, nature and focus we suggest that the proposed GEC be renamed the
Graduate Applied Economics Consortium (GAEC).
Response: The aim in this proposal is to create an umbrella organization that serves all
economists on campus, both theoretical and applied. We do this anticipating the day when all
will be interested in being part of a cooperative graduate program. Faculty from the Economics
Department are welcome to be part of the GEC, in fact two faculty from that department are
currently members of the GEC.
A.2 We are unsure exactly what is meant by the College of Liberal Arts being "an official cosponsor" of the Applied Economics degree program (see footnote 4). As proposed, the
Department of Economics would teach a core course (ECON 515), and half of the International
Trade (ECON 540) and Transportation (ECON 565) fields available for the M.S. degree. In
addition, the Department of Economics would teach at least two core Ph.D. courses (ECON 611
and ECON 515) and half of the International Trade field for the Ph.D. degree (ECON 640).
Hence, it seems clear that as proposed the Department of Economics is already "sponsoring" the
Applied Economics degrees. The Department of Economics is glad to participate and contribute
to the academic success of the Applied Economics program wherever and whenever we identify
areas where our programmatic and curricular interests overlap.
Response: There are five colleges who are co-sponsors of this proposal. Co-sponsorship as we
have defined it means (a) the college has faculty who are Primary faculty in the GEC, (b) the
college Dean writes a letter of support and (c) the college Dean and specified departments within
the college are willing to participate in the administrative structure of the GEC. Criteria (a) has
been satisfied for CLA, so we would be happy to add the Department of Economics and the
College of Liberal Arts to our list of participating departments if the CLA dean is willing to write
a letter of support and both the dean and the chair in Economics are willing to participate
administratively in the GEC.
A.3 The Department or Eonomics and the College of Liberal Arts will not participate in the
administrative structure of the GAEC. This includes, but is not limited to, membership in the
proposed Policy and Administrative Committees or the Deans' group. However, as mentioned
above, we are pleased to contribute academically to the success of the Applied Economics
program.
Response: This statement seems to answer the question of co-sponsorship raised in A.2.
A.4 We suggest that all faculty from the Department of Economics be listed as a Affiliate Faculty
in GAEC, and that the responsibilities of affiliate faculty be expanded to teach not only field
courses (as proposed) but also core courses.
Response: We contacted all Economics faculty and invited them to join the GEC as Adjunct (now
known as Supporting) Faculty. Two initially accepted this offer, then withdrew when Carlos
36
Martins indicated in a 8/21/06 memo to the Economics faculty that he did not support their
membership in the GEC unless it’s name was changed to GAEC. The requirement that teaching
core classes be limited to Primary GEC Faculty is needed so that the GEC can have a voice in
determining content in the core courses. The GEC core courses are in a real sense “owned” by
the GEC faculty, much as the courses within any other departmental major are “owned” by the
faculty in that department. Looking at this another way, courses that are not offered under the
GEC umbrella will not be considered core courses.
A..5 On section C.9 of the Applied Economics proposal it is stated that,
"The primary reason to create a multidepartmental degree program is to provide all interested
departments and faculties with the opportunity to confer the degree on their students. "
It seems that the proposal suggests that degree authority (M.S., Ph.D.) in Applied Economics
should be extended to the following participating departments:
•
Accounting, Finance and Information Management
•
Agricultural and Resource Economics
•
Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering
•
Economics
•
Forest Resources
•
Management, Marketing, and International Business
•
Public Health
If this is correct, we question whether an Abbreviated Category I is the appropriate instrument for
such an extensive change.
Response: We believe an argument could also be made to require that the proposal from the
Department of Economics be subject to the full Category I proposal process. The Provost and
those working under him have considered the appropriateness of having these two proposals pass
through the process as Abbreviated Category I proposals versus Full Category I proposals. They
have decided to treat both proposals the same and believe what is being proposed falls into the
Abbreviated Category I area.
A.6 The Faculty in the Department of Economics are aware of the declining demand for
agriculture-related degrees (see section C.9 of the Applied Economics proposal), and we
understand the inevitability of the market forces that have produced such decline. We therefore
understand the reasons and the need for Departments of Agricultural/Resource Economics across
the country to appeal to a broader constituency by offering degrees in Applied Economics, and in
many instances even changing the departmental name. However, the proposal should spell out the
distinction, if any, between the existing degree programs in Agricultural and Resource Economics
and the proposed degrees in Applied Economics.
Response: This is a good point and one we have considered at length. Accordingly, we have
rewritten our proposal to discuss differences between the new degree and the old degrees in
Economics, Agricultural and Resource Economics and Forest Resources (with a concentration in
economics) .
A.7 We are unsure what criteria were used to produce Tables la and lb. Consider, for example,
that Professors Emerson, Fare and Tekin-Koru from the Department of Economics will be
teaching core or field classes in the applied economics program but are not listed as participating
faculty. Professor Kerkvliet, from the Department of Economics, will not be teaching in the
applied economics program, but is listed as a regular faculty member.
Response: As a result of this comment and feedback from the Graduate School administration,
we are opting to rename our two categories of faculty. “Primary faculty” now refers to faculty in
37
Table 1a, “supporting faculty” are now those listed in Table 1b. Like any of the other
multidisciplinary/multidepartmental programs on campus, the first criterion for participation is
an interest on the part of faculty to participate. All the faculty listed in Tables 1a and 1b have
been contacted and have indicated that they are willing to serve as primary or secondary faculty
in the Applied Economics program. The second criterion is whether the faculty are in a position
to supervise graduate student theses in Applied Economics and (or) teach core courses in the
Applied Economics program. The third criterion is a willingness to support the educational
objectives of the Applied Economics program, as well as to function in a cooperative and
collegial manner. We have contacted Professors Emerson and Tekin-Koru regarding their
interest in participating as supporting faculty, Tekin-Koru declined our invitation and Emerson
did not respond.
The situation for Rolf Fare is a unique one, owing to his joint position in the Economics and
AREc Departments. He was hired to support the UGFE teaching mission, as well as to bring
research expertise to both departments. With the demise of the UGFE, his position within both
departments needs to be redefined. He was invited to participate as a primary faculty member in
the GEC, but declined the invitation. We will defer on defining his actual involvement within the
GEC until the final status of the two proposals is determined.
B. Regarding Core Courses and Course Duplication
B.1 AREC 611- Math for Economists (4 credits), listed on section C.3 of the proposal, is exactly
the course ECON 611 - Math for Economics (4 credits) which has been offered by the
Department of Economics for the last seven years (since course inception). We will continue
to offer this course as indicated in our proposal.. Students in the Applied Economics programs are
welcomed into this course.
Response: The course we are proposing is the same 611 class that Rolf Fare has been teaching.
B.2 AREC 523 - Statistics for Econometrics (4 credits), listed on section C.3 of the proposal, is
exactly the course ECON 523 - Statistics for Econometrics (4 credits) which has been
offered by the Department of Economics for the last four years (since course inception). We
will continue to offer this course as indicated in our proposal. Again, students in the Applied
Economics programs are welcomed into this course.
Response: We are in agreement that the material being proposed in Econ’s version of 523 is
essentially the same as that in the 523 class we are proposing. However, our students and faculty
are very dissatisfied with the way in which the class is organized and how the material is being
communicated. Because the class in Economics does not fall under the jurisdiction of the GEC,
we have no ability to control the selection of instructor for this class. Consequently, we plan to
offer 523 through the AREc Department.
B.3. As described on section C.3 of the proposal, there are no significant differences between
AREC 612 and ECON 612; AREC 613 and ECON 613; AREC 525 and ECON 525; or AREC
526 and ECON 526. The Department of Economics is pleased to continue to offer ECON 612,
ECON 613, and ECON 526, as we have regularly done in the past. Students in the Applied
Economics programs are welcomed into our classes. ECON 525 has, in the past, been staffed by
AREc. We are pleased to either offer ECON 525 in the future, or use AREc 525 as part of our
program, provided that the class meets the Department of Economics academic standards for
Econometrics (it has in the past).
Response: The review comment is correct on a few points, but is generally misleading and in
error on several points. Econ 612 and AREc 612 are essentially the same course, but have been
taught by a faculty member in AREc the last two years. Students in the proposed program in
Economics will continue to be welcomed into this course. The AREc 613 and Econ 613 courses
38
could be the same, although the vision statements outlined by the AREc and Economics
Departments in January 2006 suggested some departure in course material. The 613 class was
taught for several years by an AREc faculty member. With his departure in 2004, it was team
taught by three faculty (one from AREc and two from Econ). In 2006 the class was assigned to a
faculty member in Economics for one year. We believe we have an exceptional faculty member
who would do an excellent job in this course (JunJie Wu). It appears that AREc 525 and Econ
525 are the same course. It has been well taught by a faculty member in AREc for several years;
we anticipate this will continue. Students in the proposed program in Economics will continue to
be welcomed into this course. Regarding 526, we are quite dissatisfied with the content of this
course. Although the class is titled “Applications in Econometrics” it contains all theory and no
applications. We have tried to work with the instructor in this class to bring the content into line
with the course description, to no avail. We plan to offer this class within the GEC and teach it
as an applied class.
"
B.4 ECON 515, as described on section C.3 of the Applied Economics proposal, does not
coincide with ECON 515 in the proposal put forth by the Department of Economics (see
Appendix 3 of the Department of Economics proposal). Provided adequate compensation, the
Department of Economics is willing to offer a Macroeconomic Theory course (as described on
section C.3 of the Applied Economics proposal) to the Applied Economics program. It would be
given a different name and number.
Response: The course in question was taught for many years by Starr McMullen in the
Economics Department. In Spring 2005 Economics proposed that the course be reassigned to
another faculty member and revamped to be part of a two term macroeconomic sequence, both
taught at the PhD level. Normally the assignment of course numbers is at the discretion of the
department(s) creating the course, so we would be happy to use another 500-level number that
Economics is willing to assign the class. What complicates this is that McMullen is to be
transferred to the AREc Department in Fall Term 2006 as part of a MOU signed by the CLA and
theCAS. In the MOU, it states that McMullen will teach four classes in the Department of
Economics, one of which is 515. It appears that the Economics Department does not want to use
the McMullen version of 515, but her class was included in our proposal. If McMullen’s class
number changes from 515, then a new memo will need to be created to note this change in
assignment. Under the circumstances, it seems that the easiest and most appropriate thing to do
is assign the two new macroeconomic courses in Economics 600-level numbers to reflect that the
courses are being taught at the PhD level.
B:5 Given the nature of the proposed M.S. program, we suggest the following names for the
courses listed on section C.3 of the proposal:
AREC 512 – Applied Microeconomics I
AREC 513 – Applied Microeconomics II
Response: These classes remain largely unchanged from before, so we see no reason to change
the course titles.
B.6 The proposal states that (see section C.3)
"The key material formerly covered in the mathematics course will now become a part of AREC
512."
The mathematics course referred to is ECON 529 (formerly ECON 507). We alert the authors of
the applied economics proposal that it is infeasible to roll the content of ECON 529 into AREC
512 without compromising the quality of AREC 512.
39
Response: There was a great deal of superfluous material in Econ 507 that was not needed in
512. We anticipate losing two to three weeks of coursework from 512 as a result of this change.
The lost material will be covered in 513, which will then end up losing two to three weeks of
special topic material. We do not believe these changes will have any noticeable impact on the
quality of the two courses. We also want to note in passing that the comparable MS programs we
examined typically required one semester long MS microeconomics course. Consequently, the
total training we are providing to MS students will be equivalent to or more than what students
are receiving elsewhere.
B.7 It is unclear how the proposed Business Economics Minor is structured. What core courses
are required for completion of the minor? If only students pursuing an Applied Economics degree
are eligible to claim this minor, we suggest a different name, as no courses from Economics are
part of the minor. Maybe it could be called the Agribusiness Minor.
Response: The table on page 9 lists two courses in economics and four courses in business as
core requirements. We are not sure what additional information can be added to make the
requirements any clearer than they already are in this table. It is true that there are no classes
listed in this minor from the Department of Economics. However, as noted in B.2 above, AREc
523 contains essentially the same course material as Econ 523. In addition, AREc/FR 527 is
similar to other MS level econometrics courses offered in other Departments of Economics across
the U.S. We would be open to having the Department of Economics add their MS level
econometrics sequence to the minor as a substitution for the classes listed in the table. There is
no restriction on this minor being limited to Applied Economics students, but we do believe few
outside the Applied Economics program will use the minor. Renaming it as an Agribusiness
Minor would be inappropriate, because it will not be limited to Agribusiness.
B.8 As stated above, the Department of Economics is pleased to continue to collaborate with the
Applied Economics program in offering the International Trade field. This will be reflected in our
proposal.. We do so under the assumption that AREC 607 International Trade II - listed on the
Applied Economics proposal - is in fact the existing AREC 643 International Trade II.
Response: The 607 and 643 classes are the same.
C.. Suggestions and Corrections
C.1 [Section A and Table 3] The proposal needs to specifically indicate how many students from
the Departments of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Forest Resources have received
M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Economics. These must be differentiated from those receiving degrees
in Agricultural and Resource Economics and Forest Resources.
Response: In our discussions on this issue over the last year, we have found that the leadership
in the Department of Economics continues to focus on number of students receiving graduate
degrees in Economics and ignores the more important issue of educational training. Over the 18
years that the UGFE was in existence, AREc awarded 2 MS degrees in Economics, the rest were
awarded AREc degrees. Forest Resources awarded 2 PhD degrees in Economics, with the other
students listed in Table 3 receiving the Forest Resources degree with a concentration in Forest
Economics. That said, AREc, Economics and Forest Resources students during the first decade
or so of the UGFE’s existence completed the same core coursework and preliminary exams.
Even field coursework in Industrial Organization, Resource and Environmental Economics and
International Markets was the same across the AREc and Economics degrees. The only
difference among the three degrees was the requirement that two faculty from the Department of
Economics serve on committees awarding the degree in Economics. For the students, the
decision was between the various credentials (AREc, Economics and Forest Resources) versus
having a wider set of faculty to select from when forming a committee. In 1999, Econ imposed an
40
additional requirement of two terms of theoretical econometrics on PhD students graduating with
the degree in Economics. This requirement was excessive even when compared with other PhD
programs in Economics, and it further discouraged AREc and FR students from pursuing the
Economics degree. Also, they require students to complete two fields versus the requirement of
one field in the other two departments. However, these two additional econometrics courses form
the core of a field in econometrics, so the requirement in essence means completing a field in
econometrics and one other area. In short, there really has been little or no actual coursework
differences between students receiving the AREc, Economics, and FR degrees. It is for this
reason that we have reported all the degrees in the same table without distinguishing whether
they were in AREc, Economics or FR..
C.2 [Section C.l] The leadership in the Department of Economics has never made a decision to
"move away from an applied orientation," nor is the Department of Economics at OSU focused
on theoretical Economics. The faculty in the Department of Economics at OSU, as the vast
majority of Economics departments in the United States and around the world conducts research
in both theoretical and applied Economics. It is easy to verify through our web page that the
research output of 9 of the 12 faculty members in the Department of Economics is either partially
or entirely applied.
Response: There is no point in getting into a debate over this statement. What is viewed as
applied versus theoretical is largely in the eye of the beholder. The AREc and FR Departments
both viewed the Economics degree and the UGFE program as applied in nature. That the
Department of Economics chose to let the UGFE be terminated and the Economics degree
suspended (in March 2006) is clear evidence that they disagreed with AREc and FR regarding
the mix of applied and theoretical training in the program. A review of the proposed coursework
in mathematics, microeconomics and macroeconomics makes it clear that Economics wants a
program with more hours tied up in theoretical, mathematical coursework. So by their very
actions the Economics Department is validating our assessment of the situation. It is very true,
however, that the bulk of the research done in the Department of Economics is very applied. For
this reason, we are puzzled as to why they would move their training away from what best serves
their faculty and students.
C.3 [Section C.3} It is stated that,
"Econ 515 and Econ 465/565 will be taught by a faculty member in Economics who also has an
appointment in AREc and would prefer to be involved in the Applied Economics
program."
We ask that this statement be removed from the proposal. At this time, the only faculty member
from the Department of Economics with a partial appointment (non-teaching) in AREC is
Professor Rolf Fare. Professor Fare does not. teach (nor will he be scheduled to teach) ECON
515 or ECON 565.
Response: Professor B. Starr McMullen is transferring to the AREc Department, effective the
beginning of Fall term 2006. She has taught ECON 515 and ECON 565 for nearly two decades.
Under the MOU agreed to as part of this transfer, Dr. McMullen will continue to teach ECON
515 and ECON 465/565. The Applied Economics core coursework in macroeconomics consists
of the 515 class taught by Dr. McMullen. The ECON 465/565 course in Transportation
Economics will be one of the field courses in our MS field in Transportation Economics. So the
statement is entirely true and relevant to our proposal.
C.4 [Section C.6] The statement that
"The Economics degree under the UGFE had coursework requirements well in excess of
41
those imposed by most programs "
is incorrect. The course requirements for the Ph.D. in Economics under the UGFE in fact fell
short of those required by many peer and above peer institutions. The Department of Economics
provided ample evidence of this fact in the documents submitted as part of phase I of the UGFE
road map redesign. Maybe the authors of the Applied Economics proposal are referring to the
coursework requirements for degrees in Applied Economics. Clarification is needed.
Response: Our statement refers to both the MS and PhD degrees, whereas the objection seems to
be only with the PhD requirements. In fact, the statement is more applicable at the MS level,
where coursework in microeconomics, macroeconomics and econometrics is at or above the level
of all comparable sized programs (see the AREc January 2006 Vision Statement for more
details). However, even at the PhD level, the statement is also true of econometrics. The
Economics Department requires 20 hours of coursework in theoretical and applied econometrics.
We don’t know of any Economics program in the U.S. that requires this much econometric
coursework. Microeconomics requirements at OSU have been consistent with those at most other
programs in Economics. Where the UGFE Economics program has been short relative to other
programs in Economics has been in the area of macroeconomics. However, in a 2003 Graduate
School review of the UGFE program, the review committee concluded that
“The macrotheory requirement should be maintained at one course in the theory sequence for
both MS and PhD students. Although this is less than the usual commitment to macro at the
Ph.D. level, neither resources nor space in the students’ programs are available to increase the
requirement. Macro is the natural place to economize in the OSU program because none of the
field specializations rely heavily on a macro foundation.”
C.5 [Section C.7] The statement
"The desire by the Economics Department to offer its own program will result in duplication of some
coursework, with smaller enrollment in the core courses, particularly at the Ph.D. level, and duplication of
effort in areas like preliminary exams,"
is incorrect. As is apparent from reading our proposal, we are creating no new core or field
courses, with the exception of the redesigned ECON 515 and ECON 615. Hence, of the 22
courses listed in our proposal only 2 involve any change or redesign. All other 20 courses have
been offered in the past, and do not create or constitute duplication of existing courses. In
contrast, the Applied Economics proposal creates and establishes a number of new courses, that
are either: a) identical to courses the Department of Economics has offered in the past (AREC
523, AREC 611); b) perfunctorily different from courses already in existence (AREC 612, AREC
613, AREC 525, AREC 526); c) entirely new (AREC/FR 527, AREC/FR 653 7 ) courses.
Response: This comment represents another attempt by the Department of Economics to
misrepresent what the UGFE was and how the core classes were assigned. Eight core classes in
the UGFE (512, 513, 523, 525, 526, 611, 612 and 613) were crosslisted between AREc and
Economics. Two other classes (Econ 515 and 615) were not crosslisted. The 8 classes were
crosslisted because faculty from either department (as well as Forest Resources) were qualified
to teach these classes. Econ 515 and 615 were not crosslisted because AREc and FR conceded
that they did not have and did not plan to have the expertise to staff these classes. To suggest
that the Applied Economics proposal “creates” duplicate classes because Economics faculty
1AREC/FOR 653 appears twice in section C.3. It is first called Spatial Modeling of Natural Resources, but
on the same table it is called Spatial Econometrics. At this point we are unsure whether this is one or two
courses.
42
happen to be assigned to most of these core classes at present is disingenuous. The Economics
and Applied Economics proposals suggest creation of several classes that largely duplicate each
other. Both groups share equally in the responsibility for duplication of classes.
As for the confusion regarding 653, it is one class with two different titles. We have resolved this
problem in our revised proposal.
C.6 [Section D item (a)] ECON 507 was simply renumbered as ECON 529. There was no
significant redesign of the course.
Response: A comparison of the course syllabi for ECON 507 (Fall 2004) and the proposed
ECON 529 suggests that 529 is being taught at a significantly higher level mathematically.
Given we are dropping this class in order to streamline the coursework in our proposal, it’s not
clear why the Economics Department is disputing this assessment.
C.7 [Section D item ( e)] We are unaware of the existence of the course called Spatial
Econometrics (AREC/FR 653). If such a course exists (or is being proposed), please provide a
syllabus.
Response: The course title is “Spatial Modeling of Natural Resources.” It was taught for the
first time as an experimental course in Spring 2006 and will be added to the field coursework
offerings. In accord with the counsel we received from the Office of Academic Programs, all our
proposed permanent coursework will be submitted as Category II proposals once the fate of this
proposal is known. Meanwhile, a copy of the syllabus used in Spring Term 2006 can be obtained
from the instructors (Heidi Albers, Andrew Plantinga, and Junjie Wu).
C.8 [Section D item (i)] The conditions under which ECON 515, as described in the Applied
Economics proposal, will be offered by the Department of Economics is outlined above.
Response: At present, we are assuming that the CLA Dean will honor the commitment made in
the MOU for Starr McMullen and allow her to continue teaching ECON 515 as in the past. We
plan to use this course in our MS and PhD programs. If a change in content occurs for 515, we
will have to consider this and alternative methods to convey this material to students.
C.9 [Section E] The "current configuration" (UGFE structure) referred to involves the
Department of Economics teaching ECON 515, ECON 615, ECON 513, ECON 611, ECON 613,
ECON 523, and ECON 526. Note that ECON 529 was not part of the UGFE core. There exists no
course called ECON 623, or AREC 511. In addition, ECON 625 was also not part of the UGFE
core. In addition, in the Applied Economics program core there is no AREC 511. Given these
considerations and the fact that the source for the faculty salaries is not given, it is difficult to
assess the accuracy of the Table that provides costs involved in running the core programs.
Response: The Office of Academic Programs will calculate this table for both proposals, adding
a third column of costs for the Economics proposal. We revised the course numbers as indicated.
C.10 [Section E] It is incorrect to state that the Department of Economics
"will expand its core requirements with two theoretical econometric courses (627 and 628), and will staff
separate sections of 612, 613, (507)529, 523, 525, 526."
First, the Department of Economics has been offering two advanced econometrics courses - at
first numbered ECON 625 and ECON 626 and more recently numbered ECON 627 and ECON
628 - as part of our Ph.D. core requirements for more than ten years. Hence, we are not
expanding core requirements. Second, the courses are a blend of theory and applications. We
have already commented (see items B.1, B.2, and B.3) regarding ECON 612, ECON 613, ECON
529, ECON 523, ECON 525 and ECON 526.
43
Response: Again, we will defer to the Office of Academic Programs to determine what the core
coursework is for the two proposals.
C.11 The proposal does not specify how the Operations Research option will be structured. We
suggest it either be removed or fully described. (See section C.3 of the Applied Economics
proposal).
Response: The coursework offered under this option has, for many years, been offered in the
Department of Statistics. A key faculty member in Statistics who taught Operations Research
indicated that he planned to retire. The Statistics Department let us know that they did not plan
to pick up the courses he taught in Operations Research. Recently we received word that this
faculty member has decided against retirement and will continue in his present position for 3-4
more years. In short, things in the Operations Research area are a bit up in the air at present.
We anticipate that we will be able to be more specific about the requirements in this area later in
the 2006-07 academic year.. We considered dropping this option from the proposal, but thought
it best that it be kept in to indicate that we plan to offer another quantitative methods track in the
PhD program.
D. Miscellaneous Comments
D.l In section C.9 of the proposal it is stated that "...there is a view that Economics Departments
in general are moving toward more theoretical, abstract training, which can limit their ability to
conduct applied research. " This is view is not shared by us, nor do we believe it is shared by
most faculty in Departments of Economics. As an example, Federal Reserve Banks around the
country are staffed by Economists trained in Departments of Economics and conducting applied
research. This is also true in the private sector, and many Universities. Perusal of a few leading
academic journals in economics should be sufficient to dispel the notion that economists are in
any way limited in their ability to conduct applied research.
Response: It is interesting that the Economics Department claims to not share this view of
Economic training. In their proposal, they indicate that “Evolving professional standards in
Economics and different learning and curriculum objectives for these different degree programs
have reduced the areas of instructional intersection in core courses. (p. 2)” In our response to
comments on section C.2, we concluded that their proposed courses when compared to the
current UGFE offerings suggests that they do want more theoretical, abstract coursework.
D.2 The Department of Economics has contributed to the maintenance and operation (software,
equipment) of the graduate computer laboratory in Ballard Hall. We are willing to share the costs
of operating this facility. However, if the Department of Agriculture and Resource Economics
desires to discontinue this arrangement, the Department of Economics will set up its own
Graduate Computer Laboratory.
Response: The Agricultural and Resource Economics Department has provided substantial
subsidies to the Economics Department by providing a staff person to maintain the computers.
With the breakup of the UGFE, there really is no reason for AREc to bear this cost alone.
Consequently, AREc faculty believe it would be best if the Economics Department operated their
own computer lab.
D.3 We urge the authors of the Applied Economics proposal to seek the input on their proposal
from the College of Arts and Sciences and the Department of Economics at the University of
Oregon and the Department of Economics at Portland State University.
Response: We have met with the outgoing and incoming chairs in Economics at the University of
Oregon. They endorsed our proposal (see attached letter) and indicated that what we are
proposing is complementary to their program.
44
D.4 We would like to point out that since the Department of Economics has taught approximately
80 percent of the core classes in the past UGFE structure, we take pride on having provided core
training to all students that have in the past graduated with AREC and Forest Resources degrees.
Response: We, too, are proud of the achievements of our graduate students, all of whom were
selected by AREc and FR faculty and all of whom received their primary instruction and
mentorship from these faculties.
D.5 It is stated in section B.2 of the Applied Economics proposal that,
"The Policy committee will also appoint subcommittees to handle the disbursement of scholarship
monies controlled by the GEC "
In the past, the UGFE administered the following fellowships/scholarships, which in accordance
to OSU graduate catalog are described as follows:
(a) D. Barton DeLoach Distinguished Graduate Fellowship in Economics
Provides $20,000 to a graduate student in one of the following departments: Agricultural and
Resource Economics, Economics, or Forest Resources.
(b) D. Barton DeLoach Graduate Scholarship in Economics
Provides $18,000 to a graduate assistant in one of the following departments: Agricultural and
Resource Economics, Economics, or Forest Resources. The recipient is required to provide some
supervised teaching.
(c )The Emery Castle Graduate Scholarship in Economics
Provides $2,500 to an outstanding graduate student in the departments of Ec.onornics,
Agricultural and Resource Economics, or Forest Resources
We expect that graduate students pursuing degrees in Applied Economics and Economics will
continue to be eligible for these fellowships/scholarships. Guidelines and procedures for the
disbursement of these fellowships and scholarship funds should be created in a way that is
transparent, equitable and does not favor any one group of graduate students.
Response: We have been instructed by the Office of Academic Programs to not discuss these
scholarships and fellowships because it is unclear at this point how they will be impacted by
these two proposals. Consequently, we will not respond to this question.
D.6 The top 10 land grant universities listed in OSU's Strategic Plan are:
Cornell University, Michigan State University, Ohio State University, Pennsylvania State
University, Purdue University, Texas A&M University, University of Arizona, University of
California-Davis, University of Illinois-Urbana-Champaign, University of Wisconsin- Madison.
All of these universities have highly ranked Departments of Economics with graduate programs
leading to an M.S./M.A./Ph.D. degrees in Economics. Only two of them offer Applied Economics
degrees. (M.S./Ph.D. in Agricultural and Applied Economics at the University of Wisconsin and
M.S. and Ph.D. in Applied Economics and Management at Cornell University). We make this
point to demonstrate that top land grant universities have strong Departments of Economics, and
they are crucial to the success of programs in Agricultural and/or Applied Economics. As an
economist and long time Chair of the Department of Economics at Ohio State University,
President Ray is well aware of this fact.
45
Response: All of these universities have much larger Departments of Economics than exists at
OSU. Operating the UGFE offered our Department of Economics the best chance at having
enough critical mass to offer a quality graduate degree in Economics. Sadly, the Department of
Economics chose not to cooperate with AREc and FR in supporting the UGFE, creating a need
for this proposal Given the limited resources available at OSU and in CLA, the Department of
Economics will never be able to offer a graduate program of comparable size to those at these 10
land grant universities. Furthermore, the Economics Department will be unable to leverage
OSU’s competitive niche in applied economics.
46
Liaison Letters of Support from College Deans
6/17/06
Greg Perry
Professor
Agriculture and Resource Economics
GregThe College reviewed the subject proposal and supports the development of degree
programs in Applied Economics as described therein. Also the Head of Civil, Construction
and Environmental Engineering, Ken Williamson reviewed the document and supports the
proposal.
Best of luck with the program.
Ron
47
OSU
College of Agricultural Sciences
Oregon State University, 126 Strand Agriculture Hall, Corvallis, Oregon 97331
Phone 541-737-2331 1 Fax 541-737-4574
Oregon State
UNIVERSITY
September 1,2006
Greg Perry
Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics
220 Ballard Hall
John D. Walstad
Department of Forest Resources
280A Peavy Hall
Campus
Dear Greg and Jack:
I have reviewed your proposal to create MS and PhD degrees in Applied Economics,
as well as the creation of a Graduate Economics Consortium (GEC) that will involve
faculty from seven departments in five colleges across campus. I think the proposal
represents a new level of collaborative involvement among faculty, departments, and
colleges across campus that should create new opportunities and new synergies for
those interested in economics education and research. I think the philosophy
underlying this proposal is very much in line with the university's move toward
greater collaborative arrangements in educational programs. I wholeheartedly
endorse this proposal. The AREc Department will be a major provider of resources
toward this degree program, as it was with the University Graduate Faculty of
Economics. The' College of Agricultural Sciences will continue to provide support
toward the success of this program at a level comparable to that provided to the
UGFE.
Sincerely,
Thayne &son
Dean
<
-
-
SU
-
College of Forestry Office of the Dean
Oregon State University, 150 Peavy Hall, Corvallis, Oregon 97331-5704
Phone 541-737-1591 1 Fax 541-737-2906 1 http://www.cof.orst.edu/
Oiegon State
UNIVERSITY
August 22,2006
MEMO TO: Reviewers of Category I Proposal for a Graduate Program in Applied
Economics
4F
FROM:
Hal Salwasser, Dean
College of Forestry
SUBJECT:
Support for the Applied Economics Program
I have reviewed the latest draft of the "Proposal for the Revision of Graduate Degrees in
Economics Leading to the Master of Science and Doctor of Philosophy in Applied
Economics and Minor in Business Economics" dated August 2006. The proposal has
been jointly developed by faculties in the departments of Agricultural and Resource
Economics and Forest Resources, under the leadership of Department Heads Greg Perry
and Jack Walstad. Faculties in the colleges of Business, Engineering, and Health and
Human Services have also been involved.
I strongly endorse approval of this proposal and pledge support fiom the College of
Forestry for its implementation. Such support includes providing an equitable share of
the funds needed to make this new program successful. I anticipate that will amount to
about $9,000 per year, a level comparable to the support we provided for the previous
UGFE Program. We also will provide teaching, logistical, and administrative support for
the program commensurate with our capacity to do so.
We trust this proposal will be approved so OSU can sustain its rightful place in graduate
economics education that is focused on our Land Grant mission.
cc:
S. Francis
G. Perry
J. Walstad
OSU
Graduate School
Oregon State University, 300 Kerr Administration Building, Cowallis, Oregon 97331-2121
Phone 54 1-737-4881 1 Fax 541 -737-3313 1 http://oregonstate.edu/dept,/grad-school
Oregon State
UNIVERSITY
August 28,2006
Greg Perry
Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics
220 Ballard Hall
John D. Walstad
Department of Forest Resources
280A Peavy Hall
Campus
Dear Greg and Jack:
The purpose of this letter is to indicate my support of your proposal to create an MS and PhD
degree in applied economics. It is my understanding that a Graduate Economics Consortium
(GEC) comprising faculty members fiom the Colleges of Agricultural Sciences, Forestry,
Business, Health and Human Sciences, and Engineering will be established as a new graduate
faculty that will deliver and:oversee the proposed graduate program in applied economics and
that the GEC will function in a manner similar to a departmentally based graduate
facultylgraduate program. The GEC will become the graduate faculty of the Applied Economics
graduate program. I further understand that the GEC and the graduate program in applied
economics will be housed in the Graduate School as is the case with other interdisciplinary or
multi departmental graduate programs including Environmental Sciences, Molecular and
Cellular Biology, MAIS, and the suite of graduate programs in Water Resources.
The interdisciplinary graduate programs listed above and housed in the Graduate School are
supported financially through the Interdisciplinary Allocation Model (IAM). Conditional on a
similar philosophical orientation in your final proposal and on the final form of the IAM
following post-rebasing revisions to be undertaken during 2006-07, I will provide financial
support for the multi departmental applied economics graduate program at an initial level of
$18000.
I look forward to working with you and the GEC toward a successful launch of this new graduate
program.
Sincerely,
u
Sally Francis
C:
R. Adams, T. Bray, T. Dutson, I. Kleinsorge, R. Rettig, H. Salwasser
June 29,2006
Professor Greg Perry, Dept. Head
Agricultural and Resource Economics
Oregon State University
Corvallis, OR 9633 1
Dear Greg,
We understand that the dissolution of your University Graduate Faculty of Economics
arrangement has led to a proposal for the creation of a new Applied Economics program
at OSU. This new program is to be administered by the Graduate Economics
Consortium - a cooperative consisting of faculty fiom five different colleges on your
campus. Although we have not been involved in the design of this proposed program, the
materials we have reviewed suggest it would largely complement (rather than be in direct
competition with) graduate economics programs offered here at the University of Oregon.
As such, the UO Department of Economics has no objection to the proposed Applied
Economics program. Overall, this new program appears to be a sensible use of preexisting resources on the OSU campus.
Best wishes,
Van Kolpin
Professor of Economics
Department Head, exiting
University of Oregon
[email protected]
(541) 346-301 1
Larry Singell, Jr.
Professor of Economics
Department Head, entering
University of Oregon
[email protected]
(541) 346-4672
(OUS and OSU)
Category I Proposal Budget Outline
Estimated Costs and Sources of Funds for the Proposed Program
Total new resources required to handle the increased workload, if any. If no new resources are required, the budgetary impact should be reported as zero.
See "Budget Outline Instructions" on the OUS Forms and Guidelines Web site: www.ous.edu/aca/aca-forms.html
Institution: Oregon State University
Category I Proposal Name: MS and PhD Degrees in Applied Economics
Academic Year: AY 2008
Completed by:
FTE
Greg Perry & Jack Walstad
Column A
Column B
From Current Budgetary
Unit
Institutional
Reallocation from
Other Budgetary Unit
Dept
College
Operating Year: July 1, 2007-June 30, 2008
Year 1
Column C
Column D
From Special State
From Federal Funds &
Appropriation Request Other Grants/Contracts
Column E
Column F
Column G
From Fees, Sales, &
Other Income
Endowment
LINE ITEM TOTAL
Personnel
Faculty (Include FTE)
Support Staff (Include FTE)
Graduate Assistants (Include FTE)
Fellowships/Scholarships
*OPE: Faculty
Staff
GTA/GRA
Nonrecurring
Personnel Subtotal:
18,000
9,000
0
0
27,000
$18,000
$9,000
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
0
0
0
0
$27,000
Other Resources
Library/Printed
Library/Electronic
Supplies and Services
Equipment
Travel
Other Expenses
Other Resources Subtotal:
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
$0
Physical Facilities
Construction
Major Renovation
Other Expenses
Physical Facilities Subtotal:
$0
$0
$0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
$0
$27,000
GRAND TOTALS:
0
0
27,000
0
0
0
0
Percentage of Total
0.00%
0.00%
100.00%
0.00%
0.00%
0.00%
0.00%
.dmission Requirements
. grade point average above 3.0 (B average)
preferred.
Minimum preparation for
3plicants
includes
coursework
in
lterrnediate micro & macro economic theory,
%sicstatistics, calculus, and linear algebra.
h.D. applicants should also complete MS
icro & macro economic theory courses.
The Graduate School
APPLIED
ECONOMICS
raduate Record Examination (GRE) scores
,e required for all students.
GRADUATE PROGRAM
minimum TOEFL score of 79 (internet),
13 (computer), or 550 (paper) is required for
ternational applicants whose native
nguage is not English. This requirement is
aived for applicants who have completed a
:gee within the last two years from a
cognized institution of higher learning in the
nited States.
nancial Aid
nancial support for graduate students is
ailable through competitive fellowships and
sistantships. Assistantships include a health
re and tuition benefit, in addition to a
pend.
Apply or Just Learn More
sit our program website at:
p://~~~.apec.umn.edu/GradProg.html
Mail inquiries can be sent to:
ecdgs@,umn.edu
write to us at:
)plied Economics Graduate Program
liversity of Minnesota
1 Classroom Office Building
94 Buford Avenue
Paul, MN 55 108
The University of Minnesota is an equal
opportunity educator and employer.
This
publication is available in alternative formats
upon request. Please contact Director of
Graduate Studies, Dept. of Applied Economics,
231 Classroom Office Bldg, 1994 Buford Ave.,
St. Paul MN 55108.
Phone: 612-625-2 758
E-Mail: apecdgs@,u,umn.edu
0 2006 Regents of the University of
Minnesota. All rights reserved
he Applied Economics Graduate Program at
le University of Minnesota is an exciting
ew interdisciplinary program that spans four
cademic units. Our program offers students
le unique opportunity to study with a .
ationally and internationally recognized
lculty from the Department of Applied
konomics, Department of Human Resources
r Industrial Relations, Division of Health
'olicy & Management, and Hubert H.
[umphrey Institute of Public Affairs.
4s Program
tudents pursuing our MS degree have the
exibility to design a program of study that
repares them for doctoral studies or a career
rith government agencies, non-profit
rganizations, or private businesses.
IS students complete 30 credit hours of
lstruction including 10-1 1 credits in micro &
lacro economic theory and econometrics.
tudents also complete 6 credits in a
lpporting field. The culmination of the
egree is the preparation and defense of a MS
:search project. Two options are available.
he Plan A thesis option is more research
~tensive,while the Plan B project option is
lore coursework intensive.
h D Program
tudents completing our PhD degree are
repared for research and teaching careers in
:ademia, as well as research careers with
overnment
agencies,
non-profit
rganizations, or private businesses.
hD students complete 23 credit hours of core
~ursework in micro & macro economic
ieory, econornetrics, applied welfare analysis
: public policy, and applied economic
methods. Students complete 12-18 credits of
additional coursework in a minor or supporting
field.
Students demonstrate their knowledge of
economics by taking written exams for
microeconomic theory and two fields of
specialization. Fields of specialization include:
k Consumer Behavior & Household
Economics
k Health Economics
k Labor Economics
k Policy Analysis
k Production & Marketing Economics
k Resource & Environmental Economics
k Trade & Development Economics
An approved minor in another graduate
program can be substituted for one field exam,
providing students with the flexibility to design
a program of study that meets their personal
interests and career objectives. Examples of
approved minors completed by our students
include conservation biology, biostatistics,
economics, health policy, and statistics.
Students also take an oral exam for their
dissertation proposal.
The culmination
preparation and
dissertation.
of the degree is the
defense of the PhD
Supporting Programs, Facilities, & Centers
Highly-Ranked Economics & Statistics
Programs
*:* Extensive Computer & Library Facilities
*:* Center for Farm Financial Management
*:* Center for International Food &
Agricultural Policy
*: Center for Political Economy
*:*
*:
*:
*:*
*:*
*:
*:*
*:
*:
*:*
*:
*:
Center for Science, Technology, & Public
Policy
The Food Industry Center
Freeman Center for International
Economic Policy
Human Resources Research Institute
Industrial Relations Center
International Science & Technology
Practice & Policy Center
Managed Care Center
Minnesota Council on Economic
Education
Minnesota Land Economics
Project on Regional & Industrial
Economics
Roy Wilkins Center for 'Human Relations
& Social Justice
The University of Minnesota, Twin Cities
The University is a world class research and
teaching institution. The campus's 16 colleges
offer 158 bachelor's degrees, 109 Master's
degrees, 98 doctoral degrees, and 45
professional degrees. Enrollment is over
50,000 including more than 14,000 graduate
students. The University supports an
international population of over 3,800
students representing more than 130 countries.
The University is located in the Twin Cities of
Minneapolis and St. Paul - a metropolitan
area of more than two million people. The
area is noted for the beauty of its lakes and
parks, the richness of its cultural activities,
and a celebrated quality of life. The Twin
Cities offer a wide range of employment
opportunities in both the private and public
sectors. It is the headquarters for a number of
major corporations in the electronic,
computer,
health,
food,
retailing,
transportation, and forestry industries.
OSU Libraries
Collection Development
Library Evaluation for Category I Proposal
Proposal for the revision of graduate degrees in Economics leading to the Master of
Science and Doctor of Philosophy in Applied Economics and Minor in Business
Economics
Title of Proposal
Agriculture and Resource Economics; Forest Resources; Accounting, Finance and
Information Management; Management, Marketing, and International Business, Public
Health; and Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering
Departments
Agricultural Sciences, Forestry, Business, Health and Human Sciences, and Engineering
Colleges
The subject librarians responsible for collection development in the pertinent curricular
area has assessed whether the existing library collections and services can support the
proposal. Based on this review, the subject librarian concludes that present collections
and services are:
[ ] inadequate to support the proposal (see budget needs below)
[ x ] marginally adequate to support the proposal
[ ] adequate to support the proposal
Estimated funding needed to upgrade collections or services to support the proposal
(details are attached)
Year 1:
Ongoing (annual):
Comments and Recommendations:
Collection is currently adequate, however there is concern is for the libraries ability to
support growth and diversification of collection while maintaining a strong core.
Date Received: -6/25/2006
-Bonnie Avery
Subject Librarian
-Alison Bobal
Subject Librarian
-May Chau
Subject Librarian
-Jeanne Davidson
Subject Librarian
-Margaret Mellinger
Subject Librarian
Lak~-ei
K~~sAcK
Head of Collection Development
KGY$\~BA&w
University Librarian
w
Signature
y
w
d
7/27/&
Date
7/$z0C
Date